1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of faith." I preached on this not to long ago and feel led to give a brief summation here. Child of God, do not give in to that old lying devil any longer! Take up your armor EVERYDAY and stand strong in the Grace and Power of the Lords might! Ephesians 6:10-18 1) Belt of Truth - the Word of God is the truth (John 17:17) Jesus as the living Word is the central piece of our armor, without Him it all falls apart. Belts in ancient roman armor would hold the breastplate and other armor in place during battle. 2) Breastplate of righteousness - Isaiah declares no weapon will prosper against us because the Lord is our righteousness as we serve Him. Breastplates protected vital organs of soldiers and so does our righteousness protect the vital part of our faith, the heart. 3) Feet sandaled to share the gospel - Mark 16:15 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Soldiers wearing sandals moved faster and easier, their feet were less suspect to cuts and bruises because they were protected. 4) Shield of faith - Soldiers without a shield had no hope of surviving battle. The shield was a first defense in battle and could protect all areas of the body from attack. Joshua 1:5-9; Isaiah 41:10-13 Our faith protects us from the fiery darts of satan. Without faith we are as good as dead in spiritual warfare. 5) Helmet of salvation - helmets protected the most vital organ, the mind. without a helmet, a simple blow to the head could be fatal. Well as children of God we know Who we belong to and should stand firm in that promise of God. Satan will plant doubt in your mind to get you to doubt God and His promises, dont believe him, he is a liar and has been from the beginning (John8:44) and he is only here to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) Stand on Gods promise of eternal life! 6) Sword of the Spirit - the Word of God is listed again because its so important to our walk with God. Jesus fought Satans temptations with scripture so should we. Psalm 119:11 We are destroyed by our lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) so study the word that gives life! Now that you know what your armor is, you need to train with it! Matthew 6:1-18 Pray - Prayer is the key that unlocks and brings all of Heavens resources to bear in the Christians life. In the military, radios are used by front line troops to call in artillery strikes on enemy positions to make the advance easier. Prayer is our radio link to God and with it we call Gods mighty hand to bear on specific targets in our battle. Jesus says in Luke 18:1-8 that our prayer life is a direct reflection on the size of our faith and Jesus prayed all the time, how much more should we? Fasting - fasting is exercising your spirit. You go without physical food in order to be full of spiritual food. You are telling God by fasting that you are willing to deny your flesh in order to gain more in the Spirit. Isaiah 58 is a great teaching on proper fasting. Bible study - we already talked about the Word being the Sword in the Spirit and the soldier that doesn't train with their weapon isn't effective in battle. We must stay in the Word in order to maintain our edge and effectiveness in battle. Psalm 1:1-2; Joshua 1:8; Hebrews 4:12 Giving - giving is the actual act of training in practice. We go out and face the enemy head on as we share the love of God with others by practical means. 1 Jn 3:18 says to love in action not word. Are you putting love into practice? Or just verbalizing it? James warns that faith without works is dead, so maintain your life and do some good for someone else today. Lastly, now that you have been informed on your equipment for battle and how to train, all there is to do is stand firm! Satan will do everything he can to steal your inheritance from you. If we aren't careful he will succeed. Make these declarations in your life today and proclaim them over all your dealings and let them build your faith in the Lord: Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world! I am more than a conqueror because Jesus loves me! Dont give up! God is with you and He will help you. Trust Him and ultimate victory will be yours! Hallelujah!