Sermon Note (4th svc)
Pastor Lawrence
Invincible in God’s armour
In Christ we have everything we need
Psalms 118:1
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
God is good. The devil is bad. God is a good God and He wants to do good to you.
John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The abundant life is a happy life. God came so that He can put a smile on your face
We give thanks to Him because He is good. God can turn everything around for my good
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
All things for my life will ultimately work out very good for me. Do u have faith in that? It does not look good now but it will turn out good.
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever.
God priorities mercy. Mercy triumph over judgement. Mercy is hesed in Hebrew.
The greek word for grace into Hebrew, he chose the word hesed. This is best described the grace of God.
It is His grace that endures forever. Not just a word or doctrine.
He is full of grace and truth
God is grace. The grace of God has appeared, made physical and can be touched and felt. Grace of God appeared is reference of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is for you and not against you.
Today we want to talk about warfare.
We have an enemy of the soul. His name is satan. He is coming against you.
In this warfare you cannot see them.
Your boss is not your enemy nor your mother in law. Our enemy is satan. They r sealed in the fallen world for a short time only.
As believers, we need to know there is warfare. U know u r righteous but u don’t feel it.
You feel forsaken by the Lord. This feeling are true and real and these thoughts caused you to be depressed and frustrated. The devil brings sickness but God is greater.
Ought not this woman being the daughter of Abraham be loosed from her infirmities and be set free?
Jesus said loose her and let her go.
She could stand straight again.
In this life we live, God is on our side and He has a plan for us to stand strong.
Ephesians 6:10-18
The Whole Armor of God
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
In and of ourselves we are weak. In the Lord i can do all things through Christ. When i am weak than i am strong.
The secret of receiving strength from the Lord is we realised we are weak and turn to the Lord to receive our strength.
Through His grace is sufficient for me!
Who does God reveal His power to?
Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
From Him comes power for the weak. I do not want my own power or strength, i want His!
We need His strength and power and wisdom.
It is not about age.
The youth are not supposed to faint and be weary. But there is a secret to those who wait upon the Lord. They shall renew their strength. The word renew is not only strength but also youth.
We will mount up! We will soar over our problems
It is supernatural empowerment that comes from the Lord.
What is waiting on the Lord?
Wait in Hebrew is associated with Tikva
When we wait upon the Lord with hope in our heart. The bible hope is different from worldly hope.
Bible hope is an confident expectation that this will happen. That God will pull me through, that God will heal me, that God will provide me a job
When waiting on the Lord is not a posture of doing nothing but actively believing that it will come to pass in our lives.
We are renewed and receive a strength we never had.
Start to believe God. Don’t limit God.
People who live after the flood, the longest living person was Abraham. He lived to 175.
Abraham stood far above the rest. What was Abraham known for? He was known for his faith. He is the father of faith.
First and foremost, faith has to do with righteousness. When we know and believe we are righteous we become bold.
The righteousness of God in Christ and that is who you are.
Let your faith arise! Do not limit God. See every giant as bread for you! God will reveal His goodness in your lives. You eat bread and become stronger.
Let your faith grow stronger with every trial.
Ephesians 6:11
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Wiles is deception, trickery
Devil comes against you by using lies and deception. He will plant lies in your head.
Jesus said the devil is a liar and father of lies. Reject the lies and believe the truth.
Put on the armour of God and you become invincible
Iron man is a character of Marvel. He is a billionaire. He has no super power. In and of himself he has nothing. But when he put on the iron man suit he becomes invincible! He becomes iron man and bad guys fear him.
Batman had nothing. His super power was he is rich. But when he put on the batman suit he becomes powerful. He becomes invincible
In and of ourselves we cannot stand against the wiles of the devil. So we need to put on the armour of God. Only then we can become invincible
Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. They are unseen. The main battlefield is in your mind. Thoughts of condemnation, guilt.
Ephesians 6:13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Why stand and not fight?
The bible does not tell us to fight because the fight has been fought by our Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ and the victory has been given to us. Thanks be to God who always lead us to triumph
We are standing on victory and not fight for but fight from.
There remains a rest for the people of God.
God wants us to enter into rest.
Sit easy. We are seated with Christ at the heavenly places. Our identity is in Christ.
We are called to rest easy.
Your only fight is to fight not to enter into the fight. Jesus has won. Just believe. Believing is most powerful
Your only fight is to fight not to enter into a fight.
Pray in tongues but not to fight.
When we fight in the spirit it is not about fighting with frustration. We pray not so that God can hear us. Don’t pray out of desperation. God hears you. You are not trying to convince Him.
Pray in tongues is so powerful.
Take up the whole armour of God.
Ephesians 6:14
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
Having the bible is not enough. You need to know what is inside. It is the truth we know that will set us free.
Law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
The present day truth that we need to believe in is the truth of the grace of God.
The entire bible is truth and it will benefit us.
The new has come. You are not called to follow everything. The cross has changed everything. Today we are blessed in Christ. It is God’s goodness that leads us to repentance
We ℓσνє because He first loved us.
In the old, we need to ℓσνє God, but in the new, God loves us first. Out of Him loving us, we love.
Everything is changed because of the cross.
Righteousness is your breastplate. It protects your heart and your internal organs.
Need to realise righteousness is our breastplate.
The devil is accuser of the brethren
God has forgiven. When we realised we are forgiven we can live a life of His glory
Ephesians 6:15
and having shod your feet with the preparation (Foundation) of the gospel of peace;
Foundation of our standing is the gospel of peace.
God is no longer mad at me. He is madly in ℓσνє with me!
When we have peace with God we have peace of God.
This peace is aggressive peace.
Ephesians 6:16
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
It does not matter how heavy or powerful your attack is, as long as you have the shield of faith, the devil cannot come against you.
Your works will fail you. It is in His finished work you trust. Take the shield of faith.
Because of the blood of Christ, your shield of faith protects u
As long as it is sin, Jesus forgives. As long as you are sinner, Jesus loves you. Jesus forgives. You are not hoping to be forgiven. You are forgiven!
This is your armour. This armour is the armour of God. This armour is the same armour God Himself wears.
Isaiah 59:14-17
Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
Don’t be afraid. The devil is attacking you, spiritual warfare.
Who is wearing this armour? God Himself put on this armour. The vengeance is not against you but against God
Iron man, who do you see? We don’t see the man behind. We see the iron man.
When we put on armour of God, the devil sees God and not us.
It is believing.
Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
How are we saved? We are saved by grace through faith and therefore we cannot lose it.
Ephesians 6:18
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
The Holy Spirit is the sword. It is the Word of God.
“It is written”
We need to know the Word of God. From our head will drop to our heart. It becomes our sword
The sword is activated by the means of praying.
The devil wants to bully you. But you are bigger than him. You have a loaded gun. Take it out. Point at the devil and pull the trigger. Put on the armour of God.
Pull the trigger by praying in tongues.
It is good we don’t understand. Counter what we don’t understand by what we don’t understand.
Pray in the Spirit! Pull the trigger.
The miracle of Dunkirk that Ps Lawrence shared today –
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/How-a-day-of-prayer-saved-Britain-at-Dunkirk
Miracle of Dunkirk came about in the national day of prayer.
Pray. Prayers have power. When you pray, things turn around.
Keep on praying and believing
When king Jehoshaphat was at a loss , he turned to the Lord and he prayed. He prayed to the true God and He helped him. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. He sent the musicians in front of the battlefield. All he wanted to do was to focus on the Lord.
Psalms 118:1
Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
All the enemies were wiped out without them fighting. They remembered the Lord. Praise and thanksgiving is the highest form of prayers. Believing He already know and will bring victory to us.
Stop asking and start thanking the Lord.
Change your prayers. Praise Him. It is the highest form of prayers.
Greatest victory is to stand still. Put your faith in Him absolutely today. Faith in no one else but God. He will fight for me.
