The Full Armor of God

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:10-12

Beloved, we are living in perilous times as scripture has indicated.. The times are evil and we can see it all around us everyday, just turn on the radio or television.

 Our communities are mourning all over this country and around the world, so much hatred for our fellow man. See Matthew 24:12. The enemy is attacking our homes, marriages, our youths (the future generation), our very existence etc. Church, what are we doing about it? Are we sitting back folding our arms and just saying it is well or are we rising up and fighting back with the weapons God has given us. The apostle reminds us in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” and knowing this , we should then recognize that we are dealing with powerful unseen forces and we cannot fight them with physical weapons. 

Friends, It is time for us, the body of Christ to rise up and take our positions taking back what is ours. There is one force behind everything that is going on in our world today and he has been around since the beginning of time and despises mankind especially the children of God (the brethen). He is the prince/god of this world and is causing calamities and woes in the lives of men and women, but it does not mean we or our loved ones should continue to be his victims. 

Let us put on the full armor God and also utilize the power of intercession prayer, to do battle against the enemy of our soul. We are facing greater spiritual battles today than ever before. There has been a release of demonic activity on earth over the last 2-3 years that is unseen in world history. and I tell you the truth it is not going to end anytime soon, for the world is going to see an even greater release of demonic activity on all unimaginable levels. The enemy knows that his time is very short and this is an intense battle for the souls of men.

Father I thank you today because I know that He that is in us is greater than he who is in the world. The battle is yours but the victory is ours . Halleluyah! II Chronicles 20:15.

According To Your Faith, He Leads.....

" And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt."  Exodus 13:17-18 KJV

The revelation I received from these two verses is that God deals with us according  to our faith.  It states in the above scripture that God did not guide the Israelites along the main road that runs through Philistine territory which happens to be the shortest route to the Promised land.   He knew the heart and character of His people and was absolutely sure that if they took this route, the Israelites will encounter trouble with the Philistines and it will cause them to be fearful and turn back to the land of their sufferings, Egypt.    And so what did God do?  He instead led them through the longest route i.e through the wilderness  through the Red Sea.   I believe in addition to their constant lamenting and disobedience to God during their journey to the promised land, what should taken a much shorter time to reach the promised land after they left Eqypt, it took them much longer.  Scripture states in Joshua 5:6 that the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died.   

Beloved, a lot of times, we hinder our own progress due to our unbelief and lack of trust in the Sovereign God.  We unknowingly downgrade or trivialize the great power of our God through actions such as doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, complaints etc. and as a result, God deals with us according to our level of faith and belief in Him.   He loves us so much that in order for us not to give up or look back to our past (Eqypt),  He gives us another way out, which is not His ideal choice for us.   It is good to know that the Lord does not give up on us and there is an alternate way, this scripture text has revealed to me that God always has an alternate way in the event, the first plan or best plan does not work.    God wants us to have the best of things, after all His word states in James 1:17 that "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.   But in order to have this good and perfect gift, we must put our total trust in Him and walk in obedience.  Our faith in God has to be unwavering where we know that no matter what comes our way, we can not be moved because God is in complete control, He is right there with us and we can rest in Him.    We need to not just confess with our mouth that our God is able and can move mountains for our sake, but we must believe it with all our heart that He can.

Beloved, do not fear, have faith in the Lord today, allow Him to lead you through the best path today so that you can enjoy everything that He has prepared for you. 

SHALOM!  

Equipped For Service

    
21 "may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen."   Hebrews 13:21



Every believer has been called into God's service whether we know it or not.  Once you have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ ( born again), you are automatically adopted into the family of God, hence the work of the building of the kingdom of God here on earth begins in your life.   Our main text today tells us that He will equip us (believers) with all that we need  for doing His will.  God cannot call us to do something without providing the materials or resources we will need to do the job.   The Lord also reveals to us in Phil 2:13 that He is working in each of us to give us the desire and power to do what pleases Him.  Beloved, what pleases God is our service to Him, our commitment to the propagation of His kingdom.   Winning souls (evangelism) pleases Him,  helping those in need through giving of our resources and time pleases Him,  praying (interceding) for the sick, needy pleases the Lord, encouraging one another in the Lord, teaching the word of God to others and much more all are service unto the Lord that pleases our God.     God knows that some or all of these things, we cannot do without His help because we as human beings have limitations and that is why the word of God states in 2 Peter 1:3 " By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. " and also Apostle Paul states in Phil 4:19 that the God who takes care of him shall supply all the needs of the brethren according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.  Paul was confident that  God will provide all that the brethren needed to do the work of God as He had always done for him .   In the world we live in, let us be sincere,  everything we do including the work of God requires financial resources  and without money, it is really difficult to get things done.  But the Lord has assured us that He will make a way where there appears to be no way Isaiah 43:16.    As long as it is God who sent you, He will also provide the means to get the assignment done. 


Another important resource the Lord has given His people to equip them for service are the gifts of the Spirit as we see in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.  These gifts along with the talents or skills He has blessed us with contribute tremendously to the success of God's work here on earth.   Even within the body of Christ, there are certain groups of believers who have been given special responsibility by the Lord to equip the children of God  for service  (building up the church).  These people are the apostles, the prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  and are held to a higher standard than the rest of the body as a result of the nature of their responsibilities.  "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: "Ephesians 4:11-12.

Beloved, the Lord will always provide all that we need to do the work He has assigned to each of us.  As He did it for Moses , when He provided Aaron to be Moses' mouth piece to lead the children of God out of Israel, and was with him every step of the way and many others throughout history,  so He will do for us.   The Lord God who is more than able will surely equip us for every good work and at the end of our service to Him here on earth, He alone shall take the glory and He shall say unto us "Well done good and faithful servant"  See Matthew 25:21

Shalom