On some anniversary Sundays, we have attempted
to celebrate somewhat and even have brought special
guests in to be with us. Inevitably, when we
have done that, we've had a blizzard. And so
this morning, having made no plans, it's a beautiful
day. I think I prefer to make no plans. I hope
spring has sprung and not a leak. Would you open
your Bible with me, please, to Ephesians chapter
6, as we look together again today regarding
the armor of God, and recognize that as long
as we are in this world, we will be the objects
of our spiritual enemy's attacks. The devil will
be after us, his host of wicked spirits, the
forces of darkness. as Paul calls them in our
text, manipulate and control the world in which
we live. And in addition to that, they are vigorously
and viciously opposed to the soldier of Jesus
Christ, their desire being to destroy and defeat
the good soldier of Christ. The teaching of Scripture
regarding the armor of God does not mean an easing
of the attacks, or a decrease of temptations,
or a diminishing of trials and tests. The armor
does not guarantee any of that. But what the
armor of God does guarantee us is that we can
defeat the enemy. That even though he comes against
us again and again and again, we can, by that
armor that God provides for us, see Him defeated
so that we ourselves hold the ground that God
has given to us. This teaching about the armor
of God is not something that is peripheral. It
is not a small matter. It is not a side issue.
It is a key strategic issue of the New Testament.
Even though it is not found frequently in the
New Testament, the subject matter is vital. If
we're going to do what He tells us to do, to
stand against the evil one. Putting on that armor
is essential if we would stand our ground and
not be disgraced in defeat. We have studied the
belt of truth, that first piece of armor that
is mentioned. We have understood that that truth
refers to a character quality. He's talking here
about integrity. Putting on the belt of honesty,
of genuineness, of truthfulness in the heart,
that is the inner man. That is vital if we would
stand against the enemy. And then we must put
on the breastplate of righteousness, not the
imputed righteousness given to us by our faith
in Christ, but that righteousness which is good
works and good deeds in our lives. which reflect
the kindness, the patience, the love of God.
That kind of righteousness, practical holiness,
that provides a breastplate, which is essential.
And then we are to slip on the shoes of peace.
That good news of peace being the peace that
we have with God through Jesus Christ. The assurance...
That as we stand against the enemy, we are not
alone. That God is with us. No longer are we
estranged from God. No longer are we at war with
God. But there is now peace declared. There is
reconciliation. So that now God is for us and
who can be against us. It is the good news that
I am at peace with God and God is at peace with
me. That enables me to stand in the day of evil.
And then I am to take up the shield of faith.
I am to guard my thoughts, my emotions, with
the truth that I believe about God. What is it
that I believe about God that I need in the battle
at the moment? It is that truth that I am to
bring to my mind. I am to, by faith, declare
the missiles of the enemy invalid. If he tells
me that God is lying, that God is not faithful
to me, that God has failed me in this situation,
the shield of faith goes up and says, but God
cannot fail. Not one word of his promise will
ever fail. I believe God and not these thoughts
that are going through my mind. If I'm overcome
with grief and sorrow and a sense of loss, The
shield of faith goes up against those fiery missiles
and says that I can lose nothing in Jesus Christ.
I have gained everything in Jesus Christ. The
shield of faith protects our minds, our thoughts,
protects our emotions against the fiery arrows
of the enemy, which, if they strike us, will
injure us and will burn into us. so that we are
damaged and can easily be defeated. So we are
to put up the shield of faith. Now today we move
ahead to the helmet of salvation. He says in
verse 17, And take the helmet of salvation and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God, with all prayer and petition. Pray at all
times in the Spirit. And with this in view, be
on the alert with all perseverance and petition
for all saints. The next piece in our list is
the helmet called the helmet of salvation, or
the helmet which is salvation. Here we have that
piece of gear which protected the head of the
Roman soldier. It was sometimes made of heavy,
hardened leather. but more frequently came to
be a piece of metal that was molded for the head
of the soldier. It was often made of bronze.
It was usually heavy and quite decorative. The
inner part of it was lined with felt or sometimes
sponge in order to give some comfort to the soldier
as he wore this piece of protective gear. The
apostle tells us that we are to place on our
heads the helmet of salvation. Now I want you
to think with me for a moment regarding each
piece of the armor that we have talked about
up to this point. And notice that each piece
of that armor protects us against some weapon
that Satan frequently uses against us. For example,
the belt of truth. Satan is a what? And the father
of what? He's a liar. And he is the father of
lies. John 8, 44. He is filled with lies. Untruth.
And he attacks us with those. And he gets to
seek us to live out lies in our lives. So that
we become hypocrites. If he can't succeed in
that, we are already defeated. That's why we
are to put on first the belt of truth, of integrity,
of honesty in the inner man. It protects us against
the lies of the enemy. We've talked about the
breastplate of righteousness. That is, lives
that reflect the beauty of God, the holiness
of God, the character of God. lives that are
filled with kindness and good deeds, righteous
living. In Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10,
we learn that the accuser of our brethren has
been cast down, it says, talking about a future
time when Satan is dealt with. But there he is
given that particular name, the accuser of our
brethren. One of the ways the devil attacks us
is by accusation. Before God, day and night,
it says, but also from others and to others.
Accusation. Satan is an attacker. He is an accuser.
That is the way that he works. He is a prosecutor.
As you and I put on the breastplate of righteousness,
When those accusations come against us, they
just fall away. They cannot penetrate the breastplate
of unhypocritical living, of genuine living,
of righteousness. The accusations that he throws
against us can find no basis. And therefore we
have victory over the accusations of the devil,
as well as the lies of the devil. the shield
of faith. That shield protects us against the
doubt that Satan uses, the doubt that he uses.
Do you remember when he approached Eve in the
garden? His very first recorded statement in
Scripture is, Has God said, You shall not eat
of every tree of the garden? Has God said that?
He knew that God had said it, or something close
to that. She knew that God had said it. But Satan
planted a doubt in her mind. Has God said this?
Doubt is one of his greatest weapons. He loves
to plant the seed of doubt in the mind of a person
and then water it until it grows into a large,
consuming weed. that chokes the life. Has God
said this? What is it that protects us against
the fiery arrows of doubts that come to our minds?
It is the shield of faith. Indeed, God has said
this. God is this. Statements of what I believe
about God. These form for me a shield that will
cause all those fiery arrows of doubt to be quenched.
Let's talk about the shoes of peace. In Hebrews
2, verses 14 and 15, it says there that Satan
uses fear, especially the fear of death, or has
used it, to attack people. The fear of death.
Satan loves to create fear in people. Fear. He
likes to make people afraid. Oh, but if I do
that, what will happen? He loves to make people
fearful of God. What do I do to overcome those
attacks of fear in my life? I put on the shoes
of peace. which tell me God is for me. God's
not against me. God's on my side. I don't have
to be afraid. Like David said, when I am afraid,
I will trust in thee. Better, he said, I will
trust in thee and not be afraid. Because you
and I can put on the shoes of peace, the good
news that God is for us. that God is working
in our lives, that God is not going to allow
us to be defeated ultimately? Because God is
with me, therefore I need not be afraid. I can
wear the shoes of peace, and I will not slip,
though Satan throws down fear before me and tries
to get me to trip. Now what about the helmet?
The helmet of salvation. Well, another one of
Satan's weapons, in addition to lies, accusations,
doubt, and fear, is discouragement. Discouragement.
I see this, for example, in 2 Corinthians chapter
12, where the Apostle Paul speaks about the thorn
in the flesh that he was experiencing. Whatever
that may have been, it was a very trying experience
for Paul. So much so that he prayed three times
that God would deliver him from that affliction,
whatever it was. And God chose not to do it,
but rather said to him, My grace is sufficient
for you. And Paul rejoiced in that truth. But
nonetheless, he called that thorn in the flesh
the messenger of Satan to buffet him. It was
Satan's intention to discourage Paul, to drag
him down. to defeat with that thorn in the flesh,
to aggravate him, to bring him to frustration,
to discouragement. Are you discouraged this morning?
That is one of Satan's greatest weapons against
the child of God. And what is it that protects
me against discouragement in my Christian life,
in my service for the Lord? It is what Paul calls
here the helmet of salvation. Now is Paul talking
about our initial salvation? In other words,
is he saying to the Ephesians, get saved? Of
course not. He's already called them brothers.
He has expressed terms to them that make us know
that he is not talking here about getting saved.
That is not the helmet of salvation. He is using
salvation in a future tense. There is past tense
salvation, I have been saved. Present tense salvation,
I am being saved. And there is future tense salvation,
I will be saved. And the New Testament uses all
three, and there's no contradiction. They all
work together. As Paul speaks about salvation
here, he is looking into the future. Turn over
with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, where I
think we have a good commentary on this particular
piece of armor. He says in verse 8 of 1 Thessalonians
5, But since we are of the day, let us be sober,
having put on the breastplate of faith and love.
Notice there he changes the terms a bit. And
as a helmet, the hope of salvation. So I believe
that this is a commentary explaining what Paul
means earlier in Ephesians. For he goes on to
say, God has not destined us for wrath, but for
obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, that whether we are awake or
asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore,
encourage one another. What's the opposite of
discouragement? Encouragement. What is it that
encourages us in the battle? It is the assurance
that one day, by the grace of God, I am going
to be completely saved, body, soul, and spirit.
In a consummating sense, in a final sense, which
we call glorification, I will be saved. And there
is no doubt about that. It is the assurance that
one day God is going to finish the work that
he's begun in me. That brings me tremendous encouragement
in the midst of the battle. When I get discouraged,
it is because my vision has become myopic. I
have become short -sighted. I am seeing only
the difficulty at hand. I am seeing only the
circumstances that thorn in the flesh like Paul
went through, that Satan is seeking to use to
bring me down. What do I need to do? I need to
enlarge my vision. My focus needs to be off of
the circumstances, off of the issue of the moment,
and see the bigger picture, and see that this
is just a little piece of my life, and that down
at the end comes glorification. And God is even
working right now in this circumstance so that
that end is accomplished. He will completely
save me. I have the hope of salvation. And hope
means the expectation. There's no doubt in the
word hope. The New Testament word for hope means
the assurance, the expectation of salvation.
Is discouragement a problem? Yes, it is. It is
a problem that every one of us faces in life,
as we do the weapons of the enemy. We all face
lies that come to us from time to time. We're
tempted to live lies. We all face fears. All
of us have doubts that come to us. And there
are accusations that are thrown against us and
discouragements that come our way. Messengers
of Satan which whisper in our ears, why don't
you give up? It's really not worth it, all this
you're going through. That's why it's called
the messenger of Satan. Let me just show you
some of the ways in which you and I can face
discouragement. For example, right here in Ephesians,
look back in chapter 3 and verse 13. Paul says,
Therefore I ask you not to lose heart. Now that's
Paul's way of saying not to become discouraged.
Not to lose heart or be discouraged at my tribulations
on your behalf. You and I can sometimes become
discouraged out of sympathy for others' problems.
It may not even be something that we ourselves
are going through, but we see someone else going
through the battle, and we're tempted to discouragement
because of what they're facing. That's what was
happening with the Ephesians. Paul was saying,
hey, don't become discouraged because I'm in
prison. He says, in fact, what I'm suffering,
what I'm going through is for your good and your
glory. But don't get discouraged because of me
and what I'm passing through. You know, sometimes
it's harder to watch another person suffer than
it is for them to suffer. I have seen that over
and over and over again in my life. The person
going through the suffering, maybe a suffering
with cancer or some disease, and they face that
victoriously, and their attitude is filled with
faith and confidence in God. And yet the people
often standing around, friends or family, grow
discouraged and lose heart in the midst of it
all. You and I can sometimes become discouraged
because of sympathy for the people. We ought
not to do that. Be alert to that. Then there
are times when you and I can become discouraged
as well because of our service. Just continue
backing up in the New Testament. We're going
the opposite direction of what we usually turn
here. But go back to Galatians chapter 6 and
look in verse 9. He says, and let us not lose
heart in doing good. You can sometimes become
discouraged in doing what is right and good and
beneficial for people. It may be that instead
of being appreciated for doing it, some of it's
thrown back in your face. And the messenger of
Satan is there to say, yeah, see that? That's
what happens when you do good. And you're discouraged.
You and I can not only become discouraged because
of sympathy for others' problems, but we can
become discouraged because of our own service
for Jesus Christ. We're giving it all we've got.
We've just poured out our very lives. We've not
held back an ounce for ourselves. And as we have
given it out, discouragement can often come.
And sometimes because of exhaustion. Didn't that
happen to Elijah after the great battle on Carmel?
When the challenge came to him from Jezebel,
he could not handle it. He could handle hundreds
of prophets of Baal, but he couldn't handle one
queen who followed Baal. And he fled. He fled.
because he had his eyes on the situation. That's
all he could see at the moment. He was absolutely
exhausted. He had poured himself out in service.
And I may be talking to some soldiers here this
morning. You've just given yourself fully in
service. You have sought to do it right. You
sought to be beneficial and to do good works.
But frankly, this morning, you just hang it up.
I know exactly what those feelings are like because
I have them frequently. After a great Sunday,
come in Monday morning with my resignation in
my pocket. That's the old proverbial pastor's
joke, but it's less than a joke sometimes. Why
is that? Because your service is a drain emotionally,
spiritually, physically, mentally. And when we
get drained, we can get discouraged. So the apostle
says here, Don't lose heart in doing good. But
we can. Continue turning backwards in your New
Testament to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Here's
another way in which you and I can become discouraged.
2 Corinthians 4 verse 1, the apostle says, Therefore,
since we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we do not lose heart. Then he says in
verse 16, Therefore, we do not lose heart. What
is Paul talking about here? Paul is undergoing
suffering. He's having it tough. He is experiencing
persecution and attack against him, not only
from outsiders but from inside the church as
well. And there are people in Corinth trying
to wreck Paul's ministry by denouncing and accusing
his character unfairly, unjustly, wrongly. They're
trying to undermine him as an apostle of Jesus
Christ and thus destroy the message that he preached
there. Paul is undergoing suffering. When you
and I are undergoing suffering, we can become
discouraged. Suffering is tough. Whether it's
physical suffering or mental suffering, spiritual
suffering, it is not easy to suffer. It is true
there is joy in serving Jesus. It's true I've
got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
but sometimes, frankly, in the midst of suffering,
that joy is deep down. And what's on the surface
is temptation to discouragement. And then if
you'll turn back just a few more pages to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, let me show you one more verse where
the Apostle tells people to be encouraged. He
says in verse 58, Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil
is not in vain in the Lord. Now what has Paul
been talking about in this chapter? Well, it's
the great resurrection chapter. There have been
people, again, who've come to Corinth who were
teaching that there was no resurrection of the
dead. And the apostle absolutely lacerates and
destroys that teaching and assures us that there
will, in fact, be a resurrection from the dead.
One of the things the apostle talks about here,
and apparently one of the things that afflicted
the minds of the Corinthians, was life is short.
And, in fact, if there's no resurrection of the
dead, Because of the shortness of life, why should
we live for Jesus Christ and try to serve Him?
If there is no resurrection of the dead, we are
of all men most miserable if we are seeking to
be faithful to Christ. Sometimes when you and
I come face to face with the shortness of life,
we can get discouraged. Now we come face to face
with that every morning in the mirror. Sometimes
it stands out more than others. It becomes more
apparent to us. But it's when we go to a funeral,
someone that we've loved, or when we go to the
funeral of someone who's our age or younger,
and suddenly we realize, hey, you know, I'm not
going to be around here forever either. Life
is short. And when you get into the 40s, you
begin to realize, you know, I'm not going to
accomplish in life everything I've dreamed about.
Time is going by too quickly. Some of my goals
are not going to be reached. It's easy then to
become discouraged. If there's any cause for
midlife crisis, that may well be it right there.
Discouragement over the shortness of life, it
is short. But you know what? In each of these
circumstances that we've talked about, sympathy
for others, service for the Lord, suffering,
shortness of life, as Paul talked about each
one of those possible discouragements, at the
same time, he brings us back to the big picture.
Let's just back up through the Scripture again.
Let me show you what I mean. Look here in 1 Corinthians
15. He says, steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord. Why, Paul? Life is short.
He says, know this, your toil is not in vain
in the Lord. What do you mean? Well, he's just
talked about the rapture. He's talked about our
being changed and caught away to be with the
Lord. That's the hope of salvation. When I see
that life is short, what is it that's going to
keep me from discouragement? It's recognizing
that this life is not all there is. It's just
the beginning. This is just the preparation for
real life and real service when we have our glorified
bodies and we're with the Lord. Yes, life is
short. But our toil for the Lord is worth it.
It is not in vain because the Lord is going to
come. And He's going to change us and we're going
to be caught away to be with Him. the immortal,
undying, forever living with Christ, the hope
of salvation. You see how the apostle puts the
helmet on him? Let's go back again to 2 Corinthians.
We begin at chapter 4, verse 16. Our outward
man is decaying. He's talking about his suffering.
Yet our inner man is being renewed day by day
for momentary light affliction is producing for
us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all
comparison while we look not at the things which
are seen, the myopic vision, but at the things
which are not seen. The things that are seen
are temporal. The things which are not seen are
eternal. See what he does again. When they might
be tempted to discouragement in their suffering,
he brings back the big picture. He says, hey,
wait a minute. Whatever we suffer here, it's
working for us. Glory to come. This is temporal.
That's eternal. That's what counts. The big picture,
the hope of salvation. Again, let's go to Galatians.
Chapter 6. He says, and let us not lose heart
in doing good. You and I might be tempted to
discouragement in our service. He goes on to
say, for in due time we shall reap if we do not
grow weary. You see what he does again? He pulls
them back to see the big picture. He says, this
is a sowing time. But remember, there's a reaping
time too. In due time, you will reap. So don't
get discouraged in your service. And then he
goes on in Ephesians chapter 3 to do something
very similar. He says, therefore I ask you not
to lose heart, not to become discouraged in sympathy
for what I'm going through. Why? Well, because
of what I just said. He says, therefore... And
if you back up and look at that, you see that
he's talking about God's eternal purpose in calling
Gentiles together with Jews to belong to Jesus
Christ so that in the ages to come, God might
display his manifold wisdom in the church. He
says, don't get discouraged out of sympathy for
what others are going through. Draw back and
look at the big picture. And see that that suffering
is just part of God's plan. And that in the ages
to come, God is going to demonstrate His wisdom
and His grace and His glory in us. The hope of
salvation. So you see why I say that the hope
of salvation is that which protects us against
the enemy's discouragements? Now we may not at
all have touched upon the area where you're discouraged
today. I don't know what the issue may be that
you're passing through at this moment that you
may be tempted to discouragement about. Let me
challenge you to recognize that that discouragement
is not from the Father. It's from the enemy.
Put on today the hope of salvation. Get that
helmet down tight on your mind and look at the
bigger picture. Just back away from that issue
and look at the long -range view, the broader
view, and see the hope of salvation in it. And
as you do that, you'll be protected against discouragement.
The helmet of salvation is but another one of
the indicators. of the believer's eternal security
in Jesus Christ, the hope of salvation. You and
I, possessed by the grace of God, the assurance
that one day we will be fully and finally saved.
Now, of course, it is settled forever at this
moment because the work of Jesus Christ at the
cross is finished, our salvation is finished.
But in the living out of our life, in our own
experience, we have a ways to go yet. God is
right now saving us from the power of sin. We've
been talking about that on Sunday nights. And
one day he's going to save us from the presence
of sin. And on that day, we have the total package
in our experience. Would you turn with me to
Romans chapter 8? Look at the words of the Apostle
Paul regarding this matter. Verses 38 and 39,
he says, I am convinced that neither death nor
life nor angels nor principalities nor things
present or things to come nor powers or height
or depth or any other created thing shall be
able to separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is just the
pinnacle of a whole chapter that deals with the
same truth, that there's nothing that can separate
us from the love of Jesus Christ, and we are
the objects of his love and what he has begun
in us in calling us to faith in Jesus Christ.
He will finish one day when he calls us home
to be with Jesus Christ. He tells us in the book
of Romans that we are saved by grace. And he
tells us furthermore that we are kept saved by
grace, the grace of God. Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5 once more. Toward the end of the chapter
this time where he says in verse 23, Now may
the God of peace himself sanctify you. entirely.
And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved
complete without blame at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. So Paul prays here as the Spirit
directs him in his writing that God would indeed
fully and finally sanctify us or set us apart
to himself in spirit, in soul, and in body. But
how do we know God is going to do that? Because
of what it says in verse 24. He goes on to say,
And faithful is he who calls you, and he also
will bring it to pass. What? The fullness of
our salvation. That final, complete aspect of
it. When we are glorified with Christ. My friend,
your salvation does not depend upon your faithfulness.
It depends upon the faithfulness of God. Now,
surely we want to be faithful. We do, but there
are times we are not faithful. But the fact is
that our salvation does not rest upon our unfaithfulness
or our faithfulness, but totally upon the faithfulness
of God. He will bring it to pass. Why? Because
He is faithful. And then just one more text in
Jude. All the way to the back of the New Testament.
When you get to Revelation, put it in reverse
once more. And look in verse 1. Jude, a bondservant
of Jesus Christ and brethren of James, to those
who are the called. Who are they? Well, everyone
is saved. The called. Beloved in God the Father
and kept for Jesus Christ. Isn't that great?
The hope of salvation. What a helmet we have
to protect us against discouragement, against
doubt, against deceit. The hope of salvation.
We who are kept for Jesus Christ. And then he
concludes with a very similar thought in verse
24. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling.
and to make you stand in the presence of his
glory, blameless, with great joy. My friend,
you and I are kept by him who is able to keep
us. The helmet of salvation is the hope that
you and I have, that is, the expectation that
you and I have, that when we come to Jesus Christ
and receive him as Savior, We are kept saved
from that moment until the day that we stand
in glory with him, blameless and obviously filled
with great joy. Do you have that hope? Is that
the expectation of your soul? As you think about
your future, Is there within you that voice of
the Spirit of God saying, My child, all this
is true. It's yours. Or are you filled with fear
and foreboding and wondering? God has provided
for us to have the assurance of our salvation.
He that has the Son has life. On the other hand,
he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life. These things I have written to you,
says John, that you may know that you have eternal
life. If you have the Son, you have it. You have
life. If you don't have the Son, you don't have
life. If there's any gray area, it's only in
our own confusion. There is no gray area with
God. Either we have the Son or we don't have
the Son. Either we have life or we don't have
the life. You say, well, I remember praying a
prayer. I remember going forward in a service.
I remember being baptized. I did this or I experienced...
No. The question is today, right where you are,
do you have the Son living in your heart? If
you do, you have life. Today, right where you're
sitting, in this service, on this day of March
1988, do you have the Son living in you? If you
don't, you don't have life. And your only hope
is Him. Will you today receive Him? Will you
trust in him and rely upon him alone for your
salvation and turn from whatever you've trusted
in before? Will you say, Jesus Christ, today,
as fully as I know how, as much as I understand
it, I'm placing my faith in you who died for
me and rose again. And I trust in you alone and
I receive you. to save my soul. Let's pray. Is
that the attitude of your heart, my friend? Would
you today receive the Son? Just do it right where
you're seated. There are no magic words. There's
no prayer formula you have to go through. The
only action is inside of you in your heart, where
you open the door, as it were, and you say, Jesus
Christ, I receive you. Come into my life. Take
over my life and save me. If that is your heart's
attitude, and today, for the first time, You're
willing to acknowledge that that is your desire.
I'm going to ask you to lift your hand and put
it down. I am not going to come and get you.
I'm not going to embarrass you. But I would like
to know if today your heart's desire has been
to trust the Son and to receive Him. Would you
lift your hand right now and just put it down?
God bless you. I've done this today. God bless
you. Now having done it once, if it's done in
truth, you need not do it again. But that once
is essential. He that has the Son has life. Yes.
Anyone else? Father, I thank you this morning
for the simplicity of the gospel. Thank you that
Jesus died for us. That we may not pay the price
of our own sin. And that he gave himself on the
cross for us personally. That he might redeem
us. That he might release us. from our slavery
to sin, and our condemnation to death in hell.
And I pray this morning for those who have lifted
their hand, that as they have indicated this
desire in their hearts, so they would begin now
on a journey that would cause them to mature
and grow in the things of God. and to be soldiers
on the battlefield that will know victory. And
I pray for all of us today. Some of us are defeated,
Father. Others of us are wounded in the battle.
Some of us have gone AWOL. And some of us have
stood our ground. There are soldiers of yours
here listening right now who are in various conditions.
And you know that. You know just where each of
us is. Lord, with your arm of love and restoration,
would you reach out to each one of your soldiers
now who's away from the battle line and return
them and heal them and restore them. May there
be a brokenness and a repentance. confession
that would remove them and refresh them for the
remaining battle and this I pray in Jesus name
Amen