Put on the Whole Armor of God and Pray Always - Purity 1232

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of an extreme close-up of a gold coin inscribed with a knight and the command to pray always and to put on the whole armor of God comes to us from here in Australia as I decided to take a closer look at one of the more special Christmas gifts I had received from my wife on Christmas Day, Monday morning. Well, it's Wednesday, and although I have been blessed with a Christmas vacation from my day job, I walk into the midpoint of the shortened work week with business to do just the same, as I have some unfinished business that's finally about to be completed. In Jesus' name, I declare it. And I have the labor of love of leading the Celebrate Freedom growth group at Starpoint Church later this evening. So, in some ways, this day is finished before it begins, as my schedule will have me traveling up and down and around the Capital District today, as I prayerfully will be signing the papers of the sale of my previous home at my attorney's office in Hudson, New York, as far as I know, in the mid— in the mid-afternoon, and rolling back north for dinner with Tammy Lynn at our countryside home before going down to Star Point., for the Celebrate Freedom growth group meeting at 6:30 PM. Before any of those activities, I will take my new Christian— my new Christmas gift's advice to put on the whole armor of God and to pray always to heart, as not only, um, because I know not only that these things are commanded in God's word, but know from experience how necessary and beneficial They are to my protection and success in life and ministry. When you put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior and decide to follow him with the way you live your life, you become a target. Jesus not only warned his disciples that the world would hate them like it hated him and they would be persecuted by man, but he also warned of the real and present dangers of the spiritual forces of darkness who would see the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy them. While I may have taken a long time to learn what I have about, um, about my faith, or about faith in general, I know now that we are to take our teacher's lessons seriously and not only try to understand what Jesus was saying, but we are to also put his wisdom to work in our lives by practicing what he preached. More than just a good teacher. Jesus was and is God, and the Bible is God's Word. So it's not only a good idea to know what the Word made flesh and the living Word of God say, it's imperative to obey their commandments for our safety and for God's glory. And we come to— as we come to faith in Jesus and study his word, God's Word, and come to understand God's sovereignty and realize the spiritual battleground that we're living in, We realize that not only does our prayer life keep us in harmony and communication with God, it is also our best defense and weapon to overcome the trials and tribulations that man, the circumstances of living in a broken world, in a world broken by sin and the enemy, can throw against us. One of the things I've learned when I made the decision to not only to believe but to follow Jesus was that Christians pray and read the Bible. And one of the things that was recommended was to obey Paul's advice in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 in the New Living Translation tells us, 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 strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world. Oh, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle, you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of 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 every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. While entire books on spiritual warfare and the whole armor of God have been written highlighting the verses in this passage of scripture. I'll just point to 3 things that we should glean from this for our daily walk. Number 1, the devil, the enemy, is a real literal enemy and can— and, and they can and will attack and, and affect Christians. This letter is written to the church at Ephesus, and Paul's final word is to warn Christians about the devil's strategies and evil opponents in the unseen realm. That's demons, and the reason we have to defend against them is that they can do damage to us through lies, temptation, accusations, and condemnation, which all point to a battle for our hearts and minds. So the enemy is real. Number 2, the Lord gives us a means to protect ourselves, but we must use it. While some will pray through this passage of Scripture and imagine putting on literal spiritual armor— unseen armor for an unseen opponent, I guess— and feel empowered by the idea or process of being equipped like some Christian Lancelot, I believe Paul was making an analogy for our faith in Jesus specifically and how our relationship with him protects us in our most vulnerable areas. Beyond the warlike imagery, Jesus is our truth, righteousness, good news, faith, salvation, and word to fight the enemy with. Just cry out Jesus and stand firm with him to cover and establish every area of your life. Our living in the truth, righteousness, good news, faith, salvation, and word of Jesus protects us and gives us the victory. And then number 3, prayer has power. While any Christian will tell you that our prayer life is not a matter of calling the shots or a one-to-one cause-and-effect relationship, there is something about prayer which should cause us to persist in it. Entire books have been written about prayer too, but even though I can't assure you that prayer will move the particular mountains in your life at particular moments, or that it will protect you from all forms of suffering. I have seen way too many prayers answered to tell you to do anything other than pray always. Prayer— to pray is to talk to God, you know, so, well, and, well, pray to talk to God, pray to ask him for help, pray to ask for help for others, pray for strength, Pray for God, uh, for people to be saved. Pray for healing. Pray to bind and cast out the enemy. Pray for good outcomes. And do that, all of the above, all the time. Pray always, as it says. I prayed for the sale of my former homes, uh, you know, since, since the ink was dry on the purchase of my new house down by the river in 2020. And 3, and after 3 years I'm seeing just how good God can be and moving all things together for good, uh, of the— for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose. It would take far too long to explain just how awesome God has been in moving things to this moment in time, but the Lord knows that I know, uh, what he has done and that I will thank and love him forever for how he has blessed me, not only in this financial transaction but with my salvation and my new life in Christ, and honestly for all the days of my life that have brought me here today. So put your trust in Jesus, put on the whole armor of God every day by praying always and by standing firm in your relationship with the Lord, with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, every moment of every day. By following and walking and talking with God. As always— well, no, not as always— this morning's meditation verse comes to us from the Quick Scriptural Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's Bible verses come to us from the section on comfort, and today's verses are Psalm 92:1-2. From the New American Standard Bible. The Word of God says, "It is good to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to your name, O Most High, to declare your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night." Today's verses fall under the fourth point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on Comfort. That fourth point is: God always shelters those who put their trust in him. Today's verses tell us that it is good to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to His name and to declare His goodness, faithfulness, and love both day and night. Hey, I love how the Lord sovereignly puts these messages and my life together. All thanks because as I am riding the wave of expectant joy and extreme gratitude of over the closing of the, uh, closing of, of my, of my former home today. Um, today's Bible verse reminds me of just how good it is to praise and thank the Lord and to declare his goodness all the time. And tonight at Celebrate Freedom, we'll be going over the worship lesson on the, uh, of the Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course, which just happens to highlight how our praising the Lord in song is to be an integral part of our daily lives as disciples of Christ, Jesus Christ. As disciples, we practice what the Word of God tells us to do, and there are lots of verses that tell us to sing to the Lord because God knows how the act of praise can encourage, strengthen, empower, and change us. And while today's verse says nothing, uh, about sheltering us, That's the conclusion that our resource, a resource author, uh, uh, has made in regard to praise, thanksgiving, and meditating on God's goodness. It shelters us because it does. Call it part of the armor of God, or call it shelter, a shield, or a fortress. Our relationship with God in all the ways that it is expressed give us protection in many ways. And just knowing the goodness of God and expressing it and thinking about it is one of those ways. So give thanks, sing, and think about God's goodness and feel the shelter of living in his love. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk Today we are sharing from God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Today's message is for, um, you know, I guess it's— I don't know, is it the second day of Christmas, uh, the 12 Days of Christmas and the Epiphany? Uh, well, it's the message for December 27th, and Bonhoeffer shares, or the authors of the book share, uh, on the weak shoulders of a child And, uh, this is what Bonhoeffer writes: On the weak shoulders of a child. Authority rests upon his shoulders. Authority over the world is supposed to lie on the weak shoulders of this newborn child. One thing we know: these shoulders will come to carry the entire burden of the world. With the cross, all the sin and distress of this world will be loaded on these shoulders. But authority consists in the fact that the bearer does not collapse under the burden, but carries it to the end. The authority that lies on the shoulders of the Child in the manger consists in the patient bearing of people and their guilt. This bearing, however, begins in the manger; it begins where the eternal world of God assumes and bears human flesh. The authority over all the world has its beginning in the very lowliness and weakness of the child. He accepts and carries the humble, the lowly, and sinners, but he rejects and brings to nothing the proud, the haughty, and the righteous. And then, and then next, our resource shares, uh, an excerpt from one of Bonhoeffer's letters to his parents from Tegel Prison from December 17, 1943, where Bonhoeffer wrote: From the Christian point of view, there is no special problem about Christmas in a prison cell. For many people in this building, it will probably be a more sincere and genuine occasion than in places where nothing but the name is kept. The misery, suffering, poverty, loneliness, helplessness, and guilt means something quite different in the eyes of God from what they mean in the judgment of man. That God will approach where men turn away, that Christ was born in a stable because there was no room for him in, in the inn— these are things that a prisoner can understand better than other people. For him, they really are glad tidings. That was from Bonhoeffer's letter to his parents. From Tegel Prison on December 17th, 1943. And finally, our resource shares a passage from Philippians 2:5-11. The Word of God says, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. That concludes our sharing from, uh, God is in the Manger by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We're going to keep sharing right until we're done with the resource on the day of Epiphany. Even if we skip on Sundays, we'll double up on Saturdays to share that message. It's basically— I really wanted to, uh, dive into Bonhoeffer's devotional. He's one of our Christian heroes for sure, and we, we shared a teaching on our YouTube channel, Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, for your viewing and listening pleasure. If you want to check it out, it's called Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, and it's literally his book. Read by me, um, slowly, slowly, and my few comments about what he has to say about discipleship and following Jesus. So if you want to check those out, they're available on our podcast and our YouTube channel, along with many other resources that encourage your identity and freedom in Christ, including the Freedom in Christ course, uh, Victor Over the Darkness, and Bondage Breaker. Which are all teachings of Dr. Neil Anderson from Freedom in Christ Ministries, and they're all based on the Word of God. And all these things, the call to discipleship and the call to our knowing who we are in Christ and call to freedom, is why we do the podcast, is because we, we answered the call, we heard the message, and we saw how it transformed our lives and continues to bless us every day. And so I'll be keep— I'm going to keep walking and talking with God, so I might as well tell everyone I can about the good news of Jesus Christ and that how a life of Christian discipleship just happens to be the answer to all life's problems, from mental, you know, from addictions to negative mental mind states. The Lord, you know, our faith has given us the remedy, but we have to— just like the whole armor of God, we have to put it on. And we don't always get good teaching about that, and so I felt compelled to share what I've come to know because it was knowledge I had to seek out and, you know, had to receive from the Lord. You know, as, as we don't just figure this out ourselves, our relationship with God is that, a relationship, and the Holy Spirit gives us illumination. That means he gives us understanding. Otherwise, the Word of God is nonsense to us. And, you know, calls to pray always, you know, fall on deaf ears. But when the Lord shows us these things, we can grow in them. So it's my prayer that He uses my words to encourage you to look at His Word and to go to His Spirit and and receive the wisdom that he has for you and the blessings he has for your life. Because we're not in this thing alone. We have each other to encourage one another in our faith, and most importantly, we have God on our side. I'm a person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God the Father. So let's keep walking and talking with him and following what he has for us to do in life, because that's where we'll find our victory and our freedom. Amen. Anyway, let's pray. Uh, Lord God, Heavenly Father, Lord, I pray for the closing of the home to go through today like it's supposed to. Um, we pray for you to protect us in our travels today as we go to and from and all over. I pray for you to bless the fellowship of Celebrate Freedom, for me to arrive safely there, and for other people to find their way there. We pray for you to bless all those things, and we also pray for Bless anyone who's reading or listening to this message, that you come alongside them and their prayer requests and their walk of faith. Because Lord, we all need your help. So we pray for you to help them, and we pray for you to help us. Pray for you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead our steps in the things that you would have us do. And, um, because all we want— because we definitely desperately need your help, and all we want to do is represent you. In your kingdom, Lord. So we pray for you to help us in all these things, and we thank you, we praise you, we love you, Lord. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.