Freedom in Christ - Part 11
Spiritual Armour

The moment we became Christians, we became Satan's enemy. Before we were Christians - Satan was pleased with us - but now we are enemies.

Satan is now committed to foul up our lives. He is intent on troubling our lives.

God has provided the protection (in Christ).

Demons are likened to germs, looking for someone to infect. They are habitual liars.

We are not in a playground, we are in a war. We must stay active and take the truths on board.

Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armour of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armour of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

Belt of Truth

Christ in us therefore truth in us.

On a roman soldiers armour, the belt held everything together.

The truth is our first line of defence.

We must face the truth and speak the truth in love.

We must study the word of God and know the truth.

Breast Plate of Righteousness

Our defence against the accuser.

Romans 8:33
Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

We stand in Christ and are justified because of what Gods done.

1 John 1:6-8
If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:6-8 means 'Living in continuous agreement with God'

If we sin we need to confess. Not say "Sorry", but say "I agree, I did it"

Confessing our sins clears the way to righteousness.

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

The peace of Christ, comes when we dwell on Gods Word.

Read the bible.

Focus our minds on God / Christ.

Dressed for Success

Shield of Faith

The more we know about God, the bigger our shield.

Satan's flaming arrows are accusations, lies and temptations.

When we discern one of these, we must face it head on. We must increase our knowledge and read the bible daily.

The Helmet of Salvation

The helmet is on our mind.

The devil teaches us that good works will earn us our way to God. But God wants us to be with Him first and then the good works will come out of that.

We must not be too busy doing good works - that were not spending enough time with God.

Satan's temptation is to doubt whether were going to heaven - if we sin.

Colossians 1:13
He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves

Romans 8:16
The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God's children.

Sword of the Spirit

Our defence is to speak aloud Gods truth. SPEAK OUT.

Satan cannot read our thoughts, but he can observe our behaviour. "Body language"

Demons will put thoughts in our mind and then watch our behaviour. Then if we react they know they've got us.

Nobody can read our mind, except God.

Satan will try to influence us by putting thoughts in our mind.

Only God knows the future.

Hebrews 4: 12-13
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

We can speak to God in our minds - But we speak to Satan aloud.

At night Satan will attack us.

2 Corinthians 10:4
for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments…

To deal with this we need to call on God.

James 4:7
So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Satan's agents - witches, are more active at night. E.g. 3 am.

To get rid of Satan say 'Jesus', keep saying 'Jesus'. As soon as we say 'Jesus' he will leave.

Scripture quoted by permission. NET Bible® copyright © 1996-005 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org . All rights reserved.