"How To Use 10 Weapons That Can Disarm the Devil in Your Life":
"Putting on God’s Armor Protects You From The Devil"
(Many of ideas in this series are from Chuck Lawless’s book The Discipled Warrior, (Grand Rapids, MI, Kregal Publications) 2002.
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Eph. 6:10-18 (NIV) October 12, 2003
Chester’s First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
*Clip of "Black Hawk Down" of men getting ready for combat.
Leave integral items (body armor, night vision, water, etc.)
They later missed the armament in the heat of battle against the Somalian War Lords.
A Today, we are continuing our "How To Use 10 Weapons That Can Disarm the Devil in Your Life" with Putting on God’s Armor Protects You From The Devil.
(Last week, Be Strong, Put ON, Stand Firm)
EPH 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] 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. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
B Paul told the believer at Ephesians how to stand firm against God’s enemy. (ETS)
a We are called to withstand the devil’s daily attacks on God’s kingdom. (ESS)
b I hope you will see the need to stand side-by-side with other believers against the enemy. (Objective)
C How are you fighting the enemy?
a Let’s look at two questions that must be answered before we can successfully disarm the devil in our lives.
b Pray
I What does the enemy want? (v. 13-14a)
[13] 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. [14] Stand firm then,. . ."
A Paul warned the believer at Ephesus to put on the all the armor of God’s they could. (They were fighting an extreme enemy of the first century church.)
a "Therefore" (Points to v.11b &12) ...against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
*Because the church IS NOT fighting flesh & blood, fair combatant. . .
THEREFORE...PUT ON ALL THE ARMOR GOD HAS MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU!
b Stand firm!!!
B Hadn’t the devil already been defeated?
a (Wasn’t that what the cross was all about?)
GE 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
LK 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
HEB 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--
[20] which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. [22] And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
*Yes! We don’t have to defeat the devil. . .Jesus has already defeated him!
b We must stand, side-by-side, so the devil doesn’t retake territory that’s no longer his and to defame Christ & his kingdom by. . .
aa Making us fight each other & not the enemy.
bb Encouraging us to make peace with the enemies of God instead of waging war against them.
*Giving up your marriage, *Refusing to call sin a sin, *Hell isn’t real
cc Plenty of time to do what needs to be done for the Kingdom.
RO 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. [12] The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
C On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered to USA, the surrender wasn’t signed until Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. (WAR WAS OVER!)
a For years after the end of the war, Japanese soldiers were discovered on small islands throughout the Pacific. On such soldier was 2nd Lt. Hiroo Onoda. (Found on Lubang Island in the Philippians in 1974)
b Despite the efforts of the Philippine Army, letters and newspapers left for him, he didn’t believe that Japan had surrendered.
*Finally, Onoda’s one-time superior commander, Mj. Taniguchi delievered the message to Onoda. (He emeraged from the jungle with .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, & several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan’s formal surrender. http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/registry.html#philippines
*Jesus forced Satan to surrender in 33 A.D., but he is still fighting.
II What do we wear to wear out our enemy? (v. 14b) [14] ". . . with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,"
A The first piece of armament the ancient soldier put on was a belt. (KJV: girdle)
a The soldier would pull up his tunic and stuck under his belt, the breast plate rested on the belt, held money, writing tool, sheath for the sword.
(Buckled: Ready for battle, stand firm! Unbuckled: At ease, off duty, not ready)
b Our armor is built upon "truth."
aa Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, & the life" Jn. 14:1 (Emp. Added)
*Jn. 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (Emphasis added)
*Jn. 18:37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
*You can not go toe-to-toe against the enemy until you have came face to face with the truth of the Savior Jesus!
bb Is God’s Word true? JN 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
* Premarital Sex is sin. T/F (Ex. 20:14, 1 Cor. 7:2-4)
* Drunkenness is sin. T/F (Rm. 13:13, Gal. 5:21, 1 Tim. 3:3, Tit. 1:7)
* Homosexuality is sin. T/F (Lev. 18:22, Rm. 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 6:9)
* Abandoning your marriage just because your not happy is a sin. T/F (Mal. 2:14-15, Rm. 7:2, Heb. 13:4)
* Bickering with people at your church is a sin. T/F
(Ps. 133:1, Ro. 16:17, Eph. 4:3, 1 Cor. 1:10)
* Dishonoring you Mom & Dad is a sin. T/F (Ex. 20:12, Matt. 15:4)
Believers who have no consistent view of truth is just the right person (easy pickings) for the devil to break! (Unbuckled vs. Buckled)
B The second piece of armament the ancient soldier put on was a breastplate.
(Often formed with hundreds of brass discs, fish scale pattern. OR Metal plates, flexible.)
a Called "Thorax": "heart protector" in Ancient army. Protected heart, vitals. . .usually covered the back too!
b How big of a defect allowed an arrow to penetrate? (Small)
C We must guard our heart in the battle with the enemy!!!
a We can’t fight the devil w/o righteousness. (Whose righteousness are we using? Who’s armor is it? GOD’S!!)
*1PE 2:23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. [24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
b Righteousness has everything to do with "living right"
(". . .and the protection of right living on your chest." Eph. 6:14b -New Century Version)
*Integrity, character, uprightness, personal holiness)
Conclusion:
Paul told the believer at Ephesians how to stand firm against God’s enemy. We are called to withstand the devil’s daily attacks on God’s kingdom.
A We’ve looked at two questions that must be answered before we can successfully disarm the devil in our lives.
a What does the enemy want? (What he’s lost.)
b What do we wear to wear out our enemy? (Belt of truth & breastplate of righteousness)
B I hope you’ll see the need to stand side-by-side with other believers against the enemy. (Objective)
a Give the enemy what he wants.
b Take off the belt and leave off the breastplate.
C How are you fighting the enemy?
A missionary returned to his home in Africa, only to find a huge python inside. He ran back to his truck and got his .45-caliber pistol. He went to his home and carefully entered through the door. The man aimed with precision and fired a single shot into the snake’s head. It was a mortal blow to the reptile, but it didn’t die instantly. The missionary retreated from his house as the snake thrashed violently. The tremendous power of the snake’s movement broke and damaged many items within the home. After the house finally became silent, he slowly entered the house to find the snake dead. The interior of the home was a disaster as the snake had unleashed all its fury in those moments of death. But now, there was peace. Satan received a fatal shot to his head when Christ conquered sin and death. Now as he writhes in the pain of his defeat, he is unleashing a few remaining destructive blows. He still seems dangerous, but his fate is sealed.
