In the last teaching letter we have been talking about withstanding the storms that come against us that our house not fall under attacks and pressures from Satan. If you’re like me you want to be able to make a stand when your evil day comes. I want to take this a little farther, because I am sure there are others out there that are tired of getting beat up by Satan’s devices. I don’t know about you but I want to know a little more about enforcing Satan’s defeat and make it a little harder for him to handle me.
 

Let's begin in, Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

After using a letter to tell us our inheritance and what we have and who we are in Christ, Paul says finally to be strong in Him and in His power. He doesn’t stop there He goes on and tells us some key points on obtaining that strength and standing in His power.

In verse 11, Paul says,Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. NKJV

Before we look at the armor of God we are to clothe ourselves in, let’s take a close look at what are the wiles of the devil. Well we know that some things are obvious traps of the enemy. Most of us know that when someone commits adultery it’s a well laid trap of Satan. Yet even though we consider untruths and small lies a sin, most don’t look at it as a trap of the enemy. How about WORRY and CARES,which most don’t even consider as a small sin, yet is it not a trap of Satan? Most of us just brush off taking on of cares and worrying about them as just something you do because you’re human and that’s what humans do. 

So what are the wiles of the devil? The word “wiles” basically means “methods”, the dictionary uses: stratagem, to fool, trickery, entice, lure (away from or into), and beguile. All this meaning, his methodical practices to steal things away from us as a believer. He thinks he has all the time he needs to do it, his methods are like that drip on a rock from a waterfall, a steady drip over and over and over, methodical, persistent making inroads into our life, eroding our faith.

Keeping these verses in context Eph 6:11-12 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. NKJV

Comparing it to the natural Paul is saying we need to keep on our armor to stop this enemy’s methodical practices and fight this war that we are in. Just as armies of old fought wars in the natural we are in a war also, not a war of flesh and blood but one with invisible powers, a different war but a war just the same! Verse 12 is a description of Satan’s war machine all the way from a principality over a continent down to an assignment of a spiritual wickedness on a believer. 

Look at some of the tools that Satan uses in this war, 2 Cor 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, NKJV 

Once again we see in v.3 that this is not a war of the flesh, its not even talking about pulling down strongholds over our neighbor, but talking about strongholds in ourselves as a believer. And casting down arguments in our own lives that rise up against the truth of God, what He is and what He will do, truth in the Word of God, and anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. What Satan wants to do is steal our standing with God and steal our testimony. He wants to steal from us, kill us and destroy the works that we would do for God, because if he doesn’t succeed at this war, God will be glorified by our answered prayers through our fellowship with God. 

Just as Satan had done with Adam, he wants to destroy our relationship with God. He will work through generation after generation to steal it all with designs of imaginations and untruths, trying to talk you out of the knowledge of God. Just think about it, why do Mormons and some denominational churches not speak with tongues? Satan has been able to convince some that it is not for today or unscriptural and stole some of their inheritance. 

Eph 6:13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. NKJV

Now Paul is saying because of what I have just said, I say again, take up the whole armor, that means all of it. We will have an evil day and we will need to be able to withstand it. Every one of us will have an evil day. Now it may be an evil day in our finances, infirmity in our body, evil day in our marriage or concerning our children. But we will all have an evil day and maybe even more than one, Satan is relentless about stealing from us and destroying us! Your evil day may be different than mine and mine different from the next person’s. But we will have an evil day come to our house. Paul is saying that when it comes, have our armor on and be ready for it and be in a position to withstand it and to stand.

Eph 6:14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, NKJV 

Now Paul is starting to list the armor of God and is telling us what to stand in and with. I remember when I was very young in the Lord and listening to the many voices around me, well meaning teachers trying to help, just teaching what they had been taught, I mean we all have been there. They were trying to teach me how to use the armor of God to ward off attacks by the devil. 

They would say when you get up in the morning always put on your armor before you do anything else. See that armor going on your body, see it in place, see your waist girded about with truth, see your chest being covered by the breastplate of righteousness. When you put your shoes on see yourself being shod with peace, then take up your shield of faith in your left hand, see yourself holding that shield, then put your helmet of salvation on your head, see it go on your head, and finally take up your sword in your right hand and your ready to go. I would do what they said and go out that day and get slaughtered by the enemy at every turn day after day. I still would have trouble with things no matter what. While it is good and right to use the word of God to develop an image inside ones self, in this case it was not correct. There is more to it than just seeing each piece of armor go on in an image. 

Verse 14, having girded your waist with truth, The first piece of armor that Paul mentions is Truth! Meaning we are to walk in truth with everyone, not to be lying, yes even the little white lies. Our life is to be a life of truth. Our word is all that we have as a witness to the unbeliever sometimes. In fact Paul had addressed this in Ephesians 4:24-25 saying that we are to put off the old man and put on the new man, to put away lying, speaking truth with our neighbor. 

This is your witness to others that you are a new man and Christ is working in you. You are showing you are a person of character, refusing to compromise the truth by turning the Word on yourself all the while you are conforming to it. So when Satan comes to steal each piece of armor one piece at a time, in stealing truth he is gaining a foothold in a persons life. We stop him by girding our waist with truth by turning the Word inwardly upon ourselves first, to illuminate any lie we are living, in our own life, and stop him in his tracks. 

It is a wrestling match in the emotional realm of our soul, that we might give in to pressure to compromise the truth and enter into a lie and lose that piece of armor. The devil will use the pressure of fear and lusts to seduce and deceive us, and he will keep at it till he gets us to lie a little bit. The reason he uses that girding about the waist, is that girding was to protect the entrails of a soldier. A wound in the entrails could cause a long painful death. When we lose the truth by lying, that little white lie grows and grows until it kills, it can become a long painful death. Satan is looking for a crack in our armor, don’t lose this piece of armor! 

I pray and believe this teaching has been a blessing for those that read it and do it. Feel free to make copies and pass it on to others.

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