Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Last week I began sharing a message with you that I entitled Dressing for Success.

And it wasn’t about dress codes and the like, it was about following the Apostle Paul’s teaching in , concerning the need to wear the whole armor of God each day.

Now I want to take a few minutes to go back and consider a few thoughts we talked about last week as we move into the final portion of this message today.

Remember where this message is taking place, it is the city of Ephesus.

Ephesus is a port city that lay on many trade routes.

as such, it was a diverse city, many different people groups, nations if you will were represented there as commerce moved into and through the city.

Also, with these other people groups came various lines of thought from political views to religious views.

Because of this, Paul was aware of the influence the varying thoughts these different religions would have on the people of this city.

Paul knew with all of these opposing views, the devil would be at work.

Pulling and separating families, friends and yes even established groups like those believers in the city.

Now remember where Paul is, he cannot be there with them, he would love to be there, he would love to be there teaching and helping them during this time.

But Paul is under house arrest in Rome.

He is awaiting His time to plead his case.....

So he writes to them, reminding them, encouraging them to be on the alert

Now remember what we talked about last week, the battle they faced, the war that was raging around them was a spiritual battle, one that is unseen with the naked eye.

Ephesians 6:12

Oh but God would open their eyes them and yes even us now we would see the war that rages around us all the time.

Oh but God would open their eyes them and yes even us now we would see the war that rages around us all the time.

Remember Paul is warning them to be careful because of the devil’s schemes.

The word scheme… the Greek word there is Methodia, literally speaking to the methods of the Devil, but the word has a dual meaning tied to it, literally the deceptive methods of the devil.

The devil hated those believers and he hated what they were doing, how they were living and the impact they stood to have as they lived for God.

So the Devil schemed against them.

Please note the devil has a logical, systematic plan in place to harass, hinder and hurt the children of God if He is able....

And not only did we need to recognize the battle going on around us as a spiritual one, we also must know the only one can run to is the Lord.

Paul’s word is very direct… stand with the Lord, and let Him fight this battle....

Now remember what I told you last week… “...Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.....”

What does Paul tell us....

“...Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.....”

What does it mean, We are weak..... in our natural selves, oh we might be able to do this or that, to hang in there in difficult times.... but that type of strength is only superficial.

It certainly is not adequate for the real battle, the real tests of the faith.

Consider this.....

We are weak..... in our natural selves, oh we might be able to do this or that, to hang in there in difficult times.... but that type of strength is only superficial.

It certainly is not adequate for the real battle, the real tests of the faith.

Simply said… we are not able in our own strength.

What’s the answer?

We are to walk with the Lord and rely on His strength.

So how do we walk with the Lord?

Faith....

Faith is the key… By faith we walk with Him and he strengthens us. it is the same strength Paul refers to in

Our strength lies in God, no one else and if we can stand with Him, no one can stand before us.

Remember and God used him to lead the children of Israel into the promised land.

As they stood with God, He fought the battles and the cities fell, the enemies were defeated and they had victory.

God deserves to give victory in every area of your life, no doubt about it.

Stand with Him and watch the hand of the Lord fight for you.

BUT....

We are still required to get dressed....

The dressing in the whole armor of God is a metaphor it means to possess what God has given us to help us stand during the day of trouble.

So what has God given us....

1.

The Belt of Truth...

We are to stand with God, having made our stand and the first article of clothing is the Belt of Truth.

Verse 14

The belt was an important feature in the life of a soldier, and honestly it wouldn’t hurt today if a few more boys wore some belts ....lol

But consider the belt, it supported the soldiers back and waits to some degree and it kept their garments compressed a little more tightly so that when they needed to move quickly their garments were not hindering them by moving very freely.

Now consider this phrase though… Paul says have a belt, but he is particular in the type of belt.

truth.

The word truth in the Greek has a couple thoughts tied to it…

The first is embracing, holding on to what is true.

A soldier in the Lord’s army must know what is true if they are going to stand against the schemes of the Devil.

If we fail to know what is true we stand in danger of being deceived.

Let me share with you what Paul says in

People are deceived because they do not know the truth.

There are many doctrines out there, but there is only one truth.... His name is Jesus.

Know Him and you know truth.

But when we fail to know the truth, well; when this happens the devil has people right where he wants them.... they are easily deceived.

But we are not done, truth also speaks to having an attitude of truthfulness.

What does that mean?

Your walk, your talk, yes actions and attitudes should reflect the “truth” that is in you.

People cannot see you one way on Sunday and another way Mon thru Sat… that is hypocrisy… mean it is not true, its fake.

That my friends cannot be the reflection of our lives.

Let the truth of Jesus Christ be seen in all you do and say.. that defeats the Devil and his lies...

So gird, put on the belt of truth.

That is the first portion of standing with the Lord.

Now look at what else verse 14 says...

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness

The breastplate today we might picture as modern day body armor.

Back in the days of Jesus, the 1st century the soldiers wore these metal cover if you will that went from their neck to waist.

Sometimes it was front and back, others it was front only.

The breastplate today we might picture as modern day body armor.

Back in the days of Jesus, the 1st century the soldiers wore these metal cover if you will that went from their neck to waist.

Sometimes it was front and back, others it was front only.

It was there to protect the vital organs, the heart, the lungs the liver and the bowels, there were the vital organs that must be protected at all costs...

Why?

Consider the heart of man,

It was the heart that contained the mind and will of man, and stomach and bowels were where the seat of our emotions lay.

And friends know today that it is the mind and the emotions that Satan loves to target into todays world, and it does it really well.

Satan tries to cloud our minds, wrong thinking, false doctrines, confusion.

He tries to temp us in this sinful environment he has constructed in this world, and he hopes to use our emotions, our desires and all these other components of life against us.

He seeks to lead us astray....

And don’t be mistaken my friends if He can reach our mind or the emotions, He hurts us.

So to protect us, to keep us safe to bless us, the Lord says for us to not only put the belt of truth on, but to place the breastplate of righteousness upon our lives.

But not just the front, righteousness is to be taken and wrapped around our whole body.

But what is this righteousness?

Is it our righteousness?

No….

our righteousness is filthy, it is like dirty rags… it is no good and not able to do anything for us.

And it cannot be God’s imputed righteousness, that which was given to us at salvation.

This work is based solely on God’s love for us, in love He took our sin, He took our punishment and because we confessed our sin, His righteousness was imputed to us, given to us so that we might be acceptable in His sight… so no it is not this one.

So what is it….

The breastplate of righteousness is a practical righteousness.