Suit Up: Put On the Full Armor of God

Proofread Broadcast Transcript

Reading from the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 10 through 18. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything to stand, stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert, and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. And that was Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 18. Oh, listening friends, buckle up! Pastor Perry Case is joining me again on the Wednesday edition of Mark & Friends.

If you were tuned in yesterday, I know you're back for more. But I can't wait to have him share and walk us through these important verses. There's like at least six or seven different points I know he'll be making, because he shared some of this this past Saturday at the BMIC, the Businessmen in Christ Gathering.

It's always held on the second Saturday of every month. I don't know, 40, 50, 60 different guys show up. Bernie Lechman and Doug Reihart helped facilitate and founded it like 30 or so years ago.

It's an amazing gathering on Saturday for men that are in the business about being faithful followers of Jesus and serving the community. And so Perry delivered a message last Saturday, and he hit it out of the park. It was wonderful because it was practical.

It was God-honoring. It drew us to worship God a little more and to be mindful that there is an enemy. And incidentally, we just barely touched on it yesterday, but he recently wrote a book, Know Your Enemy, author Perry Case.

And you can find out more at perrycase.com. That's his name, P-E-R-R-Y-C-A-S-E, perrycase.com. You can purchase a copy, and maybe you're a pastor or oversee a small group or a large group, and you want a case or you want a dozen for your friends and family members. He'll work out some special discounts for you, but stop by perrycase.com, and you can learn more. And if you missed yesterday's broadcast, it's all archived.

There's a transcript. There's resources. There's thoughts for the day.

There's action points. There's all sorts of things that will further your walk with Jesus. Stop by greatnewsradio.org and wluj.org, and you can listen to the program and so forth.

But Perry, I want to be having our listeners and myself included suited up, but I also wrote down stand firm. We want to stand firm in the Lord. It's a great verse.

We can't stand firm in our own abilities or our own gift sets or talents. We need to stand firm in the Lord. So walk us through the importance of suiting up and knowing that there is an enemy.

So that's kind of half of the story, but that there is a battle. And so walk us through putting on the full armor of God. Sure.

Sure. Well, the truth is from the scripture we just read, what's most inspiring is that we are in a spiritual battle. The battle is not carnal.

It's not flesh and blood. You know, I think about this, Mark. I think about, you know, most of us, we understand the concept of getting ready for something.

You know, I take about 30 minutes to get ready. My wife takes about an hour after how that works. But before we start our day, before we go into our day, every day, we know what it means to get dressed, to get ready.

What we need to take with us and how we need to suit up. You know, I think about a firefighter, you know, firefighters, they'd never run into a burning building in shorts and boat shoes. You know, a police officer would never go on patrol, right? Without his vest and his gear.

And a lineman would never climb a pole without some safety gear. Yet many Christians wake up every day and walk into spiritual battle completely unprepared. We read from Ephesians chapter six, verses 10 through 18.

And I want to talk about the importance of suiting up. You know, our scripture text that we read at the beginning, Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God. Notice that he says, put it on.

It's an action, not just to admire it, not just to look at it, not just to study it, but to put it on. And I've spent the last couple of years working on this book that you'd mentioned. Know your enemy.

In this book, I share about Satan. I share about unclean spirits, what we know as demons and about spiritual warfare. And I share not only their origin and their nature, but about the malevolent schemes of the enemy.

And I believe this. It is vitally important that we know our enemy. But what I also learned in this time is that knowing your enemy is only half of the battle.

You also need to know how God has equipped you. So we're going to get into this and we're going to suit up. And what I'd like to do is go through those pieces of armor and just share a little bit.

And at the end, I got a little prayer that I'd like you to pray with me. The first piece of armor in our text was the belt of truth. Ephesians 6.14 says, In Roman armor, which was likely what was referenced by Paul, the belt held every piece together.

And truth is what holds our lives together. Because the devil's primary weapon is and always has been lying. It is lies.

John chapter eight, verse 44. Jesus said this about Satan after calling him the father of lies. He says, when he lies, he speaks his native language.

I made a comment at BMIC. This is a little tactic that I use with my kids whenever I believe they're lying. I'll lean down into him just a little bit.

I'll say, you know, if you are lying, you are using the native tongue of Satan. Nothing like humbling a child right there. But that's the truth.

Satan is speaking. Satan is lying. And that is his native language.

John chapter 17, verse 17. Jesus was praying for all future believers. That means, Mark, he was praying for me and for you and for those who are listening today.

He prayed for you. And he said this, sanctify them by the truth. And he said, your word is truth.

Well, we live in a, in a day where people are constantly speaking about their truth. As if it's independent of the truth. There's only the truth.

And today we need to put on the belt of truth. And what is that truth? John 14, six. Jesus said it.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. So let's put on truth. Let's suit up.

And if you missed yesterday's broadcast, Pastor Perry, Perry Case shared a little of that faith journey and surrendering to Jesus, recognizing his need for Jesus as Lord and savior. And the maturity that goes along with then, you know, not just being the Christian on Sunday, but he has lordship over all of my life, art, my hobbies, my activities, whatever I do, wherever I go, he's not just my savior. We're not just getting fire insurance to get out of hell.

We surrender and submit to him, but it'll be the best decision you ever made because he'll walk with you and counsel you and lead you and guide you. And he loves on you. So, so we want to have that belt of truth.

What's next? The second piece of the armor that's mentioned in that text is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protected the heart of the warrior. And Satan loves to get at the heart.

He loves to use guilt. He likes to remind us of failures, but we have righteousness as a protector. The righteousness that we have isn't earned by you and me.

It's received second Corinthians chapter five, verse 21. Paul tells us that God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God. I sit here with you today and under the sound of my voice, I stand here righteous and blameless, not because of anything I did.

I'm not capable of any kind of righteousness. But when God looks at me, he doesn't see my sin. He sees the righteousness of his one and only son.

The breastplate of righteousness will protect our hearts. And Proverbs chapter four, verse 23 says, above all else, guard your heart. So let's put on righteousness.

Everybody suit up. Our third piece of armor is the shoes of the gospel of peace. First 15 of that text in Ephesians says, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah chapter 52, verse seven. It says, how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news? Well, I don't know if you have beautiful feet or if you don't have beautiful feet. Feet aren't always beautiful.

But the truth is, even if you have ugly feet physically, you can have beautiful feet spiritually when you bring the gospel, bring the good news. And that means that you have beautiful feet. So let's put on our shoes.

Let's walk in peace. And a little shout out. I think on Saturday you said Christi did have beautiful feet.

She does have beautiful feet. Absolutely. A little shout out for you there Christi.

I paid for those feet to get taken care of. So yeah, for sure. She's got beautiful feet for sure.

Let's put on our shoes, ready to spread the word and to walk in peace, to carry peace and to share that peace. All right, listening friends, you get suited up. That's right.

Let's get suited up. The next armor is the shield of faith. Faith is so misunderstood by Christian critics.

They think it's pretending. Faith is pretending that everything's going to work out. But the truth is, faith is not pretending.

It's trusting in God. Even when it doesn't look like it's going to work out, we trust in God. Paul says that this shield of faith extinguishes the flaming arrows of the enemy.

Arrows of fear, arrows of doubt. That means arrows of temptation and discouragement. And Hebrews 11 one says, faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

As a child of the king, we should walk a little different. We should walk different. We should be separate.

We should walk different. We should walk with a little lean because we've got a heavy shield in our hands. Second Corinthians five seven says, for we walk by faith and not by sight.

So we need to suit up, pick up that shield. Next we have the helmet of salvation. That helmet protects the mind.

The war is often the six inches between your ears. The devil likes to get to our mind. Romans eight one says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So isn't it an awesome thing, Mark, to know that you're saved, to have that salvation guarding your mind. You are saved today. It's so wonderful to know that you know that you know.

Perry, jump right back. I think our listeners need to hear that Romans verse again because so many times Satan can use a past experience of failure or somebody that brings something up. But in Christ Jesus, there is no longer condemnation.

So say that again. You know, people were so conditioned to just feel like we can't get anything for free. But salvation is a free gift.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans eight one eight one. Satan tries to get into your head and he tries to bring fear.

He tries to bring doubt into your mind. But Jesus showed us that we just need to speak the word and he has to go. One of my favorite scriptures and one of the things that inspired this book, James four seven says, submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

We got to have that helmet in place, guarding our mind, that helmet of salvation. So let's suit up with that. Last but not least, the sword of the Spirit.

Ephesians six seventeen says, take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is the only offensive weapon in that text. Everything else is for defense.

But the truth is, we need to know the word. The word is power. And if we understand God's word, we understand power.

Hebrews four verse twelve says, for the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

We've got to get into the word. Psalm one nineteen verse one oh five says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, a lamp on your feet showing you where you stand and a light onto your path so you can see where God is taking you. We've got to suit up and I love that the word.

So not only should we be in the scriptures and you've talked about that a little bit yesterday, the importance of reading the scriptures and thinking about it and basically praying before you begin reading. Holy Spirit, enlighten my mind. Help me understand truth or insights or glean something that can help somebody today.

And then that verse in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Jesus is the word. And so he's the ultimate answer to every difficulty, every question you have.

He will reveal truth and insight. But he is the truth. The Lord Jesus Christ.

That's right. That's right. You know, Paul ends by saying in our text, he says, pray in the spirit on all.

Yeah. Listening friends, if you don't get anything out of today's broadcast, but I know already you're going to get a lot or glean a lot of different things. But listen to this verse again, because it's kind of fundamental.

It's just core to everything. All these things that we can put on the full arm of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit. God wants us all to be suited up each and every day and just stand firm in him.

But this prayer element is so important. It is absolutely pray in the spirit on all occasions. Prayer isn't a piece of the armor.

It is what activates the armor and no prayer equals no power. Every morning, Mark, we brush our teeth. We comb our hair.

We put on clothes. We get ready for the day. But what if tomorrow we got up before checking our phone, before checking the news, before we head into work, we simply prayed through this armor and literally just put it on two minutes that could change the whole direction of your day.

And honestly, the direction of your life. And I want to encourage you to pray through his word. What I'd like to do is make us understand that we are not victims.

We are soldiers. God has us here for a purpose and he's supplied everything I need. And I want to reiterate Ephesians 613 before we get into a little prayer that I've put together.

Ephesians 613 says, therefore, put on the full armor of God. So that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. That's what we need to do.

We need to suit up. So, Mark, what I'd like to do is walk the listener through a simple prayer. And before we do that, listening friend, I want you to purchase a copy, a case, a couple cases for your church, your small group, your neighbors, your friends.

That book is titled Know Your Enemy by author Perry Case. And you can find out more on how to even get a discounted price for multiple copies at PerryCase.com, PerryCase.com. I highly recommend this book. And as he mentioned, reading the book, the Bible, but this could be a good supplement and it's practical.

It'll help you prepare for each and every day to be that servant of the Lord, that ambassador for God, wherever you go as you go. But he ended up last Saturday having us all be mindful of this prayer. And it's, I won't say a simple prayer because you're getting to talk to almighty God who loves you and cares for you.

But it's a practical way to walk into each and every day. It's a simple prayer for going through and putting on the armor of God, suiting up, if you will. Pray this with me.

Father, thank you for this new day. I know I can't face today in my own strength. I need you.

So by faith, I put on the full armor you have given me. I put on the belt of truth. Lord, help me believe what is true about you and about me.

Keep me from believing the lies of the enemy and let your truth hold my life together today. I put on the breastplate of righteousness. Thank you that because of Jesus, I am forgiven and made right with you.

Guard my heart. Help me live in a way that honors you. I put on the shoes of the gospel of peace.

Give me steady feet today. Wherever I go, help me walk in your peace and be ready to share the hope of Jesus with others. I take up the shield of faith.

When fear, doubt, worry, or temptation come, help me to trust you instead of my feelings. I believe you are with me. You are good and you will never leave me.

I put on the helmet of salvation. Protect my mind. Remind me that I belong to you and that I'm saved by your grace and that nothing can separate me from your love.

I take up the sword of the Spirit, which is your word. Bring your word to mind when I need it. Help me to speak truth, resist temptation, and to stand firm against the enemy.

Holy Spirit, fill me today. Lead my words, my thoughts, and my actions. Help me love people well.

Honor Jesus in everything I do and stand strong no matter what comes my way. I belong to you, Lord. My life is yours.

In Jesus' name, amen. Amen and amen. And this prayer outlining the verses that we've looked at today through Ephesians 6, 10 through 18 can be made available.

Would they find those at perrycase.com? I don't have that. You can have that print out or I can– Okay. I can certainly provide it for you.

Yeah, we can have that available if you call the station– Yes. And it's also gonna be in the transcript at greatnewsradio.org and wluj.org under the Mark & Friends tab so you can access it that way along with the transcript of the whole program. But listening friend, the book is called Know Your Enemy.

It's available at perrycase.com and for our Jacksonville listeners, maybe tuned in on 93.5 FM. We have 21 frequencies but if you don't have a church home, The Chapel meets at 10 AM on Sundays and we appreciate Pastor Perry Case's passion for the Lord, passion for people to recognize the importance of reading scripture but also important of being equipped each and every day to put on that full armor of God. So not that we can stand in our own strength or abilities but that we can stand firm in God.

That's the most important thing. We stand firm in him and allow him to do those battles. But he does call us to be equipped, to be cognizant of the fact that this armor that he's used Paul to tell us about is important.

That belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes fitted for sharing the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and then most importantly embracing it all is praying. And then Paul closes out in verse 19, pray also for me. So he knew the importance of prayer.

Pastor Perry Case and First Lady Christie, they appreciate your prayers for them on behalf of the ministry work and pray for that neighbor or friend or when God brings somebody to mind today, pray them up if you say, why am I thinking of so and so or a school teacher from the third grade or that pastor down the road or somebody that he brings to your mind. That's probably his way of saying, hey, pray for them. They might have a need that maybe in eternity they're going to say, you're the one that was praying for me.

I always wondered why something shifted or something changed or there was a breakthrough. And I think we're going to spend all eternity talking about all those divine appointments that we never knew that we were a part of. So I hope you got blessed by today's broadcast.

Like I said, it can be accessed and heard again. Maybe you know a friend that's struggling through something. Stop by greatnewsradio.org and wluj.org and certainly stop by perrycase.com, perrycase.com. Well, thanks for listening.

Thanks for being a part of our radio listening family. This is Mark Burns and Pastor Perry Case with the Ministry of Great News Media. God bless you and have a great day and night.