We read in Ephesians 3:10, Christ intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms! Through the church, the wisdom of God is being known to angels! There is a spiritual world and we are part of it. Angels are with us right now!
There is a God and He gave us Jesus Christ to redeem us back to Him. There is a devil who does not want any part of God. The devil is one of the most powerful angels God created but he became so prideful that he went against God. And since Christians are children of God, the devil will attack us. The spiritual world is real and we are a part of it! God is for us Christians but the devil is against us! And so we read in Ephesians 6:13 for Christians, Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Are we experiencing days of evil these days?
How are we doing in standing up against the devil?
If we do not put on the full armor of God, we will be weak and we will fail against the devil. As we discussed last week, the first thing we must put on is the Belt of Truth, which is Jesus Christ Himself. I was challenged by this over and over the week on a daily basis. How about you?
On a daily basis, put on the Belt of Truth, who is Jesus Christ, and allow Him to hold everything in your life!
As powerful as the Belt of Truth is, God gives us other pieces of an armor to be fully protected from the evil one. Let us learn more about the next piece of the armor.
Open your Bibles to Ephesians 6.
Before reading our passage, let us pray our commitment to God’s Word……..
Ephesians 6:13-18……….
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes!” Again, in the original Greek Grammar, the intent of the phrase “put on” is that Christians are personally responsible for putting on the full armor of God. No one else is going to put on the armor for you! You and I can help and encourage one another but each one of us is called to personal responsibility in putting on the armor of God! God is available to each one of us and God is always the first one we are to depend on!
If we Christians are not wearing the full armor of God, the devil will hurt us.
What is this full armor of God and how do we wear it?
Let us get to know more of this full armor of God.
There are seven pieces to the full armor of God!
Again, let me suggest remembering these letters:
B B S S S H F! or B-bissshf!
We talked about the first B last week, the Belt of Truth, which is Jesus Christ! The second B is for the Breastplate of Righteousness! The first S is for Shoes of the Gospel! The second S is for Shield of Faith! The third S is for Sword of the Spirit. And the H is for the Helmet of Salvation. And F is for Forcefield through Prayer!
This morning we will focus on the Breastplate of Righteousness.
We will learn more about the other pieces in future weeks. What does a Breastplate do??
A breastplate protects the vital organs of the upper body. And what is the most important organ in the torso??
A breastplate mainly protects the heart! If the heart is injured, every other part of the body will suffer. The physical heart is crucial to the rest of the physical body.
But here’s what we read from God in Proverbs 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. The heart is the wellspring of life! In other words, the heart
is the center of all the operations of human life, including spirituality. God says guard your heart! Christians are to always have in place a breastplate, the Breastplate of Righteousness!
Now, the opposite of righteousness is unrighteousness or being defiled and unclean. The Breastplate of Righteousness protects the heart from being unclean!
Why is it so important to put on the breastplate of righteousness? Here’s what our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 15:19-20, For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ’unclean’. If we don’t put on this breastplate of righteousness, our hearts will be attacked with all sorts of evil and our hearts will be defiled and unclean. Therefore, we must know how to have a righteous heart. Please turn to Romans 3:21-24……….
And briefly look at 1 Corinthians 1:30……….
And so, in order to have a righteous heart, one has to believe and receive the gift of God which is Jesus Christ.
What is this gift? Let’s go back to Romans 3 and look at verses 25-26…… When we believe that Jesus died for our sins once and for all, our hearts will be clean! Of course, you and I have to confess that we have sinned against God.
And when we believe in Jesus Christ and follow God, He tells us in Isaiah 1:18, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow!”
How can we be righteous to God? Righteousness with God can not be earned by doing good works but only by truly believing what Jesus did on the cross!
If you’ve never believed and received Jesus Christ as your only Savior from your sins, now is the time to do it!
And so, what is this Breastplate of Righteousness in the armor of God? The Breastplate of Righteousness is a clean heart provided by the blood of Christ!
If we don’t have this breastplate of righteousness in place, the devil will attack our hearts! How can the devil attack a Christian’s heart? Let me ask this question: Even though you’re a Christian, If your heart is not right with Christ, what will the devil tell you??
The devil will accuse Christians: He will say, You’re no good! How can you call yourself a Christian? You’ll never be able to stop that sin! It’s okay, everyone is doing it! Isn’t Christianity boring? Do you really believe that Bible?
The devil will tell Christians all sorts of lies to tell them their hearts are unclean or be unclean! We must make sure the Breastplate of Righteousness is always in place!
How do we do it?
If the Breastplate of Righteousness is a clean heart provided by the blood of Christ, we put this breastplate on by maintaining a clean heart! And so, we put on the Breastplate of Righteousness by checking our hearts.
If Jesus Christ is not sitting on the throne of our hearts, we have sin in our hearts, our hearts will not be right with God. What are we to do if Jesus is not on the throne of our hearts?
Claim 1 John 1:9!
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness!
Always put on the full armor of God: First, Put on the Belt of Truth, buckle Jesus Christ around you and let Him hold everything in your life!
Can you picture Jesus Christ embracing you?
Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness, confess your sins, claim the forgiveness of sins through the cross of Christ, allow Christ to sit on the throne of your heart, and have the confidence of being right with God!
Can you picture Jesus sitting on the throne of your heart?
Take a moment to pray about these things.
