Are We Wearing the Full Armor of God?

Beth Bucheit

January 28, 2023

Brethren, we live in a crazy mixed-up world. There is no sanity left, and everywhere you turn you are reminded of how man cannot live without God’s rule. Every walk of life is more unbelievable than the next. Insanity knows no bounds.

In my past two sermons, I’ve mentioned the full armor of God. We have covered the scriptures that talk about the full armor of God, but in this crazy, unbalanced world are we wearing the full armor of God? Do we know what that armor is?

In today’s sermon, we’re going to talk about the full armor of God in more detail and ask some very important questions.

The title of today’s sermon is Are We Wearing the Full Armor of God?

We’re going to start today by turning over to Ephesians. But before we get into Ephesians 6 where we talk about the full armor of God I want to start talking a little bit about what God’s apostle, Paul, told the Ephesians for their learning and for our learning as he built up to putting on the full armor of God.

So, if we could turn over to Ephesians, we’re going to start in chapter 1. Ephesians 1:7-8—In him, referring to Joshua, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. We are able to be forgiven of our sins, and this is by God’s grace. We did not earn it.

Now let’s go to verse 17—I keep asking that the God of our Lord Joshua the Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better. Paul shows his reverence for God. He refers to Him as “the Glorious Father,” and he is praying that the Ephesians may come to know God better.

We understand that our growth and the knowledge of God comes from God’s revelation of His truths to us and the expounding of His ways through sermons. Paul wants us to know God better.

Verse 18—I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people. Paul wants our inner being to be enlightened or to gain greater knowledge so that we can continue our fight to inherit as children.

Ephesians 2:8—For this is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Again, we are saved from ourselves not because of us, but it is a gift from God. We are saved from ourselves because we have faith and we believe all God tells us.

Moving on to Ephesians 3:14—For this reason, I kneel before the Father. Paul is letting the Ephesians know, and us know, how much he cares, that he is on his knees praying to God. And what is he praying for? As we continue, I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being. Our strength is in the power of God’s holy spirit.

Verse 17—so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love. We know that we are told in Corinthians that love is the greatest of all. That is agape, God’s love. We must be grounded in that love.

Moving on to Ephesians 5:1—Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. We are to be as God, follow God’s example, God’s laws, God’s truth – do what God wants us to do.

Verse 16—making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Making the most, doing our best in everything we do remembering we live in the end. We know better than anyone on the face of this earth we live in the days of evil. We must be wise because we do understand God’s will.

Paul ends his message to the Ephesians by telling them to put on the full armor of God. So now let’s start in Ephesians 6, and we’ll read 10-18 and read about the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10—Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Eternal and 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 supplications in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplications for all the saints.

Today I want to talk about the full armor of God and why we need it. We will look at God’s armor and ask the question, what do we need protection from and who are we wearing this armor against? Who is our enemy?

In the sermon, Our Journey of Perseverance, Part 1, our apostle told us, “Before continuing on I thought it would be good just to go through some of the definition and think about our spiritual lives then and that work and the effort we put into it. Because you have to work for this. It isn’t just given. It doesn’t just happen.”

“And yet sometimes, if we’re not careful, we can live, people live, many people have lived just going from one point to another and kind of floating through it all and not doing much, and after a time become so weak, and after a time God judging there is nothing in you, you don’t desire this, you don’t want this, you’re not willing to sacrifice and fight for it. He’s not going to just give it. It doesn’t work that way.”

Later in that same sermon, “So, ‘to persist in anything undertaken.’ Persist at it. Keep at it. Persist! You don’t give up. You don’t quit. You don’t slow down! ‘To persist in anything undertaken.’ When we talk about this way of life that should mean so much.”

We were told if we are not willing to fight for it, go to battle for it, and “it” being God and God’s plan, God is not just going to give it to us. But if we don’t quit or slow down and we’re going to fight and choose to persist, we need to be wearing the full armor of God. We just read in Ephesians 6 about the armor. Remember, you put on armor to fight, to go to battle. And if we are willing to fight and not quit, God will give us His full armor.

So again, let’s ask a question today in the sermon and let God answer them for us: What do we need protection from? Who is the enemy? What is the enemy trying to take from us? What is the full armor of God, and how can we use it?

Let’s start with the first question: What do we need protection from? Who is the enemy?

Who is the enemy? I think that’s a great place to start. If we are at war and we need to wear the armor of God, who is the enemy? Knowing who the enemy is will most certainly help us to understand why we need the full armor of God. Knowing the enemy will help us to be ready for battle and to win, to stand. We cannot take the enemy lightly.

Let’s go back to Ephesians 6 and read 11 through 12. Ephesians 6:11-12—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 darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The first thing God inspires Paul to tell us is that we put on the whole armor of God because we are to stand, to have an upright position, to fight against the wiles of the devil. The wiles (or better said), the devious or cunning strategy used to manipulate or persuade someone to do what one wants, someone who slanders and makes false accusations.

So, let’s say it this way: To stand against the cunning strategy of Satan to manipulate or persuade to do his bidding. We know the devil, or Satan is called by different names and in different examples in the Bible, God’s word.

Let’s turn over to Isaiah 14 and we’ll start with verse 12. That was Isaiah 14:12—How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Lucifer, the name God gave Satan at his creation. As we know it means “light bearer.”

But continuing, How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Something happened.

Lucifer became filled with pride and wanted what was not his to have. He was not satisfied. If you’re not sure what that is think of yourself and your selfish human nature. That is exactly what we are without the help of God’s spirit. We want what we want, “lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life.”

Lucifer, who became Satan, literally thought—or a better way to say it—deceived himself to thinking he could take the very throne of God Almighty. He was not happy with what God had given him and he wanted more. He was not satisfied. As we read, he was cut down to the ground so he found out quickly he could not take God’s throne.

Let’s turn over to Revelation 12:7—And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. Now we see Satan warring, fighting as a dragon (another term used for Satan), along with his angels, the demons, those he persuaded and manipulated.

Think about that. Satan used his wiles, his strategy, his manipulation, his lure with God’s angels and persuaded a third of them to turn on God. Satan and the demons became an enemy, and we see that they fought with Michael, one of God’s cherubs and His angels, God’s angels, that stayed faithful.

Verse 8—But they, talking about Satan and his angels (known as demons), did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

We read here another term for Satan is a serpent, and we read he is called the devil. We understand Satan deceives the whole world. We see that every day. Satan is an enemy to all that God has done or is planning on doing, the part of God’s plan that is not yet filled. That includes us. We are an embryo, and if not sealed, if we have not proven to be a faithful servant, could still be miscarried. If Satan is God’s enemy then he most certainly should be our enemy.

Now reading in verse 10—Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Satan is no longer in heaven. He has been cast down and he is not happy. He is not satisfied. He deceives himself into thinking he can still war and win. And because of this, who do you think his target is? We just read he is “the accuser of the brethren.” The target is us.

Let’s turn back to Ephesians 6 and read verse 12 again. 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. Paul is clearly stating we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. To wrestle means that there is another person involved. So if Paul is saying “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” then we are not in a fight with someone human. No. We fight with powers that are “the rulers of the darkness of that age,” the same darkness of this age. We are warring against Satan. He is “the spiritual host of wickedness.”

We already have been told by Paul we fight against the wiles of the devil. Paul is just making sure that we understand the devil is not flesh and blood but spirit, something that we cannot see, that he is the ruler of darkness and wickedness. Darkness is sin.

Let’s turn over to 1 Peter 2:9—But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. We read here we’re “called out of darkness and into the marvelous light,” the light of God. We were chosen, and if yielding can become part of a royal priesthood. We are God’s special people. Not because of us, but because God has a plan and that some would come out of the darkness of this world, the evil of this world, and be able to see the truth, to come into the light.

Let’s turn back over to Ephesians 2:2—in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, or the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. If you grew up in the church during Worldwide or you were part of Worldwide, you heard the term “prince of the power of the air.” I can remember early on in my calling that I would pray to God to remove me from Satan’s wavelengths.

Think of all the airwaves Satan can use now. There was a time when it was radio and TV. Look at the social media platforms he has control of now. There are 4.65 billion social media users on this planet. That’s 58.7% of the global population being influenced by the “prince of the power of the air” via social media. He is using social media to influence through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Twitter, to name just a few – and I do mean a few.

I want to interject here, too, that I’m not saying that everything on these are bad, but we know that Satan is using the influence here with these social medias. We as God’s people should be able to understand that.

So, I want to share an example, though, with you personally that I know of to show you just how crazy it can be, and this deals with TikTok. So, last school year there was a TikTok challenge that got started. The challenge was for students at the schools to go into their bathrooms and destroy them. They would tape themselves doing this and then share it with each other. They would post it on TikTok and then others would follow suit.

This happened at the school where Sarah teaches junior high. We’re talking about 7th and 8th graders. It was so bad at her school last year that they have to now this year walk their students to the bathroom at an assigned time and wait for them like you would a toddler. There is a lot of evil there.

God inspired His apostle a long time ago to give us guidelines and not to participate on Facebook. I would think we would know now that we should thank God for that blessing.

Another great example of how Satan works as the “prince of the power of the air” is how he manipulates people with conspiracy theories. Disinformation is constantly flowing from social media. Covid is a great example of that. This is one subject that had so much misinformation flowing, and some of it was really crazy, but people believed it.

When God’s people get caught up in this stupidity – and I do mean stupidity – when this happens you just let your guard down and Satan is getting in. I read the following article just recently, and I’m just going to read just a couple of lines of it: “USC researchers may have found the biggest influencer in the spread of fake news: social platforms’ structure of rewarding users for habitually sharing information. …misinformation spreads because users lack the critical thinking skills necessary for discerning truth from falsehood or because their strong political beliefs skew their judgment.”[1]

We need to be careful what we are searching for, and more importantly ask, as we have been told via past sermons, what is our motive? And when we find whatever it is we’re looking for is it useless information? Does it help us to understand what is going on in the world and where we are, being watchful? Does it help us to be watchful? Does it inspire us to follow God and His truths or is it useless?

Ask yourself that question before you start sending it out to other brethren. What is your real motive here? What is your real purpose here? Do we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is truth? Make sure it is in line with God, because if it is not then you may be Satan’s pawn, you may be hurting a brother or a sister, you may be being manipulated by Satan, falling to the wiles of the devil. You may be doing Satan’s bidding, not God’s.

Those who were part of Worldwide Church of God remember God’s apostle at that time, Herbert W. Armstrong talked a lot about Satan as the “prince of the power of the air.” God revealed to him how Satan worked this way. Mr. Armstrong understood the power of wavelengths because he understood how radio and TV worked. Some of the most simplistic explanations of radio and TV, how it worked when explaining how Satan broadcasts, were very moving and understandable.

Sometimes simple is best. We can all understand this simple statement, “The wages of sin is death.”

Mr. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages, “But Cain was being led by Satan. This prince of the power of the air stirred Cain to an attitude of resentment, anger and hostility. Cain slew his younger brother, and when the Eternal asked him about his brother, he lied to God about it.”

We see here that in the beginning Satan broadcast evil to Cain and Cain committed the first murder and then lied about it. Two very obvious sins. At the moment Cain gave into Satan’s broadcast he became an enemy to God.

I came across a Good News publication from 1978. For those who received The Good News magazine, you remember how there would be a bolded section to get your attention at the top of the article. In this article, “What You May Not Know,” Mr. Armstrong typed in bold, large print at the top the following: “Many would say, ‘Don't tell me Satan could be using me! The devil can't use me — I'm in GOD'S CHURCH!’ But maybe we need to understand more about HOW Satan works to DECEIVE — and a deceived person DOESN'T KNOW he is deceived — else he wouldn't be, would he? LET'S MAKE SURE!” Then he went on with the article.

So, I love how he would just ask simple questions and that would just make you think a little harder.

Turn over to Luke 4:5. We know this is in regard to when Joshua was fasting, and Satan came to him thinking he could persuade Christ the same way he did a third of God’s angels.

Luke 4:5-6. It says, Then the devil, taking him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Satan, the devil, tried to deceive Christ. He tried to persuade him to his side like he did so many years before with the angels that turned against God and are now called demons. He used the temptation of power and glory to try to get Christ to give up his calling to be the Passover for all mankind. The enemy tried to destroy the Son of God.

Thankfully, we know Satan failed. He underestimated how strong Christ is. Satan deceived himself into thinking he could change the plan of God.

While we know that, Truth 53 given to the Church states:

53 (32) There is an end to Satan’s existence. His punishment is that of eternal death, never to have life again, once God brings an end to his spirit life.

Remember, we are not there yet. We also know that Satan knows that he has a short time.

Let’s turn over to Revelation 20:1-3—Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while.

We learn from this scripture Satan is going to be bound for a thousand years. His influence through the air will be stopped, no longer the “prince of the power of the air.” A seal will be on him and his influence will stop for a while. He will not be able to deceive or give misinformation to the nations, to the people of the earth.

Think of how a wild animal acts when trapped. The animal will fight and claw to survive. Think about that as we start to look more at Ephesians 6, understanding who our enemy is. The bottom line is there is an enemy, and we know that there is a battle that has to be fought and won.

Before we go further into Ephesians 6 and learn how we can fight this enemy, I want to ask the question, can we become the enemy?

Let’s turn over to Romans 12:2. We’ve learned that Satan is the “prince of the power of the air,” and because of this, he owns this world. They fall to his wiles all the time. They have no protection from it.

We are warned in Romans 12:2— And do not be conformed to this world… We are not to be like this world. So pick anything in it, like Facebook, that we were told so long ago that we were not to be on, and think about how disgusting it is. Of course, as the youth will tell you, Facebook is out and now it’s a new social media. But it’s still a social media. But I don’t care what you call it, if you’re not careful you’re conforming to the world. Conforming to the world makes you an enemy of God.

Going on…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God.

So, what does God want? He wants us to transform our minds, stay off the wavelength, renew our minds so we can prove the perfect will of God, not to be the enemy or misguided by the master enemy.

Let’s turn over to 1 Corinthians 3:19—For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their own craftiness.

We see that God thinks the wisdom of this world is foolishness. Catching the wise in their own craftiness makes you think of Satan and his wiles. One definition of craftiness is “shrewdness, as demonstrated by being skilled in deception.” This is Satan in a nutshell. He deceives the world all day long. The deception is seen in every aspect of life. Void of any honesty at all.

So again, if we are part of the world’s wisdom we are an enemy of God.

Let’s turn over to 2 Corinthians 4:4—whose minds the god of this age has blinded. Who is the god of this age? The enemy, Satan. He goes on to say, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

And because they do not believe, they cannot understand who Christ is and what his message is. They would have hope, but instead, they do not. If we are not careful and repent quickly, we can become blind and become an enemy to God.

There are so many scriptures we can turn to about becoming the enemy of God. So just to drive this point home, I’m going to look at a couple more.

Turn over to 1 John 4:1-4—Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Joshua the Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Joshua the Christ has come into the flesh is not of God.

God warns us so many times in different ways, but the result being the same; if we are not careful, we can become deceived and turn away from God. He tells us to test the spirits or to prove the spirits, so we are not misled. We understand that Joshua came in the flesh, and we understand that he comes continually in our lives. Truth 35 states:

35 (14) We understand that Joshua the Christ is “continually coming” in the flesh of those who are in the Church of God. This has only been partially understood by the Church. Some scriptures refer to Christ “coming” in the flesh. Much of the Church has taken this physically, meaning that he first came to mankind while in the flesh, as a man. Other expressions about Joshua the Christ “coming” are taken as though this is speaking of a time when he will return to this Earth. Yet the literal Greek concerning this word is neither about a “past tense” existence in a fleshly body, nor of a “future tense” return. The closest expression in English is that of being “present progressive,” meaning that Joshua the Christ is “continually coming” into our lives (in our flesh)—of God’s spirit dwelling (abiding, continuing, living) “in” us.

Now, continuing in 1 John… And this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Who is the antichrist? We know it means anyone who believes contrary to God after knowing the truth. The antichrist are those who have left God’s way of life after being taught all His truths, all 57, and then returning to the world and its wisdom, serving its god of darkness. The antichrist is an enemy of God.

In the sermon titled Change is Coming, Pt. 4, Wayne said, “Although there was this perception that we were doing okay, the reality was that God vomited us out of His mouth because of this very fact, because we went to sleep.” And he added, “Well, that is exactly what can happen to us right now.”

Let’s turn over to 2 Thessalonians 2:1—Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Joshua the Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.

We do not have to turn over to Revelation, but we know exactly what it says about lukewarm. God does not want nor can work with anyone lukewarm. Part of Truth 28 states:

… God will not accept that which is only lukewarm, spiritually sleepy, and steeped in pride. God will not be around sin and pride is sin. Pride and spiritual sluggishness permeated the Church of God through the mid-'90s, and the entire Church therefore became separated from God, as prophesied in Revelation 3:16.

He vomited the entire Church because we were lukewarm. All ten virgins went to sleep. Part of Truth 29 states:

… The Church used to believe that there were five wise virgins who went into the wedding and that the five who were foolish were rejected by the bridegroom. Yet the Bible says “all” of the virgins fell asleep, both the wise and the foolish. Both had to repent for not using the oil available to them. When the cry went out that the bridegroom was coming, it was time for those virgins to wake up and begin “using” the oil (God’s spirit) in order to prepare themselves (to trim their lamps to give proper light in their life) for the wedding.

So, I’m going to ask the question again, can you become an enemy of God? You can bet on it! Some of us are living proof of that. So, if we can become an enemy of God, that means we’re an enemy to God’s Son, Joshua, who died for us, we’re an enemy to the Church of God and to the other brethren, and we cannot become an enemy.

To this point we have established who the enemy is and that we can become the enemy.

The next question we need to ask is, what is the enemy trying to take from us? Satan wants to stop the government of God. Satan wants to stop the message of the coming Kingdom of God. Satan wants to stop and destroy the 144,000. He did not stop Christ the first fruit, so now he desperately wants to stop the 144,000. Satan wants to stop the potential of mankind becoming Elohim.

From the second God revealed to Satan the future for mankind he has been eaten up by envy. His desire to have what is not his to have has perverted his thinking and destroyed him. He went from Lucifer, one of the three cherubs serving God Almighty to Satan the attacker, the enemy of God’s people, God’s Church.

By reviewing a couple of the truths we will get a very clear picture of what our enemy wants.

4 (1) The government of God. When Christ comes, He will restore God’s government to the whole earth. God’s government was restored to His Church during Philadelphia. It is not a government of men where decisions are made by such practices as voting or one’s own will, but as God leads through the power of His spirit.

We just earlier learned that Satan tried to destroy Christ. Truth 4 makes it clear why that reason was. Christ, upon his return, will restore God’s government to the whole earth, and if God’s government is ruling the whole earth there is no place for Satan and his demons. He knows that. He knows that mankind will no longer make decisions based on what he wants, no longer be based on the “lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” While mankind will still fight his own human nature, he will no longer have to worry about Satan’s temptations and deception. The entire population will have access to God and His spirit. Satan very much would like to put a stop to the government of God.

5 (2) The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been restored after 1,900 years. It is the “good news” of the government of God, which is to be restored at Christ’s return.

As Satan knew that with the restoration of the gospel, the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, would also mean an end to him. He knew that with the birth of God’s own Son that the gospel of the Kingdom of God would be taught. So what did he try to do? We know the answer to this. He tried to destroy, to kill, the Son of God. He used his wiles to convince king Herod to find and kill Christ as a child.

Turn over to Matthew 2:16—Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Satan thought he could destroy, kill Christ. It was not part of God’s plan for Christ to die as a child. He was to die, but later after he began to teach the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Then he would die, according to God’s plan, according to God’s timing, as our Passover.

Turn over to Matthew 13:44-46—Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In a sermon given by Johnny, Treasure, Part 3, it was noted the pearl of great price is eternal life, life without pain, life with happiness, life without death, life without sorrow. That is a life I want, and I know it is what you want, and Satan does not want us to have it.

Turn over to 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5—Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and Joshua the Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Joshua the Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.

The Kingdom of God is something we must be counted worthy of. Our faith must grow exceedingly and not have any limits. Our love for each other must grow, putting God’s Church first in our lives, and we must be patient and persevere in our trials that we face daily. Always moving forward.

Now let’s read Truth 6. Another truth that shows what the enemy wants:

6 (3) God’s purpose for mankind. God is reproducing Himself and no other church knows or preaches this truth. We are to be born of God and become God—in the God Family: Elohim.

God’s purpose for mankind is to become Elohim. We are to be a part of God’s Family. Once Satan knew this for mankind, had this opportunity, and he could not, we became his target. He loathes mankind. We need to remember in order for this to happen, to become Elohim, God must first call us.

Turn over to John 6:44—No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Brethren, we are called by God. We would not be here if He had not called us. He called us for a very special purpose. Not because of us, but in spite of us. With the power of His holy spirit, God put it in our minds, and we responded. We have just recently been told in sermons how incredible this is, and our calling should be everything to us. It is up to us to continue the fight, the battle, so God can raise us up at the last day. If we fail, it is on us.

Let’s turn over to Ephesians 4:1-6—I, therefore, the prisoner of the Eternal, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one Body, one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Eternal, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

These scriptures emphasize also we are to be worthy of our calling. We cannot be lifted up by it, but we must have a humble spirit, a contrite heart, a man after God’s heart like king David. We must bear and love each other. We must be of one mind, one spirit, one Body. When we are led by God’s spirit and we yield, God and Christ can dwell in us. When we are led by God’s spirit we are not letting Satan in. Satan wants to cause discord among the brethren. We cannot allow that.

Remember we are answering the question, what does the enemy want? Let’s read Truth 38:

38 (17) The 144,000 are all those who have been called and tried by God over the past 6,000 years who will be in the first resurrection at Christ’s return. The Philadelphia era taught that there would be 144,000 from Philadelphia who would be resurrected at Christ’s return, along with an innumerable multitude who would come out of Laodicea during the final 3½ years of great tribulation. This is false. In order to enter into the God Family one must be tried and tested over many years and not just for a mere 3½ years or less. Those who live through the tribulation will be a continuation of people making up the Church on into the Millennium.

The innumerable multitude mentioned in Revelation 7 is the same 144,000 who have been sealed and then resurrected at the time of Christ's return. All have gone through great tribulation to become part of the God Family. They are called innumerable simply because from a physical vantage point no human could count such a gathering of people, and only God knows the number of those whom He has worked with over the past 6,000 years who have been molded and prepared to be in His Family and in His government.

Let’s turn over to Revelation 14:1 and read about the 144,000. Revelation 14:1-3—Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

Satan would love nothing more than to take out those who remain to be sealed as part of the 144,000. In order to do that Satan tries to stop God’s Church. We have two examples in our lifetime of where Satan attacked God’s Church with no success.

The first time was when he inspired, as the “prince of the power of the air,” during the era of Philadelphia to stir up the State of California against the Church. He thought he could actually stop God’s apostle, Mr. Armstrong, and God’s Church. He found out quickly it would not work. God intervened and took care of the situation, and he did not succeed.

The second time was several decades later when Satan tried it again. This time he came after God’s apostle, Ron Weinland, using the IRS, and they falsely accused him of not paying his taxes. He succeeded in that God’s apostle was falsely imprisoned, however, he underestimated God again, and the Church moved forward.

The only thing Satan succeeded in was making God’s Church stronger. Satan underestimated the power of God Almighty again. Instead of God’s people rolling over and giving up, God stirred his apostle to deliver some of the strongest messages over and over to the Church, received via the post. He inspired a cleansing of the Church that was needed. He removed those hanging around the courtyard and those in the temple got stronger and stronger.

Both of these examples show how Satan can manipulate mankind so easily because they do not have the protection of God Almighty.

As we end this section of what the enemy wants. I am going to read a few statements from the sermon, True Thanksgiving, Part 4 given by God’s apostle. “I think of, if you were a being and beings who knew that when certain things take place on this earth (and you have had enough experience in seeing what God says comes to pass), and you know that when certain events take place that you’re going to be put away for a thousand years, would you fight against that? Would you work against that?”

Please note, “Would you fight against that?” A fight, a war, a battle. Understand again, this is a battle.

And another statement: “And what’s the number one place they,” referring to Satan and the demons, “can do that to stop this process if it were able to be stopped, which it can’t? The Church of God. The 144,000. It doesn’t take a lot of brain power to grasp that. They know these things. They know that.”

So brethren, if they know that, then so should we. We have to put on the full armor for this battle. We know who the enemy is, we know what the enemy wants, now it is time to understand what the full armor of God is and how we can use it to continue this fight until the return of our elder brother Joshua to set up the Kingdom of God.

We learned at the Feast the main advantage of the armor is for protection. It is the metal coverings worn by soldiers or warriors to protect the body in battle. In my research on the Roman soldiers of the time of Christ, the Roman legionary’s weapons and armor had minor modifications, but through time remained the same. It consisted of a spear, a sword, a shield, and a helmet.

Romans used three types of body armor: a hooped arrangement which is the first plate of armor made of iron plates and gave the Roman soldier of the time excellent protection against swords. The second type of the body armor was a scaled metal plate – but not as popular as the third type, the chain mail, which was composed of many chains linked together. Each one was designed to protect the Roman soldier.

The soldiers had one belt used to secure the sword and another belt to secure the dagger. Later, these two belts were replaced with only one that was made broader to support both.

The Roman soldier’s body was not all that was protected. The soldier also wore a helmet (that was to protect against blows to his head), and he carried a shield. It was used to protect against swords but was also used to protect against arrows.

So, the next question is, what is the full armor of God and how can we use it? We understand that armor was worn when men went to war. It was to protect their physical bodies.

But brethren, our battle is not physical, ours is spiritual. We do not need armor to protect our fleshly bodies; we need armor to protect our mind and our hearts. So as we go through the armor of God keep that in mind. Don’t think physically but think spiritually.

So, let’s turn back over to Ephesians 6 and we’ll read verse 14. Ephesians 6:14—Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth. “To gird or to encircle with truth.” “To gird” is to make something secure. God has given or girded His Church with 57 Truths. The truths make God’s Church secure. Without God’s truth, there is nothing.

How many times have we been told to hold onto the trunk of the tree? We know the 57 Truths are our lifeline. They set us apart from the scattered Churches. The truths are our past and they are our future. They are everything. With the 57 Truths secure in our minds we cannot be shaken.

Again, we understand if we allow the enemy to take the truths from us, we become antichrist, against God and Christ. We become the enemy.

Let’s turn over to John 8:32—And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Free from what? Free from worry. God’s truth gives you confidence and boldness. With confidence and boldness, you enter a battle fully armed. You know you are equipped to win. As they say, attitude is everything.

If we back up now and read verse 28—Joshua said, When you have lifted up (exalted) the Son of God, speaking of himself, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own; but speak just what the Father taught me. If Joshua only spoke what the Father taught him, then everything he spoke came from God, the truth.

How does the truth set you free? The truth frees you from sin because it shows you what sin is, and if we know what sin is then we can repent of it, and if we do not repent we know we are cut off from God, cut off from the armor of God. We are God’s enemy when we sin, and sin gives Satan power.

In verses 34 and 35 Joshua says, Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now, a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So the truth sets us free, making us no longer a slave, giving us a place in the Family, a place in the Family with direct contact to the Father.

It states on the church website under the Publication section of the 57 Truths:

THERE ARE 57 BASIC TRUTHS that God has given to His Church at this time. These truths have come out of three periods of time and in this final age that precedes Christ’s second coming.

57 Truths that are freeing us. And it goes on to say:

By the 1400s, the emergence of the printing press led to the establishment of protestant churches that rose up against this Roman church, but they still continued in that church’s major doctrines. These events only led to greater religious confusion and opposition to God’s own Church, and by the end of the era of Sardis in the 1920s, most truth had been lost in God’s Church. Only the first three of these 57 Truths remained.

In the early 1930s, God raised up an end-time apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong, to begin restoring truth to His Church in order to begin preparing for His Son’s second coming. This was during the era of Philadelphia, and during the era of time God restored 18 Truths to His Church.

The death of Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986 also brought an end to the era of Philadelphia. Then the seventh and final era of Laodicea began, which led up to the prophesied Apostasy that would mark the beginning of a countdown to Christ’s second coming. That era of Laodicea continued until it came to an end on Pentecost of 1998. During this entire period of the era of Laodicea, NO additional truths were revealed to God’s Church.

It was after God reestablished His remnant Church on Pentecost 1998 that He began to once again restore and add more truth to His Church. God did this in preparation for the second coming of His Son to become King of kings over the nations of this world. It has been in this countdown period of God’s remnant Church that 36 additional truths have now been given.

The 57th Truth is the last of all these truths that God has restored to His Church, but it needs to be stated here what that truth is because it will appear in these following truths when necessary. It concerns the name God commanded that His Son should be called and known as after his birth. That name was not Jesus; it was Joshua. The Messiah—the Christ’s true name is Joshua. Indeed, he is to be called by the name Joshua—as declared by His Father—the One Almighty Eternal God.

God’s Word is truth, and His Word is spiritual. It is the truth that sets apart God’s people in His Church (John 17:17). It is not something revealed through human intellect. One can only “see” the truth of God as God opens the mind to see spiritual matters.

Let’s turn over to John 17:16—They are not of the world.. Christ is saying we are not of the world if we “see,” if we are his. And it goes on to say, just as I am not of the world. Christ was not of this world either. Christ is of God. We are of God if His spirit is in us.

We read in verse 17—Sanctify them or set them apart by Your truth. Your word is truth. We know God’s 57 Truths set us apart from this world, it sets us apart from the scattered Churches, and only God’s true Church, Church of God-PKG, has His truths. We not only have the 3 given to Sardis, 18 to Philadelphia, but a total of 57.

Now, let’s continue looking at the armor of God. Let’s go back to Ephesians 6. We’re still in verse 14. Ephesians 6:14—having put on the breastplate of righteousness. In another translation, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. The breastplate of armor is to protect the torso, the heart.

We understand that that is the blood beating, giving life heart. The heart of the body dispersing blood throughout the body is what gives the rest of the body life. But another way to look at the heart is not something physical, but something we feel.

Webster’s Dictionary states “this is one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations.” When you refer to the heart physically this way you are describing something that is the center, or the most important to you, what drives you, what makes you who you are.

Now let us look at the heart from a spiritual aspect. If we are putting on a spiritual breastplate to protect our spiritual heart, our spiritual heart is about what is the most important, the center, what drives us. Isn’t that God and His ways? But this is a breastplate of righteousness. We understand being righteous isn't anything we can achieve. We are anything but righteous.

Let’s turn over to Psalms 119:171—My lips shall utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes. My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. God’s statutes or God’s written laws that are forever with no ending. God’s commandments, God’s laws are righteous because they come from God. So, a breastplate of righteousness of God’s written laws, of God’s commandments to protect our spiritual heart.

Turn over to Romans 3:9—What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.

There is only one way we can be righteous: do what is right according to God, and that is if God is living in and through us. So we need to wear a breastplate that can protect us from losing our righteousness. That breastplate is putting on God, doing what we know is right. The only way we can do that is to, again, repent quickly, and not be cut off from God. If we are cut off from God, we will sin and make terrible choices and become the enemy and fall in this battle and die.

Now continuing again in Ephesians 6 we’ll start now in verse 15. So, if we could just turn back over to Ephesians 6:15.

All right, Ephesians 6:15—and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Another translation reads, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

So we are to be ready, prepared to move forward. We understand the gospel is the good news of the coming Kingdom of God. As we enter this battle with Satan and his demons we are to be moving forward with confidence. Knowing the truth about God’s Kingdom coming, and the return of Christ to take his place as King of kings, can give you peace.

We know God’s plan is already in motion and it cannot change. We confidently go into battle, our feet ready to take us forward to the victory. Can you enter into a battle with peace? You can when God is the one leading you into the battle.

Let’s turn over to Romans 1:16—For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the gentile. Our enemy knows the gospel gives us power if we believe. And he hates that. Knowing the gospel, the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, the power it brings makes us ready to take on the enemy. The gospel is how we obtain salvation.

Going back over to Ephesian 6 and now reading 16. 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.

We are to take up the shield; again, something that serves as a protective or defensive cover. The shield of faith is a protective cover that is able to put down the fiery darts of Satan. It is not hard to imagine standing holding a shield in front of yourself to protect your life while someone is throwing a fiery dart at you, knowing that if you do not keep the shield up they could hit you and you would die.

And what are the fiery darts of the wicked one? Anything and everything. And what do I mean by that? Anything we let come before God; our idols, what we think is more important than God, His Son, His Church. You see, it can be everything and anything. Do not underestimate the enemy. He knows your weaknesses.

So what is the shield of faith? We understand it is through faith that we know our lives are in God’s hands, if we are yielding to a process. It is because of faith we can be thankful, grateful for all we have. To believe is to live by faith.

Romans 10:17 says, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith is understanding what is revealed to us, what God has given to Christ to give to us – the Logos, the word of God, the revelatory word of God.

Let’s turn over to Hebrews 11. We know and we’re very familiar with this chapter, as we refer to it as the “faith chapter.” We are not going to read the whole chapter, but verse 1 explains what faith is.

Hebrews 11:1—Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Another translation says, Now, faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

God inspired Paul to tell us to take up a shield of faith, a shield to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. By telling us to take up the shield of faith we are able to withstand what Satan is throwing at us. In other words, because we believe in God and the things we do not see with our eyes, what we are fighting for, the Kingdom of God, we can beat him. We can stop his advancements towards us.

I’m going to read a few more verses out of Hebrews 11. Let’s go to verse 3—By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which are visible.

The entire universe was made by God. That in itself should give confidence in who will win the battle. We understand what we see was not made or created by what we see. It was made up of what we do not see.

Taking up a shield of faith means we have confidence that what we do not see can and will stop Satan. Some might think this is crazy. But all I can say? That is how we roll. Our hope is built on what we do not see. We know it is true because God lets us know it's true. We feel it.

Let's read a few more verses about those who were faithful or lived by faith, lived with confidence in the coming Kingdom of God but not seeing the outcome.

Verse 4—By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.

Verse 8—By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Verses 11-13—By faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

Those died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

Verse 31—By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace.

Now, as we read verses 35-39 reflect on this. While they had to face some ugly physical things, they knew exactly what the real battle was. It was spiritual. Satan is so deceived he thinks that he can stop this war by killing a physical body. These verses I am about to read make us stronger and more determined to move forward in our own personal battles.

Verse 35—Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still, others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy.

They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Reading this chapter should give you a great boost to stay faithful and fight. We have so many brethren who have already fought and won this battle.

Going back to Ephesians 6:17—And take the helmet of salvation. A helmet is another piece of protection. A helmet protects your head, your brain, your mind. Spiritually, we need to protect what goes into our mind through our eyes and our ears. Be watchful that there are no distractions to take our minds off God, staying sober-minded at all times. Salvation is the knowledge, the knowing.

Turn over to 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9—But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Joshua the Christ.

Let’s say it this way. Stay sober and we have the hope of salvation. We will win our deliverance through Joshua. This is our hope.

Going back to Ephesians 6 and continuing in verse 17. Ephesians 6:17—And the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Everyone knows what a sword is in battle. This is why we have all the protective gear to begin with, so we will not die.

Hebrews 4:12 explains this very well. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God’s word is spiritual. God knows everything. God knows the heart. Nothing gets by God. If you take up the word of God, Satan cannot deceive you. He has no power against God Almighty. God has the truth. God made the truth clear to Satan. Satan knows he has an end. Stand holding the sword of the spirit, and in doing so you hold the most powerful thing you can get your hands on. With the sword of the spirit, the word of God, you have victory.

Let’s turn over to Matthew 4:4—But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Every word that comes from God is what we need to live by. Physical bread will sustain us and nourish us physically, but God’s word will nourish us spiritually, ultimately giving us spiritual life.

Going back to 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.

We know that we need to communicate with our Great God. We are able to go into the holy of holies anytime. We do this through the spirit of God that dwells in us if we are repenting of our sins.

We are to be watchful to the very end. The end is whenever our change, and we are not to just be praying for self, but each other. We need each other.

Turn over to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18—Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Joshua for you.

We know that we are to pray regularly and pray without ceasing. This does not mean to pray constantly at one time. It means to make prayer a part of our daily routine, giving thanks to God for all we know. Giving thanks for the Passover, Joshua, for without him we are nothing. Giving thanks for the 57 Truths. Giving thanks we are part of God’s end-time Church, Church of God PKG. Rejoice always in all we know.

The latter part of James 5:16 says, The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. A righteous man is someone who is living God’s way of life – opposite of this crazy sick world. He or she is seeking their Father. With God much can be achieved, much can be availed.

Now, let’s ask the last question we will ask today: What do we win?

Turn over to 1 John 5:4—For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. We get to overcome this world. We get to live in peace. We have a victory, and that victory is to become a part of the Elohim and to live with and serve with God for eternity.

Truth 10 states:

10 (7) The Church is only the first fruits. The Church is only the first fruits for the beginning of God’s plan of salvation. God is not yet trying to save the whole world. The first fruits are those who have been tried and trained to become part of God’s government, in His Kingdom, when Joshua the Christ returns as King of kings in the Millennium. Those who are converted during the Millennium, along with the first fruits, will become kings, priests, and teachers for the rest of the world that will be resurrected after the end of the Millennium.

In ending today’s sermon I want to finish asking the questions together to drive home the point. What do we need protection from? Our enemy’s deceitful and cunning ways. He does not attack us with knives, guns, or bombs. He attacks us in our minds and weakens our hearts. Our minds cut off from God are very weak indeed.

Who is the enemy? Satan the devil, the “prince of the power of the air.” We can be the enemy of God if we cut ourselves off from the flow of God’s holy spirit. We can become antichrist.

We spent a lot of time talking about the enemy today. This is because the enemy is real. Very few people on the face of the earth get this, brethren. We know exactly what the world is. We cannot underestimate Satan. We cannot become weak ever.

What is the enemy trying to take from us? Our salvation. For those called to be the 144,000, your place. For those called to live into the Millennium, your place. The enemy wants to take your potential of being in the Family of God, Elohim. He wants to destroy us spiritually.

What is the full armor of God? God’s truth, God’s righteousness, God’s gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and God’s holy spirit. Each one reminds us of the need to repent quickly, not to be cut off from God. The entire armor of God is God. God is telling us that we must put on Him to win this.

I want to read 1 John 4:4 again, You, dear children, are from God, and have overcome them because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Brethren, hear and believe this, “because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Without this armor, without God, we will die at the hands of the enemy. Make no mistake about that. You cannot do this without God. We are no match for Satan by ourselves.

What do we win? We win eternal life with God Almighty and our elder brother, Joshua. We will eat of the tree of life. We will not see a second death but receive the crown of life. We will have authority over the nations, we will be dressed in white, we will be a pillar in the temple of God, we will sit with Christ.

56 (35) Through the power of the holy spirit, Almighty God will “dwell” IN His Family into everlasting life, and they will always dwell IN Him. This will be accomplished through the power of the holy spirit that emanates from God and it will never cease to be “coming into” the lives of all who are in the God Family. This will be a perpetual and continuing process into everlasting life.

…God dwells (abides, lives) IN the life of a spirit-begotten person (a person of the holy spirit) and they, therefore, dwell IN Him. Through the power of the holy spirit, the life (nature, truth, Word, way of life) of God begins to dwell in a begotten person’s life (in the spirit essence given to the human mind), helping to change the very way one thinks and lives, from that of selfishness and pride to that of outgoing concern and love toward others.

This power, however, is suppressed and sometimes cut-off because of sin, as God will not dwell in sin. Once given spirit life in a resurrection from death (or resurrection from physical life) to spirit life, this process of God dwelling in a “born” person’s life (no longer begotten), and they in Him, will never cease nor be interrupted, but will be perpetual and continuous into everlasting life.

Each member who is born into God’s Family has independent reasoning and thought, but each is perfectly united in purpose, will, and one way of life through the power of the holy spirit that will forever abide in them (which continuously emanates from God—who is the source). It is God “forever dwelling” in each member that makes the Family of God a reality in “one” perfectly united way.

This past week, I was telling some people before church, I was finished with my sermon and then on Monday, I started relistening to Trust in God, Part 1, that the apostle delivered in 2018. I wanted to share some of this because I couldn’t believe how one it was with the sermon.

So, this is from that sermon, “This thing of trust can have great impact in family life, in health, in protection, in finances, safety, etcetera, etcetera. Now, there are many things out there that Satan uses in all these areas of life to entrap us and to mislead us. He is exceedingly cunning, he really is. He likes to use so many things in family life, just like I got through mentioning here about drama.”

“He likes to stir up drama. He likes to get us off course, off focus, to become so focused on the drama that we don’t see other things that we need to be focused upon. He is a master of that, and he broadcasts those things, and so does the demonic world, at us, and then we have to make choices.”

Then he said about Satan, “So he desires to entrap us and to mislead us. He works at getting our eyes off of God and on to something else, whatever that might be, whatever it is that we don’t see something clearly.”

“So again, he wants to lead us away from God, away from His Church, away from His ministry, away from God’s truth. That’s the way he’s worked forever. It’s the way he worked through Philadelphia, Laodicea, and that’s the way he still works around the Church today. Satan seeks to turn us away from God and seeks continually for ways to distract, to deceive, and embitter us toward God even and His Church or His ministry or His people, from God’s ways, from God’s truth.”

And in referencing “Revelation 12:7 [he says], And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. It’s hard to understand some of these things in a spirit world, and the reality is God can do and stop anything at any time. He has the power to do it, but He doesn’t. That’s not His purpose. He lets the angelic realm have a part as much as He’s given mankind a part of what you’re going to live and how you’re going to live it. He’s allowed that in the spirit world as well where they actually have wars.”

Then it goes on, “God could have stopped all war through 6,000 years if He’d wanted to. And what would we have learned? How would we have profited then? We don’t understand sometimes what it means that God has given us free moral agency and the ability of choice. He doesn’t control. There is a being who tries to control. He seeks to control. But God doesn’t.”

Again, talking about Satan, “We have seen things take place through time of what he’s done and what he’s stirred up. He’s behind every great war that’s ever taken place. He’s always in the forefront of it, right at the forefront. Every major revival of any kind of war that’s ever taken place Satan’s there. He loves the death of human beings. He loves it. He loves them killing one another. He loves it. He loves governments that hate each other. He loves it when people hate each other. He loves it. He loves it when people are in misery. He loves it. He rejoices. That’s where he gets his excitement in life. He’s so perverted, so sick in the mind. He so destroyed his own mind, the mind that God gave him that was so precious in the beginning.”

“There’s just one more, and Satan knows full well then there is certain timing here that God is going by. He doesn’t know fully what it is, but he’s cast down, he can’t return, he’s only restricted to this earth, power has been taken from him, more power. God has been taking away more and more of his power. And candidly, the stronger we are as a people the less power he has.”

I’m going to read Ephesians 6:13 one more time. 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.

When it is all said and done, if you wear the full armor of God, if we are faithful to God, we will be able to withstand and in the end, stand. Remember God wants us to win this battle, He wants to give us His armor. Brethren put on the full armor of God, and in the end, let us all stand together.

Remember, unity is the result of wearing the full armor of God because if we are wearing the full armor of God, we are wearing, putting on God and Christ through God’s holy spirit.

[1] https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230118/USC-researchers-uncover-the-biggest-influencer-in-the-spread-of-fake-news.aspx

1. Chapter 1