EPHESIANS 6 SPIRITUAL WARFARE SERIES PART 4 THE WARDROBE2006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ephesians 6 Spiritual Warfare Series Part 4 The Wardrobe

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006.

We're looking at part three of our series on spiritual warfare this evening, and we'll finish it off next week. We've looked at the warriors, talking about the different players that are involved in spiritual warfare, looking at God and Satan, angels and demons, as well as ourselves, and the roles that we play in this spiritual battle.

We've also looked, last week we looked at the wrestling, and more in detail of our part of spiritual warfare is the way that the enemy comes against us and the way that we wrestle. Because we do wrestle, Paul says we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, which is a hard lesson for us to learn. But we do wrestle against principalities and powers and spiritual hosts of wickedness,

And the heavenly realms. And so we looked at that last week. And as we continue on now, our journey through Ephesians chapter 6, the last portion, we'll be looking now at the wardrobe. The warriors we saw, the wrestling we saw, now the wardrobe, and next week, the weapons. But let's read through Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 20, and we'll get started this evening.

Ephesians chapter 6, starting in verse 10, it says this,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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.

Verse 18,

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Here in Ephesians chapter 6, Paul is wrapping up his epistle to the Ephesians, and we've looked through it on Sunday mornings, and I won't give too much of a background as a result, and we've gone through it for the past couple weeks in looking at spiritual warfare.

He's dealing not with some weird mystical thing, but really practical areas that we need to take and to apply that we would be able to stand against the spiritual warfare that is taking place. What is our job in spiritual warfare? Do you remember?

To stand. We've been looking at that for the past couple weeks. It's not to run and chase and scream at or to call out demons or to try to run around and chase the devil around and figure out what he's up to. All God calls us to do in spiritual war is to stand. Paul emphasizes that there in verses 10 through 13 over and over again. To stand, to withstand, to stand over and over. We're called to stand.

The battle that we're involved in is very real. The opposition is great, as we saw last week. Spiritual forces have the advantage. They're more powerful, more intelligent, wiser, with more knowledge than we have. So we have the disadvantage, yet we're called to stand. And even when you think you cannot...

You're called to stand because God says and he promises to give you everything that you need to stand. And so when temptation comes, don't give in. Don't partake in sin. Don't partake in the things that the enemy brings your way and the temptation that comes knocking at your door. Stand. Stand there in the power and in the strength of God.

As we saw last week, even if you think your bladder will explode, stand. Don't give in. Keep pressing on and endure because God will give you everything that you need. Now, maybe you've attempted that this week. Maybe you said, you know, I've tried to stand this week and I found that it's very difficult.

Well, there's another thing that we need to learn today about standing. And that is that the only way that we can stand is if we have on the whole armor of God. We cannot stand without the armor of God. If we do not have the whole armor of God, we will not stand. If we want to stand, we must have on the whole armor of God. Paul makes this very clear for us here in Ephesians chapter 6.

Now, a quick reminder. We've talked on this before, but whose armor is it? Are you sure? Didn't sound very confident. Whose armor is it?

It's God's armor. It's not our armor that we're trying to put on and our strength and our own defenses, but it's learning to put our strength and our trust in God and allow Him to be our defense. It's God's armor. We stand in His strength and the power of His might which He has given to us. Now, I think that's quite amazing. I don't know if you do or not, but think about that for a second. God has given us access

To His power. To His might. That we can stand against the wiles of the devil. That's what it says in verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. How mighty is God? Well, He's almighty. He has all power and all strength. And He's given us access to that, that we might be able to stand.

In other words, God has empowered us, given us everything that we need that we could stand against the wiles of the devil. We don't have to fall. Yes, we're weak. We have the disadvantage, the lower ground in this spiritual warfare. But through God, in the power of His might, there's nothing that the enemy can do to shake us, to knock us down, to cause us to fall. Tonight we'll be looking at

Five elements of the armor of God that Paul calls us to put on. We'll be looking at five elements that are primarily defensive and we'll look at the last two, the offensive things, next week. But the five that we'll be looking at this evening is, number one, the belt of truth. Number two, the breastplate of righteousness. Number three, the shoes of peace.

Number four, the shield of faith. And number five, the helmet of salvation. And before we get started looking at these individually, I'd like you to notice just for a moment that every piece mentioned here is found in Christ. He says first, or he talks about the belt of truth. And Ephesians 4 verse 21 tells us that the truth is in Jesus. The next thing is the breastplate of righteousness.

And 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30 tells us that Jesus became for us righteousness. The shoes of peace are next in Ephesians 2, verse 14, tells us that he himself, Jesus Christ, is our peace. The shield of faith is next. And Hebrews 12, verse 2 tells us that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.

And the helmet of salvation is the last piece that we will look at this evening. And 2 Timothy 2, verse 10 tells us that salvation is in Christ Jesus. Every piece of the armor is found in Jesus Christ. God has given us access to his power, to his strength, through the person of Jesus Christ. The work that he did for us, our faith in him, our trust in him,

And by placing our faith and trust in him, believing what he said and obeying his word, we have everything that we need. There's nothing else that needs to be added on that we might be able to be stronger. We have all of God's might. We're able to stand in the power of the Lord.

The only way that we can stand against the wiles of the devil is through Jesus Christ. Again, the armor of God is not some mystical, magical thing. You don't say this magical formula, read these verses and poof, you're protected. No, instead, you stay close to Jesus Christ. You fill your life with him, become consumed with him, and then you are protected from the enemy as he becomes your strength. He becomes your defense.

You cannot remain neutral in spiritual war.

Last week, we saw the five areas that were attacked in temptation, spiritual attack, emotional attack, mental attack, and physical attack. You can't remain neutral because you will be and are going to be and are currently involved in attack. The enemy is trying to take you out. And so if you try to play neutral, that just means you're sitting there on the battlefield without defenses, without weapons, waiting.

to be destroyed. We need to engage in this battle, to put on our defenses, to pick up our weapons, and we need to stand in the power of his might. So first, the first item in our wardrobe is the belt of truth, Paul says, here in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 14, where he says, "...stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth."

To gird your waist, it means to bind your waist or what was known as taking a belt and putting it on. And he tells them to gird their waist with truth or...

Maybe a better way to put it is you'll be able to stand once you have girded your waist with truth, just like a belt around a soldier's waist. Now, the belt around a soldier's waist would hold the breastplate, which we'll talk about in a moment. It would hold it in place. It would also hold the sword that he would have easy access to it. Now, it's important for us to note that soldiers do not dress for fashion.

I don't know if you're aware of that or not, but in the off-season they don't make fun of each other for wearing camouflage and things like that. No, they dress and they wear what they wear because those things are essential to them. They will save their life and they will help them in battle.

They don't carry all the gear, you know, for the fun of it, but they have it because it's necessary. They need it. And so the belt was not a fashion statement, like maybe we might wear a belt today, but it was something that was necessary, that they needed, that was useful for them in battle.

One of the main reasons for the belt was to hold their sword. They kept their sword on them at all times and right where they would have easy access to it so that they would be prepared for anything that might take place. Now, as we're looking at the armor of God, I wonder, why do you think Paul started with the belt of truth?

Out of all the things that he was looking at, he's there, you know, chained to a Roman soldier. And why would he start with the belt of truth? Now, I don't think necessarily that the armor is listed here by Paul in order of importance. And first, you know, is the most important or the last one is the most important. I don't think that he attempted to do that. But I do think that it's significant that he put the belt of truth first.

Because of who our adversary is, I think it's significant. Our adversary is the devil. And the devil, according to Jesus in John chapter 8, 44, is the father of lies. And when he lies, Jesus says, he speaks from his own resources. And so lying is natural to Satan. And it's one of his primary tools to

And leading us away from God and keeping us from God. Revelation chapter 12 verse 9 tells us that Satan deceives the whole world. His whole plan is based on lies and deception to blind us, to keep us from the truth that we stay away from God. So lies and deceitfulness are the primary attacks of Satan. And if we're going to stand, then we must first guard against this by girding ourselves

Putting on the belt of truth. The belt of truth is the entirety of the Word of God. The whole Bible. This is the belt of truth. Why does the belt speak of the Word of God? Well, Jesus said so. In John chapter 17, verse 17, Jesus praying to God, asked God to sanctify the disciples by His truth. And then He goes on to say, Your Word is truth.

Where is the truth found in the word of God? What is the truth? Jesus says it's God's word. And so the belt of truth, putting it on, is putting on the word of God, the entirety of it. Anything that is contrary to the word of God is not the truth. Do you know that?

If it comes in conflict with the Word of God, it's not the truth. If it's opposed to the Word of God, it's not the truth. If it says something contrary or opposite of the Word of God, it's not the truth. And I don't care what the scientists say, what the media says, what your parents taught you. The Bible is the truth. It's all right here. Everything that you need for life and godliness is found here.

And anything that says otherwise is a lie from the devil. And so we need to put on the belt of truth, which is the entirety of the word of God. Now, why the entire word of God? Well, very simply, because Satan does not just attack in one or two areas. We would be foolish to limit his attacks to, say, religion.

And say, well, you know, hey, if at least find the right religion, then I'm okay. I've got it covered. But Satan doesn't just attack through religion. His lies and deceitfulness are not just in that arena. His lies and his deceitful plots and plans, his seduction really, is taking place all over in various ways. Through the view and opinions that are expressed by the world.

Through the movements that take place politically. Through the opinions and the expressions of friends and family. Through our flesh, our own self, our own nature. All of these things are used by the enemy in the area of seduction, deception. Thank you, Mario. My mic's dying. Sometimes Mario is used by... No, I'm just kidding. The belt of truth is the entirety of the Word of God.

Because Satan is not just attacking in one way or another. He has an all-out attack on every aspect that you can think of. Do you remember back in Matthew chapter 4, what we studied last week with Jesus being tempted by the devil? And do you remember that Satan quoted scripture? Do you remember that?

He quoted to Jesus, hey, you can jump off the pinnacle of the temple because the word says, the Bible teaches that he will not let your foot be dashed against a stone. Now, Satan is using the word to lie, to deceive. Jesus, of course, didn't fall for it because he knew it violated other principles elsewhere in the word. Thus illustrating the point, we need to know the entirety of the word of God.

To put on the belt of truth is not just to know a truth, but it's to know the truth, the truth of God as presented by his word. There is a constant attack on truth in our lives. Please turn with me to John chapter 8. John chapter 8. In John chapter 8, verse 31 and 32, it says this.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Now, according to Jesus, what must you do to know the truth? Abide in his word. Please, can you share with me where we can find his words? Here in the scriptures. If you want to know the truth, Jesus says, Abide in my word.

Read my word, study it, know it, meditate upon it. That word abide, it means to remain, it means to continue to be present. But maybe you would better understand it if I change the letter I in abide to the letter O. Abode. You know what an abode is? It's where you live, it's your home.

And just as you leave home in the morning and go to your work or school, and maybe you come home during the day for lunch or after you're done with work or school, or maybe you go out and do something else, but you come home and you stay there for the rest of the evening, and then you get up and you leave home and you come home and you leave home and you come home and you leave home and you come home and everything you do in your life surrounds around your home. Jesus says, let my word be a part of your life like that.

In the morning and in the evening and during the day and when you've got breaks and when you have a chance and sometimes you take a vacation and you just spend time in my word. Just stay at home in my word. Abide in it. Fill your life with it continually. Leave it because you can't just read all the time. You need to go to work and you need to...

Do the things that you're called to do. But then when you come back, then spend time again in the Word and fill your life with the Word of God. Jesus is saying that we must be in His Word all the time. Not that we have to be reading the Bible every second of the day. Of course not. But that we should be reading it consistently, having a steady diet of the Word of God. Because as we abide in His Word, then we will know the truth. We will be girding our waist with truth.

Everywhere we go, everything we do should be governed by the word of God. Our actions and decisions should be based on the word of God. Our questions should be directed toward the word of God. Our conversations should include the word of God. And you get the point. Just as the belt goes around you completely supports and maybe in my case constrains a little.

The Word of God is to do that, to play that same role in our life, to surround us completely, to support us, and also to constrain us, to keep us from going outside of the boundaries of the truth, to keep us from going where we should not. And putting on the belt of truth, what is your belt size? It should be size 66 for all of you, and I'm not calling you chubby.

66 books of the Bible. It's the whole truth that we need. It's not just a piece of the truth that we need, but the whole truth. All of God's truth is found here in the Word of God. We need to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, Jesus Christ and His Word must be central in our lives.

It must be a central thing, just a part of us, wrapping around us completely, supporting us, constraining us. Jesus says you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. And you might be afraid of the truth because as the saying goes, the truth hurts. You heard that saying before? Let me add on to that. The truth only hurts those who are living a lie.

According to Jesus, the truth sets you free. And so if the truth hurts, it's because you're living a lie, which means you're being deceived, which means you've fallen prey to the attacks of the enemy. The truth is found in the word of God. And if it hurts, then you need to bring your life within its boundaries, within its scope, that you may be able to be set free.

So gird your waist with truth. Be reading. Be studying the word of God. Listen to Bible teaching. Read books about the Bible. Fill your life with the word of God. The belt of truth is the entirety of the word of God. You put it on by reading it and by believing it as the truth of God. The next item in our wardrobe that Paul mentions, it's found in the last part of verse 14, back in Ephesians chapter 6, and it's the breastplate of righteousness.

Now, on a soldier, the breastplate would protect the chest and all of the vital organs. It looked much like the equipment that a football player wears, the chest protection with the shoulder protection and everything. That's what the armor looked like. And it would protect the lungs and the heart, all of the vital internal organs. Now, in looking at scripture as it makes reference to internal organs, it

represents our emotions, the internal workings of a person emotionally. That's why love is associated with the heart. Ever wonder why that is? Because it's an internal organ and it's associated with the heart. And the...

Hebrew culture, they would talk about bowels of mercy. And I don't know how I'm going to describe that to you, but you can just leave it to your own imagination. But the bowels of mercy, that deep feeling of compassion that can come upon us. It's those internal workings and emotions that we feel.

And so by calling the breastplate of righteousness, Paul is saying that our emotions, our internal workings must be protected by righteousness. Now, again, whose righteousness are we talking about? God's. It's not our righteousness. I certainly hope not, because Isaiah 64 says that our righteousness is as filthy rags. It's not our righteousness that we want to put on to guard our emotions and guard our internal workings.

But it's God's righteousness. That word righteousness, it really means to have right standing with God. And by his righteousness, we can have right standing with God. Turn with me to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, it's right after the book of Acts, right before 1 Corinthians. Romans chapter 3, verses 21 through 26, says this.

But now the righteousness of Jerry... Is that what it says? Okay. It's a scene of you're awake. But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of...

God, through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate. Who's?

His righteousness. Because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time

His righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. The righteousness of God. The righteousness of God. His righteousness. His righteousness. And how does it come? Verse 22 of Romans 3 tells us it's through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.

His righteousness. It's not our own. It's his righteousness. And it protects us like a breastplate because his righteousness is given to all who believe. To all who believe. Now, this is interesting because later on in Romans chapter 10, verse 10, it says that with the heart, one believes unto righteousness. It's with my heart that I believe unto

And I receive his righteousness imputed towards me, counted towards me. I believe what he said and God says he's righteous. And that righteousness now protects my heart, my emotions from being led astray, from being distracted or down. Last week we saw that one of Satan's attacks on us is emotional attack.

We looked at three specific examples. I'll just mention them briefly. Fear, depression, and condemnation. Emotional attacks like that can be very, well, they can be paralyzing. They just, they keep us not moving at all. They render us useless as we sit there and fear depression or condemnation.

But Paul says, listen, you can defend yourself by putting on the breastplate of righteousness. That is protecting ourselves by believing in Jesus's finished work on the cross by which we have right standing in God. The way that we put on the breastplate of righteousness is by believing in Jesus's finished work on the cross and knowing that doing that, we now have right standing with God. Now there's no reason to fear.

Because by believing in Jesus, I'm righteous in God's sight. He's not out to get me. He's not trying to ruin my life. I'm perfect in his sight by believing in his son, Jesus Christ. There's no reason to be depressed because by believing in Jesus, I'm righteous in God's sight. I'm accepted by him and have eternity waiting for me. Great things to look forward to. Full access to God. I have right standing with God.

There's no reason to feel condemned because by believing in Jesus, I am righteous. There's nothing to be condemned for. And so by believing in Jesus Christ and his word and what he said, that if we believe in him, we have his righteousness covering us. There's no reason to allow our emotions to be messed with by the enemy. Believe in Jesus Christ. The breastplate of righteousness is the belief in Jesus Christ and his work.

They're on the cross. And we put it on by believing in that, by believing in what he did and what he promised. In order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must believe in Jesus Christ and in his righteousness. The third item now in our wardrobe, the shoes of peace or the boots of peace. In verse 15 of Ephesians chapter six, Paul says, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Now, a Roman soldier is that is what Paul is using as the example here. He would not have ordinary shoes like you and I would wear or even like a normal citizen at that time would wear. But they would have special sandals that were designed for combat. The bottom of the sandals would have spikes or studs that were that were embedded in the bottom to give them traction and.

so that when they're in the midst of battle, they won't lose their footing. They won't slip and fall. They won't tumble over, but they'll be able to grip the ground with their shoes, with their feet, and stand in the heat of the battle. When fighting in a battle, if you lose your footing, the enemy will have a great advantage over you.

He'll be able to afflict you very easily. Or if you don't have good traction and you can be pushed backwards, then again, the enemy will have great advantage in the battle. And so Paul says, like the Roman soldier has those shoes to stand in the midst of battle. You too, if you're going to stand against the wiles of the devil, you need to have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

So what does that mean? What does it mean to shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace? Well, you're already in Romans, so turn over a couple chapters to chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, the same phrase, the gospel of peace is used, and I believe it gives us great insight into what Paul is talking about in Ephesians chapter 6. Romans chapter 10, let's pick it up in verse 13.

He says,

That Paul is talking about here, the preparation of the gospel of peace. This speaks to us of being ready to preach the gospel message. What is the gospel message? Well, the gospel message is that we can have peace with God. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5.1 tells us.

And so Paul is saying the gospel of peace, it's a reference to preaching the gospel, telling others and sharing with others that we can have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Now, he doesn't just say the gospel of peace, though, does he? He says the preparation of the gospel of peace. What does that mean? Preparation, it means readiness. It carries with it the idea of an eagerness. We need to be prepared and ready, eager.

to share the gospel message. And you might ask, well, how does this help in spiritual war? And if you haven't experienced yet, a reminder, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but very often, the enemy will use people in our lives to attack us. People that irritate us, people that are out to get us, people that, for whatever reason, we just don't like them. People that maybe rear-ended us, or people that just cause all kinds of trouble in our lives. Now,

Those people are not the enemy because we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. The people in your life that drive you crazy are not the people that you're really fighting against. Or if you're fighting against them, you're fighting the wrong battle. You're not fighting the spiritual battle. The people that are there are the people that God loves and wants to save and that the enemy wants to use to wreck your life and destroy their own.

And so to fight and to stand in a spiritual battle, you need to be ready with the gospel of peace. You need to be ready to share, prepared to tell them about the gospel that gives them peace with God. Because as the enemy uses people to get under your skin, now you have an opportunity to share the gospel message with them. You know, if the attack is maybe a temptation to be angry with a person,

Turn it around. Share the gospel with them. If it's a physical attack, maybe someone's treating you badly. Be prepared. Be ready. Be eager to share the gospel with them. Now, that's hard to do, isn't it? For those people that seem to be out to get us for whatever reason. For those people that treat us so badly or just really irritate us. But we must remember that our struggle, our battle, our wrestling is not against flesh and blood.

Paul tells us in Romans 12, 18, that if it's possible, as much as depends on us, live peaceably with all men. We need to be ready and eager to share the gospel with others. And, you know, as we do that, prepare ourselves to share with others, we're protecting ourselves as well with the peace of that message. Because it's the gospel message that we stand upon. And if the enemy can shake that, if he can shake our confidence,

And the gospel message, if he can get our eyes off of the gospel message, as as he did with the Galatians, remember what happened with the Galatians? Paul ended up saying to them, who has bewitched you? You started out by the spirit, by faith, trusting in God. But now you're looking at works and relying upon yourself and following the law in order to be made perfect. They'd taken their feet out of.

The gospel of peace. They weren't planted there any longer. But now they were planted in something else. The enemy had successfully routed them to where they shouldn't have been. Without the gospel as our foundation, it will be very easy for us to fall. We will constantly be questioning our salvation. We will be defeated.

Or we'll be pushed back like the soldier with no traction. If our feet aren't firmly planted in the gospel message, we will backslide. We will begin to justify our sin. We'll let our sin keep us from the presence of God. And so we need to be firmly planted in the gospel message. How? By being so familiar with it that we're prepared, ready, and eager to share it at any time.

Be familiar. Do you know the gospel message? Are you ready? If one of your relatives or co-workers or neighbors wants to know how to have peace with God, are you ready to share with them? Be ready. Prepare yourself. You'll be protecting yourself with that message, but you'll also be teaching others.

How to have peace with God. The shoes of peace are being prepared to preach the gospel. You put them on by preparing, by being ready and eager to share. And in order for us to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must stand on the gospel message, ready to share it with anyone, with everyone, no matter what they've done. The fourth item we find in our wardrobe is the shield of faith.

It's found in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 16, where Paul says, I always have to be careful when I read that verse because you may have heard this. Greg Lloyd tells a story about when he was young and he was teaching at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa for Pastor Chuck one time. And Pastor Chuck had went away and so he had him fill in for him, I think on a Wednesday or Thursday evening and

Pastor Greg Laurie was teaching on this portion and he comes to Ephesians chapter 6.

I'm going to make myself laugh already just thinking about it. But he comes to verse 16 of Ephesians 6 and he's trying to make a point. But he sees Pastor Chuck walk in and it makes him very nervous. As you can imagine, it's like your boss walking in right in the middle of a presentation or something. And so he sees him and so he's he's trying to make his point. He gets a little bit confused. And instead of saying that you got to watch out for the fiery darts of the wicked one, he says, you got to watch out for the diary farts of the wicked one.

He was emphasizing it to make his point and made a different point instead. The shield of faith, which protects us from the darts of the wicked one. The shield that this word is referring to is not a small, round, hand-to-hand combat shield like we might picture, but it's a large, rectangular shield that

which would be about four feet tall or so and about two feet wide, probably about the size of the face of this pulpit here, except for it would be curved a little bit. Now, the soldier would be able to hide behind the shield while the enemy shot flaming arrows, I'm still laughing, and darts at him. The shield would be made of wood with a leather covering. Now, it was an important element of defense for the soldier because they would come into combat and the enemy would have arrows and darts that they would be shooting.

Paul is saying here that the overarching, he says above all, the overarching theme of the armor of God is faith. Faith in God. Now, just as a soldier could hide completely behind his shield, even so spiritually, we must hide behind our faith in Jesus Christ completely. Faith is believing God at his word and acting upon it.

It's believing God at his word and acting upon it. Not saying I believe and just waiting for something to happen, but acting, knowing this is going to come to pass. That's faith. So when the enemy shoots at us with his fiery darts, we must grip firmly our shield of faith and quench them immediately. What kind of darts does he shoot at us? Well, it might be thoughts that burn within you. Maybe thoughts of lust.

Just burn and seem to consume or anger or bitterness or envy or greed. It might be those thoughts that just burn within you that will not be quenched. Paul says you need to take the shield of faith. Believe God at his word and act upon it. It might be situations that really burn you up, that consume you, that make you hot. Some suffering or anger.

Something that you're going through. It might be people that burn you, that rub you the wrong way, that treat you badly. Whatever the case, we're going to take up the shield of faith. Now, often we refer to times of suffering or trial as going through the fire. And in those times especially, we need to take up the shield of faith. God allows us to go through those times that we may grow in our faith. That our faith may be refined, Peter says in 1 Peter 1.

Now, some of the attacks of the enemy are up close and personal. You know, you can see them coming. You're anticipating them. You know, I mean, you know, the guy swinging the sword at you right in front of your face. So, you know, it's coming and you can defend yourself. But these type of attacks that Paul is talking about, these darts and these arrows that come in, they seem to come from nowhere. Right.

And it could be, you know, some mental attacks, some thoughts and things. It could be spiritual things that all of a sudden spiritually you just feel really down or oppressed or there's something going on. Or this temptation that comes out of nowhere, like where in the world did that come from? I never knew I could be tempted in that area. Or maybe emotional attacks. I don't know why it just suddenly I'm feeling this way. They just seem to come from nowhere and it's in those times.

that we need to hold up the shield of faith. Another interesting thing about those type of attacks is usually the enemy doesn't just shoot one arrow at, you know, bing, bing. No, it's an onslaught, right? You see the wall of arrows just descending upon the soldiers. And that's very often how it is. Maybe it's not just...

a mental thing, a thought that you're having and struggling with, but it's also a temptation. It's also a spiritual attack. It's also an emotional and a physical attack. And you're just getting hit in all these different areas. And they seem to come, where in the world did this come from? The shield of faith is to protect you from that type of onslaught and attack by the enemy. Paul was a good example of this. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he says,

Verses 17 and 18, he says, Now, moments before in that portion,

Paul was talking about being hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, always caring about the death of the Lord Jesus. They were just in constant struggle and battle and they're being crushed and beaten and smashed and torn in pieces.

But Paul says all of those things are happening, but they're not discouraging us. We're not out of the battle. We just keep pressing on. Why? Well, he tells us here, hey, it's a light affliction because of the comparison. It's working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Paul wasn't looking at the physical things, the physical things that his body was going through. Verse 18, he says, I'm looking at the things that are not visible.

Because those things are eternal. He's looking at the things that are not seen. And faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. His faith was not in the circumstances, but his faith was in God. And his faith was in the reward that God had in store for him. And what God had as a result of those things. All these things were happening. He's being hit on every side, but he didn't let it burn him up.

Those fiery darts did not faze him. He kept his eyes focused on the eternal, believing God at his word. Through the same faith, you and I can overcome anything, any obstacle or situation or problem or suffering or doubt or struggle. First John 5, 4 says, this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. It's by faith that we overcome and we quench those darts.

The fires that burn. We overcome by faith. Absolute trust in God to take care of us, to protect us, to deliver us, to provide for us, to strengthen us, to bring justice, etc., etc., etc. Knowing that everything is in God's hand and being okay with that. The shield of faith is action based on a belief in God's word. And we pick it up, we hold it up by staying focused on the eternal things.

Not the things that are seen, the problems that are right before our eyes, but knowing that as we hold fast to God, trusting in Him, letting Him fight the battle for us, there's being stored up for us a far more exceeding weight of glory. Eternal, not seen. In order for us to take a stand against the wiles of the devil, we must take up the shield of faith and look at the things which are eternal.

Finally, the fifth element of our wardrobe that we'll look at this evening is the helmet of salvation found in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 17, the first part, where Paul says that we should take up the helmet of salvation. Now, the soldier's helmet would be protection for his head, as the word helmet obviously implies. Spiritually, Christians, the way that we protect our head, the way that we protect our mind is by setting it on our salvation.

By setting it upon our salvation. Our immediate salvation, yes, that's there. But specifically, the realization of salvation, which is future. Eternal life with Christ Jesus. Colossians chapter 3 says,

Verses 1 through 4, Paul tells us this. This is so important.

The enemy wants to take our minds off of salvation. He wants to turn our heads toward this world, towards this life, towards right now, and not towards eternity. Whatever direction your head is facing is the direction you will go. My gymnastics coach when I was very young taught me that. And teaching us to do back flips and back handsprings and such and

One of the scary things about going backwards is you never know where you're going to end up. And so he used to teach us that if you keep looking straight forward, when you go backwards, you will stay in that line. But if you look to the side, now if you jump backwards to do the back handspring, then you're going to go in that direction. Or if you look the other way, you're going to go in that direction.

I used to really scare my dad when we would be riding our bikes together and we'd be riding along the street and I would look over my shoulder to see if a car was coming and when I look, my bike would go in that direction. And so I would see a car and find out that I'm about to run into it because the rest of me will follow where my head is facing. And that's why we must put on the helmet of salvation.

To set our minds, to set our face, to set our heads in the direction of our salvation that is to come. Eternal life of Jesus Christ.

Not caught up in the things of this world. Not concerned and consumed about the things of this world. Because Romans chapter 8 verse 6 tells us to be carnally minded is death. What is carnally minded? Carnally minded is worldly minded. Worried about, thinking about, consumed with the things of this life. The things of my own nature.

To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, Romans 8, 6 says. So Satan works hard to get our minds on the things of the flesh, to get us caught up in materialism, thinking about, ooh, if I could only have that, thinking about, you know, the greediness that builds up within us. I just need this or that, or if I could only attain that. Or maybe it's the opposite way sometimes.

Using financial struggles to take our mind off of eternity and focus on, man, I just really got to get out of this mess and I really got to fix this and so I got to devote myself to it and I become consumed. Setting my mind on the things here instead of the things here. Or maybe it's status, popularity, power, whatever it might be. Anything that's not eternity with Jesus Christ. Every day I need to wake up.

Set my eyes there. Set my mind on the things above, not on the things of this earth, because I died. My life is hidden with Christ in God. I'm not living for this life. I'm living for the next one. I need to put on the helmet of salvation. Don't allow the enemy's attacks to get your mind on the things of this earth, but keep setting your mind on things above, because if you get caught up with this life, if you become carnally minded, the result is death.

Matthew chapter 6, Jesus taught us that. Where he told us not to lay up treasures on earth, where the moth will destroy, rust destroys, thieves break in and steal. But instead, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. That's where your focus is. That's what you're building. That's what you're living for. That's where your hope is. That's salvation. And that's what our minds need to be set on. Keep your treasure where it belongs, in heaven. Value those things which are above.

Keep your mind on the scope of eternity. The helmet of salvation is the goal of eternity. You put it on by setting your mind on things above. Wrapping it up now. We've looked at five elements of our wardrobe, the spiritual armor. And we've learned what they mean to us and how to put them on. The belt of truth, it's the entirety of the word of God. You put it on by reading it and by believing it.

The breastplate of righteousness is belief in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. And you put it on by believing in Jesus and has accomplished his finished work. The shoes of peace are being prepared to preach the gospel. And you put them on by being ready and prepared, eager to share with those around you. The shield of faith is action based on belief of God's word.

And you hold up the shield of faith by staying focused on the eternal things, the things working behind the scenes, knowing that God is at work, he's in control. And finally, the helmet of salvation, which is the goal of eternity. And you put it on by setting your mind on things above. Now, as we close, before we close, there's an emphasis here that Paul places that I want to leave you with back in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 1.

10 says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Verse 13, 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. The battle is fierce. Our enemy is powerful. Paul says you can't do it halfheartedly.

You can't. You're not going to stand if it's half-heartedly. You must put on the whole armor of God. Verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand. Therefore, verse 13, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand. If you do not put on the whole armor of God, you will not be able to stand. You cannot decide that it's okay to be involved in some sin as long as you're sharing the gospel. It doesn't work.

You need the whole armor of God or you will not stand. You cannot determine to put your faith in God while your treasure, what you value, is the things of this world, the things of this life. You cannot have eternity your goal and refuse to share the gospel. You cannot believe in Jesus Christ and not be concerned with God's truth as presented in his word. All of these elements, all of these pieces of the armor, they work together.

And if we're not protected in one area, then we are very vulnerable and we will fall. Now, being human, of course, we will fall despite our best attempts. We do sin and fall short of God's glory. We get caught up in the things of this life, concerned about riches, caught up in sin. But in those times, God extends to us grace upon grace. He forgives us. He helps us back to our feet. And that's good. That's okay. That's what we need to...

receive that grace that God extends to us, and then put on the whole armor of God and get back in the fight. But we need to be warned because Galatians chapter 5 tells us very clearly the works of the flesh. And it lists them out there. You can look it up, Galatians 5, 19 through 21. And he says if those are the things that we practice, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. And so spiritual battle, it's a battle that's very real that takes place

And yes, we will get knocked down from time to time, but we need to get back up and put on the armor of God. If we stay down and continue to practice those things, Paul says, you're in trouble. You're in trouble. It's a real battle. Satan is playing for keeps. We need to be on guard. We need to put on the whole armor of God. Every element, every part found in Jesus Christ, being strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

These are our defense. Next week, we'll look at the weapons, prayer and the word of God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for these defenses that you've given to us that are found in you. God, thank you that we don't have to come up with our own defenses or try to defend ourselves. But Lord, it's all in you. Lord, discovering and learning and applying your truth. God, believing and receiving your righteousness. Lord, learning about preparing and sharing your peace.

Lord, receiving and taking action based on your word in the faith that you began and that you will finish. And Lord, the salvation that's found in you because of what you did on the cross. Lord, may we keep our hearts, our minds focused on you, strengthened in you. Lord, I pray for all of us this evening that you would strengthen us for the battle. That you would build up our defenses. You would establish us.

Lord, with the belt of truth girded around our waist, with the breastplate of righteousness covering our hearts, Lord, with our feet prepared with the gospel message, holding up our absolute confidence and faith in you that you're in control and you'll work everything for good to those who love you and are called according to your purpose. Lord, that you would keep our minds set on eternity, that we would live and run for that and not be caught up in this world. Build up our defenses, Lord.

We need you. God, I pray for anybody who is feeling just that they're undergoing special attack and overwhelming attacks. Lord, encourage them. Place their eyes and their hearts on you. May they find confidence and hope. Lord, may they stand being strong in the power of your might. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.