10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints… Ephesians 6:10-18
God’s word is wonderful. If God speaks, He uses things that we are familiar with so that what He says make sense.
This text starts with finally… there is the start and the end to the faith. Today we will look at the final aspect of the life of faith. There are many people who want to be Christians. They start well but end badly. If you drive along the roads there are many scrap cars without wheels or windows and they become pieces of rusted iron. Some cars veered off the road and ended in the bush. Paul refers to being shipwrecked…in those days there were no cars. Ships were the main mode of transport. A smashed car represents a Christian who has been shipwrecked. A person may buy an expensive car but he does not travel far and he has an accident. Sometimes the driver dies and the car is smashed. Sometimes the car is smashed, but the driver is saved. People can be maimed because of car accidents. They can lose a leg. Many people start the faith but along the way they have an accident and become a scrap.
We must put on all the pieces of armour so that we have power against the devil’s schemes. We do not fight against flesh and blood, but some do for example: if a child is ill, they will find out from the witchdoctor who caused the illness. A smoker may have a chest problem and the witchdoctor says that his neighbour has caused the problem but it is the smoker himself who is to blame. An alcoholic may damage his liver and kidneys. Then he is asked where he drank last and the person who served him alcohol is blamed for poisoning the drink meanwhile the drinker himself is the cause of his ailments. This may be heathendom, but it is terrible if you find this among Christians. Christians do not do fortune telling but ‘prophesy’. They say they are prophesying but, in the meantime, all they are doing is fortune telling. The reason for the bad luck in your life is because so and so hates you. If you dig at the entrance, you will find a bottle of muti. In a particular church, things were not going well, and someone suggested that they dig around to see if someone had cast a spell against them and they found a bottle of muti. The very person who suggested that they dig was the one who planted it there. We can laugh at the ignorance of people.
People fight against flesh and blood. They will not even drink tea with their neighbours. How terrible if believers do not visit one another because they have things against one another. The believers say, ‘How can I be a Christian with such a husband/wife?’ They fight against flesh and blood. A white man asked me how he could be a Christian with the blacks as they are. Blacks have said that they cannot be a Christian with the whites as they are. The devil gets things back to front and a person believes his enemy is his fellow man. The word says we do not fight against flesh and blood but against Satan. Man may have the power to kill you, but Jesus said do not fear man who can kill you and afterwards do nothing. You ought to fear God. Understand that it is not the person who is your enemy, he is driven by a spirit.
We struggle against the rulers, authorities and powers of darkness in this world. There are strong forces in the heavenly realms - Satan and his evil forces. He has his generals and leaders. He is their god and king. Satan is the god of the world. One day, Daniel was praying with a broken heart, for 21 days. After that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Daniel, man of God, the very first day you started praying, your prayer was heard by the God of heaven and He sent me to give you the answer. But while I was on my way, the Prince of Persia met me and I could not get passed him. The Archangel Gabriel helped me and with his help I was able to get passed.’ Can you believe that the angel wanted to bring a reply but because of that power he was hindered? Satan puts demons of different ranks on earth. They do his bidding in various places. That angel that appeared to Daniel seems to be like the Lord Himself. His appearance was like lightning and Daniel fell prostrate. This angel said to Daniel that on the very first day God heard his prayer but demonic forces prevented him from coming to Daniel with a reply.
This word says we do not struggle against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities and powers of darkness. We fight against Satan. Our struggle is a battle. The Bible says fight the good fight of the faith. Living the life of faith is a fight against Satan himself. We need to put on the full armour of God so that the devil does not easily knock us down.
There was a Jewish high priest who had 7 sons. They cast out evil spirits. Then they heard that God was working through Paul. If Paul’s handkerchiefs were laid on people, they were healed and spirits left them. These men went to see that was going on. When they saw Paul preaching and what God did through him, they wanted his gospel because it was the real thing. This gospel delivers people. Then they met a person who was troubled by evil spirits, and they said to the demon, ‘We bind you by the name of Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’ The demon answered them and said, ‘We know Jesus and Paul but who are you?’ That demon possessed man jumped onto the men and left them naked and injured. The sons realised that this was no game. When the Jews and Greeks heard this, fear came over them. They made their lives right because they realised if their lives were not right Satan would get the better of them.
God’s word says we need to take up the full armour of God so that on the evil day we can stand our ground. Days are not the same. There are difficult days when we need to stand. The life of faith means you must fight the fight of faith. If there is war, the men sleep outside somewhere. They sleep lightly, they move around carefully, and they are on the watch. A person who is at war does not live the normal domestic life.
When a soldier goes to war, he takes his weapons. He puts on the full armour. There must be a shield. Some weapons are for defense and some for attack. If he is not armed, he will be easy prey. The reason the devil gets hold of so many Christians is because they are unarmed. Some ask the minister to lay hands on them so that they will have power to overcome the devil. The Lord may bless the minister’s hands, but that person must carry the weapons himself. A person may say I am troubled by lust, anger, alcohol, please pray that the Lord may deliver me. That has its place, but the hands of the minister cannot take the place of the armour you must put on. You must put on all the weapons if you do not do so you will be an easy prey for Satan.
Goliath was a giant and David was a young boy. When they met face to face, David had a good view of Goliath from his head to his feet. He was covered in armour. He had a breastplate, a helmet, a shield. He said to David, ‘Who do you think I am? Am I a dog that you come to me with a stick, a sling and stones? What do you think I am?’ David had a good look at Goliath and he noticed that there was armour everywhere except in one spot - his forehead. He aimed for that spot with his sling. He knew no other place would be effective. David’s stone hit his head like a bullet and knocked him down. David cut off his head with his own sword. Be careful that that which David did to Goliath, Satan does not do to you – where he takes the word of God, your sword, and cuts off your head.
The Bible says finally be strong in the Lord…devil. Satan has his schemes. You do not know from which angle he will come. You must be protected all over so that you can take your stand against him. Men of God were powerful, but they had a weakness which Satan exploited. Take Samson for example. He was powerful. He fought and conquered bears and lions. He carried the gates of his city, but he had a weakness and the devil exploited it. Read about the kings in the Old Testament. Many began well and ended badly. Saul, the first king of Israel was an amazing man. He ran like a deer in the mountain, he was a hero among heroes but what a sad death he died. He was a man amongst men but he opened a gap for the devil and he got hold of him.
The demon possessed man who jumped on the 7 sons of Sceva said, ‘Paul I know, Jesus I know but who are you?’ The devil knows what you are like and where you stand. We must be complete and put on the armour of God so that the devil will not find a gap. The devil will not come once or twice but come many times as he did with Jesus. Jesus resisted him repeatedly and then the devil gave up and the angels came and served Him. The very first thing that happened after Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted. We pray lead us not into temptation but there must be temptation. There must be stumbling blocks but woe to the person through whom they come. Through trials and temptations, we grow spiritually and get stronger. If a tree is always protected from the wind, it will never grow strong but look at the tree on the plain with deep roots and a thick trunk because it was buffeted by the wind.
Some Christians fall but that is not Biblical. Christinas should stand no matter what the attack. It is wonderful to conquer, when you realise that the devil failed to defile you and make you sin and you were victorious. It is wonderful and sweet to be a Cristian.
There are various temptations from the devil. You do not know what you will meet up with today. The devil can come through your child, your parent. You do not fight against the child or parent but the devil. Even if someone stabs you, it is the devil attacking you, otherwise you will have grudges and it is terrible to have grudges. You may get home after church and your rooster has been stolen - it is the devil who fights you. You may have a wonderful car that you look after and someone bashes it??; you call your child, and he does not show respect, what is your heart like?
In the Garden of Eden, Satan came to Eve through the serpent; he came to Adam through Eve. In all these temptations where the devil comes to you, the Lord has weapons with which to conquer. Put on the full armour of God. No member of your body should be unprotected. You may put on armour but leave your tongue unprotected then the devil can get you through your tongue because there are no reigns on it. You may have armour on but your hands are not covered and your hand can steal. If you do not have shoes on, the devil will get you through your feet. He will throw thorns in your path or put broken glass under your feet. You must have all the armour of God on.
The weapons are truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the word of God, prayer and pleading, watching. All these things must be in your life otherwise the devil will get hold of you. Do not put your trust in your minister, the devil will still get hold of you. The minister cannot accompany you to the bathroom and that’s where the devil will get hold of you. You must be covered from your head to your feet.
Truth. Have you put it on or are there lies in your life? You will not be victorious; you will be defeated. The devil will get hold of you. Expect nothing good from the devil. He will destroy your life. There are people who ill-treat others and they earn their wages in stones but your wages from Satan will be thorns. If you work for the Lord, He will give you a good reward but do not expect anything good from Satan. In hell he will turn you around with his fork. He will appear as a friend; he does his marketing very well but he is deceitful. Satan deceived Eve and told her that God is withholding something good from her. She believed Satan. She believed that God was evil and Satan was good. When Satan had deceived her into eating the fruit, it dawned on her and she realised she was naked. She and Adam hid themselves because they had lost all the glory God had clothed them with. God expelled them from the garden, and He placed an angel with a flaming sword to keep them out. They had to go where there was suffering and thorns. Eve believed she had found a friend in Satan to lift her out of her misery, give her a high position and wonderful promises but in the end, she had to bring forth a child in pain. That child also ended up in the grave through the hands of his brother. All those tears began when Eve listened to Satan. God said that her husband would give her a hard time but despite that she would long for him. She was living a wonderful life in harmony in the garden, but the devil offered her something better than what she thought she had and in the end she lost it all.
I remember my Dad planted maize and harvested bags full. One man was quite strong and he would run with the bags and sweat profusely complaining that it was all Adam’s fault!
Satan tempted Adam through his wife. He did not test it. He was not watchful. He swallowed what she gave him. Always test to see whether things are from God or not. Adam should have asked her whether she had taken the fruit from the tree God had forbidden them to eat from. Had he done that he would have been a real man. Maybe then God would have expelled Eve only and Adam could have asked the Lord to make a way so that Eve could return. Adam did not watch and wait and both were expelled.
The first weapon is the truth. Is your life truth? Is there some area where there is a lie? You may have confessed your sin and you added lies to make it sound better. There is no blessing on your confession. The devil realises that you have told a lie, he will follow you and get hold of you because of that.
The breastplate of righteousness. In your heart there must only be that which is right. Look at your life, is it righteous? Is there nothing crooked in your life? When you make a decision or do something but deep down you know that it is not right - put on righteousness so that whatever you do is right before God. Child, the way you treat or speak to your parents, ask whether it is right before God. Do not put anything that is not right on your chest otherwise Satan can get into that place. Put on the breastplate of righteousness so that you know whatever you do it is righteous before God. If you do something and you feel it is not right, but continue, you put on unrighteousness. Satan will get you there. He will be on top and you will be at the bottom. On the evil day you will not be victorious but defeated.
Put the helmet of salvation on your head. In your head is your brain. If the devil can strike your head, it will be your end. There must be salvation there. Satan can reach you through evil thoughts. You need to put on salvation and say, ‘I am a child of God who has been saved. I must live this kind of a life, not that kind.’ Put on the whole armour of God.
A person who goes to war without weapons will be defeated. One person went to war and became drowsy on duty and fell asleep. The enemy came softly and woke him up. The enemy took him by surprise, killed him and cut him into pieces. Some body parts were taken to the witchdoctor for potion. This person fell asleep in battle.
Will you also just become a plaything of the devil? The devil is a thief. He has come to rob, destroy and kill. This is all the devil has in mind for you. The devil has nothing good in mind. He wants to destroy and kill you. Maybe he got you once but now he will get you. When the devil brings you something say, ‘Yes, I can hear what you are saying. I can see your tail, horns and hooves. What will be the end of what you are offering me?’ When Satan came to Jesus, He answered him. Do not just accept anything the devil brings. Answer the devil. Do not be like a cheap girl who agrees to marry any boy who offers. Do not give in to the devil like that.
One person prayed and asked the Lord to lead and guide her and that His will would be done in her life. As she prayed, there was a knock at the door. She opened the door and a Jehovah’s Witness walked in and said, ‘God has sent me to you to tell you that there is no hell.’ The person said, ‘Thank you so much I just asked the Lord to send His people to me and now you tell me that there is no hell.’ What foolishness is that? You must discern. When someone comes, discern whether the person is on God’s side or the devil’s side. When Joshua led God’s nation, he met a man near Jericho. Joshua asked the man, ‘Are you for us or against us?’ Joshua was a wise soldier, and he was armed. Someone else might attack the person not realising that he is a friend. Someone else might welcome the person, not realising that he is an enemy. I am speaking about a spiritual battle. We do not spill blood. That is evil.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Satan will come to you, but God will not allow him to tempt you above what you can bear. When Satan comes with his temptation, look for that way of escape. If you take it, you will be saved otherwise Satan will play around with you like a cat plays with a mouse. Have you seen a cat play with a mouse? You eventually feel sorry for the mouse. The cat will bite the mouse and let go for a while. The mouse will try and run away, and then the cat will catch it and hit it with its paw. The cat watches the mouse. It will catch the mouse and hit it again. The cat will bite the mouse and let it go. In the end the eyes of the mouse are blood red. Eventually the mouse just stands still, stunned, insane, confused. Just put a mouse with a cat and that will be a picture of you when Satan plays with you.
A believer can become so confused by Satan that he eventually wants to kill himself. He does not know what he is living for. He wants to jump into the sea or from the top story of a building. The top of the Eiffel tower in Paris can be reached with a lift. The area is closed with glass and barriers to protect people from suicide. One day a person jumped from the tower onto a moving car and he did not die. It was a miracle. It was not God’s will for him to die. Why do whites want to commit suicide? Satan plays with them like a cat with a mouse. God does not want you to live that kind of a life.
Put on the whole armour of God. If there is deceit, or anything else, you have not the armour on. God wants his people to be more than conquerors. No matter what wave they meet up with, they should ride the wave. Be on the top not the bottom. Put on the whole armour of God. Flee from evil. Pray that the Lord may not lead you into temptation and do not lead yourself into temptation.