Acts 13:45 records the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey and the beginnings of the conflicts he experienced. V50.

           Peter and John were cast into prison, beaten over and over again, because they preached Christ and righteousness.

           Christ was persecuted and crucified! Why??? Because He preached righteousness. He tried to warn men of the consequences of sin, and taught them to turn from sin and unto God.

           This passage and this message will address the difficulties faithful Christians encounter whose source is the devil.

I. The Bible teaches there is a conflict between God and Satan for the souls of men and believers are in the middle of that conflict.

A. V10-18 Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. We are to be strong "in the Lord and in the power of His might."
1. We are simply soldiers in the battle. The war is God's and it is He who will provide our strength and might. It would be a serious mistake to try enter the battle in our own strength. Verse 12 explains why! The Christian is wrestling with the devil and his forces. He is stronger than we are, but empowered by the Lord, a believer can defeat him.

2. The Christian must live a godly life and be filled with the Holy Spirit as Ephesians 5:18 explains. "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18)

3. Sin and unfaithfulness in a believer's life weakens him and will render him unable to fight. A sick soldier has to be attended too which takes others soldiers from the battle. Further, a sick soldier cannot fight which leaves his unit weak. Others have to do their job and the sick soldier also.

4. A Christian must never lose sight of the presence of the devil and his agenda to defeat us and thereby render our church effective.

B. God tells us to put on the Armor He has provided. (V11)
1. Those who would want to live the best life possible in Christ must live by faith and part of that is putting on the whole Armor of God, which he prepares and bestows.

2. The Christian Armor is made to be worn at all times; and there is no putting off our Armor till the battle is won and finished our course. That involves everything in our lives. There are no part time soldiers in the Lord's Army.

ILLUS: During the revolutionary war, Geo. Washington, had an difficult time feeding, paying and clothing the soldiers. Many soldiers tired and weary of the war, when things got hard went home. Yet, many of the men, believed in the cause of Freedom, they stayed and endured extreme hardships because they had faith in Washington, and wanted America to be free. Many of them gave their lives for the cause of freedom, and we today can be grateful to them. Ten of thousands of Americans have died in battle defending freedom and this United States. Because of their sacrifice we enjoy freedom today.
3. But the conflict we are in is a spiritual one and is not combat against human enemies (V12) Christians will have battles with their own corrupt nature carnal nature which is the enemy within. However, a real and constant threat comes from Satan and his demons who is an enemy who has a thousand ways of beguiling and deceiving unstable souls.

4. The devil often assaults believers and seeks to rob them of the blessing of God and of God being able to use them to reach others. He attacks us to destroy the very reason we are on earth. He seeks to degrade and confuse us as to who God is and what is right and wrong. He cunningly beguiles many people to worship false gods and false Christs.

           Jesus Himself warned that "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24)

           The Apostle John wrote, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist." (2 John 1:7)

           Antichrist means someone who is a false Christ and against Jesus Christ. He is an "anti" or opposite of Christ.

           Clearly the New Testament tells us that Satan is the one behind all this. Therefore Christians must resolve by God's grace, not to yield to Satan. God says to resist him, and he will flee. (James 4:3)

5. If we give way, and do not take action Satan will gain ground. If we are unfaithful, distrust either God, or His word which is our armor, we give him an advantage in our personal lives and in our local church. The cause of Christ suffers when we do not "earnestly contend for the faith" as Jude 3 instructs us.

A. The different parts of the Armor described in Ephesians 6:10-18 are of soldiers in full battle gear, who had to sustain the fiercest assaults of the enemy. The Armor described is only good for close hand to hand combat. Every piece of Armor had its purpose.

           Note, there is nothing for the back; nothing to defend those who turn back in the Christian warfare and run from truth, or commitment.

B. The first mentioned is the girdle(girt).(V14) The first piece of armor mentioned is the girdle which is worn under the armor and holds all the other pieces in place.

1. There can be nothing gained without sincerity and commitment on the part of the believer. The righteousness of Christ is what holds the armor together. Without the "girt," which is God's truth, the rest of the soldier's armor is worthless. It something is not true it is a lie. The soldier goes into battle for a purpose which is his cause. If we begin with a lie our cause has no validity. The Nazis under Hitler had a evil cause and was defeated.

2. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us, fortifies the heart against the attacks of Satan. The word "righteousness" simply means being right. Being right means being in accord with God's word. Thus the foundation of our lives and especially of our combating the devil's attacks is knowing and applying God's truth found only in God's word the Bible.

C. The second piece of armor is the breast plate of righteousness. It covers the heart and the vital organs.
1. Note this breast plate is of righteousness. That means being right. How can one be right? To be living a godly life puts one in the right. To know and live by God's word is to be right. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be right. To be working and living faithfully for the Lord is to be right. To be fighting sin in our lives that weakens us is to be right. All of this first begins with knowing God's truth.

2. Each of these actions are acts of faith and of commitment. An uncommitted soldier is worthless in a battle. A soldier needs a cause, which means a reason to fight. Before most battles the soldier gets a briefing which explains the importance of the fight and the reasons it is necessary. By the way....we hold briefings in our church in SS, the morning service, Sunday evening Bible study and Wednesday night prayer meeting when we are teaching and preach God's word.

3. Sadly, many in many Christian's lives there are many things that they feel are more important than being in church and serving the Lord. They then are AWOL. (a military term that means Absent Without Leave) They then are unprepared for the battle a Christian faces in their daily lives.

ILLUS: When in service several times men in our unit were AWOL. When our unit moved they were left behind. When I went through basic and advanced training and some men for various reason missed a lot of training. They were left behind and had to go through training again. Some even were discharged dishonorably from the service because they would not commit themselves to the task at hand.

D. Our resolution must be as "greaves", or the armor used to protect the legs . (V15) The soldier must be able to stand his ground or to march forward in rugged paths. Having one's feet shod would refer to the boots and the greaves that protected the lower legs.

1. The feet of the soldier must be properly shod. When arrived at Fort Jackson, SC after orientation, we were taken to the quartermaster and issued our uniforms and rifles. After we received our gear, we were required to throw away all our civilian clothes. I had a nice pair of shoes, but they were not acceptable. I was issued boots, and shoes called low quarters. In training we always wore those boots. We kept them shined to a gloss. Some soldiers got the wrong size and soon they could not march or walk because of blisters. A wrong size boot could put a soldier out of battle.

2. The verse says Christian are to shod their feet with the preparation of the God of peace. The question is this.... "Why does the soldier fight?" What is his objective? The answer is to bring about peace. The good soldier fights to preserve and obtain peace.

3. Here the Gospel, is called the gospel of peace. God's truth is the Gospel, or "Good News" (Greek word euaggelion which literally means "Good News.") This Good News is that Jesus Christ has come to redeem mankind from sin. His death, burial and resurrection won the victory over sin and death. The way to peace then has been made. The problem is that the devil seeks to confuse, and hinder people from coming God's truth that brings peace. So the task of the soldier is to fight and defend the truth of the Gospel so men can find and have the peace that God offers. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3) The true Christian seeks at all cost to bring peace to others...even giving his life so that others can live in God's peace. Often he is misunderstood. Sadly there are people who do not want to know the truth. Jesus address this in John 3:19-22 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." However, this is not to deter the Christian from loving even those who resist God's truth. He is to care for the soul's men and thus lovingly, and tactfully seek to win the unsaved to Christ. Please understand...we are not to attack people. Our armor given to us by God is to protect us and prepare us to fight the devil who is the real enemy.

E. Christians are to take the shield of faith. (V16)
1. Hebrews 11:6 says it is impossible to please God without faith. Faith is believing God. Faith is a shield that stops the fiery darts that Satan fires at us. Faith is a shield that is placed between us and the devil, doubts, fears, temptation and sin. Faith, and trust in God protects us from being wounded.

2. One of Satan's fiery darts is doubt. We get in the flesh and begin to question our salvation and the promises of God. A shield has no purpose if there is not threat. The believer is always being threatened at every turn. Often when we least expect it....the devil tries to discourage us. But when the temptations come...and they will come...we raise the shield of faith....that means the shield of God's truth. Faith believes, so it renders temptation ineffective in weakening us.

           In battle there is the possibility of confronting the enemy face to face, thus the need for training in hand to hand combat. Suppose you are not trained and he is in close fighting?

ILLUS: I well remember the hand to hand combat training I received when I was in basic training. The instructor with a rifle with a long bayonet demonstrated how vicious a weapon it was. Then he taught us how to use our weapons as well to feign off the enemy who came at us. The training involved two things. One was physical: how to defend and kill the enemy who confronted us. One was mental (spiritual): We were taught to growl and shout as we attacked the enemy or were attacked. This addressed our mental attitude at what we were being trained to do. We were whipped up emotionally as in battle is was kill or be killed. Thus we were shouting KILL, KILL as we thrust our bayonets into straw dummies! The were teaching us to make a conscious decision to defend ourselves and destroy the enemy. It is too late to get into a combat situation and then decide if we would kill the enemy or not. We were being spiritually prepared for battle.

           Thus it is so with those who follow Christ. We must be prepared when the battle comes. Most of a soldiers life is one of preparation and training. Few hours are actually spent in combat and actual fight. But without the training the battle will surely be lost.

F. Put on the Helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the head. It gives us the scriptural expectation of victory. God has promised us the victory if we strive lawfully.(2 Tim. 2:5)

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

1. The cause must be ours. Christians are not mercenaries. We defend and fight for our Lord and Savior. We belong to Him and therefore His cause is ours. Further we must believe in our cause. Warfare of the Christian is a spiritual one. The battle rages in the believe's mind. It is a mental battle of the heart and mind.

2. In other words the helmet of salvation proves our faith, belief and commitment in the promises of God. That is why knowing God's truth is so important.

ILLUS: Germany and Japan both went to war with a false idea that they could win and get over power the rest of the world and take forcibly what other nations had. The had a false faith in their military might. It destroyed both nations. A false faith will destroy a person. Believing in a false gospel is a losing matter. Many Nazis were sincere and dedicated to Hitler and German Imperialism. For a time they were doing well and glorying in their conquests. Yet, in the end, they suffered a bitter defeat because they faith was in untruth and flawed ideals. It did not save them nor did it help those they recruited to their cause.
3. True salvation liberates and saves the one who believes God's truth. It will bring peace and God's blessings. Only truth faith will bring true salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life. There is but one Gospel and one Savior and only He can save. Only those who follow His truth will be victorious. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4)

G. A Christian is to trust in God's word and also to be armed with the sword of the Spirit. Note the word Spirit is capitalized. It states the weapon of the Holy Spirit is the Word of God.
1. Our protection from defeat is God's word, His truth. There a thousands of religions and many so called Christian faith. We must understand that only truth can save. If we trust in a false Christ or false teachings God cannot help us. In fact believing false doctrines and teaches separates us from God.

2. Any teaching that is not of God's word the Bible is simply not God's truth. That means it is a lie and a lie cannot help us. Only the true Gospel of Jesus Christ can save. Many religions teach that salvation can be earned or merited. Some teach you can do a religious rituals or ceremonies and thereby earn salvation. Some teach that salvation is available only by joining their church and believing what they teach. False churches and religious enslave its members to worshiping a false god that does not exit. A false god cannot save...he is not there.

3. Therefore one must know the truth. God's truth, not Baptist truth or any church's truth, but the truth of God's very word.

4. The helmet of salvation comes from believing and putting one's faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning work alone. The sword of the Spirit is God's word...His truth which defends us and renders a death blow to the devil's lies.

5. God's truth, even a single text, well understood, and rightly applied, at once destroys a temptation or an objection, and subdues the most formidable adversary.

H. Prayer too is a mighty weapon against the fiery darts and assaults of the devil.
1. In the time of difficulty there may not be time for a long and solemn prayer. It makes it clear we need always to be prayed up. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we are to "Pray without ceasing" We need always to being in a prayerful attitude, in preparation for what may lie ahead.

2. We must pray with all kinds of prayer, public, private, and secret; social and solitary; solemn and sudden This involves confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgiving to God . Prayer is the result of recognizing our continual dependence on God and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

3. We must persevere in our requests, in spite of discouragements. We must pray, not for ourselves only, but for our fellow believers and our assembly.

4. Our enemies are mighty; we are without strength in ourselves, but our Redeemer is almighty, and in the power of his mighty we may overcome. The false teaching of false churches and religious are very appealing. They offer what they cannot give because only in the truth of God is there power. Wherefore we, knowing God's truth, trust in God's power.

           Let us think upon these things, and continue our prayers with patience, and commit ourselves anew everyday to living as God would have us.

1. The all need the prayers of each other. Those particularly should be prayed for, who are exposed to great hardships and perils in their work.

2. And all grace and blessings of God comes to the saints, through Jesus Christ our Lord, believe and trust in God. Victory in our personal lives, comes to those who commit themselves to the battle.

           Most miserable of all people are those who turn from God, who will not face the enemy and be defeated.

           It has been said that the coward dies a thousands deaths, yet the brave only once. There is greater anguish in the lives of those who refuse to obey God and fight sin, than in the lives those who face it, with God's help win the battle and overcome sin in their lives. The coward will never know the sweet taste of victory and the joy of being free of temptation.

           Grace, that is, the favor of God; and all good, spiritual and temporal benefit which is from it, is and shall be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and is with them only.