Speaking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayerful attention to Ephesians, Paul's epistle to the Ephesians chapter 6, and reading from our text, verse 11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians chapter 6, and verse 11, the whole armour of God. The implication here is, if it is not put on, we will not be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For the people of God mostly, the armour that they need is that of defence. They are to defend the faith, they are to stand against attacks from outside. And it is to this end that in the Scriptures of Truth, in this letter here to the Ephesians, The Apostle sets before us in this the inspired, infallible Word of God what we need. And not only need, but there needs to be a putting of it on. In other words, walking in it with our eye to that armour. The idea is that we don't have the strength and mine, of our own, we are vulnerable, like a soldier going into battle without armour, if anything, any arrows, any bullets, anything were to strike him, he has no strength at all, nothing to resist that which is thrown at him. And so this is the picture with us as well. We think of the beautiful type of David going against Goliath, and I often think he's so much like our Lord. Rather than armour, he put off the armour. I have not tried these. He wouldn't use Saul's armour, but he went with no armour, but he went with the sling and the stone, and he prevailed against Goliath. And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, He went forth not to defend, as it were, but to destroy Satan, to overcome, to stand in the place of His people, to be wounded, to be slain, to be killed, but through that to rise again, and in His rising, then the people of God have their strength in Him. not in themselves. And we think of that time with the Philistines, the children of Israel could not find one to go out against Goliath. They were helpless, they knew their weakness, they did not have strength, but God provided a man in David. And we have that in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are not to forget that which he has accomplished at Calvary, the defeat that he defeated Satan, that he defeated death, he rose again from the dead, endured the wrath of God in the place of his people, and rose again. But the people of God, they know what it is. And I hope this is a word in season. had on Thursday the winds and waves, the troubles that rise and come against the people of God. Very often it comes from within. But this morning it is the attacks from without, Satan's attacks. So I want to, in setting forth this word, to look at it from three ways. Firstly, the need. for armour, and then secondly the key to interpreting the armour in a spiritual way, and then the six parts of the armour that are joined with prayer. But firstly the need for armour. We have in the lead up to the surrounding of the text, a very vivid picture of what the adversary is. We have a picture in the verse after the text, For we wrestle not against flesh, and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." And immediately the picture is that this is a spiritual battle. It is not against flesh and blood. It is against spiritual things. The reality of Satan is set forth before us. Our text says that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. When he comes in as an angel of light, or when it is that he comes as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, But we have it very clearly that Satan is active even through the wicked, as in verse 16, able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And truly, if Satan could speak through Peter, saying to our Lord, Be it not unto thee, O Lord, trying to weaken our Lord's hands, to go to the cross, to suffer, to fulfill the scriptures, to put away his people's sin. The Lord turned and said, get thee behind me, Satan. How much more will Satan try to use men and women, people of this world, speaking through them, trying to attack the people of God? There is a vital need for the Church of God to believe in the existence of Satan. We cannot see him, and very often we cannot discern him, but we are told here he is very real and he does attack in most subtle, wily ways the people of God, that often He is behind the stirring up of our own sin, our own corruptions. It is He that is trying to attack the people of God, to destroy them, to tempt them to do things that bring God's chastening or anger upon them. to cause that He could cause them to fall away, if possible, or to do great damage to the Church of God. When we think that Satan does not know who God's children are until God calls them by grace, Those who are born into this world, of course, when they are born into a family in which they are brought up under the sound of truth, he knows that it is very likely that those will be called, they are being taught the word, and so even before they are being called, they will have temptations, they will have things that Satan tries to take them away, but for those that are not brought up that way, those that are already in the grip, his grip, and in the world, he doesn't need to spend much energy on them. But we need to think of this, as soon as one is seen praying, is seen serious, is seen seeking the Lord, as soon as one has made a profession, As soon as the Lord's servants are sent forth, what a triumph Satan would get if he could cause one that was in a public position, a teaching position, to fall to his temptations and his way. Any natural army would seek to destroy, attack the prominent areas, the important areas. And so with Satan as well, he will attack parents, he will attack pastors, ministers, teachers. He will seek to undermine and turn away the people of God from the truth. And so the need for this armour is that Satan is real. He does attack us. And we're told in verse 12, we wrestle. We wrestle against these things. It's a constant warfare. But we're also told of our own weakness, our own need of the armor. And we have in the examples of even the disciples of our Lord, Peter especially, though all men forsake thee, yet will not I. And the Lord warning him, Satan hath desired to have thee, have you, and to sift thee as wheat, but I prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, desired all of thee, apostles. But the Lord had prayed for Peter, praised for those that are under his attack, that Peter didn't think that he would be in danger. Even though warned of him, he thought he could stand. And he had to prove very much that he couldn't stand. And that's why it is very important to listen to the words of Peter as he writes to the Church of God. He's not pointing to his own strength at all. He says, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. And he speaks of that which is in God, not in himself. The power, the help, the strength is not in him. And we need to be convinced of that as well, of our weakness. Let him that thinketh, he standeth, take heed. lest he fall." We often just think, well, we can just go with the flow. Just go along. We don't need to be all our days fighting, resisting, needing armor. But we do, dear friends. And may this word be a real help, a comforting word to one that thinks, well, why have I had such opposition, such wrestling, such troubles. Why are these things? Well, here is the reality of it. Here is what God says of it in his holy inspired word. We are on a battlefield. We are exhorted to fight the good fight of faith and to lay hold upon the Kingdom of God, lay hold upon salvation. And so, the Lord doesn't put these things in the Word and then say, well, there's not really a need. It won't be as bad as what you might think it is. Yes, it is that bad and every bit more. The rulers of the darkness of this world. against spiritual wickedness in high places. Well, may we be convinced of the need of armour. May we be encouraged when we feel our weakness, as if the Lord would say, I know your weakness. You need armour. I've given you that armour. And this is what is set before you to putting it on. So I want to look then secondly the key to interpreting the armour in a spiritual way. In verse 10, the verse prior to our text, We read, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his mind. And immediately, this puts a key over all what is to follow. However we might interpret the armour, however we might look at it, all of it is vested in the strength of the Lord and the power of his mind. as much as the attacks are coming from without, from Satan to us, so our armour and our strength is also coming from without, from God, who is our strength and our shield. It is not coming from within. God is not giving us here those things that We can just like a self-help thing, the world is full of these things. Remedies for all sorts of things and prescriptions and you've only got to just follow these instructions and you'll be able to master all sorts of problems and things. Mind over matter type of thing. You know, if we were able to do that, if in the word of God we had that, and it succeeded, wouldn't give glory to God at all. You might say, yes it would, he'd given the prescription for it. But that is not the glory that is set forth before the people of God. The people of God have a living God. As much as Satan is real, so their God is real. As much as Satan can attack, Our Lord can and does defend, and we are to remember that. Never may we think that God has given us something that we can do of ourselves. He doesn't create the world and then say to man, now here is the world, it's great and nice, there, you go and you look after it, and I'm not going to have anything more to do with it. Knowing Him, we live and move and have our being. The Lord does not work in a way in which He is not involved with His people. He doesn't call by grace and then says, now I've opened your eyes, I've given you a store of grace, now it's up to you. You go through life's journey, I'm not going to impart any strength, any help, any wisdom, You've got to use what I've given you. But instead, the people of God are dependent upon the Lord. Our Lord teaches this with John 15 with himself as the vine. I am the vine, ye are the branches. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. And a real union and a deriving of sound. Our strength, our might, our power is of the Lord. And this is the key to what is set before us here. Our text says, put on the whole armour of God. And that just doesn't say the whole armour that God has prescribed for you, or described, but the armour of God. As if God was our armour, He was our shield. It is He that is about us, that He is taking the assaults of Satan instead of us. not just part, but the whole, solely trusting in the Lord, solely looking to Him, solely sheltering under Him. God has chosen out what is set before us here in describing that armour of God and each aspect of it, each part of it, there's actually an application. You think of verse 13, take unto you. Verse 14, stand therefore and your feet shod. Verse 16, taking the shield of faith, take the helmet of salvation. It is setting in each place, these parts of the armour, that those to whom Paul is writing, they are to have their eye and mind and expectation on these aspects of the armour. This is one part of the word, a very practic part of the word. It's not that we hear it this morning and go away and think, well, you know, it's a nice word and we can understand that. No, this is something to use. Something that we're actually going to put into practice of what is set before us. That doesn't make it man's work or man's strength, but it does mean that the people of God are walking according to the precepts of the gospel. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James is very clear of it, our Lord was very clear of him, that that word spoken won't do any good if it doesn't enter into our lives and become part of our lives, to actually be entered upon. Our natural flesh so loves what Satan sets before us and is so weak before it that there is even a natural reluctance, reluctance from the flesh to use any of these defences. It would rather just, our old nature would rather go along with Him. And that would be the easiest way. But what the Lord sets before us here, our God through His Word, is no, these things are to be walked out. How many times through the Word of God we're exhorted in that. The Apostle Paul, let us run the race that is set before us. looking unto Jesus, our Lord Jesus Christ, strive to enter in at the straight gate, because broad is the way, wide is the gate, broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. The very words are set before us here, we wrestle not against. These are things we are actually exhorted to, as to walk out, realizing it is a real practical walk. True religion through faith is not just an intellectual thing that we think about and give assent to. It's something that affects our whole life and day by day. And he doesn't say, well, put on this arm and you don't need to wrestle. You don't need to strive, no. Now a soldier doesn't put on armour and then says, I don't need to go into battle now, I've got my armour. I don't need to fight now, I'm quite alright. He puts on the armour because he does need to fight. There is a need. And so may we be those that fight this spiritual battle but with the armour that God himself has provided. God's choosing. So on to look then thirdly the six parts of the armour which are then joined together or gathered up together by prayer. The first one is in verse 14. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. Our loins, from our waist to our legs, covering our reproductive organs, really often through scripture it's spoken of as the strength of a man, the strength of his loins. Sometimes, like we have in Peter, in the portion that we read, we have an exhortation, verse 13, 1 Peter 1, verse 13, Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. But the lawyers here are to be girt about with truth, and especially as a way of defense. In looking at this word, I felt in this, this is a warning about going away from the truth, away from the word of God. One of the ways that the world takes and Satan will take is all the time trying to take you away from the Word of God. The world will say, and Satan working through the world, well, how do you know the Word of God is true? You need to look at science, and you need to look at this or that, and to get you away from the Word of God. The Roman Catholic Church will say, no, you need the traditions of the Church of God. But our loins, our strength is to be girt abound with truth, which, what is truth? It is reality as viewed from God. Thy word is truth, and our Lord says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. There is not truth, a fountain of truth elsewhere from the Holy Word of God from God Himself. Remember we said as a key, put on the whole armour of God, of God. So when we have loins girt about with truth and joining with Peter's Word, our mind is full of the Word of God. We need to meditate upon that Word day and night. That is to be everything to us. Where do we go to look for truth? The Word of God. Where do we go to look for God Himself? In the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. What a great help that would be to the people of God if that was fixed right from the start. You think with our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was tempted of the devil, command these stones that they may be made bread. And the Lord says that it is written, man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then Satan starts to use the word of God to tempt, And he says, come up to this top of the pinnacle of the temple, cast thyself down from hence, for it is written. And he tries to make the Lord believe that that which was written concerning the angels bearing thee up in their arms, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone, that that would be a preservation. But the Lord says it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And the Lord doesn't go away from the Word of God just because Satan is using it now. He stays with it, but he compares Scripture with Scripture. And our Lord's temptations in the wilderness there are a great example to us to sticking with the Word of God, to have our loins girt about with the truth of the word of God, that be our defense. And so the great temptation Satan will use and men will use is that we look to some other source, some other way. How many parts of the word of God have been made of none effect because of the traditions of men? Now, Lord said that in his day, You made the Word of God of none effect because of your traditions. And we are to resist Satan by not going to look or see what this person says or see what the culture was then or see what this says and we can then discount many parts of the Word of God. No. As soon as we do that, we've already given in. Satan's already won, because he's turned us away. He's turned our eyes to look to something else, not to what the Lord has given, the truth of God. There are those who will say, well, it is really helpful. We need to know the traditions of the day. Well, if we do, to interpret the word of God, why didn't the Lord tell us of those traditions in the Word? There's many, many things that we might think we'd love to have that in the Word of God, but it's not. And all of us that have been through school, we've known what it is for our masters to say when we wanted to know something that wasn't in the curriculum or wasn't going to be examined at the end of the year, you don't need to know. That's why I haven't taught it you. You'll do that next year. And the teacher, very wisely, has not given us to learn lots of things that we didn't need. And the Lord very wisely will say, if it's not in the Word of God, don't waste your time on it. It's not necessary for salvation. I've told you what is written. That which is written aforetime is written for our learning, that we through patience and the Scriptures might have hope. Patience in the Scriptures. We need to have this as girding us about, our loins girt about with truth. Thy word is truth. But then secondly, there is the breastplate of righteousness. Remember, each of these points, each of these parts of armour, is all the time going straight back to God. Back to God's word and now back to the righteousness of God. Not our righteousness, not our goodness. What does Satan come? He comes and says, look at your life, look at your failures, look at your sins, look at your blackness. You say, but the word of God says all our righteousness are as filthy rags. I own that so. But this is the name wherewith he shall be called the Lord our righteousness, Jeremiah 23. And then Jeremiah 33, this is the name, wherewith she shall be called the church of God, the Lord our righteousness. And this is what is the breastplate of the people of God, that they hold this fast, that our righteousness is as filthy rags, but our righteousness is of God. Tis He instead of me is seen when I approach to God. We stand faultless before the throne, not in our righteousness but in His. It is what the Lord Jesus Christ has given and imparted to a believer. He has taken our sins, borne them away, suffered, For then, the wrath of God, and he has given us his righteousness. In the Song of Solomon we read, I am black, yet come ye. And the people of God are like that. And when Satan says, you're black, look at all your sins, look at all your life, you say, that's very true, Satan. But I'm not relying on that for heaven. I'm not relying on that to stand before the throne. I'm relying on God. I'm relying on Christ's righteousness. I'm relying on His robe. The hymn writer says, without seeing this garment's wove, bequeath in everlasting love to be that robe to cover thee. It's a blessed thing to have that. covering whereby we may stand before God, faultless before His throne. The third piece of armour, our feet shod with the preparations of the gospel of peace. It struck me in this word, it doesn't just say feet shod with the gospel of peace, but the preparation of the gospel of peace. We read in the Psalm, in the Proverbs rather, that the preparation to the heart of man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. And the gospel is a gospel of peace. It is the good news of peace. Peace through the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That is the gospel and the things that lead to that gospel, the things that bring a soul there. We might say the law is a schoolmaster under Christ. It's a preparation to the gospel. Many afflictions, many trials, they lead to it. The Lord says that The words that I have spoken unto you. In me you shall have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. When our Lord came to this world, it was a message of peace from the angels. On earth, peace, goodwill toward men. And we ought to remember this, when our Lord says, the Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. He has goodwill, that's why he came, that's why he suffered, that's why he bled. And when Satan says, the Lord is an angry God, he's against you, he's not for you, and you're such a sinner, he'll destroy you. The Sama says, will he fight against me with his great power? No, but he will put strength in me. And we are to remember this. I came not to destroy, but to save. Not to destroy men's lives. And the preparation of that. It says, your feet shod. gives the idea of where we walk and where we go. There is Satan attacking, but this poor soul is walking to the house of God, he's walking to pray, he's walking to the word of God, he's walking in the ways of the Lord's people, he's walking where he expects that he will find the blessing of the Lord and the peace of God. Satan all the time will try to turn you out of the way, away from the places where you're likely to find the Lord's presence and the Lord's blessing. Why was Thomas not with the disciples on that first day of the week? We don't know. We're not told why. But he missed out on being there when the Lord visited, when the Lord came in the midst of them and he said, peace. Peace be unto you. Thomas wasn't there, he didn't hear it, didn't receive it. He had to go through a whole week saying, except I see the print of the nails in his hands, in his feet, I will not believe. But then the Lord came and then he did have peace, and peace in believing. We might ask ourselves, where do our feet take us? Where do we go? And sometimes it may be to, Bunyan portrays it with his pilgrims, but he took them out of the way. And then to the giant despair's castle. And then they had severe trouble there. How we need to be kept in the narrow way, kept in the way. where the blessing of the Lord is. Instead of the Lord having to say, what doest thou hear? Or Satan saying, I found you on my ground. You're in my domain now. You're reading this book, that's mine. You're looking at this thing on the internet, that's my domain. I found you there. And immediately we're vulnerable. But where we're looking and we're going, where we may expect and where we may look for the gospel of peace, what a defense is that. Then we have the shield, the shield of faith, verse 16. Above all, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. You know, Peter, there's a lot to say about faith. We read it, didn't we, in that first epistle of Peter chapter 1. Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Then he speaks of the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes. They'll be tried with fire. Faith is such a vital thing. We think of the word in Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 30 and verse 5. Every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Another word for faith is trust. And the apostle here says, taking the shield of faith. And the Lord says, those that trust in him, he is their shield. And this is the vital, he says, above all. Satan, he wants you to trust in him. What if our first parents had said to Satan, Eve had said to Satan, you're speaking wrongly, evil, against my God. I'm going to trust in what he has said, not what you're suggesting. And the same with us. What do we trust in? Satan's temptations or God's word or God's way? Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. But God is the author and finisher of our faith, and again, This armour, it is all centring in the Lord. This is not man's built up faith. It is a faith that God has given. Faith that lives, labours under load. The shield of faith. And we wield that shield. We are virtually saying, I am going to trust because faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God. I'm going to trust in the word, I'm going to trust in the Lord and not what is being suggested and set before me. Then we have the helmet, verse 17, the helmet of salvation. Take the helmet of salvation. Jonah, he says, salvation is of the Lord. In other words, a saving from hell Saving from death, that is all of the Lord. And again, Peter very much, he's using this word salvation right through this first chapter. Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. We have then in verse 10, of which salvation, or verse 9, receiving the end of your faith Even the salvation of your souls, saving from hell and saving to heaven, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, you prophesy to the grace that should come unto you." It's really the whole plan of saving, the whole plan. And he goes through speaking of the sufferings of Christ, the glory that should follow, those things that are preached unto you, the gospel, and these things, this is the salvation. And where we have the helmet of salvation, now the helmet is on the head, where is the crown put for our salvation? It's not put on our head, it's put on his head. And so our head is not seen, but seen is this helmet, And that is the Lord's salvation. That is what He has done and He has accomplished. What a reminder to us. Christ is our head and He is our salvation. It is His power to save and you go back and it goes back right from eternity. Chosen in Him from the foundation of the world, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, loved with an everlasting love, and therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. In every part, every design of it, it is all ordered by the Lord. Nothing by chance, Christ is appointed, the gospel is appointed, the preaching of the gospel is appointed, The means of grace appointed, the way we are to resist and defence against Satan is appointed. Truly Jonah was right, wasn't he? Salvation is of the Lord. It is not of the mariners, it is not of the fish, it is not of anything else. It is the Lord that saves. Our only defence is going out of ourselves to the Lord. and looking at these precious doctrines of truth, these precious aspects of the armour of the people of God, and they're all centring in God. What can Satan do when you're all the time pointing him to God? All the time we are looking to God, how can we be dismayed? How can we be disheartened and discouraged when all of this armour It is all pointing to the Lord. Take the helmet of salvation. Devils say, you've no right to take that. You don't deserve it. With all your sin and all your evil, you've no right to point to that salvation and take it to yourself. But the word here says, take the helmet of salvation. If we have been called by grace, if we have been shown these things, our ear open to them, We have the warrant, a scripture here, to resist Satan in this way, to shelter beneath God's salvation. And then we have the sword in verse 17. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, that is clearly set before us as to what we are to use. This not so much in defense, But it's in fighting, fighting the good fight of faith. It made me think about the Lord before Satan, using the Word of God. But all the time it's coming back to the Word of God. It is written, it is written again and again, heaven and earth shall pass away, my word shall not take away. And where to use that sword, a two-edged sword, would have the law on one side and the gospel on the other side. And it is to be used to resist Satan. You can point out what the law demands, but then you can point out what the gospel supplies. And this answers every demand, every demand that Satan might put before us. May we bless the Lord for his precious Word. Then we have that which gathers all up together, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. In all of these things, prayer is said of the Word of God, when we read the Word of God, join prayer with each inspection. And it is. How often we neglect prayer, but the feeblest prayer, if faith be there, exceeds all empty notion, and Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. When we are calling for the help of the divine, we are calling for the help of one that's greater than principalities and powers and rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. We are calling upon Him that has power and might to save. This is the rare reminder of it. Our text put on the whole armour of God. God is set before us. And then following at the end of this, this, the armour, is prayer. Again, it's looking for a power outside of ourselves and an expectancy of help outside of ourselves. What a armour and what a defence. Really, the weakest saint that feels their weakness, that feels their vulnerability, that knows this armour and knows the throne of grace, are the strongest ones and the ones that shall stand at the last day. May we, as much as we may, really feel this armour be held through this word this morning. May you be people of prayer and people who are very mindful of every part of this armour. The Lord add his blessing. Amen.