Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, October 23rd. If believers ever hope to win spiritual battles with Satan, preparation for battle is crucial. Let's continue the series for a practical understanding of how to use the armor of God in fighting the real war. Every morning when you and I wake up, we wake up to a war. I mean, a real personal battle that we have to fight. And most folks don't even realize there's a war going on, and so they wonder why as a Christian, they live their life and they find themselves being defeated one time after the other.
Just when they think they've got something conquered, they're defeated again. Now one of the primary reasons is they are defeated by an enemy of whom they're totally unaware, living in a battle of which they have no conception whatsoever, and then wonder why, and oftentimes are critical of the Word of God, wonder where in the world God is and why this book does not work. So the Scripture says that you and I are in a battle for our life, not necessarily for our physical life, but we're in a battle for our spiritual life. Now if we are in a battle and we know that we are, then we need to get prepared for the battle. And that is the title of this message, Preparation for the Battle.
And I want you to turn, if you will, to Ephesians chapter 6, and I want us to read verses 10 through 18 together. He says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
That's his tactics, his methods of defeating us. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, that is because all of this is true, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm.
Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, in addition to all, that is to all of this, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Now, when we think about warfare, let's just refresh your memory about a couple of things. First of all, we know who the enemy is.
It's very clear. And if you'll notice, he says our enemy is a whole confederation of those who are against us, the devil, all of his angels and all of his demonic hosts that work against us every day of our life. We know that what his objective is, is that he wants us to doubt the Word of God. He wants us to be distracted by worldly things, by material things. He wants to disable us in our witness and testimony any way that he possibly can, disable us for serving God that makes us useless for the kingdom and to destroy us if at all possible. So when you have an enemy that is committed to those four objectives, you and I know that we have a dangerous enemy. And this isn't something that Satan decides and says, well, let's just let off a little bit. No, all of his demonic forces are there to challenge us, to take advantage of us when we are emotionally or physically or spiritually weak.
He is there, they are there to take advantage, to tempt us in order to defeat us and wreck us in any possible way. Now, if a man's going fishing, he's going to put on some old dirty pants or ragged pants, or if he's going fly fishing, he's going to have a jacket and so forth. If he's going hunting, he's going to have a different kind of paraphernalia on. And if he's going to play golf, he's going to dress a different way. If he's going to war, he's going to have certain things. That is, his battle dress is going to be different. What happens to many Christians?
They wake up every morning like they're going to a party. And the truth is, they go into battle. And the truth is, we are in a warfare and many people are unprepared.
And as we said before, one of the primary reasons we keep on getting defeated is, we don't realize who the enemy is, what his tactics are, what his objective is, nor are we prepared to face him. And you say, well, you know this whole idea about warfare and weapons and so forth? You know, I believe in peace and I don't know that I really believe that the Bible talks about war and all of these things. Well, I want you to look, if you will, in 2 Timothy, I believe it is, in chapter 2, and listen to what the apostle Paul said. Because he saw this as, in his own life, he said, in verse 3, writing to young Timothy, who was his son in the ministry and a pastor, and he said in verse 3, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Verse 4, no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
That's Christ. That is, because he knew we were and are in a battle, he said, we are soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look in 2 Corinthians and chapter 10 and verse 4. He says in the fourth verse, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. So the apostle Paul says we're soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says we have weapons. They are not material weapons or fleshly weapons, but they're spiritual weapons. And he says in this passage, as believers that you and I are to put on the full armor of God.
Now, if our warfare is real and all of us have been defeated enough times in our life to understand and realize we are indeed in a warfare, well, if the war is real, then the weapons must be real and the battle fatigues must also be real. So when he says put on the full armor of God, he literally means to put on the full armor of God. And in order to awaken every morning prepared to live our Christian life, he says there are two things you and I need to do.
And the first one is to get dressed up in the right kind of uniform for what you're going to face. And so he says, what is that? And in this sixth chapter here, I want us to look at it. Now, I want us to look at the dress for the battle and then I want us to look at the position that we're to take as we do battle. Now, let me just give you an idea about something here. I can tell you this is a principle.
And here's the principle. That you and I are to spiritually put on the spiritual armor that God has provided because we're in a spiritual battle. If we're going to be properly dressed, we have to ask what kind of warfare is it? It is a spiritual warfare.
What kind of weapons? Spiritual weapons. Then what kind of dress? Spiritual dress. You put it on by faith.
So what I want to do is to go through this armor and then let's apply it to our own life and I want you to see how very important every piece of it is. Notice he didn't say put on some of it. He said put on what? The full armor of God. So let's look at it in the order he's placed it here first. He says having your loins girt about with truth.
What is he talking about? A Roman soldier wore a piece like a skirt that covered his whole abdominal region. And it was leather and sometimes it would be covered with metal overlay to protect him. And this girdle wrapped around him also held the, scabbard for his sword and this buckled together.
So he said put on, first of all, have your loins girt about with truth. He's talking about that girdle that the Roman soldiers wore. Then he said put on the breastplate of righteousness. And so the Romans wore a vest. It was usually made of leather and also oftentimes it was covered with metal to protect them from the arrows that may come or the strike of a sword. And you had to hit very hard with an axe or a sword, very hard, in order to break through that metal and also to pierce that leather. So that was protection for their upper body.
Also he said had your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The sandals they wore were very thick sandals and they wrapped around their ankles. But the interesting thing is that oftentimes those sandals had spikes or like nails about four inches long. And the reason for that is when he says here stand firm, when they put those sandals down they could stand very firm, very steady, and oftentimes they would stand shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield, very sturdy and it would be very, very difficult to knock a man off balance like that. Oftentimes when they were fighting they had a very, very sturdy stand because of that.
Likewise, this is sort of gory but it's the way it happened, they knocked a man down, sometimes they'd just step on him. And four inch sharp nails like spikes would do great damage. And so every single piece of equipment they had was there for a purpose. And then if you'll notice what he says, not only the sandals but he said, in addition to all this, taking up the shield of faith. Now that shield that he's referring to here is not one of those little round shields that oftentimes you see on pictures of Roman soldiers. They used those small shields but the word here for shield is the same word in the Greek for door. And so this shield was a large wooden shield. Sometimes it was surrounded by some form of metal.
It was also overlaid with leather and oftentimes on top of that was metal. This shield was so large that a man could absolutely totally cover his body. He could stand the shield up and hide behind it.
So every single piece was used in a very calculated fashion. The shield of faith, he says above all, because no matter what else they may have had, a man at least had some vulnerable spots except that his shield kept him totally covered. And so he says above all of these, he says taking the shield of faith, which is able to quench the fiery darts of the missiles. And what he's referring to here is that when they would fire a whole avalanche of arrows, sometimes they would dip them in pitch and then set them on fire.
So when that arrow hit, it hit someone of course, it'd catch them on fire. Sometimes what they would do if the shields did not have metal on them, they would soak them good in water so that when the fiery missiles or arrows hit them, of course it would put out the fire and it would not hurt them. Then if you'll notice he says, and take the helmet of salvation. Now probably the most valuable piece of equipment they had was this helmet. And sometimes it was very ornately made.
It was soft on the inside, it had flaps often on the sides to protect their cheek, and of course to protect their head. And you would have to hit a man with an axe probably in order to break that helmet. And so it was a very valuable piece that they would never go to war without. And then if you'll notice he says, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. The sword is the only offensive weapon they had, but it was also a defensive weapon.
It was not one of those long swords like you see some swashbucklers using, but these were short swords. And if you'll notice what he says in this passage, he says, verse 12, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood. And the word he uses here for struggle is the same word that they use for restless.
So we're talking about close hand-to-hand combat. So every single piece of equipment was there for a very particular reason, offensive or defensive. And so here's what Paul said. And he knew that his hearers and his readers understood. He said, you put on the full armor of God, because you're fighting daily against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.
These are invisible, intelligent beings that you and I have to deal with, called the devil, his angels, and his demonic powers. And therefore, in order to be prepared to fight against them and to stand against them and to be victorious, we must be dressed properly. And so when he said in this passage, therefore take up the full armor of God, and he gave us these illustrations here, he meant exactly what he said.
And I wonder how many people have read this down through the years and have said, they just read right on through that and said, yes, that's Roman armor there. But he didn't say look at it. He didn't say read about it. He didn't say think about it. He said put it on. So how and why put it on?
Let's think about it for a moment. Let's say that tomorrow morning you awaken and you say, well, I'm going to put on this armor. Well, how are you going to put it on? So let me just give you a suggestion of what to think about and how to think about it in putting it on.
And let's start from top to bottom. Lord, I choose to put on the helmet of salvation today in order to protect my thinking. I only want to think your thoughts, Lord.
I want to think the things that please you. I want to think properly about myself, who I am in Christ. I want to think properly, Lord, about you. I want to think properly about others. I do not want to be tempted. And therefore when Satan sends one of his thoughts my way, I just want to thank you that the helmet of salvation will protect my thinking.
Now remember this. The battlefield for your life is not in your feet nor in your hands. It is in your mind. That's where Satan does his battle. And that's where he gets a toehold and a foothold and a fortress into our life to defeat us.
If he can get us thinking the wrong way, believing one of his lies, then he has us. And so first of all I put on the helmet of salvation to protect my thinking. Secondly, Lord, I want to thank you that I can put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect my emotions. Lord, I only want to feel what you want me to feel.
The Bible says, guard your affections, for out of your affections are the issues of life. That is, Lord, don't let me respond by my feelings. Let me respond on the basis of who I am in Christ Jesus, on the basis of what I know in my mind and my relationship to you. Lord, don't allow me to respond simply by my emotions.
Lord, I want to thank you that I can put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect my emotions today. Lord, I want to thank you that I can put on the girdle of truth. First of all, I want to know the truth. Secondly, I want to live by the truth. I want to walk in the truth and I want to share the truth. And in order for me to put on the truth, I've got to be in the Word. Because it is from the Word of God that you and I find the truth. And God wants us meditating on it day and night. I want you to be at least a little bit in the morning and a little bit in the evening. He says get up in the morning and give him thanks.
Go to bed in the evening and thank him for his faithfulness all day long. Lord, I want to put on the girdle of truth. I want to know the truth. I do not want to be deceived. Lord, protect me from Satan's lies.
Let me know the truth. I want to pursue the truth, apply the truths that I know to my life. When I listen to people talk, Lord, I want to be able to sift what they say through the truth that I know.
Then I will know if I'm hearing error or if I'm hearing truth. I put on the girdle of truth. Lord, I want to thank you today that I'm putting on the sandals of peace. Father, wherever I go today, wherever you send me, I want to be a peacemaker.
I want to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a fashion that I will be able to be used as a tool of God to bring peace with people in their relationship to God, peace among brothers and sisters together. But Lord, I want to be a vessel of peace. And as you and I are dressed in the right uniform for the battle, we can go, no matter what's going on, we can bring peace in the midst of conflict if we are properly prepared.
Now notice what he says. Not only that, but he says, above all, taking the shield of faith. Lord, I just want to thank you today for the shield of faith.
I want to thank you that no matter how many fiery missiles Satan throws at me, how many temptations come my way, no matter how bad, how intense, I want to thank you for the shield of faith, that I can hide behind the faith standing upon the rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our faith. Faith is a gift from Him. And He says, above all, taking the shield of faith. It is our faith that makes the difference whether we succeed or fail or whether we go down in defeat or whether we are victorious with the enemies. I want to thank you, Lord, today that I have the shield of faith, and I stand on the basis of who I am in you, and I praise you for it. And then he says, the sword of the Spirit.
Lord, I just want to thank you today for the Word of God. And listen, if I'm thankful for the Word of God and I'm wielding the Word of God, that means I'm in the Word, studying the Word, making it a part of my life. He says, taking the sword of the Spirit. That is, using it. How am I going to use it?
I'm going to use it to share it with people who need to be saved. And you see, the sword of the Spirit cuts deep, bringing about conviction. The sword of the Spirit penetrates, the Bible says, to the very quick, all the way down to the Spirit, reaching inside of a person, bringing them to the realization of who they are and their need of Jesus Christ. So we use it as an offensive weapon. Then we use it also as a defensive weapon. Lord, I want to thank you that if I am attacked today, I'll go to the promises of the Word of God. I'll just be reminded what you said. So Lord, today I want to thank you that I am dressed for the battle. Copyright © 2020, New Thinking Allowed Foundation
