Stand Up and Fight: The Belt of truth

Stand and Fight: The belt of Truth

Ephesians6:10-17

One of the things that is cool about truth is that it always comes out.  We tell our kids lies sometimes, not thinking that it is a big deal, but when a kid finds out he has been lied to…you better watch out. “wait you mean that drinking coffee WONT stunt my growth?” Burnt food doesn’t put hair on your chest. One of the greatest deception comes around the 12th month of the year. I wont let the cat out of the bag parents but know you will have to. I knew one 9 year old boy that felt betrayed that his dad told him the big lie. And during a season when the boy should have had a smile on his face to go along with his red and green sweater, he has a scowl, and was hurt at being lied to for so long. The truth always comes out. So why not start with the truth to begin with?

Truth is the first piece in he armor we will be talking about. The first thing that is used to stand and fight the enemies of God.

Identifying the truth

·        The tool we use to do this is none other than the word of God…which we will go into more detail about when we get to the sword of the spirit. Scripture has been called our rule of faith and practice…you cant look up things like “should I buy this car” or “what should I wear out tonight” but the guiding principles for everything in our lives can be found in here.

·        The Bible also makes the claim that it is inspired by God. Heb 6:18 says it is impossible for god to lie. Therefore His word must be truth. Everything should be tested next to the word of God. If it stands true then it is truth…if it crumbles it is a lie.

·        Illus-you tell your kid to clean his/her room. They come out a few minutes to 3 days later…with those triumphant words “IM DONE, can I go out and play now?”  Now starts your interview process… Did you pick up all your dirty laundry? Yes…Did you put away all your toys?...Yes...Is everything stuffed under your bed? (pause) No. And they test is when you start to go check that room… If they let you walk past and go to their room they are either telling the truth or are really brave. If they so “NO NO NO Im not finished”…then you know they just lied to you and that’s when you string them up by their toes.

·        One of the problems is the fact that people think that the Bible is made in their own image. That they can read into it what THEY want. That is called bending the truth. A few principles when searching the scriptures. Know that it is written by someone who lived 2000 years ago to an individual or group that lived 2000 years ago in the 1st century. Helpful to know who exactly is speaking and who is being spoken to. Know that context is important. What does it say before and after this certain passage. Also what do other scriptures say on the same topic? Sometimes they might seem contradictory until you realize that God cannot lie…you harmonize them. Find out how they agree. An example is someone saying this passage says that you need to believe to be saved…and another saying well this one says you need to be baptized…who is right? Neither! BOTH! You need to do BOTH!!! Plus some more.

Through diligent study of scriptures you will be laying a foundation of truth..and everything you encounter will be tested against that foundation and you will know if it is worthy…but what is the importance of truth?

Importance of the truth

·        We read that one of Satans weapons that he uses against us is what? Lies. He is the father of them. How do you help to counteract and not be deceived by those lies? Be grounded in the truth.

·        As Paul is sitting in jail in Rome writing this letter he no doubt looked upon the armor clad Roman soldiers that were passing by. He used this very armor to describe to these predominantly Roman Christians the Armor of God.

·        He noticed the belt. The first piece of armor that is put on. It holds everything to gether. It contains loops for the sword and ration bags. It is cinched and tied tight so that it will not mover around in battle. If a soldier does not girl his loins with the belt…he is not ready for battle.

·        The truth is one of the most important pieces to our armor…It is used to hold everything else together…by our firm grasp of the truth everything else will be held in place.

·        Illus-The last phone I had had a belt clip on it. I wouldn’t look where it was I would know that it was on the same spot on my each time. If my belt wasn’t tight enough, not only was there the possibility of showing my underwear to those who had no desire to see it.. but the belt sometimes turns… Then I just look like an idiot trying to reach for a phone that has shifted back a few inches…What if that was a sword in the middle of battle? There goes my head.

·        You must keep a firm and unwavering grasp on the truth..people have a tendency in hard times to compromise. To be untruthful when the situation would look better if they were. Sometimes men twist scripture when it suits them better. Truth cannot be molded to our liking. It is something that we must compare our lives to.

We know that the truth of the scriptures is important…but how do I live/practice it?

Living out the truth

·        First of all know what it says. Read your Bible…daily… Satan doesn’t take a break from shooting his flaming arrows at us…why do we think we can break from being prepared for battle? READ YOUR BIBLE DAILY? Challenged you that whenever you saw the youth you ask them if they are reading their Bibles. Have you done that yet? It is a habit that is a necessity in our faith.

·        Put it into practice…if you apply the scriptures to your life you will see great changes.

·        Illus-:lets say that Danielle is using some chemicals to clean in the kitchen… All of a sudden she screams and I run in and ask what is wrong…turns our she has accidently sprayed the cleaner into her eyes…I panic and don’t know what do to so I read the bottle. I read to myself…If in contact with eyes…flush immediately with cold water…I am relieved that I know no exactly what to do. So I set the bottle down…say “wow I am glad that I learned that” and go back and watch the game. Meanwhile my wife is going blind…why? I read the directions but didn’t put them into practice. PUT INTO PRACTICE WHAT THE WORD SAYS!!!

We have seen that for Christians the only source of truth is God, we see how important that truth is as we try and fight back against the devil, and we have some tips on how to make sure we practice that truth.

The worst thing that could happen to a Roman soldier in battle is to lose their belt…their goes their food…there goes their sword…and most likely there goes your pants.  It is hard to defend yourself when you are constantly pulling up your britches. Hold fast to the truth of the Word of God. Don’t let society or hard times make you lose your grasp. Hold fast to it and it will help hold the other weapons in place.