In Your Presence: Elevation Worship
Your love is everlasting
Your kindness never ends
God You never leave me
Your presence goes before us
Your glory has no end
God You never leave me
You will be our guide
To the end, to the end
The Lord is with me
He will not forsake me
In Ephesians 6 it talks about putting on the full armor of God.
As Followers of Christ, we need to clothe ourselves in the armor of his word, grace, and wisdom. Romans 13 talks about putting on the armor of light, so that we might cast off the works of the darkness.
The armor of God is not something you can wear physically, but spiritually and mentally. We need to abandoned the desire of our flesh and go after the desire to be more like God. When we begin to understand the smallest fraction of how DEAD we are in Sin, our realization that we need a Savior…becomes HUGE. Many people have written and spoken on the Armor of God
Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
We do not wrestle against our own flesh and blood, but against “temptation” and the consequences of the choice we made a long time ago to want to BE GOD, instead of wanting be LIKE GOD by being a follower of Him.
James 1:14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it as conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, stand firm.
– Fasten the Belt of Truth
The belt of truth allows us to always be prepared for anything. It’s like having a suitcase prepared for immediate travel. In the scriptures when we hear about Christ telling his followers to……go pack a quick lunch, maybe some socks because it could be cold later. NO! He says, “Come, and follow me.” The belt of truth is about being true to who you are in Christ. Be true to who is guiding you to become. Because that person, is the person who will follow Christ without having to pack a bag.
Be prepared always, as if you were waiting for your master to come home. Be ready to open the door when he arrives. We need to prepare our minds for action, and set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 1:13
– Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate protects our heart from not only things we may long for but for things that may long for us. There is a never-ending amount of things in this world that could pull us into temptation, so we have to put on this breastplate of righteousness by continually having that alone time with Christ. Whether it’s digging deeper into His word or simple having that time to listen and feel His presence.
1 Thessalonians 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love.
– Shoes of Readiness
Shoes of Readiness allows us to go among the nations and preach the word of God. We are not meant to make a decision to follow Christ and then just sit and do nothing. You can make a difference right where you are, your city, town neighborhood, HOME. Having shoes of readiness is being ready to act when God opens a door for us to spread His light, but we also have them so we can be ready to FLEE from temptation. Temptation is not something we need to stick around to see what happens, it’s something we need to drop what we’re doing and not WALK but RUN. I once heard a fantastic speaker say, “If you want to be hidden, BE SEEN, and if you want to be seen, BE HIDDEN.” Those words have stuck with me to this day because I believe them. We can’t fight against temptation by ourselves, it would be like fighting this ninja in hand to hand combat, you odds are not looking good. That is why we turn, RUN, and don’t look back. We dig into the word, dig into accountability, dig into putting our full armor of God on.
Romans 10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
2 Timothy 2:22-24 Run from temptations that capture young people. Always do the right thing. Be faithful, loving, and easy to get along with. Worship with people whose hearts are pure. 23 Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only lead to trouble, and God’s servants must not be troublemakers. They must be kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient.
– Gospel of Peace
The foundation of our faith needs to be built on the gospel of peace. This is shown through our actions, if we show love, show forgiveness, people are going to see that. The world is full of anger, stress, guilt, lust and hate. We need to allow God’s amazing grace to shine through us because when people hear the gospel and hear that they are loved beyond any possible comparison…that gives them an incredible amount of peace.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you-unless you believed in vain.
– Shield of Faith
The shield of faith. When life is just bearing down on you [or you are being overwhelmed by temptation] and you feel as though your going to be crushed by the weight of it…it’s in these moments that we need to lean on our faith the most. In those dark moments, Christ can turn the situation around and shine bright. Our faith protects us.
1 John 5:4-5 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
– Helmet of Salvation
What you put in your mind, goes to your heart, and comes our in your actions. Because of this we need to guard against what we put in out heads. What we listen to, what we watch, whom we hang out with. We may not think things like this could influence us this much, but it greatly does. Guard your heart, your mind, and your soul.
– Sword of the Spirit
The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. It helps us be bold in our walk with Christ. Proclaiming to the world that we are DEAD in sin, but can be ALIVE in Christ through his death and resurrection.
Ephesians 6:17 ….And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Isaiah 61:10-11 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
“Lord,
Empty me of me so,
I can be filled with you.
Lord, empty me of the
selfishness inside.
Every vain ambition and the
poison of my pride.
And any foolishness my heart holds.
Lord,
Empty me of me…
So I can be filled with you.”
– Unknown Author
– Anna Beth: Under The Surface
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