The Armour of God — Phil Beach Jr.

Following Christ Rather Than Leading Ourselves

You learn to follow you're of very Little ability to be useful to the Lord you have to be a follower. You have to learn to follow how well. How well do you do in? Following. You know some of us right now are being tested how well we follow and oftentimes we will discover that there's Resistance that rises up in us When we have to follow and and the Lord would want to teach us That this resistance is not just toward the earthly thing.

That's Irritating us, but it's but it's something that is actually there toward the Lord. We have to follow. Jesus said if any man will what? Follow me. Being a Christian is about following someone else.

Are you a good follower? You like to lead? That's okay. If you like to lead if it's in its right place. But if you like to lead and resent following you're gonna have a hard time with the Lord a real hard time.

Brokenness, Surrender, and the Peace of Christ

And you know what he loved if you belong to him he loves you so much he's not gonna let you. Get away, you know, he'll do he'll break you. He'll break you not destroy you, but he'll break you and in your brokenness, you know what you'll do.

You'll say alright Jesus. You'll be the leader and I'll follow you and with that will come such Joy and peace and you know what a lot of a lot of those panic attacks will disappear. Because you know why a lot of people have panic attacks they have to be in control.

They have to be leading. High blood pressure pills will go down the toilet. You know why some people not all but some people have high blood pressure. Because they just have to be in control. Give you five.

They just have to be in control. They just don't like taking the position of having to be led because if you're being led you can't call the shots. Can you? No, you can't and Sometimes you're going to be led down ways that guess what?

You wouldn't choose for yourself. It's just not good for it. Just it's just against everything that you think is best. Right and so we resist. And the Lord says don't resist don't resist. I know best who's the shepherd in this whole thing.

Am I the shepherd are you? Young people listen carefully listen carefully. You're gonna have to learn to be led. You're gonna have to learn to be led. You have to learn to follow. So father we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the Holy Spirit. We thank you for the deposit. That you have brought to us this morning a great deposit Lord. Please guard this deposit. Because it is so easy why we're here in this setting in this atmosphere.

To see so clearly what you're saying to us and to sense the Work of your spirit in our heart many of us Lord here have been renewed in our call to pray. Couples have been touched with a renewed desire to pray as husband and wife making it a priority.

There's been a renewed sense in our heart of Having of wanting to make sure that we're right with you and right with one another stop putting off issues. That need to be dealt with heart issues with one another Lord.

We see that but oh how how Easily it is for the enemy to come when we're not in this environment and Try and rob us from this and try and steal it from us. And so we pray father in the mighty name of Jesus your very words that you prayed for us.

I Pray not that you would take them out of the world, but that you would keep them from the wicked one. We pray each one of us here Lord would be kept From the wicked one in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen, and amen.

The Armor of God in Ephesians 6

Turn your Bibles, please to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse number 10 finally my brethren. Ephesians chapter 6 verse number 10. Or another possible translation to this finally is this.

Lastly as a matter of great importance. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty Power. Brothers and sisters. Do you know that God this morning has visited us and that God has ministered to us by his Holy Spirit.

God has commissioned us and in a sense re-awakened Our awareness of certain very important things in our lives however as wonderful and marvelous as this is. We cannot maintain this victory Without the Lord's help without the Lord's strength and without the Lord's power.

And this is what we're going to look at. Ephesians chapter 6 for a few moments. Verse 10 finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Or be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God. That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Brothers and sisters, let's pray the Holy Spirit will help us to hear this morning. Father, please open up your word to us.

Make it a living word. Make it a revolutionary word. Make it a quickening word. Make it a delivering word Lord. Make it a word that gets deep into our heart and into our spirit. Make it a word Lord that helps us to see.

The only way to maintain. The position of victory that you have called us to this morning. The position of prayer. The position of Faith the position of believing you. The position of Calling upon your name as couples.

The position of praying daily without fainting without becoming unfaithful. The position of praying for our children daily without becoming unfaithful. The position of living with eternity on our mind and not becoming sedated by life under the power and illusion that This world and what we're involved in is going to last forever.

Lord let this word this morning. Be the power that you used by the Holy Spirit. To bring us to the place where we see the source of our victory the source to be able to maintain Such a position. Please Lord.

Do it Lord so that nothing that was sown this morning into our hearts will be lost by that wicked one. Nothing Will be lost by that wicked one. But that all might be preserved in your garden and bring forth lovely fruit pleasing to yourself.

We pray in the mighty name of Jesus our Lord and our Savior. Be strong in the Lord and then the power of his might. Keep your finger there. And go to Colossians which is to the right of your Bible after Philippians.

Strength Comes From God, Not Ourselves

Colossians chapter 1 verse number 9. Chapter 1 verse number 9. For this cause we also since the day we heard do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and Increasing in the knowledge of God. Listen now verse 11 strengthened with all might according to his glorious power.

You see the strength there and The might that were Being encouraged to be filled with it belongs to another even the Lord. It's his strength. It's his might. It's not long before we realize that our own strength and our own might fails in this Christian life and That our own strength and our own might starts out like a mighty flame but ends in a smoking bang.

It just dissipates doesn't it? We need a source of strength. Outside of our own selves we need a source of strength. That only God can provide us through his Son and through the Word of God, that's the first Awakening that comes to our hearts as God begins to deal with us and God begins to teach us.

Waiting on the Lord and Exchanging Our Strength

Now keep your fingers in Ephesians and go to Isaiah chapter 40. The Lord is in the process in all of our lives through all of the different things that we're going through. You remember last week winemaking.

How many remember that winemaking. We learned about winemaking and we learned about being emptied from vessel to vessel and In each each time we're emptied. We're leaving behind as we go to the next vessel a little bit more self.

Little bit more sin a little bit more pride and we ought to be leaving behind each time we're emptied from vessel to vessel from Circumstance to circumstance we ought to be leaving behind a little bit more of that deceiving reliance upon self-strength reliance upon self-strength.

Because each vessel we go into no matter what it is, there's always an opportunity to discover a little bit more of that dependence we have on our own strength and Recognize for what it is and pray God will just Take it from us release release it release it from us Lord.

Help us help us Lord not to trust in ourself. You see Isaiah chapter 40 verse number 28. Hast thou not known. Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God the Lord the creator of the ends of the earth.

Faints not neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and Be weary and the young men shall utterly fall.

But they that wait upon their Lord shall renew a Better translation is they that wait upon the Lord shall exchange Their strength they shall exchange it. They shall exchange their strength for the strength of another.

It's the strength that comes from the Spirit of God. It's the strength that Paul is referring to in Ephesians 6 that we just read. Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Learning Dependence Through Failure and Scars

Colossians 1 12 through 16 Paul's praying. Okay, dear ones. I'm praying that you would be Strengthened with all might by the Spirit of God. But you know oftentimes when we hear that, you know what we say and it's not a conscious thing.

I'm doing quite well. Thank you. I'm pretty strong. Has that idea been crushed in your life or is it being crushed? I hope it is and if it hasn't it will be. I'm doing quite. Well, thank you. I'm pretty strong in in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 30 when it says the youth shall faint and the young men shall utterly fall.

The youth and the young men there represent The best the finest of human strength. The finest God says it's gonna fall. It's gonna faint. It's not going to be of any value in this spiritual battle. We're in a good prayer to pray as we hear the Word of God is this Oh God Help me To look to you for your strength.

Some have made promises to God because God has Led you in his word to claim certain promises. But in in in claiming those promises you went forward and you stumbled and fell and and some of them You've just even given up on they're just things in the past and you don't even like to think about it because it brings a sore Spot to your heart, you know why?

Because in your zeal you laid hold of what God said and tried to do it in your own strength and Your own power and you failed and you failed and you failed and you thought well. Maybe I need to just try a little harder and you fail and you get to where you all you see is failure in your life and you start getting under the power of guilt under the power of I'm not a good Christian at all Self pity and you basically give it up and then you just focus on your life and natural things and you focus on just doing what you know to do and you just sort of live at a distance from Those quickening words that God has put in your heart.

God is speaking to a number right now and he's saying no, I have not listen. I have not cancelled those Promises that I gave you in my word and no, I've not forsaken you and no, I'm not mad at you. But yes, I did let you on your own for this season and It's so that you could stumble and fall but not be destroyed but to learn to learn that Your strength and your power and your might Cannot carry you through.

Can't carry you through. Now, I love you so much. I Let you get your broken nose and bloody nose and front tooth knocked out spiritually speaking I've let you get scrapped knees and scraped knees and scraped elbows spiritually speaking.

But here but here's what I'm doing. Now. I'm your healer. I'm gonna heal your knees. I'm gonna heal your nose. I'm gonna heal your teeth, but I'm gonna leave a few scars. I Hope we're hearing I'm gonna leave a few scars now.

Listen, the scar is not gonna hurt too much. But it's gonna be just a little tender and the reason I'm gonna leave a scar. It's not because I despise you, but I love you so much. I don't want you to forget.

Because when you see that scar You're gonna say Oh God. That reminds me that if I trust in my own strength and in my own wisdom and in my own might I'm Gonna miserably fail you now some of us are wanting God to remove the scars in our life.

But God says no I won't but I'll give you grace. I'll give you grace. God called Peter. God commissioned Peter. God anointed Peter and Then Jesus left Peter for some reason and Jesus let Peter deny him three times by the fire.

Why did he do that? He wanted to teach Peter that he couldn't trust in Peter now Peter's denial did not cancel the fact that God loved Peter and that God had a call on his life and that Ultimately Peter would become a vessel through whom Jesus would work mighty works.

But Peter had to go through that denial and do you know that during the rest of Peter's life There was a scar that never went away. You know what that scar was. I Denied the Lord three times. Now listen carefully.

Where's the scar in your life right now? What is the Lord let you do? Some of you saying why didn't some of your bitter. Why didn't you stop me Lord? You could have your God. What scar is there in your life now, and it tells you and and as you look at that scar you see one thing this is the result of me Taking it into my own hands.

Now the devil's a liar and here's why because that scar in your life does not disqualify You from going on that scar in your life does not cancel what God has whispered to you and what God has showed you in his word.

Actually, it's it's seeing that scar. That we hear Jesus say feed my sheep go forward but now go forward with fear and trembling and weakness depending on the strength of Another one depending on the might of another one.

All the broken promises, huh? All the broken promises. How many here have ever heard the Lord speak to you through his word and say I want you to pray more. Hands up and how many? Have failed. Why our failure is not because of God?

It's always because of us, but God lets us fail because he wants to teach us. Verse 31. But they that wait upon the Lord Shall exchange their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. Now by the way eagles soar in the heavens and they're being carried by the wind.

When they soar in the heavens, they're not flapping. They might get up there flapping. But once they're up there, they're not flapping. They're soaring. They're being carried. By the strength of something other than their own self, it's the wind is carrying them.

That's what God wants us to learn how to be carried by him. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint now. That's impossible if we're running by our own strength, and if we're walking in our own strength.

Recognizing the Devil's Strategies

All right, go back to Ephesians. Please chapter 6. That's a little bit that's a little bit just the tip of the iceberg of what this verse 10 is all about. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God. That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Another version put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against all the craft and strategies and Evil plannings and plottings of the devil.

Brothers and sisters, please listen. All right. Do you know right now that you are a marked person. We can't live in a fantasy world. You know, you're a marked person if you're a Christian if Jesus Christ is inside of you you're marked.

There's a contract out for your life. Did you know that and you're a marked person. By virtue of the fact that now as a believer you are associated with Jesus Christ more than that Jesus Christ lives inside of you and all the powers of hell and all the powers of darkness are arrayed against one purpose to keep Jesus from shining in and through your life.

Put on the whole armor of God. What is the whole armor of God? Romans turn your Bible to Romans, please. Romans Chapter 13 beginning in verse number 11. Put on the whole armor of God is what it says in Ephesians that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Romans chapter 13 beginning in verse number 11. Knowing that the time that now Once again here and that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly not in writing and drunkenness. Not in chambering and wantonness.

Not in strife and envy. Verse 14. But put ye on what? The Lord Jesus Christ. So what is the armor of God the Lord Jesus Christ. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put on the armor of God.

Now listen to put on the Lord Jesus Christ also means and Take no and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the desires. So to put on the armor of God is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We do this by faith.

We do this by Acknowledging the Word of God acknowledging God's truth and asking God to help us live in the power of Jesus. But in doing that we at the same time are taking no thought as To how we might fulfill the desires of flesh.

Because the ground the enemy has listen carefully the ground that the enemy has to destroy us is Found in the flesh the powers of the flesh. How many of you have been tempted lately to eat a stone? How come?

How come you're not tempted to eat stones. Because it doesn't correspond to a desire in your heart. You can't be tempted to do something That is not inherently in your nature. And so therefore understand this.

That when the Bible says to put on the whole armor of God. Back to Ephesians chapter 6 that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. What the craftiness the plot the evil plottings of the devil?

What what are the evil plottings of the devil? They consist of all of his strategy. Listen carefully all of his strategy. Implemented against you. Particularly fashioned and aiming at something in your flesh.

Hoping that if he can get a hold of something in your flesh. Some kind of appetite in your flesh and you're unguarded and unaware of what he's doing. You're going to follow after that bait and you're going to end up walking after the flesh and in walking after the flesh.

You're going to want miss God's best because God says That we are to die to our flesh. So, let me ask a question how many here have said that God has spoken to you sometime Over the past five years through his word and has said to you.

I'm calling you. He's put faith in your heart. I'm calling you to pray more. Not bondage not legalism not following a rule or a code not talking about bondage like that. But a living word where you've seen it from God's heart and yet you failed why?

What while? What strategy. Does the devil bring to you to you personally? That corresponds to something in your earthly nature that you buy into that causes you to fail to pray. Come on, let's get this right down to where we live.

God's word is not somewhere up here brothers and sisters. It's not somewhere up here. It's right down where we live. Why aren't we praying. Why aren't you praying. You just raised your hand and said, oh, yes, then why aren't you praying?

Don't just so. I'm not too sure why? You can know you could pray God. Show me you remember the prophet would come to the king and the prophet would reveal to the king the plans of the enemy. God can give us understanding if we're willing to accept it.

Laziness, Discouragement, and the Flesh

One of the baits that the devil uses is He tempts us to be lazy. You know why he tempts us to be lazy. How many of you are tempted to be lazy? Sometimes well now now now that's a real temptation. Why because inherent within flesh.

Inherent within the earthly nature is what? Oh, I just want to eat drink and be merry. I Just want to have a good life. I Just want to live the good life. Is anyone here tempted to just live the good life and not deal with these spiritual battles?

I mean cut me a break. I live in the real world. I can't deal with these spiritual battles. Just make me happy. Okay. That's why many of us aren't praying. Simple, isn't it? And what is it? It's just the word.

It's just opening up the word. What's another bait that the devil uses. What about discouragement. Why should I pray I? Prayed and prayed and nothing happened. How many are tempted to be discouraged and just give up the whole idea prayer anyone.

Why now why are we tempted to be discouraged because inherent within flesh Inherent within the earthly nature is the propensity the proclivity the tendency the inclination to be discouraged because in our earthly nature We need sight.

Right. We need to be able to touch it. I Can't do this if I can't see any reasonable reason for doing it. That's another while so, you know what the devil does. He comes to you right before you're ready to pray and he takes one of his fiery darts and he ignites it and he He pulls it back and he shoots it into your bosom and all of a sudden you go.

Oh God, I'm so discouraged and Then at that time your wife or your husband says ha let's go out for some ice cream. Oh My god, oh my god, I'm discouraged and I love ice cream. Do you think this is reality?

This is real. This is the world. We're really living in brothers and sisters. And so what do I do? I say forget about prayer. I want coffee. What kind do you want when you get it? Hazelnut. Hazelnut, so the thought of hazelnut is going to do battle in your desire to pray, especially if you're discouraged.

Come on what's the what now this is all flesh. This is flesh now. What are we supposed to do with flesh the Bible says? Crucify. How are we suppose how are we supposed to relate ourself to flesh? What is our relationship to our flesh as Christians?

Dead buried. Crucified this is what Jesus means when he says deny yourself. What what do you mean deny yourself. Deny the part of you. Which is part of yourself. I Can't separate my flesh from who I am and somehow depart might like Departmentalize my life.

That's like saying well, my body is not really who I am. That's dangerous. Because then if my body is not really who I am then if my body sins and commits fornication I have not really committed fornication.

You know what that is. Antinomialism, that's one of the heresies of the I know we never get like that here. We're high theological, but that's antinomialism, that's the heresy that The material part of me is not really who I am.

And so the logical conclusion to that is what? Doesn't matter what it does. So I can commit fornication. I can commit adultery. I Can indulge in all kinds of sin because it's not really me. Now you see the danger of that?

The Flesh Must Be Crucified

Now, let me ask a question. How are you and I supposed to? Get acquainted with these strategies of the devil. You just see now. We just spent 20 -25 minutes and the light that's coming into our hearts.

How are we supposed to grow in our capacity to recognize the enemy's strategies? How anybody what are some ways that we can grow in recognizing. What's that? Read the word good Christine read the word.

What is the word do the word gives us light and understanding? What's another thing we can do? Read the word in what pray if we can overcome the hazelnut temptation. Pray, what's it? What are we doing right now?

What are we doing right now. Huh. Sharing with one another coming under the hearing of the word. How often do we do that. How often do we do that not as often as we should why not because we like idle chatter.

Does this go back to desperation if we knew how desperate we were would we get together as often as we could. Yes, we would and so the reason we don't is simply because what? We're Right. We haven't been hit hard enough.

We're still living by what the flesh, huh? We're happy the way our life is. Exactly. So what's going to happen is God as we begin to awaken to these things more and more number one. We're going to begin to desire and it's not going to be law.

It's not going to be a law. All right. Now we officially make these the rules of our fellowship. No, it's not law. It's love. It's desperation. You don't have to write a rule down for a beggar. A beggar knows to go out and beg.

I'm how I need help. What's going to happen number one? We're going to start getting hungry for the word. But but you know what happens when we get hungry for the word we start taking out of our diet this stuff.

That's not necessary. That's taking the time of the word. What are you feeding your mind with? How much of the word are you taking in every day? How often? Number two. Number two. Number two, not only the word we're going to start recognizing.

Oh my god. We need to get together and wait on God and And open up the word and share what's the Lord teaching you brother? Da da da da da. Well, this is what he's teaching me. Wow. That's a confirmation.

Oh, I feel strengthened in my spirit. Let's begin to pray. This is what the early church did they lived around the word of God the hearing and preaching of the word of God and Fellowship one with another.

Was it a cult? Whether what was it a legalistic cult? No, it was men and women who were desperate for God. They were in love with God. So this is where we're heading. All right, we're going to close now.

Wrestling Against Spiritual Powers

I just wanted to give you a little taste of How to get into the word of God and learn and understand what's happening in our lives. Now watch this. Now watch this verse number 12. For we wrestle not how many feel like you're in a wrestling match spiritually.

Every day every moment of the day don't forget you're wrestling. You're wrestling watch this for we wrestle not against flesh and blood. It's not against people. It's not against humans. But we're wrestling against Principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world.

Against spiritual wickedness in high places brothers and sisters. We are wrestling against all the powers of darkness because they are trying to what? Overthrow our faith and dependence in Jesus and his word.

Ultimately the powers of darkness are working in your life in my life to overthrow the power of God's Spirit. To transform us so that we are obeying God's Word. That's what they're doing. And we just showed for 15 minutes how he does it.

If he gets us to stop praying. He's overthrowing if he gets us out of the word. He's overthrowing if he gets us to where we're no longer caring for one another. He's overthrowing the work of God. You see it.

Victory Through Prayer and Reliance on God's Grace

All right, we're going to close on a note of victory and here's the note of victory. Whatever God has shown you through his word this morning we're going to pray that he'll perform and believe him and We're going to resist together the devil's lies.

Don't accept a condition where you never ever ever are able to fulfill what God has called you to do as Inevitable. Don't accept it because God Intends to give you through Jesus the power and grace to do what God's calling you to do.

And we're not we're not talking about great mighty things now. We're talking about. Husbands love your wives wives. Submit to your husband's. Brothers and sisters pray without ceasing. Brothers and sisters get into the word.

Brothers and sisters learn to forgive these simple things. Okay, let's bow our hearts and a word of prayer and you know what? I just feel quickened of the Lord. I'm not gonna pray. We just want to spend a few minutes and I would just invite as Many as would like to just pray out a prayer in order to Do in order to acknowledge what God is doing in your heart and we'll just pray like that.

Don't be timid.