How To Use Ten Weapons That Can Disarm The Devil In Your Life (4 of 4)
"A Helmet, A Sword, And A Prayer"
Eph. 6:17-18 October 26, 2003
Chester’s FBC, Chester, IL Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
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, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
1. Be strong
2. Put on
3. Stand firm
4. Belt of truth
5. Breastplate of righteousness
6. Shoes of the gospel
7. Shield of faith
Today, we will finish with the final three weapons, "A helmet, a sword, and a prayer" [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
A Paul gave the first century believer a systematic procedure for putting on the full armor of God (ets.)
a We must prayerfully use all of God’s armor to have full coverage protection against our enemy (ess.)
b I hope you will decide to use God’s armor to disarm the devil in your life (obj.)
B When will you put on the full armor of God?
a Let’s look at the final three weapons in God’s armament.
b Pray
I The first of the final weapons is. . .A HELMET. (v. 17a)
"Take the helmet of salvation. . ."
ISA 59:17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak."
A Paul went from "put on", "take up", and to "take."
a The armor was put on in a systematic way. (Military)
*The helmet was after the shield due to having only one usable arm.
*TAKE= Not put on, not take up. . .TAKE!!! Being given!
b An attendent or armor-bearer would have to put the helmet on the legionary/soldier because he (the soldier) could not put it on himself.
B You can not put on, take up your own salvation.
a You must allow God to give you salvation. (His offering.)
b ONLY God has salvation to give.
*JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
*AC 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
*PHP 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
*We will all admit he is the only provider of salvation on day, one way or another!
C No legionary would chose to leave his helmet. TAKE IT!
a Choice? Take it or leave it!
b You can either take or leave salvation today.
*Leave it, your going to face eternity w/o full coverage protection.
T.S.: Only God gives salvation and the way we know about salvation is through the next weapon.
II The second of the final weapons is. . .A SWORD. (v. 17b)
". . .,and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
A Paul uses the gk. For "short sword" as compared to long sword.
(Sword Paul is referring too was more like a dagger/bowie knife used exclusively for hand-to-hand combat.)
a The sword was the ONLY offensive weapon in the armor!
b Is. 11:4c -5 ". . .He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
HEB 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.
B God’s Word is offensive to those who are living in open, rebellious sin.
a Jeremiah, O.T. prophet sent by God to speak to a wayward & rebellious people said, "JER 6:10 To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it."
I Cor. 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
*IL. Gen. Boykian
In one speech, Boykin referred to a Muslim fighter in Somalia who said U.S. forces would never catch him because Allah would protect him. "Well, you know what I knew, that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol," Boykin said. Several Democrats and some religious and civil rights groups have condemned his remarks.
On Wednesday, President Bush is trying to distance himself from Boykin’s remarks, There was kind of a sense that Americans believe that Muslims are terrorists," Bush said. "One of the reasons I wanted to have this meeting was because I wanted to make it very clear that I didn’t feel that way and Americans don’t feel that way."
EX 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
b Once we’ve taken the helmet of salvation, the Holy Spirit enables us to understand how to use, wield, apply, and fight the devil w/ scripture.
*Because the Bible is such a powerful weapon (only off.) we should. . .
aa Study it (II Tim. 3:16-17)
bb Teach it to our children (Deut. 6:6-7)
cc Rely on its wisdom. (The devil ignores every word I say, but when God speaks he must catch & fetch!!!)
dd Memorize scripture!
MT 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. [2] After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." MT 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.’ "
(IL.) The only weapon Jesus took into the wilderness when the devil tempted him was the Sword. The Word of God! Wasn’t in hardback, but in his heart!
He fought temptation with the scripture he had memorized!
If the Son of God memorized scripture what makes us think we can get by w/o it?
John 3:16 is a great verse, but I need more than that when I’m in the throws of battle.
T.S. Paul concluded the armor with the most powerful weapon available to the Christian Soldier.
III The third of the final weapons is. . .A PRAYER. (v:18)
[18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
A What does a soldier pray for?
a Victory (Stand)
b Safety (Protection)
c Preparation for death (Eternity)
B Paul told the believers to "pray in the Spirit."
a Communion with God. (Pray wearing the full armor of God.)
b IL. Have you ever borrowed/loaned clothes from/to someone else?
ONLY with close friends.
C "On all occasions"
a Whether they were in camp or combat, chow line or the front lines! Always!
b Not intermittent, sporadic, occasional..but all the time.
"Be Alert means to look for reasons to pray!"
*The only hope we have when we stand against Satan is when we have knelt before God.
D Prayer is our power!
a (IL.) On the battlefield, if the enemy can decimate the lines of communication he is assured victory. Same thing in prayer!
b No matter how complete our armor is, skilled we are in the science of war, courageous we may be. . .we may be certain that w/o prayer we will be
defeated!
E Not only are we to pray for ourselves, we are to be "praying for all the saints." Why?
a The saints are our brothers & sisters. (It’s hard to hate people when you’re praying for them!)
b The state of the church. (The church needs prayer! She has back-slidden, luke-warm, hypocritical, hypercritical, apathetic members.)
*It has members who are content to sit and cringe when asked to serve.
*members who are different @ work than they are @ worship...
*members who are quick to tell you to go to hell, and slow to share with you how to go to heaven. . .
*members who believe that Sunday School is just for children and not for all God’s children!
Why do we pray for the church? She needs It!
Conclusion:
Paul gave the first century believer a systematic procedure for putting on the full armor of God (ETS.) We must prayerfully use all of God’s armor to have full coverage protection against our enemy (ESS.)
A We’ve looked at the final three weapons in God’s armament.
a A helmet of Salvation. (Only God gives)
b A sword. (Word of God)
c A prayer (Can’t stand against the devil if you don’t kneel before God)
B I hope you will decide to use God’s armor to disarm the devil in your life (obj.)
a Salvation? (Saved or lost. Heaven bound or bound for hell.)
b Word? (In to it or you are use to it.)
c Prayer? (Before you talk to people about God you’ve got to talk to God about people.)
C When will you put on the full armor of God?
a We started this battle in the garden of Eden, the war was won at Calvary, but the battle is being waged in Chester, Murphysboro, Campbell Hill, Ellis Grove, Perryville, your home/heart!
b We are living in a battleground. . .not a playground!
*Jesus knew that!
IL. Alexander the Great and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly fortified walled city. Alex raised his voice and demanded to see the king. Alexander INSISTED that the king surrender the city. "Why should I surrender to you? You can’t do us any harm!" Alex ordered his men to line up single file and start marching. . .straight toward a sheer cliff. The townspeople watched in shock as the soldiers marched over the cliff one by one. . .w/o hesitation. After 10 soldiers died, Alex ordered the rest of the men to return to his side. The townspeople & king immediately surrendered. They realized that if a fe men wre actually willing to give their entire life for this dynamic leader then there is nothing that could stop his eventual victory.
*How far are you willing to go to disarm the devil. (Battle! Good news. If you are a believer, you should have already died!)
LK 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
*Jesus doesn’t want us BETTER. He wants us DEADER!!!!
*If you want to follow Jesus, full armor of God, you better look good on wood!
Take up the cross/full armor of God. . .daily!
7 days a week, 30 days a month, 52 weeks, 365 days a year.
When will you put on the full armor of God?????
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Mike Fogerson
