The Armor of God: Being Ready For Anything
By: Angela Gillaspie © 2004-2009
This piece is geared for kids in grades 6-12Forewarned is forearmed. This means that folks that know something is coming are better prepared to face it than others. Meteorologists let us know when tornadoes, floods, and other inclement weather approaches not because it's cool to stand in front of that neat screen with all the radars, but to save our lives and property.
For example, school administrators protected you by closing schools last week because Hurricane Ivan was bringing potential flooding, wind damage, and reporters from the Weather Channel running amok. Each of you sitting here is safe because of the net of protection cast by your parents.
Your parents and teachers protect you up to a certain point, but after that it's up to you to protect yourself. When God created you, he gave you a body that would almost take care of itself. Your cuts scab over, you sneeze out pollen, you get hunger pangs before you starve, etc.
Can you name other ways that your body protects itself?
In addition to a healthy immune system, God also gave you this thing called free will that allows you to choose your own path. Being a Christian today is harder than ever before because of all the temptations. Violence is freely available on our television screens, radios, and Internet.
What are some good and bad choices that you can make?
With all these choices, how can you protect YOU? One way to help strengthen your Christian muscle is to put on the armor of God.
According to Ephesians 6, there are six pieces of armor:
God's armor is more than a protective covering - it is the very life of Jesus Himself. When you arm yourself, you are hidden in Jesus and protected by Him. In John 15:5, Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Ready to get armed? Let's go!
First we put on the Belt of Truth, "gird your waist with truth." Back then, soldiers girded or encircled their waists with a belt, from which hung strips of leather to protect the lower body. So to gird means to fasten, secure, or encircle with a belt. Truth is considered crucial by Paul because a dishonest Christian cannot hope to withstand Satan. He said in Ephesians 4:15, "But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ." Truth is integrity, a life of practical truthfulness and honesty. Integrity is the steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
What is the truth? God is the only God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of the universe, my Father who loves me, and my Shepherd who leads me. God is God - we're not. Neither are Momma, Daddy, Uncle Fred, or that really cool X-box game you got last week. God is our wisdom, counselor, hope, and our strength.
Choosing truth can be hard and sometimes we may not know the difference between good and bad. Since God gives us free will to choose what path to take, you can choose to cheat on a math exam, to give in to temptation, or not. You make the decision - that's your free will - but praying before the decision opens your heart and mind to God's will. After your decision, you will still be you. Will you like the You that walks away after that decision?
Prayer: Psalm 18:1-3, "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies."
How will you use your belt of truth?
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THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Next, we'll grab our Breastplate of Righteousness, to "put on the Breastplate of Righteousness." Roman soldiers wore breastplates made of hard leather or metal that went completely around the body so that their front and back were protected. Righteousness is the practical, honorable character and deeds of Christians, not necessarily a person with a pad and pencil writing down every good and bad thing we do.
In Romans, Paul discusses righteousness as the correct relationship between God and a person or between God and His people. God's chosen people, the Israelites were given a set of rules, the Ten Commandments, but like you learned in Sunday School, the Israelites failed to obey. They weren't righteous. Sure God wanted them to obey the rules, but more than anything, He wanted remorseful, humbled hearts that truly loved Him.
The Israelites, Gentiles, Jews and lots of other folks never could get this righteous thing down, and then Jesus came. He alone is the only one who is truly righteous and He has offered us a way out of our tendency to sin. By placing our faith and trust in Jesus, we can be righteous.
Romans 4:5 says, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." This means that we can have a righteousness that has nothing to do with our own good works but instead relies on Jesus' sinless life and His death for our sins. So you see, God forgives us and declares us righteous because of our identification by faith with the righteousness of His Son.
God keeps His promises to us. For us to maintain righteousness, we have the responsibility of showing God's love and promises to our friends, family, and neighbors.
How can you show your Breastplate of Righteousness?
Study verses: Philippians 3:7-10, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
Prayer: "Thank you for showing me the truth about myself--that on my own I could never be good enough to live in your presence. Thank you for taking my sins to the cross and offering me your righteous life. Lord, show me any sin that I need to confess right now, so that nothing will hinder me from being filled to overflowing with your Spirit. Thank you for forgiving me and for filling me with your righteous life."
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Ephesians 6:15 states, "and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Roman soldiers wore thick studded leather sandals and Paul's reference to the Sandals of Peace was that Christians should be ready to go out to defend and spread the gospel of peace.
When you stand, notice that your feet support your body and that you have shoes that protect your feet. If you didn't wear shoes, would you be able to walk as far? Run as fast? Stand as long? Probably not.
Just as our footwear protects our feet, we should protect our walk with the gospel of peace.
Peace is to have confidence in something or to put your faith in something that you believe in 100%. Peace also suggests of being a perfect whole. There is no pain, stress, or ugliness. The word Shalom means the same as peace and is used as a greeting, a blessing, and as an oath.
We automatically have peace as Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Of course, many times we forget that we have peace and go off the deep end. Satan uses this to hurt us. There have been times when I've been down and felt totally alone, but there was One who saw me through and He continues to hold me.
Ephesians 2:14 beautifully states, "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility." And John 14:27 says this about peace, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I'll put on my Sandals of the Gospel of Peace. Your Word says 'Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God,' so help me walk in your peace and thank you for the peace you've given me. Show me how to help others find that peace. Amen.
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"In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." Ephesians 6:16
A Roman soldier's shield was normally two and a half feet by four feet, fireproof, and covered the entire armor. This shield was protection against everything an enemy could throw at it including arrows, spears and fire.
The definition of faith is to trust, to believe, or to have a firm persuasion. To have faith is to give up trust in oneself and to place that trust in someone else. An example of faith is 1 Peter 1:7, "These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." As gold is made pure by intense heat, so is the purity of our faith revealed as the result of the fiery trials we face. The testing of our faith proves our final salvation plus increases our ability to bring glory to Jesus when He comes to reign.
Kids need their Shield of Faith more than ever today. The "fiery arrows" that Satan throws can be access to drugs, alcohol, porn, and making bad decisions like smoking, promiscuity and participating in the occult, and even victimizing kids using predators, terrorists, and drunk drivers.
We need to put our constant trust in God, His word, and His promises. God told Abram in Genesis, 15:1, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." David sang in Psalms 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I have faith in you because you are my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in you. Thank you Lord for protecting me against Satan; you're my help, my glory, and my savior. Amen.
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The second to last piece of armor is the Helmet of Salvation. All through the ages, the helmet has been an important part of armor no matter of the soldier was Roman, Persian, Japanese, or American. The helmet has two purposes, to protect the head and to make the soldier appear taller and more imposing.
The head needs protection because it is the control center regulating heartbeat, vision, growth, and many other things that are critical to the body. You think with your head and make decisions and the greatest battlefield of all time is your mind. You may have already made the decision to accept Christ and Satan wants to deceive you into thinking that if you commit a bad enough sin, your salvation is lost. This isn't true because if you have the smallest desire to return to Jesus, you can.
Salvation is being delivered from pain, danger, etc., plus enjoying the consequent victory and security. In the Bible, salvation is referred to God's deliverance and His saving acts. In addition, salvation can also be used as a military victory. Psalm 62:1 states it best, "Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation."
The Helmet of Salvation is needed to protect you and your mind from evil thoughts and actions. Remember that God promises you both daily and eternal salvation.
Prayer: Lord, as I put on my Helmet of Salvation I praise you and thank you for loving me and claiming me as your own. Please protect my mind from evil thoughts and help me keep my focus on you. Amen.
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THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IN GOD'S WORD
"And take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17
The Sword of the Spirit is the Bible - God's word. The Sword of the Spirit isn't necessarily the Bible as a whole, but specific scripture that needs to be used for specific circumstances, and in order to use the best scripture you need to know the Bible well.
Of all six pieces of armor, the sword is the only offensive weapon. Throughout the ages, only the strongest and purest metals were used to make swords to ensure that the blade was strong, sharp and efficient. Any additives weakened the integrity of the sword. Soldiers historically have used their swords to defend and protect.
As swords are created from strong and pure metals - we should use strong and pure scripture that isn't watered down and weakened with denominational biases and prejudiced additives. After Bible study and prayer, we can quickly use the right words.
In Ephesians 6:20, God gives us the authority to use his words because we are ambassadors of Christ. You're authorized!
When do you need to use your Sword of the Spirit? Here are some situations and scripture:
Prayer: Lord, I pull out the Sword of the Spirit and thank you for providing me scriptures. Show me the ones you want me to use to slice through deceptions and gain victory for you in any battle - physically, spiritually, or mentally that I may face today. I'm ready to release my anger at you and surrender my life to you. Thank you for breaking my bondage to Satan and the world and I pray that I'll crave more to hear from you and to draw from your word. Amen!
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