Helmet of Salvation

Good Morning

I am Pastor Brandon

Today I am going to be talking about the Helmet of Salvation.

Speaking of helmets

Me.

I remember back when I was a kid, my mom used to make me wear a helmet when I would go ride my bike…….

I remember hating this thing until one day, out riding with friends

I being the only one wearing one. A police officer pulled over and gave me a voucher for a free Ice cream cone! Hah, who is the sucker now????

Fast forward to when I was a young man, my mom no longer made me wear a helmet but I was issued one of these (pull out ACH)

This is what I wore every day out on mission for 16-18 hours straight in Iraq.

Up in the gunner's turret, catching the breeze. (pass that around)

In the military, we have many names for these.

Brain bucket

Kevlar

Turtle shell (for the new guys who did not have a cover yet)

Or as I called it, the ACH.

Which is an acronym for Army Combat Helmet.

Now you see why I have neck problems. I wore this helmet for 13 years and through two different combat deployments.

It’s designed for combat and to protect your brain from serious injury,

AND THEY WORK

My first ever PSG had a scar that started from here and wrapped all the way back.

We all heard the rumors, but one day he addressed the PLT and said

“it’s true. I took a shot from an ak47, a 7.62mm hit me right here, and the helmet did its job. The bullet rode the helmet around my head and out the back. “

That’s why I never complained about wearing that helmet throughout the rest of my career.

We.

I bet some of you have had some experience with wearing helmets at one point or another. Some of you probably wore one like this. From your time in the service.

But I know many guys grow up playing football.

Football helmets have changed quite a lot throughout the years.

Improvements are constantly being made to prevent TBIs or Traumatic Brain injuries and concussions out on the field.

When in football, the opponent is hitting hard to defeat you, or in the case of a soldier, the enemy is literally trying to end your life.

The helmet is there to protect your most important asset.

It's there to protect your mind.

We can wear a helmet to protect our Heads.

God.

The Bible also talks about wearing a different type of helmet.

Let us open our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6

Starting off in verse 10, it says,

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

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

I know last week we talked about having joy in trials, and having joy in chaos but these trials the chaos that we may take joy through are brought on by as is says and ill read again

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

so as we learned last week to have joy through it we can also protect ourselves in the midst of battle.

-let us continue Ephesians 6:13-18 “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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

In the time that Paul wrote this, the roman soldiers would have worn armor like something you would see in the movie Gladiator.

Are you not entertained?!?!?!

A belt was used to tuck in clothing and a place to hang their weapons.

A breastplate, usually the dramatized version, would look like a Chiseled physic, something emulating what I got going on, but I’ll keep it tucked away.

Boots: these were heavy-soled and hobnailed sandal boots.

A large rectangle shield that was a semi-cylindrical shape large enough to reach from the shoulder to the knees.

The last defensive piece of armor is the helmet.

Usually round with guards that came down on each side and flared out in the back to protect the neck.

Then, of course, the Sword.

We will be focusing on the Helmet of salvation. The most important piece of equipment.

Because Without your head, you are dead!

During the time that Paul wrote these letters to the Ephesians, Paul was in a prison for sharing just that.

We are all destined for death, but Jesus gave us salvation.

Ephesians 3:1 says, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you gentiles.”

Ephesians 4:1 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Ephesians 6:20“For which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.”

In all three verses, he repeats that he is doing time for SPEAKING THE GOOD NEWS!

Paul understood that his struggle was not against flesh and blood.

He was willing to deal with the repercussions of spreading the good news.

“Take up the Helmet of Salvation!”

Jesus is the Helmet of Salvation

Lets back up to Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

DEAD in our transgressions.

This means that his love for us did not begin when we do works, or when we turned our lives around.

Jesus loved us when we were dead, even as sinners.

Paul had a personal experience with this back when he was dead in his transgressions.

In Acts 9

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.

Yes…Murderous Threats!

Continuing on.

He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

Yet Jesus still came to him!

Jesus blinded him and sent him to the city.

Then a disciple by the name of Ananias was sent by the Lord to place hands on Saul to restore his sight.

Yet, Ananias is not sure because he knows of Saul’s transgressions.

Acts 9:13-14 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

He sees Saul as who he was, not the way God sees him.

Acts 9:15-16 “But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. “

Lets read Ephesians 2:4-5 again “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Paul had his own personal experience with what he was writing in his letter to the Ephesians.

But what is Salvation?

Salvation can be broken into different stages, and they all apply to us.

Regeneration is you entering into a personal saving relationship with Christ through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. Who draws you into repentance and into faith in Christ Jesus.

John 3:3-6 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

the spirit drawing you into repentance into faith. Repentance is not saying you are sorry for sin. We are man, we are imperfect. repentance is changing your actions, and as imperfect man we can try our best but through the spirit through salvation we are saved.

Salvation through past , present and future.

The past of salvation is through Justification.

Justification is the judicial act of God whereby He forgives the sinner of all his sins – past, present, and future – and declares him righteous in His eyes and free from guilt and punishment. It is an immediate and instantaneous act of God upon the sinner’s confession and his acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The current level of salvation we are all currently in, and we live in which is sanctification. The continual process of salvation.

sanctification is “separation” or “to be set apart.” In the spiritual sense of a believer’s life, sanctification means to be set apart:

1) by God

2) for God

3) from sin

4) unto a holy life,

5) to be made more holy through conforming to the image of His Son Jesus

Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

This is the process of being more like Jesus as we grow closer to Jesus. Our character is changed. What makes us stand out as Christians. We do not react the same as others. Just as we spoke about last week, we have joy in chaos.

Sanctification differs from justification in several ways. Justification happens at the moment of salvation; it is a one-time work of God that results in a declaration of “not guilty” before Him because of the work of Christ on the cross.

Sanctification, on the other hand, is a process. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

beginning with justification and continuing throughout life, where the we go from sinners to become more and more Christlike. and choose to live under God’s will. In short, sanctification means spiritual growth

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

We have to reiterate that good works cannot save us. What does Paul mean when he says in Philippians 2:12-13 that “we must work out our salvation…?” To “work out” means to bring to completion or to accomplish. We need to work out our salvation because though our past sins have been removed and we have been justified, the present is still here. We are still living and every day we face a world full of sin and temptations.

Paul goes on to say in Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’

Paul said that he’s not perfect but he presses on to achieve all the purposes for which Christ has saved him. This should be our goal as believers in Christ. To keep pressing on until the day we will meet face-to-face with the Lord. But until then let us retain a sanctified walk by living a life in obedience to God, if we fail, we immediately confess it to God and He will restore us.

Sanctification is not instantaneous but is ongoing until the believer leaves this world and goes to heaven.

Which brings us to the future of salvation which is glorification

Glorification is the final phase of the saved sinner’s salvation experience. we leave this world, either by death or by rapture and is reunited with the Lord Jesus in heaven. The believer never achieves sinless perfection until he is glorified in heaven; his sin nature is removed and is given a perfect glorified body.

The helmet of salvation is our regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Our salvation is an ongoing process of past present and future.

as it says in Ephesians 6:17 “and take the helmet of salvation

You.

What does this mean to you???

While the enemy slings many attacks at you, there is something that we can do.

The first thing we can do is

Don your helmet

The last piece of armor I would put on before a patrol was my helmet. This is only because this big head with a helmet on wasn’t fitting through my body armor. Just as it says in Ephesians 6:17 “Take up your helmet of salvation.”

Protect your head from the mental attacks, the discouragement, the inadequacies, the I am not good enough.

For JESUS SAID YOU ARE!

He came and died for us so that we may live!

The funny thing about armor.

In WWII there was a SRG or a statistical research group that spent much of the war fighting in a different way.

They used statistics to fight the war.

One mission they were tasked with was fighter planes and how to armor them but without too much to slow them down and render them ineffective against the enemy.

Too much armor was bad, and too little armor was a problem.

They noticed a uniformity of bullet holes in all the planes returning from combat.

They saw an opportunity by placing armor just in the places that are getting hit the most.

That is where they would armor…..

Until one individual named Abraham Wald had pointed out.

We see planes return with bullet holes in the same location, but the ones that are receiving damage in the places they are not seeing are not returning.

The helmet of Salvation is in a place where we would not return to the father.

So first, we must Don our Helmet!

Then we must Deflect the Enemy

To deflect is to cause something to change direction.

The enemy will be slinging attacks your way,

Just as my first PSG’s helmet did, when we wear our helmet of salvation

We will deflect away his attacks.

If a Kevlar helmet can deflect a 7.62 mm bullet traveling at over 1,500 mph,

then what can our creator do!?!

We partner with him through Word, Worship, and War

The Word by reading His word and declaring the word.

Worship, I don’t know about you, but just like Paul and Silas in prison, no matter how bad it is, when we worship, nothing can outshine God!

And War, that is the power of prayer! Go to War in prayer.

First, Don or helmet

Second, Deflect the enemy

Lastly, Declare Victory!

1 Corinthians 12:7-9 says, “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The enemy is just a thorn, and through Christ’s Salvation.

We have already Won!

Our strength is perfect through him.

The enemy stands no chance!

He is a speckle of dust beneath the feet of Jesus!

I rejoice in my weaknesses!

We.

We don’t need the statistical research group.

God has already given us the answer.

There are too many people that are not reaching their potential.

They are allowing the enemy to LIE to STEAL, and to DESTROY their calling, their mission.

If we Donned our helmets, Deflected the enemy, and Declared Victory

Where could we go? What could we do?

What if we were willing to be imprisoned like Paul to share the good news???

Are we willing to be even uncomfortable?

Can we step out at the gas station, pay for someone's gas and say it’s because Jesus wants me to tell you that he loves you?

We can stand against the enemy, and we are victorious because Jesus has already won the battle.

Let us Pray.

Father, for where we are week your grace is sufficient.

Your power is made perfect in our weekness.

As we suit up in the armor, the perfect armor that you made for us,

The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel boots, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit

We are empowered to do the works.

For you coming down in the flesh and paying for our sins by the blood and resurrection.

We have the strength to do your works.

To step out and be different.

To stand tall and be victorious against the enemy.

To bring more people home and to grow the kingdom.

For this we all say Amen.

I challenge you all with this.

You wear the helmet of salvation.

For his blood paid for you.

Step out and share the good news.

When the Holy Spirit leads you to pray for someone and you think,

NO WAY, that would be embarrassing, I am in Walgreens buying rash cream.

You remember right here (point to helmet)

You have a helmet to protect you because he loved you so much that he paid for your salvation.

He also paid for their salvation.

They could be standing there with no armor at all.

Stand tall and help him reach others!

Thank you.