February 26, 2009

So  we started a new home group (college age bible study) the other night, and we started a study on the armor of God. It was pretty cool. At first I was just like, “ok, another study on the armor of God. I’ve heard it before but who knows, maybe God will bring out something new” lo and behold, He did.

We started talkin about the first part of it. Heres what was read.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.¹²For 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. ¹³Therefore 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. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,” - Ephesians 6:10-14

So we read through that and the question was asked ” What really stood out to you about these couple of verses” and so being the ADD person I am, I reread it and right off the bat the very first line grabs my brain. It says “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

Now, I don’t know how many of you guys have studied the armor of the Lord or have read these verses, but the majority of this passage is about putting on the armor of God and the detail of its pieces. But this time it was different. That line stood out to me so much and it was pretty much telling me, “Before anything, before you can even put on the armor of God, before you can even step foot out onto the battle field, your heart needs to be in the right place. Your mind and strength HAVE to be tempered, trained and exercised in Gods knowledge and power.” To me this opened up a whole landscape of new thoughts. Can we get out there as cowards? Can we get out there not prepared for a fight? Can we get out there and face this “war” if our heart isn’t ready to face it?

I don’t know if you’ve ever played any contact sports where it requires you to wear any kind of protection equipment (i.e. football, hockey, lacrosse) but that stuff is made for you to wear and get out there to do work. But what if you don’t have a heart to play? What if your mind isn’t in the right place come game time? You can put on all the equipment in the world, you could even have all the best equipment in the world, but if your heads not in the game, if your heart isn’t in to win , your not goin anywhere. This is exactly what I think Paul is telling us to be cautious of in Ephesians. He says “Finally” “in conclusion” “a final word” be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Get your heart straight with Gods, get your mind in tune with Gods, be on the same page, strengthen your self IN HIM. THEN put on your armor, Then get out there.

First be ready to fight. Have a heart to fight. Know your enemy cuz your enemy knows you well. Very well. It says “¹²For 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.” This is a power who has been at work for a long time and they know what they are doing. They know the ins and outs, and are just WAITING for you to drop guard or come to the fight with out a piece of your armor. So get your head on straight before you go out. Have the heart to fight, before you get into the war.