Amen. Ephesians chapter six, if you will, Ephesians chapter six, and going to be looking at verse 17, Ephesians chapter six and verse 17. Continuing on in our study here this evening on the armor of God and looking forward to what the Lord's going to teach us this evening. And then also as we continue on through this study as well, And you may think, well, after this, there's only the sword of the Spirit left. Well, that's the last piece of armor, if you will, that's mentioned. But there is much more to be said here in these next couple verses as well. But in Ephesians 6, in verse 17, that's where we're going to be reading out of this evening and studying through. And notice what the Bible says in Ephesians 6, 17, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Let's go to Lord in prayer. We'll get started here this evening. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you and Lord, we thank you for your Word. Thank you for what we've been able to learn thus far through the armor of God. And Lord, I pray that each one of us would see that it's so important for us to put this armor on And Lord, to be, um, dressed with this armor each and every day, Lord, we desire to do a great work for you, or we desire to stay faithful to you. I pray, dear God, that you would help us to see, uh, Lord, that we need to, uh, obey your word in order to be faithful to you. Well, I pray you'd speak to our hearts, draw us closer to you tonight. And we ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well, as you're looking here this evening, as you can see in your verse there, the helmet of salvation. And over the past several weeks, we've looked at the armor of God. We've looked at these different pieces of the armor, and the ones that we've covered so far have been the loins girt about with truth. That is, the truth that was taught during That message there was that our life should revolve around truth. It should be something that is part of our everyday life. Lord, help us if we as believers are known as people who are liars, who are ones who are known as bending the truth, if you will. Our lives should be girt about with truth. Our loins should be girt about with truth. Then we look at the breastplate of righteousness. The Breastplate of Righteousness, we talked about how that is what protects our heart, our feelings, and our emotions. We know that the Bible says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, the Bible says. We need the Breastplate of Righteousness. We need to put that on every single day and all throughout the day. We need to wear that simply because our heart belongs to God, but the world and the flesh and the devil are always trying to steal our heart. How does it, How does the devil try to steal our heart? Through our will, through our emotions, through those things. Well this is just how I feel. It doesn't matter how we feel. It matters what the Bible says. And let's follow the Bible. So we see the loins gird about with truth. We see the breastplate of righteousness. We also saw the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That was talking about the direction in which our life is heading. Now, we can be doing a great work for God, and we can be following the path, and our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We're going throughout our life, everything is going well, and then just as Peter did, we take our eyes off of Christ for just a moment, and we're no longer on the path that's leading us to be more and more like Christ, but we have gone off that path, and we're following our own path. What needs to happen at that point? We need to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace so that we're back on the path that we've been commanded to walk. It is impossible to live the victorious Christian life if we are not willing to follow the path that God has for us. Well, I wanna do my own thing. Well, you can do that. But you can't do that and say that you're following God's will for your life. And then we talked also about the shield of faith. This is an intricate part of living the Christian life. The Bible says this, that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Absolutely impossible. And tonight we're dealing with the helmet of salvation. And just as we have seen how each piece of armor is given for a certain area of protection, if you will, the helmet is no different. And it's my desire as we go through this study that we've been able to see that little snapshot, if you will, that little picture of what each piece of armor is supposed to be protecting. And as it comes to the helmet, of salvation, understand just as we would expect, the helmet is given to protect the mind. That's how it's given. But have you ever seen a helmet on a suit of armor? It doesn't just cover up here, it covers all of this. And there's a little space for your eyes to be able to see through. Anyone that has seen anything that has to do with medieval times or medieval armor, you know that to be true. Why is it important that we have this helmet of salvation? It's because the devil wants your mind. The old saying is this, that the idle mind is what? A devil's workshop. It's exactly what it is. The devil knows that if he can get your mind off of where it's supposed to be, if he can get it off of Christ for just a split moment, he knows he can lead you astray. because our mind is what tells every other part of the body what to do. As we study the Word of God, we find that there are many different mentions of the mind and mentions of thinking. I wanna look at a few of those here this evening. Look at Philippians, if you will. Philippians chapter four in verse eight. Philippians chapter four in verse eight. Philippians chapter four and verse eight. And the Bible says this, let me get over to the right page here now. Philippians chapter four. I was there. I'm there now. In verse eight, finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, notice that word, think on these things. Why is that so important? Because we're either thinking on the things that are virtuous and the things that are just and the things that are pure and the things that are lovely and of a good report and true and honest. We're either thinking on those things and following the path that God wants us to follow, or we're thinking the complete opposite of those things and we're following the path that Satan wants us to follow. The Bible is very clear. These things, that's what you are to think upon. It's what the Bible says. Look at Proverbs chapter 23, if you will. Proverbs chapter 23. Proverbs 23 in verse 7. The Bible says this, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink saith he to thee, but his heart is not with thee. Notice, what we think in our heart what we are if someone claims to be a Sold-out believer. Well, I'm I'm sold out to God. I want to do whatever God wants me to do But yet they never talk about God They're never excited about the things of God They're not willing to do what God has called them to do. They're not willing to take a stand when no one else will. They're not willing to think on these things that we talked about. Understand, when someone is unwilling to follow God's path, I don't care if they say they're sold out, they're not. Why? Because as a man thinketh in his heart. The Bible says, so is he. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10, if you will. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 5. Notice the Bible says this, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. Now notice, and bringing into captivity every thought, every thought, to the obedience of Christ now if we are to bring it into captivity Understand the the the picture that we can see here is this when we have a thought that is not in obedience to Christ We need to ask the Lord Lord. Forgive me for having that thought and Lord bring my thoughts into captivity into obedience to Christ when we think that we can be negative all the time, Lord, help us. When we think that we can be against what God has called us to do, Lord, help us bring those thoughts into captivity, into the obedience of Christ. When God calls us to do something and we say, well, I don't have to do that right now, we need to ask the Lord to bring that thought into captivity and say, Lord, whatever you want me to do, that's what I'm going to do and I'm going to do it immediately. We can't bring our thoughts into captivity if we're not willing to confess them unto God. 1 John 1.9 says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You may say, well, I just can't keep these thoughts from coming. When's the last time you asked the Lord to help you with that? Well, I just can't get these thoughts out of my head. When's the last time you were with someone? And when they were talking about things that are feeding into those thoughts, you either ask them, can we not talk about that? Or you walked away from the conversation. You see, many times we think to ourselves, well, I just have to do all I can. As long as I just ask the Lord to bring this into captivity, then it doesn't matter what I do. No, we are told to flee from things in the Bible. and evil is one of those things we are told to flee from. Why does the devil attack the eyes and the ears of every person? Because those are the two gates into the mind. Your eye gate and your ear gate. What we see and what we hear directly affect mind. This is why the Lord tells us that we, that we must be renewing our minds. Look at Romans chapter 12, if you will, Romans chapter 12 and verse two, Romans chapter 12 and verse two. We'll read verse one as well. Romans chapter 12, verse one and two. I beseech you therefore brethren, notice he's speaking to believers here, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How do I know what's good? Allow the Lord to renew your mind. How do I know what's acceptable? Allow the Lord to renew your mind. How do I know what God's will is for my life? Allow the Lord to renew your mind. It says, but be transformed by the renewing your mind that word renew it means to renovate it means to restore this has the idea of a house being renovated or a car being restored they were once in a dilapidated state but now they've been revamped they've been renewed they've been made new again you know all things naturally age every one of us will say amen to that Everything naturally ages. Objects, bodies, spirituality, all those things naturally age. And when a person trusts Christ as their Savior, they are forgiven of their sins, but that sin nature stays around. And that sin nature causes all kinds of problems, all sorts of issues. This is why our mind needs to be renewed. And the Lord commands that our minds be renewed as well. In Ephesians chapter four, In verse 23, notice what the Bible says, Ephesians 4, 23, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. How can you overcome bad language? By the renewing of your mind. Well, how do I overcome inconsistencies in my life? And there's just so many times in which I told the Lord, this is what I'm going to do, and I didn't do it. How can I overcome that? By allowing him to renew your mind. How can I overcome the filth that surrounds me every single day? By renewing your mind. Asking the Lord to help us keep our minds clean. So notice, first of all, on the back of your hand out there, notice, first of all, how do I renew my mind? How do I do that? If I'm told in the Word of God to renew my mind, if I'm commanded by God to have a renewed mind, well, then how do I do that? Well, it's pretty simple, and that's this, be in the Word of God. The Word of God should have precedence in our mind. Many would think, well, that's just a simple answer. I need something big that I can do. I need something that when I do this, it's going to change the direction of my life. That's what God's word will do. If you are given to the Word of God and you're studying the Word of God, you're reading the Word of God, God is going to bring things to light in your mind and He's going to bring things to the surface in your life that you never realized were even there before. Why? Because we were in His Word. When's the last time you, maybe you have your devotions in the morning, maybe it's in the evening, maybe it's midday, whatever it may be, but when's the last time, hours later after your devotions, you could still remember the verses that you read during that devotional time, if you will. Maybe it was just a verse, maybe it was a chapter, maybe it was a few chapters. In order to read the Bible through in a year, you have to read between three and four chapters a day in order to do that. And there is a schedule out there that you can follow in the track rack to take. That'll be a blessing to you. But let me ask you this. When's the last time before your devotional time came around again that you could look back and you could remember exactly what you learned before? And better yet, when's the last time we allowed that to renew our minds so much. We were in the Word of God. We read what the Word of God said. We heard that truth. God dealt with our heart and we allowed our mind to be renewed so much to the point that we told someone else about our devotions that day. Many times we can't even remember it, let alone tell someone else about it. There's nothing that will help you overcome temptation like the Word of God will. Look at Colossians chapter three, if you will, Colossians chapter three and verse 10, Colossians chapter three and verse 10. Notice when it's talking about putting on the new man, Colossians 3.10, the Bible says this, and have put on the new man, which is, notice, renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. So we can be renewed in the knowledge of God and in the image of, after the one that has created us, so how do we grow in the knowledge of God? By reading his word. There are many books that are written about people of the past, and I enjoy a good biography, but there's nothing like reading an autobiography. reading something about someone that was written by them. Now, the old saying goes, if you want to know a person, then read the autobiography. If you really wanna know a person, read their biography, what other people say about them, amen? But I appreciate reading both of those, especially of missionaries and things like that. But the truth of the matter is this, when you get a glimpse into the mind of the writer, You can see them in a whole new light by learning about them and what they were thinking during that time. And I could write a book about someone else, but I couldn't tell you what they were thinking. No, but if I was writing a book about myself that may sell one and one copies because I may order it off Amazon to say that I sold one, it wouldn't be a popular seller, amen? But if I wrote a book about myself, I could tell you what I was thinking. I could tell you what was going through my mind. I could tell you exactly what was happening during this circumstance that somebody from the outside may not be able to see. But understand, when we read the Bible, we are reading the very words of God Himself. We're reading God's thoughts. These are not man's words. These are God's words. The Bible says forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. It's not just a bunch of man's thoughts. This is the very mind of God. The word of God will renew your mind when you read it, when you quote it, when you memorize it, when you meditate on it, when you listen to it, when you speak it. The Bible tells us where God's word is supposed to be. I want you to look at Psalm 119. Psalm 119 in verse 11. Psalm 119 in verse 11. The Bible says this, thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin Notice we're supposed to have God's Word in our heart. Remember with the breastplate of righteousness and how that breastplate is what protects our heart and our will and our emotions. Well understand we are supposed to hide God's Word in our heart so that God can guide those things and God can protect us. How do we do that? By reading His Word. Look at Colossians chapter 3. Colossians 3 in verse 16, the Bible says this, let the word of Christ dwell, notice, in you, richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Notice we see thy word have I hid in my heart. And then it says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Look at Proverbs chapter 22, Proverbs 22 in verse 18. Proverbs 22 and verse 18. Notice the Bible says this, for it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee. Notice that speaking of knowledge, speaking of the words of knowledge, they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. Notice verse 19, that thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day even to thee. So we know that it must be in our heart. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. And then we see that it must be in us. But then also we see that it says, they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. We should be speaking the Word of God as well. We should be telling others about these things. God's Word in our minds. Understand, it will change what we look at. It'll change where we go. It'll change who we associate with. It'll change what we say. It'll change what we think. Because the mind dictates everything that you do. The mind does. Therefore, we as believers should allow the Bible to dictate our mind. Think about it. When someone says, I just don't see it that way. That's a time for us to answer and say, well, it's not about what we see. It's about what God's word says. Let God's word dictate our minds. If our mind dictates everything that we do. So first of all, we see how we should renew our minds. Notice, secondly, here this evening, notice when should I renew my mind? When should I do that? Well, there in 2 Corinthians, we see in chapter four and verse 16, 2 Corinthians chapter four and verse 16. It says, for which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Well, I'm spiritual enough, I don't have to read my Bible every day. You're not going to follow God's will. You're not going to live the victorious Christian life. You're not going to be a joyful Christian. I can guarantee you that because it says day by day. Our minds should not only be renewed when we feel like it. It shouldn't only be on Sundays or Wednesdays. It should be when the Bible says that it should be renewed and that is day by day. There was a little boy who was walking through the house one day and as he walked past the, past a bookshelf, he saw an old book that was covered in dust. He grabs this book off the shelf and, and he looks over at his mom and he says, mom, what is this book? And the mom, kind of embarrassed that her son didn't know what a Bible was, said, well, son, that's, that's God's book. And little boy looked at him and said, well, if it's God's, shouldn't we give it to him? Nobody around here uses it anyway. Pretty sad, isn't it? But what's even more sad is this, less than 10% of Christians read their Bible every day. And yet we wonder why we're defeated Christians. Less than 10% of believers read their Bible every day, and yet we wonder why we can't have the victory over certain things in our life. Well, I just don't know why I don't have the joy of the Lord. Do you read your Bible every day? Well, I just don't have time. We have time to scroll the internet. We have time for our hobbies. We have time to make another dollar. About time we get back to God's Word. We live in a world that has churches filled with people who wonder why they can't get the victory over their sin. Why people don't have the joy of the Lord is because our mind is not being renewed daily. What happens if a car is not maintained? It falls apart. What happens if a house isn't kept? It deteriorates. What happens if a body isn't exercised? It ages quickly. What happens if a Christian's mind isn't renewed? It becomes sin-filled. Getting the word of God on Sundays and Wednesdays just isn't enough. We all physically eat more than two days a week, don't we? How much more important is it for us to spiritually eat more than we physically eat? You know, if I go for a few hours and I don't eat something, the wrath is about to come out. I need some food. and I'll do anything I can to get some food, physically. But yet so often we'll go days on end without opening the word of God and we act like it's no big deal. When's the last time we were spiritually hungry? When's the last time we opened the word of God because we needed some spiritual food? When's the last time we walked through the doors of the church house saying, Lord, I'm hungry, feed me today? When's the last time? We should be renewed every day. Church, we must be in his word. The Bible tells us that the Bible is more important than physical food. Look at Job chapter 23, Job chapter 23. Job chapter 23, and I want you to look at verse 12. The Bible says this in Job 23, 12. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Notice he didn't just say more than my food. No, he says more than my necessary food. I have to have food to live physically. But I care about his words a lot more than that. The Bible is more important than physical food. You know, the Bible is more important than monetary gain as well. Look at Psalm 119, if you will. Psalm 119 in verse 72. Psalm 119. in verse 72. My pages just aren't working for me tonight. Psalm 119 in verse 72, the Bible says this, the law of thy mouth, speaking of the word of God, is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. The word of God is more important. So first of all, we see, how do I renew my mind? Then we see when I should renew my mind. And then lastly, this evening, a question for all of us is this, why should I renew my mind? Why? In Romans chapter 12, as we were there just a little bit ago, I'm gonna read that verse again, and I want you to notice Romans chapter 12 in the end of verse two. It says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Why do I need my mind renewed? Because as believers, we're supposed to be following the will of God. The Bible says that you cannot serve two masters. You're either going to love one and despise the other, or of course, vice versa, the Bible says there. But here in the word of God, so we as believers, we know that we are supposed to be following the will of God. So why should I renew my mind? Why should I see that it's important for me every single day to be in the word of God, to at least read a portion of scripture and ask the Lord to speak to me through that? Why is that important? Because that's the only way we will know the will of God, is by having our mind renewed. It's possible to read the Word of God and not follow God's will, but it's impossible to follow God's will without being in the Word of God. There are an awful lot of people that will open their Bible and they'll just check it off for the day. Well, I made it through that one today. but they're not feeding from the Word of God. That's not renewing our minds. We need to be reading with the intent of learning. When God says, be not conformed to this world, what he means here is this, that we should not fashion our minds or have the same pattern of the world in our life. The world should not influence our speech or our dress, our philosophies or our goals in life. An unbeliever is going to follow the world. And that shouldn't surprise us, that an unbeliever does that. But a believer should be different. But a carnal believer is going to follow the world. But if we're renewing our minds, as we should, by the Word of God, and if we're wearing that helmet of salvation, our lives will be different. A Christian who does not renew his mind with the Bible, understand, will not find the perfect will of God. Someone says, well, I just wanna know what God's will is for my life. Well, first of all, it's to be in his word, to read his word, to pray each and every day and to be faithful to church. That's God's will for every single believer and to tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, there's gotta be so much more. Not without those things there's not, because that's what it's built upon. How can we say, well, Lord, I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do, but well, being in church faithfully is just too much. Lord, I'm willing to go anywhere you want me to go, but Lord, I just don't have time to read my Bible every day. Lord, I'm willing to do anything you want me to do, but I just don't have time to pray. You see, the Bible is the key that's going to open up the will of God. Notice there at the very bottom of the handout there on the back of the bulletin, this is what you're going to fill those blanks in with, and that's this. The Bible is our roadmap, rulebook, and handbook to finding and staying in the will of God. The Bible is our roadmap, rulebook, and handbook to finding and staying in the will of God. Every one of us need a map. We all need a roadmap. We need a rule book. We need a handbook to find and stay in the will of God. We need that. And God has provided exactly what we need. He didn't say, well, follow my law, read my word, if you can find it, no. He put it in our laps for us, and yet we disregard it too often. See, salvation is the protective gear, if you will, for our mind. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, you gave God control of your life and your mind, and you've been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. He owns you and me. Let's allow Him to cleanse our mind every single day by the washing and regeneration of God's Word. Why are there so many Christian casualties? So many that had trusted Christ as their Savior yet fell off the wagon, so to speak, no longer living for God, no longer following what God has called them to do. Why is that? Because they weren't in their Bible. They weren't allowing God to speak to them. They weren't allowing God to renew their mind. by reading His Word. In 1 Timothy chapter four, in verse 16, the Bible says this, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, continue in them. For in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. Notice, take heed to thyself and unto doctrine. Where do we get our doctrine from? It's not from what man says. It's not from what just some convention came up with one day and said, well, this is a good thing to believe. No, our doctrine comes from the Word of God. Why are people so shaky on what they believe today? Because they're not in the Word of God. Or they've allowed themselves to go into some perversion of the Word of God that's not teaching doctrine. Church, let's allow the Lord to renew our minds every single day by the reading of His Word, Let's live the victorious Christian life in the will of God. I had mentioned this once before, a couple times before, but I remember listening to Brother Scott Pauley in one of his, either a sermon or a podcast that I was listening to. And he said that a teenager at a teen rally had asked him, he said, how much of the Bible do you read every day? To which he replied, I read until God speaks to me. He says, someday it's just a verse. Some days it's a chapter. Some days it's multiple chapters. But when God points something out and says, this needs to be fixed. This needs to be done. You need to go here. You need to do this. He said, that's enough to chew on for the day. And he picks back up there the next day. Why is that so important? Because that shows a life of someone that is reading for spiritual food, not to check it off the list. Well, I only read one verse today, but did God change your life through that verse? Well, I only read this much of the Bible this year, but each and every time that you read the Bible, did you allow the Lord to speak to you? Because I don't care if you read the Bible through five times a year, if you don't allow the Lord to speak to you, it's just a textbook. Just words on a page. Let's allow God to renew our minds. We can only do that if we're willing to take on the helmet