Ephesians 6:12- 18:

     “ 12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power, against the RULERS of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

     13) Wherefore take unto you the WHOLE ARMOUR of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

     14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and  having on the breastplate of righteousness;

     15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

     16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked

     17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the  sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

     18)  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

     Notice that there’s SEVEN pieces to the armour of Christ. Each part works in connection to the next part. If one part is weak, your WHOLE armour is weak! You have enough armour to cover your front…but not your back. Why? Because to army of God is ALWAYS marching FORWARD! We have already conquered the enemy that’s behind us! No matter how hard Satan and all of hell tries to remind you of your past…NEVER FORGET, YOU HAVE CONQUERED IT! Satan and all of hell uses temptations, a.k.a. DISTRACTIONS, to get you to go back to what you have conquered! Distractions- - - play on your weakness! They allow the enemy to get you to look one way while he’s going the other way. When you lose sight of the enemy, you lose sight of any traps he might be setting! THIS IS DANGEROUS!!! Hebrews 13:2 says… “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.” Let me make a powerful statement….if you can entertain angels unaware, don’t think for a second that you can not entertain demons unaware!

     Using distractions is something known as TACTICAL WARFARE! What does this mean? Satan and all of hell is SMART when it comes against you, trying to get you to fall and eventually back-slide! Satan isn’t a dummy; he’s been in the game of getting people to leave God for centuries! He’s problem is EGO…meaning he will always be beaten because Satan thinks he’s bigger then God. THIS IS SATAN’S GREATEST WEAKNESS…AND IT WILL LEAD HIM TO THE LAKE OF FIRE. This is a key lesson to us….learn our weakness…and allow God to make us stronger! (1st Corinthians 12:9 - “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness, Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”)

     In Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 thru 11, we’re given the story of when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (the desert). Notice that verse 3 states “tempter”…which means he had come to distract Jesus. Now, the question is…WHY WASN’T THE DEVIL ABLE TO TEMPT, DISTRACT, JESUS WITH ALL THAT HE HAD TO OFFER? The answer is…. JESUS KNEW WHO HE WAS, HE WAS AWARE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS, AND HE KNEW THE MISSION HE WAS ON!

     1) KNOW WHO YOU ARE! - There’s not much that can get in your way when you know who you are. When the President sends out a person with a message…they stop representing themselves and they represent that leader! A person on a mission is someone who knows who they are!

     2) KNOW YOUR SURROUNDINGS! -  An owl has some amazing abilities in its nature. During the day, it can’t even see an inch in front of itself. But, at night, an owl’s big eyes pop open and it can see for miles around. It knows the layout of the land better then any other creature. We are much like that owl….when we walk in the light of God, we don’t need to see what’s around us. Why? Because God is taking care of it for us. However, when we reach a place of trial and hardship (walking in the night time) that’s when we need x-ray vision that spans for miles. We need to know what’s going on around us to keep from falling into the distractions of the enemy. REMEMBER….IF YOU FALL INTO THE DISTRACTION OF THE ENEMY…YOU WILL END UP FALLING INTO THE TRAP OF THE ENEMY!

     3) KNOW THE MISSION THAT YOU ARE ON! -  Why couldn’t the Devil even tempt Jesus for a second in the desert? Because Jesus was a determined man sent out on a heavenly mission. WE ARE PEOPLE ON A MISSION FOR GOD…NO MATTER WHAT OUR CALLING MAY BE!

     Notice in verse 11 of Matthew 4, after Jesus had endured the temptation, distractions, of the enemy…that angels came to minister to him. There are always ministering angels to come to us after our times of hardship. We just have to be willing to allow God to guide us past the temptations…the distractions…and lead us into HIS perfect will!

- Written By: Pastor Jermyn Vance