Why did you fall into that ditch?
“I’m not sure. I was doing great, then this thing came against me.”
Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
THE ARMOR OF GOD
This is God’s armor given to His people. Why? To protect targeted areas from the enemy.
What areas are a target?
Spiritual warfare is unseen.
God’s all-powerful armor, given to His children, is spiritual, existing in the unseen realm. God’s armor is His power that can easily subdue and triumph over the natural five-sense realm.
Think about young David killing a giant or what about one angel who annihilated 185,000 soldiers in one night. The spiritual realm is far superior to the natural realm because we’re talking about the power of the Kingdom of God that made this earth realm. Our God is a consuming fire and His angels cannot be numbered! Read Hebrews 12:18-29.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have to deal with opposition.
We, The Church, have been told to exercise authority over the enemy; for Christ has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ....” (Ephesians 2:6) The Apostle Peter exhorts us to be sober and to be vigilant. Resist the devil steadfast in your faith. Be a doer of God’s Word!
“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.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)
Remember, the scriptures tell us Jesus Christ has defeated and stripped principalities and powers, and removed condemnation from us. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. By Him all things were created in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, principalities and powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him... “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” (1 Peter 3:22)
Therefore, receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness in order to “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)
Imagine a police officer dressed in uniform, carrying his weapon. He has the authority, and the responsibility to arrest a thief. Why?
The value of authority depends upon the force (government) that is behind him.
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT
Notice each piece of God’s armor has something in common that is vitally important.
Each is founded on God’s written Word, the Bible.
“Okay, but how do I put all that armor on me?”
It’s an inside job! Just like a farmer plants a crop, Believers are to take the living scriptures and plant them in their heart continually. Here’s how:
“My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:20-27
Jesus taught these same truths in the Parable of the Sower. (Mark 4:1-34)
THE ARMOR AND CORRESPONDING ACTION
“Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light ... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:12-14)
“STAND THEREFORE ...”
Gird your Waist with the Belt of Truth
Oh, the divine purity of truth that we carry within us!
This is enforcement/power that strengthens the upper armor and the lower armor so we can stand upright and strong. It is like an inner core pillar of support that produces zeal, endurance — energy extracted from truth that is written in the Word. "The words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are life." (John 6:63)
Praying in tongues often also provides strength to the inner man.
“Be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness
Jesus paid a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. “For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Your Salvation Package has righteousness in it. Act like it! Subdue the flesh.
Cast down accusing thoughts and condemnation.
Having Shod your Feet
Your assignment is your daily walk in Jesus for the spreading of the Gospel of peace. This piece of armor is God reinforcing your daily ability to perform His will as an Ambassador for Christ.
Above All, Take the Shield of Faith
The shield will extinguish every incoming dart of the enemy: any cleverly disguised or openly blatant lie, all falsification or perversion of God’s written truth. One preacher likes to use this example against the lie: “Just say, ‘NO, I SLAP YOU DOWN!!!’”
The more we are transformed by the renewing of our mind to the Holy Scriptures, as a living epistle of Christ, the more power is transmitted to God’s shield of faith. It is the power of authority to block, defeat, and destroy the lies of the enemy. Faith is God’s unseen substance given to us in our Salvation Package. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
God’s Faith Shield works hand in hand with another weapon ...
Take the Helmet of Salvation
Your Salvation Package was bought with blood! Remember who you are and what you have been given. You are a citizen of heaven! Guard your thoughts by taking each one captive to obey scripture. Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
See our resource Who I Am in Christ Scriptures
The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
Holy Spirit and your spirit are united as one!
Therefore, SPEAK!
Say to the mountain—be plucked up and thrown into the sea and expect (faith) that it will be done for you! It’s not YOUR job to move the mountain. That’s God’s business. Your part is to speak and believe.
You must know and believe the scriptures given to us for authority: Luke 10:19, Matthew 16:17-19, Mark 16:15-20, Acts 1:8, Luke 4:1-14, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, and Joshua 1:3-9, Jeremiah 1:9-10, Isaiah 51:16. This is our badge of delegated authority in the earth that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. (Matthew 16:18)
You will notice there are six pieces to the armor.
In scripture we often find that seven is the number of perfection.
What is the last piece of armor?
PRAYER ...
THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH
It’s a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are safe! (Psalm 61:3)
When you spend time with your Father in study, worship, and prayer every morning, you are receiving His presence filled with grace, love, and peace. Things come into order. His anointing of favor comes upon you and can go ahead of you to bless your day.
God’s Sword of the Spirit works with PRAYER to help fulfill every Believer’s call/assignment on earth! Do we really think we can transfer God’s will from the unseen realm to the seen realm without prayer?
Not every Believer is called to the “ministry of prayer,” but every Believer, every leader, must make prayer/fellowship time with God the Father a priority. All ministry results come forth from quality time with Him and praying in tongues led by the Holy Spirit.
And corporate prayer with faith-filled Believers can manifest great power to bring about great changes.
Intercessors take advantage of conference calls and on-line meetings:
See Praying in Agreement
GOD IS LOVE
PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR!
Make sure you don’t have fear in your prayers.
Faith works through love and so does everything else in God’s Kingdom.
Walk in Him, walk in love. Forgive! Do good to those who despitefully use you. Repay no one evil for evil. Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.
2017
Our nation is going through a process. We’re headed somewhere. Don’t be alarmed. Almighty God is with us! Put on God’s armor. Put on God’s love. They will know us by our love.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:12-14)
SUGGESTED ASSIGNMENT
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
This teaching will bless you and keep you from falling into a ditch ... if you act on it!
Kenneth E. Hagin Sr. The Authority of the Believer —
Exercising Our Authority
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUvGz0hMezA
Prayer with Purpose: See Current Events
Intercede for our counties and our nation.
The Glorious Church: Can you see what’s on the horizon?
The Lost: Where sin abounds, grace much more. Love covers a multitude of sins.
Elected Leaders: Never elect and forget!
Our leaders are on the frontline, moving forward to establish God’s will in our nation.
Copyright © 2013 – 2017 Prayer with Purpose; prayerwithpurpose.org
“I’m not sure. I was doing great, then this thing came against me.”
Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
THE ARMOR OF GOD
This is God’s armor given to His people. Why? To protect targeted areas from the enemy.
What areas are a target?
- Your inner strength of truth
- Your new identity in Christ
- Walking out your assignment for the Gospel
- Your faith in God and His Word
- Your salvation provisions (inheritance)
- Your use of God’s Word in authority
- Your prayer time
Spiritual warfare is unseen.
God’s all-powerful armor, given to His children, is spiritual, existing in the unseen realm. God’s armor is His power that can easily subdue and triumph over the natural five-sense realm.
Think about young David killing a giant or what about one angel who annihilated 185,000 soldiers in one night. The spiritual realm is far superior to the natural realm because we’re talking about the power of the Kingdom of God that made this earth realm. Our God is a consuming fire and His angels cannot be numbered! Read Hebrews 12:18-29.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have to deal with opposition.
We, The Church, have been told to exercise authority over the enemy; for Christ has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ....” (Ephesians 2:6) The Apostle Peter exhorts us to be sober and to be vigilant. Resist the devil steadfast in your faith. Be a doer of God’s Word!
“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.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)
Remember, the scriptures tell us Jesus Christ has defeated and stripped principalities and powers, and removed condemnation from us. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. By Him all things were created in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, principalities and powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him... “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” (1 Peter 3:22)
Therefore, receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness in order to “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)
Imagine a police officer dressed in uniform, carrying his weapon. He has the authority, and the responsibility to arrest a thief. Why?
The value of authority depends upon the force (government) that is behind him.
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT
Notice each piece of God’s armor has something in common that is vitally important.
Each is founded on God’s written Word, the Bible.
“Okay, but how do I put all that armor on me?”
It’s an inside job! Just like a farmer plants a crop, Believers are to take the living scriptures and plant them in their heart continually. Here’s how:
“My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:20-27
Jesus taught these same truths in the Parable of the Sower. (Mark 4:1-34)
THE ARMOR AND CORRESPONDING ACTION
“Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light ... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:12-14)
“STAND THEREFORE ...”
Gird your Waist with the Belt of Truth
Oh, the divine purity of truth that we carry within us!
This is enforcement/power that strengthens the upper armor and the lower armor so we can stand upright and strong. It is like an inner core pillar of support that produces zeal, endurance — energy extracted from truth that is written in the Word. "The words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are life." (John 6:63)
Praying in tongues often also provides strength to the inner man.
“Be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness
Jesus paid a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. “For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Your Salvation Package has righteousness in it. Act like it! Subdue the flesh.
Cast down accusing thoughts and condemnation.
Having Shod your Feet
Your assignment is your daily walk in Jesus for the spreading of the Gospel of peace. This piece of armor is God reinforcing your daily ability to perform His will as an Ambassador for Christ.
Above All, Take the Shield of Faith
The shield will extinguish every incoming dart of the enemy: any cleverly disguised or openly blatant lie, all falsification or perversion of God’s written truth. One preacher likes to use this example against the lie: “Just say, ‘NO, I SLAP YOU DOWN!!!’”
The more we are transformed by the renewing of our mind to the Holy Scriptures, as a living epistle of Christ, the more power is transmitted to God’s shield of faith. It is the power of authority to block, defeat, and destroy the lies of the enemy. Faith is God’s unseen substance given to us in our Salvation Package. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
God’s Faith Shield works hand in hand with another weapon ...
Take the Helmet of Salvation
Your Salvation Package was bought with blood! Remember who you are and what you have been given. You are a citizen of heaven! Guard your thoughts by taking each one captive to obey scripture. Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
See our resource Who I Am in Christ Scriptures
The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
Holy Spirit and your spirit are united as one!
Therefore, SPEAK!
Say to the mountain—be plucked up and thrown into the sea and expect (faith) that it will be done for you! It’s not YOUR job to move the mountain. That’s God’s business. Your part is to speak and believe.
You must know and believe the scriptures given to us for authority: Luke 10:19, Matthew 16:17-19, Mark 16:15-20, Acts 1:8, Luke 4:1-14, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, and Joshua 1:3-9, Jeremiah 1:9-10, Isaiah 51:16. This is our badge of delegated authority in the earth that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. (Matthew 16:18)
You will notice there are six pieces to the armor.
In scripture we often find that seven is the number of perfection.
What is the last piece of armor?
PRAYER ...
THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH
It’s a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are safe! (Psalm 61:3)
When you spend time with your Father in study, worship, and prayer every morning, you are receiving His presence filled with grace, love, and peace. Things come into order. His anointing of favor comes upon you and can go ahead of you to bless your day.
God’s Sword of the Spirit works with PRAYER to help fulfill every Believer’s call/assignment on earth! Do we really think we can transfer God’s will from the unseen realm to the seen realm without prayer?
Not every Believer is called to the “ministry of prayer,” but every Believer, every leader, must make prayer/fellowship time with God the Father a priority. All ministry results come forth from quality time with Him and praying in tongues led by the Holy Spirit.
And corporate prayer with faith-filled Believers can manifest great power to bring about great changes.
Intercessors take advantage of conference calls and on-line meetings:
See Praying in Agreement
GOD IS LOVE
PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR!
Make sure you don’t have fear in your prayers.
Faith works through love and so does everything else in God’s Kingdom.
Walk in Him, walk in love. Forgive! Do good to those who despitefully use you. Repay no one evil for evil. Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.
2017
Our nation is going through a process. We’re headed somewhere. Don’t be alarmed. Almighty God is with us! Put on God’s armor. Put on God’s love. They will know us by our love.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:12-14)
SUGGESTED ASSIGNMENT
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
This teaching will bless you and keep you from falling into a ditch ... if you act on it!
Kenneth E. Hagin Sr. The Authority of the Believer —
Exercising Our Authority
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUvGz0hMezA
Prayer with Purpose: See Current Events
Intercede for our counties and our nation.
The Glorious Church: Can you see what’s on the horizon?
The Lost: Where sin abounds, grace much more. Love covers a multitude of sins.
Elected Leaders: Never elect and forget!
Our leaders are on the frontline, moving forward to establish God’s will in our nation.
Copyright © 2013 – 2017 Prayer with Purpose; prayerwithpurpose.org