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Have you ever felt that you've been resisting the devil firm in your faith so long you can't resist any longer? Having done all to stand, you've stood, but you think you can't stand anymore?

Have you found yourself praying, "God, I don't care if I overcome. Just let me survive. And if I ever get out of this, I promise, I'll never use my faith again"?

I have. In fact, I've learned we're most vulnerable right after a victory.

Armor of God
We've had fiery darts coming our way for quite some time, and some of them have penetrated. After a while, we just want to get our armor off because that shield of faith has become so heavy with all those darts in it. That helmet of salvation has started leaning to one side. The belt of truth has begun to slide a little.

We've gotten some gook on our gospel shoes, and we just keep losing ground. The breastplate of righteousness won't stay on. When we finally win a battle, we want to take a spiritual vacation. We want to take our armor off, pile it in the corner, and hope to God we don't have to use our faith for at least another six months.

And that's when the devil attacks.

Right Where You Want Him
I remember one time when I had stood and done everything to stand, but I felt as if I couldn't stand anymore. I felt as if my helmet was falling off. My shield of faith didn't have room for another dart. My breastplate was just barely on. I was standing there asking God, "What do I do next?" And He said, "Rejoice."

I said, "Say what?"

He said, "Rejoice! You've got the devil right where you want him." I said, "Is anybody else up there? I'd like a second opinion on this."

Then I said, "God, have You looked at me lately? I'm just barely dressed here. The armor is falling off. There's no room for another dart in my shield of faith. My sword's limp."

He said, "Rejoice. You've got the devil right where you want him."

I said, "God, You're not listening to me. I don't know if I can stand anymore. How can I rejoice?"

He said, "Son, when you're under the greatest pressure to quit, it's an indication that the enemy has fired his best shot, and if that shot doesn't get you, he's finished. You may be shaky and feel as if your armor's falling off, but take a look. You're still standing."

Right now, if you're under the greatest pressure you've ever been under, you've got the devil right where you want him. And I want to give you the successful strategy that God has for winning. I want to show you how to dress for battle and how to take an aggressive stand against the enemy. I want to show you how to enlist in God's army and how to conduct yourself in battle so that you will not only overcome the enemy, but will take back all that has been stolen from you.

Full Battle Dress
In order to take an aggressive stand of faith, you must get properly dressed and equipped for battle. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil:
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
(Eph. 6:11, 14-17 NAS)
Stand Firm
The next step in your strategy, after you have put on your armor, is to determine that you will not compromise on your stand of faith. Tell the devil: "If it's a fight you want, a fight you'll get, but when the dust settles, God and I will still be standing."

Stand firm! Take the shield of faith and extinguish all the flaming missiles the enemy fires at you! Notice that the New American Standard Version says "flaming missiles" instead of "fiery darts" (King James Version). It seems as if the devil quit throwing fiery darts years ago. Fiery darts were bad enough. Now it's missiles.

But God says, "Rejoice." Satan has fired his best shot, and if you refuse to quit, refuse to give up, if you stand firm, there's not a thing he can do to win over you. He may go from darts to missiles, but, thank God, the Holy Ghost will supply you with power to overcome. But you have to stand firm. Let me remind you that the Bible says that the "weapons of our warfare are mighty through God" (2 Cor. 10:4).

You and I have been well equipped for battle. God has not left us helpless. God has not left us without proper weapons of warfare, and He has chosen us to be soldiers in His army. All we have to do is enlist!

You're In The Army Now:
Sometimes I feel sorry for God. He's Commander in Chief of an army, but have you looked at this army lately? Half of God's army doesn't even know who the enemy is. How would you like to be Commander in Chief when half your troops have their weapons pointed toward headquarters? "God, why did You do this to me? Oh, God, You made me sick. Oh, God, You wrecked my car. Oh, God, why did You do this to me?"

Or how would you like to be Commander in Chief of an army that refuses to dress properly? God tells His troops to put on his whole armor, and some of them will wear only a helmet: "Oh, we believe in salvation." Don't you know they're a sight in the spirit realm, confronting the enemy with nothing on but a helmet?

Another group says, "There's none righteous, no not one." No breastplate. "We don't believe in that faith stuff." No shield. And God has to put up with this.

I remember when I was inducted into the armed forces in 1967 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, with some other young men. Waiting for us was a man dressed like Smokey Bear who lined us up, got right in our faces and walked up and down the line screaming some of the most vulgar things I'd ever heard.

Now this was during the hippie movement, and right next to me in line was a hippie. I'll never forget him. He had on bright, green-and-white striped, bell-bottoms, hip-hugger pants with flowers sewn all over them. He had hair down to the middle of his back. He was so stoned he didn't know he was there yet. The sergeant put his nose right next to the hippie's nose and screamed, "I'm going to make a soldier out of you whether you like it or not." The hippie kind of woke up about that time and said, "Peace, brother, peace."

Farther down the line was a boy from Mississippi in bib overalls and a straw hat. Next to him was a man in a three-piece suit who looked like a banker. And there I was. I had come right out of the paint and body shop. I had short hair and had on black slacks and a yellow, pullover knit shirt. I looked down that line at all those boys they were going to make soldiers of, and I thought, "Dear God, this country is in serious trouble.

We've got a war going on and look what we've got to work with here." But you know what? In eight weeks, I didn't look, talk, act, or dress like a civilian. By the time I graduated from boot camp, I'd become a soldier and was proud to be a soldier.

Well, when I first came into the army of God, I looked down the line, and thought, "Dear God, we are in serious trouble. God thinks He'll win the world with this." But God is not moved by what He sees. God really believes this army will put death under its feet and conquer Satan in his fortresses. And, praise God, we are going to do it!

No Turning Back
But we won't do it unless we learn proper conduct on the battlefield. We can't be like the sons of Ephraim in Psalm 78. They were equipped with weapons and were skilled warriors. They had won battles before. But Verse 9 says, "Yet they turned back in the day of battle" (AMP).

That's the story of many Christians today. They turn back in the day of battle. There are some Christians who never really engage in battle. They let the devil talk them into defeat before they ever take a stand. In the heat of battle, under pressure, they drop their weapons and flee. Negative reports. Two or three upsetting phone calls. Three bills in the mail. And they want to give up.

Don't Panic:
Why do they want to give up? Because of fear. Fear is the first thing you have to deal with in battle. In Deuteronomy 20, God tells us how we are to deal with fear on the battlefield:
When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous that you, do not be afraid of them or panic for the Lord your God goes with you, to fight for you.
(vv. 1, 3-4 NAS)
God says, "Don't panic." Why? Because when you panic, you forget everything you've learned. I don't care how many meetings you've attended or how many tapes you've listened to, when you panic, you forget everything. Then you can't resist the devil with what you've learned. Don't panic, because "the Lord your God goes with you, to fight for you" (Deut. 20:4 NAS).

Do as David did when he came home to find his entire village burned to the ground and his wives and the families of his men taken captive. The Bible says he was "greatly distressed," but David, "encouraged himself in the Lord his God" (1 Sam. 30:6).

How? By remembering his covenant. "A thousand shall fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand" (Ps. 91:7); "The Lord is my shepherd" (Ps. 23:1); "The Lord is my strength and my high tower" (Ps. 18:2).

As he encouraged himself, the strength of God began to flow into him again. Instead of accepting defeat, he asked God, "Shall I pursue after this troop?" And God said, "Pursue, overtake, recover all" (1 Sam. 30:8).

My friends, these are still God's marching orders for us today. No matter how many darts are sticking in your armor, no matter how greatly distressed you are, get up and encourage yourself in the Lord. You are dressed for success in battle. Now pursue, overtake, and recover all!

Copyright © Jerry Savelle Ministries International
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Jerry Savelle
Web site: Jerry Savelle Ministries International
 
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
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