I. Introduction
A. Armor
1. Armor is essential in war. Armor is often one of the most important technological advances any military power can develop. If your soldiers don’t have good armor, they will be less effective.
2. Some of us wear armor every day just to make it through the day
3. This morning, I want us to examine this passage to see what God has provided us as we go into our spiritual battles every day.
B. God’s Armor
1. Paul’s imagery of the armor of God is inspired by the armor of a Roman soldier.
2. Roman soldiers would be a common sight all throughout the Roman Empire. Everyone would be able to visualize what Paul was talking about.
II. The Armor of God
A. The Armor
1. God has prepared spiritual armor to protect us in our spiritual warfare.
2. Belt of
a. Truth holds all of the armor together. Our cause is and righteous because it is true.
b. If the war is not based on the truth we end up fighting about a lot of things that don’t really matter.
c. Ephesians 4:14-15
d. Satan loves to use ideology in his war against Christians.
3. Breastplate of
a. Our righteousness comes from (1 Corinthians 1:30), but must be closely by each of us as we live in a world of unrighteousness.
b. Isaiah 59:17
c. Each of us must follow the example of the One who brings us righteousness to be in a right relationship with God.
4. Feet Clothed with the Gospel of
a. Our mission is one of peace-making, not conquering lands.
b. In a world of chaos and division, Christians are called to be –, not just peace-keepers. (Matthew 5:9)
c. Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart, in their book Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World, remind us that peacemaking is not just about ending wars or resolving tension, but restoring relationships, renovating broken systems, and replacing unjust ones altogether.
5. Shield of
a. The devil will never give up, so we must be ready to shield ourselves from what he throws at us.
b. Faith is powerful in the life of a Christian.
c. 1 John 5:4
d. Faith is the foundation of our trust and belief in God, as well as His ability to fulfill what He .
6. Helmet of
a. We must protect our confidence in the God who has won the war.
b. Christians need to protect their against the devil’s use of doubt, shame, guilt, uncertainty, etc.
c. The devil’s psychological warfare tactics can be powerful.
7. Sword of the
a. This offensive weapon is the same one Jesus used as He faced off with Satan – the of God.
b. God’s Word is powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and we must learn to wield it effectively.
c. The Roman soldier’s sword was a short one designed for close combat.
d. We are engaged in close combat with our enemy, Satan.
8.
a. Often, this is part of the armor that is discounted because no comparison is made to a piece of Roman armor.
b. In battle, it is crucial to maintain communication with HQ.
c. In his comments on prayer in this passage, Jay Lockhart says, “Prayer is the Christian’s means of invoking God’s and strength for living.”
9. The armor of God is given to us so that we can face the battles of life with confidence.
B. of the Armor
1. While the armor is ultimately from God, it must be fit for each one of us.
a. The armor must fit you. You can’t wear my armor, and I can’t wear yours. (1 Samuel 17:38-40)
b. If one of us is not prepared, the enemy can find a way in, and it can affect all of us.
c. Illustration: One of the most impressive things about Roman armor was how it was designed to be used collectively. In this picture, you see how effective a group of soldiers could be against the enemy.
2. When Satan convinces us that we don’t need others, he finds a chink in our armor.
a. When anger sets up in the heart of the Christian, Satan finds a weakness in our armor.
b. The damage is not contained to one soldier; it affects us all.
3. Each of us should make sure that one another’s armor is sufficient for battle against the enemy.
C. in the Fight
1. The armor of God is not just for protection against the foe. It prepares us to our enemy.
a. Paul tells us to pray at all times, keep alert, and make supplications to God. These are commands of action. (Ephesians 6:18)
b. In 1 Samuel 17, when David fights Goliath, it’s because no one else will. The Israelites weren’t going to escape fighting the Philistines; they were just delaying the inevitable. David was willing to engage because he had already clothed himself in the Lord’s armor.
2. Each of us is in the fray of the battle, whether we realize it or not. Let’s go in prepared.
III. Conclusion
A. What is Your Achilles Heel?
1. You’ve probably heard the term Achilles heel used to describe a person’s greatest weakness or something that makes them very vulnerable. The term originates from the Greek mythology of the character Achilles. As a baby, his mother takes him to the River Styx and dips him in the water to make him invulnerable to being hurt, with the exception of his heel, by which she dips him. During the Trojan War, he is shot with a poisoned arrow in the Achilles tendon and dies.
2. All of us have an Achilles heel in our lives. The devil loves to use our Achilles heel to shame us, enslave us, or keep us from action.
3. When we fit the armor of God to our lives and engage in the battle, expect to be wounded every once in a while.
4. Wounds don’t have to be fatal.
B. Invitation