Satan's Not in Hell Yet: Why Your Spiritual Gear Matters

You've made it to the weekend, but the spiritual battle rages on. Satan isn't confined to hell yet—he's actively roaming the earth, orchestrating attacks against your faith, family, and future. This powerful examination of Ephesians 6:10-18 unpacks the complete spiritual armor God provides for withstanding these invisible yet devastating assaults.

The spiritual conflicts you face aren't primarily against the people who hurt you. Behind those visible opponents stand spiritual forces of darkness—the real enemies orchestrating chaos and destruction in your life. Without proper spiritual protection, you're vulnerable to schemes designed to undermine your faith and effectiveness.

Each piece of God's armor serves a crucial protective function. The belt of truth demands authentic living—consistency between your Sunday self and everyday actions. The breastplate isn't your own righteousness but Christ living through you. The gospel of peace guides your steps, providing internal confirmation you're moving in God's direction. Your shield of faith activates when you trust God's Word despite circumstances, while the helmet of salvation guards your thought life—the genesis of all actions, habits, and character. Finally, Scripture itself becomes your sword—the only offensive weapon effective against spiritual darkness.

What thoughts are you allowing into your mind today? Which media influences are shaping your spiritual perspective? Remember that every action begins as a thought, and those thoughts ultimately form your life's trajectory. Which piece of armor are you neglecting? Take time now to examine your spiritual readiness and commit to fully equipping yourself for the battles ahead.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Good morning guys.
Welcome to Word Up On thisFriday morning.
You have finally made it to theend of the week and the weekend
is right around the corner.
But let me tell you the battledoes not stop here.
The battle is not over.
Just like we read in the bookof Job, where was Satan at when

(00:30):
God said, where have you been?
He said, wondering about theearth.
Satan is not in hell yet.
He's headed there, but rightnow he is walking amongst us and
he is trying to tear you down,no matter the storm that you're
facing.
God tells us here in our quiettime for today, ephesians,
chapter 6, verses 10 through 18,he tells us exactly what we

(00:54):
need to do to fight off theschemes of Satan.
That is the exact words that heuses in verse 11.
Put on the full armor of God sothat you will be able to stand
firm against the schemes of thedevil.
We often we want to be able todefeat Satan.

(01:16):
We don't want to go throughhard times.
We don't want the punishmentthat's coming and the chaos in
our lives.
We don't want to deal with thedestruction of our families, the
heartache of our kids, butwe're not willing to do what it
takes to put on the armor of God.
Every single day, we wake upand we tell everybody have a

(01:39):
good day.
This is what God's telling us.
He's saying have a good day,but in order to have a good day,
this is what God's telling us.
He's saying have a good day,but in order to have a good day,
you're going to have to put onthe armor that I've given you.
See, no matter what we face, weoften see the people that we're
going up against.

(02:00):
We see the person that talkeddown on us.
We see the person that gossipedabout us.
We see the person that led usastray, that put us in a bad
place in life.
But what God's Word says is forour struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against therulers, against the powers,

(02:20):
against the world forces of thisdarkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in theheavenly places.
Therefore, take up the fullarmor of God so that you will be
able to resist on the evil day.
The people that you see arereal.
The problems are real, butthey're not the root problem.

(02:42):
The root problem is Satan iswalking around on this earth and
he will use anybody anywhere,anytime, to destroy the walk
that God has called you to.
So what must we do when we talkabout?
We've got to do the basics.

(03:03):
We've got to have a quiet time.
We've got to have fellowshipwith God.
We've got to have a truerelationship.
We've got to know who God is.
That's what this passage istalking about.
If we're not doing this everysingle day, we're leaving off
part of the armor that protectsus from Satan.

(03:24):
So you look at verse 14, to havebelted your waist with truth.
That's to live in authenticitybefore God.
Satan is a liar.
He can't function in a life ofintegrity.
Are you living your lifeauthentic to God's Word?
Or are you one person at churchon Sunday and a different

(03:46):
person on Monday morning?
Are you one person wheneveryou're before your parents and
your pastor and a differentperson when you're in a circle
of your friends in the lockerroom?
Are you living an authenticlife for the Lord?
Our righteousness is not our own.

(04:07):
God gave you when you acceptedChrist.
He began working to build therighteousness in you.
It is the power of Christliving through you that is the
breastplate of righteousness.
If you have truly surrenderedyour life to God, it is no
longer you who lives, but Christwho lives in you.

(04:29):
That is where yourrighteousness comes from.
What about the preparation ofthe gospel of peace?
That refers to the peace of God, that confirms we're moving in
the right direction.
Guys, when I'm doing things,when I'm making decisions, when
I'm going places, do you havepeace?

(04:50):
If you've got no peace in yourlife, you can rest assured that
you are not walking in thedirection that God wants you to
do.
God is not an author ofconfusion.
When God puts something on yourheart, he gives you peace in
what you're doing.
God is not going to lead you todo something and then make you

(05:12):
feel bad about it.
If you are walking in the stepsthat God has given you, you
will have peace.
Having your feet sandaled withthe preparation of the gospel of
peace, verse 16,.
What is the faith that he'stalking about?
It's acting like God's tellingthe truth, just like we talked
about yesterday and Wednesdaynight with Job.

(05:36):
Job knew that God was a goodGod.
It didn't matter that badthings were happening.
He had faith in God's Word.
He knew that God's Word wastrue.
And he was walking and he wasacting and he was falling on his
face and he was praising in thedark times because he believed

(05:57):
that what God said was true.
Have you spent time in God'sWord and do you truly believe
what you've read, or is it justa motion that you go through?
Are you just going through themotions of being a Christian or
do you truly believe?

(06:18):
Are you acting out the factthat you believe that God's
telling you the truth?
Are you being obedient to God'sWord?
Whatever temptations the devilthrows at you, you can overcome
it if you are believing in God'sWord and acting on it.
What about the helmet ofsalvation?

(06:39):
We've got to protect our minds,guys.
Wearing the helmet of salvationmeans that we're making
decisions based on God's Word.
We are thinking about God'sthoughts.
We are acting.
I read a quote one time thatsays an action starts as a

(06:59):
thought.
We have a thought first.
That thought becomes an action.
An action becomes a habit, thehabit becomes our character and
our character becomes our life.
The life that you are livingstarted as a thought.
What is it that you're allowinginto your mind?
Are you listening to filthymusic?

(07:20):
Are you watching filthy YouTubevideos?
Are you watching dirty TikToks?
And I'm not just talking aboutpornography or cussing music I'm
talking about.
Are you allowing evil into yourmind?
Is that gossip?
Is it making fun of people?

(07:40):
Is it just stupid videos thatare not helping prepare me for
the walk that God's called me to?
You have got to put on thehelmet of salvation.
You have got to have godlythoughts in your mind.
You've got to be puttingeverything that God has you, put

(08:02):
up a wall against this worldand just allow those godly
thoughts to take over your mindand then last the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God, the only weapon that we have
against this spiritual darkness,this true battle that we face

(08:24):
against the rulers and thepowers of darkness.
The only thing that you havethat can fight your battles is
the Word of God.
You will never know the rightanswer, You'll never know the
right step to take, you'll neverknow how to handle the
situation without creating morechaos if we're not in God's Word

(08:45):
and we're not allowing Him tolead and guide every decision
that we make.
I want you to truly get intothe Word.
Look at this passage, go in, doyour quiet time and look at
each piece of the armor.
What does that look like inyour life?
What is it that you've got todo different?

(09:07):
What part of the armor.
Are you leaving off?
Are you putting on the armorevery single day?