Ephesians chapter number six, we will look at the next piece of armor that God has given us to protect us. Back up to verse number 10. We'll start there with a reading. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand. This is the only way it's possible. Here is a possibility here is an opportunity Okay Without the armor, you've got no chance But with the armor you have a chance. It's like Psalm 119 verse number 11 thy word of a hidden my heart that I might not sin against thee memorizing scripture doesn't mean you'll never sin, but it means you're giving yourself a fighting chance and Okay, that I might not sin. Now, now it's possible that I've got something with which to fight temptation, okay? Put on the whole armor, God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Without the armor, you're sunk. Without the armor, the fight is finished before it even starts. Without the armor, you stand no chance against the wiles of the devil. You've got to do something to be protected. Verse number 12, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers, the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, things that we cannot see that are just as real, if possible, even more real than what we can see. And we need to be aware of this. spiritual wickedness. Prince Valadie's powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, the whole world lieth in wickedness. the Bible says. And those forces seek to influence your mind and your heart and your choices and your decision and your direction on a daily basis. And there is an unseen struggle that is taking place. Some of you enjoy wrestling. Never really got into it. I don't like to be in that close proximity to other guys Okay, but some of you like enjoy you doing on purpose you do it for fun All right and and and others don't but but whether you physically wrestle I could never get past the outfits and Like, I don't wanna see anybody in that. I definitely don't want anybody to see me in that. And so wrestling was just never something that I got super interested in. But the point I was trying to make is, whether you wrestle or not in that way, you are wrestling. You are, we wrestle. There is a struggle. There is a fight. There is conflict. There is the wrestling match. Both guys are trying to pin the other, all right? And understand, you have some opposition that is trying to exert influence on you, trying to put you in a certain position, trying to move you in a certain direction. and you either just give into it and forfeit and lose, or you can fight, you can wrestle, you can stand, right? Verse number 13, wherefore, taken to you, because this is true, for that reason, taken to you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Now, you're either gonna stand or you're gonna fall. But you need to do all you can do to stand. And you can stand. And you can be strong. And you can fight. And you can resist. And you can be victorious. And we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. And you don't have to allow the world, the flesh, the devil to exert control and influence in your life. You can follow the Lord. You can glorify God. But verse number 13. Have you done all? Now, I'm not trying to quote the book of Nephi. The book of Mormon says that is by grace you're saved after all that you can do. You have to do all you can and then God's grace will make up for the rest and then you can be saved. That's Mormon salvation. That's not what I'm saying here, but I'm saying as far as you're standing, as far as your position, as far as your Christian life, have you done all you can to stand? Verse number 14, here's what you can do. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. Wrap yourself up in the truth. Bind yourself by the truth. Have so much truth in your heart and mind that you're prepared for what it is you are inevitably going to face. Having your loins girt about with truth this morning and having on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness. And we've got a long series of verses this morning to look at when it comes to the breastplate of righteousness. We'll do our best to look at just as many of them as we can. This is not something you've never heard before. This is all basic information that we go over again and again and again, but it's important and I hope that God will help us with it. Come to 1 Corinthians 1 and 1 Peter 2, the breastplate of righteousness. The first thing we need to understand is that there is a difference between our position in Christ and our condition in the world. It's one way to describe it, but here's what I mean. First Corinthians chapter one verse number 30 says this, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that according as it is written he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Christ is our righteousness. And if you are saved, the Bible says that you have the righteousness of Christ. That's why we need to be saved, because there is none righteous, no not one. And the Bible says God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So Romans 4 says if you trust Christ, if you believe the gospel by faith, that God gives you imputed righteousness. God takes Christ's righteousness and imputes that to your account. Your sin was put on Christ. Christ's righteousness is put on you. That happens at the moment of salvation. If you're saved in God's sight, in God's reckoning, in God's accounting, from God's perspective, you are righteous. Not your righteousness. Christ's righteousness. Paul said in Philippians 3 that I may be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is the law, but the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. So every saved person has the righteousness of God, the righteousness of Christ imputed to them by faith. But this is different. Look at 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. And verse number 24, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse number 24, the Bible says, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we should go to heaven. Now, that is what happens when you get saved from your sin, you go to heaven. But there's more than that here, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. So nobody gets to heaven by living righteously. There is none righteous. But everybody who is given the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there comes with that this expectation that we would begin to live in a righteous way, that we would, there is positional righteousness. I have the righteousness of Christ imputed to me, but then there is practical righteousness. God wants me to live right. God wants me to do right. God wants me to be right. And the fact that he took my sins in his body on the tree and forgave me and justified me, well then he wants to not just take, he doesn't just want to not judge me for my sin, he wants to take the sin out of my life. wants to take the sin out of my heart. He wants to keep the sin, not just from taking me to hell, but from destroying my relationships and my future and my joy and my peace. And God wants to remove the sin from me and help me live righteously. So the breastplate of righteousness is not just being saved. It's allowing that salvation to begin to have an effect and influence in the way that you live. Okay, and why is it so important? Skip down, we're gonna go to Proverbs chapter number four now, Proverbs chapter four. In 2 Timothy 2, we are told to follow after righteousness. In Romans 5, God's desires that grace might reign through righteousness. In Romans 6, we are to yield our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. So the breastplate of righteousness, it's not just being saved, it's living a righteous life, living a holy life, living a pure, a sanctified, a clean life. And why is it so important? We talked about what what the belt or the girdle would do. It would prepare you for movement, for action. It would keep those loose flowing garments from tripping you up when you tried to run or to fight. And the breastplate, what does this do? It's very obvious, the breastplate is very important because it protects you where you were very vulnerable and where you're gonna be in real big trouble if you get hurt. The breastplate protects your heart. Righteousness is important because you have to protect your heart. Proverbs 4, verse 23, we probably don't even have to turn to it. You can probably quote it. You've heard it enough times before. What does the Bible say? Keep thy heart with all diligence, with all diligence, having done all to stand. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. With that, get Mark chapter 7. I think we looked at this passage recently, I think in a lesson Brother Kyle taught. Mark chapter number 7, put on the breastplate of righteousness, keep your heart with all diligence. How am I going to guard and protect my heart I gotta do what's right. I've gotta get the right influences. I've gotta get the right friends. I've got to hear the right things. And I've gotta put up some barriers, some boundaries, some guardrails, some protections. Keep thy heart with all diligence. Now, out of it are the issues of life. Look at Mark chapter seven, verse number 14. Mark 7, verse 14, when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, hearken unto me, every one of you, and understand, there is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. Don't allow yourself to be confused. Here's what Christ is saying, and we'll continue reading. The things that you eat, don't make you more or less spiritual. I'd say with the exception of the things that God has forbidden, such as alcohol, drugs, those will defile you spiritually. But there's been an argument going on about eating with unwashing hands and some of their customs and traditions. And Jesus is making the point, you're too focused on the wrong Look at verse number 17. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable, and he saith unto him, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart? Food doesn't go in your heart. It goes in your belly. Jesus says it comes out in the draft. That's a scientific thing that you could study in biology class. We don't need to go in detail this morning on that system that God designed, okay? Food doesn't go in your heart. Verse number 20, and he said, that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man, for from within, out of the, now, when he said that which cometh out of the man, he's left the science. and we're talking about actions and attitudes and choices and decisions. For from within, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, the evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and defile the man. So out of it, out of the heart are the issues of life. Why do I have to guard and protect and keep my heart? Because my heart can be defiled. My heart can be defiling. Sin starts in the heart. The only reason anybody does any of the things in the list is because first it was in their heart. But before you act out on it, you're gonna think about it. Before you act out on it, there's gonna be a desire. And so you have to guard and keep and protect your heart, because your heart is what can defile you. Now, Jesus is not justifying, I don't think, being unhealthy. There's nothing wrong with trying to eat right and exercise, all that kind of thing. It's helpful physically. It just doesn't make you spiritual. So people put a lot of emphasis on what they put in their body. And they're really careful. Some people, other people not so much. But some people are really like crunchy people, okay. Like, that has, and I don't even know how to illustrate it. Red dye 40, is that a thing? We're gonna cook with beef tallow and not seed oils. And listen, I'm not arguing against people who live that way. I mean, they've got their reasons and they're probably right. Probably, about some of it, in moderate. But like, the stuff we put in our body is probably killing us. There are a whole lot more people now that have diseases. I mean, it just seems like we're a very unhealthy society because we eat very unnatural stuff. But that's not why we're not spiritual. Okay? And what you put into your body affects your body. But why are people, why are some people so careful about what they put in their body, but they're not careful what they put in their heart? Jesus say, you need to be a lot more careful what you put in your heart than what you put in your body. Now it's okay to be careful-ish about both. Okay? But keep thy heart with all diligence, a keeper. I think of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Before the curse of sin, Adam was given a job to do. He was given work to do, and his assignment was to keep, Genesis 2, to keep the Garden of Eden. He put the man in the garden to dress it and to keep it. So think about keeping a garden. This is something I've never done, but I've heard things about it, okay? A garden keeper, a groundskeeper, I would imagine if you're going to plant a garden, you want to keep stuff from coming in. That might involve something like building a fence so that the little bunnies can't get in and chew up your whatever bunnies chew up. If you're gonna have a garden you you're gonna keep it you're you're gonna keep stuff out and and then if you have a garden you're wanting to grow if you're a groundskeeper and it's your job to make the the premises beautiful there's keeping stuff out and then there's there's cultivating and There's watering, and there's natural fertilizer, and there's fertilizing, and there's pulling weeds, and there's natural pesticides. Keeping involves making sure the wrong stuff doesn't get in, and making sure the plant has the right environment to produce growth. and the right environment to produce fruit. So when the Bible says, keep your heart with all diligence, you need to make sure there's some fences in your life. You need to make sure you're not allowing the wrong things to get in your heart. You need to make sure that you are creating the right environment, the perfect environment for your life to bring forth fruit. For love, for God in your heart to grow. For love, for others in your heart to grow. For the desire to do what is right and pleasing the Lord to grow. You've gotta create the right conditions. You've gotta be the garden keeper of your heart. Keep your heart with all diligence. Now put on the breastplate of righteousness. The reason for the breastplate is so that things that would damage your heart don't get in. Okay? Physically speaking, but this is spiritually speaking. What are you doing to make sure the wrong things don't get into your heart? Look at Lamentations chapter 3. Lamentations chapter 3. Stuff doesn't get into your heart because you eat it. How does stuff get into your heart? Lamentations chapter three and verse number 51. Lamentations three, verse 51. Again, we've read these verses before. We've talked about these verses before, but it's the topic in our passage this morning. I think we need to talk about it again. Lamentations three, verse number 51. Mine eye affecteth my heart because of all the daughters of my city. Now in the context, Jeremiah is viewing the destruction that has come upon his people because of their disobedience to God, and it's moved him emotionally. It's affected his heart. He is weeping. He is lamenting over the condition of God's people. Now he warned them about it. They refused to hear. They closed their ears. They didn't have to experience God's judgment, but they chose to. And he sees it and he's affected by it. But the principle here has very broad application. What you see affects your heart. How do things get into your heart? They get into your heart through your eye gates. It is impossible to not be affected by what you choose to look at. The way to keep something from influencing and affecting your heart, once you see it, there's no stopping the influence that it will have. You later have to go and make some attempt to mitigate, okay? But you've got to be really careful. You need to put on a breastplate of righteousness. You've got to guard and protect and shield what you see, what you look at, because it's going to affect you. It's going to affect you. In Job 31, Job said, I made a covenant with my eyes. Why should I look upon a maid? I got one wife, and I need to put my eyes on her and nobody else. Job said. In Psalm 101 verse number three, David made this commitment as hard. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. So what do we mean by putting on a breastplate of righteousness? We mean being really careful about what you allow yourself to watch. And we used to just preach about movies. and TV, but it's gone a lot farther than that for you guys. I mean, you might not have a TV in your house, but you still have access to a lot of stuff to look at that is going to influence and affect your heart negatively. And you better put on a breastplate You better keep your heart. You better have some guardrails, and some protections, and some standards, and you better understand how those things are affecting you. That's why social media is so dangerous, okay? Because what you see affects your heart, and your heart affects your life. That's why the internet is a dangerous place, guys. Because it gives you opportunity to put your eyes on stuff you've got no business looking at. And you think you can hide, and you think nobody knows, and you think it's not going to affect you, and you think you're going to be OK. It'll get your mind and heart all twisted up so fast. It's dangerous. You better step into that battlefield protected. You better have some armor on. You better keep your heart. How do you keep your heart? You refuse to look at something that will be defiling. And there's a lot out there to refuse. Look at 2 Peter chapter 2. There's another way that stuff gets into your heart. You cannot stop the things you see from affecting you. Now there's a difference between seeing and looking, isn't there? A lot of times you can't help what you see. You have to go to the grocery store, pretty much, and buy food. So you have to go through the checkout aisle. Now you don't have to look at the pictures on the magazine. You can't help but see some things. You pretty much gotta drive down the highway. You can't control what they choose to put on the billboard to advertise things. But you can choose whether or not you take that long second look. Difference between seeing and looking. You're gonna go out and witness and evangelize and preach the gospel. Guess what? Lost people forgot how to dress. Forgot how to put on clothes. The whole thing about being ashamed of your nakedness, it's lost on lost people. And so you're gonna see things you didn't wanna see. See things that nobody should ever see. But are you gonna look? Better guard and protect your heart. Okay, 2 Peter 2, verse number 6. This is Lot, and I'm just gonna pull two verses here. God is illustrating the fact that he will judge and punish sin. When people forget that the Lord does judge, he reminds them of the flood. He reminds them of Sodom and Gomorrah, when he rained fire and brimstone from heaven upon an entire city. That's how serious he is. But Lot was there, remember Lot? Look what the Bible says about Lot, verse number seven, delivered just Lot. Now, not only Lot, his daughters got out, his wife got out, kinda. So she looked back. So when it says just Lot, Lot was justified. Vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that righteous man. That's what it means that Lot was just. Lot was righteous. Lot was saved. But he was living in Sodom. And when you read Genesis 19, it had affected him. The Bible says, "...for that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." Now, it doesn't say it bothered him. It probably bothered him at first, but he got used to it real quick. It didn't say he was vexed, it says vexed his righteous soul. He ended up having problems on the inside. He ended up having problems in his family. He ended up, when he tried to witness, they thought he was joking. They couldn't take his Christian testimony seriously. He seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. When he went to warn them of God judging, lots telling us God's gonna judge us. Seriously? They thought he was making a joke. They thought that he was mocking God's judgment. Okay? What happened to him? Verse number eight, what he saw and what he heard. So what are you looking at? And what are you listening to? You can't stop what you listen to from affecting your heart. It is going to affect you. It is going to influence you. It is going to change you if it's wrong. It's going to defile you if it's right. It's going to help you. Put on breastplate of righteousness. What are you looking at? What are you listening to? What kind of music comes into your ears? It's affecting you. You don't think it's affecting you. Stand against the wiles of the devil. If you don't think it's affecting you, you're saying the Bible's wrong and you're deceived. The devil is the one who told you it's not going to affect you and you're listening to him. How's that going to end? How's that going to help you? Where's that going to take you? What kind of music you listen to? Do your parents know what kind of music you listen to? Does anybody but your friends who you talk to about it know what kind of music you're listening to? How is it affecting your heart? Because it is affecting your heart. Is it making you more like Lot? Okay with the filth and the perversity of the world? The only time I listen to the wrong kind of music is like when I'm at the store or the restaurant. Can't help it. That's what they're playing. But you get in those places sometimes and you hear the lyrics. And I don't think as a child I understood what the lyrics meant. But as an adult, I understand a little bit more. And those songs are filthy. The songs that kids walk around singing because it's what they hear, they have no idea what they're singing about. It's dirty. It's wrong. It's immoral. And if you think you can listen to that and not be affected by it, I don't know if I could explain to you how wrong you are. And I'm not teaching this lesson this way this morning to try to just point my finger at you. I'm pleading with you. Will you please put on a breastplate of righteousness? Will you please understand how important it is to protect yourself from the influences that are gonna take you in the wrong direction? That you are leaving your life vulnerable for the devil to do what he wants to do. What kind of music you listen to? What kind of reels are you watching? What's on your feeds? You better put on a breastplate, you better keep your heart, you better be really diligent about this. Because it's easy to be deceived into thinking that it's not all that important, but it really, really is. What did Ephesians 6 say? That you may be able to stand. against the wiles of the devil. Some of you have no choice. Some of you are, what's the word I'm looking for? Sheltered. I was one of those. Right? And if you are, just go ahead and be thankful for it. Okay? Some of you really don't have much choice. Understand, being sheltered doesn't mean that you're right with God. Being sheltered doesn't mean that you're spiritual. Being sheltered doesn't mean that you're... But here's why your parents sheltered you. That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. You see what I'm saying? If other people aren't sheltering you, you better shelter yourself that ye may be able to stand. It's just about giving yourself the opportunity to be able to do what's right. Enjoy your relationship with God. 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14. Go ahead and turn there 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 So so so guard protect your keep your heart. Let us put on a breastplate of righteousness. How do I do that? I gotta be really careful about what I watch what I look at what I see I gotta be really careful about what I what I hear what I listen to What do I allow that influence me because what comes in your eyes what comes in your here? It good what comes in your mouth that go in your heart what comes in your eyes your ears it goes in your heart Here's what else you gotta be careful about. Who are your friends? Who are your friends? Secondly, in 614, the Bible says, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath, look at this, righteousness with unrighteousness. You see that? What communion hath light with darkness? We're supposed to put on a breastplate of righteousness. We're supposed to live unto righteousness. We're supposed to follow righteousness. 2 Corinthians 6, don't misunderstand, it doesn't mean you can't talk to lost people. You don't have to be that sheltered. Okay? It's impossible to witness to lost people without talking to them, and we're supposed to witness to them. It's even okay to be friendly. It's okay to be nice to people. It's okay to converse, have normal conversation, but here's what 2 Corinthians 6 is saying. Who are you yoked with? Who are you joined with? Who are you going the same direction with? Who are you alongside as you walk through life? And what direction are they going? If that person is not going the right direction, why am I joined to them? Why am I in a yoke with them? What fellowship have righteousness with? Unrighteousness. You gotta be really careful who your friends are. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. He that walketh with fools, companion of fools, shall be destroyed. I would say there are probably wise people and foolish people here this morning. Which ones do you choose? We all have choices. We want you to have friends. It's important to learn to be able to talk to people and interact with people. Some of you are homeschooled, but that's not just so your family is the only person you ever talk to. You need to have friends. We want you to have friends. We want you to have the right kind of friends. We want you to be the right kind of friends. Your friends influence you. You just get to choose what type of influence it's going to be and the way you choose that is which friends you choose. Be friendly, be nice to everybody. Try to be an influence, the right kind of influence to everybody. Who do you yoke with? Who are you close to? Who do you spend time with? What does that say? Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Alright, so just one more thing really quick. I'll try to explain the last set of references like in a minute. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. We need to have boundaries. We need to have guardrails. We need to have fences. We need to keep the wrong things out so we can have an opportunity to do what's right. And that's what we focused on this morning. But there's kind of another aspect of this. Because the breastplate of righteousness, keep thy heart, okay? How can I cultivate the right things in my heart? How can I create the conditions that are good for growth? It's not just keeping the wrong things out. Part of it is putting the right things in. But here's what's very interesting to me, the breastplate of righteousness. Part of the way that you can affect and influence your heart in a good way, it's not just standards and convictions, and that's important. But I want you to understand that doing the right thing, making the right choices, being obedient to the Word of God, that will help your heart. Because I think it's a struggle sometimes, because I think there are times when we want to do the right thing, and then there are times when we really don't want to do the right thing. Have you ever been there? Okay. A few of you were honest and nodding your heads, and a couple of you just trying to stay awake. There are times when you want to do right, there are times when you don't want to do right. Guess what? It's still right to do right even when you don't want to do right. Because if you do right even when you don't want to do right, it'll help condition your heart. It'll help influence and change your heart. Doing right, even when your heart isn't in it, it's going to help your heart to come along. I think sometimes we wrongly think that if my heart isn't right, then I should just, you know, follow my heart. Never follow your heart. Guide your heart. Okay? Even when you feel like it's fake, it's still right to do right. Now the ideal is for your heart to be right and your actions to be right. But if your heart isn't right, still keep your actions right and help your heart come along. Okay, just an easy illustration. Husbands, love your wives. Mine makes it real easy. Almost all of the time. Okay, but what is a husband supposed to do even when he doesn't feel very lovey? Plug your ears. Right? You're supposed, in a relationship, in a marriage relationship, and it goes both ways, in a marriage relationship, even when the flame isn't burning brightly, even when the butterflies aren't as intense, even when You like each other less than you do at other, like there are going to be those times. You're getting married one day. They know what I'm talking about. All right. Sometimes you're super duper in love and sometimes it's normal life. But normal life causes people to go get divorced because I just don't love him anymore. I just don't love her anymore. I just don't feel the same way that I used to. So what? Treat her right. Treat him right. Do what's right. And so when we counsel people to struggle in their marriage, like the Bible's still the Bible. And if you will just make up your mind and choose to do the right things, you'll be surprised how your heart will come along for the ride. And those verses give you this relationship between love and obedience. And obedience is not only a proof of your love, but these verses indicate that obedience will increase your love. Okay? So put on the breastplate of righteousness. It's guarding and protecting your heart. Keep the wrong influences out. Help one another keep the wrong influences out. Okay? But it's also just doing right because doing right will help your heart be right. Okay, let's pray. Father, thank you for your word this morning. I pray that something we've said, God, would be a blessing, be a help, help these young people. Lord, help us not be deceived, Lord, into thinking that what we see, what we hear, who we choose to associate with, Lord, those things don't affect us. Help us understand how important it is, and God, help us to put on this armor that you've given so that we can stand. We love you, in Jesus' name, amen.