We are At War, Part 2of2, Evans Olang

Ephesians 6:10-18, “11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…”

We looked at how the enemy always gives us the wrong impressions on who to fight. We therefore need to learn how we prepare with the tools and the right clothing.

I face the enemy every single second of the minute of the hour of the days of the months of the year. Sometimes he might just leave me for a season but he is bound to come back. I need to be ready at all times and so should you.

Paul in concluding his letter to the church at Ephesus had some wisdom to share with them. He knew of the things that they were facing and would continue to face. He begins to conclude his letter by saying, “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”. This is the introduction to the fight, be strong not in oneself but in the Lord, the overcomer. James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee”, You cannot resist the devil without first submitting to God. Its in submitting to God that He gives you the strength and grace to resist and that’s how Paul in Ephesians puts it “…Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (tricks) of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness high places” Ephesians 6:10-12. We are not fighting some small enemies, we are fighting big ones and so twice we hear Paul mentioning the act of putting on the whole armor of God. Putting the armor of God is like putting on the combat attire ready for anything that might come as we do not know how big or small they will come.

Knowing all that we know about what we are going to be facing, we enter into our closets and prepare. . Vs 14, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth”, the devil is the father of lies, you better put on truth, gird yourself with God’s word at all times. “Having put on the breastplate of righteousness”, it’s a round the chest where the breastplate is placed and as you can see that this is the area where the heart is. God deals with the heart first, therefore when the heart is right with God, the entire being will be changed. “Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” In Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news”. The good news does bring peace in ones life, you also overcome when you lead others to find eternal life. Vs.16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one“, It’s easy to be wounded if you do not have a shield and here we are told that our shield is the most important thing that we should always have as that will keep us from falling. Hebrews 11:16, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him”, vs 17, “Don’t forget to put on the helmet of salvation”, I’ve seen this even with major dangerous sports, they always put on the helmet to protect them from any brain injury if anything ever happens to them. Every believer also has to put on the helmet of salvation as that will protect us in the days when we fall. vs 17, ” and the word of the Spirit, which is the word of God. “. This is important too as this is your only offensive weapon because the rest are defensive weapons. We have to know the word and this could mean memorizing the word and knowing where it is and so that when the enemy begins to fight, we are well equipped. Hebrews 4:12, “The word of the Lord is living and powerful, sharper than any double edged sword…”. Remember the enemy knows the word too and so he will come to us the same way he came to Jesus in the wilderness and say “It’s written”, We also need to stand with the written word. Paul concludes by telling the Ephesians to pray always will all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. We need to watch and be ready at all times for, Prayer assists in testing, prepping your tools. 1Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant cause your adversary the devil like a roaring lion walketh about seeking souls that he may devour”. Take note of how the bible puts it “Like a roaring lion”, he is not the lion, Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. We are all soldiers in the army of God, we will fight till the end, choose this day and always to put on your defensive weapons and pick up your offensive weapons to fight back. No retreat no surrender. Blessings Ev