#695: The Armor of Light

Let's go to Ephesians chapter six.

William and uh Sir William, excuse me.

And uh let's start at verse 10.

We're gonna put the scripture on the screens tonight uh because my my reverse psychology didn't work too well.

So we're not gonna go back to this, and hopefully you'll turn anyway, but if not, you can look on the screen, okay?

Praise the Lord.

Finally, you know, I can stop there and camp out for a while.

My brethren, I'm not talking to the world, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

Everybody said amen to that one.

So that's God's will for us tonight, all of us.

And then he said, put on the whole armor of God, and that you might be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil.

If we don't have the armor all on, I like the armor all.

You spray it, you know, shines things up.

But if we got all the armor on, we can stand against the wiles of the devil.

That is a fact.

Now, sometimes there gets a little bit a little bit of crack in your armor somewhere, and Satan can inflict uh problems.

Spiritual, physical, financial, social, uh, mental, emotional, you name it, if there's a crack somewhere.

I heard a story one time about uh this preacher had a vision, and he went over into this nightclub, and this spiritual Christian was sitting at a bar on a stool drinking, and he had a glow about him.

That's right, you Christians have got a glow of light about you.

But he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was had one too many, and nobody here ever.

But he fell off the stool, and when he fell off the stool, there was a crack showed up in his uh outer lighting, which I call the armor, and these demons were trying to get in through that crack and get into him.

And don't say it's not true, because demons do possess people, but not a Christian.

I said demons possess people, but not Christians because the Holy Spirit lives in us, however, a Christian can backslide to the point that the Holy Spirit, sad to say, will pull away, and then they're vulnerable really to the attacks of the devil.

I hope none of you ever get there, but it is possible to do study about Judas, you will find out the different ones in the scripture.

So we need to settle it tonight.

We're gonna put on the armor of God and we're gonna stand against the devil, the evil one.

And then Romans 13, 12.

All right.

Romans 13 and verse 12 says, The night is far spent and the day is at hand.

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness.

Let us put on the armor of light.

That's what it is.

It's the armor of light.

I know we have symbols uh here in the church and uh it's it's a good message, but the fact is it's not that way.

You don't get up in the morning and put on light, uh put on armor and take off your armor when you go to bed.

You got armor all 24-7.

But if we don't understand the significance of being a light bearer, Satan can take advantage of our ignorance.

Now, for example, in 1 John chapter 1 and verse 5, back toward Revelation there.

1 John 1 · chapter mention

1 John 1 and verse 5, this then is the message which we have heard.

He's talking to Christians here, believers, and declare unto you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

God is light.

So, what the Bible is teaching us, Brandon, is that we are clothed with God Himself, the Holy Spirit.

He's the light.

Just like when Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, he was the light.

Moses and Elijah were reflectors of the light coming from Christ because Christ was God.

We have the Holy Spirit, and therefore we're clothed with light.

And when Satan sees us, he sees blood and he sees light, and there's a big red sign that says, Stop, devil, that's it.

Glory to God.

The wiles of the devil, say wiles.

I looked up that word, which means deceit.

Satan is deceitful.

We can stand against the wiles of the devil.

Remember that scripture we read now.

His crafty trickery, he lies, and his methods are perverse.

This is some of the tools that Satan uses on the church believers, Christians, real Christians.

He's already got the world.

He wants to get God's church.

He wants to be worshipped as Christ, and we're not going to worship Satan.

No, no way.

Now look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 26.

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

So we know how Satan works.

He hadn't changed anything in thousands of years.

And sad to say, he's pretty effective.

Especially if you don't understand your enemy.

And so it's the responsibility of the ministry to teach the sheep how the enemy is.

You don't send a soldier to war without explaining the tactics of the enemy.

So they'll know where he's hiding out.

When he's going to attack, how is he going to attack?

This and that.

And so it's not a better roses all the way through life's journey, but we do have an enemy, but we overcome every time because we have the armor all.

Well, that's the way it is sometimes with believers.

They can't seem to get out of the snare that Satan planned for ten years to trip you up.

You can be going along good and all of a sudden just fall into a snare of the devil.

Not your fault.

Maybe it is.

But the church's responsibility is try to get you out of that snare and not leave you there to die.

This is the problem with a lot of churches that it's kill off the wounded.

No, Dr.

Jesus is in the house.

We don't kill off the wounded.

We want the backsfighters to come back.

Christ died for them.

We want to help people that are weak in their faith get out of the snare of the devil.

They didn't understand how he operates, and he could trip us all up, everybody.

Even preachers.

The devil trips up more preachers than anybody else.

Because we get attacked more than everybody else.

How do you know that?

I know.

And how can we get ensnared by the devil?

How many wants to know?

There are many ways.

But here's one way.

If our focus of faith is in the wrong object, like self, our religion.

Our well, my dad was a preacher.

We belong to this church.

It's all out the window.

If our faith is in the wrong object, Satan will bring that person into the bondage of sin again.

Now you need to get this church because there's no excuse for any of us to lay in a snare and let the devil molest us to death.

You don't need counsel, you need deliverance.

It's one step out of that snare.

And we believers are to help those that have a problem spiritually.

Because Satan's going to kill them if they don't get out of it.

So what do we need?

We need to be clothed with the Holy Spirit of God.

We need to be clothed.

God is light.

Ding ding.

We need to be clothed with the Holy Spirit all the time.

We may not be aware of it, but we walk by faith and not by sight.

And so God's with us.

The light of the gospel brings about the light of the Holy Spirit.

God is light, and we're sealed with the Holy Spirit to the day of redemption.

As long as we walk with the Lord, child of God, listen, you cannot be defeated.

I don't care what happens.

The only way you can be defeated is to lay down and just quit.

Go ahead and try to quit.

God won't let you.

He loves you more than that.

He'll let you go for a while until you get tired of sinning that's killing you and tired of the devil on your back 24-7, and you're going to rise up and be strong in the Lord and get the armor of God on.

It's up to you.

We preachers can't make you have the armor on.

It's up to you to take it.

Take the armor of God.

Can't force feed you.

Take the armor.

And when you got the armor of God on, and many of the word of God, the sword of the Spirit coming out of your mouth.

That's the only offense we've got.

Everything else is defensive.

Ephesians 5.8.

Look at this now.

Oh, we're doing okay.

I must have preached too rough this morning.

I don't know.

For ye were sometimes in darkness, but now you are, but now ye light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light.

Walk it.

Walk as children of light.

You know, we shouldn't be so full of the light of God's word.

Hello.

We can walk into a situation, a room, a bunch of people, and everything, because we're walking with a God, suddenly, everything changes.

Because somebody else is in the house.

They get it real quiet.

Don't have to say anything a lot of times.

Because even believers, and especially non-believers and believers, I'll get it right, can sense somebody is with you.

Years ago when I used to build pallets, folks, I'd done everything.

Build pallets.

You gotta be a tough cookie to build oak pallets.

And uh I had this one guy's witness too.

I'd get out of Bible school.

I'd witness that guy every night, every night, two or three hours, nothing but word coming in.

And one evening, the spirit came on me, and and when I get that far in the spirit, it's like uh I can't see, my eyes get fogged up with with you know, do you and I had them tell me, you look different.

Well, there's someone in me that is different than me.

And sometimes he comes out, the eye is the light of the body.

Get it?

Ding ding.

He goes, I'm I'm with him, and I'm starting to get fogged up here, and and uh, you know, and I'm feeling the spirit, man, feeling the power, feeling the love, feeling the grace, feeling the salvation.

And he goes, Randy, what's that you got?

True story.

He goes, what's that you got?

I told him it's the Holy Spirit and and the and this and Jesus.

He goes, Well, I want it.

That's witnessing.

Have you ever experienced anything like that talking to somebody?

Say amen if you have.

If you haven't, let your light shine.

This little light of mine, forget it.

That's a good song, but I mean, you know, want a big light.

Don't hide it under a bushel.

Don't let Satan blow it out.

He can't.

Good song, but not scriptural.

Maybe we'll sing it next Sunday so you all get in, praise the Lord.

This little light just barely flickering.

God help me.

Well, you get filled with the Spirit.

Hey, walk in the light of God's word.

Put the devil on and run.

We got the devil on and run.

Yeah, we got the devil on a run.

Good old song.

That's all I know of it.

I don't know if we can get this message tonight or not.

You want to try?

God chose a man called Saul.

Accessory to murder.

I said, God chose him.

Someone said, Well, now we're the ones that choose.

Is that a fact?

You accepted Christ's choice.

That's your choice.

Anyway.

Acts 9, 15 and 16.

Hey, the little the little cell phone's working okay tonight.

I see why you use it now.

I can't see it, but you know, I could try it.

Praise the Lord.

Lord's helping me.

Acts 9.15.

I'm not cheating.

I'm using this.

I like it.

But the Lord said to him, Go your way.

Now, this is Lord Jesus appearing to Saul on the road to Damascus.

Saul was not saved.

Thought he was doing the will of God, but he was a murderer.

And he's telling this unknown prophet something about Saul.

And so it goes on.

The Lord said, Go your way.

He, Saul, is a chosen vessel unto me.

So who chose him?

Christ chose him.

I'll admit Saul was a unique individual.

One of a kind, you might say.

And he chose him to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

And verse 16, now that that's a great thing to be called like that.

But 16 says, I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

Uh-oh.

We don't like that part.

What did Saul have to do with it?

Nothing.

He had to obey, or perhaps the Lord would have killed him on the road.

You don't tell the Lord what you're gonna do.

You might respectfully ask.

So God chose Saul.

And then trouble came.

Uh-oh.

Acts 14, 19.

I'll use the use that for the sake of time here as well.

Acts 14, 19 to 22.

And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people and having stoned Paul.

Rock concert.

Here Paul, Saul being converted to Saul, great apostle, and then he goes to this ministry.

You can read it in the book of Acts, and then he gets stoned for it.

Drew him out of the city, supposedly had been dead.

Now, off the record, I think he did die, and that's when he went up to paradise in the book of Corinthians, said Corinthians, and he said, Well, the end of the body, out of the body, I don't know.

That's what I think.

But however it was, they thought he was dead, and he probably was.

There wasn't anybody with stethoscope checking it out.

But the next verse, then, Hobbit, as the disciples stood round about, he rose up and came to the city the next day.

He departed with Barnabas to Derby.

So he simply rose up after the rock concert.

And then verse 21.

And when they had preached the gospel to that city, preach the gospel.

That's what it's all about.

That's what the church is supposed to be doing.

And had taught many, they returned again to Listeria and to Iconium and Antioch.

And then verse 22, please, confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith.

Have we got it?

Continue in the faith.

And that we must through a little trouble enter the kingdom of God.

Is that what that says, everybody?

That we that we through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God.

We people need to think twice before they give their life to Christ.

But consider the other way.

It's crispy critter time.

No way out.

So the way I see it, God makes a choice, and we just say, okay, Lord, you know best.

And that's it.

That was the way Saul and Paul, Paul was, and that's the way we need to be.

Exactly the same.

May not be called to be an apostle, but we're called to be a believer.

God chose us to be a believer.

He might as well be a hundred percent.

When we lived for the devil, it was a hundred percent.

When we got turned around and got converted, now we live for God 110%.

Give it a bit.

But first, take a moment.

Yes, what's the sign of work?

Now, let's get back to the eight powerful message with Dr.

Way.

First Thessalonians 2 18.

Are we done?

Okay.

First Thessalonians 2.18.

Wherefore we would have come to you, even I have Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us.

And so Paul faced the same thing.

And by the way, we are facing the same demons that Paul faced.

The same demons that were in Sodom and Gomorrah are on the loose on the earth.

It's just hidden in our country, but it it's getting to the point where it's all gonna come out.

But if you're not, we have authority over unclean spirits.

Don't ever forget that, child of God.

And so he said that Satan hindered him.

Now look, if Satan hindered him, you know what?

Satan's gonna hinder us.

There's no rose garden here.

It is glory all the way, but there is a battle we're gonna face.

But fear not, God's with us.

I said, God's with us.

No matter what, God's with us.

You're gonna have to accept that.

So I'm gonna make a statement now.

I don't believe in unconditional predestination.

But Paul was predetermined to stand before Caesar, and there wasn't nothing that anybody could do to stop that.

Hallelujah.

Oh, Satan tried.

We're gonna get to it here in a minute.

Satan tried to stop Paul from appealing to Caesar, but he couldn't do it.

But that devil did try.

Just like he tried to stop us from doing stuff.

I've had the same demons go over to the churches in Africa and tear up what we began.

Same demons.

You hear that?

You're Africans?

God help you.

If you get on the wrong side of the fence and get into Satan's camp, he can take you out.

Because your light is gone.

But there's a lot of good folk over there.

And like here.

People's the same everywhere.

Same problems.

Same devil to fight, but same Lord.

We have to help us come through.

The three Hebrew men didn't get out of the fiery furnace.

Daniel didn't get out of the lion's den.

What much of us think?

We're going to get out of trouble.

Now, it's seasonal.

It's not all the time the rest of your life, you poor people.

You're going to have some good times in life.

But there will be times of testing.

There will be times of hardship.

There will be times when somebody else got to milk the cow.

These kids we got today, they don't know where milk comes from.

You've got to go down there to the store, Walmart, and get some milk, mommy.

I want to bring a goat in here one of these days and show these kids how to milk that goat and Sesska to be the one milking that goat.

He's never milked a goat.

Remember when they brought that sheep in, we thought they're going to sacrifice that sheep.

Oh Lord.

What am I going to do?

And we could have got in a mess like that with witch doctors and things.

Folks, I've been down the road, man.

It's it's it's like uh Indiana Jones, man.

It's adventure, but at the same time, it's somewhat risky.

Well, that's life.

God's with us, though, isn't he?

He's with us.

So Paul was predetermined to stand before Caesar.

Acts 25 and verse 9.

I just believe that God is sovereign.

He's going to have his way one way or the other.

No matter what we do, Art no one does.

Mm-hmm.

Let's look at verse 9.

But Festus, I think about gun smoke, you know, Festus.

Willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul and said, You know, I I can imitate Kamala Harris, you know that.

Take it off.

Cut it out, Billy.

I can imitate somebody else too, but I won't do it because I didn't get a laugh.

You just don't appreciate talent, you know that?

Then verse, then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged.

To the Jews, have I done no wrong, as thou very well know.

And if I be offered offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die.

In other words, if you can find something wrong with me, I'll go ahead and will die.

But if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them.

I appeal unto Caesar.

There it is.

Then Festus, there's old Festus again.

When he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar?

Unto Caesar, thou shalt go.

So Paul knew it was God's will for him to go to Caesar because God had made the decision before Paul was ever saved to start with.

Just like you and me.

We're not running things.

Amen.

We're not running things.

It was God's will.

And even Satan could not stop Paul from doing God's will.

I want to get that through to this church.

Once you find out what God's will is, the devil cannot stop you from doing it.

We're either in the will of God or we're not.

That's it.

Now, Acts 23 and verse 11, one verse here quickly.

We're doing good tonight.

I think.

Acts 23 and verse 11.

The night following the Lord stood by him.

Now here's another trouble.

He got in trouble.

Trouble.

Paul did.

On the way to Caesar, he got in trouble.

And the night following the Lord stood, the Lord stood by him, and I said, Be of good cheer, Paul.

For thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem.

So must thou bear witness also at Rome.

You know where Caesar was?

Jesus said, Hey, you're going to Rome.

And the devil paraphrased can't stop it.

But he did try.

I gotta admit that.

But David said something here in Psalms 34 and verse 19, and I think we can all identify with this one tonight.

Minnie.

Say many.

You know, I can imitate Minnie Pearl.

You ever seen Minnie Pearl on TV?

She wore that hat with that little price tag.

I know you're younger folk, you're older folk.

You ever hear Minnie Pearl?

I can imitate her.

You want to hear me imitate her?

Howdy.

I know I've lost it.

It's your fault.

I thought it was pretty good.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous.

I wish that wasn't in there, but it is.

But the Lord delivers him out of them.

How many?

All in Hebrew means all.

We're coming out.

Maybe you snared for a while, but we're coming out.

Because Christ is with us and the church is for us.

Praise God.

That's the way it is.

And now some of the hardships that Paul went through to get to Caesar.

So it was God's will, apparently, for Paul to go through these things so that we would know how the devil operates.

These scriptures are written for our admonition that we wouldn't understand how life is.

2 Corinthians 11 and verse 22.

You know, I'm kind of enjoying this tonight.

This morning was kind of rough, but you know, I'm kind of enjoying this tonight.

A little bit.

A little bit.

2 Corinthians 11, verse 22.

2 Corinthians 11:22

Are they Hebrews?

Paul said, so am I.

Are they Israelites?

So am I.

Are they the seed of Abraham?

So am I.

You talk about a pedigree and qualifications, man.

Paul had it.

Satan should have left him alone.

Oh no.

Are they ministers of Christ?

I speak as a fool.

I am more, in labors more often, in stripes above measure.

That beat him on the bottom of his feet, he couldn't even walk.

In prison often.

In deaths often.

Ugh.

Satan tried to take him out permanent, but he couldn't do it.

Other Jews five times received out 40 stripes, saved one.

The Jews couldn't break the law, so it's 39 stripes, not 40.

Five times, what?

There was nine lashes on one stripe.

If we can look at the scars on the body of Paul, it would be obnoxious.

And yet he suffered it.

Say suffer.

And some of you Christianats.

You can't even be strong when somebody says something about you that's a lie.

Thrice was I beaten with rods.

There it is.

Three times I was beaten with rods.

Why?

Preaching the gospel in the will of God.

I said, in the will of God.

It wasn't on the will of God when this happened.

He was in the will of God.

I don't know why, but this is the record.

I was stoned.

I suffered shipwreck a night and a day.

I have been in the deep.

Could you imagine swimming in the river, in the water?

For that length of time?

Like the time he was in the boat and Satan sends a storm, and the angel said, Fear not, Paul, God's delivered you and everybody on the boat.

But the ship's going to be destroyed.

And Saul was there, Paul was there in chains giving the orders because an angel told him what to say.

Couldn't be stopped.

So the ship was destroyed, which was the type of Christ.

And then all the angels, the ministering spirits sent there to minister theirs of salvation, put a little block of wood there for everybody on the ship to hold on to so they wouldn't drown, and nobody died.

They all got them to the shore and were spared.

Because God said.

Yeah.

Well, verse 26, in journeys often, in perils of water, and perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils in the sea, and perils among false brethren.

That one hurts.

False brethren.

I don't understand it.

I don't understand why somebody wants to be a brother to start with, unless you're serious about it.

So go ahead and serve the devil.

What do you want to claim to be a Christian for when you're not?

And even John said they went out from among us, but they were not of us.

Where did they go?

They went out into the world, but they were in the church.

God help us.

I hope we don't develop false brethren to go out and preach a lie.

That's the reason I want water now from nobody.

In weariness, painfulness, wanting often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness.

Now who wants to be a foundational apostle?

Besides those things, if this is not enough, that are without which comes upon me daily, the cares of all the churches.

No man can take that unless the Holy Ghost is on him.

And he was.

Paul was a Pentecostal power preacher.

Praise God.

Everywhere he went, there was a revival or a riot.

Closing down here, 2 Timothy 4 and verse 6 to 8.

So Paul went through it.

Thank God he did, but man, he was tough.

He endured afflictions.

2 Timothy 4 and verse 6, then.

The time of my departure is at hand.

Well, I guess.

Verse 7 then.

I fought a good fight.

I finished my course.

I've kept the faith.

So critical.

Folks today don't eat steak twice a week and they backslide.

This thing we call Christianity is not Bible.

We serve God in the good times and the bad times.

In the good, the bad, and the ugly.

No matter what happens, we're coming through.

It's like I always say if we're not in a storm, we're coming out of it, or we're getting ready to go into one.

That's life, everybody.

At least you're alive.

You can feel.

Praise God.

But one of these days is going to be over for individuals in the church, like Paul.

He said, I run a race.

I've kept the faith.

I fought a good fight.

I finished my course.

I've kept the faith.

And then verse 8 says, Hallelujah.

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.

Talking about when he gets to glory.

Which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.

Does he deserve it?

I'm telling you.

Here's a good part.

And not to me only, oh God.

But to all them that love his appearing.

Shout out in the middle of somebody.

Hallelujah.

All them that love the rapture.

That's his appearing.

Do you love it?

He's coming soon.

Maybe in morning, night or noon.

We know he's coming soon.

Praise God.

Do I make a baptist shout tonight?

Hallelujah.

And then Romans 14.8 says, For whether we live, we live unto the Lord.

Whether we die, we die unto the Lord.

Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.

Underline that in your Bible, everybody.

No matter what, we belong to Christ.

He bought and paid for us at Calvary.

That's good enough.

Let's stand up tonight.

Praise the Lord.

That didn't work too bad.

Praise the Lord.

Hallelujah.

Are you happy tonight?

Be in Christ?

Such a blessing to be in Christ.

If any man to be in Christ, he's another creature.

Praise God.

We need to walk that way, live that way.

Because that's the way that it is.

Hallelujah.

I'm going to speak a blessing upon you now.

Father God, when the saints go out this week into this world, we pray a special blessing upon their lives, that they'll come in contact with people and they'll be a good witness, letting the light shine before men and glorify the Father which is in heaven.

Give them favor, Father God, divine favor and anointing as they go out from this building this week out into the world.

And Lord, give them a special anointing and insights, awareness of Satan, and also to stay out of the snares that he plays for us.

But none of their life is alive and well tonight because they're in the will of God, Father God.

We're thinking that we're more than conquerors through Christ Jesus, that no weapon formed against us is ever going to prosper.

But we condemn every word that comes up against us, Lord, Father God.

So your word has declared that your word will go forth and not return, Lord.

The word's innocent of the night.

Let the living word shine, Father God, this way in Jesus' mighty name.

Oh no, yeah, that's the way it's got three forward I got.