The Armor of God

· When you become a Christan you become someone's enemy: satan's. He is the enemy of God. He doesn't want anyone to acknowledge or believe in God.

· Read Eph. 6:10-12

· So now we know 3 things. One, we are in a battle with a clever enemy. Two, We cannot fight him with our own strength. (We need to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.) and third, we need to put on the protection that God gives us so that we can fight the enemy without getting wounded. It is called the Armor of God.

· Ask a child to tell you all the parts to the Armor of God.

· Read Eph. 6:13-14

· The Belt of Truth. Let's talk about the Belt of Truth. Where can we find truth? There are a lot of things we can read or talk about that might be true, but there is only one truth that we can count on to live our lives by. It is the Bible. So to put on your Belt of Truth you need to read and learn God's Word. Read John 8:31-32. Lies bind us up. But the truth makes us free.

· The Breastplate of Righteousness. Did you know that satan wants to condemn you? He is called the accuser of the brethren. He wants to get you in trouble with God, by accusing you of doing wrong. The Breastplate of Righteousness protects your heart. Satan wants to put guilt into your heart to keep you from drawing near to God with confidence. Read 1 John 3:21. Don't try to make yourself righteous and good. That's like trying to wash your face with a smelly moldy rag from the kitchen sink. It stinks to God. Go to God and receive HIS righteousness.

· Boots. OK, now for our boots. Read Eph. 6:15. Jesus wants us to be ready to march right out into satan's territory, the world, and share the Good News with others. Read Mark 16:15. You can start right now.

· The Shield. Paul says in Eph. 6:16 "Above all take up the Shield of Faith." This is a very important piece of armor. This is to protect you from the arrows of doubts, fears, discouragements, temptations, evil thoughts, worries, and especially lies. When the apostle Paul talked about the Shield, he was thinking of the shields that the Roman soldiers used. They were very large, so that when they kneeled down behind it, their whole bodies would be covered. This is the way the Romans were successful in defeating their enemies. They would march toward their foes, and when the enemy fired arrows at them, they would duck behind their shields. While the enemy was re-loading their bows, the Romans would march forward again until they were right on top of their enemies. Then they would get their swords out and kill them.

· The Helmet of Salvation. Eph.6:17. This goes on your head to protect your mind against "stinking thinking." The Bible tells us in 1 Cor. 2: 16 that we have been given a new mind, even the mind of Christ.

· The Sword of the Spirit is for attack. We have the greatest power in the universe, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We need to recognize satan's words and lies and attack them with the Word of God. It takes practice to get better, just like learning to sword fight. Jesus fought the devil with the Word of God after his 40-day fast in the wilderness when satan tempted him. We should do as Jesus did.



In Eph 6:18 we are told to watch and pray. That means keeping a look out for the enemy and staying in communication with our commander, God, through prayer.