Attention again to Ephesians chapter number 6 as we look at this last piece of armor and then as Paul goes on to talk about how important, in a sense, strengthening all this armor is with the ministry of prayer. But we're at the last piece of the armor, the sword of the Spirit, but I'm going to read the entire section again. Ephesians chapter 6, starting to read verse 10 and I'll finish at the end of verse number 17. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Notice the plural there. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. What should you do therefore? Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." As I mentioned, we are about to consider this last piece of armor. But before we consider it in a little bit of detail, as I look back on the pieces of armor that we've already considered, I notice something. The pieces of armor are all singular. Your loins gird about in truth, not gird about with truths. Having on the breastplate, not the breastplates, of righteousness. Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And I know this doesn't sound right, but not pieces. plural, taking up the shield of faith, not fates, having a helmet of salvation, not salvations, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word, not words, of God. Now, I'm not denying all these pieces of armor can be explained using many words, but I think it's interesting and I think it's illuminating that these are all singular. And it's not impossible to make more than one point of application of each of these pieces of armor, as each piece that is worn protects a particular part of the body. But you don't have more than one shield, or more than one sword, to protect you and use in this real battle, believer. But the armor of the One Living True and Only God are very particular pieces of armor. Just as men display their idolatry when they think they can pick and choose the things they like and dislike about God, rather than accepting the truth that we must receive all the truth about the one God, we are not at liberty to decide the type of armor. We're not at liberty to decide the type of armor we are to wear in this real spiritual battle. Well, today I think I'll put on this helmet, and tomorrow I'll think I'll put on a different helmet. No, there is one helmet. There is one shield. The Lord supplies all the armor we need, and He declares through Paul what it consists of. And the truth of this, I think, is also seen in the fact that the definite article is found with respect to most of the pieces of the armor that the Lord supplies, the breastplate of THE righteousness. not the righteousnesses, because all our righteousnesses are what are his filthy rights. We must have on the righteousness of Christ to stand against the wiles of the devil, having our feet shoved with the preparation of the gospel of the peace, the peace that God alone can give us through the saving gospel of his son. See, many people say, well, there are many ways to peace with God. No, there's only one way to peace with God, and that is through the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, the shield of Thee faith, the faith once delivered to the saints, a precisely definable faith, the helmet of Thee salvation, the salvation of the Lord, the salvation He alone could have attained for us through the finished work of His Son, who we embrace and confess by the faith once delivered to the saints. See, in our day, where every sincerely held idea and teaching about God and reality is equally acceptable, is a demonic idea you must protect yourself against. Because it's THE faith, THE salvation, THE gospel. How do you defend yourself against it? With the specific, clearly defined piece of armor that the Lord supplies you with and alone supply you with. And this truth is seen as well with this last piece, the sword, not swords of the spirit, not spirits. is the word, not words, of God. Now I'm not denying that the word of God is made up of more than one word, but the point that Paul is stressing is that if you think you will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil with the idea that there are many words of God in the sense that the Bible is the word of God written And then you have the Koran, that is also the Word of God written. And then you have the Book of Mormon, which is another Word of God written. Even though the Koran and the Book of Mormon contradict the true Word of God, the Holy Bible, in numerous places, and are each a product of singly, demonically deceived men, in comparison to the Bible being written by numerous human authors over many centuries of time who were infallibly guided by the Holy Spirit of God to write what they did, then dear brethren, you have already had the sword of the Lord, the sword that the Lord alone supplies you with, knocked out of your hands. You've already had the weapon that He has given you knocked out of your hands. You can't hold up the Bible, the Holy Bible in one hand, and then the Koran in the other, and then the Mormon, if you had a third hand, and say that they are all equally the Word of God. No. God is not a God of contradiction, He is a God of truth. God has revealed himself through this one true and only source of truth, the Holy Bible. So if you ever hear someone say, well, if you think that the Bible is the Word of God, that's good for you. And if you say, well, I think that the Koran is the Word from God and that the Book of Mormon is the Word from God, then you are already being deceived. You've already lost the battle. You've already been defeated by the devil. Because the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. There are not many words of God. There is one Word of God, the Holy Bible. Because whose sword are we to take up? And the sword of the Spirit, not a spirit or spirits. Dear brethren, however offensive this is to anyone who understands, both Joseph Smith and Muhammad were demonically deceived men. Because they wrote things that clearly contradict the Word of God. And God is not a God of contradiction. The Spirit, the only Spirit Paul is referring to and writing under the infallible inspiration of, is the Holy Spirit of God. Because what does Paul write in Declarative Timothy about the Scriptures? 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and you could literally translate that all Scripture is God breathed, it's God breathing out. I'm speaking here now, I'm speaking words. I can't do it if I'm breathing in. You do it by exhaling. In a sense, the Word of God is God's exhaled Word, if I can dare put it that way. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is what? Is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. You don't need the Bible. You don't need anything else but the Bible to know how to know God and to live for His glory and the good of other people. unto all good works. What does Peter declare about the Bible in 2 Peter 1 verses 20 and 21? Knowing this verse, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. See, Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they didn't sit down some day and say, I think I'll write a book that we'll put in this book called the Bible. It doesn't have enough books, so I'm going to sit down and I'm going to write one. And then we'll have it put in. No. What does Peter say? Knowing this first of all prophecy, the scriptures of any private interpretation for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men, plural, of God's faith as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. That's the amazing difference. You have this thing we call the Holy Bible, written by numerous authors over centuries of time, and it has one main theme, the salvation of men to the glory of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. but the Koran and the Book of Mormon written by one man. In the case of Mohammed with the Koran and in the case of Joseph Smith with respect to the Book of Mormon. But this book is a unity. You can see the same theme spread throughout. You need the whole Bible in a sense to understand the Book of Revelation. Paradise lost in Genesis is paradise regained for the people of God in the Book of Revelation. The wonderful reality of this. Not only these direct declarations, but what did the Lord, what did your Lord and Savior use, believer, in His 40-day battle with the devil in the wilderness? What did He use? It is written. It is written. It is written. He didn't say, oh, well, I've got to think about that for a while. No. He knew how to defeat the enemy of your souls by quoting the very Word of God we have in our possession. Evidence of a true work of grace in the heart of a person is seen by the changed attitude they have towards the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 2.13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which effectually works also in you that believe. One of the gracious ministries of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ to those for whom He died. But how does the Spirit of Truth do this? By revealing how Jesus is revealed in the Scriptures and is the fulfillment of them and the one to whom they point. Isn't it a wonderful thing to read a passage like Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22 and say, Oh, they're speaking directly to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. and the weapon the Holy Spirit has given the church to fight against all the false ideas that the devil promotes and popularizes in the minds of men, still under his dominion, especially as it relates to the person, words, and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only sword he gives to believers. the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. The pieces of armor on your spiritual body that you were to put on and never take off are used to protect you and defend you. In a sense, you could say they are defensive pieces of armor. Now, it might be able to use the shield of faith both defensively and offensively, but there is one piece of armor that can not only be used defensively to parry the assaults of the devil, but can also actively resist his assaults. The one piece of armor supplied by God that can be legitimately used as a weapon. You have a weapon. You are to use a weapon in your battle against the devil. And what is that weapon? The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. The very weapon that our Lord used in the desert to defeat the devil in the desert. Thus saith the Lord in his word. In light of this, dear brethren, you have already been overcome by the devil. You've already been overcome by the devil if you doubt that the Bible is the word of God written. If you doubt that, you've already been defeated by the devil. He's already knocked your one and only weapon out of your hand. How? Because, look at this from this perspective. How confidence Is someone entering into a real battle going to be, if they doubt the ability of the weapon he has been issued, to both defend himself against the enemy he faces and successfully rebel the enemy? If you have doubts about your weapon. I wonder if it's sharp enough. I wonder if it's strong enough. I wonder if it will work. Take it from a modern perspective of men in the military being issued a weapon, the M16 or whatever. I wonder if it will fire. I wonder if it will jam. I wonder if the sights are accurate enough to do what they're supposed to do. What's going to happen? That person's going to hold the weapon and he's going to be shaking and he's not going to be able to do anything with the weapon. He's not going to be able to fight in any effective way. Will he be able to defend him? Will he be able to defeat the enemy? What type of a battle do you think a person entering a physical battle with these doubts and fears about his sword or his weapon would be able to wage and win? So how are you going to go up against the adversary of souls of... Well, I don't really believe that this book is the written word of God. I don't really believe it's effective. I don't really believe it's true. I don't really believe it's authoritative. I don't really believe it's sufficient. You've already lost the battle there, brethren. Therefore, in light of the truth of what the Bible is, the sword of the Spirit, the written word of God, the only clearly offensive weapon that the Lord has given us to fight the good fight of faith with, what do you think would be one of the major assaults? See, the devil knows what the Bible is. the one weapon he can't stand against. So what do you think one of the major assaults of the devil to prevent you from using this one effective weapon effectively and powerfully against him would be? To have you surrounded by a world that expresses doubts about the Bible! and rejects the truth of what it is, the written word of God, who cannot lie, and that it is an inerrant and fallible on every subject that it speaks on, even if the philosophies and ideas of demonically deceived men contradict and ridicule what it infallibly declares. You shouldn't be surprised at the world you see. It's one of the major weapons. The Bible is not the word of God written. It's just a collection of myths and stories. Have you ever heard that? It's just a collection of myths and stories collected by blind religious men trying to mislead and deceive others. Oh, the devil loves it when he hears that. See? What's that trying to do? Essentially, you don't need the Bible anymore. Just throw it away. It's no different than Aesop's fables. You don't believe that the Bible is actually the written word of God? Here is one of the most popular assaults that the devil has used very effectively against those who profess to be believers, yet have the one weapon to fight the wiles of the devil when they start giving any credence to such lies. Or, to give you a couple of other demonic lies to get you to put the Bible down and forget what it says and reject what it says. A couple of other demonic lies. Science has proved the Bible to be an error. Don't need this anymore. on the shelf, let it collect dust. Or secondly, archaeology has shown that the Bible is in error. After all, archaeologists can't be wrong, or scientists especially. See, these are demonic lies, dear brother. But the sole desire of the devil to do what? Get you to put your weapon down. To doubt it. To think, well, it can't be as powerful as it is. Dear brethren, if there was one verse that believers in this deluded 21st generation should commit to memory with respect to science, it is 1 Timothy 6 verse 20. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust. What was committed to his trust? The Word of God. Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science, falsely so called. I mean, people doubt that this Bible is relevant to the 21st century. Paul was writing to Timothy about a situation that exists in our culture, in our time today. Science falsely so-called. Because how many people will try to ridicule a believer's belief in the infallible accuracy of the Bible on every subject it speaks on by saying, scientists, the Ph.D. scientists have proven that the Bible is wrong. But dear brethren, let's look at this science for a moment. It's falsely so-called Do a survey of the varying ages given by so-called science to the age of the Earth, and you will find constantly changing lengths of time. Is that true? Well, one day it's four billion years old, and the next day it's five, and while we might have to knock off a few hundred million years one way or the other, that's true. But if they contradict the Bible, which the majority of them do, they are wrong, because science, falsely so-called, can give their unverifiable theories about the age of the universe, but every one of them is a theory that is impossible to do what? Verify. It's impossible to prove that it's true! But as I said, the majority of them are wrong because they contradict the scriptures that reveal a universe that is numbered in what? Thousands of years, not billions. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And the evening and the morning were the third day. Dear brethren, it should sober you to think of the number of reputable teachers in the church since the rise of Darwinian naturalism that have had the sword of the Spirit knocked out of their hands by thinking that science, falsely so-called, has proven the Bible wrong. Now, I'm not denying that science has proven to be very useful. I mean, we're using many of the things that scientific men have developed in our age today. I don't deny that. Science has proven to be very useful, but also very dangerous, because, dear brethren, it's a double-edged sword. It has been used by men to develop many useful things, but it has also been used by men to produce many very dangerous and very evil things. But science is neither the truth, nor can it discover that which is true. Because science can never declare with 100% certainty that it has discovered truth, and there are a few honest scientists that admit this. Because that which we can know is absolutely true is that which is revealed. And where is that revealed? In the written word of God, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Truth is revealed by the God of truth, not discovered by fallen men, whose hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. You see, you also come to one of the most effective lies of the devil. and you have dropped the sword of the Spirit out of your hands if you think that science has proven that the Bible is in error. For science, if it is truly science, means repeating an experiment and recording the result that is obtained. And it can be repeated many times, right? That's the scientific method. And they may get, that scientist may get that result a hundred times, a thousand times, even a million times, but he cannot guarantee that on the one millionth and one time that he is going to get the same result. This is why those who fall victim to the demonic assault that science has proven that miracles are not possible, do not understand what science cannot do. Science cannot disprove something that only happens once. Because that's not the nature of science. The nature of science is to do an experiment, and to repeat it, and to repeat it, and to repeat it. So if something only happens once, it can't develop any theory about what just happened. It cannot disprove something that happens only once or a few times in human history. Science can never disprove the reality of the revealed miracles in the Bible, because a miracle, by definition, is what? Something that does not happen routinely. That's why we call it a miracle, because it doesn't happen routinely. It is the Lord showing us that He is not bound by the regular ways that He sustains the universe that He provides for. For example, can science ever prove that the revealed historical provision by God for 40 years of manna in the wilderness and the fact that their clothes did not wear out, can science ever disprove that? No! Why? Because at the end of the 40 year period of wandering in the wilderness, what happened? The manna stopped being provided, and their clothes started to wear out, so that they had to start to supply the things they needed by the sweat of their brows. You will never be able to fight effectively with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Bible, which is the written word of God, if you tremble! If you tremble before the pronouncement of scientists, excuse me! Oh, the scientists have told us. Well, what have they told us? Does it agree with the Bible or not? Well, they've proven! They haven't proven anything. They've experimented. They've gotten a result and they've told you what that result is. If you tremble before the pronouncements of scientists who are not being guided by the Bible and how they understand the world that they are investigating, you will have already dropped the sword. Because dear brethren, God's world is never going to contradict or conflict with anything God's Word says about it. God's world and God's Word are not in conflict. If you think They are. You are not handling the sword of the Spirit properly. Here I give you a couple of few examples of this. One I've already mentioned, but I want to refer to it because it's probably one of the most popular ones that men will use, so-called scientists will attempt to use to disprove the Bible, or doubt the truth of the Bible, the so-called Age of the Universe. Let's be honest. When's the last time you heard an irreputable scientist say, well, the universe is under 10,000 years old in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Word of God? No, you listen to science, well, you know, 3.4, 4.5, whatever billion years, right? Therefore, the Bible is wrong. Men studying the universe in accordance with the Word of God see that the universe cannot be the so-called billions of years old that those who are being guided by it say. That's not true science, because as I said, science is observation. You do something and you record the results. If it happens a number of times, you develop a Theory! That's the scientific method. It happens a number of times, you develop a theory. Let's see, if I hit my head against the wall, I get a sore. I hit it against the wall again, I get another sore. I do it again, well, every time I hit my head against the wall, I'm going to get a headache. The next time I hit my head against the wall, the wall's so weak, my head goes through it and I don't get a headache. So, see a theory? There's a theory that's been disproved the tenth time I've done it. It happens a number of times you develop a theory, even a scientific law, but you have no guarantee that it's going to happen again the next time you perform the test. Scientists make a number of measurements and find out that today certain radioactive isotopes decay at certain observable rates and they make assumptions that cannot be proven by observation and testing. They extrapolate backwards in time with these observable results, but that is making a non-scientific That the way things are today are the way things have always been with respect to the particular thing they are testing. But even a cursory examination of their untestable ideas shows that they do not believe what they are seeking to deceive themselves and others with. But is this true according to the Bible? No. Have things gone on as they always have from the beginning of creation? Have they? If you're being guided by the Bible, have things gone on, everything's operated exactly the same way from the beginning of creation if you're being guided by the Bible? No. A perfect creation existed before the rebellion of Adam and Eve led to it being, what, cursed? Then God judged the whole earth in, what, the days of Noah? And so the earth after Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden was radically different from before the fall and the earth flood than it was before the flood, with the results that the world was radically different Plus, for the purposes of showing you the foolishness of not using the Sword of the Spirit to see that science will never be able to prove with absolute certainty that anything they are saying is true, or that what they are presently observing establishes a universal law, I will illustrate what I mean using the longest living man to walk on the Earth. Well, if you're being guided by the Bible, who is the longest living man to walk on the Earth? Methuselah. And how long did Methuselah live? 969 years. He lived to be 969 years old. Now okay, we'll give a few years. We'll give a few years to Methuselah for him to grow up, say to the age 9. Alright, so he's 9 years old, and he's got a scientific bent, alright? And he's interested in science, and so he starts a journal. And in this journal, for the next 960 years, he is going to record when the sun rises, crosses the heavens, over a specific period of time, and then sets. Now he does this for 960 years! That's a little bit longer than any known scientist I know of. He does this for 960 years, and for 960 years he finds that the sun rises and sets with an observable pattern. And you can check my math here if you want, but he has made 350,400 observations! And there is no variation. dying on his deathbed, he pronounces a scientific law. The sun is going to rise, and it's going to cross the heavens over a certain length of time, and then set. And it's a scientific law, and it will never be broken. Is this true? Well, it has to be. The scientist Methuselah made observations over 960 years. He had 350,400 records of the same thing. Therefore, he established a scientific law. It's true. What happened in the days of Joshua? What happened in the days of Joshua chapter 10 verses 12 and 13. Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel. And he said in the sight of Israel, Son, stand still upon Gibeon and Thamud in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hastened not to go down. whole day. Oh, Methuselah, there goes your scientific law. Your 350,400 observations mean absolutely nothing, because in the day of Joshua, the sun stood still for almost a whole day. And what about in the days of King Hezekiah? Not only just stood still, 2 Kings 20 verse 10, and Hezekiah answered, it is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees, nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah, the prophet, cried unto the Lord, and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. Now just stop! Oh! Oh! I mean, no, the sun's not supposed to go backwards! The scientists prove it! If you think science proves the Bible wrong, then you've already dropped the sword of the Spirit out of your hand. Scientists can observe things, but they cannot declare absolute truth. Dear brethren, what is going to happen in the new heavens and the new earth? When the Lord rolls up the heavens like a scroll, what's going to happen? There's not going to be a need for the sun, because the Lamb, because the Lamb is the light of the city of God. Dear brethren, You are not using the sword of the Spirit effectively if you think science can prove truth or that it proves that the Bible is false. Don't allow human-invented categories to define what things are when the Scriptures do not justify those categories. Have you ever heard this argument? How did Noah get all the species of animals on the ark? Because if you do an investigation, there are so many different species. We took three dogs with us camping, and that was hard enough to get three dogs to the campground. How did Noah get all the species of dogs, St. Bernard's and everything else under the ark, in addition to all the other species of animals under the ark? Oh, the Bible can't be true! He didn't take species under the ark. He took kinds. Use the Bible to define things, not science, falsely so-called. He took kinds of animals on the ark. What we might call families. And so he took a couple of dogs and a couple of cats. Why he would take mosquitos, I don't know. But he took a couple of mosquitos. But he took kinds. not species, if you're being guided by the Word of God. Dear brethren, and I've mentioned this before, and I don't care if I have to stand alone on this, but I base it on the Word of God. The earth is not a planet and the sun is not a star. The earth is a unique creation of God. The sun is a unique creation of God, because this is the place that God became man in order to save deluded men who think that science can prove anything. Unbelieving science may define them in a particular way, but who is behind all the science that does not seek to conform their definitions to the truth of the Word of God? The very one you are fighting against. I've got a powerful weapon in my hand, I'll just have scientists define the earth as a planet, and define the sun as a star, and therefore man's not a special creation of God? He's just stardust! You see, the devil knows he cannot defeat a believer who is not deceived by the false erroneous claims of science. That's why Paul says, science falsely so called. And so I'm going to close here. I'll return to the remainder of this next time. But dear brethren, you have already been defeated by the devil if you think that science has proven the Bible wrong. The devil has already defeated you. Don't be so foolish. Take up the sword of the Spirit and say, if it disagrees with this book, it cannot be right. Because God cannot lie. And the God I serve is the God of truth. Let's pray.