Verse by verse through Ephesians (6:14-6:15)

And post Number 1000! Yaaay!!!!

Ephesians 6:14-15

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace

Last time we looked at standing against the devil. That Pilgrim, in Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, was not given any armor for his back—it was assumed that when Apollyon opposed him that he would not fear, but rather stand and fight. This is the same sentiment Paul encourages us with. Why should we be afraid of Satan? Of course we should always be mindful of him, and be vigilant against him. But fear him? For what reason? What can Satan do to us? What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us…Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:31, 33-34). Satan can huff and puff and beat his chest all he likes. He can come against us with manifold temptations. He can play upon our fears and doubts. But he cannot make us do anything. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1st Corinthians 10:13).

We also saw that the armor we are to take, we are to take all of it. Not just a couple pieces. We are not to walk out the door unprepared for battle. For Satan never does. When he attacks, he has a specific plan. In verse 11, Paul calls these plans μεθοδεια (methodeia). Methods, precise schedules, battle plans. He knows how he is going to attack you. You don’t. Now, do you still think you can face him? Or will you flee when you see him?

In these verses we will be looking at today, we will see what the pieces of armor protect us from. That each one of them is specific against specific attacks. Keeping in mind that these words did not just spring up from Paul’s imagination, but were given to him by the Holy Spirit, we can know that there is a purpose for each piece listed, and a reason they are ordered as they are. God does not do anything or say anything the way He does without having a reason. Consider how He lists the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). First, love. Then upon love is built joy. Then upon love and joy is built peace. Then on love, joy and peace is built patience. Love, joy, peace and patience are the foundation for gentleness. And so on. Each attribute of the fruit of the Spirit is based on those qualities that came before. and in much the same way, each piece of armor listed here is given in a certain order, based on the first things building up the later things.

We’re not going to feel like we have won every battle. But if we remember that we are not the ones who do the fighting—it is God who fights for us—if we remember this, we will indeed overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). After all, look back at verse 10. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Nowhere in Scripture are we ever taught to go it alone. Never are we encouraged to go into battle against Satan using our own skills and weapons. Rather, the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God… (2nd Corinthians 10:4). And the armor we are to wear is God’s—this is why we are commanded to put on Christ (Romans 13:14; Galatians 3:27).

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth… Uh-oh. We’re in trouble before we even start. According to some, we can't know the truth. We cannot be sure of anything—except our doubts. Their idea of faith is to question everything. They are puffed up in themselves with this grandiose idea that they are so much smarter than we are because they have figured out that no one can know the truth. So, they have lost the battle before it has even begun. Because they are calling Jesus a liar. These people who claim to love Him so much that they would never dare to say they can know the truth—are indeed blaspheming Him by saying He lied to us. Yes, you read that correctly. They are blaspheming our Lord every time they say we cannot know the truth.

John 8:31-31—31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 14:6—“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 17:17—“Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth.”

Jesus tells us that we shall know the truth. And what is the truth? Or, rather, who is the truth? He is the truth. Now, when Jesus said, “You shall know the truth,” do you really think that He was just kinda giving us a pep talk, that He didn’t really mean that we would know the truth? Or do you think He was being honest, and that if we truly believe, that yes, we will know the truth? Or are you smarter than Jesus? Do you know what He meant better than He did?

So, what does he mean by gird your waist with truth? The phrase is in the middle voice, meaning it is something we do to ourselves. This requires action on our part. It is something that someone else cannot do for us. We must be the one who girds our own waist with the truth. How do we wear that “belt of truth?” For one thing, it goes all around you, and is fitted tightly to you. So for starters, we are to surround ourselves with truth. I’m sure you’ve heard the illustration about Treasury agents, and how they are trained to spot counterfeit bills. They do not spend their time studying what fake money looks like. Rather, they study real bills. And if they are intensely familiar with what a real bill looks like, it makes it that much easier to spot a fake. That is an illustration of our own need to be intensely familiar with the truth of Scripture so that when we see some phony baloney on TV preaching a bunch of mushed-up gobbledy-gook, it will be readily apparent to us. Someone once asked me “What’s the best way to spot a false teacher.” The answer: surround yourself with the truth. Then the lies will be obvious.

That is not to say we shouldn’t be aware of the enemy’s tactics and lies. Of course we should make ourselves as ready as possible for the time when the enemy will come against us, twisting the Scriptures and making them say something they're really not saying. This is why I am so determined to show the truth about the LDS church, and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and the Roman Catholic Church. So that when you hear their lies, you will know the truth, and you can run from the lies.

Another thing about a belt is you wear it tightly to your body. The belt of a Roman soldier was designed to fit tightly around his waist in order to hold the other parts together. Without it, everything else would be useless. Much like our own lives. Without the truth—if we are not walking in truth—we are useless. So what does the enemy like to do? The first and clearest distinction of a false religion is to cast doubt on the word of God. To say that it is not reliable. That it has been corrupted, or that you need some guy in a funny collar to tell you what it means. Why do we have the Qur'an? Because “an angel told Mohammed” that the Bible had been corrupted. Why did we get the Book of Mormon? Because “an angel told Joseph Smith” that the Bible had been corrupted. Why do we have the New World Translation? Because the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society declared that the Bible had been corrupted and mistranslated. Why has the Roman Catholic Church steered so far away from the truth of God’s word? Because you can't know the truth unless Il Popa tells you what it means—and if you don’t believe him, then you are anathema.

What do all these groups have in common? They all tell us that we cannot know the truth unless we hear it from them. That we cannot believe Jesus when He said that we shall know the truth. That Jesus didn’t really mean what He said. Hmmm. That sounds familiar. Who was it that once asked the question, “Hath God indeed said?” (Genesis 3:1). Find the truth in God’s word. Hold fast to it. Bind it close to you that you may be fitted snugly with it, and you may spot the lies when they come along.

…having put on the breastplate of righteousness… Again, put on Christ. Christ is our righteousness. Our own righteousnesses, what do they count for? Filthy rags. If you are familiar with that quote from Isaiah 64:6, you know what the prophet meant. But if you are new to that passage, let me shed light on it. When Isaiah calls our righteousnesses “filthy rags,” he isn't comparing them to those old, tattered t-shirts you use to dust your coffee table. He’s talking about the cloths women would use during their “period of uncleanness.” Today, he would have called them “tampons.” Yes, in God’s eyes, all the things we do to make ourselves righteous are nothing but used tampons. Now just how good are you? All the good deeds you have done, trying to get brownie points, trying to balance out the scales so you have more “good deeds” than “bad deeds” and all you have been doing is soiling a bunch of tampons. Sorry if that makes you sick or disgusted—but God is sick and disgusted by all of our efforts at making ourselves clean by our own works.

So, what is the righteousness we are to “put on” as a breastplate? The righteousness of Christ, of course. After all, have we not become the righteousness of God in Him? That’s what Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 5:21—For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We are here exhorted to put on the righteousness of Christ to cover our hearts. After all, that is where our words come from . For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is (Proverbs 23:7). Therefore, whatever we allow to enter into our hearts comes out through our words, and we are defiled (Matthew 15:18-19), and we curse man who is made in the similitude of God (James 3:9). So, what does putting on the breastplate of righteousness protect? What does the Bible mean when it talks about a man’s heart? Mostly, our emotions, motives, and desires.

When we allow our emotions to dictate our actions, we are goners. Because our emotions are based in our feelings. And when it comes to discerning truth, and the proper way to act, feelings are not the proper barometer to use.
Jeremiah 17:9—The heart is desperately wicked, and deceitful above all things. Who can know it?
Ecclesiastes 9:3—the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live…
Genesis 8:21—the intentions of a man’s heart is evil from his youth.

So, still relying on your heart to lead your mind? Beware. Because your flesh will go where your heart wants it to go. But if you are following Christ, and allowing your emotions to come under His control, then He will do the leading, rather than your emotions.

What about our motives? Are they pure? Are we doing things in order to be seen by men and get their approval, and their praise? Or are we doing our alms in secret, so our Father in Heaven can reward us openly? If we give a bunch of money to a hospital to build a new cancer wing, do we demand that they put our name on the outside? Consider these words of our Lord in Matthew 6:1-5—“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full…When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full…Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Notice a pattern there? Doing the right thing with the wrong motive. Because their hearts were far from God.

Then there’s the matter of our desires. Do we desire the things of earth, or the things of God? If our heart is set on things of the earth, then we will store up things on earth. And if our hearts are set on riches, will we ever be satisfied? No. Because once we obtain those riches, we will only want more riches. Ecclesiastes 5:11—He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.

Then the day will come when our souls are required of us, and we will stand naked before our Judge, and be told to “Depart!” Instead, may our hearts be set on things above (Colossians 3:2). Let us store up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:20). Let our hearts not be filled with covetousness, for covetousness will exclude us from the kingdom of God (Luke 12:15).

Finally, let’s look at having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Would a soldier go into battle wearing sneakers? No. He would have his best boots on, so that he could stand firm and march as long as he was required. One thing to note about the shoes of a Roman soldier: They had thick layers of leather on the bottom, with cleats coming out of them. Why the thick layers of leather? The reason for that was, a lot of times, the country being invaded would take all kinds of sharp objects like pieces of metal, or bones, or broken pottery. And they would lay them out on the ground and cover them with soft dirt. So when the enemy came marching along, if they didn’t have good footwear, those pieces of steel, or glass, would go right up into their feet, and they would be crippled.

Kinda like the way Satan operates. He’ll try to lay a trap out there for you. He’s getting the battlefield ready the way HE wants it. Oh, I’m sorry. Were you under the impression that Satan fights fair? That he has some kind of code of honor he is duty-bound to follow? No, friend. Satan does not play fair. He will tempt you and lie to you and try to make you think that he is your friend. Don’t believe me? Ask Eve. What was his answer when she told them that they would die if they ate of the tree of knowledge? “Thou shalt not surely die!” (Genesis 3:4). Or perhaps you have forgotten what Jesus had to say about our accuser: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (Matthew 8:44).

So we shod our feet properly. But what is this preparation of the gospel of peace? It is quite a cumbersome statement. The word “preparation” is translated from έτοιμασια (hetoimasia). It comes from the word έτοιμαζω (hetoimazo). This word literally means “to make the necessary preparations, get everything ready.” Of course we know that the gospel of peace is the good news that God came to us, wrapped Himself in flesh (John 1:14), gave His life as a ransom for our sins (Matthew 20:28), thus reconciling us to God (Colossians 1:20) while we were far off (Ephesians 2:12-14) and enemies of God (Colossians 1:21; Romans 5:10). So, what Paul is telling us here is this: We are to bind the gospel of peace to our feet, so that no matter where we go, no matter what snares and traps Satan has laid out for us, we will be prepared to walk through that minefield, confident that no matter what weapons Satan throws at us, no matter what kind of booby traps he readies, we will walk through that valley of the shadow of death and come out on the other side a stronger soldier of Christ than when we first entered.

Secure everything with the truth. Let the truth be the one thing that binds everything else together. Let the righteousness of Christ, and the will of God, be that breastplate that defends your emotions, motives, and desires from being influenced by that evil one. And let your walk be shielded from the snares of the enemy by walking confidently upon the fact that you are prepared for any opposition from Apollyon because you know and believe the gospel, thus putting you at peace with God.

Permalink: The Armor of GOD

All the posts about the "armor of GOD" (Ephesians 6:10-17) are collected in a permalink on the sidebar.

Part 1 Introduction--Stand
Part 2--Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness
Part 3--Gospel of Truth, Shield of Faith
Part 4--Helmet of Salvation, Sword of the Spirit

The Armor of GOD (Part 4--Helmet of Salvation, Sword of the Spirit)

When someone’s about to say something and a more urgent matter demands our attention, what do we tell that person? “Hold that thought!” Can we literally hold a thought in our hands? In the book of Ecclesiastes King Solomon compared chasing the things in this life to “grasping the wind”. But even though we cannot hold the wind in our arms, and even though we cannot hold a thought in our hands, that doesn’t mean that we can’t “hold onto” a thought. We, of course, hold thoughts in our mind. I’m not talking about that thing inside of our head that processes information. I’m not simply talking about the nerves and blood vessels and the physical brain. I’m talking about our mind.

The brain and the mind are two separate things, yet they are interconnected. Your brain produces thoughts, but your thoughts influence the way your brain works. Let me give you an example. When we read something, there is a part of our brain that takes that information, processes it, and develops a new way of thinking about things. Read the warnings on your prescription. You see something on there that you aren’t supposed to take. Your brain comes up with a thought: “I should not take this without talking to my doctor because this might kill me.”

By the same token, if our mind—if our thought pattern—is conditioned to react to a certain situation by yelling, then when that situation arises, our mind will tell our brain to send a signal to our lungs, our vocal cords, etc to produce a loud noise from our voicebox. You get what I'm saying? As much as our brain directs our body, our mind is capable of directing our brain to direct our body. That’s why 2nd Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… And these weapons are found in the passage we’ve been studying, Ephesians chapter 6.

Let’s look at what we know about this armor so far. We are to put on this whole armor so that we may stand strong against the evil one when that time comes. And that time WILL come. Paul lets us know in no uncertain terms that Satan will attack us. But if we are using every piece of armor, we will be ready when Satan sends his messengers, and we can repel those schemes that the “rulers of the darkness of this age” will invent to try and bring us down. First we put on truth. We surround ourselves with it so that when a lie comes our way, we will be able to spot it. Then we put on righteousness—Christ’s righteousness. We let Him be the object and driving force of our emotions, our motives, and desires. Then we prepare our feet with the gospel of peace. So that we can walk like Christ, imitating Him and following His ways. Then we practice our faith every day, using it as a shield when the enemy tries to fire his flaming arrows at us. When he tries to remind us of our past, we lift up the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and remind Satan of his future. And finally, we're going to look at the last two pieces of armor.

Verse 17a
And take the helmet of salvation...

The helmet of salvation. What exactly is it? Well, we’ve seen how keeping the love of Christ—and His righteousness—in our hearts protects us when Satan tries to lure us away through our emotions and our desires. Well, in the same way, if we truly belong to GOD, and have His great salvation, then we let Him guide our thoughts. I mentioned last week how we need to be on guard when that stray thought comes along. And that is why Paul tells us we need to protect our mind. So, how do we use this “helmet of salvation”, or as it says in 1st Thessalonians, “a helmet, the hope of salvation”? Well, we need to understand that we actually NEED to protect our mind. It would be pretty foolish for a Roman soldier to one day say, “You know, I don’t think anything’s going to happen to my head. I don’t think I’ll wear this helmet today.” But do you know how many people will fight a spiritual battle without even considering the fact—not the POSSIBILITY, the FACT—that their minds are in danger of being assaulted?

How many times do you hear motorcycle riders moan and groan because they have to wear a helmet? “Why do we have to wear these stupid things?” Well, somebody has to protect them…from themselves. Just like we need GOD to protect us…from ourselves. So let’s look at how this helmet of salvation protects our mind. You see, there are really two different types of mind. There is the carnal mind, and there is the mind of Christ. First, we’ll look at the fleshly, or carnal mind. This carnal mind is also called the flesh. It is the mindset we have before we come to know Christ. It is driven by our own wants and desires. There are three ways to describe this carnal mind:

THE CARNAL MIND IS PUFFED UP.

“So-called ‘moderns’ who are so far above the word of God that they reject all possibility of an unseen kingdom of evil presided over by a malignant personal foe (Satan), are not ‘wise’ in any sense, but are blinded and deceived by ‘the god of this world.’”

--Unknown

If you were to take a survey of the top professors and intellectuals at most major universities, you would probably find that they are, for the most part, atheists or agnostics. You see, these days, the “intellectuals” and the “wise and scholarly” just can't be thought of as believing in….GOD. They would be laughed at, ridiculed, they wouldn’t be invited to all the right parties and speaking functions. I dare say that at some universities, they would probably wind up losing their job. Well, guess what? The apostle Paul knew this very thing.

1st Corinthians 1:18-21—For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe…

We live in an age where we tend to listen more to people who have a bunch of letters after their name. Don’t get me wrong, if someone has a bunch of degrees that says something about that person. But, sometimes, knowledge is a dangerous thing.

THE CARNAL MIND WANDERS.
Romans 13:13-14—Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

In other words, remember Who we are living for. Remember Who bought us, redeemed us with His blood. If we do that, if our minds are set on Christ, if we wear our salvation as a helmet, guarding our thoughts, then our bodies will be ruled by that new mind.

1st Peter 1:13—Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
Ephesians 4:22-24—put off…the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Philippians 2:3—Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Look at what these guys are saying: if we are in Christ, we are not to be like those who do not know the LORD. When the world is filled with revelry and drunkenness, we are to be sober and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. When lewdness and lust are all around us, we are to forget those things and put on our new man. When the world is filled with strife and envy, we are to think of others more than we think of ourselves.

THE CARNAL MIND IS AT WAR WITH GOD.
Romans 8:7(KJV)— the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Or, the NASB says it, the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so...

This is the mind that is hostile towards GOD, and it is the reason we need to constantly be mindful of our salvation. Because we need to protect our minds from Satan when he tries to lure us back into that old lost life.

Colossians 1:21-23 says that we …who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard...

We need to always be mindful of the state we were in. We were lost, headed for an eternity in Hell. Even still, GOD brought us up out of that pit and set us in His kingdom, so we could live with Him forever. Why? Because He loves us. But we need to “continue steadfast in that faith.” And not go back to that old hog trough of sin. And in order to do that, we need to protect our minds. Most of the people that are pushing “Evolution” down our throats like to stand there and say that the Bible can't be trusted, that there’s no evidence for creation. Can I tell ya a little secret? There’s more evidence for the Bible than there is for evolution. In fact, several pieces of “evidence” for evolution have been exposed as frauds. But not one piece of evidence has ever surfaced to disprove anything in the Bible. So that is what the mind looks like when it does not know Christ. But, let’s see what the mind of a Christian should look like.

THE MIND OF CHRIST IS HUMBLE.
Philippians 2:5-7—Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who…made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and…humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of…the death of the cross.

The passage I read earlier from 2nd Corinthians, that commands us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. This is what it means. If we are wearing our salvation like a helmet, when those thoughts come along, we hold them captive. Now that doesn’t mean we become friendly with those thoughts, it means that we take them, we ask ourselves, “what would Jesus have me do?” The Bible tells believers 11 times to be of “one mind”, or of the “same mind”.

THE MIND OF CHRIST IS STEADY.
In the book of Matthew, Christ tells His apostles that He has to go to Jerusalem to suffer, and be killed and raised again on the third day. Well, Simon Peter wasn’t gonna have any of that. He tells Jesus, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” But you see, Simon Peter didn’t have the whole picture. And Jesus looks at him and says, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” OUCH! Now, Jesus was not saying that Peter was Satan; He was rebuking the spirit that made Peter say what he did. Jesus knew what He came to earth to do. And He was not about to be swayed from that purpose. Even on the night before He was to be crucified, knowing full well what was going to happen in the next 12 or so hours, Jesus kept His mind on what needed to be done. As He prayed in the garden, He asked the Father in Luke 22:42, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” I think a good many people would have bailed at about that point. And if you think about it, there are many people today that, when GOD gives them even the simplest of tasks, can't be bothered because it interferes with their lives, and they can't be inconvenienced.

When GOD saves us, and takes us from the kingdom of darkness and puts us into His kingdom, he gives each one of us a purpose. He makes some people teachers, who lead Bible studies and Sunday Schools. He makes some people evangelists, who can walk up to a total stranger and just start sharing the gospel. Some, He simply tells to train their children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. When we discover what GOD’s purpose is for us, we need to carry out that purpose, to be steadfast in our walk with Him, that He may be glorified through us.

THE MIND OF CHRIST IS AT PEACE WITH GOD.
Romans 5:1—Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...

The mind of someone who knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will not be the same as it was before. You see, when you are bound for the kingdom of heaven, this world looks less and less appealing. You don’t care as much about what people think about you, and you begin focusing on the things that please GOD. You see, before we know Christ, we are enemies with GOD. But, once we have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, listen to what the Bible says. 2nd Timothy 1:7—For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. In almost every one of his letters, Paul begins—and ends—by wishing the people grace and peace from GOD and the Lord Jesus Christ. Five times in the New Testament GOD is referred to as the “GOD of peace”. Why? Because it is through the cross that Jesus Christ gives us the gift of looking forward to an eternity of peace with the very GOD we were enemies with at one time. This ain't our home. It’s just a place for us to stay for a while, until Jesus finishes preparing a place for us.

This world is not my home I'm just a passin’ through
My treasures and my hopes are all beyond the blue
Where many Christian children have gone on before
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
O Lord, you know I have no friend like You
If Heaven’s not my home then Lord what will I do?
Angels have taken me to heaven’s open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

Romans 8:23-25--…we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

I heard Benny Hinn say that he doesn’t care about streets of gold in Heaven. I quote, “I want my gold now, baby.” But here is the mind that has on the “helmet of salvation”, when we forget our carnal mind and we have the mind of Christ. In order to have that mind of Christ, we need to ask GOD to change our mind from one is puffed up, that wanders, and that is at war with GOD to one that is humble, is steady, and is at peace with GOD. And as it says in 1st Corinthians 2:16, who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. And now we get to the last part of this “armor of GOD”.

Verse 17b
...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...

The sword of the Spirit. There’s a very good reason that GOD told Paul to list this part last. All the other parts have been for defense. But now we get to the one part of the armor that can also be used to go on the offensive. You see, we have to learn how to defend our position before we can go and attack an enemy. The sword a Roman soldier would use probably about 20-24 inches long. They would be used for quick, swift movements, in close quarters. There are going to be times when Satan isn’t going to stand a mile away and fire arrows at you. If we withstand his attacks long enough, he’s going to get right up in our grille. That’s when we need a word from GOD.

Now when it says that the sword of the Spirit is “the word of GOD”, it isn’t talking about the Bible in a general sense. The word “word”, refers to a specific message. One dictionary defines it as “a declaration of one’s mind made in words…a message” What Paul is saying here is, when Satan attacks, and he has exhausted all his other options, he will come against you trying to kill you. But, be ready to listen for the message GOD will give to you, so that you can fight back. Because you see, we aren’t commanded to just stand there and let Satan take all the shots at us. Sooner or later, we are going to need to fight back. And if we aren’t listening for that word from GOD, and if we aren’t able to fight back using that word from GOD, eventually Satan is going to wear us down and he’ll win.

There used to be a show on TV called, “Fight Back!” They would get letters from people who would challenge some laundry detergent, or car wax, or granola bar maker. The people who wrote in would say, “We just bought a gallon of Sudsy laundry soap. They said it would get out any stain, but it didn’t get the grass stain out of my kid’s jeans.” The guy on the show would challenge the detergent maker and the people would get their free gallon of Sudsy detergent. And at the end of the show, the guy would sign off by saying “fight back! And don’t let anyone rip you off!” What in the world does an old TV show have to do with this message? Well, in a theological kind of way, that’s what Paul is telling us in this verse. “Fight back! And don’t let Satan beat you down!” Pick up the sword that GOD will give you to fight this enemy!
You see, we need to use words that come from GOD, and not from ourselves. One fellow I read put it this way: that one verse from Scripture is more powerful than all of our philosophy. And that if Eve had only told the serpent what GOD had said, instead of trying to reason her way out of it, things would have turned out a whole lot different.

Look at the word at the beginning of this verse. “Take” the helmet and the sword. The word that Paul used does not so much mean “take”, as it means “receive”. “Receive the helmet of salvation” and “receive the word GOD will give you.” These are things that can only come from GOD. So when we put on the whole armor of GOD, when we call on Jesus to lead us in truth, when we let Him be our righteousness, when we walk in His footsteps, put our faith in Him to shield us from the enemy, let our salvation guide our thoughts, and always be ready for a message He has to give us to fight back against Satan's lies, then we will truly understand Isaiah 54:17, that says, No weapon formed against thee shall prosper.

The Armor of GOD (Part 3--The Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith)

We are still studying what the Apostle Paul refers to as the “armor of GOD”. This is number three in our series. The first week, we looked at why we need this “armor”. Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord, and to put on the whole armor of GOD. And when he says this, he’s really giving us a command. He’s saying, “Don’t run away from Satan when he comes around. Stand and fight him, using GOD’s armor.” He goes on to say that our enemy is not of this earth, but our enemies are spirits: Satan and his demons. And they will fight us until they have us flat on our backs, and with their hands around our throat.

Last time, we looked at the first two pieces of this armor: the belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness. And there is a reason Paul listed these two pieces first. Because truth holds everything together, and without it, the battle is lost. If we try to fight Satan with lies, well, Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. So we can't fight the father of lies with lies of our own, because he knows them all. Besides, GOD doesn’t want us to lie, He tells us to fight against lies using the truth. The truth that is found in the Bible.

Why do we need righteousness next? Because we are not to depend on our own righteousness. But when we put on Christ’s righteousness, and remind Satan that we are righteous in GOD’s eyes because of our Lord Jesus Christ, that’s something he doesn’t want to hear. Today, we are going to look at the next two pieces of armor.

Verse 15.
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace...

Shod your feet… Let me start off by saying that our feet aren’t exactly the most attractive part of our body. I'll be honest with ya; I got some pretty ugly dogs. And trust me; you do not want me to take my shoes off right about now. But, as ugly as our feet are, it would be pretty hard to get along without them. I mentioned before that it would be foolish for a soldier to go into battle wearing a helmet, a bulletproof vest, and tennis shoes. And in much the same way, it would be foolish of us to try and fight Satan if we didn’t have something firm to place our feet upon. If you look at a picture of a Roman soldier, you'll see that his shoes are very practical. They are strapped tightly to his feet so they don’t slip off. When Paul says to “shod our feet”, that’s what that word means. “Bind to your feet the preparation…” Well, over the top of these, a Roman soldier would be wearing shinguards, or greaves. They were much like what you may see a catcher wearing in a baseball game. Now these shinguards were important. There is no protection for our shinbone. And if you catch a club, or the broadside of a sword, you're done. We use our feet to do two very important things.

STAND.
We won’t be able to stand very long—or to withstand very long—if we don’t have some good shoes on our feet. Now, what does it mean when the Bible talks about “standing”? In the Old Testament, it means, "The ability or power to stand, especially against an enemy. " In Ephesians, the word describes “One who vanquishes his adversaries and holds his ground…one who in the middle of the fight holds his position” And that is what strapping the preparation of the Gospel of peace to our feet does. It allows us to hold our position, and even to defeat our enemy. But honestly, we’re not the one that’s defeating our enemy. It’s the gospel of peace that has already defeated our enemy. The gospel of peace that says that our Lord Jesus Christ has already defeated Satan by way of the Cross. And that is what we are to bind to our feet like shoes so that we can stand our ground against the wicked one.

How can we be sure that GOD will give us this armor when we need it?
1st John 3:1--Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
Matthew 7:11 "If ye…know how to give good gifts unto your children, How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
We are children of GOD. He has given us good gifts. In fact He has given us the greatest gift we could ever hope to receive. And He will continue to give us those good gifts. Now, if you look at the bottom of a Roman soldier's shoes, you would see that there were several layers of thick leather. The reason for that was, a lot of times, the country being invaded would take all kinds of sharp objects like pieces of metal, or bones, or broken pottery. And they would lay them out on the ground and cover them with soft dirt. So when the enemy came marching along, if they didn’t have good footwear, those pieces of steel, or glass, would go right up into their feet, and they would be crippled.

Kinda like the way Satan operates. He’ll try to lay a trap out there for you. He’s getting the battlefield ready the way HE wants it. Maybe have an old boyfriend or girlfriend call you up out of the blue. “Hey come on over, we’ll just watch some TV or something”. You get over there; they’ve got some beers in the fridge. “Well, I probably shouldn’t, but I’ll just have one”. Then another. It starts getting late. Next thing you know, the next morning y’all are waking up and putting your clothes back on. You see, Satan laid out these traps for you, covered it with some nice, soft dirt. And before you knew it, you were standing right in the middle of his trap. And you’re crippled. Not physically, but by guilt, and remorse. You see, when we start down the wrong path, when some thought, or idea, or phone call comes along that we don’t expect, and that we know doesn’t belong there, we need to take that “preparation of the gospel of peace” and bind that around our feet. Because Satan is just waiting for you to step on those rusty nails and pieces of broken glass. But, if we are living according to the gospel, then those things won't pierce us, and Satan has just wasted his time.

Now, another feature of these shoes was metal spikes coming out of the bottom. You see, once the battle starts, a soldier needs to be sure that he can stand his ground without being moved. The definition I gave earlier, “one who destroys his adversaries and holds his ground…one who in the middle of the fight holds his position.” That’s what it means to “stand”.
These are just a few examples of what the Bible has to say about standing:
Romans 5:1-2—Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
1st Corinthians 16:13—stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong
Philippians 1:27—stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel…

Regarding these cleats that Roman soldiers wore. Let me just illustrate the difference between sneakers and cleats. If you’ve ever played football, you would learn that difference. If you try to play football outside wearing sneakers, what happens is the dirt and mud gets all caught up in the crevices of the sole, and you just slip and slide around all day. But cleats dig into the ground, so you can get a good push. And believe me, when you’re lined up against a guy that outweighs you by a good 50 pounds, you need all the push you can get. Now, think about this in terms of hand-to-hand combat. The ground is wet, and muddy. You and your opponent are locked in a deadly swordfight. Your shoes are getting slippery; you’re starting to slide around. First of all, do you think he’s gonna give you a timeout so you can fix the problem? Eventually, you’re gonna wind up face down in the mud, with his sword sticking out of your back. Well, our opponent is Satan, so we really need to be able to “…destroy our adversaries and hold our ground…and in the middle of the fight hold our position.”

So we stand on the “preparation…” Now I’ve mentioned that phrase several times, and you may be wondering what it means. I think it means this: that the gospel—the good news of knowing that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that all who believe in Him and trust Him to be their savior, are at peace with GOD. And we are to always be ready or prepared, to live according to that peace. Romans 8:1 says, There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What that’s really saying is “If you trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can be—and should be—assured that you are safe in His hands” and as it says later in that same chapter, neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else IN ALL CREATION shall separate us from the love of GOD in Christ Jesus our Lord. Can I get an Amen?

That is the preparation of the gospel of peace. Be ready, so that when Satan attacks, you can stand your ground knowing that GOD is on your side. Romans 8:31--If God is for us, who can be against us? GOD has prepared us for every battle we could ever face. Many times in the Old Testament, especially with David and Goliath, and with Jehoshaphat, we read that “the battle belongs to the LORD.” Well, now we know why. Because He has already fought it, and He has already won.

WALK.
Not only does having a good pair of shoes allow us to stand, it’s pretty good for walking too. And if we don’t have good shoes, we won’t be able to walk very far. Don’t forget, they didn’t have tanks and helicopters and APC’s back then. If they had to get somewhere, they had to hoof it. Well, 2nd Corinthians 5:7 says that we walk by faith and not by sight. Many times GOD tells us that we are to walk according to His statutes and commandments, or to walk in the way of the LORD. Basically, to “walk” means to “follow”, or to “live according to”. Now I mentioned before that our feet ain’t the prettiest part of our body.

But listen to what the Bible says about feet, and walking, and paths:
Psalm 37:23-24—The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Psalm 40:2—He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Isaiah 40:29-31—He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Why? Because we are walking according to the gospel of peace. We are walking hand-in-hand with the LORD of all the earth. We are walking, following, living according to the two great commandments: to love the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and we are loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Verse 16.
...above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Roman shields were usually rectangular, and what they would do is, as they got ready to approach their opponents, they would lock their shields together to form sort of a wall. They were also covered with leather, and they would take and soak their shields in water—often overnight—because what would happen a lot of times was, their opponents would take arrows, and wrap cloth around the shaft near the tip. Now this cloth would be covered with pitch, or tar. And when the fight began, they would light their arrows on fire. So not only did the arrow pierce the oncoming soldiers, but even if they pulled the arrow out of their skin, they would still have that hot tar stuck to them. What Paul is saying in this verse is: sin is a lot like that hot, sticky tar. When we sin, it hurts. Not only does it hurt us, but as it says in another part of Ephesians, it hurts GOD, it grieves the Holy Spirit. And even though we may repent of that sin, we can still feel the sting of remorse. There’s a song that goes like this:

Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers when he knows that we are children of the King
So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won
We know that Jesus Christ is risen so the works already won.

When we lift up our faith as a shield, and we let Satan know that we are, in fact children of the King, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will extinguish all the flaming arrows that the enemy shoots our way. The hot tar that the enemy wants to stick to our skin, to keep hurting us, won’t come anywhere near us. And that is, after all, the purpose of a shield: To protect you from oncoming objects. But a shield doesn’t do you much good if you just kinda hang onto it…aww, isn't it pretty? Faith is one of our two greatest weapons. But here’s the thing: notice so far, we put on our belt and pretty much leave it alone. Same for our breastplate. And even our shoes, we put them on our feet and forget them. But now, Paul says, “above all”, we are to take up, to raise, the “shield of faith”. This requires action. What is faith? Well, when it comes to our faith in the LORD, faith is trusting that GOD is going to do what He said He’ll do. It’s looking to something we can’t see, and saying, “GOD, I know that you said this, and I’m trusting in your promise.”

LOOKING TO THE LORD.
It’s standing firm when you hear those voices in our head that tell you GOD doesn’t listen, that GOD doesn’t love you, that GOD isn't real. It means answering those voices and saying, “I know what GOD said. I know GOD is real. And I know that GOD loves me.” Sometimes it means standing up by kneeling down. You know, of all the things Satan hates, one thing he hates more than most anything is to see people praying to GOD. You know why? Because he knows that when we call upon the LORD, everything changes. It’s like this: Satan likes to think of himself as this big, snarling, drooling Rottweiler. But when GOD enters the picture, that Rottweiler turns into a little Chihuahua. So, that shield of faith can be raised up by prayer.

LIVING OUR FAITH.
John Wesley, one of the men who founded the Methodist church, put it this way:

“As a sort of universal covering to every other part of the armour itself, continually exercise a strong and lively faith. This you may use as a shield, which will quench all the fiery darts, the furious temptations, violent and sudden injections of the devil.”

He’s telling us that our lives—our everyday lives—should be our shield of faith. Because when Satan gets tired of slinging arrows at us directly, he’s gonna start slinging them at the people around us. What do I mean by that? Well, let me repeat a verse I think I've used in probably about half the messages I've given. Proverbs 18:8—The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. You see, Satan, when he knows he can't get to you, he’ll put some words in the mouth of a talebearer. And that talebearer will start spreading poison, called gossip. And isn't gossip evil? You want to know what happens when someone’s mouth is filled with evil? Listen to Job 20:12-14—Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he desires it and will not let it go, But holds it in his mouth, Yet his food in his stomach is changed To the venom of cobras within him.

Think about it: what is the purpose of gossip? To hurt people. So when Satan, through a talebearer, tries to launch some fiery darts against you, if you are living a life that tells the world that you are a child of the King, that is your shield of faith. In fact, listen to 1st Peter 3:13-16--And who is he that will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled…have a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

LOVING THE BRETHREN.
I mentioned before that the soldiers would lock their shields together, to form a wall. Think about that for a moment. That’s what the army of GOD is supposed to do. We are supposed to come together as one body, and all fight one the same side against a common enemy. But too often, we have one person over here that seems to be a lone ranger, starting a fight inside the unit. But that’s not what we are called to do.
Listen to what the Bible says about togetherness:
Psalm 133:1—Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12--Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow…if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevails against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Matthew 18:20—“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

When the body of Christ comes together as one unit, no power of Hell can withstand it. But, the body of Christ has to stand firm. We have to be surrounded by truth, we must depend on Christ’s righteousness, we must stand firmly on the gospel, and we must be constantly exercising our faith in GOD. But we’ve got to be marching together. Imagine if one of those guys in that wall of shields decided “eh, I think I'll head over this way”. Or, “I don’t really feel batlle-ish today, I’m gonna sit this one out.” We must be one. Because, with all due respect to those who serve this country so bravely, when it comes to this battle, there is no such thing as “an Army of one”.

One of the first hymns I remember from when I went to church as a kid was “Onward Christian Soldiers.”

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see his banners go!

At the sign of triumph Satan's host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.

Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ's own promise, and that cannot fail.

The Armor of GOD (Part 2--Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness)

If you read your Bible long enough you will realize that it is a book filled with answers. So many times people will ask “well, where does it talk about this” or “what does the Bible say about that”. And, for the most part, whatever question someone might have, there is probably an answer to that question somewhere in the Scriptures. But, for as many answers as there are in here, there are also some very well-known questions. When GOD asked Cain where his brother Abel was, Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” GOD asked Isaiah “Whom shall I send? Who shall go for us?” And when the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus trying to trap Him in His words, He often replied with a question of His own.

Of all these, there is one question that was asked by one man, but that question is still being asked by millions of people today. In John 18, Christ tells Pilate, "...for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate then asked this question: “What is truth?” Many people have wondered throughout the years about the meaning of this question. Was it a sarcastic response, or was it a sincere desire to know the truth? Whatever the case, it is a question that many people today are searching far and wide to answer. What is truth? Well, that’s what we will be looking at today in our study of the armor of GOD.

We are in the 6th chapter of the book of Ephesians. And we are going to begin looking at the actual pieces of armor, how they fit together, and how we use them. We saw last time why we need to take and put on the whole armor. For one, we are commanded to stand and fight Satan when he comes to attack. We saw how we fight against an enemy that will not quit until he has us on the ground with his hands around our necks. But we also saw how we overcome that enemy, not in our own strength, but by keeping in mind what each piece of armor represents.


The first weapon we have against Satan is THE BELT OF TRUTH.
Verse 14a.
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth..."

What is truth? The “belt of truth” for all you Bibleman fans out there. Where is it? It’s right in the center. It’s not very wide. Some people today think that there is "truth", there is "what is not the truth", and in between there is a big, gray area. Let me put it to you this way: If we were to pluck a hair from our head—it might be easier for some than for others—that hair would be about 1000X wider than the distance between truth and lie.

How important is truth? Well, we see in the Bible that it is THE most important characteristic of GOD. Think about this: if GOD were not always 100% true, and we had to kinda guess about where His word was true, and where it wasn’t true, how could we even rely on ANYTHING that’s written in here? It is truth that holds everything together, even the word of GOD. Now, how do we know that we can rely on “every word that proceeds from the mouth of GOD” (Matthew 4:4)? First, in the book of Titus, Paul wrote these words: Titus 1:2--Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which goes hand-in-hand with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began… Notice that? He said “GOD, who cannot lie.” Not that He “won’t” or “doesn’t” or “probably may not”. GOD CANNOT LIE!!

In fact, another verse, Hebrews 6:17-18 says, God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the unchangability of His purpose, confirmed it by an oath, that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us Look at the words the writer uses in these two verses: The unchangability of His purpose; He confirmed it by an oath; it is IMPOSSIBLE for GOD to lie; we can have consolation, comfort, security; we can lay hold of hope. GOD cannot lie. What He says today, He will mean tomorrow.

Have you ever heard someone say, “Yeah, I'll meet you tomorrow, we’ll do…whatever.” What happens tomorrow? “Oh yeah, well, something came up.” Then you say, “Yeah, sure no problem.” MUMMBLE, MUMMBLE. Well, guess what? When it comes to GOD and His word, we don’t have to worry about that. If he says something’s gonna happen tomorrow, IT’S GONNA HAPPEN TOMORROW. Now, how do we use that knowledge that GOD keeps His promises, that GOD cannot lie, to our advantage when Satan comes knockin’ on the door? It’s actually simpler than people think. I didn’t say it was EASY, I said it was SIMPLE. You see, when Satan comes a-callin’, he may not necessarily come with an out-and-out, bold-faced lie.

Remember what he said to Eve? Genesis 3:1--"Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?" Have you ever heard the phrase “there’s a grain of truth in that”? yes, GOD had said that there was A TREE in the garden that they could not eat from. But, GOD did not say that they couldn’t eat from ANY tree. But by now, he had Eve’s mind clouded, and then he comes with the outright lie, saying in Genesis 3:4, “Ye shall not surely die!” Now, Eve knew the truth. But she didn’t use it. She let herself get pulled along onto this lie, and I think we all know what happened next. Remember I opened today by talking about questions in the Bible? Well, if you think about it, the fall of man started with one question.

So what Paul says here when he tells us to gird our waist with the truth is he’s telling us to “surround ourselves with the truth.” After all, if you surround yourself with the truth, it’s easier to spot the lies, isn’t it? So we put on the belt of truth. Notice also that not only does this hold everything together but it also goes around us.

You know what’s funny is there are some well-meaning people who go on TV and write books telling us to “look for the truth inside of ourselves”. Can I be honest with ya? Looking for the truth inside of ourselves is like looking for oceanfront property in the middle of Montana. You ain’t gonna find it. Listen to what GOD Himself said in Genesis 8:21—the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth. Now, there are some groups out there who say they have the truth. And you know, they sound pretty convincing when they're telling you what they think is the truth. Some would say they “manipulate” the truth. But that’s not quite true. Because once you do ANYTHING to the truth, it automatically becomes a lie.

Who are some of these groups I’m talking about? For one, you have Jehovah’s Witnesses. They claim to have the absolute truth. Well, they’re wrong. Let me give you a sketch of some of the things they teach. One, they say that Jesus Christ was a created being. Wrong! They also teach another lie about Christ and that is, that before He was born in Bethlehem, He was the archangel Michael. I could sit here and give you all kinds of evidence from the Bible showing you how wrong that is. And I may in the future. You may ask yourself, “how can they make these claims?” it’s easy. They claim that the Bible has been mistranslated, they take the words that were written and twist them around and do what I call “mental gymnastics” to make their very own translation—called the New World Translation—that, quite frankly, is…wrong.

Another group that says they have the “absolute truth” is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You may know them as Mormons. I grew up an hour away from where the Mormon Church started. They claim…well, they make all kinds of claims. It would take more like a month to tell you about all the claims they make. One of their beliefs is that GOD—Almighty GOD—had a beginning, and was created…as a man. Just like you and me. And one day, we can be a GOD—just like Almighty GOD. But, like the JW’s, they claim they are the only ones with the truth. They say that the Mormon Church has restored the truths that were lost or removed from the Bible. They have three books they call Scripture: The Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants. Oh, and they also use the Bible…”as far as it is correctly translated.” Sound familiar? Like the JW’s again, they claim that the Bible has been mistranslated. They try to undermine the reliability of the Word of GOD. Who is it that really loves to undermine the reliability of the Word of GOD?

What we need to remember about JW’s, about Mormons, is that they have been deceived. In fact, if you ask most people who don’t know much about either religion, they will say that these people are some of the most moral, most ethical people you could ever meet. They are. But they're not saved. They don’t know the truth. They’ve been blinded, and they need prayer. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” That Mormon, the JW knocking on your door is not your enemy. The one who has blinded that person is the enemy.

So, what is truth? Our Lord Jesus Christ is truth. He said it Himself in John 14:6—“I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life…” So, the first piece of armor is the “belt of truth”. It holds everything together. We put it on by staying in the Word, and through prayer, and by surrounding ourselves with those who know the truth. And by surrounding ourselves with the truth, we will be able to stand strong against Satan's lies.

Next, we put on THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Verse 14b.
"...having put on the breastplate of righteousness..."

How do we put it on, how do we use it? Well, what does it cover? It covers the lungs, the stomach, and the liver. But most importantly, it covers the heart. Now, how important is it that we guard our heart in times of battle? Listen to what Jesus said about the heart:
Matthew 15:8—“This people draws near unto me with their mouth, and honours me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”
Matthew 15:19—"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies."
And what is the greatest commandment of all? Matthew 22:37—Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Our hearts are vulnerable. We need to guard our hearts against the wicked one. What does the Bible mean when it talks about the heart? Is it talking about a part of your body that pumps blood? Not quite. You see, when we read a verse like Proverbs 23:7, How a man thinks in his heart, that’s how he is, we could be tempted to ask, “Well, how does one think in his heart?”

Remember the verse from Genesis I quoted just a moment ago, that the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth. When the Bible talks about the heart, it is really talking about our emotions, our motives, our desires. We need to guard those things from Satan. We need to control our emotions, we need to check our motives, and we need to curb our desires. How do we do that?

Well, let’s look at CONTROLLING OUR EMOTIONS. Our feelings. Happy, sad, mad, envious. These are all emotions. And when we feel happy, sad, mad, envious, etc., it’s really easy for us, being the humans that we are, to allow our feelings to dictate our actions. Has anyone in here ever let their emotions affect how they treated somebody?
Happy: “It’s such a pretty day today. I think I'll call in sick.”
Sad: “Oh, I don’t feel like doing much of anything today.”
Mad: “So-and-so did this to me, so I’m gonna to that to them.”
Envious: “So-and-so thinks they're something because they got [whatever], I'll get something even better than that.”

You know our emotions can even affect our worship? In a good or even a bad way? And if we allow our emotions to tell us how we should worship, we start down a dangerous path. When I first came to Christ, and started watching Christian TV, I would watch some of those preachers, and their congregation would be hootin’ and hollerin’ and I’d think “Wow, this guy’s good.” But then I’d start listening to what they were saying. And I started realizing that it wasn’t the word of GOD these people were reacting to. It was the man doing the talking. He was just telling the people what they wanted to hear. Well, there are several times in the Bible when a king would be trying to decide whether to go into battle or not. His advisors and counselors would be telling him, “yeah, go for it!!” But, a prophet of GOD would tell him, “no, you better not.” But, some people only hear what they want to hear. And so the king would go to war….and be utterly defeated.

Listen to Ecclesiastes 9:3—…the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness [is] in their heart while they live… When someone does not know the Lord, their heart is set on madness. They seek comfort from a bottle, or some other type of temporary joy. But if we seek to find our joy in the LORD, listen to what it says in Psalm 97:11—Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

We need to control our emotions; we need to CHECK OUR EMOTIONS. Did you know you can do the right thing for the wrong reason? Look at most big hospitals today and you’ll see many of them have a cancer wing, or a certain area dedicated to a specific type of research. Many of them were funded by one particular individual who donated a huge amount of money…to have their name put on the outside. Now, was it a good thing that they helped the place get built? Yes. But if the reason they gave was so they could look better in people’s eyes, or because maybe they thought they could gain some brownie points with GOD. Then they were doing it with the wrong motive.

The Pharisees were guilty of this as well. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed their wrong motives. And when He did, He emphasized 3 things the Pharisees did, but that they did for the wrong reason. Listen to what He said, in Matthew chapter 6:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full…When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full…Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Do you see that? “Do not…as the hypocrites do…so they may be noticed…they have their reward in full.” Don’t be fooled. Satan can use the good things you do to cause you to sin. He can use your church attendance. “I come to church more than so-and-so.” He can use the gifts GOD has given you. “I know more about the Bible than so-and-so.” And ironically, Satan can even use your own humility against you. “I’m more humble than so-and-so.” What do all these have in common? Pride. Pride in comparing ourselves to others. But guess what? We are not to go around comparing ourselves to others. That’s easy. And the Bible has some harsh things to say about it:
Romans 12:3—For I say…to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…
1st Corinthians 12:22-25—the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we think are less honorable, on these we give more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

After we control our emotions and check our motives, we need to CURB OUR DESIRES. I've talked before about these TV preachers that go around saying that if you're a Christian, you’ll be surrounded by material wealth. And they're good at it. They really know how to twist the Scriptures. Listen to some more words of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Matthew 6:19-21—“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Luke 12:15—"Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
And finally, these words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5:11—He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.

So, we guard our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. We control our emotions, we check our motives, and we curb our desires. Now, what is that breastplate of righteousness we are to put on? The cross! The cross of Christ! 2nd Corinthians 5:21—For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jesus is our breastplate of righteousness. GOD takes Christ’s righteousness and deposits it into the account of all those who believe in Him. We can't be righteous on our own. We can't find the truth within us. We need to have Christ’s righteousness put upon us. That’s why Jesus came. The word of GOD made flesh, which dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, so that His righteousness could be posted to our account.

Have you ever made a deposit at a bank, and you hoped that it would be posted before that check bounced? Well, guess what. When GOD deposits Christ’s righteousness in our account, it’s there immediately. We can make withdrawals 24/7. We can never be overdrawn. And it’s good no matter where we are.

Let me finish up with these words from one of my favorite hymns:

When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there,
who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died
my sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
my perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I Am,
the King of glory and of grace

One with Himself I cannot die,
my soul is purchased with His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
with Christ my Savior and my God

He is our belt of truth. He is our breastplate of righteousness. And as another great old hymn says, “Hallelujah, What a Savior!”

The Armor of GOD (Part 1--Intro)

Every day when we watch the news, so many pictures we see come from battlefields. We hear about the war in Iraq, fighting between Israel and Lebanon. Yet every day, whether people realize it or not, there is an even bigger battle going on. It’s not fought with machine guns and tanks. In fact, it’s not really fought so much on a physical battlefield. It’s fought in the mind, and in the heart. I fight it, you fight it, we all fight it. It’s called “spiritual warfare”. And for this type of warfare, we need a special kind of armor. The apostle Paul refers to this in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10-17 as the “armor of GOD”.

Ephesians 6:10-17.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God..."

October 3, 1993. The place is Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. What had begun as a humanitarian mission to deliver food and medical supplies to a country ravaged by famine was now a military conflict. The gangs and mobs that controlled the streets of Mogadishu were stealing the food and supplies from the warehouses where they were being kept. These were not your typical street gangs. They were heavily armed with machine guns, shoulder rockets, grenades. They were a small military force. Their leader was a man named Mohammed Farah Aidid. Our forces did everything in their power to find this man. One day, we thought we had a breakthrough. Aidid’s 2nd in command was a man named Omar Salad. We learned where he was going to be, and an attack plan was quickly drawn up. The soldiers were positioned, and Salad showed up, right on time. Now, all our troops had to do was go in and get him.

There was just one problem. The neighborhood where this was happening was an enemy stronghold. Everyone in the area was friendly to Mohammed Aidid. They were not about to let the big bad bully—the US—just waltz in and take Omar Salad…without a fight. And fight they did. 18 of our soldiers died, and 73 were wounded. The events of that day were recounted in the book and movie titled “Black Hawk Down”. Many in the military refer to it as “Black Sunday”. It was a day marked by images that many of you may have seen on the news or in the paper. The most horrifying images were those of the bodies of two soldiers being dragged through the streets. When the world saw the pictures and heard the news they asked, “What happened? This is the USA, the greatest superpower in the world. And they’re getting beat by a bunch of street thugs?” Well, yes. Why? How did this happen? There were three reasons: we were in enemy territory. We were facing an enemy that we greatly underestimated. And they kept coming and attacking in ways we never anticipated.

In much the same way, our lives on earth are like that battle in Mogadishu. We are, without a doubt, in enemy territory. We so very often underestimate Satan. And he will come and attack us in ways we could never imagine. But if we rely on our ultimate Commander-in-Chief, we will overcome our ultimate enemy. And by looking at the first four verses in this passage in Ephesians, we will learn how to do that. Today we’re going to begin our look at the “armor of GOD” by learning three things about this armor: we will see how to get ready for battle; we will see the reason we need it, and the results of its use. Paul wrote the book of Ephesians when he was in prison, chained to a Roman soldier. And he took note of how that soldier was fitted with his armor. Every major body part was covered: his brain, his heart, and his feet. He could lift his shield and deflect incoming arrows. He even had a sword, so he could attack the enemy himself. When it came to war, Rome really knew how to do it.


THE ARMOR OF GOD MAKES US READY FOR BATTLE.
Verses 10-11.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

Be strong in the LORD. What exactly does that mean? We hear it all the time. “Don’t use your own strength.” “The LORD is my strength.” But how do we become “strong in the Lord”? And how do we make the Lord our strength? Well, look at what the individual pieces of armor represent: truth, righteousness, the Gospel, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of GOD. If you were to ask Satan, he would probably consider these to be weapons of mass destruction. Because these can destroy any and all plans Satan has for you. So, by keeping in mind that we have all these weapons at our disposal, we can be strong in the LORD. We can use truth against his lies. We can use righteousness when we are tempted to sin. We remember the Gospel which gives us peace when all hope seems lost. We recall our faith in GOD and let Satan know who we belong to. And we keep the word of GOD in our hearts, that we can be victorious through our obedience.

Now, notice what he says in verse 11. “Put on the WHOLE armor of GOD.” I can't imagine a soldier going out to battle carrying his gun, his canteen of water, wearing a helmet, bulletproof vest…and tennis shoes. I mean think about it. There are all kinds of checklists soldiers go through before they head out, even for a drill. Well, guess what? Satan does a checklist of his own. When you go out to face the day, he knows where and when and how he’s going to attack you. Listen to this verse from 1st Peter 5:8—…your adversary the devil, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour… Have you seen when they show a pack of lions stalking a bunch of antelopes? Which ones usually get caught? The weak, the slow, and the ones that aren’t prepared. Well, when Satan develops a battle plan for how he’s going to attack you—and he does, he plans—he looks for your weakness. Or what he thinks is your weakness.

We saw in the life of Job that Satan thought that taking Job’s wealth and family would cause him to curse GOD. But what did Job do? He remembered his faith in GOD, praised GOD’s righteousness, trusted that his salvation came from GOD, and held fast to the truth. We can do the same thing if we put on the WHOLE armor. And it’s not something we do at the last minute as we rush out of the house. It’s something we need to be doing constantly, because you never know when that roaring lion is going to appear.

THE REASON WE USE GOD'S ARMOR.
Verse 12.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

This is why we call it “spiritual warfare”. It’s spiritual, and it’s warfare. Let me give you an example. The Knoxville Police Department could go out and arrest every drug dealer, pimp, prostitute, and thief they could find. That would end crime around here once and for all, right?
Guess what—someone else would come along and pick up where the others left off. Our battle is not against the drug dealer, or the pimp, or the prostitute, or the thief. Our battle is against the one that leads them down the paths of darkness. Let’s get down into this verse and see what Paul is saying. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. I looked up that word wrestle, and found something interesting. Listen to how one dictionary describes the meaning of this word:

“a contest between two in which each one tries to throw the other, and which is decided when the winner is able to hold his opponent down with his hand upon his neck”

We are struggling against an opponent that will not stop until he has us pinned down with his hand firmly around our neck. ...against principalities, against powers… You could also say “Satan and his demons”. That’s who we are “wrestling” against. And let me tell ya, you can't fight spiritual battles with physical weapons. We can't scare Satan away by putting on a scary mask. And we can’t fight these beings that have existed for thousands of years by using any wisdom or willpower we’ve built up over the few years we've been alive. You see, what we think and what we feel and what we do are all dictated by our spiritual condition. If our spirit is lined up with GOD’s Holy Spirit, then we will seek to do the things which please Him. Listen to how the Contemporary English Version paraphrases Romans 8:5-10.

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws. If we follow our desires, we cannot please God. You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him.

Now, you may wonder, or you may hear people who wonder, “Why do good things happen to bad people? Why do all these entertainers and movie stars who are as ungodly as anyone could be, why do they have all this wealth while so many who love the Lord go without?” Well, what we see going on in the world today is not much different than what King David saw in his days. And like many people today, he wondered how GOD could allow so many evil people to prosper.
But, instead of wanting these people utterly destroyed, listen to what he writes in Psalm 10:15—Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness [till] you find none. David didn’t say, “LORD, destroy those evil people!” He prayed that GOD would break the power that made them do evil. Or that LED them to do evil.

Believe it or not, GOD does not want evil people to perish. He asked the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 18:23--“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” He knows that it is not our flesh and blood that drives us to do evil things. It is what’s inside us. You see, it’s not our hand that causes people to steal; it’s not our eyes that cause people to lust. It’s the spirit that is inside that person that causes them to lust or to steal or to kill. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Our enemy is not the person. Our enemy is the one who is leading that person astray. That’s why Jesus told us in Matthew 5:44--“…Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you…” It says again in Romans 12:20--Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink: for by doing this, you shall heap coals of fire on his head. Not his literal head, but you will be able to weaken the spirit that leads him into sin.

Back in the 70’s there was a rock star named Alice Cooper. You’ve probably heard of him. Do you know that in 1982 he gave his life to the Lord Jesus Christ? And he is a Christian to this day. He said in an interview once, “The most radical thing I ever did was to become a Christian." Let me ask you this: was it hate mail, and picket signs and protests outside his concerts that changed his life? I would be willing to bet that there were a bunch of people praying for him.

Finally, we see THE RESULTS OF USING THE ARMOR OF GOD.
Verse 13.
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Notice how many times in these four verses Paul uses the word “stand” or “withstand”. I’d say that’s something that he really wants us to remember. STAND. Don’t back down. Don’t be afraid. Be strong in the Lord. Remember what the armor stands for. Truth, righteousness, the Gospel, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of GOD. If you do this, you can stand up to the most powerful enemy you could ever face. We are not fighting against criminals, or sickness, or any physical opponent. We are fighting against Satan himself. And notice that in this passage, Paul never says to run away. In fact, nowhere in the Bible are we ever commanded to be afraid of Satan or to hide from him. Why? Because for one thing, we have overcome by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. For another thing, once we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we are baptized into the Holy Spirit which we have to lead us and guide us in paths of righteousness. And here we see that we can take up for ourselves the WHOLE armor of GOD so that we can stand up to Satan and tell him to buzz off.

We can be confident in our Lord that when we need this armor, He will never hide it from us. He will never let us go into a battle against Satan without giving us what we need to overcome.

• 1st Corinthians 10:13--No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
• Psalm 91:5—You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; or for the arrow that flies by day.

It says in other places that the LORD is our sword and shield. Be strong in the LORD. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Stand fast against principalities and powers. Don’t quit until you have your hands around their neck. Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.