Cp. 5 Understanding our Armor - Part 2B

Faith comes by hearing: Rom 10:17 - “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (KJV) and what we need to listen to is God’s word, the bible. David shares in: Ps 119:11 - “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (KJV). When we memorize verses to use in our times of testing and temptations these become the effectiveness of our sword. Familiarize yourself with God’s promises given to us in His word. Doing this will help you to preserve your faith. Exercise your faith, “use it or lose it” to keep your faith strong. The longer we wait for our prayers to be answered, if we don’t grow weary, the stronger our faith grows.
There are times in every believer’s life when we doubt the sincerity of our faith. Remember that your inward peace that doesn’t necessarily express itself in outward joy. You can be mad, sad, disappointed, disillusioned, weary and disheartened momentarily and still maintain your inner peace. We are emotional beings and having faith doesn’t mean that life suddenly becomes all sunshine and lollipops. Momentary doubts are normal and acceptable, but lingering doubt leads to the grievous sin of unbelief.
The fiery darts of the wicked come swiftly and silently from afar. They are our daily temptations. Keep in mind that God promises us in 1 Co. 10:13 - “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (KJV)
The problem is that we don’t always look for that way to escape. We sometimes get willful and we want to sin at that moment in time. Later after the fiery burning dart hits our conscience then we repent and ask forgiveness. Many of us set ourselves up for failure because we don’t heed the wisdom in this verse, “Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof.” Remember and be assured that “there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” So recognize that the continuing guilt we feel after we repent and ask for and receive forgiveness is just another fiery dart to make you feel unworthy. Rest assured that God will forgive you no matter what you’ve done and He doesn’t just forgive - He forgives you perfectly because He promises that: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Ps 103:12 (NIV)
There are three main darts that Satan uses and they are summarized in this passage: 1 John 2:16 - “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (KJV) Lust of the flesh is all our earthly desires, hunger, sex, and other physical or emotional cravings that we have. Lust of the eyes is all the greed, coveting, adultery, etc. all those things which we are absolutely certain that we can’t live without. Pride of Life is usually motivated by self. We don’t need any help, we don’t want any help, we can do it on our own, who needs God, I’m my own boss, etc. all these attitudes are the opposite of how we should be after we surrender our will and self-determination to God.
If you find your prayers aren’t being answered then this verse might hold the solution. James 4:2-3: “You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (NIV) Whatever problem, difficulty or circumstance we find ourselves in, God has the solution and answer to our prayers up in heaven but they will stay there until we ask for it.
The last part of our armor is the helmet of salvation. The purpose of the helmet is to protect our head which is the seat of our mind and when secured with the hope of eternal life, which is salvation, our minds will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations.
The parts of our armor are intended for defensive actions against sin, not suffering. As Christians we are to daily take up our crosses and burdens and more often than not that means undergoing periods of suffering. We suffer when we fail to resist temptations. We also suffer through pain, loss, poverty, injustice, sadness, sickness, heartache and the myriad of other afflictions that affect us as human beings.
The bible calls us believers a peculiar people and it is right. Only peculiar people when faced with all these different aspects of suffering would try to live up to this scripture. James 1:2-4 - “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV) Peculiar people look for joy in suffering. It’s not that we’re masochistic, but we know who is in control and that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28, KJV) We must resolve that we will endure all the trials and sufferings that are appointed to us.
God has given us a treasure trove of graces and fruits of the spirit. Satan wants to plunder our treasure so that we would live defeated lives and thus become ineffectual in spreading the good news of salvation. It has been said that when we engage in spiritual warfare we are defending the “castle of our soul“ which is our faith in Christ. It is the foolish warrior who leaves the confines and safety of their castle walls (faith in Christ), to challenge the enemy and dare the devil to tempt him in a misguided effort to prove he can be an overcomer through his own righteousness and good works, outside of Christ.
There is no weapon for self-revenge as we are wearing the sandals of the gospel of peace. 1 Peter 3:9 - “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (NIV) We must always have a heart of forgiveness so that when we pray the Lord’s prayer and say, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” we know we actually mean it. Forgiving others that have wronged us is not easy but it is an imperative part of the Christian life style. As Christ warns us in Mark 11:26 - “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (KJV)
Proper maintenance of our armor is another vital aspect of our responsibilities. If we neglect one part of our armor, the rest of the armor suffers and if we strengthen one part of our armor than all the rest of it gets strengthened as well.
In 1 Thess 5:8 - …“let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (NIV) it tells us that our helmet is called, “the hope of salvation”. Let’s take a look at a few other verses about hope:
Rom 15:13 - “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV) Our God is a God of hope.
Acts 24:15 - “and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” (NIV) We have a hope of a resurrection and eternal life.
Ps 119:81 - “My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word.” (NIV) We have hope in the truth of His word.
Rom 8:24-25 - “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (NIV) We hope by faith and we are saved by this faith of hope. We also have the “blessed hope.” Titus 2:13 - “while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (NIV) Let me add that this hope is not based on the timing of His return, just the fact of it. Our hope is Christ. He is also called the Hope of Israel and the hope of glory.
Faith speaks in the present tense, hope in the future tense. Faith recognizes both good and evil, hope only foresees the good. No one hopes for poverty, sickness or despair. When we are in the act of hoping we are counting on the promises of God to be fulfilled in our lives. The best picture of this hope is found in Luke 21:26-28 - “Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (NIV) Fear and shame are two things that make a man’s head hang low, but in this passage when the rest of the world’s hearts are failing for fear, we are told to lift up our heads in faith and hope.
We are to keep our helmet on until Christ Himself removes it to replace it with our crowns of glory and at that time we will trade in our armor for robes of righteousness that have been washed white by the blood of the Lamb.
As Gurnall has pointed out: “Hope enables the believer to do great exploits. Hope enables the believer to be diligent in the lowliest of service. Hope helps us to be patient in suffering and hope comforts our spirits as we await the promises.” 1 John 3:3 - “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (NIV) 2 Co. 4:16-17 - “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (KJV) Rom 8:17 - Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (NIV)
Hope waits for the good that will come from evil. It is our duty to wait upon the answers to our prayers and while some may not be answered in our lifetime we are to still wait expectantly and earnestly for their fulfillment. No matter what circumstances surrounds us, we are to thank and praise God unceasingly for the hope of the promises that await us. As has been said, “Let your hope of heaven master your fear of death.”