Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Ephesians 6:13-18
SPIRIT-FILLED WARFARE
We rejoice when/experience small victories here/there.
• Make it through/month/enough money
• We count that a spiritual victory.
• When/no conflict in our lives, we think/victory as well.
While those things are important in our day to day lives
• They/victories w/o battles--conflicts w/o enemies.
• Truth is, every child of God is at war.
Should be/heart’s desire of every believer to “stand” faithfully for the Lord until He calls us home.
Most of us know someone who failed to “stand.”
• Whatever reason, they succumbed/“wiles of the devil”
• fell into sin/out of fellowship with/Lord
• happens far too frequently
Many have taught Sunday School
• Attended church/even preached/Word/God faithfully/years
• Only to give up, turn their backs/Lord/walk away/the world.
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Verses before us speak about spiritual warfare
• Remind us we/fight of our lives
Against a relentless, powerful enemy
• engaged in battle/spiritual being/intent on our destruction
• Fighting against an enemy who hates our God/hates us too
• Wants/devour our families, destroy our testimonies
• devastate our church/discredit our God
• This enemy of whom I speak is not all-powerful.
• The God we serve is, 1 John 4:4.
While Satan/intent/our defeat--Lord is interested/giving/victory
Bible/very clearly/end, God/have/last word, and Satan will be forever defeated and banished/Lake of fire, Rev. 20:10-15.
Meantime, God/provided us with everything we need to “stand” for Him against everything the enemy can throw at us.
Today, we will begin to consider the resources the Lord has given to us to help us “stand” for Him, and to enjoy victory in the spiritual battles of life.
• Study/pieces comprise “the full armor of God.”
• Eph 6:10/13 tell/armor/daily warfare with our enemy.
• Enemy/identified/Satan v 12
• passage teaches us/only hope of victory we possess
• To be adorned in “the whole armor of God.”
V 13 tells us to “full armor of God.”
• Literally means “to take up.”
Image of a soldier standing amid the pieces of the armor.
• “Take it up”, v 11 says he is to “put it on.”
This armor:
• does no good in the armory
• does no good until it is put on the soldier’s body
• enable/do/verses 11-13-14 say/that is “stand.”
• Will also make it possible to “withstand,” or “resist,” the daily assaults that come our way from the enemy.
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Let’s begin today to examine the pieces of “full armor of God.”
I. V. 14a THE BELT OF TRUTH
Standard garment/Roman soldier/loose fitting tunic
Nothing more/large, square piece/cloth/holes cut/arms/head
• Usually worn loose, allowing it to drape over the body
• Came time for battle/tunic/very dangerous for the soldier
• Most combat/hand-to-hand in ancient times
• Giving/enemy/easy handhold would mean certain death.
• tunic, if left loose/hinder the soldier’s freedom/movement
Before/battle began/soldier/carefully gather/tunic around his body and hold it in place with a heavy leather belt.
• “Girt about” literally means to “fasten one’s belt.”
• common among ordinary citizens as well
• culture wore long, flowing robes
Had to move fast/do some/physical work, the robe would be tightened about/body so movement would be unhindered.
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Lord/brought/children of Israel out of Egypt, and gave them His instructions concerning the Passover
• He told them to “This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.” Ex. 12:11.
• They were to be ready to go.
The Lord Jesus told His people to be ready to go as well. In Luke 12:35 He said, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning or KJV Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning.”
• Ready to go all the time.
• spiritual loins are to be girded
• Looking for the coming of the Lord.
• We don’t wear robes today/we are to be “girded” up as well.
• Our “girting” is not physical/mental and it is spiritual.
Here is how Peter said it: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” 1 Pet. 1:13.
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“Belt” we wear/our spiritual battles/not/belt/leather/belt “truth.”
• Word refers to “the content of that which is true.”
• If we are to “stand” in “evil day”
• Then we must “stand” in the “truth.”
• When Paul speaks “belt of truth buckled around your waist”
• Referring/couple of specific areas of truth.
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First “truth” found in the Word of God.
Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth: your word is truth,” John 17:17.
• W/o working knowledge/truths of Scripture
• Child of God is easy prey for the enemy.
Paul already told us there/great danger if we do not know truth.
Listen Eph. 4:14….
• That is why the Lord gave us His Word
• Why He gave us preachers to explain it to us.
• He wants us to know His “truth”
• We might “stand” in the “evil day.”
• W/o the truth, the saints of God have no foundation
• They are easily led astray.
• Only way to combat error is with the “truth.”
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Devil’s desire to defeat us/destroy us/distract us.
• He does this by peddling lies.
• Like he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden
• Satan is still seeking to alter/Word of God
• He wants us to ignore “truth” God gives us
• To embrace his lies/designed to lead us away from/Lord
The Bible is “truth.”
• The Bible is reliable/accurate/to be read/to be believed.
Those who read it/believe it soon discover that
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.,” 2 Tim. 3:16–17.
Those who don’t soon find they are casualties/war between God and Satan
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” 1 Tim. 4:1.
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So, the Bible is truth.
Teaches all we need to know about life and death, Heaven and Hell, God and Satan, and sin and salvation.
Reveals:
• Our condition before God, Rom. 3:23
• His solution/our problem, Jesus Christ/Son/God John 3:16.
• the way of salvation
• final destiny of the saints of God, John 14:1-3
• Final destiny of the lost, Psa. 9:17.
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The Bible is a book to be read, believed, obeyed, and loved.
• Those who do will be led into the path of life.
• Those who don’t will spend eternity in death.
• If you own a Bible, you should praise the Lord for it
• You should soak in the “truth” it contains daily.
• Let it shape your life, feed your soul, guide your steps, and lead you to Jesus Christ.
• It is “truth,” pages are life everlasting.
• Make the Bible your foundation and stand on it!
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Second
• Not only “truth” refer to “the content of which is true,”
• Refers to “the very attitude of truthfulness.”
• This thought/heart of what Paul is teaching us here.
• Speaks of an attitude of commitment and preparedness
• primary characteristic of a true believer
• one who serves God out of sincerity/not out of hypocrisy
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Those who are “buckled around the waist,”
• Those who are true/committed believers
• prepare themselves/battle they in/they “stand” His glory.
• When we are buckled with “truth,”
• Means we are walking/Lord/total commitment/discipline.
Committed Christian/prepared/day of battle
• set his heart on the Lord in total commitment
• true in his profession and he is disciplined in his walk
• The enemy cannot easily trap him/defeat him/day of battle.
• We are fighting for the very glory of God.
• We are to “stand” for Him/day of battle
Those who know Him will be committed to honoring Him with the lives they live and the battle they wage.
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To be “buckled with truth” is:
• to be renewed/mind
• to be absolutely committed to God’s will for our lives
• To be the faithful, true disciple Jesus mentioned Matt. 16:24. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me
• To be the “living sacrifice” Paul wrote about in Rom. 12:2.
Thus, it makes the “truth” of God visible, by allowing others to see that “truth” in shoeleather.
To “buckle up with truth” means we embrace “truth” as it is reveled in the Word of God
• It means we live out that “truth” in our lives day by day.
• It means we are real.
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If the church does not stand on the truth, guard the truth, and wear the truth as a belt, we will not have a credible witness before those lost in sin.
Conc: When we are buckled with truth, we will have taken up the first essential piece of the “whole armor of God.”
It will mean we will be “true” in our profession of Jesus Christ as our Savior and as our Lord.
• We will/enabled to live/Lord day by day.
In some ways, living/Lord is harder than dying for Him.
Many millions have given everything for the Lord.
• They were burned alive/fed to wild beasts.
• They were brutally slain/name of religion and entertainment.
• Thank God they remained faithful unto death!
If you give your life for the Lord, the pain of death will last but a short time, and you will be in the presence of the Lord.
Living for/Lord can be painful/world/hates Him and His “truth.”
I’m not taking anything away from the faithful martyrs who have given their lives for the Lord over the centuries.
• I am saying/faithful life, lived in obedience
• Over many long years is a wonder to behold.
A life of “truth” that bears faithful witness to the life changing power of the Gospel, brings great glory to the name of God.
That’s why many of God’s precious saints, people who were not known outside their church and local community, will hear Him say “well done” at the end of the way.
• They were faithful to live their lives for Him.
• They walked in “truth,”
• God will honor them for it someday.
Are you buckled with truth around your waist?”
Are you a faithful, true servant of the Lord?
Does your daily walk bring glory and honor to Him?
If you have never embraced the “truth” of the Gospel and you need to be saved, come to Him and He will implant “truth” in your soul and change your life.
If you are saved, come ask Him to help you “take up the whole armor of God,that you might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
