Salvation literally means saved, or delivered. It is taken from the Greek word soterios, which means to be saved, to be delivered from danger, and to be brought to a safe place.  Salvation has saved us from our sin, salvation is delivering us from darkness, and salvation will give us total freedom from sin.

As we put on the last piece of armor, let us review what we have put on up to this point.

• We have the breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith, designed to protect us, give us the courage, confidence and assurance, so we can move forward in the worst of times.
• We have our shoes of peace to enable us to enforce and demonstrate Satan’s defeat.
• All of this is connected to the loin belt of truth. Without this central piece of spiritual armor the other pieces of armor cannot function properly.

Now we will look into the helmet of salvation.

Take up the helmet of salvation . . . (Eph. 6:17)

The Roman soldier’s helmet was a very ornate and intricate piece of weaponry.

• Rather than being a simple piece of metal, it was highly decorated with all kinds of engravings and etchings.
• It also had a huge plume of brightly colored feathers, or horsehair, that stood straight up out of the top of the helmet.
• These helmets undoubtedly made the Roman soldiers easily identifiable on the battle field.
• It also defended against the battle axe of the enemy.

By using this example, Paul is telling us, when a person is confident of their salvation, they are noticeable.

The helmet of salvation guards the most influential organ in this invisible war, our mind.

• Most of the battle is in our thought life – that is where Satan can manipulate us towards his ends.
• Satan knows that our mind is the control center of our life. If he is going to attack us, he must start in our mind.
• If he can get a foothold there, he can move beyond that.
• If he can distort our thoughts, our emotions, and our knowledge, then our behaviors and relationships will fall the way he wants them to.

When we put on our helmet of salvation it protects our mind from attacks of the enemy.

• It is imperative that we keep God’s Word in our mind, and keep Satan’s lies out of it.
• Our intellectual understanding, and comprehension of salvation, and all that comes with it, must be ingrained in our minds.
• When our minds are convinced of these realities; that knowledge becomes a protective helmet in our lives. If Satan has no say in our minds, he has no power in any other area of our life.
• When we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what Jesus’ death and resurrection purchased for us, the enemy will no longer be able to attack our minds.

For we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Cor. 2:11)

We can know and reflect on this truth, when our days are casual and running smoothly. But, can we default to this truth, when we are in a crisis, or under attack? This is how important our mind is, if the devil can wear out our mind we will lose in life.

• If the devil can beat down our resistance, he can begin to wage warfare on our mind with his games. He baits us with lying accusations, and slanderous allegations.
• If we perceive these lies to be true, the process of deception is then fully implemented in our life. We have surrounded ourselves with a stronghold of the enemy.

Strongholds are rooted in our minds and emotions and, can either be walls we use to keep others out, or a prison we’ve built which keeps ourselves locked in.

• There are two kinds of strongholds: rational and irrational.
• Rational strongholds are usually the hardest to deal with, because they seem to make sense.
  • We try and rationalize our lives to what makes sense to us, instead of trusting God.
• Irrational strongholds are completely unrealistic and eventually we will wake up to the realization of the works of the enemy.

When our adversary first begins to attack a believer’s mind, the Holy Spirit will try and warn us.

• Our logical mind can work against our spiritual life, if we don’t submit to the Holy Spirit.
• If we allow the lies to go un-resisted or un-challenged the larger the stronghold the devil can build until we become prisoners of war.

God gave us the helmet of salvation. With it He has given us all we need to withstand every assault of the enemy. With the authority given to us we must command Satan to release his claim on our mind and emotions.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

We must first recognize our responsibility in the strongholds.

• Have we accepted the lie of the devil over the truths God has given us?
• The devil has left his marks and scars all over our minds and emotions during the time we were under his control.
• Repentance, for allowing the mental and emotional strongholds to develop, will redirect our minds.
• With the repentance, God will guide us in the renewing of our mind.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

We think differently when we wear our helmet of salvation.

• With our renewed thoughts, it seems rational to walk by faith, and sounds logical to obey God.
• We can begin to comprehend the multitude of blessings contained in our salvation.
• As we walk in our helmet of salvation, we think like God thinks, we reason like God reasons, we believe like God believes, and we begin to act like God acts.

We must not underestimate the importance of filling our mind with the proper understanding of our salvation.

• When it is allowed to function correctly in our life, our salvation will defend our mind from every mental attack the enemy might bring against us.
• The moment we take off our helmet of salvation, the devil will start attacking our mind, and emotions.
• If we don’t put that helmet back on, we may become double minded – believing God one moment, and doubting Him the next.

God does not want even one area of our mind to think like the world, He does not want one cell of our brain to have unbelief. God intends for our mind to think in accordance with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:

Lord, I am so grateful for my salvation! It is the most wonderful gift You have ever given me. It changed my life and set me free; it brought healing to my body and deliverance to my mind. I want to wrap the knowledge of all that my salvation includes around my mind so tightly that the devil can never steal these benefits from my life. Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me study and to understand everything Jesus purchased for me at the Cross. Reveal it to me; convince me of its truth; and help me to wear that revelation knowledge on my head like a mighty, fortified, spiritual helmet. I pray in Jesus’ name.

I confess that I wear my salvation tightly around my mind like a helmet. When the enemy tries to attack my mind and to chop away at the benefits of my salvation, his attacks are completely ineffective. My mind is convinced of all that salvation means for me, and my mind is trained and taught to think correctly according to that knowledge. Therefore, the knowledge of my salvation becomes a helmet in my life. It doesn’t matter how hard the devil tries to hack away at my mind, I still stand strong because I know what Jesus’ death and resurrection purchased for me. I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name.

“In a world of increasing difficulty and despair, there is one priceless commodity that we cannot do without: hope! When everything comes crashing down, and there seems to be no way out, what is it that anchors our soul, enables us to persevere in the face of hardship, and rise up again on wings like eagles?  It is hope – not a languid or wistful hope that is the willful product of mere wishing, but one that is strong, certain, confidently anchored in some immutable reality. Isaiah 40:31 encourages us that all those who ‘wait for the Lord,’ those who put there hope in him, ‘will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” That is worth finding, worth laying hold of.” David Barton

“The ultimate cause of all spiritual depression is unbelief. For if it were not for unbelief, even the devil could do nothing. It is because we listen to the devil instead of listening to God that we go down before him and fall before his attacks.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones

So what is faith?

We live by faith not be sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Mat. 17:20)

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

If faith is being sure of what we hope for, what is hope? Hope and wish are used so interchangeably today but they really mean two different things. To give a better understanding of faith here is the definitions of hope and wish from the American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster 1828

• Wish – to have a desire, or strong desire, either for what is or is not supposed to be obtainable. We often wish for what is not obtainable.
• Hope – confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God’s gracious promises.

The hope that is deferred, is the fainting of the heart; but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23 NASB)   

Faith means absolute confidence in God, his promises, his power, and his purpose for our lives.

By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see. By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.  By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That’s how it happened that from one man’s dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.(Heb. 11:3-13 The Message)

With that understanding of faith let’s dig into the shield of faith with confidence.

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)

There were a number of different Roman shields some were used in training, some for show and some for battle. The shield in this passage was used for battle, it was:

• About four feet high and two feet wide and completely covered the Roman soldier.
• It was made of usually six layers of animal hide specially tanned and woven together so tightly it was almost like steel.
• The shields also had hooks on it that could connect with other shields to create a wall that prevented the oncoming arrows from getting through as the army advanced on the enemy.

No well-trained soldier went to battle without his shield; it was his guarantee that he would be guarded against deadly arrows.

• The arrows referenced here were made from long, slender pieces of cane and filled with combustible fluids that explode on impact.
• These were not used in normal combat but reserved for a fortified place or an encampment.

God has given each of us the measure of faith that is adequate to cover every need we have. That faith is supposed to be out front where it can completely cover and protect us.

• Our shield of faith is never to be held to our side or behind our back. We must make the choice to take the shield of faith and place it in front of us.
• If we find that we have laid down our faith at some time. If we have gotten discouraged or have stopped believing, it is never too late to pick up our shield of faith.
• Our faith will only work in our life the way it was meant to when we choose to pick it up and put it where it belongs – out in front.
• As we choose to take up the shield of faith we are in a position to thwart every single attack that the enemy throws our way.

Because the Roman soldier’s shield was leather it would become stiff and breakable if not properly taken care of. Each morning the Roman would take a vial of oil and rub it into the leather to keep it soft, supple, and pliable. This is also true about our faith.

• Without a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit our faith will become stiff and breakable.
• If we allow our faith to go undeveloped it won’t be soft, supple, and pliable.

The Roman’s also saturated their shields in water to quench the fiery arrows of the enemy

• The shields would extinguish the arrows on impact.

• When we keep our faith completely saturated in the Word of God we have the power to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the adversary.

The purpose of the shield of faith is to put us in a position to move in God’s dynamic power. 1 Peter 1:5 says “who through faith are shielded by God’s power.”

• When our faith activates the power of God it puts a protective shield between us and every demonic onslaught that might come against us.
• Rick Renner says “When the power of God and faith are operative in your life, you are like a huge army tank, with the ability to move your position forward without taking any loses!”

Satan’s covert way of coming against us is using those fiery darts that include but aren’t limited to:

• Blasphemous thoughts
• Hateful thoughts
• Doubts that can include doubts about the gospel itself
• A burning desire of sin
• An unexplainable conflict in a relationship
• Arousal of the worst most vile emotions

Satan’s goal is to fill us with unbelief that will eventually destroy us. These fiery arrows are meant to do something destructive and horrendous in our mind and emotions. They are meant to enflame us like a fire burning out of control.

• If these fiery arrows have been effective in our life it is evident that we have a crack in our shield of faith.
• If we begin to believe the lie, the falsehood is most likely empowered to become a reality.
• As long as he can get us to think inaccurately about God, ourselves, or others he can take us down a dangerous trail.

Faith in God and His word protects us from our enemy. Here are three examples of how faith can remain strong:

• Trusting in God’s character and that He always has our best in mind.
• Trusting in God’s promises and His Word.
• Trusting in God’s purpose and timing. God’s ways are not always easy but are always the best.

How much damage can Satan do if by faith we cast those fiery arrows down?

• Those arrows cannot harm us if they are lying on the ground and that is what the shield of faith does for us. It puts out the fire of the devil’s hellish accusations.
• As we keep our shield of faith out front and completely covering us, the arrows will bounce right off us.
• When we are walking in faith that is anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit, our faith will defend us.

We, as believers, are also called to march together, holding our closely connected shields of faith out in front of us. Anytime there is division in the body of Christ the enemy will have a foothold. When we are unified we will find the strength we need to stand against the enemy. When we have that kind of unity among believers, it doesn’t matter what the devil brings against us we will be able to steadily and aggressively move forward.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank You for giving me a shield of faith that completely covers me from head to toe. I don’t have to constantly succumb to the devil’s attacks. By holding my shield of faith above all, and out in front so that it covers me completely, as You intended it to do, I can be protected from the attacks that the enemy would like to wage against me. I repent for the times I’ve let my shield lay at my side, while I stayed busy complaining about the devil giving me fits. I realize now that it’s up to me to pick up my shield of faith, and put it where it belongs. So with Your help, Lord, I am reaching out right now to pick it up, to hold it out front, and to do my part to make sure the enemy has no access to me! I pray this in Jesus’ name!

I confess that God has given me a shield of faith that protects me against the works of the enemy. If I will hold my faith out front — and today I commit myself to doing just that — God’s Word guarantees that this mighty shield will thwart the fiery darts that the enemy wants so desperately to throw at me. My shield will cause those darts to bounce off, thereby protecting me from being struck. I will walk with my shield of faith out in front, so that it covers me, as God intended for it to do. As long as I do that, I can be confident that I will move forward in life without the enemy winning any full-scale attack against me!  I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

It is August 27, 1943 the time is 1927 or 7:27 pm the 305^th Bomber Group is just coming out of a bombing raid on Watton France and they are surrounded with flack. The B-17 “Moonbeam” is riding “tail end Charlie”. First, Joe Kosmicky, the belly gunner, is killed with a direct hit to the turret. The next burst took off the tip of the left wing and then came the bad one. It went into the bottom of the left inboard engine and burst before it came out of the top. The #2 engine caught fire and Bob Coffman, the co-pilot, looks outside to see the fire melting the aluminum covering right off the wing. The fire and flames were streaming clear back past the tail. Don Moore, the pilot, calls for his men to bail out. As the crew bails out Bob Coffman finds bullet holes in his parachute, Don Moore gives Bob his parachute expecting to use the backup for himself. After Bob bails out the left wing fell off putting the plane in a spin, with the pressure created in a spin Don Moore was never able to bail out. His crew called him Pappy Moore out of the sheer respect they had for him. His co-pilot described him as “cool as a cucumber” through all of this, his Bombardier called him a providential agent, and his Navigator tried to put in for D. F. C. when he returned from POW camp. As the Engineer, Warren Seyfried, was in POW camp he had a fellow answer his comments on what happened “Red, there are two ways to die. To die for nothing at all, or to die for life – for thousands of lives.” And Seyfried felt that is the way Don went. He was the way. Not just on the outside, but all the way through. He proved that.

This is how peace can work, even though Don gave his life for his men it was the peace that was in him that allowed him to keep the plane steady as his men bailed out.

Peace expresses the idea of wholeness, completeness, or tranquility in the soul that is unaffected by outward circumstance or pressures, it strongly suggests the rule of order in a place of chaos. When a person is dominated by peace, he has a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct himself peacefully even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be very nerve-racking, traumatic, or upsetting.

When we finally give-up trying to discover all the answers to the “whys” in our lives and decide to trust a sovereign God, unexpected peace washes over us.

The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who strive with me. (Psalm 55:18)

Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble. (Psalm 119:165)

And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. (Isaiah 32:17)

If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. (Isaiah 48:18)

Isaiah references peace as being like a river.

• A river is never stagnant or still but powerful and constantly moving. To have peace like a river is to have security and tranquility of heart and mind while meeting many bumps and unexpected turns on life’s journey.
• Peace is submission to a trustworthy Authority, however any activity not under God’s authority will prove to be a source of turmoil and exhaustion.

When peace is in place in our life, it gives us the assurance needed to step out in faith and make the moves God is leading us to make.

And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. (Eph. 6:15 NASB)

The shoes of a Roman soldier were vicious weapons.

• It started with a greave at the top of the knee and extended down to the upper portion of the foot.
• The shoe had spikes one to three inches long on the bottom to hold them in firmly in place, give them a grip to move forward and could also be used to kick or stomp on the enemy.

The enemy may try to disrupt us, distract us, and steal our attention by causing negative events to whirl around us, but these attempts will fail with the peace of God in us.

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Any time there is an absence of peace we first need to look in the mirror, be honest with our self and ask, have we violated any principle of God’s Word or disobeyed the will of God?

• If we trust our sovereign God and our supernatural peace is being disturbed we need to recognize that we are under siege.
• Satan loves to cast doubt using false gospels. He adds human effort and works, to the gospel of grace through faith.
• He is also called an angel of light and is very good at making lies look good as he mixes some of Gods truth in his lies.
• The devil will try to cause us to fall flat on our face through our spiritual walk and send us on a roller coaster that has us feeling up one day and down the next.

God’s plan is that our lives are dominated with prevailing and conquering peace, regardless of how hard the enemy or the daily affairs of life hit us. When this supernatural peace rules our hearts the devil cannot gain a foothold of our mind and emotions.

There are two different kinds of peace we can experience.

• First, is the peace with God, this is what we all experience when we first come to the lord for salvation.
• Second, is the peace of God, this is the weapon given to us to stand up against the enemy.

The peace of God protects us from everything the enemy may try to use to disturb our abundant life. It also allows us to continue moving forward in all walks of life. When we let the peace of God rule our life we allow Him to call the shots on all the decisions and emotions in our life.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Colossians 3:15 NKJV)

Roman soldiers received orders to carry out difficult missions that led them to rocky and thorny places and to scale difficult barriers. The greave protected the soldier’s legs from being bruised, lacerated or broken in battle and the spiked shoe stabilized them and moved them forward.

God gives each of us assignments in life that can lead us through some challenging times. Like the greaves and shoes of the Roman soldier, peace protects us, helps us stand firm and allows us to walk forward.

• Without the protective peace of God it is possible for us to be mentally and emotionally bruised and battered through rough situations.
• When the peace of God is ruling our heart, mind, and emotions we can press our way through the toughest situations, successfully fulfilling our assignment.
• As we make it past the rough situations the enemy may try to abort our victory. But with the peace of God working in us we will prevail.
• It shields our mind and emotions from wounds and fears that can impair our faith.

As the three inch spikes on the bottom of the Roman’s shoes held them in place, so will the peace of God firmly plant our feet in the ground. In “Dressed to Kill” Rick Renner says:

“A person who has the peace of God actively functioning in his or her life is like a tall palm tree that is blown viciously by the winds of a hurricane. The fierce winds may bend the tree over, but when the storm passes, that palm tree pops right back up to its former position. Although the storm was severe, the roots of that tree held it in place.”

• When God speaks to us and gives us a personal Biblical promise the enemy will try to mentally assault us.
• Regardless of the attacks of the enemy the peace of God keeps us in place until the work of God in this area is complete.

Ephesians 6:14 says we are to stand firm. Standing firm is done through faith and as we seek to stand firm in faith the peace of God enables us to maintain our ground.

• Just as the roots of a palm tree hold it in place when a storm comes against it, God’s peace will hold us in our stance of faith against all the attacks of the enemy.
• We must learn how to plant our feet firmly in God’s Word and then by faith stand firm unmoved and unhindered by the devil’s threats and lies.
• Do we try to stand in faith? Do we try to stand for a miracle?

The three inch spikes on the Roman shoe allowed them to continue moving forward.

• With the peace of God ruling our life we can walk through the devises of the enemy and realize that even through the work of the enemy we have never had more joy.
• Stay alert to this truth: As we grow in our walk with God, spiritual confrontation will come to challenge our growth. Walking in the prevailing and conquering peace of God prevents the devil’s effectiveness

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thess. 3:16)

This is a joint partnership between us and God. By ourselves we could never keep Satan subdued but God is right there with us. Jesus completely destroyed Satan’s power through His death and resurrection. Our God-given mission is to reinforce that victory. With the God of peace on our side we are a whole lot bigger than the devil. Throw back your shoulders, hold your head up high, dig your heels down as deep as you can, and do as much damage to the enemy as you possibly can.

Prayers:

Lord, thank You for the peace you have placed in my life. This powerful spiritual weapon protects me from the assaults of life, enabling me to stand firm, even in the face of the occasional storms that try to blow into my life, and helps me continue moving forward. When adverse situation arise against me, help me remember to immediately release this divine force to safeguard my life. I pray this in Jesus’ name

I confess that God’s peace rules my mind and emotions, protecting me from the ups and downs of life. When storms are trying to rage against me and situations are hostile towards me, God’s peace covers and safeguard me from all harm, because divine peace is operating in me. This mighty and powerful piece of spiritual weaponry is mine to use day and night. Although the devil may try to kick, punch, pull, and distract me, that conquering peace empowers me to keep marching ahead, oblivious to the devil’s attempts to take me down! I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name.

On July 9, 1755, George Washington colonel of the Virginia militia, General Edward Braddock of the British army and 84 other American and British officers rode toward Fort Duquesne – now the city of Pittsburg, accompanied by 1300 troops to expel the French in the French and Indian war.  Seven miles from the fort they were ambushed in a wooded ravine.  In the ensuing two hour battle 30 of the French and Indian attackers had been killed, 714 of the 1300 British and American troops had been shot. Of the 86 British and American officers, only George Washington was left on horseback, all the others had been shot down.  He was in every part of the field, a conspicuous mark for the murderous rifle. Two horses were shot under him. Four bullets passed through his coat. His escape without a wound was miraculous. Dr. Craik, who was on the field attending to the wounded, watched him with anxiety as he rode about in the most exposed manner, and used to say that he expected every moment to see him fall.

Fifteen years later, in the peacetime of 1770, Washington and his close personal friend, Dr. James Craik had opportunity to return to the scene of the ambush from which he was so miraculously delivered.  Hearing that George Washington had come back, an old Indian chief traveled a long way just to meet with him.  The chief, a leader in the ambush and following battle, had waited 15 years to personally meet the object of his respect.  The chief explained that he had commanded his braves to single out and kill all the officers.  Washington had been earmarked for death and the chief himself had fired at him seventeen times without effect.  Believing Washington to be under protection of the “Great Spirit,” the chief then ordered the braves to not harm him.  Finally, the chief said to Washington,

“I have traveled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. . . I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.”

George Washington had no idea what a mark in history he would become through or after that day of July 17, 1755, but like David with Goliath he stood against the enemy believing in his righteousness.

As we believe in the truth of who we are and what we have in Christ it allows us to continue the armor of God

. . . with the breastplate of righteousness in place . . .(Ephesians 6:14)

Most of us are familiar with the statement ‘Once a Marine always a Marine’; one thing the Marine Corps is known for is rebuilding a person into a Marine. When they are asked who they are their natural response becomes ‘I am a Marine’. In a way, that is how righteousness works for us. When asked who we are, as Christians we should respond that we are righteous.  But what does it mean to be righteous?

We may have the impression that righteous means to become perfect before we are protected by the armor of God, but that is not what it is about.

• We have already been given the belt of truth, righteousness is living that truth.
• Righteousness is accepting who we are in Christ and believing in God’s Truth.
• When God looks at us, He sees us completely clean and forgiven and through that we are righteous.
•  It is putting to practice what God has told us through His Word. Righteousness is aligning our will to God’s will and standing our ground because we believe what God tells us.

Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Romans 4:3)

When we read about Abraham he was not perfect, in fact he did a lot of things wrong, but he always believed God and the words given to him.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:20- 22)

It is possible to be in possession of the gift of righteousness and yet never fully receive it.

• Unfortunately about 90% of the Body of Christ has not taken possession of their righteousness and walk in condemnation.
• The Holy Spirit will convince us of the lies we have believed, through repentance we will make an agreement with the Spirit of Truth, and in light of the Spirit of Truth we change what we believe and accept God’s truth.

Satan will try to counterfeit that conviction with accusations and it is designed to drive us into false comforts to ease our guilt.

• He wants to tell us that we aren’t righteous and that we are of no value to God or man.
• The devil desires to penetrate a person’s mind and emotions, and delights in finding believers who do not know they are righteous.
• If we don’t have your breastplate firmly in place the devil will be able to deal a blow that injures our spiritual walk immensely.
• When we walk in the lies, we willfully rebel against the truth God has shown us; we open ourselves to demonic attack.
• With this wrong attitude we would be defeated before that battle even started. Consider these questions:
  • Is there any area of your life that God has spoken truth to you that you have rebelled against and opened a door to the enemy?
  • Are you being deceived?

Being people of flesh we can grow deaf to God’s instructions fully convinced we are following Him completely.

• That is deception which results in unrighteousness, and that leads to vulnerability in the face of demonic attack.
• If we aren’t wearing the breastplate of righteousness our heart can be condemned by the enemy and our minds deceived.
• But when we stand firm with our breastplate, our backs are also guarded.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:8)

Righteousness is using these spiritual weapons God gives us to their God-given potential. And that requires risk, but the righteous are as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1).

• When we know that God has made us righteous it doesn’t matter what the enemy shoots against us because nothing will penetrate. We stand our ground because we believe what God tells us.
• When we understand this God-given righteousness serves as a breastplate it will affect our attitude positively and profoundly, it will impart both confidence and tremendous authority.
•  With that confidence and authority our righteous boldness may come across as egocentric or arrogant, they won’t understand that we are Christians that now understand that we are the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

David experienced having his righteousness looked at as arrogance with his brother in 1 Samuel 17:28 but his righteousness is shown verses 45-49.

When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

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 deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, 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 face down on the ground.

As David shows with Goliath, God has clothed us with a piece of armor called the breastplate of righteousness. By developing an attitude of righteousness and seeing ourselves through the work of the Cross, we will receive a divine impartation of confidence and boldness that will always put us on the winning side.

The devil will still attempt to tell us that we are not righteous but once we have our breastplate of righteousness firmly in place, we can fight any foe and face any enemy! As we begin to walk in righteousness, all we have to do is walk into a dark situation, and that darkness will flee from us. Evil forces always flee from the brilliant light that righteousness brings out in us.

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)

This is one of the clearest and most objective statements that Jesus made about the reason He came into the world. He wants to bear witness to us what the truth is.

We’ve been through the mighty strength God has given us, the enemy and how important it is to accept that we are at war.  But without the spiritual armor we will not be able to stand against the actions of the enemy.  In most warfare situations, there is a clash between good and evil. We are in a battle that is not just physical; it is even more importantly spiritual.

The armor God was given to us to claim our victory over the enemy.

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth . . . (Ephesians 6:14 NASB)

The most important piece of weaponry the Roman soldier had was his loinbelt. It held many of the other pieces of weaponry together. His sword hung in a scabbard that was clipped to the side of his loinbelt. When not in use his shield was hung on a special clip on the other side. His arrows were in a pouch that rested on a small ledge of the loinbelt on his backside. Even his breastplate was attached in some places to his loinbelt. The armor of a Roman soldier would literally come apart if he didn’t have the loinbelt around his waist.

Do you believe that what you believe is really real?

The belt of truth gives us what we need to believe what is really real. The loinbelt of our spiritual armor is the written Word of God – the truth. It is the only spiritual weapon we can hold in our hands. It is the most important piece of weaponry we have; it holds all the other pieces together.  If you want to walk through life clothed in spiritual armor, you must permanently attach the Word of God to your life. When you attach that truth as the center of your life and faithfully ensure it stays there everything else comes together.  Here is an example of how each piece of armor depends on the belt of truth:

• Breastplate of righteousness: If you want to enjoy living life clothed in righteousness you must meditate on, pray over and study the Word of God. In doing that a wonderful, prevailing sense of righteousness will become a part of your life.
  •  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14 NASB)
• Shoes of peace: If you want to experience more peace let God call the shots in your life. Don’t depend on your emotions because they can deceive you. When you let the truth of the Word of God take up residence in your life God’s peace will stand you in place.
  • Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Colossians 3:15 NASB)
• Shield of faith: If you want to walk in strong, believing faith you must hear the Word of God.
  • So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17 NASB)
• Helmet of Salvation: If you want to be mentally alert and wise the Word of God renews your mind, and the truth of that word becomes your helmet.
  • For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:9)
• Sword of the Spirit: If you want to wield the sword of the Spirit in your life you must be familiar with the Word of God.  As you study the truth your sword of the Spirit will be quickened as you need it.
  • For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

Without the Word of God operating in your life you have no support for the other pieces of spiritual weaponry. Through the belt of truth we start seeing God, ourselves, and others through what He says is true. In a book called Pure Grace this is how God designed truth to work. The Holy Spirit convinces you that you believe a lie. You agree with the Spirit of Truth. You then change your mind in light of that truth. (John 16:13) The Word of God tells us who we are, what we should do, and how we should act.

• I      am blessed in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing in Christ      (Eph. 1:3).
• I      was chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in      God’s sight (Eph. 1:4).
• I      was predestined to be adopted as his child through Jesus Christ (Eph.      1:5).
• I      have redemption through his blood (Eph. 1:7).
• I      am forgiven (Eph. 1:7).
• I      am sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit (Eph.  1:13)
• I      am raised up with Christ (Eph. 2:6).
• I      am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6).
• I      am saved by his grace (Eph. 2:8).
• I      am God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:10).
• I      have direct access to God through the Spirit (Eph. 2:18).
• I      have peace with God (Rom 5:1).
• I      am a child of God (John 1:12).
• I      am indwelled by the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 3:16).
• I      have access to God’s wisdom (James 1:5).
• I      am helped by God (Heb. 4:16)
• I      am reconciled to God (Rom. 5:11)
• I      am not condemned by God (Rom. 8:1)
• I      am justified (Rom. 5:1)
• I      have Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 5:19, 2Cor. 5:21)
• I      am tenderly loved by God. (Jer. 31:3)
• I      am a temple in which God dwells. (1 Cor. 3:16)
• I      am blameless and beyond reproach. (Col. 1:22)
• I      am the salt of the earth. (Matt. 5:13)
• I      am the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14)
• I      am a branch of Christ’s vine. (John 15:1, 5)
• I      am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
• I      am chosen by Christ to bear fruit. (John 15:16)
• I      am a joint heir with Christ, sharing his inheritance with him. (Rom. 8:17)
• I      am united to the Lord, one spirit with him. (1 Cor. 6:17)
• I      am a member of Christ’s body. (1 Cor. 12:27)
• I      am a saint. (Eph. 1:1)
• I      am chosen by God, holy and dearly loved. (Col. 3:12)
• I      am a child of the light. (1 Thess. 5:5)
• I      am a holy partaker of God’s heavenly calling. (Heb. 3:1)
• I      am sanctified. (Heb. 2:11)
• I      am firmly rooted and built up in Christ. (Col. 2:7)
• I      am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)
• I      have the mind of Christ. (1 cor. 2:16)
• I      may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence. (Eph. 3:12)
• I      have been rescued from Satan’s domain and transferred into the kingdom of      Christ. (Col. 1:13)
• I      have been made complete in Christ. (Col. 1:13)
• I      have been given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7)
• I      have been given great and precious promises by God. (2 Peter 1:4)

• My needs are met by God. (Phil. 4:19)

Every aspect of what you believe to be true dictates whether you win or lose your spiritual battle before it even begins. In light of the truth that God gives us lets express the following affirmations:

• I have an absolute need for You to be my Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and Deliverer.
• I desire for You to be Lord of my spirit, prayers, worship, spiritual understanding, mind, thoughts, dreams, memories, will, decisions, purpose, and sole.
• I have a longing for You to be the deliverer of my spirit from my physical body: with my eyes that I may see, my ears that I may hear, my mouth that words may be given to me, my sexuality that I may be pure, and all of my other physical attributes.
• I want You to take charge of all of my relationships with others past, present, and future.
• I wish to be a good steward of all the wealth You provide for me to manage for You.
• I look forward to Your molding me into the person you created me to be.

No matter what is going on around you or within you, no matter how opposed your environment seems you must hold on to the truth of the Word of God. You have forfeited your God given victory when you reject the Word of God.

Prayers

Lord, I know that Your Word is the most important weapon You have given to me. Forgive me for the times I have not made it a priority in my life. Today I make the decision to never ignore Your Word again. Holy Spirit, help me stay true to the decision. Please remind me every day to open my Bible and take the time needed to wrap the Word around my life! I pray this in Jesus Name.

Because God’s Word has a central place in my life, I have a sense of righteousness that covers me like a mighty breastplate. God’s Word is operating in my life, giving me a powerful sword to wield against the enemy. And because God’s Word also dominates my thinking, I have peace that protects me form the attacks of the adversary and shield my mind like a powerful helmet. I declare this by faith in Jesus Name.

Events that brought out WWII started in 1933 when Students of the University of Berlin burned thousands of books by Jewish authors; followed by Germany annexing country after country over the next 6 years. Britain, France, Australia and other countries didn’t stand up against Hitler until 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. And the USA didn’t get involved until after Japan hit Pearl Harbor in 1941. An estimate on the number of lives lost was 58,000,000.

We know that there is a mighty power within us but until we accept that we are at war we will not understand life. We will misinterpret 90% of what happens around us and to us. Would you want to go to battle and not have any idea of what you were fighting against? Ephesians 6:12 describes what we are to fight against.

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 heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12)

Our first responsibility is to be aware that there is an invisible world. That is exactly what Paul goes over in verse 12. For our struggle is not to be against flesh and blood means that there must more around us than just the physical realm we live in but also a spiritual realm that affects our physical realm.

The Hebrews would repeat a word to make an emphasis and the more times it is repeated the more important it is. Rick Renner references how Paul used the word against 4 times in connection with what we are up against. “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 heavenly realms.” Rick Renner gives some detail of how the enemy works in that invisible world in the Greek in his book ‘Dressed to Kill’:

The word ‘against’ that is used four times in this verse is taken from the Greek word pros. The word pros always depicts a forward position or a face-to-face encounter. In fact, this very word is used in John 1:1 to describe the preincarnate relationship between the Father and Jesus. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…” The word ‘with’ is taken from the word pros.

This means that at some point in our Christian experience, we will come into direct contact with evil forces. Ephesians 6:12 could be translated:

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but face to face with principalities, eyeball to eyeball with powers, head-on with rulers of the darkness of the world and shoulder to shoulder with spiritual wickedness in high places.”

So what are we up against in this invisible war?

• Principalities is taken from the word archas used to depict individuals who hold the highest and loftiest of rank and authority.
• Power is taken from the word exousia which means they have received delegated authority from Satan to do whatever they want to do, wherever they desire to do it.
• Rulers of the darkness of the world, is taken from the word kosmokrateros which depicts raw power that has been harnessed and put into some kind of order. It is a military term that has to do with discipline, organization, and commitment.
• Spiritual wickedness in high places, the word wickedness is taken from the word poneros and is used to depict something that is bad, vile, malevolent, vicious, impious, or malignant.

How often do we look at our own circumstances completely unaware that there is so much more going on than what we see with our eyes?  It is as though we are looking through blinders, oblivious to the fact that our enemy, Satan, often has a hand in the things happening to and around us. There is an invisible world that will affect us whether we accept it or not.

Our second responsibility is being aware of the battle. Our enemy is highly trained and most attacks will occur in our minds. Behind much of what we see on the surface is an enemy that wants to destroy us. If the enemy can take control of one small area of your mind, it opens doors so he can begin to expand. By poisoning our mind with unbelief and lying strongholds, the enemy can manipulate our mind, emotions, and our body.

• When was the last time you considered that some struggle or relational conflict had its roots in satanic opposition?
• Using the Word of God as your common sense when was the last time something happened in your life that you couldn’t explain?
• When thing arise do you assume it is just chance or human nature or do you consider the possibility of spiritual conflict?

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)

If we allow sinful strongholds to secretly remain in our lives we give Satan what he needs to defeat us. We must do what we can to shut every door to our souls. The mind is the strategic center where that battle is won or lost in spiritual warfare!

Our third responsibility is being aware that we have a formidable foe, but not to fear him. Our enemy is very real, very coordinated, very strategic, very organized, and very committed. The devil is like a roaring lion who roams about seeking whom he can destroy (1 Peter 5:8).

He also knows what we can be and fears us. Have you ever received a word from God that gave you the exact direction you needed? Suddenly – BOOM! It seemed like all hell broke loose! The bigger the battle we go through the deeper Satan’s fear is, of what we can become. If he can get us to give up on or not even know what God created us to be, he wins.  We must always approach spiritual warfare as victors and not victims. Satan is not a force we are trying to defeat; he is already defeated.

. . . that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11b KJV)

The wiles of the devil means that the devil is like a traveler who travels on one road, headed in one direction and has one destination. He knows where he wants to go, he has chosen his destination, and he has mastered the best way of getting there. Once he arrives he has one main goal he wants to accomplish. He wants to wreak havoc and bring destruction. His destination is our minds.

• Have you seen any trends of opposition in your life – areas where God want you to grow or serve and in which numerous obstacles come up?

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey God. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

But we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices and are told to bring in to captivity every thought to the obedience of God. The Greek word for ‘bringing into captivity’ pictured a soldier who captured an enemy and now leads him with the point of a sharpened spear on the flesh of his back. The enemies knew if he tried to move or get away the soldier would shove a spear through his torso and kill him. Therefore, this captive doesn’t dare move but remains silent, submissive, and non-resistant. Like the Roman soldier this is how we can take captive the thoughts of the enemy.

Our fourth responsibility is to rely on God’s strength not ours. Verse 10 says to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. The hardest part for some of us is relying on God’s grace not our human strength. And if you try and face the enemy on your own you would be overpowered in an instant. The enemy will do what he can deceive us into doubting God and His goodness. But God tells us:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and have it in abundance. (John 10:10 The 1599 Geneva Bible)

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on Serpents, and Scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19 The 1599 Geneva Bible)

Be sober, and watch: for your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren which are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 The 1599 Geneva Bible)

We need to remember God places limitations on Satan. Spiritual warfare is not winning the war but is enforcing the victory Jesus has already accomplished. Determine to see yourself as a soldier in the army of God. Don’t allow anything in your life that would hinder your fight.

We started this discussion with the start of WWII now let us finishing with the end of WWII. The Japanese surrendered in 1945 but multiple islands didn’t know of the surrender so continued to fight and many more lives were lost. It is the same for us in spiritual warfare, Jesus has won the victory but unless we believe the truth Satan can still win the battles we allow him to.

Prayer:

Lord, I don’t want to ever give the devil access to my mind. I ask for forgiveness for the times I’ve permitted wrong thinking to go on inside me when I knew it was wrong. Now I understand that these are the areas through which the devil seeks to find entrance into my life. Starting today, I am asking You to help me locate each “open door” in my mind; then help me seal those doors shut by the power of Your Spirit and Your Word. I pray this in Jesus Name.

Lord, help me start seeing myself as a mighty soldier in the army of God. You have provided every weapon I need to prevail against the enemies that come against my life, my family, my business, my friends, and my church. I want to stand tall and firm against the wicked plots the devil tries to exert against people’s lives whom I love and need. Holy Spirit, give me the power and strength I need to successfully resist every attack and to drive all dark forces form my life and from the lives of those close to me!  I declare this by faith in Jesus Name.

The Armor of God – God’s Mighty Power

Trident submarines or Ohio class is named after the lead submarine of this class, the USS Ohio. The 14 Trident II SSBNs together carry approximately fifty percent of the total US active inventory of strategic thermonuclear warheads.  The Ohio-class submarines carry more missiles and warheads than any other design:  up to 24 submarine-launched ballistic (Trident) missiles with multiple independently-targeted warheads per boat. The Trident missiles have no pre-set targets when the submarines go on patrol but when required, are quickly assigned the appropriate targets. Trident submarines do not need be where the enemy is, they just need to know strategically where it is. When a Trident missile is needed the trajectory is given, the missile is launched, and the target is hit. Soldiers are on the ground fighting hand on hand combat but when needed and the word given a Trident submarine can launch a Trident missile and completely wipe out the enemy at their exact location.

This is a similar to how the Lord and his mighty power is designed to work for us. We may be the ones on the ground fighting hand to hand combat but our strength is in the mighty power of our Lord who has completely wiped out the enemy. We will be going over Ephesians 6:10-20 starting with verse 10:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Without understanding this strength and power we will not be able to continue with verse 11 and “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

The rest of Ephesians 6 breaks it down to what our enemy is, and the armor of God we have, to come against that enemy. But first and foremost we need to realize where our strength comes from.

We need to observe that we are to be strong in His mighty power. The word strong comes from the Greek word endunamao. En means in and dunamis means explosive strength, ability and power. When we see the word dynamite we have an idea of what kind of explosion can come from that. Dunamis is where we get our word dynamite and gives us an example of the kind of strength we have access to. But it is not our own strength or power; it is God’s power at work in us, through the Holy Spirit.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit teaches us everything we need to know – if we’ll listen to Him, cooperate with Him and allow Him to do what He was sent to do.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)

With that understanding of His mighty power we must learn to take the Holy Spirit’s advice and follow Him completely, taking each of our cues from Him. He must become our heavenly coach, and we must learn to accept His leadership and be willing to yield to His divine guidance with no objections. We can be sure when He puts a thought in our heart to do something, it is right. When He puts an idea in our mind, it is a right idea. When He nudges our heart to do this or that, it is because He sees and knows something we do not know and, is trying to guide and direct us. He is always the Spirit of Truth, and as the Spirit of Truth, we can be sure that He will never mislead us.

The Holy Spirit sees what we cannot see and knows what we cannot naturally know because He can be everywhere at all times, just like the Trident missile can be launched from anywhere, anytime. When we listen, the Holy Spirit will speak to us in ways that are life-changing. He is putting thoughts and ideas in our heart and mind constantly, but we may not be aware it is the Holy Spirit trying to guide and direct us. When the Holy Spirit drops a thought into our mind to do something, there is a reason He wants us to do it. When He tells us something will work, it will work. When He gives us instruction, it is because He is trying to help us. We cannot know what to do, where to go, whom to go with and when to go there without the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.

We also see that He can lead us in two ways – by yes or by no! He will try to stop us from doing something that looks good to us but is either a trap of the enemy or not God’s will. He will open a door of opportunity and give us total peace to walk through it, or He will give us guidance when everything round us doesn’t seem to fit with direction God had given us. He will reveal to us how to think, what to say and what to do about a matter. He may even be warning us of an attack of the enemy. Whatever the Holy Spirit is revealing to us, we can be sure He will live up to His responsibility.

He will come right alongside us and reveal to us everything we need to know to turn our problem into a victory. We need divine guidance and help to locate and handle all the fine little details and fiery darts with which the enemy is bombarding us. We need the mind of Christ to deal with these, and we have the mind of Christ when we are putting the full weight of responsibility upon our partner, obeying His instructions, saying what He says and doing what He does.

When we understand who lives in us, how the Holy Spirit works, and the power He gives us we can soar with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). Alone we can try all we want to fight and never win but, when the Holy Spirit works through us we can completely obliterate our enemy.

Prayer:

Lord, it is clear that You want me to be filled with Your power and strength today, so I open my heart right now and ask You to fill me with Your Spirit. Thank You for creating me to be the receptacle for this wonderful power – and by faith, I receive a fresh infilling of Your Spirit right now! I pray this in Jesus Name.

I declare by faith that I am filled with the Spirit of God. I am specially made by God to be the container of the Holy Spirit. He lives in me, He fills me, and He empowers me to conquer every attack that the devil tries to bring against me. God knew I needed this power and therefore gave it to me. I boldly confess that I am filled with the supernatural, wonder working, and dynamic power of the Holy Spirit! I declare this by faith in Jesus Name.

I started this blog with a discussion on valor and how God put that strength in all of us to fight the battle. But what is that strength? Let’s look at a story:

There are 12 men in a detachment on a reconnaissance for a mission.

• Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many?
• Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh?
• Describe the towns: Are they open camps or fortified with walls?
• Check the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests?
• And try to bring back samples.

With that they were on their way and scouted out the land for 40 days. On their return they presented themselves to their commanding officers and the captain reports their finding with this account: “We went to the land to which you sent us: the people are many and armed well. The land is plentiful enough that it fulfills all of their needs. The fortresses look impossible to break through.”  The warrant officer then steps in and says “We should go up and take possession, we can do it, and it’s in perfect position for our overall mission.” But the other men came out saying “We can’t attack those people; they are far stronger than we are. We scouted the land from one end to the other; it would take more than what we have to accomplish this. We need to find another way to accomplish our mission.” Another man steps up with warrant officer and says “The land we scouted is in perfect position to fulfill our mission God will give us that land.” The rest of the men in the detachment agreed with the 10 men in that detachment that recommended finding another way and harassed the 2 that believed they could take the land.

Who are the men that are humble with the thought of the protection of others and who are the men that are proud and selfish?

What comes to your mind when you hear humble or proud? Most of us will see strength in being proud and weakness in being humble. Let’s look deeper into what proud and humble are. We will start with the definition of proud in today’s dictionary:

• Proud – 1. Pleased and satisfied about having done something or about owning something. 2. Fostering feelings of pride. 3. Having self-respect. 4. Arrogant, having an exaggerated opinion of personal worth or abilities. (Encarta Dictionary)

We have all experienced, in our lives, those people that have an exaggerated opinion about themselves and we know how degrading that can be. We have also experienced the satisfaction of accomplishing something special, and how uplifting that can feel. But have you ever experienced a downfall because of that pride? Here is the definition of proud that is almost 200 years old.

• Proud – 1. Having inordinate self-esteem; possessing a high or unreasonable conceit of one’s own excellence, either of body or mind. A man may be proud of his person, of his talents, of his accomplishments or of his achievements. He may be proud of anything to which he bears some relation. He may be proud of his country, his government, his equipage, or of whatever may, by association, gratify his esteem of himself. He may even be proud of his religion or of his church. He conceives that anything excellent or valuable, in which he has a share, or to which he stands related, contributes to his own importance, and this conception exalts his opinion of himself.  2. Arrogant; haughty; supercilious. 3. Daring; presumptuous. 4. Lofty of mien; grand of person; as a proud steed. 5. Grand, lofty; splendid; magnificent. 6. Ostentatious; grand; as proud titles. 7. Splendid; exhibiting grandeur and distinction; exciting pride. 8. Excited by the animal appetite; applied particularly to the female of the canine species. (1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary)

Isn’t it interesting how there was such a shift in two hundred years of the main focus of what proud means? How it shifted its focus from self-conceit to satisfaction. So, just how far back does being proud go?

“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.” (Ezekiel 28:17NIV).  Satan’s fall was due to his pride, his desire to want control. What better weapons does he have to use against us than the very pride that took him down and the control he wanted? Mark Galli in “Chaos and Grace” puts it this way “The original sin described here is not the raising of the angry fist before God, as much as it is stupidity and immaturity. And impatience. For all that the woman longs for in taking the fruit is something that God intends to give them in his good time and in his way. The original sin of the man and woman is indeed a form of pride, and more than anything, it is a desire to control the timing and process of their growth and maturity in God.”

What else does the bible say about being proud?

• But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:16)
• When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)
• The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 16:5)
• Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
• For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16)

Another way Satan uses pride is a false since of humility, such as “I’m unworthy”. How many of us use pride to hide our fear? It is not so much that we think so highly of ourselves but that we think so low and try to cover it. We’re scared that we’re going to go out on a limb and believe God and He is not going to come through. We’re scared that God is going to fail or we are. We’re scared of what’s going to happen if it doesn’t work out. So we protect ourselves right out of our calling. Our mind wants to understand everything – the why, the when and the how of it all. Often, when that understanding is not given by God, the mind refuses to believe what it cannot understand. It frequently happens that we know something in our heart, but the mind, or pride, wars against it.

But what does it mean to be humble? Back again to my first blog and how the definition of virtuous that we have to go by takes away from Gods meaning. I think being humble has had the same kind of misrepresentation in how we define it. Here is the definition today and 200 years ago of humble:

• Humble – 1. Make somebody feel less important, to make somebody feel less proud or convinced of his or her own importance. 2. Degrade somebody, to lower somebody in rank or importance. (Encarta Dictionary)
• Humble – 1. To crush; to break; to subdue.  2. To mortify.  3. To make humble or lowly in mind; to abase the pride of; to reduce arrogance and self-dependence; to give a low opinion of one’s moral worth; to make meek and submissive to the divine will; the evangelical sense.  4. To make to condescend.  5. To bring down; to lower; to reduce.  6. To deprive of chastity. (1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary)

If you are like me neither one of these describes humble in a way that makes it sound appealing or, as I will share next, accurate with the strength that is behind it. Numbers 12:3 says (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) Who wrote the book of Numbers? Moses. Does Moses calling himself humble, more humble than anyone, sound like today’s idea of humble or does it sound more prideful? Remember this is the Word of God.

Often in the bible, those who are truly humble are mistaken for being prideful or arrogant. David is another example when he stood up against Goliath, his brother said “I know your pride”, but David envisioned the battle through God’s strength. He clothed himself in humility while others who trusted their own strength viewed it as arrogant and proud.

So what does God mean with the word humble? In the book Relentless John Bevere states, “Humility as God designed it is a very positive, powerful character quality. True humility is absolute obedience and dependence on God. It puts Him first, others second, and ourselves third in all things. Humility has nothing to do with being soft-spoken and self-demeaning and has everything to do with living boldly, relentlessly, in the power of God’s free gift of grace.”

Let’s go back to the story we started with, who were the humble and who were the proud? The 10 men were relying on their own strength, their own pride. The two men humbly relied on God’s strength and believed in His promises.

Are you armed with humility in coming under the mighty hand of God, or do you have an appearance of humility but still operate in your own strength?

Don’t make your decision based on your thoughts or feelings; it may just be the pride of the enemy, but check with your spirit. The spirit/heart is the nobler organ and should always be honored above the mind. If we know something is right, we must not allow reasoning or pride to talk us out of it.

Do you believe that what you believe is really real?

What determines what we believe: Our experiences in life? The experiences and/or words of people around us? What we see, taste, hear or touch? What we feel emotionally? What Satan’s lies are? Or what God’s Word is?

Let’s look at what it means to believe and what is real.

• Believe: To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity. When we believe upon the authority of reasoning, arguments or a concurrence of facts and circumstances, we rest out conclusions upon their strength or probability, their agreement with our own experience. 2. To expect of hope with confidence; to trust. (Noah Webster 1828)
• Real: Actually being or existing; not fictitious or imaginary. 2. True; genuine; not artificial, counterfeit or factitious. (Noah Webster 1828)

Here are some examples of what people believed and the impact it had on the world both negative and then positive:

Adolf Hitler – His aim was to establish a New Order of absolute Nazi German rule in continental Europe. With this belief took the lives of around 7,000,000 Germans, 5,000,000 Jews and this does not include the lives the rest of the European Theater lost.

Joseph Stalin – his rule, the concept of “socialism in one country” became a central tenet of Soviet society. The theory held that given the defeat of all the communist revolueions in Europe in 1917–1921 except Russia’s, the Soviet Union should begin to strengthen itself internally. With this belief even though they lost some of their 26,000,000 military lives due to the war with Hitler a good portion of that and a majority of the 16,000,000 civilians lives were lost at the hands of Stalin.

Osama Bin Laden – was the founder of al-Qaeda, the Sunni militant Islamist organization that claimed responsibility for theSeptember 11 attachs on the United States, along with numerous othermass-caualty attachs against civilian and military targets all because of what he chose to believe.

These men deeply believed but, with the results of what they believed, can we say there was truth behind what they believed? “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 NIV)

Jonathan Edwards – played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733–35 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Great Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion.

William Wilberforce – supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery. He underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. That campaign led to theSlavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire; Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured.

Mother Teresa – founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congrefation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. They run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; children’s and family counseling programs; orphanages; and schools. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give “Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor”.

These people deeply believed, and with the results of what they believed, can we say there was truth behind what they believed? “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son             of God.” (1 John 5:5)

Scripture says “. . . from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” (2^nd Thessalonians 2:13 NIV Italicize in mine)

Neil Anderson says that “The truth is, everyone lives by faith, the only difference between Christian faith and non-Christian faith is the object of our faith. The critical issue is what we believe or who we believe in.” Is every thought that comes to our mind from us? How many times has what we thought so true wound up being the furthest thing from the truth? And how many times did we not want to do something or talk to someone but in doing it; it became the greatest joy of our lives? If what we believe does not reflect truth, then what we feel does not reflect reality. It is amazing how quickly a dart of the enemy, thrown into our hearts, can change our perspective. In a matter of seconds our whole view can change for the worse. One of the biggest obstacles is how we can genuinely believe we are right. The devil may be trying to work in your mind and imagination to divide you from people you both love and need. John Eldredge asks “How much of this oppressive stuff do we live under and how much joy do we surrender because we never stop to ask, ‘Where is this crud coming from?’. We are so stubborn in our unbelief because we aren’t at that moment experiencing whatever it is God says is true. We cannot lose our convictions on whether or not we are feeling the truth of what God says.”

John Bevere illustrates an example of the in his book Relentless when he talks about Joseph. Joseph dreams of sheaves, the sun, the moon, and even the stars bowing to him only to have his bothers put him in a pit then sell him to the Ishmaelites as a slave. He then becomes in charge of Potiphar’s house only to be charged of raping Potiphar’s wife and is sent to the dungeon. “Can you imagine the thoughts he had to ward off in that damp, dark dungeon? With all kinds of time on his hands, I’m sure the enemy attacked his mind and imagination without mercy. Can you hear Joseph’s thoughts? I served his family faithfully, with honesty and integrity. I stayed faithful to God and my master fleeing sexual immorality. What is my reward for my obedience? A dungeon! Why didn’t I just behave as any normal red-blooded male and enjoy the pleasure of that woman? If I had just had sex with her when we were alone, nobody would have known and I would not be in this dungeon. If Joseph had bought into these lies, it would have opened the door for his thinking to plunge to even lower levels: So is this how a loving, faithful God cares for those who obey Him? He’s allowed the wicked to prosper and triumph while I am tormented for my obedience. What good is it to obey God? It seems the more I obey, the worse life gets. Serving God is just a mean joke!” Joseph still had the right to choose his response. Would he despise the Word of God or would he steadfastly resist the rush of negative thoughts and emotions that undoubtedly flooded his soul?

Each of us has to decide whether we are going to believe God’s Word or our eyes and emotions. Make no mistake Satan’s specialty is psychological warfare. If he can turn us on God (it’s not fair), turn us on others (it’s their fault), or turn us on ourselves (I’m so stupid), we won’t turn on him. If we keep fighting within ourselves and losing our own inner battles, we’ll never have the strength to stand up and fight our true enemy. Believing God can really be work at times! When external evidences scream to the contrary, we have to exert volitional muscle. Deciding to believe God’s Word over our circumstances can be a tremendous exercise of the will at times. Until we come to terms with war as the context of our days we will not understand life. We will misinterpret 90% of what is happening around us and to us. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13 NIV)

John Eldredge writes that the victory comes when we realize that those awful thoughts are not from us; our hearts are good. The assault comes from the outside, from the enemy. That is the turning point, when we begin to operate as if the heart is good, and we are at war. Jesus then tells us to send it away. We must exercise our authority in Christ. We are to resist the enemy. Final victory will take time. During that period of time, we are not blowing it, nor is God holding out on us. It is training. We are made to rule. Spiritual warfare is a great deal of our training.

So we go back to the question we started with: Do you really believe that what you believe is really real? Does it fit with the Spirit of Truth? Does it follow God’s Word?

“I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayer, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, that Father of glory, might give into you the Spirit of wisdom, and revelation through the knowledge of him, that the eyes of your understanding may be lightened, that ye may know what the hope is of his calling, and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us, which believe, according to the working of his mighty power,” (Ephesians 1:16 – 19 The 1599 Geneva Bible)