KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:16 “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”.

The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle ask us to take the shield of faith, wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Please note the first two words in our key scripture. It says “above all”. This is a very strong emphasis on the importance of this part of the armour. He says with this shield of faith, we would be able to quench or put out every explosive weapon thrown at us. Note also the word “every”. It does not matter how terrible or destructive the onslaught may be; you would be able to put it out by the shield of faith.

My candid advice is, never consider any situation as beyond your ability to deal with. All you need is that, your faith must be in place. The faith of the Christian is such a very important virtue and every child of God must endeavour to maintain an active faith at all times.

Trouble does not announce itself or give a prior warning before it arrives. Every problem comes with an intention to destroy or stop God’s testimony in your life. You need to keep working on your faith. The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, (Romans 10:17).

Many children of God go through trials or satanic attacks and are waiting on God to do something about the situation. Our key scripture tells us something different. It says you must take the shield of faith. You must use it to quench the fiery dart of the wicked. You must put your faith into action.

Faith is a product of the word of God. It is not a product of our reasoning. Give attention to the word of God. Keep feeding on the word. Do not worry about how weak or small your faith is. Keep feeding on the word and keep acting on what you have been hearing. Please faith have nothing to do with your feeling. Faith has everything to do with the word of God. Faith is an individual thing, it is not a cooperate issue. If you are faced with a condition that must change or stop for you to be free then you must use your personal faith. If a fiery dart is thrown at you, you must have your personal shield to quench it.

How do we get our faith into action? You must believe the word of God about the situation. Speak out the word in line with what you expect and then finally act on the word. Hold your ground if the needs be and don’t give up.

CONFESSION

I give attention to the word of God always. This get my faith ready for every situation. By faith I stop every attack that the enemy raises against me.

FURTHER STUDIES.

1 John 5:4 ” For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”.

Mark 9:23 “Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:15 “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

The next part of the armour to consider is to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

The Christian is a messenger of peace. The Lord Jesus bore the punishment for our peace.  Isaiah 53:5 put it this way, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed”. One major need and the heart cry of most men is peace in their hearts. Through the gospel our Lord Jesus has borne the punishment that has brought peace to all men. Men must hear it. They ought not to be in the dark and continue to be tormented in their minds and their hearts.

 According to the word of God the man who sets forth to go with this gospel, of peace has shod his feet with proper sandals. This implies those who do not carry the gospel for the salvation and peace of others have no shoes on their feet. How dangerous to travel this world with all the dangerous snakes without proper shoes. It is not surprising that those Christians who are not involved in evangelizing the world or societies are not swift spiritually. You find a lot of spiritual dullness with them. They have no shoes on their feet.

Please just listen to the prophet Isaiah as he revealed concerning those who send the gospel of peace; Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings that publishes peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publishes salvation that says unto Zion thy God reigns”. The prophet says such people who publish the gospel of peace have beautiful feet. They have proper shoes on their feet.

 To put on this armour, you must commit your life to preaching the gospel of peace and salvation of men. The gospel is about bringing men unto a peaceful relationship with God and also experiencing the peace of God. Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Dear child of God the terrain in which we are treading is infested with all sorts of evil powers. The Bible calls them snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19). You need your shoes to tread upon them, and not be bitten or stung by them.

 CONFESSION

I am a carrier of the glad tidings of peace. I have shod my feet with proper shoes that protects me against any demonic attacks on my feet. My life is also swift making me achieve a lot for God.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Luke 10:19 ” Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.

Isaiah 52:7 ” How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:14b ” ……. and having on the breastplate of righteousness”;

Our next part of God’s armour to put on, is the breastplate of righteousness. Please understand that we are not asked to pray for the Lord to put on us these things. We must put them on. You do so as you act on what the Bible says about these things.

Righteousness is a gift that we receive by faith. This comes with our new birth. A righteous consciousness keeps you from living in sin consciousness. Satan succeeds more in making one live in sin when he has a sin consciousness. . It is sin consciousness that leads many into acts of sin (sin consciousness is the believe that you are a sinner). Sinning is a condition of the heart. It is defiles as well as a rebellion against God. The Lord said in Mark 7:20 “And He said that which cometh out of the man, that defiles the man, for from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder…” Such a heart of filth will drive out the influence of the Spirit from you.

 A man becomes the cheapest influence and control of the devil when sin is permitted into the heart. Keep your righteousness. It is your breastplate. It guards the heart out of demonic intruders. Remember the advice of the Spirit in Proverbs 4:23 “Keep the heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life”. The heart is the centre of your being. The heart should be the sole possession and control of the Holy Spirit.

Give attention to the word of God and meditate on the word of God. This is the only way you can maintain a right heart. Make a decision never to allow the flesh and the world to take over your heart. Satan is always knocking to be allowed in. Never permit him. Put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Physically, a diseased heart is a terminal case. Secondly if a fiery dart shot, hit the heart, you are dead. This perfectly applies to our spiritual state. You must never leave your heart unprotected. Other parts of the body when hit or attacked may not cause fatalities, not so with the heart. It must be protected with all diligence. Righteousness is non-negotiable. If there is any act of dishonesty, please stop it now, failure to stop would lead you to spiritual death.

 CONFESSION

My heart is the centre of life. I guard it with all diligence, putting on the breastplate of righteousness. Every act of dishonesty has no place in me.

FURTHER STUDIES:

2 Corinthians 4:2 ” But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”.

Proverbs 14:34 ” Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand”

Our key scripture instructs us that, if we would be victorious over the devil then we ought to put on the whole armour of God.

The Apostle starts with the first armour calling it truth: Ephesians. 6:14 “Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth… “He describes truth as a belt that holds the whole armour in place. Truth is light. Truth makes the power of the enemy useless. Remember that the power of the enemy is darkness.

The enemy is eternally defeated. Hebrews 2:14 says “For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil.” This word ‘destroy’ means to be paralyzed or to be made ineffective

 Again, wearing the belt of truth is to accept that the Bible is God’s word to us. Every promise has God’s full backing and that you fully rely on it. . Satan has used his age old deception to hold many captives, he tells people, “don’t trust your whole life on God’s word”. Please refuse that, as Moses did. Get to the word of God and approach every scripture with a very opened mind. God is the greatest unseen reality (truth) and your heart must be fully opened to whatever he says. Give no room to any suggestion that waters down the reliability of the word.

Know the truth about yourself. Take time to study all that the Bible says about God’s investment in you through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are not just a piece of dust on the earth seeking to find how things would work out for you. You are God’s object of love and care, by giving up Jesus to die in your place. You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You are the apple of God’s eye. Know the truth about who you are.

Accept these scriptural truths and keep speaking the truth to yourself always. You have got to be established in these present truth. Keep declaring the truth about Satan. Satan is a liar and eternally defeated. Confess the truth about our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee and every name bows to Him. Finally confess the truth about yourself. In making these confessions, daily you put on this belt of truth.

  CONFESSION

God’s word is the truth. I submit my life to the truth always without holding back. I keep soaring high and high in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES:

John 17:17. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John 8:31-32  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.

In our previous study we learnt that there is an organised host of demonic forces that are arrayed against the Christian. We Christians are identified with the Lord Jesus. This means whatever belongs to Jesus belongs to us. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). Our identification with Jesus also means whatever Jesus did, we did it with Him.

In spiritual warfare the enemy’s main objective is to cause you to accept that you are defeated and that what God says is not true.

I would use an illustration to explain this point. Archbishop Benson Idahosa who has gone to be with the Lord, shared the following story. He said, in November 1968, a car knocked him off his bicycle and threw him to the other side of the road. He was rushed to the hospital where the x-ray pictures showed he had multiple fractures in about ten different places. The doctor who attended to him said, “man of God do you know you have broken your bones in ten different places?” The Archbishop responded by saying, “HIS BONES WERE NOT BROKEN.” He quoted Psalm 34:20 “He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken”. The man of God was on a battle front at that moment. He either had to identify with Jesus in the fact that his bones were never broken or not to identify with Jesus, accept his physical condition and suffer naturally, going through the normal process of healing.

A cast was put on the leg and was given four months to stay in the hospital. He told the doctor he would be in the hospital for a day. Just after the cast was fixed he limped off from the hospital, went to church that evening and preached. He was healed from that day.

It was the enemy that attacked through the accident. He decided to stand on the victory in Jesus and not to submit to the natural or physical conditions.

He felt the pain, yet he identified with the Lord Jesus and claimed Jesus bones were not broken and so his was also not broken. Spiritual warfare is won by taking your position in Christ irrespective of what the physical and natural evidences show. Many of us have understood spiritual warfare as praying warfare prayers. Well they are supposed to keep you standing in your victory in Christ. “….. And having done all stand.”(Ephesians 6:13b).

You don’t pray and go complaining about how Satan is defeating you. No!

 CONFESSION

I am secured in Jesus. No matter what the enemy throws at me, I maintain my victory in Jesus. He is my victory and success and I always remain victorious

FURTHER STUDIES.

Romans 8:31. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

1 John 5:4 ” For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ”.

In our previous study we considered philosophy as one of the ways that some of us children of God are led out of the way and taken captive.

The next weapon of deceit is vain or empty deceit. According to our key scripture these deceptions come from the traditions of men and the rudiment or science or general physical principles of this life.

There are a number of vain deceit that have taken most people captive. One basic deceit is that Jesus is very far away from our day to day experiences. Many Christians would openly state that Jesus is very close by, yet their actions show clearly that they have wholly bought the idea that He is very far. That is the reason for so much unbelief. That is the reason for the fear most Christians express in the face of all kinds of beggarly situations. These attitudes and actions have unconsciously taken most Christians captive

Dear child of God, Jesus is as close today to every one of us as he was when he walked and lived physically on the earth. No situation should instill fear in you, for as he has always assured us of His presence, so is He present with us now.

Why are most Christians not involved in soul winning? Why is the church of God not manifesting the greater works our master.  Jesus spoke about in John 14:12.  Most Christians are deceived vainly.

Many Christians are deceived to believe that church is solely for meeting our needs either emotional, health or any other kind. This has resulted in so many self-centered baby Christians. The truth is that God is a need provider yet that is only one part of His reason for enlisting us. Church is supposed to be a militant force of men and women who are demonstrating the character and the power and love of Jesus Christ in their lives to win the world for the Lord.

What is making your heart cold towards the Lord.? These deceptions affect the impact of the word in us. Mark 4:19 “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful”.

There are countless teachings that are simply vain deceit. They are purely human traditions that make God’s power of none effect. Mark 7:13 says “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition which you have delivered and many such like things do ye”.

Beware lest you are not taken captive by anyone

How to avoid being deceived:

 Approach God’s word objectively.

 Don’t allow old held believes to influence your understanding of scripture. (it may guide you)

 Do whatever God’s word tells you.

CONFESSION

My life is dependent on the word of God. I approach the word objectively and so I am not deceived but always enlightened so I may bless my world.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Revelation 12:9 ” And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”.

Mark 7:9 “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ”.

Apostle Paul in this verse exposes the root of deception that comes to most children of God. He tells us to beware of these traps of the enemy. To be aware is to be on the alert. It involves knowing who your enemy is and the means by which you could be deceived. Satan is a specialised deceiver. This is even an understatement. He is a natural deceiver. Our key scripture says “beware lest any man spoil you…”

We know that the Greek word for man is ‘Anthropos’. In. Colossians 2:8, The word used for man is ‘Tis’, But could also be translated as, a thing or anything whatsoever. This implies you could be taken captive, deceived or spoilt by an event,, a situation, a man, an information from the radio. Simply be on the alert against anything the devil may use to spoil (to carry one away as a booty, a slave, or lead away from the truth) you.  Many children of God are been led away from the truth. Be on the alert.

He tells us the two main (weapons) means by which children of God are deceived.

1. Philosophy
2. Vain deceit

He also adds the sources of these two weapons of deception. They are:

1. Traditions of men
2. The rudiments of this world.

Philosophy means love of wisdom. There are a number of us who by virtue of much learning are prone to human wisdom, using our minds to analyze whatever we are told. These philosophies are rooted in human traditions that is the experiences and beliefs of people which has been passed or transmitted from one generation to another. The second source of these philosophies are the rudiments or the basic principles of this life. This could be related to arts, science and the general physical functions of our world and not faith in Christ.

These things have formed the thinking and world view of most people. Secularism and it’s high level of worldliness is rooted in this   . No amount of human reasoning can contact God except by accepting God’s revelation about Himself.

1st Corinthians 1:18 reads “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are saved it is the power of God”. According to 1st Corinthians 1:21 the world by wisdom cannot and would not know God.

There have arisen these days a lot of preachers who are motivational preachers. Most of their teachings are human philosophies and not Christ. Be on the alert lest you are carried away as a captive.

CONFESSION

I am committed to Christ, His death and resurrection that has brought me into the kingdom of God. I am aware of the human philosophies that does not save nor blesses anyone.

FURTHER STUDIES:

1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1 Corinthians 1:21 “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Colossians 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”.

For in Him (Jesus Christ) dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

The word ‘Godhead’ means deity or divinity. The word ‘fullness’ also means completeness, abundance or filled to capacity. This scripture could be said this way, “he is the manifestation of God in a bodily form”. He is not just a representative of the original but the real divine one in a bodily form.

Jesus is God.

 Colossians 1:15 — 19 throws more light on His deity and the fact that He (Jesus) is the creator of all things. Colossians 1:15 says “Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature”. This issue of Jesus being the first born of every creature has been misunderstood by some people, especially the Jehovah’s witnesses. They claim Jesus is a creature.

 Well to understand the meaning and import of certain statements you must read further.  Colossians 1:16 reads “For by Him were all things created. The word by is the Greek word “En” which means “IN” in English. It could be translated as follows, “for in Him were all things created”. He states “…….that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by Him and for Him”.

Please consider this, how could He be a creature and all things would be created” IN” Him and then “by ” Him. Colossians 1:17 also reads “And He is before all things and by (in) Him all things consist”. Jesus is not a creature but the creator. Col 1:19 also teaches that “For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell”. Note: The whole fullness of deity or divinity dwells in Him in bodily form. He is God in a bodily form. Let’s look at 1st Timothy 3:16 ” And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world, received up into glory”.

Beloved, this scripture undoubtedly refers to our Lord Jesus. He is God in bodily form.

CONFESSION

Jesus is God who became man. He died for me and bought me with His blood. This makes me very precious and my salvation the dearest thing or experience on this earth. I would continue to keep faith with Him and live to glorify His name.

FURTHER STUDIES.

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”.

John 1:1, 3 ” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made”.