The Whole Armour
Shortly after I posted “Case Closed” I got the results of the mammogram back, they showed the left breast all clear! "Hallelujah, of course it was clear" I thought without wonder, but then he told me there were ‘calcifications’ that showed up in the right breast. It just so happened that I was at the doctor’s office the day after the mammogram. He had explained that it was unlikely the results would be back so quickly but he checked anyway and, what do you know – he had them. His demeanor changed quickly as he confidently assured me it was unlikely, after all I’d just been through, that these little rocks were cancerous.
I wasn’t worried about cancer, God had already told me no more cancer. But I was thinking “God I know you told me I am a warrior and I’m good with that but can a daughter be a princess for a few minutes before stepping back into warrior princess mode?” Yes, I was actually whining! It’s true, being the only girl – and oldest – in my ‘four boys and a girl’ family I was a little spoiled – not rotten, but spoiled. Then the four boys grew up and spoiled me too; gotta love them! But I never whined! I hate whining, I raised my kids with no whining and all the nieces, nephews and other assorted little people I love know I don’t like whining. Naturally it was just as distasteful when the words left my lips and I quickly recanted.
“Lord, forgive my momentary lapse, I guess I’m just a little battle weary and wanted a break but I know you are in control of every situation in my life and I’m doing my best to hear you at all times. I’m not afraid of cancer so whatever I have to do to work out this next situation I’ll do it. I’m your temple so you must be doing more physical renovations…I’m good with that. I’m in your hands.” Later Pastor Shari and I were talking and I mentioned it to her, she simply said “Stay focused! Don’t let this distract you, just go do what you gotta do and keep moving forward.” God has a way of sending reinforcements when you need them, it was a good witness. Anyway, a couple of days later, they did a ‘stereotactic’ biopsy that removed the benign calcifications and it only took about forty five minutes then I was on my way.
Fast forward to last Sunday when Bishop Ben explained “up/downs”. I had only heard of them from one of my favorite movies ‘Remember the Titans’ and as Bishop was talking I could faintly hear Denzel – I mean Coach Boone - in the background in the ear of one of his players who was doing up/downs saying “4th quarter, 4th quarter, 4th quarter”. Thanks Bishop for explaining up/downs, now I know what they’re for! So I did my first up/down (DWO style) Monday morning and had the most peaceful day. The Spirit of the Lord was speaking to me throughout the day and for some odd reason, I just did whatever He said. No, “I’ll do it later” or “nah, that’s not you God” I just did it and really enjoyed my day. Especially when he gave me great revelation of what being a warrior meant. I was in Ephesians 6 and you probably already know this because I did, but I saw it in a whole different way today, maybe you need to shine up your armour too! Check this out.
Ephesians 6:10-19
Paul gives exhortation to the Church at Ephesus that standing on your faith fights the devil.
Observations:
(10) We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of ‘His’ might – not in our own strength. If we are strong in the Lord it is His might that vanquishes evil all we have to do is put on the Whole Armour!
(11) The purpose of putting on the Whole Armour is to stand against the wiles of the devil – not to go out, gun cocked to fight, but to stand
(12) The devil is principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places not flesh and blood – we are not to fight against each other (flesh and blood) but instead the fight is against worldly authority and rulers of darkness; evil; evil spirits
(13) We take the Whole Armour to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand – so we know there are evil days and the whole armour helps us stand strong in them and when we have done all WE can, we continue to stand…not be moved, confident that our Lord will use the power of His might through us and in us
(14) Stand therefore w/loins girt about with truth – the loins control the lower extremities – hips for walking, procreation/reproduction, today referred to as your core. It’s where the strength to power your body comes from; your balance. Truth must be present in us at the core of our being, in our gut, our very essence/life
(14) Stand therefore having on breastplate of righteousness – a breastplate protects the heart – if your heart is injured/damaged you’ll definitely have trouble standing, it is your physical lifesource, it keeps oxygen and blood flowing to every organ necessary to keep you alive. It is also your spiritual lifesource – “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness…confession is made unto salvation” (Rom 10:10). David asked God to “create in me a clean heart” (Ps 51:10). The heart must be righteousness. I’m reminded of one of the Indiana Jones movies where he was seeking the Ark of the Covenant and while trapped in a cave or something his young sidekick warns him “Indy, cover your heart!” because that’s what those devil worshippers would try to extract from him. And that's what the devil wants to attack in you today. C’mon Saints, cover your heart!
(15) Feet shod w/preparation of the gospel of peace – our feet carry us to and fro and should ALWAYS be peace seeking. Ps 120 “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war” so we can expect the battles and the attacks but we must keep peace beneath our feet
(16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked – ABOVE ALL, faith is your shield, remember the purpose of the Whole Armour is to withstand attack. ABOVE ALL indicates it is critical in your arsenal – being able to trust God completely (faith) is your strongest weapon…how else will you be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the attacker. We must always battle for our faith, battle to keep that shield before us. We can never drop our guard…it has the ability to quench…
(17) Take the helmet of salvation – the helmet protects the head and while salvation occurs in the heart, the head must have knowledge of Him and His ways. The head must carry out directions per the heart. Like with the heart, injury or damage is life threatening. Once the heart is convicted it is the heads job to remind the body – with the knowledge of salvation, of God. It’s the heads job to keep track of every single situation God has saved you from; it records all of your faith-building ‘exercises’
(17) Take the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God – the one true piece of offense – the sword - is the sword of the Spirit, our guide, which is the Word of God. This is profound to me – as we march into battle we do so with only one offensive weapon the Spirit and the Word and we know they are one. It behooves us to sharpen our sword by making sure we know the Word and have it hidden in our hearts. Just as life and death are in the power of the tongue (Ps 18:20) we can ‘pull out our sword’ when attacked and speak life (the battle was won on the cross) or death (the devil is already defeated) in every situation.
But it doesn’t end there, we are now dressed for war, we’ve got our war clothes on, we’re in the army of the Lord. We go into battle with the truth embedded in our belly and with righteous hearts. Our feet seek the path of peace and we know Him as our Creator; our Savior. Our strongest weapons are our faith, which is the shield and the Spirit/Word of God, which is the sword. Now fully armed and protected we must receive our marching orders – (18) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; - this is beautiful to me because our job in this army is to be in prayer and supplication for our brothers and sisters; for each other. That means we must keep the body of Christ, especially those on the front lines, on the altar in prayer and supplication (which is a humble, earnest prayer or petition). Wake up intercessors, praying in the Spirit. But then we ALL have a place on the front line as we pray (19) that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel. We must pray also that we, each of us, may boldly share the gospel, the mystery of salvation, of Christ, of a Father who loves us beyond the limits of our imagination…could YOU do John 3:16?
What are we armed and ready for? To fulfill the great commission (Matt 28:19-20)! We are armed and dangerous because our sword and shield is stronger than any weapon the devil has and the Whole Armour protects us from evil, from him. So let’s get out there! We are warriors, we are intercessors, we are to make known the mysteries of the gospel – in other words, share your testimony! Tell someone about your Father, your God and how Jesus saved you. Tell someone that He is real and He is alive in us …a very present help in trouble…Savior, Redeemer, Prince of Peace, Creator, Mighty Counselor, Deliverer, Healer, our dwelling place, the way, the truth and the life, a strong tower, the light, Holy One, the Alpha and Omega, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Jehovah, Yahweh. What is He to you? You got your war clothes on? The assignment is simple ~ get on your knees then stand your ground and then you’d better tell somebody!
That’s what being a warrior means to me…
