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Word UP with Webb
Daily Devotion for Teens and Students
Word UP with Webb
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.
Good morning guys. Welcome to Word Up On this Friday morning. You have finally made it to the end of the week and the weekend is right around the corner. But let me tell you the battle does not stop here. The battle is not over. Just like we read in the book of Job, where was Satan at when God said, where have you been? He said, wondering about the earth. Satan is not in hell yet. He's headed there, but right now he is walking amongst us and he is trying to tear you down, no matter the storm that you're facing.
Speaker 1:God tells us here in our quiet time for today, ephesians, chapter 6, verses 10 through 18, he tells us exactly what we need to do to fight off the schemes of Satan. That is the exact words that he uses in verse 11. Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. We often we want to be able to defeat Satan. We don't want to go through hard times. We don't want the punishment that's coming and the chaos in our lives. We don't want to deal with the destruction of our families, the heartache of our kids, but we're not willing to do what it takes to put on the armor of God. Every single day, we wake up and we tell everybody 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, 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 on the armor that I've given you.
Speaker 1:See, no matter what we face, we often see the people that we're going up against. We see the person that talked down on us. We see the person that gossiped about us. We see the person that led us astray, that put us in a bad place in life. But what God's Word says is for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist on the evil day. The people that you see are real. The problems are real, but they're not the root problem. The root problem is Satan is walking around on this earth and he will use anybody anywhere, anytime, to destroy the walk that God has called you to.
Speaker 1:So what must we do when we talk about? We've got to do the basics. We've got to have a quiet time. We've got to have fellowship with God. We've got to have a true relationship. We've got to know who God is. That's what this passage is talking about. If we're not doing this every single day, we're leaving off part of the armor that protects us from Satan.
Speaker 1:So you look at verse 14, to have belted your waist with truth. That's to live in authenticity before God. Satan is a liar. He can't function in a life of integrity. Are you living your life authentic to God's Word? Or are you one person at church on Sunday and a different person on Monday morning? Are you one person whenever you're before your parents and your pastor and a different person when you're in a circle of your friends in the locker room? Are you living an authentic life for the Lord?
Speaker 1:Our righteousness is not our own. God gave you when you accepted Christ. He began working to build the righteousness in you. It is the power of Christ living through you that is the breastplate of righteousness. If you have truly surrendered your life to God, it is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you. That is where your righteousness comes from.
Speaker 1:What about the preparation of the 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 have peace? If you've got no peace in your life, you can rest assured that you are not walking in the direction that God wants you to do. God is not an author of confusion. When God puts something on your heart, he gives you peace in what you're doing. God is not going to lead you to do something and then make you feel bad about it. If you are walking in the steps that God has given you, you will have peace. Having your feet sandaled with the preparation of the gospel of peace, verse 16,.
Speaker 1:What is the faith that he's talking about? It's acting like God's telling the truth, just like we talked about yesterday and Wednesday night with Job. Job knew that God was a good God. It didn't matter that bad things were happening. He had faith in God's Word. He knew that God's Word was true. And he was walking and he was acting and he was falling on his face and he was praising in the dark times because he believed that what God said was true. Have you spent time in God's Word and do you truly believe what you've read, or is it just a motion that you go through? Are you just going through the motions of being a Christian or do you truly believe? Are you acting out the fact that you believe that God's telling you the truth? Are you being obedient to God's Word? Whatever temptations the devil throws at you, you can overcome it if you are believing in God's Word and acting on it.
Speaker 1:What about the helmet of salvation? We've got to protect our minds, guys. Wearing the helmet of salvation means that we're making decisions based on God's Word. We are thinking about God's thoughts. We are acting. I read a quote one time that says an action starts as a thought. We have a thought first. That thought becomes an action. An action becomes a habit, the habit becomes our character and our character becomes our life. The life that you are living started as a thought.
Speaker 1:What is it that you're allowing into your mind? Are you listening to filthy music? Are you watching filthy YouTube videos? Are you watching dirty TikToks? And I'm not just talking about pornography or cussing music I'm talking about. Are you allowing evil into your mind? Is that gossip? Is it making fun of people? Is it just stupid videos that are not helping prepare me for the walk that God's called me to?
Speaker 1:You have got to put on the helmet of salvation.
Speaker 1:You have got to have godly thoughts in your mind.
Speaker 1:You've got to be putting everything that God has you, put up a wall against this world and just allow those godly thoughts to take over your mind and 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 against the rulers and the powers of darkness. The only thing that you have that can fight your battles is the Word of God. You will never know the right answer, You'll never know the right step to take, you'll never know how to handle the situation without creating more chaos if we're not in God's Word and we're not allowing Him to lead and guide every decision that we make. I want you to truly get into the Word. Look at this passage, go in, do your quiet time and look at each piece of the armor. What does that look like in your life? What is it that you've got to do different? What part of the armor. Are you leaving off? Are you putting on the armor every single day?