Stand Firm, Clothed & Fully Armored
We sat there with our chairs positioned in a circle. Bro. Brad served as our leader, our facilitator. His deep baritone voice spoke with authority but only because he was a learned man of God. Our text: the war and the enemy found within the pages of The Revelation to John.
We sat there with our bodies covered by our clothing we selected earlier that morning. Christians Believers. Children of God. Those who had placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our discussion: the battle and the deceiver who seeks to devour.
We sat there with our day behind us. It was a Wednesday night, and we had gathered for the mid-week Bible study. Others were seated across the church campus: children, teenagers, other adults attending various small groups, but we were gathered together to study, to pray, and to worship the LORD.
“Then another sign appeared in heaven:
(The Revelation to John 12: 3-5 & 7-8 & 17 NASB)
and behold,
a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns,
and on his heads were seven diadems.
And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven
and threw them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth,
so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
And she gave birth to a son,
a male child,
who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron;
and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”
. . .
“And there was war in heaven,
Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.
The dragon and his angels waged war,
and they were not strong enough,
and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.”
. . .
“So the dragon was enraged with the woman,
and went off to make war with the rest of her children,
who keep the commandments of God
and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
- We who believe, who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ are the children of God.
- We who have been redeemed, “who keep the commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” are at war with the prince of the dark.
The red dragon—Satan—hates us because he hates Jesus, the Son of God.
We are in a battle but not against flesh and blood but against darkness and spiritual forces.
Stand Firm, child of God, Clothed & Fully Armed in God’s Armor.
- God’s Armor must be worn; it is vital.
- God’s Armor must be worn, for without it, we cannot stand in the days ahead.
- God’s Armor must be worn, for it guards us against the devil’s deception and protects our heart and anchors us.
- God’s Armor must be worn by all saints of God, as we stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder forming a wall.
God’s Armor must be worn EVERY SINGLE DAY because deception is on the rise, falsehood replaces truth in the world, and evil is called good.
- Wear the Belt of Truth—absolute & unshakable, that which sustains you against deception.
- Wear the Breastplate of Righteousness—God’s Righteousness, that which guards your hearts & not your own self-righteousness.
- Shod your feet with Peace—in readiness and aligned with God, anchoring you to stand strong in Him.
- Take up the Shield of Faith—held together, side-by-side with other believers & actively shielding us, as we are in allegiance to GOD.
- Place on your head the Helmet of Salvation—guard your mind, for God’s promise protects us and promises our deliverance.
- Take up the Sword of the Spirit—wield it, allowing the precise & razor-sharp edge of the Word of God to be our only weapon.
- Finally, Pray daily—stay ever-ready, powered by the God of Truth!
The Good News reigns!
The Good News speaks truth!
The Gospel saves!
We have received ALL WE WILL EVER NEED in JESUS CHRIST!
God planned for His kingdom BEFORE creation!
He is the architect of EVERYTHING!
- God did not ‘hope’ for the best.
- God did not need a kingdom.
God’s plan began from the BEGINNING of time!
God’s plan was for believers, for the saved, to be co-heirs with Christ.
This is the BEAUTY of GOD’S LOVE!
On the day when the Lord Jesus stepped outside the temple where He had been teaching, and His disciples approached Him, inquiring what signs they should watch for, asking:
“what will be the sign of Your coming,
(The Gospel According to Matthew 24: 3b-4 & 7-14 NASB)
and of the end of the age?
And Jesus answered and said to them,
“See to it that no one misleads you.”
. . .
“For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom,
and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
Then they will deliver you to tribulation,
and will kill you,
and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
At that time many will fall away
and will betray one another
and hate one another.
Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
Because lawlessness is increased,
most people’s love will grow cold.
But the one who endures to the end,
he will be saved.
This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all the nations,
and then the end will come.”
There is a cost to following Jesus. The journey through life will not be easy. Friendships, Jobs, Family Members could be lost because of your faith. Life will not be easy, but believers in Jesus are called to speak the Truth, to live the Truth, to love within the Truth, and to walk boldly in the power found only in The God of Truth.
God’s children can only do so because they wear God’s Armor He fashioned for them before the foundation of the world existed.
God foreknew believers would be at war.
God foreknew His children would need protection from the deception and the spiritual attacks from the deceiver and enemy—from Satan and his band of fallen angels.
“Now, the LORD saw,
(The Book of Isaiah 59: 15b-17 NASB)
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.”
Daily, put on God’s Armor—
- Wear exactly what God tells us to wear.
- Step out into the spiritual battle.
- Stand Firm, Clothed & Fully Armored.
- Fight the spiritual war, wielding the Sword of the Spirit—the Word of God, the Bible.