Perry Stone - Theres a Crack in Your Armor: Key Strategies to Stay Protected and Win Your Spiritual Battles

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T HERE S A C RACK IN Y OUR A RMOR by Perry Stone
Published by Charisma House
Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group
600 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
www.charismahouse.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from the Amplified Bible. Old Testament copyright 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission.

Copyright 2014 by Perry Stone
All rights reserved

Cover design by Justin Evans
Design Director: Bill Johnson

Visit the authors website at www.voe.org .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Stone, Perry F.
There's a crack in your armor / Perry Stone. -- First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-62136-248-7 (trade paper) -- ISBN: 978-1-62136-249-4 (ebook)
1. Spiritual warfare. I. Title.
BV4509.5.S8474 2014
235'.4--dc23
2013049065

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication.

Contents

T HAT PARTICULAR DAY INITIATED AN UNPLANNED AND unexpected shocking message no parent ever wants to hear. The family was a strong Christian family and members of a local church where one of my ministry board members, Gary Sears, pastors. The young son of this family was on his way to church, where he worked in the childrens ministry, and he was near the time of his high school graduation. While driving, he suddenly hit a wet spot, spinning the car out of control and colliding into a tree. The physical injuries were serious, and the young man was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The reports looked bleak and hopeless. The doctor informed the mother that her son would be brain dead. Despite what she saw and heard, this mother of faith began writing healing scriptures, posting them in his room and on the marker board. She prayed, quoted Scripture, and began decreeing that her son would not be brain dead, but he would live and return to a normal life.

After some time one of her friends who worked in the medical field came to her and said, I know you are believing and trusting for him to be healed and normal, but the reality is your son will never be the same, and if he comes through it, he will be probably be a vegetable.

Pastor Gary heard these words, and he observed her countenance and realized her faith level was dropping. That is when Gary said to the mother, I know that what has been said to you has put a crack in your armor . He then said, I will stand over you and stand in the gap of that crack in that armor until you have the strength to get your faith back! The pastor then began to pray the same prayers and confess the same promises from Scripture for which the mother was believing and confessing. Eventually the mother regained her strength to believe and sealed the crack of doubt in her shield of faith. Today the same young man has graduatednot just from high school, but also from college with a degree, and is working a job! The only evidence of his previous accident is a slight limp and a few minor things.

Have you experienced an unplanned and unexpected crack attack where the trial was so devastating that it weakened your confidence and faith? How many times during your lifetime have you ascended and stood tall on the hill of faith, believing for a good report for a nearly impossible or life-threatening situation, but then you heard a negative report resisting a good outcome or you saw a faith-killing circumstance with your eyes that dashed you from the height of believing to the abyss of despair, like a dreaded avalanche overtaking a skier on a snow-covered mountain? Suddenly you are buried under the burden of doubt and the weight of: What if it doesnt happen? What if it is not Gods will? What if I believe and get the opposite? What if my prayer doesnt get answered? The what-ifs initiate a slow process of cracking your shield of faith, allowing the small darts of doubt, fear, or unbelief to enter your heart (Eph. 6:16).

The Almighty has provided believers a special God gear a spiritual armor often identified by scholars as the armor of God (Eph. 6:1318). This battle gear equips the believer to enter a full range of combat conditions and engage the adversary, using offensive weapons to attack and numerous defensive weapons to protect oneself from various types of arrows. The success of this gear is dependent upon the believers knowledge of the weapons and insight into the numerous warfare strategies of the adversary. You must know how to defend yourself using the gear God has provided. What many believers are not aware of is that despite the strength and durability of Gods warfare gear, there are breaks, cracks, and weaknesses that can and do occasionally come, and we must know how to respond and stand with battered armor. (See chapter 7, What to Do With Your Battered Armor.) If you have been engaged in a physical, mental, or spiritual battle, this book will be your resource strategy weapon to bring victory into your situation!

I N THE N EW T ESTAMENT ERA TIME OF C HRIST AND THE APOS tles, the spiritual teachers used practical, everyday persons, places, objects, and real-life examples to help their listeners and readers understand and visualize spiritual truths and concepts. A few common examples used through the New Testament are:

Perhaps you enjoy those promises of reaping and sowing and prefer to remain in the farming scriptures. For those who like athletic activities, you can relate to the run-the-race admonition in Hebrews 12:12, because you desire to win the prize. However, if you are an active Christian, you are to be continually prepared for a surprise spiritual conflict that attacks your health, wealth, or familysimilar to the assault leveled against Job. (See Job 12.) We must all understand that this conflict is the battle of the ages, and each soul that falls in battle, wounded and unable to stand, is a victory in the kingdom of darkness.