Armor Of God Lesson Revised

For those of you expecting standard stuff from me in this blog post, this is a bit different than what I would normally write.

Glad we’ve got that covered.

***

Somehow encourage the kids to read the passage.

The Armor of God 

Eph. 6:10-17 NIV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

***

We’ve  talked about standing firm in our faith.  It is important to be strong in the Lord because, believe it or not there is a spiritual battle going on.  When Jesus died on the cross and was raised three days later, He conquered deah and the devil.  However, the devil didn’t like this and he tries everything he can to try to convince us to stop following Jesus and follow him instead.  This is the hope as far as the devil or Satan is concerned.  The thing about the devil is that he’s a liar.

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:44 NIV

Nothing Satan claims to have to offer has any lasting value, but he’ll try anything he can (the devil’s schemes) to try to convince us to switch sides.  The reason for this is that Satan hates Jesus, and by extension any of us who follow Him.  Fortunately, God has not left us to fend for ourselves in this fight.  He has given us armor so that we won’t just get run over by the devil and his sometimes very convincing attempts to make us switch sides.

The Belt of Truth
Every word in the Bible is God breathed and as true now as it ever was.  We can rely on it today as much as ever.  We have an advantage that we live in a time when the whole Bible has already been written.  And we live in a place where having a Bible is not banned, so we can read it whenever we want without having to worry about consequences.  When we dig into scripture we learn about God’s general will for our lives, how He wants us to live.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10 NIV

These are the words of Jesus.  Satan is a thief.  If we follow him, he’ll only lead us to death and destruction, even if life at the current time seems to be really great.

Feet Fitted With Readiness
We have the hope the world is looking for.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 NIV

God doesn’t want us to be selfish and keep it to ourselves.

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

It may not always be easy.  You may not even want to share what God has done for you (and for everyone else who believes in Him for that matter) but if we learn to look at things the way God does we may begin to understand why this is so important to Him.  The other option is eternal separation from Him.  Hell is real, and you don’t want to go there.  No matter how enticing Satan tries to make it seem.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
When we follow God’s will for our lives and live in a way that pleases Him that is part of what righteousness is.  Here’s the catch though, We don’t actually have any righteousness of our own.

When Jesus died ,took our sins upon himself, and rose again, He gave us His righteousness in exchange.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:22-23 NIV

The Shield of Faith
As we grow in our relationship with God, we can see over time how He provides for us, stretches us, causes us to grow through discipline.  God’s faithfulness time and time again, even when things don’t go how we planned is another way we can stand firm against Satan’s attempts to snatch us.  When we read the Bible, we can see how God worked in the lives of others.  He can do the same for us too.

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 1:20:21

Faith takes perseverance, life is long, and sometimes difficult things will happen, but in the end it’s worth it.  Not just for living forever, but one day we will finally get to be with Jesus and live with God forever as he originally intended, in heaven, a place without sin, where God’s will is accomplished every day.

Helmet of Salvation
The Helmet of Salvation gives us peace of mind. Like regular helmet keeps our head secure. when we believe in Jesus and the work that He did for us on the cross, we can trust that the Lord has taken care of our end game, no matter what the devil tries to do to us.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 NIV

Sword of the Spirit
Memorizing scripture is important as you may need to lean on it at a time when you can’t look it up fast enough.  In Matthew 4,  Jesus went out into the desert for 40 days.  Satan tried to tempt im with all sorts of things.  Same as he tries to do with us, but every time, Jesus used scripture from the Old Testament to ward him off.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7 NIV

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

No Armor for the Back!
I always found this interesting.  Every piece of armor described covers the front, but it would seem that if we were to turn away from the fight, we’d be leaving our back exposed to FLAMING ARROWS!  Fortunately, even though the battle can get very tough.  It doesn’t say anywhere that we’re fighting it on our own.  If we are on God’s side, He is with us, fighting for us.

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 NIV

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20 NIV

We are not alone in this.  Not by a long shot.

So… What’s the point?
We are made in the Image of God.  Thanks to the fall of creation in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve, the first humans God created, chose to go their own way instead of God’s, we all have that pull for the entire time since.  In spite of that, as Christians we become part of the family of God with God as our Heavenly Father, God calls us to be set apart.

14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

1 Peter 1:14-15 NIV

This is not an easy task.  Especially when you have friends at school strongly advising you to do and try everything but that.  This is why God gives us the armor.  This is why we need it today as much, perhaps even more than ever before.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *