Equip Online | Armor of God : Part 1

Welcome to Celebration Orlando's Equip on Demand.

You know, the vision of our church is to reach the lost, equip the found, and to help the hurting.

It's a crucial component of who we are and what Jesus commissions us to do.

And so that equipping thing is something that we're very passionate about.

So we'll release videos from time to time that allows us to delve into topics that we believe that can be encouraging, but also that can equip us for us to do the work of the Lord.

And today I'm super excited about the subject matter that we are going to be engaging in.

I want to set the tone of what we can expect over the next three sessions.

This one, and we're going to have two more to follow.

We're going to be looking at the armor of God.

And maybe if you've been walking with God for any period of time, maybe you've heard that language before.

Maybe you even have read um the book of Ephesians, where Paul really does beautifully lay out what these components are.

But before we jump into that portion of it, I would love to give you some context as to how we got to the portion where Paul begins to unpack this idea about the Christian walk and our need to be fully equipped in the armor of God and the part that it plays with all of us.

To give you some context, um, the Church of Ephesus, which again it's written in Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesus, this environment where Paul had served as a missionary for two years, and you can read about that in Acts chapter 19, um, was a multicultural place where there were so many different religions and faiths that were being expressed there.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention Acts 19 · chapter mention

Um, however, through Paul's influence in the surrounding community, we really began to see this idea of being followers of Christ begin to take traction.

Now, now here's the thing we have to consider.

As people are converting or are beginning to place their faith in Christ, placing their faith in in Yahweh, they were bringing this the baggage of not only some of the cultural dynamics that they had, some of the socioeconomic things that they were walking through, but even just what does it mean to be a person, um, to live the life that I've lived, use that as a transitional moment, but then to be inspired to walk differently.

So, so this book Ephesians, Paul wrote to really inspire um this body of believers about what does it mean to be in Christ.

In fact, if you were to go back and do a word study, you will see that phrase in Christ, in Jesus, mentioned multiple times because it was meant to identify that now you are in the body of Christ, you're part of a collection in a body of believers.

So Paul is writing in the first three chapters about what we have access to and what Christ has done and what does it mean to be in Christ.

But then when we get into chapters four, five, and six, Paul begins to then unpack what does it mean?

Now that I am a new citizen, how do I begin to walk this out?

We then begin to see him talk about these practical things that a follower of Christ should do.

The practical things that a follower of Christ should begin to implement into their lives.

I want you to recognize that before Paul begins to address behavior, he first addresses belief.

I think that should be encouraging for every one of us that we belong before we believe.

But once we believe, you should see it in how we behave.

So Paul brilliantly lays out, hey, you belong before you believe, and you belong well before you have the behavior to support it.

But now that you belong, because you believe and you're in this body of Christ that Paul brilliantly lays out, this is what that should look like.

So he literally lays out everything for how we should interact with one another.

He lays out this idea of how husband and wives, their relationship should function and how that in its own unique way mirrors our relationship with God.

He talks about when we are part of the church, this global body that Christ is ahead and that we're all connected and we all have a part to play in it.

He lays it all out.

But then he gets to chapter number six.

And what I want us to be encouraged, but also look deeper into is that after Paul lays out all the things we have access to, what does it mean that Christ has died for us, he then shifts into this military language where he ultimately says, Now that you know these things, defend it.

What Paul is helping us to understand is that now that we have this practical understanding of who Christ is, we have this experiential understanding of what does it mean to walk in fellowship with one another and to be a part of a mixed cultural of people that all belong and believe in the same God, he says we have to defend it.

And when you think about defense, that means that there's something, there's an opponent that's coming after it.

That means that this revelation that this unique body of believers has, that there's an opponent who is seeking to strip away this revelation that God has given them.

So when we find ourselves in Ephesians chapter 6, starting at verse number 10, these are the words of Paul to a body of believers trying to make them aware of something much bigger going on around them.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Here's what he says: a final word be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.

For we are not wrestling against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in the evil time.

Then after you battle, you will be standing firm.

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.

For shoes, put on peace that comes from the good news, so that you will be fully prepared.

In addition to all these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on all occasions.

Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for believers everywhere.

This is some strong language from Paul.

But Paul is trying to prepare us and help us to see a reality that maybe we don't often recognize.

He says this he says that there is a devil, and that devil has a strategy.

He states that there are evil rulers, there are authorities, there are mighty powers, there's evil spirits.

What exactly do we think he is talking about?

This may require us to have a little bit more context so that we can understand what Paul is thinking and as he's communicating to the people that are in Ephesus, but also understanding that this letter was going to circulate to others.

So, first, let me explain God.

Now that's a big statement, um, but I'll I'll do this really quickly.

We we understand um that God is God, that he is Yahweh, that his personal name, his name reveals who he is, he is transcendent, he is other than us, that that he also gives us Christ as our best ability to comprehend the otherness of who he is.

Here's what Paul says to the Colossian church.

He says um that Jesus is the image of the invisible Godhead.

So when we look to Jesus, we are getting a glimpse of who God is, but we also have to understand that God is just other, that there's sacred space, there's all these things that we recognize just about the enormity and the character of God, the trinity of God, of how he can have these characteristics but still be one, that God is just other.

But we also recognize that God in and of himself doesn't need anything, but he chooses to create other created beings to partner with him and to participate with his vision for all of creation.

So what we see then is that he creates these other spiritual beings.

And there's different classifications for these spiritual beings.

There's divine councils, there's there's cherubims, there's there's messenger angels, there's a there's a list of different spiritual beings that God does indeed create.

I I wish I had enough time to unpack it in vivid detail, but the Bible Project has a phenomenal uh series that they have done called Spiritual Beings that unpacks these varying spiritual beings, their assignment, their responsibilities.

So I won't go into as much detail on that, but I really want to encourage you as a supplement to what we're talking about to go and check those out because I really do think it can add some texture to what we're talking about.

But now let's skip to the Garden of Eden.

When we look at the Garden of Eden, we recognize that that Eden was meant to be a high place.

A high place was, from a scriptural standpoint, was meant to be a place that was the overlap between heaven and earth.

Now we've heard that phrase on earth as it is in heaven.

That is what God's intent was for Eden.

Eden to be this place on earth that overlaps with heaven, this place where man and God and spiritual beings can coexist together with complete awareness and understanding and to govern and rule on God's behalf.

It was this beautiful image.

But but when you look and you get to Genesis chapter 3, we see that there's a sinister character that's there that doesn't share in God's ambition and vision for creation, for humanity, or for these spiritual beings.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

When we begin to recognize that this serpent emerges and he's talking to Eve, he begins to plant seeds in the power of suggestion to distract her from the purpose and from the will of God.

We don't know then, but we will find out later that this sinister character is what we would often refer to as the devil or Satan, or as the Hebrews would write it, the Satan, because the Satan was meant to be a characteristic which means the opponent, the opposer, the accuser, the adversary.

So sometimes maybe you're in church and you hear us talk about the enemy.

There's multiple different rebellions that have taken place in varying points in scripture, but when we're talking about the enemy, we're talking about the embodiment of evil.

We're talking about that serpent, the one who stood against Adam and Eve, the one who tempted Jesus in the wilderness, that opponent of God who's anti-God, anti-kingdom, anti-the-people of God.

In fact, we begin a chance to see the rebellious spirit that exists within him when we look at Isaiah chapter 14, verses 12 through 15, and Ezekiel chapter 28, verses 11 through 19.

Isaiah 14:12–15 Ezekiel 28:11–19

There's this overlaying moment where we recognize that that the prophets are no longer talking about people, but they're actually talking about an angel of some sort, a spirit of some sort that had forsaken their God-given assignment to do something that would exalt himself.

I I never used to think of the fact that that God's created spiritual beings had free will.

I never used to think of them as individuals or entities that had the ability to surrender and submit or choose not to.

And what we see in scripture, there have been rebellions that have taken place in God's environment, in God's kingdom, where some of these angels, some of these created spiritual beings made a choice to go opposite of what God had wanted.

This is the enemy.

This is what we see with Satan.

This is what we see with some of the other spiritual beings.

That is what gives birth to this idea of spiritual warfare.

We can look at Genesis 6 and see that there were these spiritual beings that decided not to do what God called them to do, and they began to cohabitate and actually began to impregnate the women on earth, and it created these offsprings.

The Bible will call them giants of renown, that then, through the power of these dark spirits, but also some symbolically connected to earth, that were able to channel and utilize their power on earth, and it created corruption and darkness and things that were meant to oppress the people of God.

God, of course, responds with a flood to hopefully reset everything.

We then get into Genesis chapter 11, where we find uh the story of Babylon.

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

And if we look at the look at the symbols there, let us make a name for ourselves.

They built up a giant monument in the honor of man in an effort to exalt himself up above into the heavens.

Does that sound familiar?

It sounds a little bit like the that spirit that is being referenced in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, this idea of exalting himself above the throne room of heaven, and there's a consequence for it.

So God, of course, scatters the nations and causes there to be a split between the nations.

And it is here where God makes the decision that I am going to select a group of people out of these nations that have been scattered that are going to be my people.

And through them, I'm going to preserve them.

And through them, I'm going to send a Messiah that's going to bring restoration to all of mankind.

I want us to hear this really clearly that God choosing Israel was not so that they could be separate, but he was choosing them to bring everyone back together.

God's election is always about having one that can serve the others as opposed to one that is simply supposed to be separate from others.

He chooses Israel so that Israel could be the people group that leads people back to God.

We see this with the prophetic words that he spoke to Abraham.

Through you, all the nations will be blessed.

The idea that God has always had was for me to use one so that I can reach the many.

So when Jesus comes on the scene, we get a chance to recognize the calling on his life.

He even begins to quote from Isaiah, and I love this verse here in Luke chapter number four, where he says this The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim and release the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, and to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.

He began by saying this to them Today, as you listen, this scripture is being fulfilled.

Jesus was addressing something so much bigger than just coming and doing healings for people that were sick.

That when the Messiah came on the scene, that he was there to wage a spiritual war.

Because what we understand about sin and brokenness and this desire to influence systems and structures and people is understanding that it was always meant to oppress people.

That that sin and brokenness and that spiritual warfare, that it has practical visibility that we see, but behind the scenes, there's demonic influences that are always meant to oppress people.

So when Jesus comes on a scene, he shows up, making sure that they understood that yes, I am here to heal people.

I am here to open blind eyes, but I'm here to tear down the systems of oppression that exist.

Hear me closely, friends.

That spiritual warfare is so much more than having an odd feeling when you walk into a room.

That spiritual warfare is something so much more than praying for someone.

It is that, but it's also recognizing the spiritual influences that are connected to systems that oppress people as well.

That is the way that the enemy loves to operate.

Maybe you're familiar with the writings of C.S.

Lewis.

And while I wouldn't say that they are inspired, but I will certainly say that they're encouraging.

And he wrote uh this incredible book called The Screw Tape Letters.

And in this literature, he basically takes on the perspective of demonic spirits and their strategy to really impact people who don't even recognize it.

And one of the things that is stated in there is that one of the greatest tricks we can ever do is to convince the world that we're not there, is to allow people to believe that they are enemies of one another.

Allow people to not recognize the systems that have been established that helps perpetuate the division and the brokenness that we are experiencing.

Jesus comes to tear down those systems.

And those systems can range from everything from politics, those systems can range everything from relationships with other countries, with racism.

Those systems exist in so many different things.

Even in religion, these systems that are created to divide and oppress the people of God.

Jesus came to wage war against those very same things.

This is why when Jesus comes on the scene, that demons are terrified of him.

They're not concerned about him healing someone, they're concerned about him tearing down the systems that they're able to operate so freely through.

Jesus then empowers his disciples, and he says this to them in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 16.

Mark 16 · chapter mention

Starting at verse number 15, he says to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

And these signs will accompany those who believe.

In my name, they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not bring them harm.

They will lay hands upon the sick, and they will get better.

Jesus, it begins to pull together this idea of the authority that he passes on to his church in this area of spiritual warfare.

Recognizing you're going to go into some environments where you're dealing with hostility, where you're dealing with demonic spirits, where you're dealing with some very strong oppositions that's being expressed through the people of God, through the systems of God.

Remember, the people aren't your enemy, but there is dark influences that are animating some of their behavior and their decisions.

And I want you to be empowered with the authority to do it.

We don't believe that the power of God has an expiration date.

So we recognize that even now, today, that we can see the brokenness and the influence of these dark spirits that continue to influence the way that systems work, the way the governments operate, even the way that the church functions, and sometimes it can even get into the way that we see one another, still functioning with racism, trying to pull away the dignity that God has given to every single person.

So when Paul is addressing this idea in chapter six, let's get back to Paul.

He's talking to a group of people that are all coming together, trying to figure out what it means to serve God.

But he's telling them that the power that resurrected Christ is now available to them.

And now that we have this power inside of us, it's not just for us to be good people.

It's not just for us to function and to somehow change our behavior a little bit.

But he's telling us that that power helps us to overcome sin, but our power also allows us the authority to deal with spiritual warfare.

Paul understood.

And you could see throughout the book of Acts, you could see throughout the early church, you can even see today that there are dark, sinister forces that are at work looking to suppress people in a way that we don't even recognize it.

So when Paul opens up the letter and says that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, that means that as hard as it is to imagine that the enemy that we see is not the enemy that we have, that there's something else behind the scenes.

That when we look at the varying social structures and things that have been established, that no matter how well intended, if it oppresses or suppresses or rips away dignity from people, that that has not been birthed through God, that there's something so much more sinister at play.

And what Paul is wanting to do, and what I want to encourage us to do, is to begin to recognize things through the lens of Christ.

Look at things through the lens of Jesus, recognizing that there's something more going on.

But I have the authority over it.

The idea is for us not to be afraid.

The idea of this is for us not to shrink back in fear, but for us to recognize that God is making us aware of what the enemy is doing and he's given us the power, the authority, and the influence to change it.

But we got to be aware.

Paul says we have to keep our eyes open.

So today, as we're looking at how we can do our part, my prayer for us is this God, allow me to see.

I'll open my eyes up and allow me to recognize that I am a part of a community.

I'm part of a family that recognizes that we have an opponent, we have an enemy, but my enemy is not someone who looks differently than me, not someone who thinks differently than me, but it's demonic systemic structures and oppression that is waging war against the people of God and we don't even recognize it.

Paul is meant to draw and call on arms and saying, open up your eyes.

There's something else that's going on at place, and then Paul will begin to instruct us on how we can utilize the resources that God has made available for us.

So here's my biggest takeaway from us we only have one enemy, and that enemy is the devil.

That enemy is the Satan, that enemy is the demonic strongholds that are looking to oppress and suppress people.

But we have victory in Christ.

So let's fight, let's be alert, and let's make sure we connect that energy to the rightful enemy.

I want to pray for us, and then we're gonna go on into our next session, which you'll be able to participate in in just a couple of weeks.

Let's pray.

Lord, I thank you for your word.

I thank you, God, for making us aware that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, that there are so many things that you've given us a glimpse to in your word that makes us aware of the demonic systemic structures that the enemy influences that can influence us if we're not careful.

But you've given us Christ and you've given us the power of the Holy Spirit for us to one be aware, but also how to respond.

So I pray over our people that you give us the clarity and the strength to recognize the activity of the enemy so that we can appropriately respond with a kingdom perspective.

I pray a blessing over every one of us in Jesus' name.

Amen.

God bless you guys.

Make sure you guys stay tuned in for the second part of this three part series that'll be coming in just a couple of short weeks.