The Belt of Truth
Ephesians 6:11-14, Rom 16:20, John 3:21
March 5, 2004
I. There is one thing that I believe all Christians want, we all wish we could be all that God wants us to be.
A. At the very least I believe that people want to have peace with themselves, and whether we realize it or not that peace comes from our relationship with God.
B. God wants us to have what is best for us.
1. He wants us to be happy.
2. He wants our lives to be full and joyful.
3. He wants us to be content.
4. God never intended for our lives to be a turmoil and time after time in the bible Jesus says peace, or peace to you, or peace be still.
C. God wants us to have a life of peace.
D. But, if God doesn’t have His will in our lives, we will never have the peace in our lives that God wants us to have.
E. We have to clothe ourselves in Jesus. We have to let Him surround us, encompass us, inclose us.
F. Jesus has to be the barrier that separates us from the world, because when Jesus separates us from the world, he separates us from the problems that the world pushes on us.
G. The problems may not go away, but when we are surrounded by Jesus even though the problems still exist we are separated from them.
H. Not only are we separated from them, we’re lifted above them. We CAN live above the problems of this world, because we were created to live above the problems of this world.
Ephesians 6:11-14 (NIV) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
II. We talked about putting on the whole armor of God, and preparing for battle a couple of weeks ago.
A. The first things that are necessary when you expect to go into a battle are;
B. Who is the enemy? Who is it that you need to watch out for. When I was in school there were times that word would get to me that someone was after me.
C. There would be some guy that would put the word out that he was gonna whip me, that he was coming after me. Do you think I didn’t keep and eye out for that guy?
D. No way, I wanted to know where the enemy was, because if I didn’t see the enemy coming, the enemy might accomplish his mission.
E. If we don’t recognize the existence of our enemy satan and watch for his attempts to get us to destroy ourselves, he will accomplish his mission.
F. We talked a couple of weeks ago about who the enemy was.
1. Satan is the enemy and we have to see him for what he really is.
2. We have to realize that he will never come at us as what he is.
3. And, he will always come at us as the things that we are most attracted to.
G. The second important thing to know is who is supposed to do the fighting.
1. We were not created with the ability to start a fight with satan.
2. But we were created with the capacity to trust God to do the fighting for us. When it was time to redeem the world God didn’t call on us to fight the battle with satan.
3. When spiritual battles are going on its our job to trust God, because these battles are not fought against flesh and blood.
H. These are not battles with other people. These battles are fought in the spiritual realm and God is the one who is able to fight them. NOT US!
(Rom 16:20 NIV) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
1. Throughout the bible it says that it is God’s job to defeat the devil. It does not tell us to attack him.
2. It is our job to advance as God pushes back the enemy. It is not that we’re not in the battle, because we are to advance and hold the ground that God opens.
I. The third thing that we need to realize is that we are involved in the battle even though were are not the ones that are supposed to attack. We are in the middle of the battle ground.
III. Whether you are the one fighting the battle or not if you are standing in the middle of battle ground without protection you will get hurt.
A. The Apache war chief Gernonimo would go out between his braves and the soldiers when they were fighting and smoke a pipe to show his bravery, to me that shows his stupidity. Wouldn’t you say that it is crazy to sit in the middle of a battle field with no protection. But do you know that is the very thing that a lot of Christians do.
B. We stand in the middle of a Spiritual battle field without the armor of God, and we wonder why we get hurt.
1. We wonder why we fight depression.
2. We wonder why we fight emotional problems.
3. We wonder why we can’t find peace and contentment.
4. We wonder why marriages fall apart.
5. Why our country is torn with drug problems, gangs and crime.
C. But we need to know that there are times we get into situations that we didn’t realize that we were getting into. They seem innocent enough, and they seem like a good idea at the time, but they hold unforeseen dangers.
D. My Grandma told me about one of those situations. When my oldest uncle was a little boy they lived in the same house that we all lived in when I was little. There were several knot holes in the floor, and my uncle didn’t like to walk out to the outhouse at night when he woke up. So he would lay down on the floor and take advantage of the knot hole in the floor to use the bathroom. I’m sure he didn’t see any danger in it, but one night he just happened to go on the goose’s head, and the goose went. My Grandma said she heard him screaming, and went to see what was the matter. If you have been around Geese you know that sometimes when they get a hold of something they don’t let go real soon. So when she walked into the room she saw my uncle laying face down on the floor with no clothes on screaming to the top of his lungs so she tried to pick him up. She said she didn’t think he could scream any louder than he was already screaming but he did. So she let go, but she couldn’t get him calm enough to tell her what was going on, and I’m sure he didn’t know himself. Finally the goose let go and she got him up, to put it the way she did, she said, it looked like a flashlight bulb glowing.
E. The point is that we never know when the spiritual battles will get more intense, so we have to put on the armor of God and keep it on to keep from getting blind-sided by the battles.
F. In verse 13 Paul says take up the armor of God. That’s important, if you’re a Christian, God has laid the armor at our feet, but it is our responsibility to take it up.
G. And, we can’t wait until we find ourselves on the battle field to take up our armor.When the battle starts if we don’t have our armor on already we’re in trouble.
1. We have to be prepared.
2. Paul is saying be prepared always for the evil day so you can stand your ground, the idea is to successfully resist. Satan tries to convince us to do the things that will destroy our lives. We have to be prepared in advance!
3. A. L. Maclaren says These are the days when all the cannons belch at once, and the scaling ladders are thrown up on every side of the fortress. These days come suddenly. There are no warning signals. We may be like the soldiers sitting securely around the campfire when the bullets start flying among them.
4. FOR THOSE DAYS WE MUST ALWAYS BE READY!
IV. The Apostle Paul is describing the armor of a Roman soldier, and he is describing the order that a soldier would put it on.
A. The first thing that he talks about is the belt of truth. Change Slide
B. In those days they wore different clothes than we do.
C. Their clothes were bulky robes on the outside, and they would tie them up around their waist before they put on the armor.
D. The belt of truth was the first step in putting on the armor because it moved the other things out of the way.
E. The belt of truth is something that has got to be put on to prepare ourselves for putting on the rest Armor.
F. The truth that this is talking about is, not the Gospel. It’s not the truth that saves people, but without this truth few people will get to see the Truth of the Gospel.
G. This is talking about the truth that makes up a person’s integrity.
H. The King James version of the bible used the word gird a lot. When someone girded themselves it wasn’t as painful as it sounds.
I. They were getting ready for something, to run a race, or work, or to go to battle.
J. It meant that they took the outer robe that they wore and wrapped it up around their waist to get their long clothing out of the way.
K. When people girded themselves they were getting things out of the way so they would have the freedom to move.
L. We have to gird ourselves with integrity and with truth to remove the restricting things that come with a lack of integrity.
M. Lack of integrity will hinder your movement at every turn.
N. Before we can put on the full armor of God we have to bind up the things that will hinder us in truth and integrity.
O. God has put the armor at our feet and we can pick it up, but if integrity hasn’t bound up the things that would hinder our relationship with God, and our ability to serve Him with integrity and honor we can’t get the armor on and we are defenseless against the attacks of Satan and our lives can get torn apart.
P. There is another piece of armor that we will take a look at more later but I need to mention now.
Q. It’s the only weapon that we have that we can fight back with, it’s the sword of the Spirit or the Word of God.
1. The swords that they used could hold the enemy at a distance.
2. When we carry the Word of God with us Satan can be kept at a distance.
R. The sword of the Spirit, the word of God, is the most awesome weapon in the Universe and with it we can ward off any attack that Satan can throw at us.
1. When Jesus was attacked and tempted by Satan He used God’s word to ward off Satan’s attacks, if Jesus used it we certainly can’t do without it.
2. Let me ask you a question, where does a soldier carry his sword?
3. In a scabbard on his belt.
4. The Belt of Truth removes the hindrances to putting on the armor of God and it gives us the freedom of movement that we need for battle, and it’s the place for us to carry the Truth of the word of God.
5. The truth and integrity that is in our lives, is where we carry the truth of God’s Word. It has to come first. If people can’t see the truth in us they will not believe what we say about the truth of God’s Word.
S. One of my favorite stories is about Ralph Bethea who was a Baptist missionary in North Africa during Momar Kaddeffey’s little reign. I heard him speak when I was in Seminary.
1. Kaddeffey sent out a command that all Americans in North Africa were to be killed.
2. When others were evacuated, Ralph Bethea chose to stay. There was a Muslim Monk who had at times challenged Ralph to come debate his beliefs in the street.
3. He would call Ralph Bethea the Muslim equivalent of sawed of missionary He had told Ralph that he guessed he would leave when the others did.
4. Ralph Bethea said he heard the words coming out of his mouth that said no I’m not, I’m staying and wondered who had said them.
T. During this time, he was scheduled to preach on an island in the river and he was told that if he went there to preach, he would be killed by Muslims.
1. He says that when he was on his way to the island he was thinking I have got to be crazy. And as the ferry that he was on came closer to the Island he could see several Muslim militia on the island waiting for him.
2. As the ferry docked the Muslim militia men walked on the ferry, and asked if the preacher was on the ferry. One of the new Muslim Christians who was all excited about his new found Christianity said yea right there.
3. Ralph Bethea says I told him thanks brother you just sent me on to Glory, to which he replied "you welcome". Ralph also says they don’t understand sarcasm.
4. The Militia man was carrying a long sword and he walked over and picked Ralph Bethea up off the ground by the shirt, and told him that he was going to kill him. He says I heard the words coming out of my mouth, "I can’t die" and I thought what are you saying?
5. The militia man asked what do you mean and Ralph Bethea told about Jesus dying for him, salvation, and that he would live forever and the Militia guy dropped him on the deck of the ferry, and Ralph fell to his knees, bent over.
6. He said that he was expecting to feel the sword come down on the back of his neck at any second. And when something hit the back of his neck he flinched, but he was still alive so he looked up, and what was hitting him on the back of the neck were the militia mans tears.
7. So he led him and soldiers with him to Jesus, and the other new Christians that were with him were running around praying with other people who were on the ferry, and the guys who were sent to kill him stood guard around the platform while he preached.
U. Because of this the monk that always argued with him invited him to come to the Mosque to talk with them.
1. Women are not allowed of the floor where the men were but were made to stay in a balcony type place and during the time that Ralph Bethea spoke a man got up and walked out. He thought he had made him mad, but he came back carrying his daughter. Having her on the main worship floor was a violation of the Muslim law.
2. But, when the man pulled back her robe she was crippled and her legs were twisted. The man said if your Jesus is what you say ask him to heal my daughter. Ralph Bethea said to himself I am a Baptist, I no God can heal, but I also know that he picks his times.
3. But he prayed for the girl and he said that she squirmed to get out of her daddy’s arms and ran off the platform.
V. The Monk at the Mosque told Ralph Bethea that he wanted to read the teachings of Jesus but, he would not touch a bible. So, Ralph Bethea tore the cover off of a Gideon New Testament he had, and taped a card board cover on it, and wrote the teachings of Jesus on it.
1. A few days later the monk called Ralph Bethea and said, sawed off missionary he is truth. Ralph Bethea told him I don’t want to argue with you today. The monk said you are not listening sawed off missionary I said he is truth.
2. He told Ralph Bethea that he had read all the teachings of Jesus and in them it said that he had to accept his forgiveness, and he wanted to do that. Ralph Bethea told him ok, I will be right over. The monk told him, no, it says in the teaching of Jesus that I must confess him, come to the street where we argue.
3. Ralph Bethea said "they might kill you", the monk said then I will be rewarded early. So they went to the street where they argued before and the monk made a public profession of faith.
4. And he told Ralph, I want to be a missionary in my home country. Ralph Bethea told him, you have to be trained and there is no way we could get a missionary into Iran, and even if we could it will take time. The monk said, "the teachings of Jesus say all things are possible.
W. The Monk’s children said that he had dishonored them and that they were going to kill him. Ralph Bethea was scared for him, but there was nothing he could do.
1. Then a few days later he was called to the monks house and his children told Ralph that they had taken care of the old monk. He said you mean you killed him? No, they said went sent him back to Iran for retraining.
2. As Ralph left the house a man there slipped him a note. On it the old monk had written, sorry I couldn’t say goodbye, but Jesus was in a hurry for a missionary in Iran.
3. When I heard Ralph Bethea speak he said. Somewhere in Iran there is an 80 year old missionary telling people about the teaching of Jesus..
X. God used His Word, His weapon against satan to do a miracle, but the integrity, the faithfulness and truthfulness, the belt of truth that was girded the around waist of Ralph Bethea, was what carried the Truth of God’s Word to the place that God could save the soul of a Moslem Monk.
Y. That is the truth that we are talking about in this verse. That is the armor that we have to put on. Our truthfulness and integrity is the thing that is foundational to the rest of the armor.
V. So, I ask you, is your life girded by the belt of truth?
A. Have you prepared yourself to be the carrier of God’s Truth?
B. If you haven’t will you make a commitment to do that today? And give yourself to serve God.
C. And if you have never publically said that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, this isn’t a street in North Africa but it will work. Come and let everyone know that Jesus is your savior.
D. If you have never believed in Jesus to the point that you have trusted him to make you right with God instead, of what you could do, come and do that today.
E. We can’t stand against Satan without God’s Armor, and we can never have the life that God intended us to have until we give God the place that He deserves in our lives.
F. Where ever you are in life in your relationship with God, start there today and make a commitment to improve on it.
(John 3:21 NIV) But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
G. Seventy-nine times in the gospels Jesus says "I tell you the truth". We have been given the truth and when were wear it as the foundation of our armor, God will use it to make a difference in our world.
