Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18
Wrong clothes for Ironton, Ohio
Bob casual clothes to a black tie
event.
David tried on Saul’s armor – too
big.
1 Sam 17:4-7
A champion named Goliath, who was from
Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a
bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing
five thousand shekels (125 lbs); on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a
bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod,
and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels (15 lbs). His shield bearer went ahead of him.
1
Sam 17:38-51 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him
and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and
tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul,
"because I am not used to them."
So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth
stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with
his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
Meanwhile, the
Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to
David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome,
and he despised him. He said to David, "Am I a
dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed
David by his gods. "Come here," he
said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds
of the air and the beasts of the field!"
David said to the
Philistine, "You come against me with sword
and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will
hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I
will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the
beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in
Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that
the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into
our hands."
As the Philistine moved
closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the
Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell
facedown on the ground.
So David triumphed over
the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck
down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold
of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him,
he cut off his head with the sword.
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. (This suggests what is about to
take place is about His work and not ours) 11 Put on the full armor of God (This is not your armor – it is God’s armor you put on –
not like when David tried putting on Saul’s armor and it didn’t fit – God’s
armor is always a perfect fit for you) so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. (I
don’t spend a lot of time considering the Devil’s schemes-but maybe I should) 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. (Even
when struggles happen here because of other people – understand that those
struggles happen because of things happening in spiritual places. The Devil
will use the unlikely people to try and destroy you. The Devil doesn’t go
outside the church to hurt the church – he uses church people for that. Same in
your life – most of your struggles come from people close to you. What do you
do about it?)
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.
(Just what is the armor of God?)
14
Stand firm then,
with the (1) belt of truth
buckled around your waist,
with the (2)
breastplate of righteousness in place,
15
and with your (3) feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel shoes of peace.
16
In addition to all this, (4) take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all
the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17
Take the (5) helmet of salvation
and
the (6) sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep
on praying for all the saints.
Do you have all the provisions you need
when you begin your daily Unique journey?
Because many of our days are not likely
to be unique, we don’t give much thought to preparation. Oh, we may iron a
shirt or pick out matching clothes. But how prepared are we to meet the
unexpected? I don’t know about you, but I have met many unexpected things in
what I thought would be “just another day.” 18 hour trip home from Judson
CONCLUSION
God has a hero’s
welcome planned for those who wear His armor and go into battle. Winning the
battle is not the goal. Wearing His armor and going into battle is the goal.
Just like any war – many people who went into battle don’t return alive.
Therefore – simply being dressed well and going into battle makes you a victor
and assures that you will receive a hero’s welcome into heaven. Just like the way a parent or sibling or
spouse or child welcomes a veteran home from the military. As you watch this –
allow it to be a time to honor our Vets but also to realize how much God is
looking forward to welcoming you home when your Armor-dressed service in this
world is done.
VIDEO
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