Today we are going to be talking about the armor of God, if you didn't catch on already. Last week Aaron did a great job of discussing this cosmic battle that we're in. However, I feel like on Monday morning when I woke up, I wasn't necessarily focused on the cosmic battle. I think I was more focused on the weather or it might have been life. Many times we think our battle is against our kids or At work, we love phrases like, everyone's out to get me. Choose your battles. Big brother is watching. Don't let your guard down. However, my personal favorite, because I like Chinese martial arts movies, don't worry, I'll save you. In reality, our battle is not against flesh and blood. Our battle is against spiritual forces. Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, as Aaron so aptly described last Sunday. In Paul's description of this cosmic battle, he uses an illustration of armor to acquaint us with the spiritual weapons with which we fight. They are not the type of weapons that the world thinks would make a difference. A lightsaber, a pulse cannon, a rail gun, even the Death Star would have no effect on this spiritual battle. Technology cannot save us. Technology will not save us. There is no app, there is no device that can defeat this foe. And we are not superheroes. I'm sorry, there will never be superheroes with supernatural powers. But even if there were, Captain America could not be righteous enough to cover his sin. It's ironic that in movies and in life, When we go up against an evil foe, we always look for a bigger gun or a stronger superhero. But do we turn to God? He's the one that has the power. I believe this comes in part from our inability to rightly understand or even to see the spiritual realm. Much like Billy Graham describes the Holy Spirit is like the wind. He says we do not see the wind. We see the effects of the wind, but we see evil in our world. We can point out evil, but rarely do we give credit to the true source of that evil, which is the devil. In an effort to help our finite and materially focused minds understand the importance of the intangible and spiritual truths, Paul uses armor as a physical aid to comprehend the necessity of this armor of God. This armor is spiritual in nature. People over the centuries have used the medieval knight, the Roman soldier. I'm sure somebody in current times has used a SWAT soldier in riot gear to try and make it more relevant. But oftentimes the Roman soldier is used as a model because that was the prevalent military unit of the time. Regardless of the design of the armor, the purpose remains the same. It is the soldier's very livelihood. If he's ill-prepared, if he lets his armor fall into disrepair, his life is at risk. Is that how we approach our day? Do we take care in putting on our armor? However, Paul was not the only one that used armor as an illustration. In the Old Testament, we see many uses of armor. I'd like to read through a few here. In Isaiah 59, 17, it says, he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. Psalm 28, 7. The Lord is my strength and my shield. In him my heart trusts, and I am helped. My heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 144, one and two. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. Isaiah 11.5, righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins. With this in mind, Paul builds on the words of the Tanakh, which is the Hebrew Old Testament. He uses this illustration of armor to give depth to the attributes that God has given Christians for a defense and an offense in what is known as the armor of God. Ferguson encourages us in his book that we can trust this armor because of its divine nature. It will not fail. Read with me now, Ephesians 6, 13-18a. Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication." As Paul begins this passage, he says, therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day. The verb tense that Paul uses, you, is a second person plural. So he's speaking to the entire congregation. If the translators were from Texas, he probably would have just wrote y'all. He would have said, therefore y'all take up the whole armor of God, that y'all may be able to withstand in the evil day. So Paul is addressing the entire congregation of the Ephesian church. But his extension, he is talking to the church of God universal. Now, because he uses this plural verb tense, doesn't negate our responsibility personally. We as believers do not live life alone. A battle is not fought by individual soldiers. We are part of an army. We are a community of believers. So in regards to the armor of God, we do have a personal responsibility to put it on. But then we also have a responsibility to come together as a church to fight this battle. Paul earlier in the book of Ephesians talked about the unity of the church in chapter four. He urges us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called with all humility and gentleness. He says we need to be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, one spirit, just as you are called to one hope that belongs to your call. one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." So, biblically, we are an army. We have a leader who is Christ. We have an enemy who is the devil. We have armor and weapons. We are in battle. There are armies coming together to fight right outside that door. Actually, It's closer than that, the battle's in here. The devil is often referred to as a prowling lion who is looking to seek who he may devour. When I was growing up, we'd always see the nature programs on television. And when they showed the pride of lions, the lions didn't go to the big herd of deer and attack the big herd. No, they snuck up on the one little guy that was sitting off to the side, the young one or the sick one. One of the devil's greatest schemes is to attack those who are isolated. So when we look around, who's missing? Who's struggling? Who's weak? Are we encouraging them? Are we bringing them in? I look around the auditorium and where are we sitting? Do we have lots of space between us? Or are we involved in each other's lives? In going through the leadership preparation course at Grace, it was brought out that one of the first signs of a struggling Christian is inconsistent church attendance. He's wandering from the flock. He's setting himself up for attack. Many missionaries that I've spoken to describe how when they get to the field, there's a sense of excitement. Everybody's welcoming them. But after a while, as the toll of life comes along and they begin to feel isolated and alone in a country that doesn't speak their language. They feel spiritually attacked. The reason our church covenant includes a commitment, a promise, that we would attend regular worship and that if we were to move to a different church that we would find a church home as soon as possible It's so that you don't get attacked. When the elders encourage us to reach out to fellow members and have them in our house, there's a deep spiritual and biblical reason for it. As I mentioned, one of the best attacks of Satan is to isolate us. But our best defense is our unity. And as we'll talk a little bit later, it's because our shield of faith You know, Ferguson points out that when Paul was writing this, the Romans employed a shield that was a little smaller than a door. And when the Roman soldiers would stand together, they would lock these shields together so that the enemy would have no way to attack them. And if the enemy had arrows, they would take the shields and lift them over their heads. Commentators of the time would say that it would oftentimes look like a turtle. And that was one of the names of their defenses. We need to come together, not only when we're struggling, but even when life is going well for us. We don't know when somebody's under attack. We don't know when somebody is hurting. We don't know when we're gonna need to hold a shield for our fellow brother or sister in Christ. Our shield of faith unites us. And I cannot encourage or protect my brother and sister if I don't know what's going on in their life. And to do that, I need to be involved in their life. You know, in our current culture, We are so geographically distant, but technologically, I had to practice that word like a hundred times, technologically, we're so close. Literally, we're a phone call or a Facebook post away. Now while proximity does affect the effectiveness of this shield, being close together, being able to see you face to face, it does strengthen us. But depth of relationship also provides strength. It fortifies the shield of faith. This is one of the areas that I was convicted this week. How much time did I invest in my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? not as much as I could have. But it brought to the forefront of my thoughts that it's vitally important for me not to just be here on Sunday, but to be actively a part of the lives of the other church members. Now, I put a heavy emphasis on this aspect of today's lesson because I see divisiveness and isolation as one of our greatest weaknesses in our culture. But that brings us to our first piece of armor. It is the belt of truth. Now on the slides, I highlighted just the character trait because Ferguson focuses on the spiritual aspect of the armor rather than so much seeking to compare the attribute to the article of armor. So the belt of truth represents a decision to live a life characterized by truth, which strikes at the core of our integrity our consistency? And do we speak truth and love? Are we going to admit when we're wrong? Or were we just kind of wrong? Or was the other person wrong? Are we going to point out to the cashier that they gave us the wrong amount of change? Or was that a blessing from God? In Psalm 51, God says that He delights in truth in the inner being. Truthfulness with one another is another mark of a healthy Christian. Ferguson makes the assertion that by living a life of truthfulness, we can defeat the devil's attempts at blackmail. The devil seems intent on reminding us of our sin. He oftentimes brings up those things that we've done that are wrong to discourage us, to hinder us. Oops. Forgot to click my mouse back over to my notes. All right. So as the devil is trying to point out our past sins and our transgressions, if we're living a life focused on truth, we're going to repent of those sins. Part of that repentance could be restitution, but once we've repented, we've made restitution. God's Word says that in 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So if we're feeling guilty because of a sin, we need to remember that Christ took care of that sin on the cross. But this is a great transition verse. It brings us straight to the breastplate of righteousness. How can we attain righteousness? Only through Christ. This righteousness is a result of an irrevocable justification in Christ. This righteousness is to protect one of our most vital organs, the heart. It is a time of daily prayer and a daily time of being on God's Word that will make us a strong, well-protected Christian. Living in righteousness defines our motivations. Our life is lived for the glory of God. For righteousness kills pride, it kills self-interest and jealousy. It is not insignificant that when we hurt someone, when we pursue that which is unrighteous, our heart hurts. When we read through Timothy and Paul's other letters, his repeated instructions are to pursue righteousness. We must put on this breastplate of righteousness that needs to be our daily pursuit. So we spoke about truth. We spoke about righteousness. The knowledge of the gospel of peace. You see, when you pursue righteousness, people are going to notice. In 1 Peter 3.15, we read, but in your hearts honor Christ, the Lord is holy. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. And in 1 Timothy 4.2, it says, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. Recently, I was invited to play volleyball at the YMCA. And as we're playing, this young man had joined us that wasn't a part of our group. But after playing with him for a while, he came up to me and he said, I see you're a man of God. Let me ask you a question. I mean, I just introduced myself. I hadn't proclaimed my belief in Christ, but he saw a difference. He began to question me whether it was right or not for a soldier to kill. And as we were talking about it, I realized that this man's problem, because he was looking at going into the military, wasn't whether it was right or not to kill, but he needed to deal with the sin in his life, the basic sin of lying. the basics he needed to get his life right with God before he ever tried to tackle these weightier issues. As I shared with him the love of Christ and the depth of his sin and the gulf between him and God, it left him speechless. God calls us to be so intimate with the gospel that if anyone at any time asks us about the hope that we have, about our faith, that we can immediately, clearly, and accurately tell them the gospel. The more securely we grasp the gospel, the more secure will be our steps along the path of life. Back to the analogy of a soldier having a secure foothold, we hold fast our shield. We can stand in place as the verse tells us. So as mentioned earlier, we have this iconic shield of faith. You know, faith is a belief and a trust in what we cannot see. A popular phrase is, what good is it if I can't see it? I won't believe it unless I can touch it. Well, logically, we can poke a lot of holes in that statement. However, we often feel despair when we don't see God working in our lives, which is another common phrase. But we're not alone. When we read through the biographies of men like Jonathan Edwards and John Bunyan and Augustine and Spurgeon, we see that they would also struggle through times of spiritual, or they would often have times of spiritual struggle. Ferguson defines it as a time of sudden unexpected attacks on a believer's thoughts and affections, oftentimes creating weakness, shame, spiritual paralysis, and terror. He points this out as a sinister and often profoundly distressing experience. Whether it was from a lack of vision, a sense of unworthiness, maybe a memory of a past sin, it threatened to undo these men. In our lives, panic, doubt, and guilt can overwhelm us, oftentimes obscuring the truth of God's word, of God's faithful forgiveness. of the righteousness provided by Christ. It can leave us feeling empty and alone. So, what's a believer to do? Let us raise our shield of faith, as this verse calls us to do. Let us join the ranks of other believers. When we're feeling alone, it's not the time to go off by ourselves to find our quiet place. It's time to come together as a church, as a body. Take comfort in the fact that Christ is who saved us, for we can't save ourselves. Take comfort in the fact that Christ is a mighty warrior, that Christ alone is our Savior. And then turn to others. Ask them to cover you with their shield. Ask them to pray for you. Ask them to share their faith. When did you become a believer? What has God been doing in your life? Let their faith support you. It's often said that iron sharpens iron. Well, I believe faith sharpens faith. Don't be afraid to share what God is doing in your life or to ask somebody else what he's been doing in their lives. And just as we need to be ready with the gospel, we need to be ready to encourage one another, to recognize the wonderful things that God's doing in our life. This brings us to the helmet of salvation. This is the other major organ that needs protecting. It is the mind of the Christian. It is the seed of our will, the battleground of our thoughts, the first attacked. Ferguson stresses the importance of being well furnished with the promises of God's Word. In short, we need to memorize Scripture. Having denied Christ for the third time, he felt the weight of his betrayal. He was weeping, but he remembered the words of Christ. He wore the helmet, the hope of salvation. Paul would also write about it in 1 Thessalonians 5.8. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. That hope helps to sustain us. That hope, many times, is all we have left to hold on to when we're faced with the attacks and the trials of life. In my mid-30s, I had the blessing of speaking at my grandma's funeral. And as part of that, I went around to my aunts and my uncles, and I asked them, you know, what was important to grandma? And without fail, each one of them, independently and jointly, said it was her faith. It was God. What an encouragement that was that my aunts and my uncles had that hope. And as we got done with the funeral, we went to the graveside service. And as I'm walking through the cemetery, I'm looking at my great-grandfather, my great-great-grandfather, and seeing a legacy of believers. of people who professed Christ. The helmet of salvation. The hope that we have. So we've been talking about defense. Those things that encourage us. When we get to the sword of the Spirit, and Paul just plainly puts it, which is the Word of God. This is our sword, this is our weapon of attack. We don't have another. When Christ was confronted in the wilderness by the devil, the Bible tells us that Jesus used scripture to attack the father of lies. He used the very word of God to point out the lies and deceit. Christ was the Word of God. He was the Word. He had a perfect recollection and was able to provide a perfect answer, a perfect reply. Now, I recognize that my mental capabilities are not anywhere near perfect. How much more vital is it for me to be familiar with the Word of God? to have Scripture memorized, to be ready for a rebuttal. When I was in high school, there was a man who came to speak to our group on this particular issue of being ready, and he had what he called a polar bear alert. Okay, he pulled out a sheet of paper, and on this sheet of paper was 2 Corinthians 10.5. And 2 Corinthians 10.5 says we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking captive every thought. And his reason for teaching us this scripture was that many times in our thoughts, our thoughts begin to stray to areas they shouldn't go. And so, as a teenager, he wanted us to have a ready verse to focus on when our thoughts begin to stray. And so, he gave it to us on this piece of paper, and that week at camp, whenever our mind was wandering, we were supposed to raise up this piece of paper and quote this scripture. So, it was kind of hilarious to see these teenagers raising up this piece of paper and waving it every once in a while. But that has stuck with me even to this day. We need to have our weapon sharp. We need to have a knowledge of the word. Soldiers train relentlessly. Are we training our minds to be ready? Are we training our minds in a pursuit of the word? Psalm 119, verses 9 through 16. Sorry. It says, how can a young man keep his way pure by guarding it according to your word? With my whole heart I seek you. Let me not wander from your commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord. Teach me your statutes. With my lips, I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies, I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word. As Ferguson draws his chapter to a close, He ends with this sword of the Spirit, with the sword of the Word. And as I was studying this passage, I realized that at the end of verse 17 there's a comma. And so the first part of verse 18 says, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. As we're discussing the armor of God, We are talking about a spiritual armor. We need to not neglect prayer, daily prayer. In conclusion, Paul is communicating That we need to leave nothing to chance. That we need to put on the whole armor of Christ. We need to embrace him wholly. Christ the Lord, Christ the friend, Christ the master. He is sovereign. He is our commander. He needs to permeate every aspect of our life. A partial set of armor will leave us vulnerable. Only accepting a part of Christ will neither save us nor keep us. So when we find ourselves feeling defeated or alone or hard-pressed, we need to draw near to Christ and His Word. We need to embrace the body of believers that we call family. When we first moved to Texas, Patty's sister had lost custody of her children. And so we were pursuing adoption. And in order to adopt them, since the state already had control, we had to go through the state and be licensed as a foster care home. You have six months of classes that you have to take. Your home has to be inspected and it has to meet certain qualifications. As we're going through these classes, we realize that our home didn't meet the requirements that the state had. It was too small. Only in America would a home be too small to bring more children into it, but As we're going through these classes, we realize that, well, we're going to have to add on to our home. But we know that the girls weren't going to be ready for adoption for about another nine months to a year. So we're going through our classes. We're nearing the end of our classes. And the state says, OK, we're ready to do your home inspection. And we're like, well. The girls aren't going to be ready for adoption for another nine months, so our home's not ready yet. And they said, oh, well, by the end of your classes, your home needs to be ready, because that's when we do our inspection. And if your home's not ready, you're going to have to go through all the classes again and do everything all over. And we found this out about a month before the inspection. So we had to add a room onto our house. We had a month to do it in. And we were not anywhere near being ready. So we called up our body. We asked you all for help. And for two weeks, we had 40 men, well actually it was for a weekend we had 40 men for three days come out to our house and put a room onto the back of our house. Within two weeks that room was completely livable due to the help that our church had provided for us. That is part of being the church family. That is part of reaching out and accepting love from your church members. That is a part of being there for other church members. When we find ourselves with a huge trial, we need to be willing to come to the body. When we find ourselves on the other side of that, when life is going good, we need to be part of the body to be available. So as we put on the armor of God daily, as we built on truth, as we make the decision to pursue righteousness, as we memorize the gospel, being prepared to share it, as we put on the hope, the salvation, as we take up our shield of faith and stand with one another, As we memorize Scripture, we need to do that both individually and we need to come together as a body to hold one another up. This is what Paul is communicating in the text. This is what Ferguson is emphasizing in his book. This is our imperative and it's part of our covenant as a church. Let us pray. God, You are faithful. You are faithful to us.