Would you turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 6?
I'm going to start in v. 10 and read through v. 17.
God, would you bless your people as we read your Word.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
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.
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.
Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Amen.
Tomorrow morning, you wake up.
And you wake up to sounds of skirmishing going on outside your house or your apartment.
So as you get out of bed, you reach on your nightstand for your binoculars.
You're not a peeping Tom!
These binoculars have scriptural lenses that enable you to see the unseen spiritual world.
And as you bring these binoculars up to your eyes and you're gazing out at your neighborhood,
what captures your attention is something flipping down on the ground.
The rest of this thing is behind a building, so you can't see it.
But as you focus in, it's the flipping of a lion tail.
And you call to your mind 1 Peter 5.8.
Our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a lion seeking for someone to devour.
And you wonder, does anybody else know what lurks?
Does anybody else know of this lion?
Sobered up, you put your binoculars down.
As you turn away from your window to get ready for your day,
there in front of you is a seven foot chest.
It's got two five foot doors that will open towards you.
Inlaid on each door, there's a word.
Stand firm.
This arm wore.
It takes up your whole room.
As you run your hand across the wood of that chest,
your spirit rises.
This is no ordinary wood.
This is wood that has come from a tree called Calvary.
Simply touching the wood invigorates your inner man.
The armor is not elaborate, but the craftsmanship is unrivaled.
The top molding of this chest takes the form of a crown.
And like a crown, the outer wings of the molding, they expand beyond the armor itself.
And the tips of this crown from the tops, it tapers down and into the centerpiece.
And the centerpiece itself is a cross that is a foot high.
A replica.
A replica of the cross from which this wood was harvested.
The contents of this chest, of this armor, you know, are from another country.
From a distant land.
Your homeland.
This chest was given to you the day you became a citizen of heaven.
You used to follow the course of the world.
The prince of the power there.
The evil one.
Living for your passions of your flesh.
But that all changed when God gave you ears to ears here in eyes to see.
Three years ago, your king came for you.
He delivered you.
He delivered you from the domain of darkness.
And brought you into the kingdom of the beloved son Jesus in whom you have redemption.
The forgiveness of your sins.
And oh, you long to see him.
Face to face.
Inlaid below the cross that is the centerpiece of the crown on top of this armor.
Inlaid right below that, but above those two doors, is the word armor.
It's a kind of inlaid brass.
With a red hue.
A hue that reminds you of blood.
Your king's blood.
Shed for you.
On the cross.
That has already won the victory.
He triumphed over the devil and his demonic hosts.
Through the cross.
His cross work disarmed the rulers and authorities.
Of this present darkness.
Victory is assured.
Victory is won.
And so before you even open up these doors, you know that Christ has won the victory.
Though your enemy is already defeated.
He is for a time on the run.
And seeking to wreak havoc.
The armor in this chest.
This armor.
This armor was forged and formed with you in mind by God.
In fact, we read in Isaiah that this armor was worn by God himself.
This armor will come to you, has come to you as a complete set.
Each piece works as part of the whole to protect you.
The armor is designed to equip you from head to toe in order to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
By and large, this armor is defensive.
You know what's in there.
But you stand back to look at these five foot doors.
Again, you look at the inlaid bronze words.
Stand firm.
And as you reach to grab hold of the bronze knobs, you know what happens?
Those words become ablaze.
With heavenly delight.
Your king delights in you opening this chest.
He wants you to put this armor on.
You're reminded of Ephesians 6.13.
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.
As you open up the doors, you are met with a heavenly fragrance.
It's the smell of crab apples in full bloom in spring.
But sweeter.
It's the eternal bloom of heaven meeting you.
And instantly, it invigorates you.
Strength, as you open those doors, are met by that fragrance.
Inside the doors are inlaid more words.
The strength of his might.
This armor is for you.
To strengthen you.
To give you what you need.
And there laid out, in the order you will put them on,
is the belt.
The breastplate.
A pair of ankle-high boots that are open-toed.
A large shield.
And behind these, a platform with a helmet.
And you can see the hilt of a sword.
A sword that is living.
A sword that is lethal.
A sword that is legendary.
All given to you.
A sword that is evil.
All given to you.
So that you would be strengthened.
To stand firm against the devil.
With the doors open, you reach in and you pull out this belt.
You take hold of it.
Verse 14.
This belt of truth is the belt which is truth.
It represents truth.
Truth is reality.
The truth of a matter is the reality of a matter.
The way things really are.
And in the book of Ephesians, we've already encountered this word truth.
In Ephesians 4.21, we read that the truth is in Jesus.
And we all know what Jesus said in John 14.6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father but through me.
When you became a Christian, you were brought into the true reality of life.
The way things really are.
And this is essential and fundamental to our living now.
It's the first thing that we put on.
A Roman legionnaire or a Roman soldier would put on this belt, which was more like a leather apron.
It would be the first thing that he would put on.
It would protect his waist and upper thighs.
And it would be the thing that he would attach his sword to on the right side.
We'll come back to the sword.
But as he would buckle his belt, this belt around his waist, he would feel the leather tighten around him.
Giving him a sense of strength.
Of confidence.
You know that phrase, gird up your loins?
That's a great phrase for what's happening here.
Gird up your loins.
Strengthen yourself with the belt of truth.
The first thing that we must do as Christians is to strengthen ourselves with the truth that is found in Christ Jesus.
Gird up your loins.
So here it is.
Here's the truth that you must tighten around your waist as the first thing every day.
Here it is.
Jesus Christ is of first importance.
That's the truth of the matter.
Jesus Christ is of first importance.
It's all about him.
Jesus really is God incarnate.
Born of a virgin.
He really lived a sinless life.
He really died as a substitute for sinners.
He was really raised from the dead.
Triumphing over sin, death, and the devil.
It's true.
It's true that he's at the right hand of God now.
Interceding for all of us at this moment.
It's also true that he's waiting for a word from his father.
The word go.
And when he hears that word go, he's coming back.
And he will make all things right.
It will be a final and very public judgment for justice to be made known.
It's all true.
God really does have a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ.
It's of first importance.
And that's why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15,
For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also receive.
That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
That Christ was buried.
That Christ was raised from the dead on the third day in accordance with Scriptures.
You see, in the Apostle Paul's mind,
it's all about Christ.
He is of first importance.
Which makes us realize this.
Eternity is real.
Hell is real.
Heaven is real.
The judgment to come is real.
And so we tighten this belt of truth around our waist.
It's all about Christ.
It's the first thing that we put on.
It steals you for the fight.
It reminds you over and over again of why we must stand firm.
Because it's all about Jesus.
It's about His fame.
His glory.
By putting on this belt of truth,
you guard yourself from the subtle lies of the enemy
that seek to distract you from that which is of first importance.
If you're not reminding yourself regularly that Christ is first,
it's all about Him.
It's just a matter of time before something other than Christ
becomes that for which you live for.
Have you lost sight of Jesus?
Have you forgot that He's first importance?
That it's all about Him?
Well, how do you put this belt of truth on?
Well, what you do is you regularly renew your mind with God's Word.
The Bible reveals truth.
It's all about Christ.
He's of first importance.
Him we proclaim, Paul says.
For me to live is Christ, Paul says.
And He died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves,
but for Him who for their sake was raised, Paul says.
So the truth of the matter is that it's all about Christ.
That's the belt we put on first.
Buckle that on every day.
Having buckled on the belt,
we reach back in
and our hands grab hold of a breastplate.
Armor.
It's the breastplate which is righteousness.
For a Roman soldier,
the breastplate was an essential piece of armor.
It protected his vital organs.
Lungs, kidneys, liver.
Of course, his heart.
A soldier would be foolish
not to wear the breastplate into battle.
And what Paul is saying here
is that there is a righteousness
that Christians put on
that functions like a protective breastplate
against the schemes of the devil.
The righteousness that we are to put on
is not our own righteousness.
But the righteousness of Christ.
Now, I know that the word righteousness
is a church word.
Think of righteousness as being
in right standing with God.
being fully accepted by God.
When a sinner believes in Christ,
God makes that sinner righteous
in His sight.
He justifies them.
And so what Paul is telling us here is this.
We are to regularly renew our minds
with the truth of our own justification.
that God has made us righteous
in His sight.
When a sinner believes in Christ
for the very first time,
God does two amazing things simultaneously.
So a sinner hears the gospel,
they respond by faith,
and then God responds to their saving faith.
And here's what God does.
God takes the sinner's sin,
the guilt and condemnation for it,
and He takes it and places it on Christ.
The fancy word is to impute.
He imputes our sin on Christ.
And then, God pours out
all of His wrath
for our sin on Christ.
pours it out
till there is no more.
Until it's all paid for.
Do you know what the result of this is?
Here's the result.
Full and complete forgiveness
of all sin,
past, present, and future.
That's the result.
That's why Paul writes in Romans 1,
there is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus,
those who have been justified.
Why?
Because Christ was condemned
and bore the wrath for them.
But this is only
half of justification
that we've been forgiven.
Here's the other half.
As our sin was imputed to Christ,
and God poured out His wrath on it,
Christ's righteousness
is imputed to us,
and God pours out His affection
on us forever.
Jesus lived a sinless life
fully pleasing to God His Father.
Remember at His baptism,
the words,
Oh, this is my beloved Son
with whom I am well pleased.
What God does
the moment a sinner believes
is He takes the 33 years
of Christ's perfect obedience.
Something we could never do.
And He imputes that obedience,
that rightness to us.
So not only does God
pour out His wrath on Christ
for our sin,
for giving us everything,
He imputes Christ's righteousness to us,
making us pleasing in His sight
because we're in Christ
and then in Ephesians 2,
He's able to pour out on us
for the ages to come
the immeasurable riches
that are ours in Christ Jesus.
It's amazing, isn't it?
That's your breastplate.
Justification is your breastplate.
One of the tactics of the devil
is to assault Christians
by causing them,
tempting them to doubt
their justification.
To doubt God's Word
that they are in fact
completely forgiven
and fully accepted
in God's sight
because of what Christ
has done for them.
The devil wants to undermine
our confidence
in the peace
that Christ purchased
for us through His blood.
The devil really doesn't want us
thinking about Romans 5.1.
Therefore, since we have been
justified by faith,
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The devil really doesn't want us
thinking about Romans 8.1.
There is therefore now
no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus,
those who have been justified
by God.
You see,
believing God's Word
that we are justified
by His grace,
believing that is vital.
It's vital to our spiritual health.
It's essential to our spiritual well-being
as a Christian
and it is critical
in the spiritual fight
at hand.
It's a prime target of the enemy.
One of His tactics as well
is to keep us focused on our sin,
rather focused on our Savior.
The Savior who died for our sin.
The Savior whose righteousness
we received
was imputed to us.
You know what?
Maybe you're one of these Christians.
There are a lot of Christians
who,
though justified by grace,
they are completely forgiven
and fully accepted.
That's true of them.
So even that being the case,
they still live in fear
of a condemnation
that will never happen.
Because Christ already bore it all.
The devil is playing a game.
He's trying to keep you
from living in the fullness
of what Christ has done for you.
So what you do is
you put on the breastplate
which is the righteousness of Christ
and you stand against
the schemes of the devil.
So,
when the accuser
whispers in your ear,
sinner,
or he raises something like this,
I haven't forgotten
what you did 10 years ago.
You call yourself Christian.
only if your church needs
guilty.
You're guilty.
Anybody know that
line of lies?
Here's how you respond
with the breastplate
of Christ's righteousness.
You know, there's no denying.
No denying what I did
10 years ago was sin.
I'm not denying that.
But that sin,
along with all my other sin,
was paid in full
by my Savior
on the cross.
And He crushed your head too.
His righteousness
has been imputed to me
and that will never,
ever be revoked.
Though some of your accusations
may be true,
they no longer stick
because I'm no longer
condemned.
That's the breastplate
of Christ's righteousness.
Strap that on.
Walk through your day.
With that on,
you reach back into
the Gospel armor.
And the next piece of armor
is actually footwear.
Verse 15.
Sandals.
Which provide a kind
of readiness.
Footwear that makes you
ready to stand firm
against demonic assaults.
What Paul is referring to
is the half boot
of a Roman soldier
that was open-toed,
but that would have had
leather straps
that soldiers would wrap
around their ankles
and tie tightly
just below the calf.
For us,
it would be basically
first century high tops.
That's what they would be.
With open toes
so you can get a pedicure
if you wanted to.
That kind of a thing.
I don't think Roman soldiers
got pedicures,
but I don't know.
Furthermore,
these sandals
had studded souls
for traction.
They could dig in.
They were like
first century high top
cleats.
It's a picture of stability.
Being able to hold
one's ground
when opposed.
The idea is
to have your feet
firmly planted
to be unmovable.
And notice,
it's the gospel of peace
that makes us
unmovable.
In verse 15,
we stand our ground
against the devil
because we are
at peace with God.
That's the rationale.
We are firmly grounded
by the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
So here's how it works.
let me put it
in the form
of a question.
If I'm at peace
with God,
a peace that He purchased
through the blood
of His Son,
if I'm at peace
with God,
what can anyone
or anything
do to me?
Nothing can undercut me.
Nothing can undercut
that peace.
peace.
It was acquired
by my Savior.
Romans 8, 30-32,
and those whom God
predestined,
God also called.
And those whom God
called,
God also justified,
made peace with them.
And those whom God
justified,
He also glorified.
What then shall we say
to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
He who did not spare
His own Son,
but gave Him up
for us all,
how will He not also
along with Him
graciously give us
all things?
There is nothing,
nothing that can separate us
from the love of God
in Christ Jesus,
which means there's nothing
that the devil
can throw at us
that is able
to undercut
our peace with God.
our footing is sure.
We've got gospel traction.
We stand firm.
We're unmovable in Christ.
Now, I think it's a bit ironic,
don't you,
that what makes us ready
for war against the devil
is being at peace with God.
Don't you find that
a bit ironic?
But being at peace with God
means no human
or superhuman being
can undermine it.
this peace was secured
by Christ Himself.
Dig in.
Well, we've strapped on
our sandals.
We reach into the chest
once more
and our hands feel
a big old,
big old shield.
The shield of faith.
Verse 16.
We're to take up
this shield of faith
in all circumstances.
It's the shield
which is faith.
It's our exercising
of faith
in God
and in His Word.
Now, when you hear
the word shield,
don't think Captain America.
Don't think circular shield
that he throws.
That one,
it's cool,
but that's what Paul
has in mind.
The shield Paul
is writing about
was a large
rectangular shield
that was
four feet tall,
two and a half feet wide.
It would have
two layers of wood
glued together.
Over that would be laid
a layer of canvas.
Over that would be layered
a layer of calf skin.
And then it would be bound
by iron on the top
and iron on the bottom.
So it weighed something.
It was big.
You might be asking,
why was it so big?
Why did it have
canvas and calf skin on it?
It was that big
in order to protect
the whole body
of a Roman soldier.
And it had canvas
and calf skin on it
in order to extinguish
flaming arrows
being launched in.
You see,
at that time in history,
people, enemies,
would shoot in flaming arrows
into legions of armies.
And so what these soldiers
would do,
they dip their shield
in water
before a battle
and pull it out.
And so that shield
would not only
intercept an arrow,
it would extinguish
an arrow.
And in verse 16,
we read that our enemy
is launching
fiery arrows
into us.
The evil one
is not only seeking
to pierce us,
but to start fires
among us.
Now there are a lot
of applications
for the shield of faith.
We can go a lot
of different ways with it.
I want to go one way
in particular.
The shield,
which is faith in God
and His Word,
is not only for our
personal well-being
as individual Christians,
it's for our well-being
as a church.
The evil one
is seeking to distract
and divide us
by starting fires
among us.
You see,
what would happen
back in the day
is volleys of firing
arrows would be
launched in,
and now,
the army on the
other side of that
would have to
extinguish fires.
It would send armies
into a fright.
And it would provide
vulnerabilities and
opportunities
for further devastation.
The evil one
is seeking to distract
and divide us
by starting fires
among us.
I don't have
particular fires
in mind,
but I know
it's a tactic.
Our faith
in God
and His Word
intercepts
and extinguishes
the devil's
flaming arrows
that are intended
to divide us.
One of the greatest
temptations the devil
will use to divide us
is by
inflaming
our bruised
pride,
taking advantage
of hurt feelings
when your ideas
or suggestions
are not taken
seriously
or not acted
upon.
The devil is
seeking to exploit
disagreements
among us.
He's looking to
exploit perceived
wrongs or even
exploit when we
really do sin
against each other.
The evil one
is aiming his
flaming arrows
of division
into gaps
among us
formed when we
hurt each other.
these gaps
are real
and they are
prime targets.
That's why
in Ephesians 4
26-27
Paul says
don't sin
in your anger.
Don't let the sun
go down on it.
Don't give the devil
an opportunity.
Don't give him
a gap
to shoot into.
So here's what
we must do.
We must exercise
faith in God's Word
when we've been
wronged
or when we've
wronged another
or when we become
aware of strain
between brothers
or sisters.
When there's hurt
among us
not only do we
help the one
hurting we must
protect the rest
of us from that
hurt becoming
exploited by our
enemy.
Do you get it?
So here's how we
wield the shield
of faith
from a divisive
attack
from the evil
one.
Remember
Ephesians 4
1-6
remember
Philippians
chapter 2
3-5
remember
Psalm
1-33
remember
call to mind
John 17
all these passages
about unity
about this unity
that Jesus has
purchased us
with his blood
he's made us
one body
and we are
to work hard
at preserving
the peace
work hard
at being
unified
flaming arrows
have the potential
of igniting
people's pride
and so
these
passages
shield us
from our own
pride
they help us
to walk
humbly
to die
to ourselves
and look
to others
best
in order
to preserve
the unity
purchased
by Christ
there's one
other application
with the shield
of faith
that I want
to call
your attention
to
it's this
did you notice
that we're
to take up
the shield
of faith
in all
circumstances
that means
we're to be
ready with
the shield
of faith
on our
day off
during
vacations
during our
downtime
watching tv
surfing the
internet
we must
be vigilant
at all
times
in all
circumstances
exercising
faith
well we got
the shield
of faith
on
let's reach
back in
verse 17
the helmet
of salvation
the helmet
which is
salvation
okay
in a battle
your head
is a prime
target
yes
and the devil
would love
to get in
your head
not literally
but like to
mess with
your head
and what he'd
really like to
mess with
is your
identity
who you
are
what you
believe about
yourself
is critical
in this
fight
what you are
to put on
your head
is the helmet
which is
salvation
in other words
you are to
regularly call
the mind
who you are
that you are
saved
you've been
rescued
from the domain
of darkness
transferred to the kingdom
of light
you were dead
now you're alive
you are a saint
of the living
God
the enemy
doesn't want you
to remember
your true identity
a sinner
saved by grace
he doesn't want
you to recall
that not only
did God save you
from something
sin
he saved you
for something
himself
you're a holy
one
a saint
saved
when you put
this helmet
on
it speaks
to you
it says
you are mine
and you know
what we want
to say back
Psalm 119
94
I am yours
you put that
helmet on
and you say
I am yours
it's a tremendous
sense of assurance
we've seen
now the helmet
and now we reach
into this chest
for the last
piece of
armor
which is the sword
the word of God
the last piece
of armor
is the sword
of the spirit
it's an 18 inch
blade
that Roman
ligoniers
would wear
on the right
side
and it was
specifically
designed for
close hand
to hand
combat
did you notice
it's the sword
of the spirit
it originates
in the mind
of God
it's the bible
the word
of God
every word
of this book
originated
in the mind
of God
the Holy Spirit
moved men
in such a way
that they penned
what God
intended
not one word
more
not one word
less
this is his
book of life
for us
it's the sword
of the spirit
and it's living
Hebrews 4
12
it's lethal
2nd Corinthians
10
it destroys
strongholds
and it's legendary
we see it
operating
in Matthew 4
Jesus
swinging the sword
of the spirit
when he was
tempted by the devil
himself
three times
Jesus responds
with God's word
and in the final
temptation
the devil
makes an attempt
offers Jesus
the kingdoms
of the world
only if Jesus
would fall down
at his feet
and Jesus
is like
I've had
enough
of this
Jesus
says
be gone
Satan
be gone
you shall
worship
the Lord
your God
and him
only
shall you
serve
and you
remember
what the
devil
did
he left
Jesus
exercised
his authority
to which
the devil
obeyed
we share
in Christ's
authority
we can say
be gone
Satan
and he
leaves
in Martin
Luther's
a mighty
fortress
is our
God
he says
one little
word
shall fell
him
you know
that Martin
Luther was
asked
what is
that little
word
you know
what he
said
one might
think
Jesus
but that's
not how
Martin Luther
responded
he said
liar
as in
John 8
44
liar
be gone
liar
be gone
when you
feel tempted
you are
free
and authorized
by God's
word
to say
liar
be gone
it's
Christ's
authority
so here
we are
in front
of now
an empty
chest
we've been
outfitted
from head
to toe
in order
to stand
firm
against the
schemes
of a
devil
these six
pieces of
armor were
given to you
by God
so that you
could stand
firm
there's
still the
smell of
blossoming
crab apples
in the air
you look at
the doors
the strength
of his
might
and you've
been strengthened
you've taken
to heart
each piece
it's all
about Christ
that's your
belt
you've been
imputed with the
righteousness of
Christ
that is your
breastplate
you're immovable
with the peace
of God
your sandals
God's word
repels
every
flaming
missile
that's your
shield
of faith
I am yours
is the
helmet
on your
head
and God's
word
living
lethal
legendary
that sends
the devil
fleeing
as you
close the
doors
those two
words
are still
blazing
stand
firm
God's
given you
what you
need
for in a
little while
and it's
just a little
while
you will
see him
face to
face
let me
pray
God I
do pray
that you
would
strengthen
us
revive
us
tomorrow
morning
God I
pray when
we wake
our first
thoughts will
be it's
all about
Christ
in Jesus
name
Amen