One of the things that is very encouraging about Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church is the willingness of church members to get involved in whatever ways they have talent.
Jeannette spoke for the first time on Sunday evening; her topic was ‘the armour of God’. We were reminded that we are in a real battle with a real enemy, but our God is mighty and has given us weapons and armour to protect us. Because Jesus is triumphant, we can stand.
As we considered each item of armour, we looked at:
1) the need for truth in our lives (the ‘belt of truth’) and how we need to be honest with ourselves, with others and with God
2) the need to have integrity running right through us, with righteousness being a part of us so that we bear the stamp of Jesus
3) how we need faith even to clothe ourselves with the armour and how the shields of old were soaked in water to put out the flaming arrows of the enemy. Similarly, we need faith if we are to withstand the enemy’s insidious attacks, which often come through fear, bitterness, division and persecution.
4) the need for our salvation to be as visible as a helmet – how easy do we find it to share the gospel with others?
5) using the Word of God as our sword (as Jesus did in the wilderness)
6) the importance of prayer and how prayer changes things, especially when we learn to pray for our enemies and for all the saints
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. ” (Eph 6:18) And so we concluded the meeting by doing just that!