Fighting tools

I’ve been recently been thinking upon and chewing upon the verses and even claiming some of the verses and Scriptures that have to do with the Armor of God.  In Ephesians 6, it mentions the Armor of God,

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

This is one of the most profound passages of Scriptures found in the Bible.  While Paul was in prison, he got inspiration while looking at a Roman Soldier.  You can take some time and research some sermons about that.  But what I want to talk about actually is the connection between this passage and Psalm 91.

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

¹ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
  And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

In vs. 2, the Bible talks about the refuge and fortress.  The refuge is a shelter and fortress and is a strongtower, and in God, not just God, but our own personal relationship we have with God, we are to trust. A snare can even mean a trap, and in some cases it means calamity.    In vs. 4 it talks about wings and feathers, and I’ve heard it mentioned that this refers to the Talit, or Prayer Shawl, that Jesus used when He was walking around and the woman just touched the hem of His garment.

Psalm 91 talks about those that dwell particularly in the Secret Place, under the shadow of the Almighty.  The Almighty is actually the name El Shaddai, for God.  God Almighty, means the many breasted, or One who provides nourishment to our souls.  This is the same God Almighty mentioned in Revelation 1:8-

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”says the Lord,“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Imagine a mother Eagle, who protects her children under the shadow of her wings.  This is the same way God Almighty protects us under the shadow of His wings.  Under that shadow is safety.

The shield and buckler, is composed of two things – there is a shield of faith, which is actually the size of a door and then there’s the buckler, which is a smaller shield, and is used for victory, or for decoration.  This shield helps quench the fiery darts of the wicked one, but that takes take daily preparation and the renewing of your mind with the Word of God.  You have to know what the Word of God says to be able to use it because it is a great weapon.  Sometimes if you cannot pray anything at all, I would suggest memorizing and/or reading Psalm 91.

Ephesians 6 talks about the loin belt of truth and that is the Word of God.  Jesus is the Word and Truth.  As one preacher put it, He is the Word that came down and wrapped flesh around it.  That doesn’t mean that there was a Bible in heaven.  But there was a Person, who was the Word, and He is revealed through logos and rhema. He is your loin belt, so that mean He’s holding you up so you won’t fall.  He’s got His arms around your waist and the most intimate parts, because that is where you seek intimacy through the loin belt of truth.  It’s like He’s hugging you around your waist and He’s protecting you.

You must trust God, because He is trustworthy, to the extreme exponential power, and there are times where the enemy tries to put doubts in your head, like “Can God really be for real?”  or “I don’t understand what’s going on.”  That’s the best time to put your faith and trust in God.  When you have the Holy Spirit in you, He will lead you to trust God, but that also takes time with Him.  Sometimes it is just getting to know who this Person is living inside of you when you become born again, and you must be careful not to grieve Him.  One thing I have to say, that I have learned recently, is that the Holy Spirit is not about emotion, and is not defined by emotion.  You don’t have to have a feeling to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.  He is still inside you and unless you blaspheme Him, then He will stay with you because He promised to never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5-6)

There are two ways primarily the enemy attacks us, it’s either physically, or in our thought life.  There’s financial as well, and if we sow and reap properly, and believe God for just what we need as our provider, then He is gracious enough to supply.  I can’t really comment on the financial aspect of it from my own experience, so I can’t go much into detail about that.  When it’s physically, if we have the proper thought life, through the daily renewing of the mind with the Word of God, and have the faith to believe God for healing and rejoice through the sufferings, then that fiery dart is quenched.

If that doesn’t work, then the enemy will try the mind.  He will start to put thoughts in your mind, which can be based on doubt, or fear, or unbelief, and then the enemy starts to see how you will be able to unravel, and how he can tear you to pieces.  So you have to be prepared with tools and the right armor.  I want to mention something first about praying in the Spirit.  We know that there is praying in tongues, and there is praying the Word of God.  When you want to fight effectively, it is better to use the Word of God because you know exactly what you are standing on and it builds faith, but when you want to develop intimacy, or intercede for others, then some people may prefer to pray in tongues because then you are building up what is on the inside and praying the will of the Father.   In both cases you are praying the will of the Father.   So when you are in this position and you don’t know what to do and you are struggling to find a way out of this battle, get to your secret place, and start looking through Scripture.  Psalm 91 is a good place to start, the whole Bible is full of them.

When you are under full attack, and you feel like you’re about to lose your helmet, your shoes, your belt, your shield, your loin belt, your sword, your breastplate, you can’t seem to pray, just go back to the Cross, and remember one thing about Jesus-

¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Heavenly Father I pray,

For all the people undergoing oppression right now, that they may experience release from that oppression in their bodies and over their minds, and I call to them a peace and a steadfast faith that helps them endure during these times.  Let them live on the promises of Psalm 91 and get to know the Holy Spirit more and more and get to a deeper more intimate walk with You Lord God.  Help us to protect and guard our minds with Your Word which is sent forth like a two-edged Sword, to defeat the enemy, and we know that the battle is already won, and that the victory is just around the corner.  Help them to know that there is no where they can go or nothing that they can think that can tear them from the love of God, that His love surpassess all understanding.  Help them to know the width, the breadth, the depth and the height of love so that they can adequately be obedient to Your Word, and not sin against You Lord God. Enhance our prayer lives, and Help us to see more and more of Your Presence Lord God.  Be with us as we walk everyday.  I thank You Lord God, for blessing Your people and making Yourself known among them.

In Jesus Mighty Name I pray.

Amen.