The Whole Armor of God Message 3

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

The Sermon Notebook: New Testament The Fight of Our Lives (Ephesians 6:10–18)

Intro: Ill. This following story is told by Leroy Eims about the time when he was serving in the Marines in the South Pacific during World War II: “Shortly after we hit the beach, our armored amphibious tank took two artillery shells broadside. We immediately evacuated our disabled vehicle and darted from hole to hole toward the enemy airstrip, which we were to take.

“The sergeant began to check on us to make sure that we were OK. He crawled over to me and asked, ‘You all right, Eims?’

“I answered, ‘Yeah, I’m OK, Sarge.’

“He looked at me and asked, ‘Eims, where is your helmet?’

“I felt the top of my head and answered, ‘Must be in the tank, Sarge.’

“ ‘Where’s your duty belt?’ Our duty belts carried ammunition for our rifles, a canteen of water, and a bayonet.

“ ‘Must be in the tank, Sarge.’

“ ‘As a matter of fact, Eims, where’s your rifle?’ He looked at me with disgust and pity. Because of our hasty departure from the amphibious tank, I was dressed about the same way that I would be dressed for a game of volleyball. And there I was, hopping from hole to hole, from tree to tree!

This story reveals the truth about the modern church. Most Christians have forgotten that the Christian life is not a playground, but a battlefield. As a result, very few of the Lord’s people are armed, equipped and ready to wage spiritual battle. Whether we ever believe it or not, we are engaged in spiritual warfare. If we are to be successful in our work for the Lord Jesus, then we must be prepared for that battle and be ready to go to war.

The Call to Strength-”be strong”

The Core of Strength-”in the Lord”

The Completeness of Strength-”put on the whole armor”

The Enemy-the devil-”the wiles of the devil, his schemes, his methods

All of this armor is God provided.

The Soldier’s Armor

Last Week we looked at the first two armament

Belt of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

And we discussed those differences.

Tonight we cover two more of our armaments in the Lord.

WE discussed that Paul used this imagery we imagine as he was inundated with guards while he was in prison in Rome.

Let’s continue on. The Christian soldier has the duty of defending His soul and the name of Jesus. His loyalties is to His Commander & Chief. We do not want to go spiritually a wall. We do not want to become a POW in the Devil’s capture. We do not want to be come a traitor. Thus, we place the armor of God to protect toward such measures.

The full armor dearly beloved is of necessity because of the “evil day” in which we live.

For all of us in this room, we have never experienced battle on the home front or have we? We are in a spiritual battle every day for our homes, our marriages, our children, our jobs, our community, our churches, our state, our nation, our world.

Ephesians 6:15–16 NKJV

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.

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

Shield of Faith

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

“And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

Sandals were a sign of readiness. They would place spikes through the sandals to gain traction when running, shifting weight, and engaged in battle.

There are all types of shoes for all types of occasions. Cleats for ball sports, tap shoes for dance, cowboy boots to handle horses or to be protected from snakes, etc.

Garrett is very blessed to enjoy a vehicle of the country-a Jeep. Even though a Jeep can climb a tree with 4 wheel drive, the Jeep is only as affective as the knobby tires that are placed on the jeep.

And so goes our spiritual lives. Paul calls on us to prepare our shoes to share the gospel of peace. Shoes are everything. If they are not comfortable, we choose not to wear them. They must be broke in for use.

Several things we want to consider tonight as we think about sharing the gospel of peace with a lost and dying world. You can come upon enemy lines when trouble is brewing among God’s creation, and by our spiritual shoes being prepared, we can bring calm to a storm someone is facing while they are in the heat of battle. We can come to their spiritual rescue.

Galatians–Colossians (King James Version) A. The Armor of the Christian Soldier, 6:10–20

Thought 1. Lehman Strauss makes a statement about this point that startles the mind of modern man: “The soldier’s shoes are not the dancing slippers of this world or the lounging slippers of the slothful, but the shoes of the Christian warrior who knows Christ and makes Him known” (Galatians and Ephesians, p. 232f).

We must have on a warrior’s shoes. How many of you have different type shoes for different occasions?

Many of you would wear boots more often than I do. I have to wear work boots a while before they feel comfortable. The point: The longer you have them on your feet, the better they usually feel.

Ill. Auburn lost to Houston in March Madness. You could accept it if Houston beat Auburn. The fact is Auburn beat Auburn. What am I referring to? They missed free throws. A player should not leave practice daily until he has shot no less than 200 free throws. You get comfortable under the crowds, the pressure, the hype, by literally shooting thousands upon thousands of free throws so that under pressure cooker situations, you know you can do it with your eyes closed.

Sharing the gospel becomes more comfortable with repetition. The more you share, the more comfortable you become.

MaTTHEW 28:19-20 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Two important matters to remember in sharing the gospel with someone.

Share the Word. Share the Scriptures that reveal how someone can be saved.

Can you or should you be able to memorize and share word for word those Scriptures. That would be a great challenge to accept and fulfill. But note, As a pastor, I am called to exhort the word or to expound upon it to offer understanding. Should we all be challenged with each passing day to memorize scripture, absolutely. All of us could do a better job in that area every day. But as long as we do not distort or misrepresent the scripture, the fact that you can share what the word says in layman’s terms is vitally important. We must share in a way that people understand.

Obviously, we salt the word. We give the Word flavor.

2. Sure footed in the Word

Mark 16:15 “15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Our confidence grows with each experience. Our ultimate aim is to be able to share Christ to every creature.

Ill. Terry Brooks-Runner 1/2 Marathon

Some people walk a 5K, others jog a 5K, others run a 5K, and some run a full marathon. And it is my understanding that there are some countries that run much further than a marathon.

An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres (26 mi 385 yd). Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 50 kilometres (31 mi) to over 200 miles (320 km).

Where do you find yourself comfortable sharing? Children, youth, moms, women, fellow coworkers. Find your sweet spot and then expand your feet.

Acts 1:8 “8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

We are more comfortable with the home town crowd than we are with other nationalities, cultures, etc. as an example.

3. Seal the Word “the preparation of the gospel of peace”

We prepare the soil of God’s influence. The Lord brings the results.

Your peace in battle will not be shattered if you are confident in God and your belief system. Surety of our own conversion and the fundamentals of our faith. You need to know what you believe so that when battle comes on your own home front, your peace is not shattered.

The Shield of Faith

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

Just behind the shield of faith is the breastplate of righteousness. But, the shield is not the smaller oval, but a larger more oblong shield measuring 4 feet by 2 1/2 feet. The shield would be made of wood covered in leather, soaked in water and copper reinforcement on the corners. The aim was to shield from darts being shot at the soldier. The shield would quench the fiery darts. The arrows aim is to burn and destroy.

Think for a moment according to location of soldiers. Let’s assume the environment they are in battle is both a dry and windy area. According to where the arrow hits, they can surround a bunch of soldiers with fire and burn a whole battalion.

Defense against those darts saves the soldier and those about them.

And, we have spoke a great deal that when we fall to sin, there will be collateral damage around us.

Faith is the Christian’s protection. Faith is trusting God. Trusting what God has said in His word. Faith is a believing response to the Word of God and never losing confidence that He is with us, He will never leave or forsake us. How do you keep the faith? How do you keep that shield in front of you?

What cause us to falter in our faith? Temptations, trials, accusations. Satan is a deceiver, a liar, a n accuser, a slanderer.

Andy thing he can do to knock your legs out from under you and get you on the ground and wale on you.

Satan makes us ask questions. What types of questions?

-salvation

-call

-if you are worthy

-if we can really serve

-if this church can really catch on fire and grow

-doubt and wonder

-discouragement, depression, a defeated attitude

-burn with passion, lust, desire

Satan begins to attack the mind. In other to get to the heart he begins with the mind.

Galatians–Colossians (King James Version) A. The Armor of the Christian Soldier, 6:10–20

However, the sign of the Christian soldier is that of the shield of faith, faith in God—a complete and perfect trust that God will quench the darts of doubt and evil that attack him, that God will help him control his mind and conquer the evil doubts and thoughts. The Christian soldier’s consciousness of God’s presence is so great that God’s presence itself becomes his shield and defender

Genesis 15:1 “1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.””

Psalms 33:20 “20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”

Psalms 84:11 “11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.”

I close with this verse. And the obvious most simple reason is that when you begin to falter, you begin to stumble, you become insecure. Remember this verse.

Psalms 118:8 “8 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man.”

Peter sunk in the water when he took his eyes off the Lord.

Matthew 14:22–33 NKJV

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

“above all”-the faith should always be there. It will sustain us in the battle.

I like to think my eyes would be glued to Jesus but if I’m honest I’m a lot more like Peter than I probably want to admit. And so, I want to share with you 3 simple, yet powerful ways to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Fixing our eyes on the Sustainer of all things will change your perspective. Your situation may not change but a change of perspective can open the door to incredible faith!

1 - Develop a consistent prayer life

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray constantly” (HCSB). Prayer is also the one thing the disciples asked Jesus to teach them in Luke 11:1, “He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples” (HCSB).

Prayer was important to Jesus and the disciples. Prayer can help keep our focus on Jesus, especially when the wind and waves begin to batter us.

2 - Surround yourself with like-minded believers

It’s no secret that Christians need community. We see in Acts how the early church was intentional in fellowship: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42 HCSB).

They were devoted to coming together. We need fellowship but within that fellowship we need brothers or sisters in Christ to keep us accountable. When the wind and waves come, we need those who will remind us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. But not only that we need them to stand with us in life’s hard and difficult seasons.

3 - Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you daily

The Christian from the moment of salvation is sealed by the Holy Spirit according to Ephesians 1:13-14: “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory” (HCSB).

Many seem to think it’s a one and done thing–that we don’t need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us again. The Apostle Paul tells believers in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled by the Spirit: “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit” (HCSB).