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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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THE
PLACEMENT OF THE ARMOR Part
1 Ephesians
6:13-18 Introduction:
Every thing I said in the past lessons
was to help prepare you in understand why we need this armor.
We are in a battle. We battle with Satan. He is
sworn enemy. We battle with our flesh. When we
saved, our flesh did not die. We do battle with the world.
These are the unholy trinity. I will not go down that
path today. We want to start down the road of the placement
of the armor. Each piece is piece is important.
So let’s get started. In
any group of Christians there are two types. There are
those who are "ready" and those who are "not ready."
Ready or not! Here Satan comes to destroy. A uniform
of armor must be taken up and put on whenever combat is anticipated.
For the Christian, combat is continuous. The emphasis
of this passage is "Do not get caught without your armor on!"
We are commanded that ye may be able to stand. And after
we have done all we can do, we are commanded to do: having
done all, to stand. “That ye may be able” This is the ordinary Greek word for
"ability." This is the ability, which is the result of edification;
and it is the main source of strength in the angelic conflict.
We are told to stand. This is the readiness of the combat
soldier, the Christian "centurion," armed, tough, unyielding
and with motivation from the Word of God. We need to remember that there were the long spikes that were often
attached to a Roman soldier’s sandals, which enabled him to
plant his feet firmly in the ground. Paul surely thought
about that here as he instructs us to “stand firm.” He is
saying, “Stand firm. Don’t even think about running. Don’t
even think about trying to escape. Don’t even think about
giving up. Your strength is in the Lord, and you can keep
your footing in Him. When those demonic forces start to press
in on you, when the enemy fires his fiery darts your way,
when the pressures of the world threaten to knock you down
. . . stand firm.” We can do this because of the firm foundation
in the Word of God, which is ours! "Standing" is the first thing taught in unarmed combat or martial
arts. Christians are seldom told to sit. The Gauls,
against whom the Romans fought many campaigns, under Julius
Caesar and others, were human "tanks" so to speak in the sense
that their ability to take a very strong combat stance made
them difficult to defeat in individual combat. I
want to look at two thoughts in regards to this piece of equipment. Have you ever heard someone say: “I just had this gut-feeling
that something was not right. I could not put my finger
on it, but it just did not sit right with me.” Now that
may not be proper English, but it is the truth. The loins
are in the abdominal area. The stomach was once believed to be the seat of emotions. To
a large degree, it still is, for when we are scared or happy,
we feel it in our stomachs. When our emotions run
high, the stomach will become tied into knots and will make
the entire body sick. No wonder truth is girded about
the stomach. Paul compared the armor worn by Christians
to soldiers preparing themselves for battle. The soldier
desires for each part of the body to be protected.
This particular area was protected with an armored belt.
Without the belt none of the other pieces of armor would
stay in place. Paul refers first to the great belt, or girdle, that soldiers wore.
This was usually made of leather and metal, and was worn
around the entire abdominal region. This vital piece of
armor protected the “core,” or the center, of the
soldier’s body. Here Paul is using the illustration of the thick belt the Roman soldier
placed around his waist. To this belt the soldier
attached his dagger and sword. Furthermore, the breastplate
was held in place by being attached to this belt. In addition,
leather straps reaching to the knees hung from this belt
and protected the soldier from sword strokes to that part
of his body. Other loops held ropes and a rations
sack. When the legions conquered a city, the soldiers
would empty the ration sack to make room for gold, jewelry,
and other loot they picked up. There were loops on the belt for darts. The belt was tied in
several places to stay in place, so that no matter how the
soldier moved about, fell down, climbed hills, etc., the
belt was always in place with weapons at the ready.
II. REPRESENTATION
OF THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT This piece of the equipment represents truth. We have two quick
thoughts in regards to truth. First of all, at the
trial of Jesus, Pilate asked this question. “Pilate
saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this,
he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I
find in him no fault at all.” I
have two answers. First of all, Jesus is truth. “Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Second of all, the Bible is truth. John 17:17 “Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Let’s go into greater depth with each point of those thoughts.
One of the most important
things we should grasp is the fact that Jesus Christ is
the Truth? John
1:17 “For
the law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ.” If we would sit quietly for a few minutes and think about it, we
would come to know, without understanding, that God asked
a great deal of us. Consider these truths He wants
us to believe about His son. “Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.” If Jesus was not born of a virgin, then everything we believe is
a lie and we are wasting our time but He was born of a virgin
just like the Bible says. The Bible said it and it
does not matter who believes it. “And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.” “And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called,
saying, Maid, arise.” “Jesus answered
and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days
I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years
was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in
three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.” “And when
he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken
up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” “And while
they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said,
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall
so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” These are basic Bible doctrines that are the truth. We can
take the Bible and provide each of these over and over again
as truth. That is one of the marks that distinguish
us from other churches in this town. Most people do
not know what they believe except what their preacher tells
them. We encourage our folks to read their Bibles
so they can know for themselves what the Bible really teaches.
Now do we begin to understand why it is mandatory that we be girded
about with the truth. Our hope rests upon things we
profess to believe in and things we know to be true that
defy common sense. How do we know? Why, we got
this gut feeling that all is well. If Satan can just
get us to doubt those truths, we are useless in the battle. The second is the written truth- our Bibles. We are walking
In God’s Truth. Man wants to know truth, yet looks in the
wrong places. I noticed a new commercial on television.
It is regards to Scientology that teaches that people are
immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true
nature. It calls itself truth. This Bible is
the only truth people need. Let’s see some thoughts
in regards to the Bible and truth. “And that
from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which
are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man
of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good
works.” Our Bible is a defensive weapon, preparing us to stand in the faith!
We are to be nourished up in good doctrine. 1st
Timothy 4:6 13, 15-16 “If thou
put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt
be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the
words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast
attained.” “Till I come, give attendance to reading,
to exhortation, to doctrine.” “Meditate upon these things;
give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear
to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue
in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself,
and them that hear thee.” 1st
Timothy 6:3 “If any
man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words,
even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine
which is according to godliness” 2nd
Timothy 1:13 “Hold fast
the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in
faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” Peter wrote, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind” in
1st Peter 1:13. The Christian is to have
his mind girt about with the truth of God’s Word.
Christ said we must live not by bread alone, but by the
Word in Matthew 4:4. We are to strap on the girdle of truth and say prayerfully, “Lord,
I choose to put on this belt of truth, and I ask that it
keep my heart centered on your Word. I want to live in the
truth, walk in the truth, and testify to the truth.” Prover “Keep thy
heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of
life.” “He shall
cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt
thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” “Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come.” “ When we are diligent in the truth of God, then we cannot be deceived
by Satan’s lies. False teaching falls to the sides as we
filter everything we hear through the truth of Scripture.
The longer you are saved the more of the Bible you should
know and the easier it is to pick out false teachings and
doctrine. We must remember that the battle begins in our minds; that is Satan’s
battleground. It may slip into our emotions and actions
later, but it always begins with our minds. Therefore, our
minds must be protected from assault at all times. God’s Word is the Christian soldier’s defensive and offensive weapon.
It cuts through accusation, doubt, and hopelessness that
are those favorite "wiles of the devil." While the belt
of truth protects our vitals, we also draw inspiration and
hope from the living scriptures, which is "the sword of
the Spirit" we find in verse 17. Bible study bathes our
mind and spirit in hope and enthusiasm. Psalm
119:128 “Therefore
I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right;
and I hate every false way.” Here is the principle of inner truthfulness. Paul is writing as much
about personal truthfulness as he is about biblical truth
the Bible. The Christian is to be sincere. He must be truthful to himself, about
facts in his life, about Holy Spirit conviction, and toward
people. How do we do this? He must put away lying (Ephesians 4:25) and learn to speak the truth
in love (Ephesians 4:15) as he demonstrates the fruit of
the Spirit in his life. Paul was saying that honesty and
truthfulness are foundational in our fight against Satan
and his evil horde. If we are not truthful about the battle
that we face every day then we will succumb to Satan’s wiles
and fiery darts. The apostle Peter taught this same principle when he wrote that the
very first thing a person needed to add to his faith was
virtue or moral integrity. According to Peter, moral integrity
must precede a further knowledge of God's Word because without
it one will never apply the truth of God's Word to his life.
One cannot defeat Satan and his horde without first being
honest with God. The mind of the Christian must be clear and discerning, unhampered
by selfish, sinful thoughts, guarding against error and
making wrong choices. How do we do this? This demands
being in the Word of God -- knowing it, applying it, and
living it out in daily life. James 1:21 “Wherefore
lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which
is able to save your souls” Conclusion: Without
truth, we would not be about to fight the battles of life.
Thank God, we can know the truth and were set free. John
8:32 “And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Next lesson we will look at the breastplate of righteousness. The Wounded Heart Ministries, Inc.,
is a non-profit organization and is exempt from federal income tax under
section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donors to the Wounded Heart
Ministries, Inc., may deduct contributions and gifts, with no consideration
received. All donations and gifts to the Wounded Heart Ministries, Inc.,
will be disbursed in accordance with the purpose statement of this ministry
and all donors will receive proper credit for gifts received. All donations
and gifts are greatly appreciated and may be sent to: The Wounded Heart Ministries,
Inc.,
LOINS
GIRDED WITH TRUTH
I. RECOUNTING
OF THIS PIECE OF THE EQUIPMENT
c/o Dr. Benny F. Woods, Founder and President,
3608 Bellhaven Dr., Valdosta, GA 31605
