"Our Battle Armor!"
"Knowing Our Enemy" series - Part 6 of 7
Text: Eph. 6:16-17 & Selected
Cross Creek Community Church
August 6, 2000
God’s Word is Powerful, Relevant, and Up to Date!
Ephes. 6:13-17
"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Aqaba in 1917 seemed impregnable. Any enemy vessel approaching the port would have to face the battery of huge naval guns above the town. Behind Aqaba in every direction lay barren, waterless, inhospitable desert. To the east lay the deadly "anvil of the sun." The Turks believed Aqaba to be safe from any attack. But they were wrong.
Lawrence of Arabia led a force of irregular Arab cavalry across the "anvil of the sun." Together, they rallied support among the local people. On July 6, 1917, the Arab forces swept into Aqaba from the north, from the blind side. A climactic moment of the magnificent film Lawrence of Arabia is the long, panning shot of the Arabs on their camels and horses, with Lawrence at their head, galloping past the gigantic naval guns that are completely powerless to stop them. The guns were facing in the wrong direction. Aqaba fell, and the Turkish hold on Palestine was broken, to be replaced by the British mandate and eventually by the State of Israel.
The Turks failed to defend Aqaba because they made two mistakes. They did not know their enemy, and they did not have the right weapons.
We must be careful not to make the same mistakes. Ephesians 6:12 makes it very clear who our enemy is: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world."
-- Michael Boyland in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.
TO PUT ON:
The Belt of Truth
1. Truth is CHRIST the Living Word of God. John 14:6
2. Truth is ESSENTIAL. Prov. 23:23
3. Truth never CHANGES. Heb. 13:8
The Breastplate of Righteousness
1. This is putting on PRACTICAL Righteousness. Col. 3:9-14
2. Righteousness protects us from EVIL. Eph 4:24-27
3. Righteousness produces JOY. Heb 1:9
The Shoes of Peace
1. Peace WITH God. Rom 5:1
2. Peace OF God. Philip. 4:7
3. Peace ENABLES us to stand firm. 2Thes 3:16
The first three pieces of armor we put on, now we TAKE UP some additional armor:
The Shield of Faith
V16 "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
4 1/2 X 2 1/2 foot wood, leather, & metal shield, often linked together in battle.
The shield for a Roman soldier was a valuable piece of equipment. The kind of shield which is spoken of here was a large shield approximately two and one-half feet wide and four and one-half feet high. It was made of a solid piece of wood and covered with metal, leather.
The soldiers used these shields to stand behind.
Many of these arrows were wrapped in pieces of cloth and soaked in pitch. The tips would be set ablaze and the arrow shot at the enemy. Splattered when they strike something. Such flaming missiles could inflict serious damage on unprotected troops. Well-equipped troops, however, with leather-coated shields soaked in water, had a good defense. When the arrows would strike such shields, the wet leather would extinguish them.
1. Shield of Faith is my PERSONAL confidence in God. Heb 11:1
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
* Simple trust in God. We walk by faith, not by sight.
* We are saved by faith - we also live our lives by
this faith. By faith we see the unseen, fighting the battle.
* Satan is constantly hurling fiery missiles through temptations, problems.
* This shield must be deliberately taken up and used, stand behind the strength of your faith.
* When we cross a bridge it takes Faith will it support us.
* When we eat food - Faith it is not poisoned
* When we fly in an airplane - Faith in it & pilot to do so safely.
* Cars, trains, medical operations, amusement park rides, even the pew you are sitting on.
Oliver Wendall Holmes said, "It is faith in something that makes life worth living."
A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them.
* Faith in God is immeasurably more reliable & important than faith in anything else!
* The object of our faith MUST be trustworthy. Would you get on an old rickety, oil dripping, beat up airplane with a one arm pilot? Example of flying Piper 140.
* Our object of faith is Jesus Christ (totally trustworthy) - The Son of God, His life, death, burial, & resurrection.
Hebrews 11:32-34 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
Hab 2:4; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38; Romans 1:17 "...The righteous will live by faith."
* Roman soldiers hooked together their shields.
* To help each other, protect each other, watch out for each other.
Often they would stand side-by-side with their shields together, forming a long protective wall against the barrage of enemy arrows. They were able to "WORK TOGETHER" and cover up like a turtle - Like us today we need "ONE ANOTHER".
MY PERSONAL CONFIDENCE IN GOD!
2. Shield of Faith mainly protects us from TEMPTATIONS which produces:
Pride Doubts Greed Hatred
Fear Lust Depression Immorality
* Fiery missiles ultimately are to cause us to distrust and to doubt God.
* Danger signs are when we start to justify or to tolerate our sin, God, you didn’t really mean this.
* Satan will try to drive wedges (flaming missiles) between believers, to disrupt unity and harmony - fellowship.
* He will undermine God’s sovereignty, holiness, wisdom, justice, etc.
* Satan even tempted the Son of God, Jesus in the wilderness. Mt 4:3-9
To many Christians, Christ is little more than an idea, or at best an ideal--He is not a fact. Millions of professed believers talk as if He were real and act as if He were not. Our actual position is always to be discovered by the way we act, not by the way we talk. -- A.W. Tozer
The Helmet of Salvation
17Take the helmet of salvation..
* Protection of the head (our mind) is essential in combat.
* Essential armor - A blow to the head could easily be fatal.
* Roman solider could fight with a certain amount of confidence.
* And this is what the helmet does for us. It gives us confidence.
1. Helmet of salvation provides CONFIDENCE in Christ. Heb 4:16
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
* We are forgiven and made right with a holy God - Justified - PAST. Sinful me made right with a Holy God!
* We are set apart for God’s purpose by the indwelling Spirit of God - Sanctified - PRESENT.
* We will meet Jesus when He returns for us - Glorified - FUTURE.
* This is Salvation, WOW - God has really done a work in us! Confidence to face the enemy!
* We belong to God - believe it, trust Him - God’s grace, we have confidence in Christ.
The double D’s. Satan’s double edge sword: Discouragement & Doubt.
Our enemy will bring DISCOURAGEMENT
* Satan will point to our sin, failures, unresolved problems, our poor health, financial difficulties, etc.
Young Einstein’s Failures
The 15-year old youngster stood sheepishly before the headmaster of a Munich school, who "read the riot act" to him. The boy was soundly censured for lack of interest in his studies and was asked to leave school. "Your presence in the class destroys the respect of the students." The headmaster said.
The youngster took an examination to enter the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, but failed to pass. He entered another school, finished his training, and then applied for an assistantship at the Polytechnic. Again he was rejected. He finally secured a position as a tutor for boys in a boarding house, but soon was fired.
Finally, he managed to obtain a job in the patent office in Bern. The man who compiled this string of failures was none other than the great teacher and mathematician-Albert Einstein.
-Joseph Hutnyan
* Usually after a mountaintop experience or a victory, why? Discouragement is a tool of the devil.
Helmet of salvation provides confidence in Christ.
Our enemy will bring DOUBT.
* We are eternally secure in Christ.
Philip. 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
* He loves to get us doubting our salvation - we can’t be saved, look at this sin or look at that.(losing temper)
* I don’t "feel" saved, struggling with sin, Bible reading & prayer life not too good.
* You begin to doubt God’s power, goodness and truth. "I CAN’T! you’re right, you can’t BUT God can. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
* This robs the believer of our JOY, we walk around miserable, sad, gloom & doom, negative all the time.
* Often we find hidden sins that has been there for years - confess them, get them under the blood. 1Jn 1:9
Faith And Doubt
Doubt sees the obstacles. Faith sees the way!
Doubt sees the darkest night, Faith sees the day!
Doubt dreads to take a step. Faith soars on high!
Doubt questions, "Who believes?" Faith answers, "I!" -Gospel Banner
Romans 8:37-39 ." 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Imagine standing in battle, arrows whizzing by, swords swinging, hand to hand combat and NO HELMET/NO CONFIDENCE..
* Careful the enemy doesn’t play "tricks" with your mind. Be alert, on guard against his attacks.
* We are assured complete victory in Christ, we are on the winning team - don’t quit or give up.
We need to put on the helmet of salvation - protect our minds from Satan’s attacks.
The Sword of the Spirit - The Word of God
17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
* The Roman soldier carried a short sword strapped to his side in a sheath.
* It was the most common weapon used in hand-to-hand combat.
* It was 6"-22" used both offensively and defensively.
* Peter used this type of sword - "machaira" to cut off the high priest’s, servant’s ear.
1. Word of God is ESSENTIAL. Mt 4:4
Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"
* How important is food to us? The Word of God is even more so - spiritual food for your soul.
* Get a "GRASP" on the Bible: Hearing, Reading, Studying, Memorizing, Mediating in God’s Word
* Do we belong to Christ? Yet why do we not know His Word. - CRITICAL in warfare.
* The Bible is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea, a medicine for every illness, the answer to every question. The Bible is God’s LOVE LETTER to mankind. GET IN IT, LEARN, GROW.
* The perfect weapon - always at hand, ready to be used at any time. Like a today’s soldiers M16 & helmet.
* Greek word is not "Logos"- general statements or message, but "Rhema"- individual words or particular statements.
* Not just the general knowledge of the Bible but knowing and understanding specific truths.
* Hiding God’s Word in your heart - memorizing (Jesus in the wilderness being tempted).
2. Word of God is POWERFUL. Heb 4:12
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
* Fire power of an SKS, AK47, M16 or an M60 machine gun, or our new military tanks is tremendous.
* Stealth fighter, smart bombs, laser guided missiles, cluster bombs, neutron bomb - all are weapons for the physical domain
* Our battle is not with flesh and blood - use our supernatural weapon of God’s Word.
* Jesus used the Word of God against Satan in the wilderness during His temptation. Mt. 4.
* Take Up, Put On the armor of God so we can stand against the devils schemes v11.
* Satan has always tried to undermine, destroy, discredit, and reject the Word of God.
* He snatches it from those who would hear the Word of God before it takes root. Mt. 13
THE WORD OF GOD IS ESSENTIAL AND POWERFUL!
"Like a hammer that crushes stones"
"Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God"
The Word of God changes people, produces salvation and spiritual growth in believers.
It transforms us from:
* Death to life
* Darkness to light
* Sadness to joy
* Failures to success
Next week, we are going to look at our SECRET WEAPON - PRAYER (Eph. 6:18-20) Prayer is the oil in the engine, the cog in the gears, the absolutely essential ingredient to hold together our armor. Prayer is our secret weapon, the work that moves the heart of God in our world today.
We must withstand the day of evil. But we cannot withstand unless we have done our duty-unless we have obeyed and prepared ourselves-unless we have taken the whole armor of God.
Romans 13:12 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light"
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