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[0:00] Talking about the fight of our lives. It's the fight of our lives. There's a war on, a war on today.

[0:23] There's much talk in the media about maybe World War 3. It's in the headlines, isn't it? We are in for the fight of our lives and I believe it's ramping up.

[0:34] The world is already at war, already in fact. And these hostilities have already broken out and are happening and have been since the dawn of time on this earth.

[0:45] We are already engaged in a conflict. And Ephesians 6 tells us about this. So if you'd like to turn there to Ephesians 6, that familiar passage from verse 10.

[0:56] Ephesians 6 from verse 10. Just as you turn there I'll get my armour bearer ready. Okay, the fight of our lives. Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

[1:08] Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the walls of the devil. We call Russell forward now. Russell's the armour bearer. He's going to stand here with the armour that's going to represent the armour of God.

[1:21] And then we're going to have Elijah come forward too. Elijah, if you want to come forward. Maybe we'll get Elijah to stand on a chair so everyone can see him a bit better. Alright. Here you go Elijah.

[1:32] Elijah's going to be the soldier, the armour, the armed man of God. And it was really good because I was asking for some help this morning.

[1:44] And I was asking one of the boys and he thought, I don't really want to. But Elijah was saying, pick me, pick me. Pick me, that's how it's like in the kingdom of God isn't it? He doesn't have conscripts, he has volunteers.

[1:57] He said, I will follow Jesus. That's what Elijah wanted to do this morning. It says, put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the walls 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.

[2:16] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God. We've got it here. The whole armour of God. That you may be able to withstand and in the evil day and having done all to stand.

[2:27] So here we have our volunteer. Elijah. Prophet of God. Elijah. He is here, he's not a conscript. He volunteered. Stand therefore, having your lines girt about with truth.

[2:41] So first we get the belt of truth. Now this might be a bit hard fitting Elijah, this belt. But having your lines girt about with truth. So Elijah, put it on. Okay, there you go. Put it on. Wrap it around.

[2:56] There we go. There's the belt of truth. Having your loins girted with the belt of truth. The first piece of the armour. There we go.

[3:07] And then it says, hopefully it doesn't fall off. And having on the breastplate of righteousness. Here you go Elijah, you're going to take your breastplate now.

[3:18] Put it on. Put it on. There you go. There's the breastplate of righteousness. Wow. Just maybe holding it up a bit. Okay. And then it says, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

[3:34] There's the shoes, he's already got them on. The shoes, the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And then it says, above all taking the shield of faith.

[3:45] Here you go Elijah, you're going to take the shield. There you go. Hold up the shield. Good man. He's hidden behind the shield isn't he? That's what it's meant to do. Hide behind the shield. Put on the shield of faith. Okay now we've got some action here. The fiery darts of the wicked.

[3:56] Whoa. Look at that. Wow. After all that. After all that. After all that. After all that. After all that. After all those fiery darts. Well done. The fiery darts of the wicked.

[4:08] Okay, now we've got some action here. The fiery darts of the wicked. Whoa! Oh, look at that.

[4:19] Wow. Not a mark on him after all that onslaught of all those fiery darts. Well done. Then verse 17, and take the helmet. There you go, Alma Bearer.

[4:30] Take the helmet there, Elijah. The helmet of salvation. Look at that. Wonderful helmet. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

[4:45] Amen. Thanks, Russell. Look at that, Alma. Isn't that tremendous? Well done. Thanks, Elijah. Thank you. Well done.

[5:01] Thanks for helping. Good man. We have a few more Elijah's. Volunteers. Thanks, Elijah. Sometimes it's good to picture it, isn't it?

[5:16] You'll remember this, won't you? Amen. Even just for that. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching their answer with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

[5:27] So prayer is that last piece of the armor. The fight of our lives. Brothers and sisters, we're embroiled in a cosmic conflict. A fierce battle. It's been raging since time began.

[5:41] Through the ages and it still rages on. A cataclysmic conflict. A spiritual struggle for the hearts and souls of men and women. And we are engaged in this fight.

[5:52] It's a real spiritual battle as much as sometimes we can lose sight of it. It's an invisible war against unseen forces. Yet it is still real.

[6:03] And the forces against us are real. This battle is real. Now there's a bit of lightheartedness there. But what we were picturing is real. It is real.

[6:14] And this battle rages. It rages in the lives of men and women. In the homes of the people that are here today. The battle rages on every front. And through Ephesians we see this battle pictured in the two kingdoms of darkness and of light.

[6:31] And friends today, you, you, you, you are a target. And the fiery darts are being launched against you. You are in a fight.

[6:41] But thankfully God has provided everything that you need. Everything that you need for your protection. There is a coat of armour provided. Paul says in verse 10.

[6:53] We're just going to walk through again Ephesians 6 through 10 through 20. Finally my brethren. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his mind.

[7:03] Be strong. The strength, the sense of it here, of be strong, is be strengthened. Or receive strength. The strength comes not from within, from psyching yourself up.

[7:16] Or getting that right kind of vibes. Or somewhere in your own strength. But the strength comes from another. It's got the sense of receive strength. From another source.

[7:27] And where does our strength, our source, come from? God's power. He is our source of power. He is our source of strength. And we can rely on him.

[7:38] We need to depend upon him. Paul says be empowered with God's strength. With that strength of spirit, of character, of faith, of grace. We need strength today.

[7:50] Brothers and sisters, those fiery darts are launched at us all the time. We need his strength to overcome temptation. To go through the trials of life. Who's been through some battles?

[8:02] There's some battle-weary souls here today. There's some walking wounded here today. But thank God, here's your resource. Here's your strength. He will empower you and lead you through onto victory.

[8:14] Paul explains the weaponry that brings victory in this warfare. Paul, as he wrote this letter, he was chained himself between some Roman soldiers, guarded in a prison by soldiers such as are pictured here.

[8:29] Perhaps as he wrote of this spiritual armour, he would have looked at the Roman soldier's armour. And you could consider that he compared it to that. Verse 11, he says, Put on the whole armour of God.

[8:43] But you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The Christian life is a warfare. A warfare. It is a battleground. Not a playground.

[8:54] It is a battleground. And it is a call to battle, to fight, to war. It is a spiritual warfare. It is the fight of our lives.

[9:06] And when you're in a fight, and you are, you want to make sure that you're wearing armour. Make sure of that. Not just any armour. Through the Bible we see stories of armour.

[9:19] And one such story is the occasion where David confronted Goliath. And David was offered Saul's armour. But it didn't fit.

[9:30] A bit like that bells. It didn't fit. David, Saul's armour, it just wasn't right. Now, Goliath wore armour. He was heavily armoured. But it was useless against David's stone.

[9:42] It was David who won through. Even though David didn't wear any physical armour, he was wearing the armour of God. He wore that armour that day. And so can we.

[9:53] The armour that God has provided, that we're called to wear, is the full armour of God. God's unfailing armour. But this armour is no good unless you put it on.

[10:06] We had to say to Elijah, put it on. Put it on. And he had to take it, piece by piece, every piece, all of the armour, the whole armour, and put it on.

[10:17] Notice that the armour is the armour of God. It's God's armour. It's his armour. And so too, for us, as God's people, in this army of the Lord, are called to be totally dependent upon him.

[10:35] He is the one who is the one who arms us. And every piece of the armour, you can see, points to him. It is reflective of him. And it's interesting, as you think of each piece of the armour, that it's the opposite of the enemy that faces us.

[10:51] The armour of God is opposite to the way of the world and the prince of this world, Satan. And the sense of it here, when it says put it on, it's got the sense of put it on now.

[11:04] Put this on now. Straight away. There's a sense of urgency to this putting it on. So verse 11, put on, put on, put it on now, the whole armour, the whole armour, not just bits of it, the whole armour of God.

[11:19] That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Stand firm, he says. Hold your ground. Stand fast in the faith. Stand fast in your duty.

[11:30] In case you didn't realise it, you have an enemy. We have an enemy who's out to destroy. And he uses different tactics, wiles or methods.

[11:41] His gunning plan is to attack. He launches dart after dart. As you consider in those days, they shot burning arrows at their enemies.

[11:51] And so Satan uses these flaming arrows. He attacks us where our weakest point is. He knows our weaknesses. So we must be strong in the Lord.

[12:02] Verse 12, 4, you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers. Against the realness of the darkness of this world. Against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[12:16] Friends, a war is being waged and it's called a wrestling. It's called a constant struggle. It's a warfare in close combat. It's the fight of our lives.

[12:29] And these spiritual forces that are waged against us take many forms. Temptation, pride. It could be the spiritual wickedness. Those opposing forces of authorities, of lordships of this world that oppose the people of God.

[12:45] And it's important that we recognise what is against us. Who our enemy is. It's not really human beings. Sometimes we might feel like it is. Some of those people that give us trouble.

[12:56] It could be people like people in false cults or Freemasons or people that are constantly pushing immorality on us. The media. The world system. The Illuminati.

[13:07] It's not any of that. It's not the people themselves in our lives. Some of whom may hate us or despitefully use us or say all manner of evil against us falsely for his sake.

[13:19] They're not the enemy. Our enemy is the one behind them. Our enemy is the one driving them. Our enemy is the one deceiving them. He is the puppet master. The one who pulls the strings.

[13:30] Satan is our ultimate enemy. And he's a committed enemy. He's a real enemy. Public enemy number one. And you and me are on his hit list. You're on his hit list.

[13:42] Spiritual forces are arrayed against us. Friends, it's the fight of our lives. It's a spiritual battle. And so it's one we should fight with spiritual weapons.

[13:53] Verse 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand. Importantly, the armour we need is the armour of God.

[14:08] We must rely on his power, not our own. We will fail. It's a fight for our lives and we must rest and rely upon his strengthening, his armour. So Paul talks us through the different pieces of the armour.

[14:23] Verse 14. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. Firstly, the belt of truth. The belt held the rest of the armour together.

[14:36] A soldier in Paul's day wore this heavy belt to protect his loins, to carry his weapons. And the breastplate was fastened to it. The combat belt had leather straps hanging down to cover the knees and so on.

[14:50] And these overlapping straps provided protection. The belt held the tunic together so it wouldn't be snagged in the fight. And like the belt, in our lives, it's integrity that we need.

[15:03] Integrity that holds us together. That holds things together. God calls us to integrity. It's a lacking quality these days, isn't it? Often seen talk of people who make a big mess of things.

[15:18] And the devil just loves to highlight that. Even though otherwise good things might be happening in such families, for example, in these days. You see, the devil's only too quick to find our fault.

[15:29] And we need integrity to stand strong. And God's people are called to this, to integrity. In the truth that we live, that we seek, that we show the world. The Word of God is called God's truth.

[15:42] And we are to hide it in our hearts. In Psalm 86. David cried out. He said, Teach me thy way, O Lord. I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name.

[15:53] Knowing the truth grounds us and protects us. I know there's many that have hidden the Word of God in their hearts. There's a brother here who's made a particular effort in that. And that's a godly and commendable thing.

[16:05] For every believer to hide God's Word in their heart. Teach me thy way, O Lord. I will walk in thy truth. We need his truth. It makes us strong and steadfast.

[16:16] It helps us when we've got it in our heart. We can bring it out and make it live in our situation. And the Word of God is true. It's pure. It's right. And it makes us to walk right.

[16:28] The Lord Jesus says in John 17, Sanctify them. We'll make them holy through thy truth. Thy Word is truth. People of God today, as Christians, as God's people, we know the power of God, the truth of God, the truth that sets us free.

[16:45] In John 8, 32, Jesus says we can know the truth and the truth can make us free. And the truth lives and walks in our shoes, in our lives, in our integrity, in our character, as God helps us to walk true.

[17:00] He gives us his truth. And he calls us to be doers of the Word, to put it into action. Our beliefs, our values, our attitudes, our actions must be based in God's truth.

[17:13] You know, there's been much talk in the media these days about Australian values. I think Australian values are going ever downwards, sinking to a new level every time they call a certain thing a value.

[17:28] What the world values is not always what God values or what God counts as true. What popular culture promotes is not necessarily true. What modern media shapes is not always the truth.

[17:41] What the government wants to redefine is not true, necessarily, just because the government says it is. And so the truth that we have is unshakable truth.

[17:54] It cannot be redefined. It is what it is. It is the truth. And it always was, and it always will be, the truth. That is what we stand for as a people of God.

[18:06] And against us stands our avowed enemy. And what is his integrity like? He's called the father of lies. You know, I don't want to disparage any used car salesman here today, but, you know, it's that kind of picture, isn't it?

[18:20] As someone, you know, they talk out of the sight of their mouth. They can't look in the eye straight. That's what the devil is, the father of lies. And he'll sell you a lemon. He's the father of lies.

[18:31] He's the opposite of truth. His hallmark is deception. And you are called to stand, to hold your ground. There's a story told of the American Civil War time when there was a couple of companies fighting over a hill.

[18:46] And the union company wanted to take a strategic hill from the Confederacy. And there's all these bullets flying and lots of danger.

[18:57] And after making progress halfway up the hill, the weary soldiers became discouraged. There's a constant barrage against them. And so they began to retreat back down the hill. Then they noticed that the standard bearer, the one holding the flag, was standing fast.

[19:13] He refused to fall back. The standard bearer's job was to hold the flag, to mark the territory that was occupied by his army. And the ones down the hill said, bring the standard down to us.

[19:25] Bring the standard down to us. But the young man said, no. No. Despite the cannons exploding all around him, this courageous soldier was unwilling to yield an inch.

[19:36] He said, no. You come up to where the standard is. You come up to where the standard is. And so inspired by the bravery of their comrade, the Yankees renewed their effort and took the hill.

[19:50] And this quote goes on that too many of God's soldiers are fraternising with the enemy, bringing the standards of the church down to the enemy's level. But no. Bring the standard up.

[20:01] Bring the standard up. God sets the standard. And it's the truth. His unfailing truth. And we will not be moved. We will not be moved. We won't bring the standard down.

[20:14] And the truth matters today. It always has. And when you find the truth, you want to hold on to it dearly. And we will hold it up. The standard. The truth. We are not budging.

[20:25] We will hold our ground. It's like a story of one of King David's mighty men called Eleazar in 1 Chronicles 11. The army retreated and fled, but Eleazar stood by David's side and the two of them defeated the Philistine force.

[20:42] We need to hold our ground. In verse 14, it says to stand. And the sense of this to stand means to hold our ground, to stand for the truth.

[20:53] Without truth, everything falls apart. And Satan will come against us with his lies. But Jesus is the truth. He is your truth. He is the truth.

[21:04] And he will strengthen you with his integrity. Because it's the belt of truth is his belt. It's his truth. God calls us to apply it, to put it on, to confess the truth, to stand for it.

[21:17] The next piece of the armour we see is the breastplate of righteousness. Having on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate garden.

[21:28] The vital organs. In modern day terms, we could consider it as a light to the bulletproof vest. God's armour is bulletproof. Some of you young men think you're bulletproof.

[21:42] It's sort of a saying, isn't it? Young men think they're bulletproof. Well, if you've got the armour of God on, you are. You are bulletproof. If you've got that bulletproof vest of the armour of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the bulletproof vest of God, his righteousness, it's impenetrable.

[21:57] So what is righteousness? It means right standing before God. The righteousness we're talking about, it's not the righteousness of our own works, but his. The righteousness of Christ.

[22:09] He gives it to us. He says, put it on. My righteousness. Receive it by faith. It guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan.

[22:21] It secures us. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. It says, the Lord Jesus is made unto us our righteousness. We need his righteousness. The breastplate protected the soldier's heart.

[22:33] And God calls you and me too to guard our heart. Now the world says, follow your heart. No, Jesus says guard your heart. Because it's deceitful and desperately wicked.

[22:45] Guard it. Keep thy heart, it says in Proverbs 4 verse 23. If you are saved, the Bible says, that you are the righteousness of God in Christ.

[22:55] We have his righteousness by faith. Our righteousness comes from God. And Paul came to that dramatic place. In Philippians 3 we see that he talked about his religious credentials, about his belonging to a particular tribe, and his kind of CV as a Pharisee.

[23:17] But he said all of that was nothing. He needed the righteousness of God by faith. So trust Jesus as his saviour. Our friends here today, this is the ultimate and essential truth that I would urge you today to consider how a transaction can be made.

[23:34] The Bible says that we can account, we can have a credit placed into our account, as it were. A bank transferred to our account, which was in the red, with his undeserved credit, his undeserved kindness, his undeserved free gift.

[23:51] Philippians 3, Paul says from verse 9, that I might be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is by faith of Christ.

[24:02] The righteousness which is of God by faith. Friends, I urge you to consider this, the righteousness, the breastplate of righteousness. You might be struggling with this concept of righteousness.

[24:13] How can I be made righteous? And if we're all honest, we know we fall short of God's perfect standard. But there is a way for you to be made righteous.

[24:24] It's as you receive his righteousness. Receive it by faith. As a gift. He changes our state, our standing, our heart, our eternal destination.

[24:40] Such that we're no longer sinners, but saints. And not by some man in Rome saying you're a saint, but because God makes you a saint. Change from a sinner to a saint.

[24:52] By his decree. It's his righteousness that we receive. And we trust what he did at the cross. The next piece in the armour is the shoes.

[25:04] Verse 15, And the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We think of feet. In the Bible it talks about the walk, the destination, the direction of our lives.

[25:15] And shoes speak of a preparation, of a readiness. A readiness for battle. A readiness to march. The Roman soldiers wore heavy boots that were hobnailed military boots.

[25:27] They had nails underneath them. Like a, in a way, kind of like footy players. They had these hobnailed soles so that they would grip when the ground was slippery.

[25:37] And so too, we have these marching boots, if you like, that God sets our direction in a new walk, a new direction. And he walks with us.

[25:48] And he gives us a message to take on the journey. The message is the gospel that we carry. What's the gospel? It's the proclamation of God's good news. The good news that Jesus saves those who will trust him.

[26:01] And he shows us a new way to walk. To walk in good works. To walk in worthy. To walk in love. To walk as children of life. To walk carefully through life.

[26:12] And he gives us the message to take on this journey. The gospel that Jesus died for our sins. He rose again. And if we will confess him as Lord, as Saviour, as we trust his payment for our sins, we can be saved.

[26:30] That's the gospel. And so that's the message we have as this victorious, marching army. We promise victory. In Romans 16 it says, And the God of peace will soon bruise Satan underneath your feet.

[26:43] Underneath your feet. That's interesting, isn't it? That as your feet tread, that Satan is underneath your feet. As you're part of this advancing army, we will not retreat.

[26:55] We will not back down the hill. We will not turn back. God gives us shoes that will march forward. Ever onward. Ever upward. As we walk all over Satan.

[27:07] You know, have you ever trodden in something? We can tread on Satan. That's what he is. He's underneath our feet. We follow Jesus. We walk in his steps. And Satan is just like some muck underneath our foot.

[27:21] In terms of what God has done. And our feet follow in his steps. The Lord Jesus. And we can truly say, I will follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.

[27:33] Next and above all, the next item in this armour is the shield of faith. Consider it how the shield, as it virtually hit, Elijah, was a picture of the shield of faith that covers you.

[27:48] And it shall quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. When we wear the armour of God, it's God who will make us able, able, able to stand.

[27:59] There's other ables here. Able to withstand. Able to quench all the fiery darts. You are able. You might not feel like it, but if you wear the armour of God, he will make you able.

[28:12] Consider this shield. This shield, this shield, it displays who we are. The Roman soldiers' shields had emblems, they had decoration, insignia. It was like a sign of authority that they stood in the place of the ruler.

[28:28] As they had that crest, that insignia, that badge, if you like. The sign of their authority, just like a policeman has authority, not in himself, but because he has given it.

[28:39] And the Roman shield was no small thing. It was like a door, virtually a door. And one of the names means such a thing. It's a door that a person could hide behind.

[28:52] It was two and a half feet wide and four feet tall. And so, a soldier kneeling would be fully hidden behind that shield. And opposing soldiers would dip their arrows in oil then light them to try to strike and shoot the shield.

[29:09] But this shield was protected and it was dipped in water and the arrows just fizzled out. This shield had weighed about 10 kilos.

[29:20] And the Romans were protected as they were hidden behind this shield. They could safely shelter behind the shield. And so too for us, brothers and sisters, you had the shield of faith and you were covered by this shield.

[29:35] The Roman units also would gather together as a combined force. When they were advancing or attacking or being attacked, they would come together and form this formation where their shields would kind of fully cover the whole band of soldiers.

[29:54] And likewise too, we as God's people are part of an army. And we're fighting together shoulder to shoulder with others in God's army. We are not alone. The true Christian faith has this mutual defence.

[30:08] And what these soldiers would do is form this, they call it a turtle formation. So it's like a turtle shell that was over the top of this band of soldiers. And so too we need believing friends that we can pray for one another, cover one another and look after one another.

[30:27] And so we will overcome. the fiery darts. How many of those fiery darts? Some of them? All of them. All of them. Whatever they be, those fiery darts.

[30:39] You might have had a few thrown at you these last few days. Maybe longer. You feel like you're under attack. Well, it's normal. It's not going to be easy.

[30:50] I'm not saying it's going to be easy. It's not easy. We know what it's like. We know what it's like. I'm not talking from lack of experience.

[31:03] To have people attack and hurt and try to hurt. Fiery darts will come at you. Could be lies. Could be accusations.

[31:15] Could be guilt within. Could be your own struggles for greed, lust, envy, unforgiveness. Those things that you battle with. Pride. Fiery darts.

[31:26] Don't be surprised that you get some of those things coming your way. You are under attack. And we are to expect it. If we weren't getting attacked, something would be wrong.

[31:39] It wouldn't be normal if we weren't getting attacked. I know there's a dear sister gone to a hospital this morning. There's needs here. We need to cover for one another. Pray for one another. Pray for Natalie in the hospital this morning.

[31:52] Let's cover for one another. Let's pray for one another. Let's support one another. We're an army. We should be working together. And everyone playing a part. As was said. 1 Peter 5 it says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

[32:10] Our enemy is on the prowl. And so we must arm ourselves. God provides the armour that we need. We must put it on. All of it.

[32:21] All of it. And God himself is our shield. Many times he's called our shield. Look through your concordance. Look up the word shield. We stand with him as our shield.

[32:34] Our banner, our strength, our salvation, our rock, our fortress. We can proclaim it as the psalmist did. And we stand in his authority, his power, and his victory.

[32:46] We can claim as the psalmist cried in Psalm 3 verse 3, But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me. My glory and the lifter are of my hand.

[32:58] We don't lift up our head in pride, but we lift up our eyes in joy, in jubilation, in confident, hope and expectation, because our hope is in him and he is our shield.

[33:10] We don't lift up our head in vain glory, but because we are sons and daughters of the living God and he is our shield. It's the fight of our lives and we need the armour.

[33:23] Next, the helmet of salvation. Verse 17, And take the helmet of salvation. Take it. A soldier used a helmet to protect his head.

[33:33] Of course, if he was wounded in the head, he was a garment. And the armour of God that we wear must include the helmet of salvation. In Psalm 114, verse 7, David, or the psalmist said, O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation that has covered my head in the day of battle.

[33:53] He covers our head in the day of battle. He is our shield, our salvation. Do you know him? Do you know him? Do you know him this morning? This could be just words to you, unless you are saved, unless you are saved.

[34:09] This means nothing to you. You must take, take the helmet of salvation. Do you know him? Have you trusted him? I urge you today, take the helmet of salvation.

[34:24] It's vital, vital. I urge you today, at the close of this message, if you're not a Christian, come and speak to me, or another trusted man or woman, here today, to find out, how can I be saved?

[34:39] It's simply trusting. It's simply trusting him. It's receiving his gift. Take the helmet of salvation. Satan's target is your mind. Our enemy is constantly bombarding our minds, our thoughts.

[34:53] And every believer needs to have the mind of Christ, determined to have your mind on the things above. 2 Corinthians 10 tells us how we should cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

[35:08] Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. It's the fight of our lives. We want to be careful what comes in the ear gate, the eye gate, what we take in.

[35:27] Someone has said the brain is like a sponge. And we can take in some muck like sponges can, can't we? We've got to duck me. Okay, he wants to fill our minds, Satan, with fear, with hopelessness, with despair, with defeat.

[35:44] Now get that brain if you like and squeeze out the muck, alright? Like a sponge. And rather, let the water of the word saturate and purify your thinking.

[35:57] Have a sound mind. An assurance of his salvation for your mind. That helmet of salvation, it protects our minds from doubting God's truth. It's the fight of our lives.

[36:10] And we see next the need for a sword. The sword of the spirit. Not just any sword. The spirit's sword. The word of God. God's word teaches us, it guides us.

[36:22] We're called to study it. To put it to use. God's word is very precious. We hold it dearly. This is no mere book. It's God's word. God's words.

[36:34] And God has magnified his word above his name. And it's by his word that he sanctifies. He makes us holy. It's by his word that he cleanses his church. It's by his word that he does everything.

[36:47] And we want to honour the word and obey it. What did the Lord Jesus do when he was at the battlefront with Satan face to face? He says, It is written.

[36:59] It is written. It was his first line of defence. The scriptures. And the Lord Jesus speaks in power. It is written.

[37:10] And Satan crumbles. And we can say the same as our Lord Jesus said. We can say what's written because we've got it here in our hands. Three times Satan tempted him and three times the Lord Jesus fought him off with scripture.

[37:24] The word of God is alive. It's quick. It's powerful. It's sharper than any two-edged sword. And it brings life to those who will receive it. It's the fight of our lives.

[37:36] People today. This is not picturesque language. This is not some psychological pep talk to make you feel good. It's the fight of our lives and you're in it.

[37:48] You're in it now. But we are not alone. We're not alone. We've got personal access to the commander in chief. Wow.

[38:00] Now sometimes you've got to go through a secretary or two to get to the main man or woman in charge don't you? But we can go straight to the top. Straight to the commander in chief. Because we've got communication lines always open to HQ.

[38:15] In this battle direct personal access to our commander. Paul tells us that we should always pray. Always pray. Verse 18 Pray always with all prayer and supplication.

[38:29] Supplication that means we ask God to supply. We've got access to the supply lines. Supply lines. God will supply all I need.

[38:40] Supplication and perseverance. Supplication not just for yourself but for all saints. Don't just pray for yourself. Pray for your brother your sister. Back up one another. It's the fight of our lives.

[38:52] And we're called to be praying people. Praying. Realising God's strength. Praying not only praying but watching. It says praying and watching. Watching it means being on the alert.

[39:05] You know in wartime they always had to have the watchmen on the walls didn't they? And in wartime I suppose they had people scanning the skies to see or the radar screens to see whether their enemy was approaching.

[39:18] And likewise too we should always be watching. Always on the alert. Vigilant. Not dossing or drunk but sober. Awake. Alert.

[39:30] Watching. Vigilant. So he doesn't catch us napping. Wide awake. Isaiah 64.7 says that there's a people who stir up themselves to take hold of God.

[39:42] I pray we'd be those people. Stir up yourself to take hold of God. Isaiah 64.7 Stir up yourself to take hold of God.

[39:53] Don't take this lightly. It's the fight of our lives. Don't you see? Don't you see how important it is to get right with God? Don't you see how important it is to follow Him to put on the whole armour of God to fight the good fight of the faith to prepare for battle?

[40:11] Paul in the closing chapter of his life 2 Timothy 4.7 says I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course my race. I have kept the faith one of you of your life.

[40:24] How many chapters are there left? How many days? How many hours? How many minutes? It's the fight of our lives where you make your life count.

[40:36] We're engaged in a conflict. Let us wear the arm and put it on daily. Again I urge you if you're not saved if you can't say preacher I can't think of a time when I knew for sure that I trusted Jesus.

[40:52] I can't think of a time when I was saved. Please don't leave this building without speaking to someone to settle it today. Settle it now for time and for eternity.

[41:03] Say preacher I want to know how do I become a Christian and I'll gladly help you as Pastor Ed and Brad others here today. Women folk if you'd like I can point you to a godly woman who can talk you through how to trust Jesus Christ for yourself.

[41:19] How to put on the armour of God. Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

[41:35]  Let us pray. Let us pray.ยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยย