Is There A Soldier In The Camp?
Eph. 6:10-18

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 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.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Intro.: If we read the story of David, we find that they were asking for a warrior in the camp to fight against Goliath. He was too much for them. We need such a warrior today. We need warriors to fight against Satan and all he sends our way.
There is a need for us to be in spiritual warfare against Satan and his demons. He does all he can to derail our efforts for the Lord. We must be aware and ready to stand against him in this day. We need a warrior. If we have revival in our church, it will be in part because some of us take up arms against Satan and allow God to help us defeat him.

We need to understand…

We are in battle against Satan
Recognize his power
He wants us defeated
God will help us win
God gives us equipment to fight him

To engage Satan we need a desire to fight him in the battle

Not just be at the battle - "I was there, I saw the enemy!"
Not just show up like David's brothers -"I did my part, I was ready if Bro. Gary asked me to help!"
Not just dressed for war - "If any of them guys came my way I was ready!"
Not just a part of the army - "1st Division East 38th Street Church Infantry - present sir!"
Willing to fight for what is right for God and for His Son!   To defeat Satan we must be willing to use God's equipment
Gird about with TRUTH Like a belt holding us together
Avoiding lies and deception
Avoiding half-truths
Avoiding excuses that we know are weak
Satan has always been deceptive and twisting God's Word - Gen. 3:1-6; Matt. 4
  3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. People do things for religion and are often misled - Inquisition, etc.
We need the truth in our lives - it needs to be part of us


Breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS

This is a symbol from the O.T. about a judge that would go among the people to stomp out injustices.

We need to be willing to help people fight against Satan in their poor surroundings
We need to lose prejudices, resentments, etc.
We need to see all people's need, not their race or color, or upbringing
We need to do what is right - not just what is right for us
  Feet shod with Gospel of PEACE
(May sound funny when talking about a warrior) We need to help maintain peace and lose any unforgiving spirits Between ourselves and others
Between others and others and others and God - 2 Cor. 5:18 2 Cor. 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; Barnabas was an example - brought Saul/Paul to the early church and helped bring his nephew John Mark into reconciliation with Paul. For a revival to come we need peace in our lives
 
  Shield of FAITH Does faith just happen? No!
Faith grows
Faith is given when we ask for it
Faith outlasts discouraging times, failures, loss of friends, jobs, etc.
Faith helps protect us 1 Jn. 4:4 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
 
 

Helmet of SALVATION

We need to be continually in touch with Christ
Salvation needs to be part of our everyday life.
We would wear our helmet in battle - then we need to wear our salvation in our battle
We see the trust for salvation and the trust for help fighting spiritual battles
We need God's renewing power in our lives daily
 
  Sword of the Spirit - Heb. 4:12

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God's Word is the best weapon we can have to defeat Satan
His Word is like a two-edged sword
His Word will not return void (it will accomplish His bidding)- Is. 55:11 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
  His Word will touch lives - it will ferret out our inconsistencies
His Word will open the way for the Spirit to deal with people (and us)
When His word touches us we need to respond - Matt. 21:28-33 28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
 
 

Continual Prayer for good measure!

Pray for God to help
Pray for others
Pray always
Pray a lot
Pray


Let me ask you today…
Are you dressed for battle?

Are you willing to do battle?

Are you willing to let God's Word help you?

Are you willing to trust the Lord and have faith in what He can do for and with you?

Are you just a weekend warrior?

Is there a warrior in the camp?
 
 

Gary Marcum - East 38th Street Free Will Baptist Church - 022501am