🔥🔥🔥 Standing in the Last Days: Persevering Through End-Time Tribulation by Putting on the Whole Armor of God

Opening Emphasis: The Seriousness of the End Times

• Pastor Burns begins by stressing that believers must understand the times and seasons.

• He references 1 Thessalonians 5 as the foundation for teaching about the return of the Lord.

• He explains that Paul was writing to believers who were concerned about loved ones who had died before Christ’s return.

• The teaching emphasizes that the return of the Lord must be taken seriously because believers do not want to miss it.

Understanding Tribulation and the Wrath of God

• Pastor Burns distinguishes between general tribulation and the final seven-year tribulation.

• He teaches that believers have always experienced tribulation through suffering, persecution, attacks on the body, attacks on the mind, and family struggles.

• He explains that the final tribulation is different because it is the wrath of God and involves the rise of the Antichrist.

• He warns that during that time people will face the mark of the beast and great difficulty buying, selling, and surviving.

• His central warning is that believers must be ready now and must not take their walk with God for granted.

The Return of the Lord Will Come Suddenly

• Pastor Burns highlights the phrase that the “day of the Lord” comes like a thief in the night.

• Believers do not know the exact timing of Christ’s return.

• God does not want believers focused on dates; He wants them prepared.

• The church must be awake, alert, and spiritually ready.

Believers Are Children of Light

• Pastor Burns teaches from 1 Thessalonians 5 that believers are not in darkness.

• Because believers are children of light and children of the day, they should not live spiritually asleep.

• He warns against spiritual laziness and casual Christianity.

• He teaches that believers must seek God for themselves instead of depending only on others laying hands on them.

The Call to Be Sober and Watchful

• Pastor Burns places special emphasis on 1 Thessalonians 5:8: “Let us, who are of the day, be sober.”

• To be sober means to be spiritually alert, watchful, and serious-minded.

• He teaches that believers must recognize the devil’s attempts to pull them away from God.

• Spiritual alertness prepares believers to respond properly when trials come.

God Sometimes Allows the Hedge to Come Down

• Pastor Burns teaches that God may allow the “hedge” of protection to come down to train, correct, or mature believers.

• When the hedge comes down, spiritual pressure increases and the believer discovers whether they are prepared.

• He warns that believers should not wait until the attack comes to start preparing.

• Preparation must happen before the battle intensifies.

The Secret to Survival: The Whole Armor of God

• Pastor Burns identifies the armor of God as the key to surviving spiritual warfare.

• He moves from 1 Thessalonians 5 to Ephesians 6:11, where Paul commands believers to put on the whole armor of God.

• The armor is not optional; it is necessary.

• Believers must know both what the armor is and how to use it.

• Partial armor is not enough; the whole armor is required.

Standing Against the Enemy

• Pastor Burns explains that the word “stand” carries the image of a soldier standing firm.

• He uses his military background to describe the importance of posture, discipline, inspection, strength, and readiness.

• Standing means maintaining a critical and strategic position until the battle is won.

• Believers must stand for their family, their calling, their assignment, and the territory God has given them.

• Once territory is taken back from the enemy, it must be maintained.

The Wiles of the Devil

• Pastor Burns explains that believers stand against the “wiles” of the devil.

• He teaches that the devil uses methods, strategies, and repeated patterns.

• The enemy does not need many roads; he often attacks through the same familiar route.

• Believers need spiritual knowledge so they can recognize how the enemy operates.

The Battlefield of the Mind

• Pastor Burns connects the devil’s “devices” to the mind.

• He teaches from 2 Corinthians 2 that believers must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices.

• The enemy works by filling the mind with confusion, exaggeration, fear, and deception.

• The mind is powerful and can wander far from the present moment.

• God deals with the spirit, but the mind and will must cooperate with God.

• Temptation often begins with thoughts; therefore, believers must guard their minds.

Practical Spiritual Weapons for Daily Life

• Pastor Burns encourages believers to anoint themselves with oil as an act of faith.

• He teaches that believers should speak healing and life over their bodies before sickness or pain becomes overwhelming.

• He encourages believers to take the Lord’s Supper personally and regularly.

• He connects communion to receiving the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice spiritually and physically.

• These practices are presented as ways to build faith before the attack comes.

Engaging God at the Prayer Altar

• Pastor Burns teaches that putting on the armor of God begins at the prayer altar.

• Believers must engage God in prayer and ask Him for help, strength, and revelation.

• He emphasizes Ephesians 1:17-19 as a scriptural prayer believers should pray personally.

• He encourages inserting one’s own name into the prayer.

• He teaches that praying this consistently for three to six months can open spiritual understanding.

The Need for Revelation and Enlightened Understanding

• Pastor Burns teaches that believers need the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.

• The eyes of understanding must be enlightened.

• Believers need to know the hope of God’s calling, the riches of His inheritance, and the greatness of His power toward those who believe.

• This revelation helps believers understand and use the armor of God properly.

Meditating on the Word of God

• Pastor Burns teaches that meditation is necessary for spiritual growth.

• He references Joshua 1:8, emphasizing that the book of the law should not depart from the believer’s mouth.

• Meditation means slowing down, chewing on the Word, speaking it, and letting it enter the heart.

• He compares meditation to carefully cleaning a chicken bone, meaning believers must draw everything they can from the Scripture.

• The Word must become rooted in the heart so that it produces obedience and faith.

The Order and Function of the Armor

• Pastor Burns explains that Paul received deeper revelation of the armor of God in Ephesians.

• The first piece mentioned is having the loins girded with truth.

• He teaches that truth is foundational because everything connects to the Word of God.

• The sword of the Spirit is the rhema, or right-now Word from God.

• The shield, armor, and other weapons all work in connection with the Word.

• The believer must meditate, pray, and speak the Word so the armor becomes active and effective.

Final Exhortation: Prepare Before the Battle

• Pastor Burns warns believers not to wait until the hedge comes down to begin praying, anointing, taking communion, or meditating on Scripture.

• Spiritual preparation must be consistent and daily.

• The believer who puts on the whole armor of God can stand against the enemy’s attacks.

• The message closes with the central call: be sober, be watchful, seek God personally, and stand firm in the armor of God.