WEARING THE BELT OF TRUTH. Ephesians 6:14. Are you aware1 that this morning Satan wants to poison your thoughts and emotions away from the purity of
111 KB – 19 Pages
PAGE – 1 ============
Page 1 160424AM Belted in By Truth SWS-17.docx HOW TO STAND FIRM IN THE LORD : WEARING THE BELT OF TRUTH Ephesians 6:14 Are you aware 1 that this morning Satan wants to poison your thoughts and emotions away from the purity of God’s truth? His attacks center in two areas: your mind and your emotions. Jesus calls Satan the Father of Lies in Jn. 8:44. Jesus warns us that we face the onslau ght of the Devil in the realm of lies vs. truth daily. That means to stand for the Lord today we must: BE ON GUARD FOR THE FATHER OF LIES The Father of lies wants to snatch the Word of God from you. The Father of lies wants you to think that sin is not so bad. The Father of lies wants you to learn laugh at sin on television or at the movies. The Father of lies wants to destroy your conscience so it will no longer warn you. The Father of lies wants to entertain you with sin so that you won !t think it!s as evil as sin really is. The Father of lies wants to drown you in a sea of sin so that you become very tolerant of it. He wants fill your mind with doubts, lies, immorality, and false doctrine. He wants to debilitate your will and get you to do things you shouldn !t do He wants to twist your thinking by putting sinful ideas to appealing music. He wants to confuse your emotions by corrupting your desires and drawing your affections to the wrong things. DRESSED FOR DANGER To counter Satan !s attack the Lord has told us we need to get dressed for war. In His Word He has told us just what will insure momentary and continued victory. In his letters to the First Century churches, Paul uses many pictures from the daily life to commu nicate truth about the Christian life. There are four areas prominent in Paul!s inspired writings: illustrations from building (“You are the temple of God #), illustrations from farming (“Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap #), illustrations from athletics (“Run the race #) and 1 981227AM
PAGE – 2 ============
Page 2 illustrations from the military (“Put on the whole armor of God #). It is our purpose as a church over the next few weeks to examine whether we are fully dressed as soldiers of the Lord in our Armor of God. Armor for Paul was more than pictures from daily life of the nearly omnipresent Roman Legionnaires. Very literally, the “whole armor of God # he describes is a picture of Jesus Christ. In verses 14-17 is a list of the combat equipment that the Holy Spirit issues to every believer at the moment of salvation. By faith and obedient experience we find Christ is: Get list last time/merge 1.!WE WEAR HIS TRUTH as the guide of all our ways. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, ÒI am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. Christ, saturates us with the Word of God and it becomes part of our very life. 2.!WE WEAR HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AS the guardian of our souls. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This armor is imputed righteousness. It is Jesus Christ, not ours but His righteousness. 3.!WE WEAR HIS PEACE as the shoes to walk through life. Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 4.!WE WEAR HIS FAITH , as our shield is battle. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast . 5.!WE WEAR HIS SALVATION as our helmet. Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all compre hension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 6.!WE WEAR HIS WORD as the sword of the Spirit when we are letting His Word dwell in us. Colossians 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishi ng one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. So in the truest way, when we trusted Christ, we received Him as our armor. Paul told the Romans “put on the Lord Jesus Christ # (Rom. 13:14). By faith, put on the armor and trust God for the victory. Once and for all, we have put on the armor at the moment of salvation. But there must be a daily renewal. When King David put off his armor and returned to his palace, he was in greater danger than when he was on the battlefield (2 Sam. 11). We are never out of reach of Satan !s devices, so we must never be without the whole armor of God . WE MUST WEAR OUR ARMOR . Lets read our text this morning Ephesians 6:10 -17
PAGE – 3 ============
Page 3 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.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.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.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;16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; The Full Armor of God : Wearing the Belt of Truth Matthew 6:13b; Ephesians 6:10 -17 Truth Given Truth Received Truth Worn Benefits of Wearing Dangers of Neglecting Led by Spirit of Truth John 14:17; 16:13 Saved by Word of Truth James 1:18 Message of truth the Gospel Eph. 1:13 The Person/Source of Truth John 14:6 Sanctified by the Word of Truth John 17:17 Liberating truth Jn 8:32 What are the protective clothes that our Great God has for us? In Ephesians 6:10 -17, we see six clear articles we are actually commanded to wear.
PAGE – 4 ============
Page 4 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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. Pray We just read no less than the chief spokesman for Christ’s Church, the Apostle Paul describe the must -wear gear to survive the deadly powers of spiritual wickedness. The questions are we each wearing today :
PAGE – 5 ============
Page 5 THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD WE ARE EACH TO WEAR 1.!Belt of Truth (v.14a) Vital to every soldier was this belt from which all tools of battle hung. This belt also held the soldier’s robe together. To the Christian soldier a belt of truth means that we are surrounded by “honesty,” “truthfulness,” “integrity,” and “sincerity” that every part of our life is governed by truth. Dishonesty brings defeat! If we are not belted, if our life is not held in by truth, any type of dishonesty will bring defeat to our lives. 2.!Breastplate of Righteousness (v.14b) The soldier’s brea stplate was a heavy piece of armor that completely surrounded the body. To the Christian soldier this means a pursuit of personal, daily righteousness. We learn confession and repentance of sin can only maintain this. Impurity will bring defeat, so say no to sin daily. 3.!Shoes of Peace (v.15). The sandal soles of the soldier were impregnated with heavy, spike -like hobnails, which gave him a good footing, and also kept him safe from stepping on sharp objects. If you injure a soldier’s feet he’s out of commissi on. To the Christian soldier this piece of armor is a call to both “readiness” and “peace of mind.” If our hearts are not kept in peace by Christ, then anxiety will bring us defeat! 4.!Shield of Faith (v.16). To a Roman soldier, his shield was a portable meta l-banded wall, which he hid behind in battle. It was 5 feet high, 3 feet wide and served as the deflector from the fla ming darts of the enemy. Our Shield of faith extinguishes all the flaming missiles of the evil one. But doubt will bring defeat! 5.!Helmet of Salvation (v.17a). A soldier never was far from his helmet. Nearly any object on the battlefield could immobilize a soldier if his head was unprotected. So to the Christian soldier the meaning of the helmet is assurance of salvation. A Christian who is not assured that he has salvation is just totally immobilized because he’s unsure about everything. He’s unsure about God’s promises, His Word, His protection. He’s unsure about his destiny, his purpose in life. Lack of assurance brings defeat! 6.!Sword of the Spirit (v.17b). Quick and deadly was the sword of a soldier. Vital to any victory was the hand -to-hand combat, which ended in the defeat of the enemy. To the Christian soldier this victorious sword comes only through a personal command of the Scriptures. This is essential to effectiveness in battle. Neglecting the Word breeds weakness and will bring defeat in our lives ARE YOU STANDING OR FALLING ? God calls each of us to stand in joy, peace, hope, and love. Satan, the world, and our flesh call each of us to fall into anger, anxiety, fear, and selfishness. We face the unseen but real world of kosmocrators . Spirit beings of immense powers of evil. These enemies are already defeated by Christ, but their deadly powers are only resisted by us when walking in ste p with the Spirit of God.
PAGE – 6 ============
Page 6 The most complete guide to standing and not falling into sin, discouragement, hopelessness, uselessness, and emptiness is right here before us in Ephesians 6. The key to powerful ministry is right here. The way God has planned for our lives to magnify the Lord and unleash His Word is right here. There are six pieces of Roman armor to which God adds the spiritual power of prayer. What an amazing set up God has designed for fruitful, powerful, and lasting ministry. But everything hin ges upon our conscious choices to obey what God has asked us to do. Paul said it three times in Ephesians 6: stand, stand, and stand. ¥!Stand in the abundant life God gave us when His Spirit filled us, or fall into the empty life of grieving and quenching Him. ¥!Stand in the life of peace that passes understanding that Christ purchased for us, or fall into the anxiety of the cares of this life. ¥!Stand in the life of hope that God !s all powerful attributes offer us, or fall into doubting God !s goodness and questi oning God !s plan. THE ARMOR GOD IN WHICH WE STAND Simply stated, standing in all that Christ offers to us was summarized by Paul in Romans 13, as “putting on Christ # (v. 14) as our “armor of light # (v.12). What are those six pieces of armor? 1. BUCKLED UP BY THE BELT OF TRUTH (EPH. 6:14 A): Roman soldier had a think leather belt that held their gear in place and could cinch up their tunic for battle. Normal dress for a soldier was a large square of material with head and arm holes that draped loo sely over the body. In any combat that looseness of the garment ended. No tangles were desired, and the belt held fast the cinched up tunic. Truth is to hold us up, hold us in, and protect us from falling. This belt of truth is much like the restraints we strap around us when we get into one of those dangerous, high speed twisting, turning rollercoaster rides at some amusement park. The belt and bars that hold us are designed to keep us safe no matter how fast the car spins, twists or drops. We are held in. Truth holds us in. This word (aletheia) means both the content of truth, and the truthfulness of our life. God wants both. He wants us to know the content of truth and live the integrity of truthfulness. Truth means we have the readiness to obey; we have the integrity of commitment to truth; and we are opposed to all deception, dishonesty. We have no loose ends of our life that dangle and trip us up. We are girded, belted, strapped in by truth.
PAGE – 8 ============
Page 8 1.!BELT OF TRUTH . Vital to every soldier was this belt from which all tools of battle hung. This belt also held the soldier’s robe together. To the Christian soldier a belt of truth means “honesty,” “truthfulness,” “integrity,” and “sincerity” surrounds every part of our life. WARNING: Dishonesty brings defeat! !!Then he said in verse 14, “having girded your loins with truth.” So this guy is first of all, taking this long garment of Roman soldiers. To get the idea, imagine that you just took a big sheet and cut a hole for the head and pulled it over your head. Presto, that would be what a tunic would be in the ancient world. Can you imagine trying to do anything with this sheet flapping and flopping all around you? You’d look like a gho st – especially if you are going to battle, it would get all wrapped around you and fly up over your face and so they had to put a belt on to hold it and keep it from flapping up. But if you wanted to run and that was all the way down to the ground, you had to pull it up and tuck it in your belt. It would be kind of like taking your bedspread and cutting a hole in it and pulling it down and then trying to go running. You have to put a belt on and then tuck it in. And that’s what he’s talking about – hav ing your loins girded with truth – putting on your belt. 2.!BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS . The breastplate was a heavy piece of armor that completely surrounded the body. To the Christian soldier this means a pursuit of personal, daily righteousness. We learn confession and repentance of sin can only maintain this. WARNING: Impurity will bring defeat! !!Again, the picture is one of the heat of battle. There are spears flying, arrows flashing toward their targets, projectiles from catapults whizzing with deadly penetrating power and even hand to hand combat with swords in hand. Who would ever venture out without the protection of the encasing armor over the vital organs of life? 3.!SHOES OF PEACE . The sandal soles of the soldier were impregnated with heavy, spike -like hobnails, which gave him a good footing. To the Christian soldier this piece of armor is a call to both “readiness” and “peace of mind.Ó WARNING: Anxiety brings defeat! !!Now, you know, we live in a dump. I guess you have transfer stations here but when I grew up we used to take our trash to the dump. I guess that’s not a popular description of it anymore, but it was really the dump. I mean it was smoldering, burning garbage, broken glass, and nails everywhere and every time you drive in there you were always worried that you would puncture your tires. And we would shovel off all that trash and rotted stuff and you just would look around Ð it would look terrible. Rusted tin cans – sharp edges – all types of pointed things and flies everywhere. That was the dump. That’s what the world is like, spiritually speaking. Would you ever walk through a garbage dump barefooted in the dark?
PAGE – 9 ============
Page 9 You wouldnÕt walk through it barefoot ed in the light. And that’s what he’s talking about right here with this third piece and we’re going to have fun with that. How do you keep from puncturing your feet as we walk through the world? Its having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospe l of peace. 4.!SHIELD OF FAITH . To a Roman soldier, his shield was a portable metal -banded door, which he hid behind in battle. This shield served as the deflector from the flaming darts of the enemy. To the Christian soldier faith extinguishes all the flaming missiles of the evil one. WARNING: Doubt brings defeat! !!He said. There’s stuff flying all the time – watch out! There are arrows, deadly sharp, some even burning with fire, all aimed your way. Take your mobile wall of protection. Stand behind this refuge and escape the miss les that are coming your way! 5.!HELMET OF SALVATION . A soldier never was far from his helmet. Nearly any object on the battle field could immobilize a soldier if his head was unprotected. So to the Christian soldier the meaning of the helmet is assurance of salvation. WARNING: Lack of assurance brings defeat! !!Why? So you don’t get knocked out. I mean, who would carry their helmet down here. If there was all kinds of like, can you imagine a construction worker, you know, with stuff they’re welding up there and beads of metal are falling down and hitting all around him. Can you imagine the guy just walking along holding his helmet, you knowthunk! “Oh, man I can’t understand why itÕs hitting me.” Well, put your helmet on. Well, right here in verse 17 he says take your helmet. Make sure itÕs on. Make sure its functioning like it should. 6.!SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Quick and deadly were the swords of a soldier. Vital to any victory was the hand to hand combat, which ended in the defeat of the enemy. To the Christian soldier this victorious sword comes only through the personal memorizing of the Scriptures. This is essential to effectiveness in battle. !!WARNING: Neglecting the Word breeds weakness. And finally, watch out. Sometimes the battle gets up close and personal. Sometime there will be face to face encounters with enemies. And then only one thing will do, you must attack with the weapon of victory. And for the soldier there was only one, the short and lightning like stabs of the battle sword. HOW DO WE GIRD UP OUR LOINS ?
PAGE – 10 ============
Page 10 The girdle of truth (v. 14a). Satan is a liar (John 8:44), but the believer whose life is controlled by truth will defeat him. The girdle holds the other parts of the armor together, and truth is the integrating force in the life of the victorious Christian. A man of integrity, with a clear conscience, can face the enemy without fear. The girdle also held the sword. Unless we practice the truth, we cannot use the Word of truth. Once a lie gets into the life of a believer, everything begins to fall apart. For over a year, King David lied about his sin with Bathsheba, and nothing went right. Psalms 32 and 51 tell of the price he paid. Truth is the way God’s saints serve: Josh. 24:14; 1 Sam. 12:24; Truth is written on the hearts of God’s saints: Prov. 3:3. Truth is the way God’s saints worship: John 4:24, Truth sanctifies God’s saints: John 17:17,19. Truth is obeyed by God’s saints: Rom. 2:8; Gal. 3:1. Truth rejoices God’s saints: 1 Cor. 13:6; Truth is manifested by God’s saints: 2 Cor. 4:2. Truth appro ves God’s saints: 2 Cor. 6:7,8. Truth is the language of God’s saints: Eph. 4:25; Truth grows as a fruit in God’s saints: Eph. 5:9 Truth guards God’s saints: Eph. 6:14. Truth is what God’s saints meditate upon: Phil. 4:8; Truth is loved by God’s saints: 2 Thess. 2:10. Truth accompanies God’s saints: Tit. 1:1. Truth purifies God’s saints: 1 Pet. 1:22. Truth Abides continually with saints, 2 John 2. Girding of our loins with truth means that tunic had to be tucked in and girded around them. You know what this was? A CALL FOR PREPAREDNESS IN THE TRUTH . Now turn to Luke 12:35. Our Lord talks about this, spiritually speaking, to his disciples. He reminds them “be dressed in readiness”, or, “be girded – to put on what you need for what’s coming.” Why? Verse 35 – “and keep your lamps alight and be like men who are awaiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast.” What he’s talking about is, be perpetually on the alert. That’s what this girding up the loins was about. He said if you’re in the battle and if you are going to be involved, he says “gird up your loins, put on your belt. So it has to do with the whole idea of being committed and being ready to go into battle. And that commitment of being ready to go into battle means that we are prepared. Secondly, it was a CALL TO COMITTMENT TO THE TRUTH . Roman soldiers wore at least three wide belts or girdles when they went out into warfare. These were thick
PAGE – 11 ============
Page 11 leather things because in the ancient Roman times, a lot of guys lost it when up close in battle these little short daggers, when they were all kind of clunking shields with each other, they would pull out their daggers and they would try and stick somebody, you know, and knock them out by sticking them in the stomach. And so they started wearing these very wide, thick, 3-deep leather girdles. And so the guy would take his dagger and go like that, and uumph, it wouldn’t go in. And those guys that wore that 3- fold belt – this girding of their loins – were ready for battle. They were committed. They were saying “I’m going to go out and battle and I don’t want to be defeated, I’m going to stick with it. And that’s what the Scriptures are talking about it. Finally, it was A CALL TO OBEDIENCE OF THE TRUTH . How are you going to know you are committed to the truth? You’re going to be committed to having your loins girt about with truth. The Scriptures have a lot to say about that. We will believe and obey Romans 12 says that it starts by GIVING OUR LIFE BACK and saying it’s not mine anyway, it’s yours. We will believe and obey I Corinthians 9 says we have to KEEP BEATING our body down. We will believe and obey II Timothy 2 says you’ve got to count the cost and decide, that any cost, you are going to FOL LOW CHRIST . We will believe and obey Hebrews 12 says we have to run the race LOOKING UNTO JESUS . The tragic condition of NOT BEING GIRDED BY TRUTH Paul was looking at these soldiers that were guarding him and he says “if you’re going to go out and fight”, he looked at the guy next to him, he says “you’ve got to make sure first of all, that you have pulled in all the loose edges of your life, all of the billowing tunic that’s all around.” Just imagine wearing a big sheet and having it blowing in the wind. And that’s how most people’s lives are – they’re kind of fluttering in every direction. Paul says if you are going to be victorious, you’ve got to pull all that in. Put on your belt and gird up and say “I’m going to be in the battle. I’m in this, I’ve counted the cost. I’m in this, I’m one who is going to beat down my fleshly desires to get out. I’m in this for the duration. I’m in this – I’ve yielded my life to Christ.” And he says you can stand firm if you have girded your loins with truth. Truth – the Word of God. Loins – the center and seat of life and the outflow of the life. The idea that everything that comes out of my life will be truth and everything that is
111 KB – 19 Pages