Amour of God Pt 1

The Amour of God - Part 1

Ephesians 6:10-18

10For the rest, my brothers, be strong in the Master and in the mightiness of His strength.

11Put on the complete armour of God, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil.

12Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.

13Because of this, take up the complete armour of God, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.

14Stand, then, having girded your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;

16above all, having taken up the shield of belief with which you shall have power to quench all the burning arrows of the wicked one.

17Take also the helmet of Salvation / deliverance, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

18praying at all times, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones;

Vs10 - We are strong in the Master and in the MIGHTINESS of HIS strength, not our own. Like a mobile phone needs to be charged when it is depleted, we need to plug into the source of our strength and that is Jesus.

Vs 11 - We have a very real enemy who has come to steal, kill and destroy and who has plotted schemes against us. We need to equip ourselves for the battle. The command is very specific: PUT ON. You have to be active in this, and not passive. How much armour do we put on? Not some of the Armour of God...put on the COMPLETE AMOUR OF GOD. This will ensure we have power from on high to stand against this very real enemy.

Vs12 - The enemy will try to convince us that the people around us (our parents, our siblings, our friends, our teachers, etc) are our enemy but the Word of God says something different. Our war is not with them but against:

1. principalities

2. against authorities

3. against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age

4. against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies

(suggested side study...what and who are these entities we are at war against?)

Where is this concept of God's Amour found? Please read these chapters for further context.

• Isaiah 11:5 - And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and trustworthiness the girdle of His waist.

• Isaiah 59:17 - And He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of deliverance on His head. And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself with ardour as a mantle.

• Isaiah 52:7 - How pleasant upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims deliverance, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

SO WHAT IS THE AMOUR OF GOD?

1. The Belt of Truth

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness

3. The Shoes of the readiness of the Goodnews of peace

4. Shield of Faith

5. Helmet of Salvation

6. Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Truth as our belt because we need to remember the truth of God's Word - the Word of God is Jesus (John 1:1) and we need to hide His Word in our hearts. The truth of God stabilises us.

The Breastplate of Righteousness - covering our heart, we are clothed in righteousness because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (please read Isaiah 61:10 - Revelation 19:8 - Ephesians 4:24 - Romans 13:14).

The Shoes of the readiness of the Gospel of peace - that we are always ready to speak about our faith (1 Peter 3:15) and willing to go where God sends us.

The Shield of Faith - this gets rid of all the lies of the enemy! Hide the Word of God in your heart so that when the lies come, that shield is loaded up with the truth of God's Powerful WORD! (Romans 10:7).

The Helmet of Salvation - to guard your minds in Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7) protect the eyes and the ear gates. Don't watch things your shouldn't be watching, and don't listen to things your shouldn't be listening to. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 10:5) take every thought captive that does not belong there!

The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God - Jesus is your sword (John 1:1) so when you go out the the fight, you are taking Jesus with you. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, He didn't tell the devil how He felt about the situation He was in...Jesus fought back with the Word of God which shaper than anything - For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.

As you dress in the morning, remember the Amour of God - ask the Lord to make this a daily habit for you. This is one of the great ways we can abide in Jesus.