Standing in the Armor of God

We have recorded for us multiple times in God's Word that the Apostle Paul, likening our day to day struggles that we have with sin as being in a war. It's this time of the year that we examine ourselves, that we look for the sin that may be hidden. The sin that is sometimes difficult to root out, the things that come up in our life that causes problems, the attacks that Satan throws at us, the things that has tripped us up at different times in our life. It's this time of the year also that sometimes it seems like struggles come out of left field, almost as if Satan is firing up more and more of his fiery darts that get thrown and launched our way. We don't have scriptures that necessarily tie this tribulation and this aspect to the Holy Day, but it's happened so many times, time and time and time again, different times that we've had extra, it seems like, more pressure, extra pressure from Satan at this time of the year, and things trying to distract us from our mission, from what God has called us to do in examining ourselves and drawing closer to God. Is our life not like a war that we are involved in? We often struggle against common challenges that each of us face. We struggle against self. We struggle against society. We struggle against the spiritual powers of darkness. And as we fight, we fight under the leadership of Jesus Christ. We fight in belief of God's standard, the standard that we keep, and then we fight against to keep established. And we fight with the rules established by God's Word, those rules that we sometimes fail in applying in our life. This is our duty as Christians, and we've been called to fight the good fight of faith and to lay hold on eternal life. That, of course, is from 1 Timothy 6, verse 12. So today, let's review items that we, as soldiers of Christ, have been equipped with so that we can withstand spiritual attacks.

The items that we, as soldiers of Christ, have been equipped so that we can withstand spiritual attacks. As I referenced, the Apostle Paul was inspired to create an analogy of a Roman soldier's equipment and the Christian spiritual equipment we are to put on. We find this in Ephesians chapter 6.

We'll be here quite a bit today. We'll be flipping around to some other scriptures. So if you want to put your ribbon here in Ephesians 6 so that we can find our place quickly, because we'll be coming back to this chapter quite often through today's message.

Here in Ephesians 6, we find, describe the armor of God starting in verse 10. Here in verse 10 of Ephesians 6, Paul says, Here we have the admonition from Paul to be strong in the Lord. We have been called to a way of life that requires strength. Where do we receive that strength? This isn't a trick question. Where do we receive that strength? We receive it from God multiple times.

As David said, the Lord is my strength and my shield. That is from Psalm 28, verse 7. David was not one to be shy about saying where his strength came from and shared many times through the Psalms that this aspect of God being his strength. In one case, he actually says, God is my shield. God is my shield. We have no strength in and of ourselves. No strength. Our natural tendency is actually to take the easier road, the one with less bumps, the one with fewer obstacles. This is why our strength must come from God and be based on him. We must be strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting when the need arise.

Then we're admonished in this passage we just read to put on the whole armor of God. And why? Paul answers that by saying that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. If Satan could have his way, it would be to completely and totally destroy you and me. There is no ifs, ands, or buts around this. That is our enemy and the one that we face. He wants total destruction. Total annihilation. Not just to maim. Not just to cause us to limp into the kingdom. But if he can cause us to miss out on the promises that God has assured to you and me, he will do that. He is that type of an enemy that we have against us. He does not want to leave one of us alive. One of us standing. So we're instructed to put on this armor, to put on a defense. And as we'll read in a minute, this armor isn't brought forth from within ourselves, but is from God. We have no armor on our own that will prove a defense in a trying and challenging time. But God, in his infinite wisdom and by his design, has given us the equipment to which we need to gird ourselves. This armor is provided, but then we must do our part of putting it on.

And why, again? That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We are to hold out, to stand fast, to overcome, to avoid deception, to avoid the traps of Satan and everything else. I mean, the list could go on and on. We could each talk about all the ways, the dimensions that Satan tries to attack us. The ways he does attack us. I don't think try is a fair word. He does attack us daily. And the list goes on and on in the ways and the methods at which he uses. Let us make no mistake that we are in a war. Let us make no mistake. Because there is no way to sugarcoat this. There is no way to soften it. We must understand and we must not underestimate or ignore where we are at in life and what is before us. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 3. 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 3. We have another description of this war, but also what we are enabled with to overcome. 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 3. 1 Corinthians. Here again, the apostle Paul writes, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. This is what you and I have. Casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. And being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. And again, back to Ephesians 6 and verse 12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. This is what you and I fight against. Paul's not ignoring the fact that we do have enemies, physical enemies, of society today. He's also not saying that we don't war against our own human nature and our way of thought. He's not saying that we don't war against either of these, but that the greater warring that is spiritual. That's the greater fight that you and I have. Invisible spirits of wickedness that seek to destroy us. Not maim, again, not just cause a little bit of damage, but to destroy, to utterly destroy. They would love that to be no other end than for us to not make it to the kingdom of God. And sometimes Satan is subtle in his attacks on us. In verse 11 of Ephesians 6 again, it says that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Wiles can also mean trickery or to lie in wait. That's our enemy. He's not, as we would maybe use a phrase from our own day of the age, he doesn't fight a fair fight. He's not meeting us on a solid, even ground that we can then get our blows in and see who's the mightier or who's the stronger.

He will do whatever he can to trick, to deceive, to cause us to fail in our walk with God.

From the beginning of interacting with man, Satan used trickery with Adam and Eve, disguising himself as a serpent and also twisting God's word. And he continues to use trickery today, calling evil good and good evil. Darkness for light and light for darkness. That's from Isaiah 5 verse 20.

All around us, all we have to do is open our eyes and we see evil that's called good and good that's called evil. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, the Apostle Paul also encouraged Timothy to watch out for imposters and to watch out for trickery. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 13. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 13.

Here Paul encourages the young minister, Timothy, but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

He's saying that, Timothy, you knew this from a young age. You've grown up knowing this. You've been taught this. You've got to hold fast to these things. As I look around the room and have gotten to know a lot of people here, you're not young in your knowledge either. Some of you have grown up in the church. Others have been here for 20, 30, 40 years. Anybody 50? 60?

Okay, 50 years. That's a long time. A lot of sermons. A lot of Bible study. A lot of prayer. A lot of keeping Passover. We're not new to this. Just as Paul was telling Timothy, you're not new to this. It's amazing this calling that we have received. God has called us all out individually, shown us His ways, and placed them on our heart. We have grown in God's wisdom through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. So we can recognize trickery, and we can recognize the need that we have to avoid allowing ourselves to be deceived. Because I've been tricked. When I was a little kid, I had an uncle that would play games. We all have that uncle, right?

I played tricks. One time, we were at a potluck, and I made my plate of food. It was a family reunion, and the food was there. I went to get a drink, and I came back. My plate's gone, and my uncle's eating it. I ate a good portion of it at that point. That was his way. I've never been able to do that to my nephews. I must be too nice.

We've all been tricked at times, but times change. We grow up. We grow in knowledge. We grow in wisdom. And that wisdom, when it's based on God's Word, helps us to avoid the tricks. It helps us to avoid the deception, but that doesn't mean we can then let our guard down. We can avoid staying close to God's Word because Satan's not going to let up. And then the tricks that we have overcome, the lessons that we have learned, Satan has a way of throwing new ones at us. Things that we haven't seen before, maybe. Things that we haven't considered. Maybe a scripture that we haven't applied correctly in our lives. He knows, and he tries, and he doesn't quit. This is our enemy that we are to fight against. And as I said, that's not underestimate that Satan is a powerful enemy. We have to remember that a third of the angels turned to follow Satan. Not two, not three. A third of the angels. That number probably can't be counted. That many angels, fallen angels, is helping him to do what he wants to do on this earth.

And they're influencing people in our world, in our nation, in our city. They're influencing people in our neighborhood. And actually, they're influencing our next-door neighbors. You know what? They're influencing you and me. Because we live in a physical world, and we can't deny that this influence also hits you and it hits me.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 5, verse 8, Be sober, be villagent, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. A roaring lion. That's not a little kitty cat that we can kick around. That's not something that we can overcome easily.

I shudder to think about what it would be like to walk out of the parking lot today on your way back to your car, and all of a sudden there's a lion in the parking lot on the other side of the car. Sometimes when I was a kid, we'd go to the zoo, and it's a safe place. They got the glass up. They've got the barriers. And sometimes in my little kid mind, I'd imagine what would happen if I fell in there. What would happen if I was in their arena with an animal like this? I think that's a safe environment. We can kind of just say, well, that's just kid thought. But what if we went on a trip to Africa, and we decided to go backpacking where they live in their neighborhood? And we decided we're going to camp in a tent, that little thin walled tent, out there with them and wonder if we're going to be okay. We're in their world now. We're in their environment if we were to do that. We're not talking about a zoo. We live today in an environment that belongs to Satan. We live. We sleep. We eat. And we breathe in this environment. Maybe we don't always hear the roaring, but lions don't always roar, do they? You ever seen the nature shows when a lion is sneaking up on its prey, unannounced? It's not roaring. It's not sitting there making itself known, but it's there. It's sneaking up. It's doing everything it can to get its prey. So we may not always hear the roar of Satan around us, but he's there just as if we walked out to our car and came around the corner to get in, and there would be a lion. Imagine that.

In the Barnes notes on the Bible commentary, Albert Barnes puts together a list of the things of the kingdom of darkness which we are to fight against. In this list, he says, to our own—this is the things that we are to fight against—we are to fight against our own sinful propensities which are part of the kingdom of darkness. We are to fight against the evil passions of others—their pride, ambition, spirit of revenge—which are also part of that kingdom. With the evil customs, laws, opinions, employments, pleasures of the world, which are also part of that dark kingdom. With error, superstition, false doctrine, which are also part of that kingdom. And with the wickedness of the pagan world, also a part of that kingdom. He finishes by saying, wherever we come in contact with evil, whether in our own hearts or elsewhere, there we are to make war. It's quite a list that he captured there. It can seem like the fight might just be too much on our own. Too many dangers, too many lions in the parking lot. But as we continue to read in Ephesians 6, we see that we are not fighting unprepared. Let's turn back to, if you're not there, back to Ephesians 6 as we continue in this passage. Because we're not unprepared for this fight. God has prepared us and given us the equipment that we need here in Ephesians 6 and continuing in verse 13. Here Paul says, Faith, salvation, and the Word of God, these aspects we are being asked to put on. All free gifts given to us by God, we know that we can't obtain these ourselves. God inspired Paul to tell us to not only have them, but to put them on. We are to defend and arm ourselves with these items to give us the ability to stand strong in the Lord. As we dive into each of these, let's first look at the armor. Let's first look at having girdage your waist with truth. Girdage your waist with truth. People during Paul time would wear loose, flowing robes that became necessary to kind of cinch up or to tie up when they traveled or when they ran or when they labored. This is also a belt that a soldier would keep part of their armor on. So the soldier would use this to gird their waist. They would be able to keep their sword. They had usually a secondary sword, a smaller dagger type that they would be able to keep on this belt around. This belt would surround them on all sides. It wasn't just on the front. The belt would surround them. I've never been a soldier, but I've worked in construction a few times when I was younger. One of the tools that I would use is a tool belt. One with the pockets. One you could put your hammer in.

I even had one at one point that had a... you could put your cordless drill so that it was right there at your side. It's a very useful tool to the tradesmen. Those who are in the room and work with a trade and wear a tool belt, they understand this. You need that. It's part of your equipment. It goes around your waist. But it needs to be tight because as you move, as you do different things, you don't want the screwdriver or the cordless drill to fall out.

You don't want to lose your hammer and plus it then it rides funny and you can't walk right. You need that girded on tight. You need it surrounding you by your side. It has pockets on the front, sometimes pockets on the back for all of your equipment. It'd be similar to a soldier today and it was similar to a soldier in Paul's time.

A similar example is Batman's utility belt. You didn't expect a Batman reference today, did you? I didn't expect it when it got inspired in my notes. But no matter what generation that you grew up knowing Batman, it seemed like Batman always had a tool for everything that he encountered.

Whether it was the classic TV show or the cartoons that you've grown up in. Even that special one-off bug spray or what a bat bug spray, whatever it was that he had, he had a tool for everything that he encountered on that belt. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth of God. And unless we believe that it is true, then we cannot enter spiritual warfare with any advantage or any hope of success. Let's turn to John 14 as we dive into a little bit of this truth and where does it come from.

John 14 and verse 6. John 14 and verse 6. And here we get to read Christ's own words again. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. I am the way, the truth. Let's look forward a couple chapters to John 16, verse 13, as we continue to examine this aspect of truth. John 16, verse 13. However, when the Spirit of truth has come, it will guide you into all truth, for it will not speak on its own authority, but whatever it hears, it will speak and it will tell you things to come.

In another chapter 4, John 17, verse 17, a memory scripture, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. Right here, we want to know what truth is. It's right here. It's on your laps. It's right in front of us. It's the thing that should be valuable to us. It's the thing that should be most important to us. God's Word and the power that is in it. God's truth acts as a support to our lives, as a belt would, and God's truth is multifaceted, just as a soldier or tradesman needs to have multiple tools to do their job.

We need each piece of God's truth girded around our waist to be a Christian. People have created their own versions of truth based on what they, humankind, believe. At times, we have been guilty of this ourselves. Mankind with our human nature decides what is truth, and then more times than not, we choose to follow it. But as we read and as we must remember, God's Word is truth, and it's this truth that we should be leaning on, not on our own understanding.

The truth of God preserves us in a society where we are exposed to assault every single day. Through God's truth, we can identify who our enemies are, how they come to attack us, and then what we need to do in our response. We need the truth of God right within hands' reach at our fingertips to fight off the attacks that come our way. Just like Batman needed his devices on his tool belt, we need God's truth girded around our waist.

The second item that Paul guests here in this section is the breastplate of righteousness, where he says, Having put on the breastplate of righteousness. In Isaiah 59, verse 17, we see that Christ himself put on the breastplate of righteousness. Let's go ahead and turn there. Isaiah 59, verse 17. Isaiah 59, verse 17 says, For he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

We know that Christ battles against injustice and corruption, that he restores peace in order to the lives of those who listen. Righteousness comes from God through faith in Him because He is righteous. God offers this righteousness to everyone who believes in Christ Jesus. You can put in your notes for that reference. Philippians 3, verse 9, and Romans 3, verse 22. God offers this righteousness to everyone who believes in Jesus. Let's go ahead and look at another scripture in Romans chapter 1, verse 16. Romans 1, verse 16.

Romans 1, verse 16. Here Paul again says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jews first, and also for the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just, or you could put in another word, you could say the righteous, shall live by faith. The righteous shall live by faith. Righteousness is how we relate to God and how we relate to each other. The breastplate of the Roman soldier protected the most important part of his body. Well, one of the two, the brain being one of the most important. But you get to your core, your lungs, your heart. There's not too many other things you can't live without. Well, you can't live without. But you also can't live when there's damage or when there's an accident that disrupts your ability for those to function correctly. It's at the center. It's at the core of our body. We must put on right relationships with God and with each other. Some may not know this, but my father is a retired Cincinnati police officer. In the days of being a little kid and growing up in the household, we get to see him put on his uniform. One of the pieces that he would put on every day was that bulletproof vest. Kind of like this breastplate of righteousness. He even at times would let us put it on. You're talking about something heavy. I never realized as a little kid, you put that on and it feels like you've got 50 pounds on you. He let us wear his hat. He let us dress up a little bit. It's a fun thing to do. I got Kelsey wear a tie a couple times, but I never got to let her put those types of things on. But if you ask any police officer, do they believe that bulletproof vests work? Hands down, every single one of them will say yes. The vest works. But there's examples. Times when it was inconvenient to put on. Times when maybe they forgot. Times when they didn't think the danger was at hand. And officers have lost their lives because they didn't wear this bulletproof vest. Do they believe in it? Absolutely. Doesn't mean that they weren't wearing it because they didn't believe in it. But other things gotten in the way. When you have a thick vest on and it's 90 degrees out and you're standing on a street corner when there's a parade going on, it gets hot. It's difficult. They think, wow, it's a parade day. Nothing's going to be bad today. But then they get a call and they're in their car and they're running someplace and they forget that, you know what, I never put it on today. And that's when accidents happen. Disaster strikes families. Sometimes it's not convenient to put on that bulletproof vest. It doesn't mean that we don't believe in it, that the officers didn't believe in it. And it's sometimes not enough for us just to believe in Jesus Christ. But we have to live with Christ in us, which then leads to actions of righteousness.

Paul says in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 27, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. We are to put on Christ. We are to put on that breastplate of righteousness. This is a requirement. We must do it. It's not enough to say, I believe in His righteousness. We must then wear it. We must put on the breastplate of righteousness. The third item that Paul lists here is to shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Roman soldiers would wear thick leather sandals to protect their feet. Some of them were even studded so that if they gained traction, they wouldn't be able to be budged or moved or shoved around. Did any of you ever play outside and bare feet as a kid? I did. I loved it. It was fun. Running around, I grew up in a city, so we had sidewalks and driveways and running around barefoot playing a game. I would have to have a son I stub my toe in that concrete or drag a heel or drag a toe. Boy, there's nothing else. A few things hurt as bad as skinning your cell phone concrete. I had friends who lived down in the country and they had gravel roads. You come whipping around the corner of the house on that grass barefoot, but then you come across that gravel driveway and those sharp rocks digging into heels or those soft parts of your feet hurt. It hurt like nothing else. You see all the kids start doing that funny dance as they go across the gravel until they hit the grass again and then back to sprinting. I remember at times pausing games to say, we've got to go put our shoes on. We run inside the house, put our socks, put our shoes on, and get back outside so then we could really play. Because stubbing your toe on concrete or dragging your toenails, it's just not fun. We see the importance of wearing shoes. We see having solid footwear would completely change a soldier's life. God wants us to cover our feet with the gospel of the kingdom of God. Gospel can also mean good news. So the good news of the kingdom of God. Not a gospel of fighting to take the spoils in battle or take the other people's money or property or belongings. Not that kind of fight. Not for the reasons that people fight for wars in the past and the present today. But how did Jesus himself handle in sharing of the gospel? Let's look at Matthew 4, verse 23. Matthew 4 and verse 23.

Here we have recorded what Christ did. Matthew 4, verse 23. Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. He went about preaching. Went about sharing. Went about healing. This is what Christ did. This was a message of peace for today and how we live our lives with one another. And it's also a peace that will come when he returns to this earth. Everything that we do today is in preparation of the coming kingdom of Christ, the coming kingdom that Christ is going to bring to this earth and our involvement in that kingdom as children of God.

This will be a time of peace that has not been experienced since the time when Adam and Eve were first with God in the garden before sin entered in. There hasn't been peace like that since that time, but it will come again at Christ's return. The gospel of the kingdom of God protects us as we are active, just like me running around in bare feet on gravel driveways. It protects us when we are running to fulfill the responsibilities of our calling today.

No skin, toes from running barefoot, but solid footing that keeps us established. This is that message of the kingdom of God. The fourth item that Paul guesstered is taking the shield of faith. Taking the shield of faith, and it goes on to say, which you will be able to clinch all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The shield of a Roman soldier was about two to three feet wide, four feet tall. It was made of wood. It was curved to some degree so they could have some little bit of protection. It was often covered in leather so that if they were going to go to battle with others who were shooting flaming arrows, they could actually soak the shield in water so that when the flaming arrows would hit that wet leather, it would extinguish them to protect the wood that it's made out of.

It was also trimmed in iron to give them extra support. It had a leather strap on the back is what they would hold. It was a powerful tool for the soldier. In battle, the soldiers would often group together in lines. We may have seen different movies where this has been depicted. They would line up in lines two by two, two rows. The first would hold their shields out front, four feet tall, so it goes pretty close to the ground if not to it.

The second row behind them would bring their shields over the top to kind of overlap the first set that was down to the ground. And then they would march forward in a path where arrows pretty much can't get through, or very few would. It's this kind of wall that they would create. Another device they would use with the shields in battle is something that has been called the tortoise. This is where the soldiers would kind of make a circle around each other, and they would have these shields on the outside. The soldiers that were in the middle would then take their shields and put them up above, like the outside parts of the tortoise shell.

And then they could move and navigate in all kinds of directions on the battlefield. And they could get to where then they could inflict harm to those that they were attacking. The Romans became very good at battle. Paul knew this in his time. Christ saw it when he was alive.

The Romans knew how to inflict harm. They knew how to go to war. The shield was the number one way of protecting themselves. Every one of us in our lives will face times when we're facing trials, we're facing an enemy, we're facing difficulties, and it just adds up and adds up and it adds up.

There'll be times where what we're doing day in and day out, trying to follow God, it just doesn't make sense. We hit doubt. We hit difficulties. Every one of us will face times of doubt. Every one of us will face times when God's answer to prayer makes no sense. There's times every one of us will face that we just simply don't know what we are to do next.

Being a Christian, having this calling, getting up day in day is difficult. And at times, it just doesn't make sense in life. In these moments, it comes down, though, just to you and to God. It comes down to me and God.

And it comes down to belief. It comes down to faith. What is faith? The definition that we have in God's word is from Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It's tough at times to have faith. When you can't see God, He can't come give you a hug.

He can't sit down and say this is exactly what you need to do in this situation. And you can give Him that hug and then say, yep, I'm going to go on and do it. Doubt does sometimes cause us to pause. Faith and trust are very similar. We have to trust that God knows what He was doing, even if we ourselves can't understand. The shield of faith is the Christian's protection against doubt.

So when that doubt enters in, the shield of faith is our protection against that. Whenever we trust that God will provide everything we need, the spiritual forces of evil cannot tempt us with the lie that sin provides a better way of life. That we don't need God. That He's not faithful. He's not true. Those lies that we get filled in our minds at times, the shield of faith can deflect. In this way, the flaming arrows of Satan, every distraction, every temptation can be stopped. It's a powerful weapon that the Romans would use as shields.

Some have even called it an offensive weapon because they got so good at using it and so good at being able to use it to position themselves in a battlefield that it became, in some, some believe, an offensive weapon because of its size and the way that they would use that shield. We have the opportunity to take our faith to the next level through God's help and to use the shield of faith to thwart everything that comes our way. Those fiery darts of Satan, those doubts that enter our mind, those times where we feel like hanging it up. The shield of faith is that protection against it.

There's the fifth item that Paul lists here. It's the helmet of salvation. He says, and take the helmet of salvation. In a similar fashion of protecting vital organs as the breastplate did, this helmet of a soldier would protect their brain. It would be made of bronze or iron and had two cheek plates that were flexible on either side to protect the sides of their face.

It was a tool that they would use to...it was probably hot at times, but they knew, kind of like the breastplate, it had to be there. It was that protection for their mind. The Almighty Creator of the universe has given us salvation, reserved for you and for me as the helmet to wear. We put on the helmet of salvation, and we allow it to protect our minds from the doubts and the weight that life brings in. We allow it to protect the promises from God that are in our minds right now. Those promises that are sure and steadfast. This helmet of salvation protects those from being damaged.

Let's look at 1 Peter 1, again. 1 Peter 1.

1 Peter 1, verse 3.

Here the Apostle Peter writes, 1 Peter 1, verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

Peter is saying through this passage to use the gift that we receive from God to protect your mind from the doubts that life brings in. Those times where it feels like we need to hang it up. It's not worth it. But then to realize that salvation is at our fingertips. It's available for us to have.

He goes on to say in verse 9, Receiving the end of your faith, the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls, the end of that trust, the end of that relationships, the salvation of your souls.

He goes on to say, Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified before the suffering of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that not to themselves but to us. They were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you, and by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into. Imagine that for a moment. Things that angels desire to look into. This thing that has been revealed to us that we now know, the Holy Spirit that we have been given sent from heaven. Salvation is at our fingertips. Each one of us is going through a spiritual conversion process that is only possible through our Savior Jesus Christ. He's making us a new creation, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. No longer only serving our needs and desires, but serving God. We must keep wearing our helmet of salvation, knowing that our down payment on eternal life has been paid through the death of the Son of God. Let's turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5 verse 5.

I'm going to read this from the New Living Translation. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 5.

The sixth item that Paul references in Ephesians is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is probably the primary offensive weapon described here in this section. As I mentioned, some have said that the shield could be used as an offensive weapon as well. But we have in our laps a tool unlike any other in this world. It's living, and it's powerful. God's word is powerful. It can cut to the most inward parts of our mind and body, yet not damage a single cell.

It can cause a person to immediately stop in their tracks and rethink an action and go a different direction. It can fight our battles for us, being our source of strength and of truth. Often times, we get caught up sharing with each other and with others in our society what you and I think. What we believe about something.

It's a prevailing action that we see in society around us today. Everyone has an opinion, and most are quick to share what they think with others. Often, we do the same, whether it be something we experienced in society that we have an opinion on, something we see here or happen to us. But in Matthew 4, we have an example recorded for us of Christ being in a situation where another spirit being, Satan himself, is using the Word of God and the sword of the Spirit, but in an incorrect manner, trying to cause Jesus to sin.

This is in Matthew 4 and verse 1. Matthew 4 and verse 1. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry. Probably the biggest understatement in God's Word. After fasting that long, he was hungry. Now when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Temptation is before Christ. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Then the devil took him up unto the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you. And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Here, Satan's using Scripture now to tempt Christ. And it's accurate. It's an accurate Scripture. He didn't twist it. He didn't lie about it. But he's using it for a wrong motive. He's using it as a weapon against Christ.

But then Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. We see the power of knowing God's Word, the sword of truth that we have in our raps. And again in Matthew, or again in verse 8, Again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory. And he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.

Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. Christ knew God's Word. He knew it, and he knew how to use it appropriately. And in this passage we see the offensive power of the Word of God, a living and strong weapon that can be used to pull down this truth, that can stop evil in its tracks, that can put an end to deception.

But let's say that Christ, or you and me for this matter, were not skilled in using God's Word effectively. Would it have had the same effect? We know from life that we don't just wake up one day and know how a soldier wouldn't or we wouldn't, and how to use a sword effectively. It would take training. It would take effort. It would take practice. It would take diligence.

We'd have to get very good at using it. There's a passage back in, I believe it's 2 Samuel, I think it's also in 1 Chronicles, talking about David's mighty men. These were men that he surrounded himself that were loyal to David and loyal to God. That fought for David, and the accounts are unbelievable. One killed 800 men in a single battle, and while doing so, he became so wearisome, his hand actually, because of holding that sword, actually kind of froze around that sword. Its muscles just became so tight that he couldn't even hardly pry his fingers off that sword is how hard he was using it. He was exhausted.

Another man killed 300. One took a spear out of an Egyptian's hand in battle. This is a tall Egyptian. Some have said kind of seven foot, eight foot tall, maybe like a Goliath type of figure. That man only had maybe a club. Something small, the man of God, one of David's mighty men, only had a small weapon. He took the spear out of this Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

There's that analogy, or that example when they're not an analogy, but the example of a man who went down into a pit on a snowy day to kill a lion. I would have walked around the pit to say, yep, there's a lion down there. I'm not going. He went down in that pit to kill that lion.

These are mighty men, and it even goes on to say that some could use and shoot bows and arrows and hurl stones using devices with both their right hand and their left. I'm okay with my right hand at doing a lot of things. I'm not okay with my left hand doing a lot of things. These men trained. These men worked. These men knew their craft, and they knew what they were supposed to do.

They probably had downtime. They probably sat around the campfire some of the nights talking about the things that were in front of them, not knowing how the battles were going to turn out. But they stayed diligent to not only David, but to God, and they knew how to use these tools, how to fight like a warrior.

In the exact same way, we must each learn to effectively use the Word of God first and foremost on ourselves. We have to use this Word, this powerful sword of God's truth on ourselves. We have to let it cut us deep. Let us learn from our own mistakes. Let us see who we really are.

We have to use God's Word and compare our lives against what He says is righteous, what He says is truth. And then we're in that time of the year again. And then once we can use it effectively on ourselves, it can become a tool that we can use to help strengthen others. We must then maintain the skills to effectively continue using this Word of God.

Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 9 a different analogy, but it speaks on the same vein of what we are required to do. This is in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 24, of being diligent and working hard. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 24.

Here Paul uses a race analogy, speaking of the work that he's had to do. In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 24, Paul says, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. Train in such a way. Work in such a way. Practice in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Be self-disciplined in how you train. Be self-disciplined in your study of God's Word. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air, not as that boxer that just swings by himself and wears himself out, never laying a blow. We are not to train that way, but he says in verse 27, But I discipline my body, and I bring it into subjection. Thus, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Paul's saying that run a race, to fight a fight as a boxer, or to be able to use the sword of God's Word, we have to train. We have to learn how to use it, and learn how to use it well. And then stay sharp. Keep our skills up. Not to fall into a lull, to think that there's no lying out in the parking lot today. I'm sure I didn't see one when I came in, so I'm sure there's not one out there now. We'll find ourselves asleep. We'll find ourselves in danger. This is the strength that we have in the powerful Word of God to lead, to guide our lives, to transform our way of thought and the decisions that we make each day, to be that constant source of truth in a society filled with error. The entire fitting of equipment outlined here in Ephesians was together in equipping for the Christian on the offense. While the sword was the only weapon mentioned that could inflict harm, the remaining equipment was there to present a solid barrier between the soldier and the enemy so that the sword could be used if needed. There's a part of the passage in Ephesians, let's go ahead and turn back there again, Ephesians 6, that can be missed if not read carefully, and this is the multiple references to stand. As we read through that, we read multiple times the word stand.

It's important that we don't just gloss over and that we don't miss what it says. In Ephesians 6, verse 11 again, it says, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Then in 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.

Then verse 14, Stand therefore. Notice how many times Paul didn't just say, Here's the equipment, keep it by your bedside, or even put it on, but then he says to stand. It's only when a soldier would retreat that they would be vulnerable, in a vulnerable position in battle. None of the armor that we have described here would cover the soldier's back, and their back was only vulnerable if they're running away.

Our bodies are not designed to run away from something and to put on a fight behind us. Our heads don't swivel all the way around so we can see what's going on, and our arms don't work backwards. They only work forwards. It's kind of like I've chased kids before with plastic swords. It was a long time ago. And when you're chasing them and they're waving that sword behind them trying to hit you as you're chasing them, they can't do it.

They don't know what they're waving at and they can't reach. The same way these soldiers, they can't run and retreat and still be able to use the sword effectively. The soldiers would join ranks, all hold the line together facing the enemy. It was when the line broke down that they became vulnerable. So the battle is won on the side that maintains their ranks. Is Satan going to maintain his rank? Are we going to maintain ours through God's strength? Because the battle is won by the side that maintains their ranks.

We are admonished by Paul to stand with this armor of God on, to maintain the ranks we have been called to hold, to face forward and hold our ground against sin and Satan, to stay unified in the effort together as Christians and as the body of Christ. Not to back down to temptation or ungodly influences. Not to back down to doubt when it comes in our minds. Not to back down from the weight of trials or challenges. But we're called to stand.

There's a scripture, and we're not in James. Let's turn to James. It's going to say let's not turn there, but let's go ahead and turn to James 4, verse 7. James 4, verse 7. Here we have recorded James 4, verse 7. Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Who's going to break the ranks first? Us or Satan? Because it says right here, draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

It says, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Satan can break his ranks if we hold fast. If we draw close to God, Satan will break his ranks. Doesn't mean he won't re-fortify his effort.

Doesn't mean he won't show back up tomorrow. But if we stand strong, if we resist the devil as we submit to God, Satan will break ranks. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to us. Let us not forget that we are in a battle. There are days that we get beaten about by society, and even some days we beat ourselves. We are not in a fair battle with Satan when we go forward on our own strength.

It's not a one-on-one. It's not a fair, even match. Just as an I in you would be no match physically against a full, hungry, determined lion. It would be no match. God knows this and has given us armor to wear, and his sword to use as a defense and as a protection.

As we press forward in our spiritual warfare with Satan, when we're battled about by Satan, as we consider and examine ourselves prior to Passover, and as God opens our mind to consider areas of our life that does not meet up to the measure of Christ, we realize that we must change. God gives us this armor that we have just reviewed and gives us a defense and a strength to change. No longer to be in the field defenseless, taking beatings to our head, to our hearts, or to our legs.

But God equips us with the armor and the power of his word to fight the good fight, to link arms, to battle in an organized line together with our shields in front of us and above our heads when the fiery darts of Satan are shot in our direction. No longer do we have our bodies to take the brunt of Satan's blows, but we together, and strengthened by God's armor, remain standing in the end.

As we enter these days of unleavened bread in a week, let us take this armor of God to make a stand in our church, to make a stand in our families, to make a stand in our own life. And if we put out the bread, put out the cookies, put out the bagels and the donuts and the muffins, let us also put out the sin that has been found and exposed and then battle to keep it out.

Arm yourselves with equipment that God has provided to each one of us. Put it on and then stand firm.

If you're still in the book of James, we can look at James 1, verse 12, as our final scripture. James 1 and verse 12.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation. You could even say, blessed is the man who can stand firm. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.