Faith Roots with Pastor Willie George

It is important to realize that we do not need to quote entire chapters of the Bible to resist Satan’s temptations. The quotes that Christ used to resist the devil were brief and to the point. Every portion of the scripture is powerful.

The helmet of salvation is the legal umbrella which articulates all of our benefits and privileges in Christ. Unfortunately, many believers are ignorant of the full meaning of the word, “salvation.”

The shield of the Roman soldier is symbolic of the faith of the believer. When we answer the doubts and fears that Satan hurls at our minds with a response of faith, we effectively absorb those darts. We do not stop them from being thrown at us, but we do cause them to be ineffective.

In the armor of God, the symbolism of shoes is linked to peace, even though they are implements of war. Peace does not come without a fight. There is a struggle in the attainment of peace. We must believe what God has said and reject our own natural thoughts and propensities. 

You cannot stand in confidence against the powers of darkness if you are unsure of where you stand with God. Our authority over the powers of darkness depends on the righteous position that we occupy.

The breastplate of the Roman soldier protected all the vital organs of the torso. It was both tactical and ornamental as it was highly reflective. Whereas the girdle of truth was given to project the mind, the breastplate of righteousness protected the human spirit.

The written Word is given by inspiration of God and provides us with the equipment we must have to live in victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The girdle of truth is the first piece of armor to be mentioned and for good reason. The girdle covered the waist and loins which are symbolic of the mind. The enemy attacks our minds more often than any other part of our beings.

We are told on four occasions in the New Testament that it is the believer’s responsibility to actively resist the devil. In other words, we do not ask God to deal with the devil on our behalf. Instead, we are to take direct authority over him and resist him by speaking the Word of God.

There are four classes of evil spirits and fallen angels who war against humanity. No matter who and how powerful they are, every believer is seated ABOVE them in the heavenly places!

The armor of God flips the script that the enemy tries to enact. This principle appears over and over again in both testaments. The very weapon that Satan designs is reversed against him.

The armor of God is multi-faceted in that the different components afford protection to different aspects of our being. To put it in simple terms: the armor of God has been given to protect your mind, your mouth, and your heart.

The command given in Ephesians 6:10 reveals this emphasis: “Be strong in the Lord.” Notice that Paul does not lead with “resist the devil” or “take authority over evil spirits.” We are best prepared to overcome darkness by living in the light.

The Euphrates is a picture of the book of the River of Intercession, the fourth unique flow of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:8) There must then be a river of power if the Holy Spirit is accurately foreshadowed in the second chapter of Genesis.

All revelation is brought into our understanding through labor and struggle. The great spiritual truths that anchor our faith were brought forth from the hidden realm.

On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit edified 120 disciples before He did anything else. His first work was not a miracle of healing or a detailed prophetic word. 

Christ prophesied that His followers would have rivers of living water flowing from their innermost beings. To understand more about this, we will look at the four rivers that flowed through the garden of Eden in Genesis 2.

Christ Himself prophesied that His followers would speak in new tongues; however, speaking in a prayer language unknown to the mind is one of the most difficult things some believers will ever do.

The Holy Spirit gives us the most accurate supplications possible. We pray beyond our natural abilities with details our minds could never imagine.  By the Spirit’s help, we overcome the weakness of not knowing what to ask for when we pray for others - often those we do not even know.

When we pray in the spirit, the Holy Spirit stimulates our spirits and minds in the application of God’s Word. In other words, He will show us how to declare God’s Word, especially in times of trouble.

Praying in the Holy Spirit will take us back to the things we have heard from the Word. He will enlighten our minds to things that we already know to a degree but will enlarge our understanding of them.

Faith is divinely imparted to our spirits when we hear God’s Word. All through the Scriptures, people received faith when they heard the promises of God. We fortify, or “build-up,” ourselves on the faith that we have.

We can learn a lot about God’s priorities by where certain things are placed in the context of scriptures. For example, when the Apostle Paul writes to us about spiritual warfare and how we are able to do battle against demonic powers, he puts it at the end of the book.

Even though we are born again and have Christ’s nature and Spirit inside us, we are not self-generators of God’s power and love. We spend our spiritual energies, and like wallets with finite sums of money, we need to replenish our spiritual currency. Every car runs out of gas eventually.