The Christian Soldier

Ephesians 6:10–20

Ephesians 6:10–20 KJV 1900

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

1 Chronicles 11:10-25

1 Chronicles 11:10–25 (KJV 1900)

These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance. Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines’ garrison was then at Beth-lehem. And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, that is at the gate! And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord, And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest. And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and had a name among the three. Of the three, he was more honourable than the two; for he was their captain: howbeit he attained not to the first three. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties. Behold, he was honourable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.

Text 6:13a “Wherefore take unto you the whole amour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

I. Intro: Throughout history man has been plagued with wars and battles. History is full of wars and battles from the antediluvian days to our present day.

A. Up until the birth of Christ there were the:

i. Egyptian wars, the Jewish wars and battles, The Assyrian wars, the Babylonian wars, the Persian wars, the Grecian wars, and the beginning of the Roman conquests.

B. After the Birth the Christ there were:

i. There were the continuation of the Roman conquests and battles, the Muslim wars including Mohammed and Attila the Hun. The Napoleonic wars, the Christian wars, to Americas Revolution against England, the Civil war, World War I&II, our war with Iraq and Afghanistan, and who knows possible with Iran.

II. Many of us like to read and listen to wars stories.

A. One of the places I like to read about is David and his mighty men. In 1 Chronicles 11 you can read about His mighty men. In my opinion they were probably some of the greatest fighters in history.

i. In vs. 11 you can read about Jashobeam. Jasobeam was the chief of the captains. He lifted his spear up to 300 at one time and slew them all.

1. “11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.[1]”

ii. Then there was Eleazar the son of Dodo in vs 12 who when the people fled stayed with David to defend a parcel of ground

1. “12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. 13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. 14 And they set themselves in the midst of thatparcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great deliverance.[2]”

iii. Then there were the three of the thirty captains who when David longed for a drink from the well of Bethlehem went down and brake threw the host of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem and brought it to David.

1. “15 Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. 16 And David wasthen in the hold, and the Philistines’ garrison was then at Bethlehem. 17 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate! 18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD, 19 And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.[3]”

iv. Then there was Abishai the brother of Joab who also slew 300 in vs. 20-21

1. “20 And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slewthem, and had a name among the three. 21 Of the three, he was more honourable than the two; for he was their captain: howbeit he attained not to the first three.[4]”

v. Then there was Beniah. In vs. 22-25 “22 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. 23 And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. 24 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties. 25 Behold, he was honourable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.[5]”

1. He slew two lion like men of Moab

2. He also slew a lion on a snowy day in a pit

3. He also slew an Egyptian who was five cubits high (approximately 8 feet 9nches tall)

B. A barber in the Quad cities had a journal of his great, great grandpa’s experiences in the civil war.

i. They were captured by the south and sent to a concentration camp.

1. The south’s soldiers threw trash and garbage and filth in the only creek that flowed through the concentration camp many of the prisoners’ got diseases’ and died.

2. Some of the union soldiers were Christians and began to pray and ask God to help them. One night a storm came, and it was a gully washer. It washed and cleansed the camp and in the middle of the concentration camp a spring broke forth and gave the men fresh clean drinking water.

C. My grandfather tells of his experiences in World War II.

i. The Japanese foot still in the boot.

ii. Plane shot down

iii. The two battle ships

iv. Two Submarines

v. Grandpa shot down

III. Of all the wars and battles down through history there is still one war that is raging that is far more dangerous than any mentions so far and that is the battle for the human soul.

A. From the time of Adam and Eve down to our present day, Satan is waging a war against your soul.

i. Jesus said in Mark 8:36

Mark 8:36 KJV 1900

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

1. There are many things in this world I can lose.

a. My car, my house, my possessions, and as painful as it would be mu spouse.

b. But I can’t afford to lose my soul.

2. From the day I was born to the day I die my soul has two possible paths that it can go. The path of destruction or the path to eternal life.

a. Where my soul ends up in eternity depends on my action and choices that I make in this life.

ii. That is why Satan is targeting the soul, and here in Ephesians Paul is giving us the equipment to fight in this warfare.

IV. In this warfare you must have the proper equipment if you are going to be able to stand.

A. 1stwe must note three things about this war.

i. 1st it is a spiritual war. Paul said we fight not against flesh and blood.

1. You and I are fighting against the forces of evil and darkness.

2. We can’t take guns and knives into this war it is a spiritual war.

ii. 2nd no matter how good of a fighter we may be in this war we cannot win if we do not follow the orders of the commander Jesus Christ.

1. Too often people want to take the battle into their own hands rather than follow the command of Jesus Christ

2. He has a plan, and we must follow His plan.

iii. 3rd we must have on the whole amour of God.

1. We cannot pick and choose the amour of our choice we must put on the whole amour of God

2. Without the entire amour we become vulnerable to the enemy.

a. When we send soldier boys over to fight for our freedom. Our military send the best equipment so they can’t fight and defend themselves.

b. God know just what we need in this spiritual warfare, He gives us exactly what we need to defend ourselves.

V. Paul here uses the Roman Soldiers Armor to Describe God’s Armor that we need in this Spiritual battle.

A. 1st we need the Helmet of Salvation.

i. The Helmet protects the head, the thinking process. The part of us that makes decision.

ii. Paul said to put on the helmet of Salvation. You and I are living in a world of no absolutes. Pilot said, what is truth? Many people are going through life saying, “what is truth”?

iii. Salvation in our lives is the foundation, or the beginning of God’s absolutes in our lives.

iv. In everything we do in life we must build from the basics

1. In heating and Air when I was training to become a tech. They started me out with the basics, after I became a full-service tech. the basics is still what I use in problem solving.

v. Our salvation is built upon the basics, and we must never get away from the basics.

vi. Salvation starts with the basics.

1. We must believe that Christ is Lord.

Philippians 2:11 say’s “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord[6]

a. Faith starts in believing that Christ is Lord.

b. Where would the Christian faith be if there was no Jesus, no babe in a manger, no cross and no resurrection.

c. Our faith starts in believing that Jesus is Lord and that He is reason form the dead.

2. We must ask him to forgive us of our sins

a. 1 John 1:9 says, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”

i. (ILL) Missouri camp meeting.

b. Repentance does not just involve asking God to forgive us of our sins but it also turning away from our sins.

i. It is an act of our will to turn 180 degrees from the direction we were going and following Christ. We must turn our back on sin and turn toward Christ.

ii. When we get saved, we are through with sin.

3. We need to believe that Christ is Lord, and that we must repent of our sins, but we must also have the cleansing of the heart. I John 1:9b says “and cleans us from all unrighteousness”

a. It is not simply enough to have forgiveness of sins committed, but also a cleansing.

b. From the time Adam and Eve sinned, the human race has the nature of sin passed down to us

i. I John 1:10 says “if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the truth is not in us.”

1. Roman 3: says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

c. We must seek the 2nd work of Grace and has God to cleanse us from the nature of sin.

i. Act chapter 19 Paul came upon some men, and he ask them where have ye been baptized and they said John’s baptism and they said unto johns baptism. Paul expounded unto him the doctrine more clearly and he laid hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

d. The helmet of Salvation is of two distinct works of Grace.

e. There are a lot of doctrines out there and if we don’t have the right foundation in our salvation, they will lead us astray.

i. (ILL) I can say I am going to California, which is west of her, but is I head east I will never reach California; I must go west.

ii. We can have the greatest intentions, our motives can be good, but if I am following the wrong road map, I will never make it to where I was intending to go.

B. We must have our loins girded about with truth

i. Jesus said the truth will set you free.

ii. One of the foundations of the Christian life is following the truth

iii. Jesus said I and the Truth the Life the Way.

1. Jesus is truth. When we follow his plan, His way, His direction in every part of our lives it sets us free.

a. Many people are bound because they are not following the truth or plan the Jesus as set out for us.

b. Freedom come when we Follow Christ and the word of God.

2. When we follow truth, it gives us life.

a. When we follow Christ, we are giving life we are grafted into God’s family. We are no longer dead in the trespasses of sin.

3. Truth and life give us the way. The way to heaven.

iv. We must have our loins girded about with truth. It protects the vital lower regions of the body, the stomach, the liver.

C. We must put on the breast plate of Righteousness.

i. Christian do right and live right

1. Webster say Righteousness is “an act or being in accordance with what is just, honorable, and free from guilt and wrong; upright.”

2. As Christian we do what is right even if sometimes it might hurt us.

3. I would rather lose a business deal, or be a little embarrassed rather than lie, than to lose the breast plate of righteousness.

4. The breast plate protects the upper section of the body, the heart, and the lungs.

a. If we are hit by the enemy in this area, is almost certain death.

D. We must have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.

Matt Henry says “The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the difficulties and dangers that may be in it. It is styled the gospel of peace because it brings all sorts of peace, peace with God, with ourselves, and with one another[7]

i. We must be resolved in our walk with God. In this armor there is no protection to the back because there is no turning back.

ii. It is a gospel of peace

1. John 13:35 says “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”.

2. Do you love your enemies, do you love those who have wronged you? This gospel is a way of peace.

E. Above all take the shield of faith.

i. Faith is probably one of the biggest failures we have. When our Goliath’s comes, we forget to have the faith of David.

ii. So often we must be reminded of how big our God is.

1. (ILL) I was facing a big problem and it was bigger than me, Br. Smith had to remind me that God is bigger than the problem

2. So often we get into the battle, and we get our eyes on the problem, but we have to get the shield of faith up and remember that God is than whatever the problem is.

F. We must take the sword the word of God. Read study Gods word so you will always have the Sword the word of God with you

i. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path

1. The lamp gives us light to where we are standing, and if we can see where we are standing, we can know we are standing on solid ground.

a. God’s word is the most solid ground you can ever stand on.

2. It also gives us light to our path. We can see where we are going. With our light we stumble. God Word gives us light.

G. Lastly, but not least we must pray.

i. Prayer is our way of communication with God and keeping our relationship alive with Him.

1. (ILL) I have been married 27 years with my wife, I could say “she’s old hat”, don’t tell her bye when I go to work, never tell her I love her, and our relationship would die. No, I tell he bye, and that I love her, we set down and communicate often. Why? Because I Love her.

2. But that is what so many people do to Christ, they never communicate with Him to keep that relationship alive with Him.

3. Love is an act of the will, and we must work to keep our relationship alive.

H. (Conclusion) Paul said to put on the whole armor of God, if you and I are going to make to heaven we must have on all of the amour of God.