Whose Armor Are You Wearing?

Luk 11:21-22

(21) When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

(22) But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

Clank, Clank, Clank the army of souls goes marching into God's house each week. Their helmets gleaming, swords sharpened, shields held high. Soldiers of the Lord you say? Wearing the Armor of the Lord? Some are, but when we read the book of Luke, we find there is another armor. The devil's armor. Everyone has on a spiritual armor, but the question I want to ask you is:

Whose armor are you wearing?

In Ephesians we find that God gives Christians His armor. Knowing the devil often imitates God's methods and that from our bible reading he has an armor, we can imagine that as God clothes Christians with His armor, the devil gives his armor to those he wants to "protect" from the power of God.

If he can't keep you from the house of God, then he wants to put his armor on you so that you will not come into full contact with God's power.

When Paul describes the armor of God, he began with the waistbelt of truth, the devil's armor would be the belt of lies. He is even called a liar and the father of lies. One Greek word used for the devil is diabolos, which means slanderer. Slander is defined as false statements injurious to a person's reputation. God desires truth in the inward parts, and the devil delights in lies, false accusations and slander.

The slander and lies told about God, His church, His preachers and His believers, sometimes keep others from receiving the truth.

God gives us a breastplate of righteousness, and the devil gives his people a breastplate of unrighteousness. Their sins and iniquities separate them from God. They love their sin so much, they don't want to let it go. One lady told a friend of mine "I would rather die and go to hell then give up this relationship!"

God gives His sons and daughters a helmet of salvation, but the devil clothes his children with a helmet of destruction. Saying: "You are going to die and go to hell anyway, you might as well live it up." or "It is too late for you, don't even try." He endeavors to get that person to destroy themselves literally or through a destructive lifestyle.

God's soldiers are wearing gospel shoes, prepared to do His work, and the minions of the enemy are ready to do evil Prov. 1:16 "For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood"

The warriors of the Lord are protected with a shield of faith, but doubt, suspicion and unbelief form the shield that keeps the enemy's people "shielded" from God.

The weapon in the hand of the Christian is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The words of the devil, prompted to the minds of humanity becomes the weapon fighting against the gospel. If the Word of the Lord is pure, converting the soul, the enemies words are impure, confirming the soul in it's situation.

My goal is not to lift up what the enemy is doing, but to point out his tactics so that you may examine yourself and see if you are indeed wearing his armor, and if it is keeping you from receiving all that God wants for you.

God is never limited, and there are times His arrows pierce between "the joints and the harness" of any armor. Other times people wonder why they are hindered, perhaps this could be part of the reason.

Part 2 tomorrow

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