Put On God’s Armor In The Evil Day—Part 2
Sunday, 22 October 2023
These are notes on the sermon, Put On God’s Armor In The Evil Day—Part 2, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
Sign up here to receive Gospel Partner updates and pastoral insights from Joseph Prince and his team.
This sermon is a continuation of last week’s sermon, Put On God’s Armor In The Evil Day.
In the last sermon, we saw how God has equipped us with His armor to fight the battles, both spiritual and physical, in our lives.
So, it is very important that we are not just happy that God has given us this gift, but that we consciously put on His armor every day.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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.”
—Ephesians 6:10–13 NKJV
This verse tells us clearly that as believers, we will face “the wiles of the devil” and that “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.”
It’s spiritual warfare, and the attacks don’t just happen in the spiritual realm. They can also manifest physically, for example, in the form of sickness or even strife in our relationships. It helps to understand that the source of many of the problems we face in life is often, though not always, spiritual.
And we need spiritual solutions for spiritual battles. This is why God has given us the armor of God, especially in these last days when we are seeing more and more, the signs of the end times that our Lord spoke of in Matthew 24:2–8. Our heavenly Father’s heart is for us not to be troubled and to experience victory over our trials. He wants us to be prepared, to be able to withstand the attacks, and to remain standing even after the battle.
God gave us this powerful armor not just for us to feel good. He wants us to put it on and to use it every single day so that we can defend against the spiritual sources behind our battles while also dealing with the physical manifestations of this spiritual warfare. Though the armor of God is primarily for us to defend against spiritual attacks, its effects on our lives can be physical too. For example, while the helmet of salvation is to guard us against the enemy’s lies in the area of our salvation, it could also lead to healing from sicknesses related to our minds, such as dementia.
For those of us who might be going through a challenge right now, know that the Bible refers to our times of trial as an evil day, a short season that will not last for long. Psalm 23 also says that you will “walk through the valley,” and that you will not remain there. You will come out of it!
So, what makes up the armor of God?
“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 supplication in the Spirit.”
—Ephesians 6:13–18 NKJV
There are seven pieces to the armor of God:
Every piece of the armor represents a gospel truth.
For this sermon, we will take a closer look at a) the belt of truth, b) the breastplate of righteousness, and c) the gospel of peace shoes.
The belt of truth
In the KJV, Ephesians 6:14 reads: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.”
Notice how it says here that we are to gird our loins with truth. The word “loins” here is the same word used in 1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV) where it says: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
The loins are related to reproduction. In this context, the loins of our mind refers to our imagination and thought life. The pictures that we paint on the canvases of our minds are powerful. If we do not guard our imagination or watch what we meditate on, it will reproduce in our lives. Some challenges we face, whether spiritual or physical, could be the result of a compromised truth or lie that we have been holding on to.
So, it is important to guard what we allow ourselves to believe and meditate on. This is especially so during our times when it’s getting harder and harder to discern between right and wrong (Isa. 59:14), between truth and half-truth or lies. We live in a world that is filled with all kinds of information and disinformation. The truth in “belt of truth” refers to truths about and truths found in our Lord Jesus. These truths will help us to rightly divide between matters and anchor us in times of trials.
The breastplate of righteousness
Isaiah 59 is a prophecy about the period we are living in. In this chapter, Isaiah describes a time of great injustice, when “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (verse 14).
But the prophet Isaiah also records God’s answers for us in such times:
“He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.”
—Isaiah 59:16–17 NKJV
When God saw that there was great injustice, He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head! These are the same pieces of His armor that God has prepared for us in Ephesians 6. So likewise, in these times of turmoil, our heavenly Father wants us to protect ourselves by putting on the breastplate of righteousness.
In a set of armor, the breastplate protects the heart, a vulnerable yet vital part of the body. This is an area that the enemy will constantly try to attack because out of our hearts spring the issues of life (Prov. 4:23).
One way the enemy does this is by throwing accusations at us, trying to make us look inward to our mistakes, failures, or even seemingly good things that we might not be doing enough of, for example, reading the Bible or spending time with our children . . . his agenda is to keep us in self-condemnation and defeat.
But when we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we guard ourselves from these lies and prevent them from taking root in our hearts. More importantly, we protect our identity as the righteousness of God in Christ. This righteousness has nothing to do with us. It is not our self-righteousness, but God’s own righteousness which has been freely given to us (Isa. 54:17). This is how we can stand in the evil day (Eph. 6:14) and remain victorious!
And when we are established in His righteousness, Isaiah 54:14 (NKJV) tells us that we shall be “far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.” The enemy might try to attack us with various weapons (e.g., mind games, sickness, or strife in our relationships), but they shall not prevail against us!
After we put on the breastplate of righteousness, the next piece of armor to put on is the gospel of peace shoes.
The gospel of peace as shoes
“And, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”
—Ephesians 6:15 ESV
The original Greek word for “readiness” here also includes the idea of “preparedness.” This means that the gospel will bring us to a place of preparedness in times of spiritual warfare so that we will not be caught off guard by the wiles of the enemy, the devil. Instead, we will be ready to defend against and withstand his attacks.
Notice also how the gospel is referred to as the gospel of peace here. The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom,” which refers not only to a mental state of peace, but also wholeness, completeness, and total well-being.
So, friend, how do we put on these gospel of peace shoes? By understanding and being rooted in the gift of the Lord’s righteousness! When we’ve put on the breastplate of righteousness, when we are secure in our righteous standing in Christ, we will find ourselves in a place of peace, quietness, and assurance in the Lord (Isa. 32:17), regardless of the circumstances we might be faced with.
Now that we’ve seen the importance and significance of the first 3 pieces of the armor, let’s look again at Ephesians 6:10–13 to see how we can practically put them on.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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.”
—Ephesians 6:10–13 NKJV
Before we talk more about putting on the armor, understand that God’s heart is for us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. In the original Greek, the phrase “be strong in the Lord” is in the present passive tense, meaning that it’s not about us willing ourselves to be strong but allowing ourselves to be made strong by the Lord. And since it’s in the present tense, it also means that He is always and continually strengthening us!
“Power”—The Greek word for this word is “kratos,” which means “to be over, against, and transcending all opposing force.” In other words, when we have God’s power with us, we can overcome any and all of the attacks of the enemy.
“Might”—The Greek word for this word is “ischys,” which refers to a latent, inward strength. I believe this is speaking of the Holy Spirit within us, who is continually strengthening us.
And after we are anchored and strong in the Lord’s power and might, we are to put on the armor of God. Again, each piece presents an aspect of the gospel of grace. So practically, we put on the armor of God when we believe rightly about the gospel and what the gospel says about us.
Regardless of what you might be facing today, choose to believe and hold on to God’s promises for your life and rest in His love. Beloved, the more you believe God’s Word, the more you will see what His Word says about you and His promises for you come to pass in your life! This is how we fight our battles—both spiritual and physical! Not by wrestling but by resting in the Lord’s finished work, holding fast to the truths about our Lord, and being rooted in His righteousness!
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2023
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
Sign Up for Latest Sermon Notes Updates
SubscribeTo complete the subscription process, please click on the confirmation link in the email we just sent you.
You're already in our mailing list. Thank You!