Suit Up
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Everyone Wears a Uniform
Everyone Wears a Uniform
Uniform - dress of a distinctive design or fashion worn by members of a particular group and serving as a means of identification
How do we know what team a football or basketball player plays for? By their uniform. How do we know that a CO is a CO? By their uniform. Uniforms represent a standard. They represent that you stand for something. Uniforms are important for identification. The uniform we wear is the armor of God.
One of the major themes that Paul stresses in his letter to the Ephesian church is that he desires them to be unified in the faith.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Be Strong in the Lord
Be Strong in the Lord
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for 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.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Put on the Armor
Put on the Armor
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
That word stands means to stand your ground. Be immovable in your faith.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Why do we need to stand our ground in our faith? Because the devil is scheming against you.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
You are not the only guys in prison. You are not the only guys in a faith based dorm. You are not the only guys who have been wrongly accused of something. You are not the only guys on a unit that has drugs. You’re not even on the worst unit that has drugs. You have brothers in Christ that understand what you are going through. You have brothers that are being watchful. You have brothers in the faith are standing firm in their faith. You can too! What are these schemes that Paul is talking about? They come down to three categories.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The devil wants to steal your joy, kill your life of peace, and destroy the work that God has called you to do.
The Battle
The Battle
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
We’re not fighting a physical battle against a physical enemy. The results of this fight do have eternal consequences, however.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Suit Up in Order
Suit Up in Order
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.
Paul tells us to put on the armor of God. But he gives us a certain order of how that armor should be put on. Without thinking about it, every day you put on clothes in a certain order. It's ingrained in you to put on clothes in that order. To put on clothes in any other order would seem weird and just wouldn’t feel right. A firefighter
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Paul starts by telling us to put on truth. What does a belt do? It holds up your pants. The belt of truth holds up everything. Where does a sword go? On your belt. Understanding the truth of God goes before everything.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Righteousness here means being in right standing with God.
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Jesus, by his obedience to the point of death, made all of us righteous before God. Why is it the breastplate of righteousness though? What does a breastplate protect? Your heart.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
Remember we were told to Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel. We have to get moving. Jesus is the gospel of peace we are to go into all the world preaching peace to all men.
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Faith is the discipline of believing that God will do what he says he is going to do even though you can’t see it yet. All the flaming darts, the temptations that the devil throws at us, must be blocked by our faith.
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
A firefighter can’t fight a fire without his uniform. A construction worker can’t go on a job site without his hard hat. An officer can’t work seg without his vest. A Christian cannot go into all the world and make disciples without the armor of God. So, men of God, it's time to suit up because the harvest is ready.
In what ways can we embody humility and gentleness in our daily lives?
What practical steps can we take to put on the 'armor of God' each day?
How can the concept of wearing a 'uniform' help you identify your faith among friends?
What are some examples of the 'schemes of the devil' mentioned in the sermon?
