Skip to content Spiritual Warfare 201: How to Prepare Yourself for Spiritual Battle, Part 1 Nov 7 · 40 min ...more
Spiritual Warfare 201: How to Prepare Yourself for Spiritual Battle, Part 1
November 7, 2025 · 40 min
We're in a cosmic conflict; Satan wants you to fail. Chip reveals how to be victorious by using God's supernatural weapons to protect you and those you love. Find out how to fight back!
Series The Invisible War November 7, 2025 · 40 min · The Invisible War
We're in a cosmic conflict; Satan wants you to fail. Chip reveals how to be victorious by using God's supernatural weapons to protect you and those you love. Find out how to fight back! ...more Show the full description Show less We're in a cosmic conflict; Satan wants you to fail. Chip reveals how to be victorious by using God's supernatural weapons to protect you and those you love. Find out how to fight back!
Series The Invisible War Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
618K followers
Chip Ingram is an American Christian pastor, author, and teacher. He is the founder, teaching pastor and CEO of Living on the Edge, an international teaching and discipleship ministry.
618K followers
Equipping Yourself for Spiritual Battle 0:01 Before any soldier goes to war, he puts on his armor, he gets his weapon ready, he knows how to protect himself, and he knows how to fight effectively. Here's my question.0:13 Do you have your spiritual armor on? Do you even know what it is and how to use it? Today, I want to tell you about the protection and the weapons that God has provided for0:25 you to win the spiritual battle that you face each and every day. Stay with me.0:35 Welcome to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Our mission is to inspire Christians to be genuine followers of Jesus and to empower them to be active disciple makers in our world.0:47 Thanks for joining us as we pick up in our series, The Invisible War. For the last couple of programs, Chip's been in Ephesians chapter 6, unpacking a basic foundation for what believers need to know about spiritual0:58 warfare. Today, he'll begin in verse 13 with a lot of ground to cover, so get your bible and notes ready as we join Chip for his message, how to prepare yourself for spiritual battle.1:10 My father was in the South Pacific Guam, Iwo Jima. He had a purple heart. When I get to be around, fellow marines, it is, just exciting, the camaraderie they have and1:22 and the respect, and the bond that they have. I I once accidentally said my dad was a former marine, and a marine came up to me and said, there are no such thing as former marines. And I have stand1:33 corrected. But if you know anything about the South Pacific and World War 2, and it'll date some of you, but there was a treaty signed, the bomb was dropped, the war was completely1:45 over, but on multiple islands, there was guerrilla warfare. I have a friend, his name is Sotoro. His grandfather, actually fought for the Japanese. And1:57 this is not well known probably for many of us, but during that era, the emperor in Japan was thought to be God. And, Satoru was a professor,2:09 there in California. We became good friends and he said, my grandfather was a very, very good man. And from the time he was a little boy, he was taught the emperor was God. And he thought he was fighting for a just2:21 cause. And after the treaty was signed, he said, the emperor literally went public and just said, I am not God. But you think about the deception. You think about really good people with the right intent trying to be2:32 loyal to their country and what they've been taught. And then my father, was fighting on those islands and part of the Japanese culture especially at the time was2:44 it was far better to die than to go back as a coward. And so, my dad talked about his role as a 50 caliber machine gunner, and they wanted to clean up these islands. And here's what you need to get. The war is2:56 over. Treaty has been signed, but they're still fighting. Before the treaty is signed, bullets, mortars, and young men die. The3:08 treaty is signed. The war is over. There's guerrilla warfare. There's still bullets. There's still mortars firing, and young minnow still die. The war is not in question,3:20 but that doesn't mean the battle's over. And what I want you to know is that is your position in Christ. The war is over. Satan was defeated at the cross.3:32 Sin's penalty was paid for for all time. Sin's power was broken. Yet, Satan and his host, the fallen angels, engage in guerrilla warfare. Now3:44 notice the goal to discourage, to deceive, to divide, and destroy God's people and God's program. And what you need to3:56 understand is that believers, we're commanded to equip and prepare ourselves in the strength of the Lord and his mighty power, so that we can stand firm against the enemy's schemes. And that in4:08 these battles, though the war is not in question, we can repel his multifaceted attacks and engage and defeat in these very specific battles. Here's what I want you to get.4:20 When you study Ephesians chapter 6, Paul is giving an example in his day because he lived in a world where there was Roman soldiers all over the place. There there's not some mechanical, I'm4:32 gonna pray on the helmet, I'm gonna pray on this, and I go through some rigmarole. He's talking about how you actually live the life preparing for spiritual battle, And he's giving them a picture or a4:43 metaphor, so it's practical in their day. The best insight I can give you before we jump in is this, when we look at each piece of the armor, just4:55 ask yourself, where does Satan attack, so why this piece of armor? So by way of overview, if there's a belt of truth, deception. If there's a breastplate,5:07 it's about the heart condemnation. If if it's about stability, it's doubts. What the enemy wants to do is he wants to deceive you, he wants you to live5:19 under condemnation and guilt, and he wants to cast doubts about you, your worth, your relationship to Christ, doubts about God, doubts about God's will. Does that make5:31 sense? So I kinda want you to get that overview. So listen in that way, see you're asking, Lord, what are you saying to me? Where do I wrestle with these issues? Rather than stuck5:43 in the grammar or the picture of a Roman soldier. Because I'm gonna go through the grammar and we're gonna get a picture of the Roman soldier. So if you're ready, notice this. The question is how it works and here's the5:54 answer. First, we must become aware of the battle. Aware of the battle. Second, we must learn to appropriate the6:06 ongoing protection for daily living. We we have we have to How in the world do we put on this armor? Third, we need to learn to engage to6:18 engage the enemy with supernatural weapons that God has given us. And then finally, we want to utilize God's means of deliverance when spiritual attack occurs. So with that, how do6:30 you prepare yourself for satanic attack? The answer to that is, Ephesians 6 versus 13 through 15.6:43 Therefore, since you're strong in the Lord and the strength of his mind, since you are to put on the full armor of God, since you were to take your stand and having done everything to stand, therefore,6:54 take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist the devil in the evil day. And having done everything to stand firm, stand firm therefore, then notice the tense of7:06 these verbs. Having girded your loins with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Verse 137:18 is a command. I want you to think about a military battle going on, and I want you to think of Jesus not just as the savior and friend and lover of your soul, but but like a military7:30 commander and we're in the army of God and he is saying, okay, you're in a battle. I've defeated the foe, but I urgently command you to pick up your spiritual armor and put it7:42 on. I could go through the grammar, but the issues are this. You're responsible to put your armor on. God has provided it, but he will not put it on for you. It's in a tense of the verse7:53 where this is provided. This is what God does, but this is what you need to do. And it's also a a tense that has the idea of urgency. This isn't a passive lollygagging8:05 when it feels good. This is get ready, be alert. And then he gives us the reason for the purpose of being fully prepared and able to withstand the grave and8:17 difficult, literally the dark times when the enemy attacks. Circle that little word where it says resist the devil and underline the evil day. That word resist is with8:29 when there's difficulty, when it's challenging, when it feels almost impossible, you have to stand up, you have to resist, and then it says the evil day. Do you remember when Jesus was,8:42 tempted? And you know the story he's tempted in those 3 ways? It is written. It is written. It is written. And then the text says in Mark chapter 4, and he departed from him8:55 until a more opportune time. So what I want you to get is that in different seasons and times in your life, you're more vulnerable. Satan9:07 is finite. He can only be at 1 place at 1 time. He's not all knowing, but he's a student of human behavior. And so, I would like you to just write the word9:19 h a l t in your notes. It's not in there. Halt. I think there's 4 predictable times in every human being's life when9:31 temptation will feel more powerful. And if you're not aware that this is when you're vulnerable, you'll give in. The H stands for when you're hungry.9:44 You know, when you're hungry, you haven't had something to eat, and, you're vulnerable. Even even when you're hungry, do you notice your temper is a little bit shorter? The a is9:56 for when you're angry. In fact, you might put a little star by this 1. The scripture says that be angry but don't sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, lest you give the devil a foothold or10:07 an opportunity. There's probably no more common way that we allow deception and condemnation, the enemy to get into our lives when we have unresolved anger. The l is for10:19 lonely. Maybe you're traveling on a business trip, maybe you miss kids, maybe you find yourself surrounded by people, but you feel lonely. When you're10:31 lonely, Satan will come up and provide some opportunity for some companionship. It might be on a screen. It might be a person. It might be an activity, but he'll provide something that says, I can solve that loneliness10:43 problem. And it might even be a good thing, but it might be a good thing in a bad way or at a bad time. So when you're hungry, when you're angry, when you're lonely, or10:55 when you're tired, you're vulnerable. You will do things, say things, watch things, and give in to temptations and and what he's just warning us is,11:07 look, you have this equipment, I want you to pick it up, I want you to get ready, but I want you to know because there are different windows of times and different days, and are you ready? In different seasons of your11:18 life. There's different temptations for a single person. There's a different temptations for the early years when there's got all these kids and diapers and there's no time for anything. There's different temptations11:28 when it's the empty nest and of course you love 1 another but the kids are gone and the focus has been work and all of a sudden you're with this person that you love very much but you didn't11:40 realize that most of the time you talked about either the kids or work. And you kinda look at each other and go, oh, we got a gap here. And if there's unresolved11:52 wounds, then it goes to, you know, if you're ever gonna find someone new, you better do it pretty quickly because you're not getting any younger. And then the enemy whispers, and pretty soon you've there's lies, and then12:03 you go to the gym and someone talks to you, or you're at work and someone is really listens way better than your husband. And you would never ever think of doing anything. I mean, you're active in your church, and you12:15 love God. You even read the Bible a couple times a week. And you find yourself thinking thoughts and going down a path. And by the way, and and it's almost like12:27 it's like getting in the water and and and it feels kinda good and and you would never intend to do anything. And if you ever been like either at the ocean, and you're out playing or your kids are out playing and12:39 then you look up and you're like 300 yards down, and you didn't even know it because the current took you. That's how the enemy works. That's what he's warning against. Wake up. Be12:50 alert. Notice verse 14. After picking up our armor in preparation, we're commanded to consciously and vigorously make a decisive act to13:02 stand our ground firmly and fearlessly against the enemy's assaults as he seeks to deceive, accuse, and discourage us. So I'm gonna take up the whole armor of God. And then,13:14 don't think so much of stand firm of things coming up against you by yourself. Think of let's let's say this line right here is that's the kingdom of darkness and beginning right here, this is the kingdom13:26 of light. And you've been born again and you've received the gift of God and the spirit has entered you and you're sealed with the spirit and you have this new inheritance and he's deposited spiritual gifts13:37 and and he's redeemed you and he's he's got a plan for your life and a purpose and a meaning and this you're part of this whole he's saying you have been given all this position. Now what I want13:49 you to do is hang on to what you have. If you would read Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3 carefully, you would realize you are wanted. You are valuable, you14:01 are redeemed, you are a son, you have an inheritance, you have a purpose, you matter. And he says don't let don't let the I want you to stand firm against the lies14:13 that say God doesn't have your best in mind. You'll never get married unless you have this or that you'll He he wants you to stand firm and hold on to the position, the reality of who you are in Christ.14:25 That's why spiritual warfare first and foremost is about understanding this is who I am in Christ. This is my new identity. Yes. I was dead in my trespass and14:37 sin. I've been born again. The old things pass away. Behold, all things become new. And that's what he wants us to hold on to.14:48 You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we'll get you back to today's program in just a second. But first, I wanna tell you that this insightful teaching from Ephesians chapter 6 is also in14:59 a helpful small group format. So if you're not in authentic community or you and your friends are looking for something else to study, order the resources for the Invisible War small group today.15:11 Stick around after the message to learn how. With that, here again is Chip to continue his talk.15:17 And so now using the metaphor of this Roman soldier, he's gonna give us 3 pieces of armor that are a prerequisite for standing firm. There's 1 verb and15:29 there's actually 4 participles, but we'll cover 3 of them. The verb is and the command is stand firm. And then the participles are something The picture is you've15:41 already done this and need to actively do it. Stand firm having, and I love this phrase, girded your loins with truth. Anybody been girding your loins lately?15:53 I remember I remember And I I I actually I'm using this translation on purpose because if you understand the phrase, it it really makes a lot of sense. So16:05 let me, each time I'm gonna give you the metaphor, I'll explain what the metaphor is, then I'll look at the word, explain what the word is, then I'll talk about the actual attack, and then we'll talk about how to16:16 practically work it out. So if you were a a Roman soldier, the belt, would would be put on here and the rest of the armor connects to the belt. If you were a Roman soldier,16:28 you would do a lot of different things, but they would have a long road. They traveled. They were the they were a fighting machine. And and when you were off duty, the belt was loose. If you were on duty and16:40 your belt was loose, capital offense. If you fell if you fell asleep as a soldier, capital offense. In other words, there's there's part of this metaphor that if you were a first century Christian, it would be like,16:51 woah. When he's talking to us like that, this must be a very serious battle. But girding your loins is, you might be off duty and, okay guys, get ready. We're gonna go into battle. Well,17:03 what what what does a soldier need to do? We need to gird our loins. And be I just say that. It just sounds funny, doesn't it? And and what they would do then is okay, they're gonna tighten their belt and and because17:13 many parts of the Roman empire were cold, they had a long robe that they would wear like like a tunic type thing. Girding your loins is you lift it up and you tuck your belt in.17:25 Because now, it's just like when I taught basketball, now you're ready for movement. Are you ready guys? I want you to tighten the belt and I want you to get ready. And how do you tighten your belt as a Christian? Truth.17:38 It's about truth. Notice in your notes, the word truth here means candor, sincerity, truthfulness. Now it's rooted in the objective reality of the truth of God's word, but the reference17:50 here is to subjective practical application of truth. He's really talking about it's just being honest with God. See, the the attack is deception.18:04 He wants you to believe a lie about God or yourself, and so the very first deception, remember, with Eve. And it's interesting. He mixes truth with lies. In18:15 fact, the enemy, he knows the Bible way better than you do. And so Eve, he, you know, surely you won't die. That's a flat out lie.18:28 No. This is gonna make you wise. That was the truth. Sure did. And so he's gonna come with a mixture of truth and a mixture of lies, and the goal is to deceive you. And18:40 he's he's the master of shortcuts. He he's the master of making his shortcut look good. He's the master of getting you to believe that, you know, no 1 will ever find out or that18:52 there's nothing really wrong with this. The belt of truth is the man or woman whose mind will practice no deceit and no disguises in their walk with God. Let me19:04 give you a couple pictures. Struggles with my back. And, you know, I did all the kind of things you could do. And, you know, found out during a church service, a guy came up and he19:16 was kind of the big guy. He looked like he could still play linebacker for, Michigan State. And that's what he did. And he's a doctor and he's a physiatrist. He's he's a pain doctor. And he said, you19:28 know, I I think I could be of some help. Because, you know, a couple years ago I let it go but I, you know, I was the doctor for the 40 niners and I was the doctor for the sharks. I'm thinking, well, those guys have a19:37 lot of pain. This could be really helpful. And so, you know, we kind of became friends and and I got this epidural and, you know, he shot stuff in my back and the first time it really worked and really helped. And, you19:48 know, you can't have someone sticking needles in your back that if he misses you're like paralyzed without becoming friends. And, so 1, he was really good and we we got talking and, hey, why don't we have coffee?20:00 And, at our, at our church, 1 of the things we do with everyone who comes, we talk about discipleship, becoming a Romans 12 Christian. We have a book called True Spirituality. So every visitor, anyone who comes, we20:12 always give them that book to say, you know, it's just a gift, but this is the kind of Christians we wanna be. We're very imperfect, and we're gonna be messed up like you, and we all have our struggles, but this is this20:23 is the kind of people we wanna be. And, so I said, hey, Bob. You got that already? He goes, no. I don't think I ever pick 1 up. So I gave that to him, and he read some and then we'd have coffee and how are you doing? And20:35 so, I realized Bob was a, a cultural Christian. He was smart, wealthy, good looking, lived in a very very nice20:46 part of town, and came to church semi regularly, sort of if you graded on the curve, a better moral person, much nicer than most people.20:59 And yet, I I sense, you know, I don't I don't think Bob has a personal relationship with God. And and so, he read that book and then he said, can we get coffee? I said, sure. And so,21:11 he read about being surrendered to God and separate from the world's values and and he said, you know, he said he read it. I said, I've read it twice. And he goes, and then I started. He goes, you know, I've never done21:21 this before. He goes, could could you tell me, is there like a this is really a big book. Is there is a place to start? So I I I gave him 1 and you know, so he starts reading the bible and so this is now 2 years, you21:31 know, you know, and he'll just, hey, I'm ready for coffee and he'll name the spot and we'll go there and I just got with him recently and I'll never forget 1 day, and this is this is a good guy. He goes,21:44 you know, if anybody would ask me, are you a Christian? I would have said, yes. Are any big issues in your life? I would have said, no. And he had this phrase, I'll never forget it. He goes, you know, there's a really21:56 big difference between being a church going Christian and a word centered Christian. I've never heard anyone use a word centered Christian. I said I said, well, Bob, Bob, what do you mean? I mean, this is a really22:08 smart esteemed doctor. I said, well, what do you mean by that? He goes, well, man, I I I thought I was good and and he goes, man, I look back, I mean, the idols in22:20 my life, the idols of success, the idols of money, the idols of do I look good, the idols of what people think, the idols that I mean, I had a crazy life, but I wanted to be the 40 niners doctor, you know?22:32 And then he says, you know, my family knows guys what happened to dad? He said, I read the bible every single day now and he goes every single day. It's just like god actually speaks to me, a regular person and22:44 here's his line, Isn't it amazing? I was absolutely convinced I was okay doing the right thing and following the God that I perceived, and then he this22:56 this is a line, I was completely deceived. Wow. And this is a I mean, this is like a really intelligent person. You see, it's not23:08 about how smart we are. It's about really being honest with yourself. I, I read again a a little word from23:21 Dallas Willard because I I think sometimes when we talk about this, part of our minds can go to, I wanna keep the lights on and there's these powers and and and that's that's true. But I think we we23:33 so miss the way about 90 percent of all the enemies work. And this 1 little paragraph, I think Dallas says it. He says, God always looks at the heart for 2 reasons.23:44 First, our heart is the source of our actions and life. Remember Proverbs 4 23, watch over your heart with all diligence. Why? For from it flow, the issues of23:56 life. But more important here second, our thoughts are where Satan implies his trade. He governs through images, through ideas, through feelings, and fears.24:08 From this complex arena of our minds and our hearts comes most of our actions. So this is the arena where Satan focuses his tasks. It's all so very, very24:20 subtle. It's not like weird things. He says, again, I remind you, human beings cannot be forced to do evil, nor can they be forced to do good. They must choose to24:32 do evil or good. Well, how do they choose? Listen carefully. By being persuaded that 1 course of action is better than the other. So Satan works upon the24:44 heart through the mind as he did with Eve, and as he still does today. And I and I just share that because I think it's so so important for us to to get a sense24:56 of the subtlety and where the battle is and not make it about weird creatures or all the scary movies or all the images that come to your mind. And the application here for me25:07 is, I would like to say I pray this daily, but I pray the Lord's Prayer or Psalm 2325:19 almost every single morning just as I'm waking up. I just know that the very first thing that I allow to go into my mind and and there's something about, you know, and when I pray the Lord's Prayer25:31 because, you know, I knew it growing up. I mean, I could pray the Lord's Prayer in probably under 10 seconds thinking about whether Magic Johnson or Larry Bird was on at 2 o'clock or 4 o'clock in the afternoon.25:43 Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Right? That's not exactly what I think Jesus had in mind. But but I do think when you pray, Lord, search my25:55 heart. Psalm 1 39 23 and 24, David is a man after God's own heart. And what I love about this is that he's a man after God's own heart despite26:08 incredible failure. See, we tend to think that God always looks at our history. And I think God looks at the intent of our heart. We mess up, and when we're humble and genuine and26:20 vulnerable and ask for forgiveness, he is a God who loves. We don't have to twist his arm for him to be merciful. He longs to not give you what you deserve. He longs26:31 to give you grace. He longs to do what is ever necessary to forgive and to restore and to pull his children back close to him. But the prerequisite is that we're honest.26:43 See, the spiritual armor is as unfancy as it sounds. The spiritual armor You know what the belt of truth is? Being honest with God, and honest with yourself, and honest with others.26:55 It's nothing more. It's nothing less. And so, it's knowing Here's the thing. It's so funny when we talk about being deceived. Here's When you're deceived Here here's When you're deceived, guess who doesn't know27:07 it? And we kinda forget that. I mean, when you're deceived, it's not like, oh, wow. I gotta really work on this deception stuff. This deception is really messing with my life. When you're27:19 deceived, you don't have a clue. And so he prays, search me, oh, God, and listen to his words, and know my heart. Test me27:31 and see if there be any anxious, any division or any wicked way in me. And then lead me in the everlasting way. That's the very end of Psalm 139 where he says, he knows God27:43 has intricately made him. He knows God is before him and behind him. He knows God is aware of all things. There there's no playing games with God. There's no positioning. There's no bargaining. And he just comes27:55 really humbly and says, I just wanna be real. I just wanna be honest. If there is anything that I don't see In fact, in another Psalm, David, it's interesting. He says, forgive me for these things, and28:07 then he says, and forgive me for any presumptuous sin. In other words, I'm sure I've I've messed up other places that I don't even know about. Could you forgive me for them as well? And you might jot down28:18 Psalm 34, verse 17, and it goes on to verse 18. But this has been such a comfort to me. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and he28:30 saves those that are crushed in spirit. Psalm 1 45 18 says, the Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.28:43 For years and years, I felt somehow like when I really did something wrong and I thought wrong and I had lust over here and I did this here and I lied about that and, you know, as a good Christian of course, that okay28:55 now I've got to sort of I gotta feel really bad for a while and I won't read my bible for a couple days and and and God's going, Chip, do you think even any of that surprised me?29:06 Just just come the millisecond that you get real. The millisecond that you say, oh, god. I don't wanna be like that. And here's the deal. You own29:18 it. You know what the word confession means? It means to acknowledge. It means I gossiped about her. I shaded the truth and I presented myself like29:30 this and the truth is I was really like that. I I I made myself out to be the hero of that story and that was just all about me. And you know when you see that, isn't it ugly?29:42 But what happens, it's so painful to see our temptation is to push it down, push it down, push it down, and and you know like, like a thin little layer followed by another thin little layer followed by another thin29:53 little layer, Pretty soon, your relationship with God, the light, it gets more and more opaque. And then instead of being an authentic genuine follower, you start faking it. And you know, if you've30:05 been around the game for a while, you, you know, know a few verses, throw out a praise the Lord here, read the bible now and then, you've got 5 or 6 verses that can keep you going. And and you can you can kinda Right?30:17 All the while while your soul is shrinking. And the enemy, you're neutralized. You're neutralized. And that was the goal. And then, you don't feel worthy30:29 of praying. Right? Then, you don't feel worthy of being used. Then, you don't feel worthy. So here's the thing, the enemy is so shrewd. He gets you deceived, and then we mess up and then he condemns you for messing30:41 up. But he's the 1 who tempted you to do the very thing that's wrong. You know, this is, he's got a real business going on and it's been very very effective. So the first step30:53 is to be honest. I think this is the most challenging because it's often painful and it leads to brokenness.31:05 But brokenness is where we meet God. It's where you experience his compassion. By the way, when the spirit or sometimes, obviously, he uses people.31:17 This is a little thing I put a little asterisk for me is if I'm deceived, it would be nice if we had little like a little light on the dashboard that when you were being deceived, it would go beep beep beep beep. Or31:28 you're like, when our car is back up? You know, I like these cars now, you know, because I get carried away. I'm thinking about something and putting beep beep beep. Well, I'm glad I didn't hit them.31:41 Here's here's a little deeper for me. Just write the word defensiveness. When someone says something to you, when you're praying and you feel sort of a little barrier come up,31:53 when you're defensive, when you have to explain your behavior, when, oh, that's not really true. The moment I'm defensive, it tells me, you know what, Chip? There there's there's probably a little something to this32:05 that you need to take a look at. Doesn't mean it's all true, but but the moment you find yourself defensive, that's not a You know the position God is looking for? He's looking for32:17 a man or a woman who who Remember the When Samuel was a little boy and he went to the prophet and he didn't know what was going on.32:29 And the prophet said, I'll tell you what, Samuel, here's what you do. The next time you hear that, you you just go back in there and say, speak Lord. Your servant is listening. And God may speak to you through someone32:41 you don't like. God may speak you through a boss that really is unfair. God may speak through through circumstances. But but when you start to feel that, I think that's the response. Lord, speak to32:52 me. I I wanna be open. And, and then the devil uses a second strategy. You you put on33:04 the belt of truth, second, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. This was, made of bronze. If you are a more affluent officer, it was a chain mail.33:16 If you've seen 1 of the gladiator movies, you know, the shield, the round shield that they have, that's not the shield. This is a shield that that went from the neck down to the knees and had a hook on both sides.33:28 This this was this was the most formidable fighting machine on the face of the Earth. And so what they would do is they would be in long long rows and they would put the shield here and they had a helmet33:40 on and they would hook up together and they would just march in mass. And we'll we'll learn about the shield. It's interesting. The shield was actually made in such a way that when an arrow came in, they left a gap so a33:51 fiery arrow could come in and there would be a gap of air so it would extinguish. And so what he's saying is, this this breastplate of righteousness that would be in34:03 front of them. And then the the the shield would be the fate that we'll talk about a little bit later. But this this breastplate that's underneath all of that, it's the upright living. It's the34:15 integrity in one's lifestyle and character. It's conforming our will to God's will. And again, we already are righteous positionally, chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Ephesians, but this is talking34:26 about practical righteousness, the application of truth to our lives. And so the darts are gonna come in and we're gonna learn about the shield of faith, but he's saying you have to protect your heart. This this is the34:38 breastplate. This is this is what went over your heart.34:44 This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've been listening to part 1 of Chip's message, how to prepare yourself for spiritual battle from our series, the invisible war. Chip will be back shortly to share34:56 some helpful application for us to think about. Right now, there's a spiritual battle happening all around us. We can't see it, but it's an epic struggle for our hearts and minds. So what are we as believers35:08 supposed to do? Well, through this 8 part study, Chip shares some insights from Ephesians chapter 6 for how we're to think about, prepare for, and respond to spiritual warfare. Learn35:20 why we don't have to be afraid because of the armor God's given us to fight back and fight well. To learn more about this series, visit living on the edge dot o r g or the Chip Ingram app.35:32 Well, Chip's back in studio with me now. And, Chip, you know, a lot of people coming into this series may have thought spiritual warfare is more prevalent on the mission field or in notable churches or ministries. But as35:44 you've been teaching us so far, our battle against Satan is much closer than we may realize.35:50 Well, that's absolutely right, Dave. And where it's happening and I think is going so unnoticed is inside people's homes. It's that moment when 1 kid goes 1 direction, another36:02 goes another direction, and they turn on screens or they open up their phone, and messages and lies and comparison and all the things bombarding. It's a movie here. It's someone at school that36:14 says this to your kids over there. Lies that tell them you're not good enough. You don't measure up. Life's not worth living. We're living in a day where 30 percent of female middle36:26 schoolers have considered suicide. There is a real battle, and parents, you need to not just say no and set boundaries around things that impact your kids. You need36:38 to teach them the truth. I want to encourage you to get the small group study, The Invisible War, what every Christian needs to know about Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. It's not scary.36:50 It's not weird. It's teaching your children of all ages you're in a battle. Here's the belt of truth. Here's how you guard your mind. When weird things happen or you don't37:01 understand, here's how you have authority in Jesus' name to deal with these things. Our kids are bombarded each and every day. We as parents need to equip them and teach them,37:13 have times around the table where we discuss what's going on in their lives, and teach them how to deal with the spiritual warfare they're facing. Let me encourage you, mom or dad. Take the time, make the37:25 commitment, get the small group, and do it with your family.37:29 To learn more about the Invisible War small group, go to living on the edge dot org. Join Chip in this vital study and uncover the biblical weapons and armor we've been given to withstand37:41 Satan's attacks and stand victorious over him. Place your order for the Invisible War small group by visiting living on the edge dot org. Apless nurse tap special offers.37:52 Here again is Chip to share some additional application37:55 to what we heard today. So often when we think about Satan and demons, we think of TV shows and things moving and scary feelings. But the fact of the matter is that when38:07 Satan is doing his best work, we rarely know it because his number 1 tactic is deception. And deception, by definition, means you don't know or I38:19 don't know what's going on. Can I ask you to make a very specific application today? I'd like you to open your Bible, listen carefully to Psalm 1 39, and I want you to read that 1 Psalm, but when you38:31 get to the very end, pray the prayer. Pray the prayer that David prayed. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and see if there be any hurtful or wicked way in me. And as we close38:43 today, ask yourself, could it be you're deceived about yourself or about the character of God? Could you be deceived about your work relationship, a marriage relationship? Could it be thatShow more In this video 0:00 Equipping Yourself for Spiritual Battle25:00
Prayer That Brings Revival, Part 2 Chip Ingram
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.