Part 8 - The Helmet Of Salvation Series

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

& THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD (SERIES)

8 – The Helmet of Salvation

† SCRIPTURE READING

Ephesians 6:17

“TAKE the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

PRAYER

† One of the most noticeable pieces of the Roman Soldiers Armor was his helmet, it was very ornate and decorated and plumed with brightly dyed feathers or horsehair. Some dress parade helmets would have horsehair hanging down to the soldier’s waist.

The helmets were designed so that blows from a sword, hammer or ax could not pierce it but would be deflected.

Again the wording here is TAKE. We have the whole armor of God available to us, but we must TAKE the helmet of salvation and use it just as we have to TAKE the Shield of Faith.

When I was in SCA they taught me the importance of a helmet in battle.

I remember it well; it was my first day of actual one-on-one battle. I was really excited and wanted to get to it. I pretty much skipped most of the formal training just so I could get to the combat.

That’s what I like to refer to as mistake number one. NEVER underestimate the value of training in any circumstance, let alone combat. In combat it is the difference of life and death.

So I put on all of my armor. Just as the scriptures say we should do in our spiritual lives. Put on the WHOLE armor.

So I put no all of the pieces.

After I was ready I was able to meet my enemy on the field of battle, which on this particular day was the parking lot of the Red Dragon Hobby Shop.

Unfortunately I underestimated my enemy.

This is what I like to refer to as mistake number 2. NEVER underestimate your enemy, or his ability. If you do, you are setting yourself up for an unpleasant surprise.

My enemy was over 6 foot tall, and about 250+ pounds.

I was ready for battle though, too ready I believe.

Notice I say ready, not prepared.

As I stood there taunting him, I noticed a gleam in his eye as he cracked a slight smile, perhaps in visioning the beating I was about to receive.

This was mistake number three in combat, confidence. We need to remember that it is not by OUR strength, but the Lord’s strength. It is not our armor, but the Lord’s armor. Without the Holy Spirit, the whole armor of God is not possible.

As I stepped forward to deliver what I thought to be the death blow which would win me the battle, I realized that everything was black, and I was lying on the ground, and I had a strange ringing in my left ear.

He had hit me so hard, my helmet actually spun half way around my head, and I could no longer see.

As I staggered around trying to maintain consciousness, I realized that this was the day I learned the importance of having a good helmet.

If this battle were real, I would be dead because of mistakes I had made before meeting my enemy.

† Mistakes

1. I underestimated the value of good training.

Christians make this mistake each day they do not pick up and read the scriptures. We must read and study the word to prepare our hearts and minds.

2. I underestimated my enemy and his ability.

We need to realize who our fight is really against, and where it is faught.

3. I was confident in my ability.

We need to realize that we are at battle with an enemy that is smarter than us, bigger than us, stronger than us, more equipped than us.

This is why God gives us His strength, and His armor, because we CANNOT fight against the devil, his minions or his schemes without the Holy Spirit.

He gives us His word so we can understand what He offers to those who accept Christ so that they may be able to fight the good fight, and defeat satanic attacks on their lives.

It is God’s Strength, not our own. It is God’s ability, not our own!

Our only defense is God.

We are to TAKE the helmet of salvation (Wholeness, deliverance, health). This helmet protects our minds, our thinking.

Remember, the mind is where the devil attacks. The mind is the true battlefield in Spiritual Warfare.

Satan knows that if he is to control you, he needs to control certain areas of your thinking.

If you allow him access to your thinking it WILL become a toehold, which then becomes a foothold, and ends up a STRONGHOLD in your life.

† 1 Thessalonians 5:8

“So then, let us not be like the others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”