To stand strong in the Lord's mighty power against the devil's schemes, God has provided us a wardrobe... let's put it on.

In Ephesians 10-20 Paul writes about how a Christian should be dress to stand against evil by putting on the armor of God.  Paul probably wasn't trying to start a new fashion craze here.  He was speaking of the common articles worn or carried by a soldier of that time and illustrating the spritual equivilant to be worn by Christians.

In verse 10 Paul writes "...be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power." We don't have to have mighty power, God has plenty.  We just have to use the tools God has given us and He'll supply the power.

Verse 11 says "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."  Until revelation comes to pass, the devil isn't going anywhere.  He is here and so are we, so we better learn how to deal with him.  Paul's choice of words in saying that we are to "Put on" the armor of God tells us that this is something we must actively do.  He doesn't tell us to walk out the door and we will automatically be covered in the armor, he tells us to put it on.

Verses 12 and 13 tell us that this isn't a struggle of flesh against flesh.  This is a supernatural battle against evil and we're going to need a different kind of armor for that.

Let's look at What the armor of God consists of:

-The belt of truth, buckled around your waist
-The breastplate of righteousness in place
-The shoes of readiness that comes from the gospel of peace
-The shield of faith, with which you can extinquish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
-the helmet of salvation
-the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Belt of truth.  At the time this was written, soldiers wore something that looked like a bed sheet or dress.  They carried their gear around their waste, similar to the way a modern police officer does.  The belt held everything together.  Without the belt it would all fall apart and they wouldn't get very far.  Likewise, without the truth it will all fall apart and we won't get very far.  God has given us the truth.  We just have to stick to it and never waiver or believe the lies of the enemy.

Breastplate of righteousness.  The breastplate would be the modern equivalent of the kevlar vest, it protects the vital organs such as the heart and lungs.  To protect our heart from the lies of the enemy, we need the breastplate of righteousness.  We are made righteous and justified by the blood of Jesus. (Romans 5:9 ) That is a done deal and Satan can't take it away -- his only hope is to deceive you into not beleiving that truth.  He wants to remind you of your past and of what you are not.  But with the breastplate of righteousness you must confess what you are in Christ, that you are justified and made righteous.

Shoes of readiness. 
The NIV uses the wording "...with your feet fitted..." while the KJVR says "...with your feet shod with..."  Either way it's pretty clear that we're talking about footwear, call them shoes, boots, or whatever.  It could be that Paul was imaging an ancient sandal with a firm base or foundation.  Perhaps he was referring to more of a battle boot that protected and supported the ankle.  He may have been referring to the practice of having cleat-like spikes on the bottom to dig in and keep a soldier strongly planted on the ground.  Any way you look at it, the point of this piece of armor is to give a firm foundation.  This is exactly what the readiness that comes from the gospel is all about.  It is the foundation upon which the soldier stands.

Shield of Faith.  Notice here it says to 'take up' the shield of faith, not just have it or let it dangle at your side, but take it up.  We must be active with our faith, and keep our shield of faith up and ready at all times to extinquish the flaming arrows the devil will throw at us -- and he WILL indeed be throwing them.  He might be trowing flaming darts of thoughts telling you that being a Christian is silly, spreading the word is a waste of time because noboby is listening, reminding you what your flesh wants and how you can have it if you'll just stop following Christ even for a little while.  But, with your shield of faith raised up those darts won't be able to get through to you, they'll be stopped and extinquished before they can take root and start a real fire in your spirit.  It is through faith that we receive salvation (Ephesians 2:8 ), and only through faith that we can walk in victory.

The helmet of salvation.  The helmet protects the head, a vital part of the body.  In this case I beleive we're talking about keeping the mind focused on the victory.  A regular soldier going off to war doesn't know the outcome.  But the Christian soldier does know the outcome - Jesus defeated satan and by the Grace of God through faith we can receive the gift of salvation.  When satan plants doubts in your head about who you are and what your future holds you just tell him confidently that you are a joint heir (Romans 8:17 ) with Christ to the kingdom of God and that you will not let him rob you of your inheritance in eternity or of your joy in this life. (John 10:10 )

The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  In Matthew 4 Jesus repeatedly used the sword of the Spirit against the devil who was trying to tempt Him.  He didn't have to think about it or even consider the temptation, He knew what was written in the Bible and immediately spoke it.  Likewise, we need to know what's in the Bible so that when Satan tries to tempt us down the wrong road we will immediately know it is against the word and the will of God.  We can also use this as an offensive weapon, not just in response to an attack.  The Bible is God's instruction book for life.  It tells us what to do, how to act, what to say, and so on.  If we will speak the truth of the bible into our lives we can avoid some of the detours Satan has laid out ahead and stay on track.

The title of this message is "Get Dressed" but you also need to stay dressed because you don't know when the attack will come, and you may not even recognize it when it does come.  There may also be times that you are a Christian soldier participating in a war of good and evil over someone else and never even know it.  Suppose you are in front of a skeptic and without your shield of faith?  Maybe you even speak some negative things that you know are contrary to what God has said in His word.  If good and evil are fighting over this skeptic, which side have you just aided?   Keep your armor on and actively use it at all times.