Now we're going to look at the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation. Now, in chapter 6 of Ephesians, what is an operative, what are we commanded to do? What are we commanded to do? Very good. To stand. To stand. Now the only way that we're going to be able to stand is we must, Elizabeth, do what? How are we going to stand against the stand? That's part of it. That's right, putting on the whole armor of God. Now who do we got to stand against? try stand against the devil the wiles of the devil and uh... but i he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve he's a tricky one the devil and he is looking to destroy and so you know that uh... we have ground that we must defend uh... we must stand against the enemy think about it it's like a soldier standing there defending his ground not letting the enemy have even one inch of what he has been ordered to guard. Ephesians chapter 6, we're going to look at verse 17 where it says, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. So let's go through the armor tonight, and some of you could remember, maybe not, what was the first piece of armor that we covered? Having what? Your loins girded about with Truth! What is truth? That's right. We have to come to a certainty in our mind that we have the truth of God's Word. We also must be truthful with ourselves. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived. What's the next piece of armor that we cover? What's that? Is it the feet? I think the feet's the third one. What is it? Oh, I was getting all messed up then. Alright. Well, let's do this one. This is the breastplate of what? Righteousness. And it's not just the righteousness that we have in Jesus Christ, but it is what? Righteous living. You know, living according to God's standards. Alright, let's cover this one. What's this one? The shield of faith. That's right. And with that shield, what do we do with it? That's right. Fiery darts are not allowed to hit us with that shield of faith. And that faith is what? What is faith? Believing what? What does our faith need to be in? The Word of God. God's Word is true. I can trust it. I can follow it. And Satan's darts of doubt, right? Satan's darts of temptation. We say, you know what, Satan? You can't lie to me. I know what the truth is. And then what's this last one? Brother Tim said it already. The what? The gospel of peace. That's right. Having our feet, being ready, understanding upon which we stand, that the gospel is that which we stand upon. I need someone to come up here and help me put on... What's his name again? Christian? Pilgrim? What did we decide to call him? Christian? All right. Let's see here. Cadence, come on up. Put on Christian's helmet. All right. You ready? There you go. Can you get it on there pretty good? Where does it go? Can you reach high enough? Oh, look at that. Perfect. All right. You got it? Here, pass your help there a little bit. There we go. Well, DJ, are you making fun of our helmet here? No, I'm just saying he's just too happy. He's too happy? Hang on, hang on, hang on. Hang on, where's the thing at? There it is. you press on like real hard like that. Man, I like that helmet, don't you guys? Boy, he's got his helmet of salvation. Well, in Roman times, that helmet of salvation, that helmet that they wore, was of utmost importance, right? Because what are the two areas of your body that you cannot afford to get hit with an arrow? Your head and your what? yeah yeah your chest area heart you know and so having a helmet was key if you have a helmet you are in trouble boy any guy with a sword could just come along and go CRACK or with a rock or an arrow and the helmet was either made of thick leather or like this helmet it was made of metal that was beaten into the shape of a human head a lot of A lot of helmets had metal shields that would come down and protect the side and the cheeks, of course, that are on one's face. The purpose of the helmet is obvious. What does the helmet do? What does it protect? Your what? Your head. That's right. Which has your brain, of course. Indeed, Oftentimes, in ancient times, you not only have soldiers that fought on the ground, but you would have cavalry. Now, what is the difference between an infantry and cavalry? Do you guys know? Infantry, what is a cavalry? on horseback that's right so you have these soldiers down on the ground and they would be fighting with arrows and spears and swords and then you have the calvary and they would ride upon horseback and they would carry what was called a broadsword And this was different than the sword we're going to look at next week, the Sword of the Spirit. The broadsword was a two-edged sword, or two-handled sword rather, that was usually three to four feet in length. It was a double-edged blade. And so what these cavalry men would do is they would ride on their horse and they would swing that blade, either hoping to hit some of these infantry guys in the head or to chop their heads off. And they would ride up and down the battlefield, swinging this broadsword, trying to kill as many of the enemy soldier as they could. The helmet that an infantryman would wear helped deflect. If they got hit by that broadsword, they might get knocked to the ground, but at least they'd still have their head. Right? The Bible says that the helmet of salvation, the helmet that we are to wear, rather, is the helmet of salvation. So, let's think about it. Satan, he attacks us with fiery darts, he tries to attack our heart, he tries to attack the very core of ourselves, but he also tries to attack our head, our mind. The helmet of salvation is designed to protect us from those attacks. I'll tell you what Satan wants to do. He wants to destroy your sense of security of who you are in Jesus Christ. He wants to fill you with discouragement. He wants to fill you with doubt. And I'll tell you, if he can get you doubting and discouraged, he will have you sidelined and you won't be very useful then for the Lord. The devil has a two-edged sword, and there are two edges we're going to look at tonight. There's an edge called discouragement, and there's an edge called doubt. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this night. What a blessing it is to gather, and I pray that the lessons would be a help to each and every person gathered, whether they be young, young, or old, that we would understand the importance of putting on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the attacks of Satan. I ask that you would just be honored tonight and that the message and all that we do and say glorify you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The helmet protects us against discouragement. The devil will use discouragement to defeat us in our walk for the Lord. You know what the devil will try to do? He will try to get you to focus on all the negatives about yourself. All the negatives about your situation. All the negatives, maybe, that you are going through. He gets you to focus on your sin, on your failures, the problems in your life, your health issues, any other negative situation that you face in life. And if he can get your attention off the Lord, and focused on negative things, you know what that does to you? It causes you to be discouraged, doesn't it? Man, things are just tough. Things are difficult. And I'll tell you, even those who've been in the battle a long time, even those who might look like they're super-Christians, often fight a battle with discouragement. The prophet Elijah. Consider him for a moment. Not many people have ever been as spiritually victorious as Elijah. What are some of the things Elijah did? Do you guys remember? Remember on the mount? What did he do? He called down what from heaven? Fire from heaven, didn't he? And not only that, but he slain how many prophets of Baal? 450 prophets of Baal. He did a lot of things. After three and a half years, he outran the chariot of King Ahab all the way from Mount Carmel to Samaria. But the next day, Elijah had just gotten done calling down fire from heaven, destroying the enemies of God, outrunning Ahab's chariot. But the next day, you know what Elijah got? He got a message from Queen Jezebel, Ahab's wife. You know what she said? So let the gods do me and more also if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time Oh Jezebel she sends a note to Elijah and said Elijah I Pray God would kill me and make me like one of the prophets of Baal without being had my head chopped off right you by tomorrow Well, what Elijah do? What do you guys think Elijah did? I think he stood there and said, you don't scare me, Queen Jezebel. Is that what he said? You don't scare me, Jezebel! Come on, make my day! Is that what he did? Well, the Bible says he runs for his life, he travels to Beersheba, he throws himself under a shrub, and he begins to pray. He's so discouraged that he's ready to quit on God. He's ready to resign from his office of prophet and go off into eternity. But then the Lord shows up in the wilderness. In 1 Kings 19, it says, And he came thither to a cave and lodged there. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him and said unto him, Do you stop here, Elijah? God comes to Elijah and says, what are you doing, man? Why are you in a cave? Now, God knew, didn't He? God knew that Elijah was discouraged. He was trying to get Elijah to think. Well, how did Elijah respond? 1 Kings 19.10, he said, And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. For the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword. Listen to what he says now. He says, and I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. He says, God, I've been very jealous for you. I've been living for you. I've been serving you. I've been preaching about your word, and the people, they just hate me. They've killed the prophets, and they've gone, and they've done all kinds of things, and mean things, and now I'm the only one that's left. Right? I think a lot of you are a little discouraged. But you know what, the Lord said, Elijah, you're not the only one left. In fact, there's 7,000 left that are serving me. Spiritual victory does not insulate you against discouragement. I've said this before. I've heard it said Satan has many tools, but the handle that fits them all is discouragement. It doesn't matter where you are spiritually. You could have been saved for the last 30 years, be a rock when it comes to spiritual things, and find yourself discouraged. It doesn't take much. No one is immune to this attack. And that's why we need to have that helmet of salvation. If Satan can get you discouraged, even if you've been saved forever, if Satan can get you discouraged, he can sideline you from serving the Lord. Because you know what? You're too focused on how bad things are. You're too discouraged to go on. You know the devil, when he gets you discouraged, when you allow yourself to focus on the problems, the pain, the situation, where you are ready to quit on God, the devil has won a battle. You know what? Basically, when the devil gets you to be discouraged, you are saying to God this, God, my problems, my issues are bigger than you. Isn't that what you're saying? Isn't that what Elijah was saying to God? God, you know what? Queen Jezebel and the threat she made to me, that's a bigger problem than you can handle. Now that's silly, isn't it? Is there any problem that God can't handle? No, he can handle them all. But when you start to get sad and discouraged and downtrodden and, oh, that was me, I don't know how I'm going to make it. Some of you kids, you struggle with your school. Are you listening to pastors? Oh, I can't do it no more. Is God bigger than your school? Yeah. Can God help you? Yes. Don't allow the devil to discourage you. I like Job. You guys ever studied Job? I tell you, Job's the guy who wore his helmet. If there's anybody that should have been discouraged, it would have been old Job. Lost his family, lost his wealth, lost his health. I mean, the guy is just basically, brother DJ, he's ruined. Ruined. and then come along, he's got three friends and he's got a wife, first of all his wife says, why don't you just curse God and die, Job? You'd be better off dead. Well, that's the kind of wife you need, right? And then his buddies come along and they don't really help him and encourage him. They're just sitting there going on and on. And here's Job, if anyone had a reason to say, well, it's me, oh man, it's so hard. Job didn't. Job 13, 5, he continues to trust the Lord. Listen to what Job said. He said, though he slay me, yet will I serve him or trust in him. But I will maintain mine own ways before him. Job said, I'm not quitting. I'm not giving up. I'm going to serve God. He's bigger than all this. If He's allowing it, there must be a reason. Another person is Jeremiah. Jeremiah, when called by God, the Lord told him, He said, Jeremiah, guess what, man? Your ministry is going to stink. You're going to be rejected, persecuted, attacked. What did Jeremiah say? Jeremiah 15, 16, he said, Thy words were found, and I did eat them. And Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts. You know, when you put that helmet of salvation in place, the devil, he's not going to be able to discourage you. He's not going to be able to focus your attention on the events of life and the actions of people. I'll tell you, sometimes people can be very discouraging, can't they? Right? Someone says something to you or stabs you in the back, right? Well, you look at that boy and say, that's rotten, that's horrible. And sometimes it's another Christian, someone who knows better. You say, why would they do that to me? You know what? Guess what? You can't focus on them. You've got to focus on the Lord. You've got to put the Lord first. You have to keep your eyes upon Him. Keep that helmet of salvation in place. There are times in your life where it's going to seem that everything is against you. everything, that nothing will go your way. Satan knows this. He exploits this weakness in our lives. How do you fight that? You got to keep one truth in mind, that helmet of salvation, you got to remember the Father knows best. He does. He does. He knows best. Elizabeth, God knows best. Emma, God knows best. You hearing me, Will? Are you hearing me? He knows. And if he's allowed this in my life, then he's got a reason for it. This did not take him by surprise. We must not be weary in well-doing. but we must want carry on that in due season we shall reap if we think not the delegates are bad it's a battle no preacher said it's a battlefield brother not a recreation room lester rola there's a song used to sing said that i like that a lot of people think christian life's a recreation room uh... so much fun but it's a battle, right? I know, got your attention tonight. It's a battle, I got my sword, and I got my shield, and I got my helmet, and the enemy, roar! He walks around like a what? We're gonna have a little Williams sandwich today. But as a Christian, we ain't gonna give up this ground, devil. And when the devil, he reaches out his evil paw and tries to throw those darts at you, you're poof, poof, poof. All right? Everyone faces discouragement. Realize it, it's part of the battle. Number two, the helmet protects us against discouragement. Lastly, it protects us against doubt. The devil, he would like nothing better than for you to doubt your salvation. If Satan can convince you that you're not saved, or that you've lost your salvation, it will devastate you spiritually. If your salvation, if that confidence that you have in Jesus Christ is taken away, there is no spiritual battle then. It's done. It's all just said. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, afraid. Now I hope tonight that you are saved. Now there are some of our young people that are not Christians. Hey, listen now. I know that. You need to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ before it's too late. There's some of you, both young and old, that are saved. You're born again. And how the devil will use things, he will cause there to be doubts in your mind about who you are in Jesus Christ. Now let me say this to you. If you are in Jesus, you are secure in Jesus. Because it's not you. It's not you hanging on to your salvation. Alright, come on devil! I'm hanging on! I let go! I lost my salvation! Is that how salvation works? No. Come on up here, Will. I picked on Will enough. Dave, your turn. Come up here, Dave. Salvation is like this, my friends. Andrew, come up here. I need your help. Dave, hang on to the pulpit. Hang on to the pulpit, Dave. Don't let go. Hang on for dear life. And you shake the pulpit, or try to, yeah, shake the pulpit. I can't really shake the pulpit. Alright? Salvation is like this. It's not Dave hanging on, it's who? It's Jesus hanging on to who? Who's hanging on to Dave? I am. And even though, come on, try to take Dave away. Who's got him? Here's the devil. This is the devil right here. He's trying to pull Dave away. Pull him, come on, pull him. But who's got Dave? Jesus has Dave, doesn't he? Isn't that neat? Thank you, boys. Messed my pulpit up. Yeah, John 10, 28 and 29, let me give you some scripture here. The Bible says, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I like this illustration. You know, let's pretend for a moment that this is you. Alright, you're this pencil. Cole, this is you, if you're a Christian. You know what Jesus does when you get saved? He comes along and He takes His eternal hand and He grabs you like this. I want you to pull that out of my hand. Come on! Come on! Come on! Now Cole's not going to pull that out of my hand, is he? Is that pencil going to jump out of my hand? How about you try? Come on! Come on! Are you tough? Are you tough? Are you tough? No, you're not tough. You're not tough. All right, let's see if Sis could do it. Let's see if Sis could do it. Let's see. Little Matt said he can do it. Hang on. No, you can't do it either. Let's see if Little Matt can do it. Ready? That's pretty secure, isn't it? Andrew can. You think Andrew can? Let's see if Andrew can. I don't know. He's pretty weak. He didn't eat his Wheaties. Come on. Here you go, Andrew. Alright, well that's pretty secure, isn't it? You want to try? Yeah, you can't get that out of pencil, can you? Now, hang on, let me show you something else. Not only does Jesus come and wrap His hand around you, but guess who else puts His hand around you? God the Father. Now try to get it out. It ain't coming out, is it? Well, that's pretty secure, isn't it? That's how secure you are in Jesus. The Son and the Father, they just take you, and they grab you, and the Bible says no man is able to pluck them out of my hand. They're right there. They're not going nowhere. When you become a Christian, Jesus is the one who does the keeping. He's the one who does the saving. Philippians 1.6, being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it to the day of Jesus Christ. When Paul says, take on the what? What is this? Say it with me. What? The helmet of salvation. He's not saying that you need to get saved. He's saying you need to understand how secure you are in Jesus Christ. How much God loves you. How much God cares for you. Despite the difficult times. Despite maybe health problems and money problems and family problems. You are secure in God. Do those lights just flick? Or is it my brain? Alright. We are His. Here's the key. You've got to know, listen now, you've got to know that you're saved. Well, I go to church. Does that make you saved, Cadence, going to church? No, ma'am. Well, David, Timothy, I was baptized. Does that make you saved? Well, I'm a good person. Certainly, I'll be like Ignatius. God will let me into heaven because I'm a good person. Does that get you saved? Boy, you better know that you're saved. How do you know that you're saved? Well, you better have done what the Bible has said. The Bible has said to be born again. What do you have to do? You've got to go to the gate of decision, don't you? You've got to decide that you know what? I want Jesus more than anything else. More than my sin, more than my life, I want Jesus. And then you've got to kneel where? Where do you have to kneel, Elizabeth? At the cross. And who must you accept and ask to be your Savior? Jesus. The Bible says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be what? Saved! Isn't that exciting? Saved. Don't take what you have for granted. Make sure that you're born again. Where do you stand with the Lord? Well, if you're saved, you're secure. If you're saved, you're His. If you're saved, no matter what happens in your life, God's in control. So are you saved tonight? Listen now. Cole, are you listening to the pastor? I appreciate you taking notes, but I want you to hear what I'm saying. The question for all of us tonight is, are you saved? Are you sure? You better know for sure. If you don't know for sure, guess what? You've not put on the helmet of salvation. And number two, if you are saved, you know what? You need to stand in that. You need to realize who's got you. Come here, Dave. Come here, Dave. Come on. Who's got you? Who's got you? If you're saved, who's got you? Who's got you? Jesus does. That's right. Is He going to let you drop? He's going to throw you down? Is he going to let the devil? Come here, devil. That's you, Andrew. Is he going to let the devil? Come on, devil. Throw the Bible on the ground. Is he going to let the devil pull you away? Come on, devil. Pull him off. No, he's going to kick the devil. Get out of here, devil. Isn't he? Better have on that helmet of salvation. Because you gotta fight what? What are the two things? Discouragement and what? You guys remember? Discouragement and doubt. Say it with me. Discouragement and doubt. Let's pray. Everybody bow their head and close their eyes. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this night. Thank you for allowing us a lesson.