Preparing for Battle
Within our series on Foundations in the church, there was a mini-series about spiritual warfare: learning the foundations from which to fight.
The reference passage for these talks was Ephesians 6:10-16
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Belt of Truth
Rob encouraged us to stand firm on the truth as we learn to fight in prayer. He showed how the belt of truth is what everything else attaches to.
Breastplate of Righteousness
Becky explained that the enemy will get personal in his attack against us. We need to know our identity in Jesus (which is the breastplate of righteousness) and be intentional about putting it on.
Feet fitted with readiness
Paul showed us the need for the Gospel of peace in our everyday lives and how we need to be ready to take the message of Good News to our friends, family and community.
Shield of Faith
Simon demonstrated how we can use faith as a shield to extinguish the fiery arrows of the enemy.
Helmet of Salvation
Rob helped us to think about the lies we tell ourselves and how to overcome them with the helmet of salvation.
Weapons of the Spirit
Tom spoke about the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Jesus when tempted by the devil quoted scripture to refute the devil’s claims. We can do the same. Jen talked about praying in the Spirit on all occasions and gave examples of how we can do this.
Whilst the worship and teaching teams take a summer sabbatical, why not spend the month of August listening, or listening again, to this excellent series on how to be prepared for the battle.
See you back here in September
Battle Belongs
