The breastplate of faith, love and the helmet of the hope of salvation

Good day to you, dear friends! I bless you on this day and pray that you receive a renewing touch from the Lord!

Yesterday we started discussing three types of weapons that the Lord has given us for victory in these last days. Today we are going to look at them in more detail.

“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians, 5: 8)

The breastplate of faith, love and the helmet of the hope of salvation – these are extremely valuable forces that can help us in these last days. That is why our efforts should be directed towards building up faith, walking in love and having hope of salvation. How can we build and cultivate faith, hope and love in our lives? It becomes possible as we feed on the right food, which is the Word of God, and as we practise the Word.

It says in the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians that these three types of spiritual weapons (faith, hope and love) remain, that is to say, they abide through all the trials, persecutions, tribulations, hatred, personal ambition, offenses, treachery, rumours, deceit etc.

 «And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love» (1 Corinthians, 13: 13).

Yes, love is the greatest of the three, but all of them are important for walking in victory in these last days. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

«But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him» (Hebrews, 11: 6).

Hope is steadfast expectation of the future; without hope our faith lacks its foundation. That is why the Bible says that

 «faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen» (Hebrews, 11: 1).

By faith our expectations and hopes come true. Without hope, faith has nothing to work with.

Also faith does not work without love; it says that

«for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love» (Galatians, 5:6).

So God is calling every one of us to strengthen our faith, to feed our hope and to perfect our love walk; for our ability to enjoy God depends on these things, and through them we are able to gain victory in these end-time battles.

We will discuss this in more detail tomorrow.

Abundant blessing to you from the Lord!

Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

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