The Whole Armor of God Message 2

Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6:10–20 NKJV

10 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; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Prayer

Message

You have heard it said or sung, “we are in the Lord’s army.”

The Lord’s Army

I may never march in the infantry, Ride in the cavalry, Shoot the artillery. I may never fly o’er the enemy, But I’m in the Lord’s army. (yes, sir!) I’m in the Lord’s army, (yes, sir!) I’m in the Lord’s army, (yes, sir!) I may never march in the infantry, Ride in the Calvary, Shoot the artillery. I may never fly o’er the enemy, But I’m in the Lord’s army. (yes, sir!)

Mexico

I may never take a trip to Mexico, Ride a donkey oh so slow, eat a cheesy taco, I may never wear a big sombrero, but I’m in the Lords army (Si senor!) I’m in the Lords army (Si senor!) I’m in the Lords army (Si senor!) I may never take a trip to Mexico, Ride a donkey oh so slow, eat a cheesy taco, I may never wear a big sombrero, but I’m in the Lords army (Si senor!)

Africa

I may never in Africa abide, Be a Safari guide, Go on an elephant ride, I may never shoot me a Rhino Hide, But I’m in the Lords army! (Pound Chest) I’m in the Lord’s army! (Pound Chest) I’m in the Lords army! (Pound Chest) I may never in Africa abide, Be a Safari guide, Go on an elephant ride, I may never shoot me a Rhino Hide, But I’m in the Lords army! (Pound Chest)

Regardless of our denomination as long as we are a part of the Universal Christian church, regardless of region, regardless of gift or talents, regardless of education, sexual orientation, slave or free, we are all in the Lord’s army that are believers. Amen?

As we think of the Army or we simply think of a soldier, the imagery reminds us that we are in a battle. Paul was arrested and in prison and saw soldiers and guards all the time. This image placed in His minds eye and with the Holy Spirit guiding the pen, He related to us doing battle with Satan as a soldier.

1 Samuel 29:6 “6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you.”

lords as in little L were not pleased with King David. What we must remember is in the spiritual battle of life, there is only one Commander and Chief we must worry as to how we appear before our commanding officer.

2 Timothy 2:3-4 “3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

We discussed last week as we introduced this study, we discovered:

The call for strength in the battle

The core of our strength is in Jesus

The completeness of our strength is putting on the whole armor of God.

Furthermore, we studied last week the very reason we need battle array on is because there is in fact an adversary, an enemy and we battle against “the wiles of the devil.”

The worlds means his methods-his scheming.

This is spiritual battle-”not against flesh and blood, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness.

In verse 13-therefore is there for a reason-a call to have complete armor on.

Ill. -throwing batting practice for all star baseball. small hold in fence and the ball pegged me.

Our armor must to be complete. Think about wearing a bulletproof vest and the garment is torn halfway in the middle. What good would it be if a bullet penetrated that torn area?

We begin tonight in verse 14:

Ephesians 6:14 “14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Belt of Truth

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.”

-the idea of cinching up, pulling it all together, the belt is the final piece of the puzzle whether a military soldier or a law enforcement soldier or first responder.

When I dealt with law enforcement on a daily basis, I saw growing tools of the trade worn around their waste. Baton, extra mags of ammo, mase, taser, radio, their cell phone, flashlight, their issued sidearm weapon, etc.

And the belt had to be a real belt to hold all of that up, keep his pants up, and be able to run down a criminal with all of that on him.

The truth is a final wrap around that pulls it all together.

John 17:17 “17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

Psalms 119:11 “11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

Adrian Rogers made this statement: “What will keep you going is not how you feel, but what you know and who you know.” Dearly beloved, we must know truth, absolute truth founded in the Word of God. Saturate yourself with the truth.

You can be a good soldier for weeks, months, even years and a split second wrong decision called sin can ruin you, rob you of rank, and wound you for your effectiveness as a soldier for Christ. I want to remind you that every armament we are talking about is armored in Christ Jesus.

The devil wants you to err and the only answer is knowing right from wrong found in the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

Effectively-the truth strengthens you in your walk. The truth acts as boot camp does as a soldier. The truth builds your spiritual muscles, builds your spiritual mind, builds your spiritual endurance, strengthens your spiritual defenses.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 1919 ἐνεργέω

1919 ἐνεργέω (energeō): vb.; ≡ Str 1754; TDNT 2.652—1. LN 42.3 function, work (Mt 14:2); 2. LN 42.4 cause to function, grant the ability to do (2Co 12:6); 3. LN 13.9 bring about, produce, cause to be (Php 2:13)

Ill. 45 ACP 1911 pistol, M4-556 rifle

Have you ever met anyone who has book knowledge, but no walking around sense? We can make a statement such as that when we see a person that has knowledge by aptitude, but does not make application to the things you know.

Think for a moment about a soldier that tested highest level of marksmanship, but yet every time he or she had to go to the battle lines he encountered deer in the headlights-he or she just froze.

What good would the marksmanship training been if never used in battle?

When we are called to know the truth means beyond scholastically, but we are to apply it and use it in daily living.

James 5:12 “12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.”

Living in the truth is living in integrity. Let’s make a practical aspect of girding our lives with truth. Practically speaking, truth is defined as calling your life what it really is. What are the real hurdles to overcome. Where am I weak? Where am I strong? What have I got going for me. Where do I need to brush up and work on this area.

Why do I say this? Do not live life that is a lie and be honest about your state. Now here is what you do not want to do when you live in the truth. Recognize the area of your life that needs work. Admit your shortcomings. But, as I reflect upon leading in Mrs. Robbie’s funeral, remember Philippians:

Philippians 4:8 “8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Evaluate your weak areas. Commit to work on them. But do not let them define you. Find the positive areas of your life everyday.

2 Thessalonians 2:11-14 “11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

lack of truth-condemning

full of truth-conforming to the image of Christ

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Again, as I think of a bulletproof vest, the bulletproof vest protects your vitals.

There is a 1 out of 1 chance that you will die of a heart attack. Regardless of any disorder, disease, cancer, the last organ that will stop 100% of the time is the heart.

Thus, it is the most vital organ to protect.

The brass or bronze breastplate kept arrows or darts from going through.

Righteousness

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 2319 εὐθύτης

2319 εὐθύτης (euthytēs), ητος (ētos), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ Str 2118—LN 88.19 righteousness, uprightness (Heb 1:8+)

615 x-important subject

James 1:19-20 “19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

If these things do not produce righteousness of God, so when we follow James instructions it produces the righteousness of God. The idea of producing means again building up, flexing our righteous muscles builds a strong offense for the Lord.

Upright-means bold, holding one’s head hide, nothing to hide, living a life with nothing to be ashamed of.

You might say or think that the idea of truth and righteousness is a close hand in hand concept. Righteousness can be that you know the truth, but you are living with impurity in your life, unconfessed sin. We must live the life as a Christian by coming clean and not carrying unconfessed sin in our life. Invariably, what happens is we become desensitized to the sin the more we do it. The reason you must stay in the Word and in the Truth is the Word of God will point out the area that you are not battle ready and bring to your attention and bring conviction.

in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God

the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God

integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting

in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due.

Let’s marry these two pieces of armament tonight and allow them to complement each other to make one stronger.

Ill. Let’s assume you do not tithe. Girding your loins with truth firstly,

Realizes the need to tithe. True fact. Your yes is yes. Your no is no.

To keep your mind in high places-I want to prove the Lord in Malachi 3:8-10 “8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

You test the Lord and you give 3% or 5% (not the 10%-honesty-integrity), but you prove Him at that amount and He blesses. Celebrate in that as spelled out in Philippians-focus on the good, attempt the next level, give praise and honor and glory to God-, but be challenged to do better.

The Breastplate of Righteousness means that you know without a shadow of a doubt God’s Word, you know what He desires. You know the command about tithing, yet you are hypocritical in the fact you make others think you are tithing when in fact you are not. God calls us to wear complete armament. God does not honor when we have habitual, unconfessed sin, and we live a lie in an area of our lives.

We can make application to this as it relates to lust, paying taxes, having a filthy mouth or course jesting, reading illicit materials, pornography, gossip, covetousness and the list goes on.

I want to close again with the fact that every one of these armaments are provided by the Lord. Can yo and i accomplish this in our power? The Lord won the battle at the cross once and for all for those that believe on Him. To continue in winning that battle, We must be bathed in Jesus, call upon the Holy Spirit to empower us, and confess to the Father our desperate need for His forgiveness and cleansing.

Let’s pray.