Before each duty shift, when I worked as a patrol officer, I was required to dress according to department regulations. We called it “gearing up.” My uniform, my badge, and each piece of duty equipment, like my weapon, ammunition, handcuffs, and baton, had to meet department standards so that when the duty Sergeant called us to attention at a pre-duty formation of review, when we passed inspection, we would be cleared for duty. How we dressed and equipped ourselves had a purpose. 

As believers, we have a similar duty inspection of our hearts that is the first line of preparation that is part of our inspection process that will clear us to engage in Kingdom ministry.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14). These verses reveal the condition of our hearts, the first element of our preparation for Kingdom duty. If we don’t prepare our hearts, we will not be ready to go out into the world to reveal the heart of God.

Once we have prepared our hearts, we are only partially ready for spiritual battle. There is something else. We can have a spit-shined faith, but still not be ready to leave the station and engage in the spiritual conflicts that will come once we leave the briefing room.

When we leave the Church building and walk out among the people of our community, we will engage the gift of discernment, defining truth from error. This is the place where a spiritual battle occurs. This is a gritty, hands-on expression of our faith where we fight spiritual battles, engaging dark spirits that hold people captive to deception.

^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6: 10-12).

If we are not properly trained and equipped for the spiritual conflicts that will occur when we engage “the spirits of this dark world”, we will fail to fully perform our duty.  We will be as ineffective as a cop with a hard heart leaving the station without a weapon, ill-prepared to protect and serve their community, and the nation. Our preparation is a mix of heart preparation and the ability to employ the weapons of spiritual warfare. That is the expression of a fully prepared believer.

Our faith is not just a static expression of faith that lines up each Sunday morning for inspection. We must also be fully equipped having been prepared by the 5-fold gifts of Ephesians 4, ready to engage hell in the marketplace of life. This is where the power of our faith will be used by God to release a cultural reformation that will draw all people to Himself. To live as a fully prepared and inspected believer will make us ready to confront the lies of hell that have been orchestrated by dark spiritual forces in high places whose mission it is to lead people astray.