ST. PAUL SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1)

(With Frank Eiklor, Walter and Cecilia Contreras, and Christopher Lucey)

ARMOR OF THE SPIRIT (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

This verse is part of one of the greatest scriptural lessons on spiritual warfare in the New Testament. It is true that our God is an awesome God. It is also true that we have a wide-awake enemy who is seeking ways to weaken our devotion to God and to destroy us. That means we had better be wide-awake saints who recognize the enemy, learn how to put on the armor of the Spirit, and fight to win.

It was first seen in the Garden of Eden, and will be here until time shall be no more. Temptation! We all face it—but what is it? The dictionary says: “to try to persuade; induce or entice—to awake desire in; be inviting to; attract.” We usually associate the word in the realm of morals; however, temptation can be a negative factor in normally good and necessary parts of life. We need money—but can be tempted to want more than we need and get it by the wrong means or by sacrificing relationships to keep the overtime coming. The same goes for food, TV, even sex in marriage. When we allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives—that spells “Master, Boss, King”—He brings deliverance from the bad and balance to the good. But just walk a day in your own flesh and you will find yourself an easy target for a wide-awake adversary.

Satan is the tempter. As he did with Eve, he can suggest but he cannot force. That is why temptation, when resisted scripturally in the power of God, will not weaken you but leave you stronger in your reliance on the Lord. Look at this incredible promise: “There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER

1) You are not alone in facing temptation; the greatest saints have been there.

2) God is faithful and will never allow you to face anything that He and you can't handle.

3) He will always provide the way out—the means of escape to a landing place. He will also teach you how to avoid temptation by steering clear of people, places and pleasures that set you up for Satan's arrows. Like the man who kept giving in to his weakness toward alcohol but complained to God that he had to walk by the bar on his way home from work. “Change directions. Go around the block!”, whispered the Holy Spirit. You, too, may discover that your own “way of escape” is a simple change in direction.

My own method in facing temptation is to agree with Scripture: I was crucified with Jesus

(Galatians 2:20), I am to recognize the old Frank Eiklor as dead (Romans 6:11) and confess with determination and finality what Jesus says about me: “You are dead, and your life (Christ's new life) is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Dead men can't be tempted. Dead men can't sin. The more you and I trust the Holy Spirit to empty us of self and fill us with Himself, the more we will experience God's power as the greatest “way of escape” from the power of temptation. We have all the armor necessary to defeat Satan's attacks and temptations, as we shall learn in Part 2.

(TO BE CONTINUED)