All right, well, good morning.
Thank you, choir.
Would you take your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter 6?
Ephesians chapter 6.
I appreciated our children's minister, Sarah Ferris' example of the power of God
and the difference that that can make in our lives,
and that certainly goes along with our passage today.
Anyway, Ephesians chapter 6, we're concluding, just about concluding our series
through the book of Ephesians.
And just by way of reminder, you see the resources that were used for much of the study in this series.
The background of the book was written by Paul in AD 62 from Roman imprisonment
to a church with which he was very familiar, having pastored there for three years.
And the breakdown of the book, the first part, first half of the book,
first three chapters, who we are in Christ, second three chapters, how we live for Christ.
So let's stand together if you're able to, and let's read Ephesians chapter 6, beginning in verse 10.
Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil spiritual forces in the heavens.
For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to resist in the evil day,
and having prepared everything, to take your stand.
Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist,
righteousness like armor on your chest,
and your feet sandaled with the readiness for the gospel of peace.
In every situation, take up the shield of faith by which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer request.
And stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
We're going to focus on verses 10 through 17 today,
and our topic will be,
Are you ready for war?
Let's pray together.
God, I pray that you would speak to us from your word today.
I pray that everything that
you have for us today
would be absorbed by our minds and our hearts,
that we would leave here having heard from you,
and it's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Floyd, for some reason, I just lost the power of this.
It doesn't seem to be advancing through the slides anymore.
So I don't know if you can,
Lee, if you can click through,
maybe as I go along.
So this doesn't seem to be connecting anymore.
I apologize for that.
So number one,
in your bulletins today,
in your outlines,
number one,
know your enemy.
There are two things we need to understand
when we are going to war,
and that is our enemy
and our equipment.
Our enemy and our equipment.
It's important to know who the enemy is.
Is it not?
We certainly don't want to shoot anybody
with friendly fire.
And so in verses 10 through 12,
we see here in Ephesians 6,
be strengthened by the Lord and his vast strength.
Put on the full armor of God
so that you can stand against the schemes of who?
The devil.
That's right.
So he is our enemy.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this darkness.
Against evil.
Against spiritual forces in the heavens.
James.
Okay, that just worked.
We may be connected again.
James 4, 7.
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.
So this is our enemy.
It is the devil.
And the devil then will flee from us.
Now, Jesus has to remind us
who the enemy is frequently.
John 10, 10.
The thief.
He calls him the thief.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
By contrast,
Jesus came not to steal, kill, and destroy,
but he came to give life
and to give it abundantly.
So we can have life.
And we can have that abundant life
that only Jesus offers.
Luke 19, 10.
The son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
That is the purpose of Jesus coming.
Why are we tying this in?
Because frequently,
you and I can start to see the enemy
as flesh and blood.
You and I can start to see the enemy
as each other.
You and I can start to see the enemy
as the lost outside these walls.
But those are the very lost
that Jesus came to seek and to save.
So they are not and never will be the enemy.
The enemy is very clear.
He is the devil.
He is the thief.
He is the thief of joy.
He's the thief of eternal life
because he tries as hard as he can
to keep people from placing their faith in Christ.
That is his end goal.
That is what this spiritual war
that is waging all around us,
that's what it's about.
Acts 26.
Jesus brings the mission back to us.
He says,
I am sending you to them, the lost,
to open their eyes
that they may turn from darkness to light,
from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins
and a share among those
who are sanctified by faith in me.
Here is the battle.
It's between darkness and light.
Here's the battle.
It's between the power of Satan and God.
And the enemy is darkness.
The enemy is Satan.
And we are warriors in this battle.
We must know who our enemy is.
So as my way of reminder,
our enemy is not those outside the church.
It's easy to look and say,
we are the sanctified ones,
we're the holy ones,
we're the chosen ones,
and it's us against them.
Truth is,
that's a very flawed way of looking at it.
Truth is,
oftentimes you and I
do not at all act like
the sanctified, holy chosen ones.
Often we act just as wicked and lost
as anyone else.
We have to remember,
our enemy is not those outside the church.
And secondly,
our enemy is not those inside the church.
Oftentimes we'll treat one another
inside the church like the enemy.
If you don't like my decision,
or if you don't like
my way of doing things,
or if you don't like
the role that I have
and you wish you had,
whatever it is that can bring up strife
within a church,
believe me,
our church is not exempt.
And we have to continually
remind ourselves
that the enemy
is not inside the church.
It's also not outside the church.
Our enemy is not politicians,
Washington, D.C.,
or the media.
How many of you are happy?
How many of y'all are happy
with the last several administrations
in the White House in America?
How many of y'all would say,
we love the job that we're getting
out of Washington, D.C. these days?
I don't think there's a whole lot of hands
that would go up, right?
But they are not our enemy.
The media,
fake news,
that's still not our enemy.
We don't have to agree
with what we hear.
We can recognize the harm being done
in the political system, etc.,
that comes out of Congress
and comes through our televisions,
through the media.
But we must remember,
as we vote according to how we believe
God wants us to vote,
as we make the decisions
to lead our families
in the way we believe
God wants us to lead them,
we must remember that those
who don't see it like us
and those who we believe
are not living their lives
according to Scripture
or making decisions
or legislating
or reporting according to Scripture,
they are not the enemy.
They are deceived by the enemy.
They are swayed by the enemy.
Oftentimes.
But they are not the enemy.
They are the ones
that Jesus came to save.
Our enemy is not people.
It's not politics.
It's not problems.
It's not pressures.
It's not the liberals in Hollywood.
This is not our enemy.
Our enemy
is the spiritual darkness
of lostness.
It's lostness.
Being lost without Christ.
That is our enemy.
It's embodied by Satan
and all his forces.
It's a spiritual battle we are in.
It is not a battle against people.
That's why we can still pray for the president
whether we like what he's doing or not.
That's why we can still pray
for the lost people in our community
who don't live like Jesus
and oftentimes oppose
what we want
to do for God in this community.
However,
we can still pray for them.
We can still love them.
We can still show grace
and the love of God to them
because they are not the enemy.
The enemy is lostness.
And the eternal fight,
the eternal struggle
will be God against lostness.
Will be God against the dark.
Will be God against Satan.
And I don't know about you
but I don't want to be on team lostness.
I want to be on team Jesus.
So know your enemy.
Number two,
know your equipment.
Know your equipment.
Here's the famed
armor of God passage
that we've been looking forward to
ever since we started Ephesians.
One of the most familiar
in the Bible
if you've been studying the Bible
for any length of time.
So, number one,
the belt.
The belt.
Let's look back at the scriptures.
For this reason,
take up the full armor of God
so that you may be able
to resist in the evil day
and having prepared everything
to take your stand.
Prepared everything.
What are we talking about?
We're talking about
putting on this armor of God
and we begin with the belt.
Verse 14.
Stand therefore with truth
like a belt around your waist.
The Roman soldier's belt
supported his sword,
supported his breastplate,
and provided these protective plates
that hung in front of him.
So, the Roman soldier's belt
was absolutely crucial
to the rest of his armor.
Even though it was one of the
smaller pieces of armor he wore,
everything else hinged on that.
If that belt failed,
his sword would fall.
If that belt failed,
his breastplate would fail.
So much else hinged on this belt.
So, the point for us today,
Satan wants to tear down
the core truth
that holds everything else up.
He wants to tear down
that belt of truth.
What truth are we talking about?
The number one truth
that holds everything else together
that God loves us.
If God did not love us,
then he would just be
a tyrant in the sky.
But he loves us.
The Bible has been called
God's love letter to mankind.
The overarching theme
from the Old Testament
to the New Testament,
from creation
all the way to Revelation,
is that God loves us.
The most famous verse in the Bible,
John 3, 16,
for God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son.
He loves us.
That is the truth
that holds everything else together.
So, the belt of truth
is absolutely crucial.
Secondly, the breastplate.
The Roman soldier's breastplate
protected his vital organs.
His breastplate protected
his vital organs.
Obviously, the most vital,
the heart, right?
But so many other vital organs
around that stomach and chest area,
the breastplate would protect.
The Roman soldier depended
crucially on it.
When you're in hand-to-hand combat,
fighting with the enemy
as they did in those ancient times,
they wouldn't stand back
behind their lines
and shoot at one another.
Obviously, with swords and spears,
they would march forward
and intermingle,
fighting hand-to-hand
with one another.
So, the breastplate
was absolutely crucial.
And for us,
for the Christian,
for the believer,
our spiritual heart
is protected
by the righteousness
we have received
by faith in Jesus.
The breastplate
is righteousness.
So, number one,
the belt of truth.
We must remember
that God loves us.
He is the way.
He is the truth.
He is the life.
But number two,
we must remember
our righteousness
comes by faith in Jesus.
Our righteousness
does not come
through anything
that we can do
or achieve ourselves.
Ephesians 2
says it is not
by works of righteousness.
I'm sorry,
that there are no
works of righteousness
that we can do
to achieve any grace
from God.
There is no works
of righteousness
that we can do,
but it is only
by God's mercy
that He saves us.
The Bible actually says
God calls
all of our righteousnesses
filthy rags.
He uses that plural.
All our righteousnesses,
all our righteous efforts,
all our righteous deeds,
all our best
that we can offer,
God looks at it
and says,
no,
not good enough.
But when you
clothe yourself
with His righteousness,
with the righteousness
that comes
by faith in Jesus,
then God can declare you
to be righteousness.
It's this doctrine
of imputation
or God placing over you
His righteousness.
righteousness,
nothing that you
can achieve
on your own.
But our spiritual heart
is protected
by the righteousness
we have received
by faith in Jesus.
Otherwise,
you have no armor.
You have no breastplate.
You can try
to look the part.
You can try
to dress up
like a Christian soldier,
but you're missing
the breastplate.
And the first time
the enemy comes at you,
you'll crumble.
There's no protection.
So have you placed
your faith in Jesus?
Do you have
that breastplate
of righteousness
that His faith provides?
Thirdly,
the boots.
The boots.
I like to call this
the gospel boots.
The gospel boots
of readiness.
The gospel boots
of readiness.
What are we talking about?
The Roman soldier's footwear.
His boots
kept him
ready
for warfare.
I'm probably
going to mispronounce this,
but they were called
the caligulae.
Something along those lines.
If anybody knows Latin well,
you can correct me on that,
but
it was pretty close to that.
And you can see
a little picture there.
These boots
were unusual
for their day,
and they were unusual
throughout the history
of warfare, really,
but they proved
incredibly effective.
So you can see
they were made of leather,
and on the bottom
they had this hard,
hard sole.
And the Roman army
would provide these boots
for their soldiers,
but then the soldiers
were on their own
to go have these nails
put in the bottom.
They would have
these metal studs
or nails hammered
through the bottom
of their shoes.
The bottom layer,
that provided grip
and traction
when they were going
over uncertain ground,
but then additionally,
when they were fighting
a battle,
sounds a little gruesome,
but they would use
the bottom of those
metal studs
to stomp on their enemies.
Now,
the interesting thing
about this footwear
is they would be able
to walk for miles
and miles and miles,
and their feet
would be sore and hurt,
but they would have
no blisters.
So what's the difference there?
Sore,
soreness and hurt,
that's a temporary condition
that will pass, right?
Go stick their feet
in the nearest water
and let that soreness
ebb away.
But a blister,
that's going to become
a problem.
That's a long-term
medical problem
that then needs
to be dealt with.
So these shoes
were constructed
not for comfort,
but for durability
and for protection
of their feet.
Because at any moment
on that 20, 30, 40,
50 mile journey,
they might have to stop
and fight.
So they had to be ready
at a moment's notice
to fight.
And that's why
Paul admonishes us
here in Ephesians 6.
Your belt around your waist,
your belt of truth,
your righteousness
like armor on your chest.
And then verse 15,
your feet sandaled
or shod,
your Bible might say,
with readiness
for the gospel of peace.
At any moment,
you and I
might be called upon
to share the gospel
with someone else.
And we must have
intimate knowledge
of the message
of truth,
of salvation,
that gospel message,
so that we are ready.
The Bible says,
always be ready
to give an answer
for the reason
for that faith
that lies within you.
Always be ready.
So the gospel
is both our motivation
to not grow weary
and our message
that can break
hard hearts.
See how we tied
in those studs?
That's a terrifying thought
in hand-to-hand combat,
having those metal studs
on the bottom
of the shoes.
But the truth is,
the gospel message
of Jesus,
that can break
the hardest hearts.
I've seen it happen.
You might have
seen it happen
when someone
who for years,
for their whole lifetime,
said,
I don't believe
in that Jesus stuff.
I'm not a religious person.
I've got no interest.
And then something
happened in their life
and God got their attention.
Boy, we saw it happen
to the Apostle Paul,
didn't we?
He was an enemy
of the church.
He killed Christians.
I dare say
that none of the family members
that you have
that have no interest
in God or church,
I dare say none of them
have been out
making it their daily business
to go out
and kill Christians,
have they?
And yet we saw
that exact thing
happen with God
and His attention
that He got from Paul.
He shook him.
On the road to Damascus,
He appeared
before Paul
in a vision
and He got His attention
and He spoke to him
and He changed
the entire trajectory
of Paul's life.
So the gospel message
can break hard hearts.
And the gospel
is our motivation
to not grow weary.
Though we walk
many miles
of this life,
of this journey
with Jesus,
though time and time again
it seems like
Satan doesn't just,
he won't let up.
our feet
sandaled with
the gospel of peace
can be that motivation
to say,
I'm going to take
another step
in Jesus' name.
I know that the gospel
is enough.
I know it's what I need
to take another step.
I know it's
the truth
that my sister
or my brother
or my parents
or my kids
or my friends
or my co-workers,
I know it's what they need.
So I'm not going to grow weary
in well-doing
because I know
that when the time
is right
in due season,
I will weep,
reap,
I will reap
if I don't give up.
The gospel boots
of readiness
to share
the message of Jesus.
And then the shield.
Then the shield.
Verse 16,
In every situation,
take up
the shield
of faith
with which
you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows
of the evil one.
Isn't it that
interesting
that this passage
mentioned
flaming arrows?
Why do you think
that is?
We got any students
of history out there
that have an idea?
Why flaming arrows?
Well,
the Roman soldier's shield
was for personal protection
but also for group protection.
What are we talking about?
Look at this picture.
You see all these shields together?
The Roman soldiers,
their legions,
would join together
when they were advancing
on a city
or an enemy battalion
and they would group
their shields together
like you can see
in front
and on the sides
and even on top.
So the guys in the middle
would hold their shields up.
Why?
Because from the castle
in front of them
they would be shooting
flaming arrows
at them.
So those shields,
those large,
long shields,
almost the full body height
of a Roman soldier
and they would
carry them this way,
they would then
form
this protective shell
around the Roman soldier
and his brothers.
So you see
where we're going
with this?
This was actually
called a tortuga,
basically a tortoise shell.
Our common faith
is what binds us together
for protection
from the evil one
and for the advance
of the gospel.
our common faith
is what actually
provides us
this protection.
Now if one Roman soldier
would break off
and try to advance
on his own,
then he was exposed.
He was vulnerable
to attack
from the enemy.
Brothers and sisters,
can I remind you
that if one of you
breaks off
from the body
of Christ
and tries to live
this life
on your own,
you are vulnerable
to attack
from the enemy.
Far more vulnerable
than if you stay
in the fellowship
of the believers.
God commanded
that for us.
He designed us
that way
to need each other
in this Christian
community
of faith
and fellowship
and it is our
common faith
that unites
us together.
Jude
in verse 3,
would you turn
very quickly
to the book
right before Revelation,
second to last book
in the Bible.
Look at Jude,
only one chapter.
Look at verse 3.
Dear friends,
although I was eager
to write to you
about the salvation
we share,
I found it necessary
to write appealing
to you
to contend
for the faith
that was delivered
to the saints
once and for all.
To all saints,
this faith,
this common faith,
was delivered
to us
and he says,
he reminds us,
we share
a common salvation.
We share
a common salvation.
Philippians 1.
Next book over
from Ephesians.
Probably from Ephesians 6,
you can just turn
the page.
Philippians 1
in verse 27.
Just one thing,
as citizens of heaven,
live your life
worthy of the gospel
of Christ.
Then,
whether I come
and see you
or am absent,
I will hear about you
that you are standing firm.
Here we go.
In one spirit,
in one accord,
contending together
for the faith
of the gospel,
not being frightened
in any way
by your opponents.
Boy,
that sounds like
a Roman soldier,
a legionnaire,
joined together
with his brothers
in arms,
advancing,
protected by his faith
from the front,
from the top,
from the sides.
You know,
the only spot
that they weren't protected
was from behind.
Why?
Because there was
no retreat.
There was never
any plan
for retreat.
They were always
advancing.
When you and I
break away
from the family
of faith
and you quit
going to church
and you quit
your class
and you quit
fellowshipping
with your fellow
brothers and sisters
in Christ,
then you are vulnerable.
You are unprotected
by that body
of believers
that God designed
for you
to be a part of
and designed you
to be a part of.
We rely
on each other.
We need
each other.
It's what
binds us together
for protection
from Satan
and
for the advance
of the gospel.
This is Southern
Baptist Church.
We're part of
Texas Baptist.
We're part of our
local Wichita
Archer Clay
Association.
Christian,
we have this idea,
we believe it,
we ascribe to it
that we are
better together.
Let's say it
together.
Ready?
Better together.
That's right.
We do believe
that we are
better together.
So what does
that mean?
That means
that joining
our forces,
our resources
together,
we can accomplish
so much more
for God
than we could
all by ourselves.
One church
all by itself
can do great
things for God.
But if churches
get together,
if they unite
in one accord
and doctrine
and say this is
what we believe
about the Bible
and this is
what we believe
about the message
of Jesus Christ
and that message
is what we are
going to take.
And even though
we disagree
about other things,
we're not going
to let that
divide us
from the greater
good,
the greater message
of sharing Jesus
with the nations.
So that is why
our church
and that is why
individually
we decide
to not live
this life
on our own,
to not live
this life
as a maverick
just going out
by ourselves
and trying to
accomplish
whatever we can.
We need each other.
We rely on each other
and then nothing
can stop us.
Nothing can stop
the advance
of the gospel
when God's people
get together
united
by our common
salvation,
by our common
faith,
striving together
with one faith,
with one accord
for the gospel.
and then the helmet.
Let's look back
at Ephesians 6.
Take the helmet
of salvation.
The Roman soldier's
helmet provided
full protection.
You see,
in the front,
in the back,
they had this
extra back plate
so nobody could
come up behind them
while that
hand-to-hand
fighting was happening.
It would protect
their neck
all the way down
to their breastplate.
Not only did it
provide protection,
it also provided
identification.
There were many
different types
of these red plumes,
these red feathers
that would come
out of their hats,
their helmets.
But that was
the sight
that made
the enemies
of Rome
made their blood
run cold,
struck fear
in their hearts,
seeing those
gleaming metal
helmets
with the red
feathers advancing
toward them.
No army was feared
like the Roman army.
And those feathers
were there
to provide
identification,
I am a Roman soldier,
I am a Roman legionnaire.
Friends,
God's gift
of salvation,
His free gift,
it identifies us
as His children
and it secures us
from the enemy.
That is what
the helmet of salvation
does for you
and for me.
When God
sealed us,
He provided us
with eternal
assurance
that no one,
as Romans 8
reminds us,
can ever pluck us
out of the Father's hand.
No one can harm us
once we are
signed,
sealed,
and someday
will be delivered.
on this earth,
the Bible says
you will have
tribulation.
But then Jesus
said,
fear not
because I
have overcome
this earth,
I have overcome
the world.
So you walk
as a child
of the King.
You walk
not only
as a child
of the King,
but as a soldier
of Christ.
You walk
surrounded
by His armor
and that helmet
of salvation
protects your head.
It protects
anything
that Satan
can throw at you.
And it identifies
you.
I am
a child
of the King.
There's a song
that says,
I am
who you
say I am.
Everybody
has their opinions
on you,
don't they?
We have our opinions
of ourselves,
don't we?
Sometimes we're
high on ourselves,
sometimes we're
kind of low
on ourselves,
aren't we?
Sometimes there
might be dark
days or nights
when we look
in the mirror
and say,
man,
how could you
be such an idiot?
What were you
thinking?
Why won't you
ever change?
We can be
our own worst
enemy.
We can beat
ourselves up
mercilessly.
And others
are certainly
good at that
too.
But despite
all that,
our identity
should not come
from our own
mind.
Our identity
should not come
from the lips
of others.
Our identity
should only
come from
the King
of Kings
who bought
us,
who saved
us,
who is our
master,
and he says,
you are my
child.
You are valued.
You are an
heir to my
throne.
God says,
you
are mine.
You belong
to me.
just like
Rome
practically
owned
those
soldiers.
God
owns us,
but it's
such a
wonderful,
joyous
relationship
when he
is our
master.
So it
identifies us
as his
children,
and it
secures us
from the
enemy.
And then
finally,
we have
the sword.
Verse 17,
take the
sword of
the spirit,
which is
the word
of God.
The Roman
sword,
it was a
small sword.
They used
to use the
broad swords,
and pretty
quickly,
the broad
swords were
those huge
long swords
that you
would see
back in
the old
King Arthur
days,
etc.
But pretty
quickly,
they went
away from
those,
and as
the legionnaires
would advance
and take
over countries
and their
empire would
grow and
grow,
it became
very apparent
quickly on
that they
needed a
small,
agile,
fierce weapon,
and so the
gladius was
born.
It was
double-edged,
and it was
easy to wield
in combat.
What are we
saying with
that?
Our Bible
is the
living word
of God.
Would you
go with me
to Hebrews?
Hebrews?
The book
of Hebrews,
chapter 4
and verse
12.
The word
of God
is living
and effective
and sharper
than any
double-edged
sword,
sharper than
any gladius,
penetrating as
far as the
separation of
soul and
spirit,
the joints
and marrow.
It is able
to judge or
discern the
thoughts and
intentions of
the heart.
God's word
is our
gladius.
It is our
double-edged
sword.
Nothing can
stand before
it.
Nothing can
stand against
it.
You might
have someone
resist and
resist,
but God's
word will
win.
The spirit
of God
is alive
and well
and present
with us
in,
within us.
The Bible
says for those
who place
their faith
in Christ,
we are
indwelt by
the Holy
Spirit of
God,
but also
he is
present in
the living
word of
God.
We believe
that this
book is
alive.
It is not
just paper
and ink
with a pretty
binding.
God's
word of
God.
It can
puncture
us,
it can
reveal to
us the
truth about
ourselves,
and it can
do the
same to
those.
So we
must learn
to wield
God's word
skillfully,
just like a
Roman with
his gladius.
Our Bible
is our
weapon.
But let's
not use the
Bible as a
weapon to
hurt.
Let's not
use it as
a weapon to
harm,
because that
was never
God's
intention,
was it?
There are
ways that we
can take
individual
verses out of
Scripture,
and we can
try to use
scriptural
principles to
attack others,
to make them
feel worse
about themselves,
to try to
hurt, to
harm, to
undermine, and
that is not
what God
intended.
God intended
to reveal to
us our own
sin nature,
the truth about
our own sin,
but then to
offer us
hope, to
show us that
He loves us,
to show us
that He
cares.
So that's
why we must
learn to
wield it
skillfully.
Some of the
most knowledgeable
Bible scholars
have done some
of the most
damage in the
name of Jesus.
Hurt more
people than
those who
don't know a
tenth about
Bible.
about the
Bible as
those wise,
learned men,
who aren't
living wisely,
who aren't
living with
the wisdom
that comes
from God.
So just
because you
know a lot
about the
Bible doesn't
mean that you've
learned to
wield it skillfully
as God
intended.
So, by way
of conclusion,
I want to share
this quote with
you.
God, we
just got done
talking about
the armor of
God, didn't
we?
We went
through every
piece listed
here in Ephesians
6.
It was an
outstanding summary
from Paul.
After giving us
all this
instruction,
here's who you
are in Christ,
here's how you
should live in
Christ.
Now, here's how
you equip yourself
for the battle.
Here's who the
enemy is, and
here's how to
win the battle
that God's
already won.
But I want to
share this quote
with you.
We must not
confide in the
armor of God,
but in the God
of this armor,
because all our
weapons are only
mighty through
God.
That was said
by William
Gurnall, wrote
one of the
greatest books
called The
Christian in
Complete Armor,
one of the
greatest books
on this topic
that's ever
been written.
How many of
you all have
ever heard the
name Charles
Spurgeon?
Anybody?
Yeah, if you've
been around
church for a
while, he was
a great pastor
in England,
wrote a lot of
books.
They called him
the Prince of
Preachers.
Very, very
famous, and
well, well
used by God.
Charles Spurgeon
said, the man
who said this
quote, wrote
this book,
The Christian
in Complete
Armor, he
said that that
was the most
thought-provoking
book in his
library.
So if Spurgeon
says something
like that, I
want to sit up
and take notice.
And I took
that, I
actually found
that book
online this
past week and
read quite a
bit of it in
preparation for
this sermon.
And I took
this quote out
and wanted to
share it with
you today.
it is easy to
find bits and
pieces of
scripture and
make that bigger
than God in
our minds.
Sometimes we
can take
something that's
not God and
elevate it to
the place of
God.
We do that
with our family
sometimes.
We do that
with our careers.
Do that with
our love of
money or
success or
comfort.
But I'm
telling you it's
also possible
to depend so
much on
something that's
not God that
it begins to
take the place
of God in
your life.
And these
very weapons,
this very
armor that is
supposed to
protect us,
they're only
mighty, they're
only empowered
when God is
behind it all.
When our
focus is on
him and not
so much these
weapons or
this armor.
We must not
confide in or
place all of our
trust in this
armor.
What are we
saying?
Look at
Romans 13.
Romans 13,
it's on the
screen.
Let us
discard the
deeds of
darkness and
put on the
armor of
light.
That's great.
That's the
armor we're
talking about.
Let us walk
with decency
as in the
daytime, not
in carousing
and drunkenness,
not in sexual
impurity and
promiscuity, not
in quarreling and
jealousy, but here
we go, verse 14,
put on the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
That is the
overarching command
here.
That is what
putting on the
armor of God is
all about, putting
on Jesus and
make no provision
for the flesh to
gratify its
desires.
So the takeaway
for this morning,
we prepare for
war by putting
on Jesus.
Say, man, that's
quite a checklist
that I have to
run through.
I've got to do
the belt and I've
got to do the
breastplate and I've
got to do the
shield and the
helmet and the
shoes and the
sword and all
these things.
You've got to put
on Jesus.
Every day, put on
Jesus.
This breakdown in
Ephesians 6 shows
what that looks
like.
You can do an
inventory.
Have I put on
Jesus?
Well, am I putting
my faith in him?
Am I reminding
myself of the
truth that God
loves me?
Have I picked up
the word of God
and used it today?
There are many
ways to discern
whether or not we
have put on
Jesus, but our
command is to
put on Jesus.
That's how we put
on the whole
armor of God.
So our question
for ourselves
in our homes,
have we put on
Jesus today?
Let's pray
together.
God, I pray that
we would put you
on.
Thank you for
simplifying it for
us.
We understand
that we are in a
battle.
Sometimes it
might feel like
we're losing.
But as that
songwriter said,
we're fighting a
battle you've
already won.
God, I pray that
we would put on
the victor, put on
Jesus every day.
It's so clear when
we haven't.
Our spouses know
it, our kids know
it, our friends
know it, our
employees or our
bosses know it,
everybody knows when
we haven't put on
Jesus.
God, I pray that
every morning when
we wake up, every
night before we go
to bed, we would
fall to our knees,
we would take the
time to put on
Jesus.
Whatever that looks
like for us, we'll
give you the glory
for it.
In Jesus' name we
pray.
Amen.