SPIRITUAL WARFARE
& THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD (SERIES)
4 – The Belt of Truth
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan
www.TawasBaptist.org
Scripture Reading – Ephesians 6:14 (NIV)
PRAYER
Satan’s Plan is three fold
1. Deceive
2. Divide
3. Destroy
How does he do this? He does this through “Flaming Arrows”, or evil thoughts. Remember, the mind is the battlefield.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We have divine weapons of God at our disposal. We have weapons that are capable of DEMOLISHING STRONGHOLDS, weapons that can Demolish ANYTHING that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Weapons that are capable of taking captive every thought, making it obedient to Christ!
Paul understands here that the battlefield is in the mind. Paul understands that if we are to win in this spiritual battle, we must recognize that our weapons are divine (The Armor of God), and that these weapons ARE capable of destroying the strongholds the devil has placed in your life! And these weapons are capable of taking captive the thoughts in your mind which allow these strongholds to be built.
The devil will focus on your desire, weakness and needs to build these strongholds.
I am not getting my share in life.
I need
I want
I deserve
I = PRIDE
Here are a scripture to thwart pride.
Ezra 9:13
“What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds…Oh God, you have punished us less than our sins deserve.”
What we deserve is hell. But Gods grace and salvation through Christ saves us from that. But we need to remember that it was through God’s grace, not of anything we earned and DEFINITELY not of anything we deserve!
I would be very careful praying for God to give me what I deserve.
Do you know who the master of “I” is?
Isaiah 14:13 – speaking of Satan
“You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Well I say “I am deserving of hell for my sins”
“I am saved through God’s grace”
“I submit myself to you Lord for you are the Most High!”
So how does Satan get these strongholds in our lives? Flaming Arrows! Fire spreads even if the arrow does not kill.
Once Satan has a stronghold, he will use it to keep you from living God’s will in your life.
But they don’t start out as strongholds. He slowly builds them in your life. And they start with a flaming arrow.
Satan sees an area of your life that it open, unprotected and he attacks with a barrage of arrows. (When it rains it pours) in hopes one will hit its mark. All it takes is one to hit and the fire can spread and grow in your life. The arrow hits, that area if not dealt with in a Godly manner grows and the fire spreads. Becomes impulsive & recurring (mostly thoughts) which leads to compulsive & addictive behavior.
Once an arrow hits and the process starts, the devil will feed that fire with why you Should, Could or why it’s OK to do so.
There are two things going on in your life.
What you think is good for you. And what God KNOWS is good for you.
EXAMPLE of attack;
Flaming arrow of Fear (How can I pay all my bills this month?)
The arrow hits, the fire begins to spread;
(Satan steps in with reasons why you should fear)
• You will never be able to pay all those bills (worldly common sense)
• No matter how hard you try things just never work out (Self pity - self centeredness)
• You need more money (change focus from a need God can meet to a need the devil can meet)
• How can you get more coming in (the beginning of greed and the love of money)
• I’m doing everything I’m supposed to as a Christian why is God allowing me to go through this (time to blame God)
• Does God really care (the death blow – doubt Gods love and ability to work in your life)
As soon as the Flaming arrow of Fear hit (How can I pay all my bills this month?) the correct response to the devils attack would have been;
• How can I pay all my bills this month?
Philippians 4:19
“19. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
• You will never be able to pay all those bills (worldly common sense)
I Corinthians 15:10
“…it’s not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
• No matter how hard you try things just never work out (Self pity - self centeredness)
Luke 16:10
“10. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
• You need more money (change focus from a need God can meet to a need the devil can meet)
Philippians 4:19
• How can you get more coming in (the beginning of greed and the love of money)
I Timothy 6:10
“ For the love of money is the root of all evil:”
• I’m doing everything I’m supposed to as a Christian why is God allowing me to go through this (time to blame God)
You are going through this because the devil attacked you and you did not respond to the attack the way God told you to. The arrow hit, and the fire spread. If you would have used the whole armor of God He provided you with you would have withstood this attack and you wouldn’t be GOING through this.
• Does God really care (the death blow – doubt Gods love and ability to work in your life)
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Attacks:
Doubt
Lust Jealousy
Discouragement
Pride
Gossip
If you entertain these thoughts instead of bringing them into captivity as the Bible tells us to, then your target just got bigger and easier for the devil to hit. And once he sees an arrow stick, where do you think he’s going to focus his attacks in your life?
Satan subtly leads us down the path of destruction
2 Samuel 11:1-4, 24
King David is attacked.
He saw a woman bathing from his rooftop. (Flaming arrow)
He should have turned his head and walked away.
The lustful thoughts rage in his mind. The devil sees the arrow stick, and a barrage comes David’s way. He invited Satan’s thoughts to enter his thinking which was ungodly.
ARROWS;
Curiosity
Finds out who she is
Sends for her
Commits adultery
Has her husband murdered
Takes her to be his wife
None of this was God’s will in David’s life.
Satan can’t MAKE you think or do anything. But he will subtly suggest it and leave the rest up to you. This is why we have to bring all thoughts into submission!
Ask yourself – does it fit God’s word?
Ask God to reveal your area of weakness
And memorize scripture for that area!
Fear – Isaiah 41:10 – “Do not fear for I am with you...”
Pride – I Peter 5:6 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Moral Temptation – I Thessalonians 4:3 – “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.”
What arrows will the Devil attack you with?
Nobody’s perfect
You have your needs
Everyone else is doing it
God understands
I ask for forgiveness each time (Is that true repentance?)
Deal with the attack
Before you get out of bed in the morning, put on the armor of God!
Trust the word of God!
The Belt of Truth
The first piece listed is the belt of truth. It HAS to be first! You must have truth before any other armor can be put on!
What is truth?
Jesus says “I AM the truth…”
We need to put on Truth, walk in communion with God, Stay alert and using TRUTH to discern what is of God and what is of the Devil!
Deal with the Strongholds in your life
Acknowledge and cry out in repentance to the Lord. Ask God to set you free of the strongholds in your life by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
God WILL set you free!
He loves you
He’ll take you just as you are
He wants to forgive you
And He wants to change your life!
Belt of Truth Application
For us to use the whole armor of God we must be Christians
Confess your sins
Receive Christ
Believe He died for you on that cross
Accept Him as your savior
REMEMBER:
The belt is the first piece of armor. Satan fights with lies, and sometimes his lies sound like truth; but only believers with the belt of truth can discern God’s truth which defeats Satan’s lies.
