“Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – Ephesians 6:17 (NCV)
In the previous post we saw how we are in a warfare and we have to fight and contend for our faith! We also saw how righteousness is likened to a bullet-proof vest that protects us from the attacks of the enemy.
We ended saying that without a pure heart, we are pushovers for Satan. We don’t have to be strong physically to stand against Satan’s attacks, but we do need to protect ourselves with God’s armor of righteousness.
Dear friend, if we want to successfully handle temptation, then we must claim the promises that God gave in His Word about temptation. We have to memorize 1 Corinthians 10:13:
“God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”.
- Many people say, “I couldn’t help myself. It was impossible to resist. I had no choice but to give in.”
- You see, when we say that, we’re basically calling God a liar. He says He’ll always offer an escape from the temptation you face.
- It may be tough and painful. It might even be embarrassing. But there will always be a way out. God makes sure of it! That is His promise. Will you believe His promise?
“Satan is constantly battling for your mind. When God gives us an idea, it’s inspiration. When the devil gives us an idea, it’s temptation.” ~ Ps Rick Warren. You choose every day which thought you’re going to dwell on.
Salvation is the first step: “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet.”
- We can change our minds by replacing temptation with truth, and truth is found in the Bible.
- The Bible says to resist the devil. How do you do that? By preparing for the temptation.
- Two things we need to do in order to handle temptation:
What does a helmet do? It protects your head and your mind, and that’s where the battle is going on. Before you can say no to the devil, you need to learn to say yes to Jesus Christ. His power comes to you through salvation.
2. The second step is to use God’s Word as a sword.
Truth is the antidote to temptation. You can keep your Bible by your bed at home, but when you don’t have it with you and you’re tempted, how does it help? We need to get the truth found in the Bible into our minds.
Without a doubt, the single most effective tool to fight temptation is to memorize Scripture. If you don’t have any verses memorized, you have no weapons for the fight!
- When Satan comes along, how are you going to counter him? He’s not afraid of your opinion, but he does fear the truth.
- The sword of the Spirit is God’s truth, but it only becomes a weapon we can use when we memorize it and have it in us.
What are some goals you can set this week for memorizing Scripture? Who can be your accountability partner as you memorize Scripture?
Beloved, it is not enough to be on the defensive end all the time, you must also attack. And our offensive armour is: The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!
- Do you ever listen to a sermon and it’s like the Pastor makes a statement or two that are directed to you? You feel like that’s a personal word from God to you.
- That’s the Rhema word of God and we need those, not just from sermons at church but from our personal time with the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
- The devil fights against us getting a Rhema word from God.
- Whether in church or during your quiet time, he will try to make sure you don’t get a Rhema in your spirit (mostly by distracting you).
- Beloved, let’s make time to read the Bible, devoid distractions, and ask the Lord for a Rhema word.
Our offensive armour doesn’t end there. Paul says we should pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers in the Spirit! When you get your Rhema word, now you’ve got to pray. Pray in the language of the Spirit!
- When you wake up, pray; before you leave the room, pray; before you study/write an exam, pray!
- Pray short prayers, pray long prayers, pray silent prayers, pray in loud cries and wailing.
- Make prayers of petition, make prayers of intercession, make prayers of warfare. By all means, pray!
We need to pray, it is time to pray! Brother, Sister, pause! Have you prayed? (Check out this song by my big brother, Ps Cofi Boham: https://youtu.be/uaBl3hD8wH0).
Hey, you're blessed and highly favoured and dearly loved!
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Disclaimer: this post contains portions of messages and text originally shared by Ps Rick Warren (who is one of my mentors in the faith).