Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in CA calls on Christians to armor up spiritually as they approach the new year. In his final message of 2024, Hibbs encouraged his congregation not to be “unwise” but to understand and embrace the will of God in their daily lives.
Drawing from Ephesians 6, where Paul urges followers of Jesus to “put on the full armor of God,” Hibbs emphasized that this practice is essential for standing firm against spiritual battles.
“Every day with Jesus is going to be one of, ‘Let's armor up,’” he emphasized. “So we’ve got to wake up first, and then the next thing we do after our big toe hits the ground is we armor up. We put on the armor of God. Christians, listen carefully, you can't go outside without the armor of God.”
Hibbs reminded the congregation that the challenges faced by believers are spiritual warfare rather than mere earthly struggles, emphasizing the importance of prayer, Scripture reading, and vigilance.
He stated, “We are in a war,” stressing that “the enemy doesn't mind us going to church; what he's upset about is when the church gets hot for Jesus and hot for the Word of God, then the enemy gets all bent out of shape.”
“If you are naked, you should be afraid—very, very afraid—but how much more so for the Christian?” he asked. “Do not enter the new year without your spiritual armament; you will be exposed, and that’s why you're afraid.”
Hibbs emphasized that spiritual preparedness goes beyond church attendance; it involves actively engaging with God’s Word and living out one's faith daily, highlighting that prayer is essential for maintaining spiritual armor.
“Everybody prays when something's wrong,” he said. “Even the atheist will pray when something's wrong. The problem is no one's listening, but for us as believers, pray! That's part of being armored up.”
Highlighting the armor of God in Ephesians 6, he explained how each component—the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, and the belt of truth—protects believers from the “wiles” of the devil and spiritual forces of evil.
Hibbs concluded his message by quoting John 14:31, stating, “But that the world may know that I love the Father and as the Father gave me commandment, so I do you. Arise and let us go from here.”
“That is our marching orders for this year. Every day, arise, let us go from here because God's Will and plan is for us to be ahead every day, amen? And none of us want to miss that, in Jesus' name.”
