WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:05.269 Before any soldier goes to war, he puts on his 00:00:05.269 --> 00:00:08.289 armor. He gets his weapon ready. He knows how 00:00:08.289 --> 00:00:10.769 to protect himself, and he knows how to fight 00:00:10.769 --> 00:00:13.929 effectively. Here's my question. Do you have 00:00:13.929 --> 00:00:17.449 your spiritual armor on? Do you even know what 00:00:17.449 --> 00:00:20.809 it is and how to use it? Today, I want to tell 00:00:20.809 --> 00:00:24.190 you about the protection and the weapons that 00:00:24.190 --> 00:00:26.870 God has provided for you to win the spiritual 00:00:26.870 --> 00:00:30.030 battle that you face each and every day. Stay 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:37.119 with me. Welcome to this edition of Living on 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:39.880 the Edge with Chip Ingram. Our mission is to 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.600 inspire Christians to be genuine followers of 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:45.380 Jesus and to empower them to be active disciple 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:48.060 makers in our world. Thanks for joining us as 00:00:48.060 --> 00:00:50.359 we pick up in our series, The Invisible War. 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:52.899 In the last couple of programs, Chip's been in 00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:56.020 Ephesians chapter 6, unpacking a basic foundation 00:00:56.020 --> 00:00:58.340 for what believers need to know about spiritual 00:00:58.340 --> 00:01:01.700 warfare. Today he'll begin in verse 13 with a 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:03.859 lot of ground to cover, so get your Bible and 00:01:03.859 --> 00:01:05.799 notes ready as we join Chip for his message, 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.579 How to Prepare Yourself for Spiritual Battle. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:12.599 My father was in the South Pacific, Guam, Iwo 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:16.019 Jima. He had a purple heart. When I get to be 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:20.299 around fellow Marines, it is just exciting, the 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:23.659 camaraderie they have and the respect and the 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:26.879 bond that they have. I once accidentally said 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:29.260 my dad was a former Marine, and a Marine came 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:31.519 up to me and said, there are no such thing as 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:35.640 former Marines. And I have stand corrected. But 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:37.400 if you know anything about the South Pacific 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.299 and World War II, and it'll date some of you, 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:43.739 but there was a treaty signed, the bomb was dropped, 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:47.560 the war was completely over, but on multiple 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.840 islands, there was guerrilla warfare. I have 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:54.140 a friend, his name is Soturo, his grandfather, 00:01:54.980 --> 00:01:58.140 actually fought for the Japanese. And this is 00:01:58.140 --> 00:02:01.439 not well known probably for many of us, but during 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:05.400 that era, the emperor in Japan was thought to 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:09.900 be God. And Soutour was a professor there in 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:12.639 California. We became good friends. And he said, 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.080 my grandfather was a very, very good man. And 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:17.060 from the time he was a little boy, he was taught 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:20.259 the emperor was God. And he thought he was fighting 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:23.419 for a just cause. And after the treaty was signed, 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.659 he said the emperor literally went public and 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:28.479 just said, I am not God. But you think about 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.280 the deception. You think about really good people 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:33.919 with the right intent trying to be loyal to their 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:36.379 country and what they've been taught. And then 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:40.439 my father was fighting on those islands. And 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.500 part of the Japanese culture, especially at the 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:47.000 time, was it was far better to die than to go 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:50.259 back as a coward. And so my dad talked about 00:02:50.259 --> 00:02:53.060 his role as a .50 caliber machine gunner, and 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:55.139 they wanted to clean up these islands. And here's 00:02:55.139 --> 00:02:58.099 what you need to get. The war is over. Treaty 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:00.919 has been signed, but they're still fighting. 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:05.419 Before the treaty is signed, bullets, mortars, 00:03:05.930 --> 00:03:10.229 and young men die. The treaty's signed. The war 00:03:10.229 --> 00:03:13.689 is over. There's guerrilla warfare. There's still 00:03:13.689 --> 00:03:16.530 bullets. There's still mortars firing, and young 00:03:16.530 --> 00:03:19.930 men are still dying. The war is not in question, 00:03:20.009 --> 00:03:23.229 but that doesn't mean the battle's over. And 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:25.430 what I want you to know is that is your position 00:03:25.430 --> 00:03:30.409 in Christ. The war is over. Satan was defeated 00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:35.009 at the cross. Sin's penalty was paid for for 00:03:35.009 --> 00:03:40.689 all time since power was broken. Yet Satan and 00:03:40.689 --> 00:03:42.969 his host of fallen angels engage in guerrilla 00:03:42.969 --> 00:03:46.289 warfare. Now notice the goal, to discourage, 00:03:46.349 --> 00:03:52.949 to deceive, to divide and destroy God's people 00:03:52.949 --> 00:03:56.430 and God's program. And what you need to understand 00:03:56.430 --> 00:03:59.229 is that believers were commanded to equip and 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:01.789 prepare ourselves in the strength of the Lord 00:04:01.789 --> 00:04:04.719 and his mighty power. so that we can stand firm 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:08.300 against the enemy's schemes, and that in these 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:11.240 battles, though the war is not in question, we 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.719 can repel his multifaceted attacks and engage 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.759 and defeat in these very specific battles. Here's 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.540 what I want you to get. When you study Ephesians 00:04:21.540 --> 00:04:25.459 chapter 6, Paul is giving an example in his day 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:28.120 because he lived in a world where there was Roman 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.160 soldiers all over the place. There's not some 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:33.000 mechanical, I'm going to pray on the helmet, 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.579 I'm going to pray on this, and I go through some 00:04:35.579 --> 00:04:38.500 rigmarole. He's talking about how you actually 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:41.500 live the life preparing for a spiritual battle, 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:44.000 and he's giving them a picture or a metaphor 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:47.920 so it's practical in their day. The best insight 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:50.720 I can give you before we jump in is this. When 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:55.629 we look at each piece of the armor, Just ask 00:04:55.629 --> 00:04:59.490 yourself, where does Satan attack, so why this 00:04:59.490 --> 00:05:03.029 piece of armor? So by way of overview, if there's 00:05:03.029 --> 00:05:07.129 a belt of truth, deception. If there's a breastplate, 00:05:07.449 --> 00:05:11.189 it's about the heart, condemnation. If it's about 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:15.110 stability, it's doubts. What the enemy wants 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:19.310 to do is he wants to deceive you. He wants you 00:05:19.310 --> 00:05:22.069 to live under condemnation and guilt, and he 00:05:22.069 --> 00:05:26.279 wants to cast doubts. about you, your worth, 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.699 your relationship to Christ, doubts about God, 00:05:29.860 --> 00:05:31.720 doubts about God's will. Does that make sense? 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:35.160 So I kind of want you to get that overview. So 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.579 listen in that way. See, you're asking, Lord, 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:41.220 what are you saying to me? Where do I wrestle 00:05:41.220 --> 00:05:44.519 with these issues? Rather than stuck in the grammar 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:47.620 or the picture of a Roman soldier, because I'm 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:48.939 going to go through the grammar and we're going 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:51.079 to get a picture of the Roman soldier. So if 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:53.720 you're ready, notice this. The question is how 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.899 it works, and here's the answer. First, we must 00:05:56.899 --> 00:06:01.240 become aware of the battle. Aware of the battle. 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:06.980 Second, we must learn to appropriate the ongoing 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:12.680 protection for daily living. We have to, how 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.899 in the world do we put on this armor? Third, 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:21.189 we need to learn to engage the enemy. with supernatural 00:06:21.189 --> 00:06:24.329 weapons that God has given us. And then finally, 00:06:24.389 --> 00:06:26.670 we want to utilize God's means of deliverance 00:06:26.670 --> 00:06:30.370 when spiritual attack occurs. So with that, how 00:06:30.370 --> 00:06:36.189 do you prepare yourself for satanic attack? The 00:06:36.189 --> 00:06:41.470 answer to that is Ephesians 6, verses 13 through 00:06:41.470 --> 00:06:45.370 15. Therefore, since you're strong in the Lord 00:06:45.370 --> 00:06:47.689 and the strength of his might, since you are 00:06:47.689 --> 00:06:50.550 to put on the full armor of God, Since you are 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:52.629 to take your stand and having done everything 00:06:52.629 --> 00:06:56.350 to stand, therefore take up the full armor of 00:06:56.350 --> 00:06:58.430 God that you may be able to resist the devil 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:02.370 in the evil day. And having done everything to 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:05.870 stand firm, stand firm therefore, then notice 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:08.670 the tense of these verbs, having girded your 00:07:08.670 --> 00:07:11.949 loins with truth, having put on the breastplate 00:07:11.949 --> 00:07:15.129 of righteousness, and having shod your feet with 00:07:15.129 --> 00:07:17.910 the preparation of the gospel of peace. Verse 00:07:17.910 --> 00:07:21.300 13 is a command. I want you to think of a military 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:25.300 battle going on, and I want you to think of Jesus 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:28.220 not just as the Savior and friend and lover of 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:31.100 your soul, but like a military commander, and 00:07:31.100 --> 00:07:34.160 we're in the army of God, and he is saying, okay, 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:38.259 you're in a battle. I've defeated the foe, but 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:41.300 I urgently command you to pick up your spiritual 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:43.720 armor and put it on. Here's what you need to 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:45.939 get. I could go through the grammar, but the 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:48.939 issues are this. you're responsible to put your 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:51.319 armor on. God has provided it, but he will not 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:53.759 put it on for you. It's in a tense of the verse 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.600 where this is provided, this is what God does, 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.800 but this is what you need to do. And it's also 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:03.339 a tense that has the idea of urgency. This isn't 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:07.420 a passive lollygagging when it feels good. This 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:12.279 is get ready, be alert. And then he gives us 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:14.819 the reason. For the purpose of being fully prepared 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:17.980 and able to withstand the grave and difficult, 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:20.959 literally the dark times when the enemy attacks. 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:23.740 Circle that little word where it says resist 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:27.620 the devil and underline the evil day. That word 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:31.680 resist is when there's difficulty, when it's 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.779 challenging, when it feels almost impossible. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.139 You have to stand up. You have to resist. And 00:08:37.139 --> 00:08:40.559 then it says the evil day. Do you remember when 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.940 Jesus was tempted? And you know the story, he's 00:08:44.940 --> 00:08:47.019 tempted in those three ways. It is written, it 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:49.559 is written, it is written. And then the text 00:08:49.559 --> 00:08:52.840 says in Mark chapter four, and he departed from 00:08:52.840 --> 00:09:00.259 him until a more opportune time. So what I want 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:04.139 you to get is that in different seasons and times 00:09:04.139 --> 00:09:07.429 in your life, you're more vulnerable. Satan is 00:09:07.429 --> 00:09:09.750 finite. He can only be at one place at one time. 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:12.990 He's not all -knowing, but he's a student of 00:09:12.990 --> 00:09:17.330 human behavior. And so I would like you to just 00:09:17.330 --> 00:09:21.570 write the word H -A -L -T in your notes. It's 00:09:21.570 --> 00:09:26.070 not in there. Halt. I think there's four predictable 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:31.570 times in every human being's life when temptation 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:36.789 will feel more powerful. And if you're not aware 00:09:36.789 --> 00:09:39.509 that this is when you're vulnerable, you'll give 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:44.429 in. The H stands for when you're hungry. You 00:09:44.429 --> 00:09:45.830 know, when you're hungry, you haven't had something 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:52.149 to eat and you're vulnerable. Even when you're 00:09:52.149 --> 00:09:53.850 hungry, notice your temper is a little bit shorter. 00:09:55.029 --> 00:09:58.600 The A is for when you're angry. In fact, you 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.879 might put a little star by this one. The scripture 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.340 says that be angry, but don't sin. Don't let 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:06.059 the sun go down on your anger, lest you give 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:09.139 the devil a foothold or an opportunity. There's 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.919 probably no more common way that we allow deception 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.220 and condemnation the enemy to get into our lives 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:19.820 when we have unresolved anger. The L is for lonely. 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:24.350 Maybe you're traveling on a business trip. Maybe 00:10:24.350 --> 00:10:27.149 you miss kids. Maybe you find yourself surrounded 00:10:27.149 --> 00:10:31.110 by people, but you feel lonely. When you're lonely, 00:10:31.330 --> 00:10:33.970 Satan will come up and provide some opportunity 00:10:33.970 --> 00:10:36.970 for some companionship. It might be on a screen. 00:10:37.070 --> 00:10:39.149 It might be a person. It might be an activity, 00:10:39.330 --> 00:10:41.909 but he'll provide something that says, I can 00:10:41.909 --> 00:10:44.889 solve that loneliness problem. And it might even 00:10:44.889 --> 00:10:47.250 be a good thing, but it might be a good thing 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:50.549 in a bad way or at the bad time. So when you're 00:10:50.549 --> 00:10:54.519 hungry, when you're angry, When you're lonely 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:59.580 or when you're tired, you're vulnerable. You 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:03.620 will do things, say things, watch things, and 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:06.620 give in to temptations. And what he's just warning 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:09.299 us is, look, you have this equipment. I want 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:11.539 you to pick it up. I want you to get ready. But 00:11:11.539 --> 00:11:14.279 I want you to know, because there are different 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:16.639 windows of times and different days, and are 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:18.440 you ready? And different seasons of your life. 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.299 There's different temptations for a single person. 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:23.580 There's a different temptations for the early 00:11:23.580 --> 00:11:25.740 years when there's got all these kids and diapers 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:28.059 and there's no time for anything. There's different 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:31.259 temptations when it's the empty nest. And of 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:33.860 course you love one another, but the kids are 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:36.820 gone and the focus has been work. And all of 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:38.759 a sudden you're with this person that you love 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.440 very much, but you didn't realize that most of 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:43.679 the time you talked about either the kids or 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.940 work. And you kind of look at each other and 00:11:46.940 --> 00:11:51.970 go, ooh, we got a gap here. And if there's unresolved 00:11:51.970 --> 00:11:55.190 wounds, then it goes to, you know, if you're 00:11:55.190 --> 00:11:56.710 ever going to find someone new, you better do 00:11:56.710 --> 00:11:58.049 it pretty quickly because you're not getting 00:11:58.049 --> 00:12:01.850 any younger. And then the enemy whispers, and 00:12:01.850 --> 00:12:04.090 pretty soon there's lies. And then you go to 00:12:04.090 --> 00:12:06.350 the gym and someone talks to you, or you're at 00:12:06.350 --> 00:12:10.230 work and someone really listens way better than 00:12:10.230 --> 00:12:12.830 your husband. And you would never, ever think 00:12:12.830 --> 00:12:14.610 of doing anything. I mean, you're active in your 00:12:14.610 --> 00:12:16.549 church and you love God. You even read the Bible 00:12:16.549 --> 00:12:20.029 a couple times a week. And you find yourself 00:12:20.029 --> 00:12:23.490 thinking thoughts and going down a path. And 00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:27.750 by the way, and it's almost like, it's like getting 00:12:27.750 --> 00:12:31.570 in the water and it feels kind of good and you 00:12:31.570 --> 00:12:33.529 would never intend to do anything. And have you 00:12:33.529 --> 00:12:36.809 ever been like either at the ocean and you're 00:12:36.809 --> 00:12:38.850 out playing or your kids are out playing and 00:12:38.850 --> 00:12:41.549 then you look up and you're like 300 yards down 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:43.710 and you didn't even know it because the current 00:12:43.710 --> 00:12:47.580 took you? That's how the enemy works. That's 00:12:47.580 --> 00:12:50.759 what he's warning against. Wake up, be alert. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:55.679 Notice verse 14. After picking up our armor in 00:12:55.679 --> 00:12:58.720 preparation, we're commanded to consciously and 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:03.159 vigorously make a decisive act to stand our ground 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:06.100 firmly and fearlessly against the enemy's assaults 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:10.559 as he seeks to deceive, accuse, and discourage 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.580 us. So I'm going to take up the whole armor of 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.360 God. And then don't think so much of staying 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:18.600 firm of things coming up against you by yourself. 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:23.120 Think of, let's say this line right here is that's 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:24.940 the kingdom of darkness. And beginning right 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:27.799 here, this is the kingdom of light. And you've 00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:30.500 been born again and you've received the gifts 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:33.340 of God and the spirit has entered you and you're 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:35.100 sealed with the spirit and you have this new 00:13:35.100 --> 00:13:37.500 inheritance and he's deposited spiritual gifts 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:41.039 and he's redeemed you and he's got a plan for 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.700 your life and a purpose and a meaning and you're 00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:46.620 a part of this whole, he's saying, you have been 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:49.679 given all this position. Now, what I want you 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.809 to do is hang on to what you have. If you would 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:56.850 read Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3 carefully, 00:13:56.909 --> 00:14:00.409 you would realize you are wanted. You are valuable. 00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:04.429 You are redeemed. You are a son. You have an 00:14:04.429 --> 00:14:07.250 inheritance. You have a purpose. You matter. 00:14:08.110 --> 00:14:11.990 And he says, don't let them. I want you to stand 00:14:11.990 --> 00:14:14.570 firm against the lies that say God doesn't have 00:14:14.570 --> 00:14:16.730 your best in mind. You'll never get married. 00:14:16.830 --> 00:14:18.909 Unless you have this or that, you'll never. He 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:21.809 wants you to stand firm and hold on to the position, 00:14:21.970 --> 00:14:25.710 the reality of who you are in Christ. That's 00:14:25.710 --> 00:14:28.970 why spiritual warfare, first and foremost, is 00:14:28.970 --> 00:14:31.970 about understanding this is who I am in Christ. 00:14:32.529 --> 00:14:36.470 This is my new identity. Yes, I was dead in my 00:14:36.470 --> 00:14:40.029 trespass and sin. I've been born again. The old 00:14:40.029 --> 00:14:43.490 things pass away. Behold, all things become new. 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:48.230 And that's what he wants us to hold on to. You're 00:14:48.230 --> 00:14:50.809 listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:53.289 and we'll get you back to today's program in 00:14:53.289 --> 00:14:55.490 just a second. But first, I want to tell you 00:14:55.490 --> 00:14:57.830 that this insightful teaching from Ephesians 00:14:57.830 --> 00:15:01.470 chapter 6 is also in a helpful small group format. 00:15:01.789 --> 00:15:05.049 So if you're not in authentic community, or you 00:15:05.049 --> 00:15:06.909 and your friends are looking for something else 00:15:06.909 --> 00:15:09.710 to study, order the resources for The Invisible 00:15:09.710 --> 00:15:12.809 War small group today. Stick around after the 00:15:12.809 --> 00:15:15.269 message to learn how. Well, with that, here again 00:15:15.269 --> 00:15:18.610 is Chip to continue his talk. And so now using 00:15:18.610 --> 00:15:21.809 the metaphor of this Roman soldier, he's going 00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:25.490 to give us three pieces of armor that are a prerequisite 00:15:25.490 --> 00:15:29.669 for standing firm. There's one verb and there's 00:15:29.669 --> 00:15:31.690 actually four participles, but we'll cover three 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:34.570 of them. The verb is, and the command is, stand 00:15:34.570 --> 00:15:38.490 firm. And then the participles are something, 00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:42.129 the picture is, you've already done this and 00:15:42.129 --> 00:15:44.950 you need to actively do it. Stand firm having. 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:49.360 And I love this phrase. Girded your loins with 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.419 truth. Anybody been girding your loins lately? 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:57.519 I remember. And I actually, I'm using this translation 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.460 on purpose. Because if you understand the phrase, 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:06.490 it really makes a lot of sense. So let me, each 00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:08.850 time I'm going to give you the metaphor. I'll 00:16:08.850 --> 00:16:10.990 explain what the metaphor is. Then I'll look 00:16:10.990 --> 00:16:13.309 at the word, explain what the word is. Then I'll 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:15.549 talk about the actual attack, and then we'll 00:16:15.549 --> 00:16:18.269 talk about how to practically work it out. So 00:16:18.269 --> 00:16:22.710 if you were a Roman soldier, the belt would be 00:16:22.710 --> 00:16:24.870 put on here, and the rest of the armor connects 00:16:24.870 --> 00:16:28.409 to the belt. If you were a Roman soldier, you 00:16:28.409 --> 00:16:29.789 would do a lot of different things, but they 00:16:29.789 --> 00:16:31.669 would have a long robe. They traveled. They were 00:16:31.669 --> 00:16:35.889 a fighting machine. And when you were off duty, 00:16:36.129 --> 00:16:40.129 the belt was loose. If you were on duty and your 00:16:40.129 --> 00:16:44.090 belt was loose, capital offense. If you fell 00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:46.730 asleep as a soldier, capital offense. In other 00:16:46.730 --> 00:16:49.090 words, there's part of this metaphor that if 00:16:49.090 --> 00:16:50.750 you were a first century Christian, it would 00:16:50.750 --> 00:16:54.789 be like, whoa. When he's talking to us like that, 00:16:54.809 --> 00:16:57.429 this must be a very serious battle. But girding 00:16:57.429 --> 00:17:00.509 your loins is, you might be off duty and, okay, 00:17:00.549 --> 00:17:02.370 guys, get ready. We're going to go into battle. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:04.799 Well, what does a soldier need to do? We need 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:08.160 to gird our loins. I just say that. It just sounds 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:10.079 funny, doesn't it? And what they would do then 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:11.920 is, okay, they're going to tighten their belt. 00:17:12.099 --> 00:17:15.099 And because many parts of the Roman Empire were 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.799 cold, they had a long robe that they would wear, 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:21.220 like a tunic type thing. Girding your loins is 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:25.400 you lift it up and you tuck your belt in. Because 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:27.339 now it's just like when I taught basketball. 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:29.799 Now you're ready for movement. Are you ready, 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:33.069 guys? I want you to tighten the belt, and I want 00:17:33.069 --> 00:17:34.950 you to get ready. And how do you tighten your 00:17:34.950 --> 00:17:38.849 belt as a Christian? Truth. It's about truth. 00:17:40.369 --> 00:17:42.829 Notice in your notes, the word truth here means 00:17:42.829 --> 00:17:46.230 candor, sincerity, truthfulness. Now, it's rooted 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:48.589 in the objective reality of the truth of God's 00:17:48.589 --> 00:17:51.150 word, but the reference here is to subjective, 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:56.130 practical application of truth. He's really talking 00:17:56.130 --> 00:17:59.769 about, it's just being honest with God. See, 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:05.049 the attack is deception. He wants you to believe 00:18:05.049 --> 00:18:09.029 a lie about God or yourself. And so the very 00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:13.250 first deception, remember, with Eve. And it's 00:18:13.250 --> 00:18:16.009 interesting. He mixes truth with lies. In fact, 00:18:16.130 --> 00:18:19.049 the enemy, he knows the Bible way better than 00:18:19.049 --> 00:18:24.690 you do. And so Eve, you know, surely you won't 00:18:24.690 --> 00:18:29.140 die. That's a flat -out lie. No, this is going 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:31.559 to make you wise. That was the truth. Sure did. 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:34.680 And so he's going to come with a mixture of truth 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.660 and a mixture of lies, and the goal is to deceive 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:43.559 you. And he's the master of shortcuts. He's the 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:47.819 master of making shortcut look good. He's the 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:50.460 master of getting you to believe that no one 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.140 will ever find out or that there's nothing really 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:56.890 wrong with this. The belt of truth is the man 00:18:56.890 --> 00:19:00.670 or woman whose mind will practice no deceit and 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:04.450 no disguises in their walk with God. Let me give 00:19:04.450 --> 00:19:07.809 you a couple pictures. I have a friend that some 00:19:07.809 --> 00:19:09.329 of you know, and I've had some struggles with 00:19:09.329 --> 00:19:12.009 my back. And, you know, I did all the kind of 00:19:12.009 --> 00:19:14.930 things you could do and found out during church 00:19:14.930 --> 00:19:16.609 service, a guy came up and he was kind of the 00:19:16.609 --> 00:19:19.529 big guy. He looked like he could still play linebacker 00:19:19.529 --> 00:19:22.950 for Michigan State. And that's what he did. And 00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:25.410 he's a doctor and he's a physiatrist. He's a 00:19:25.410 --> 00:19:29.069 pain doctor. And he said, you know, I think I 00:19:29.069 --> 00:19:31.309 could be of some help. He goes, you know, a couple 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.869 years ago I let it go, but I was the doctor for 00:19:33.869 --> 00:19:35.869 the 49ers and I was the doctor for the Sharks. 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:37.869 I'm thinking, well, those guys have a lot of 00:19:37.869 --> 00:19:40.869 pain. This could be really helpful. And so, you 00:19:40.869 --> 00:19:43.369 know, we kind of became friends and I got this 00:19:43.369 --> 00:19:45.990 epidural and, you know, he shot stuff in my back 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:47.690 and the first time it really worked and really 00:19:47.690 --> 00:19:50.579 helped. And, you know, you can't have... someone's 00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:52.240 sticking needles in your back that if he misses, 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:54.519 you're like paralyzed without becoming friends. 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:58.680 And so one, he was really good, and we got talking, 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:02.059 and hey, why don't we have coffee? And at our 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:04.619 church, one of the things we do with everyone 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:07.339 who comes, we talk about discipleship, becoming 00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:09.220 a Romans 12 Christian. We have a book called 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:12.019 True Spirituality. So every visitor, anyone who 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:13.839 comes, we always give them that book to say, 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.490 you know, it's just a gift, but... This is the 00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:18.569 kind of Christians we want to be. We're very 00:20:18.569 --> 00:20:20.430 imperfect, and we're going to be messed up like 00:20:20.430 --> 00:20:22.809 you, and we all have our struggles, but this 00:20:22.809 --> 00:20:27.150 is the kind of people we want to be. And so I 00:20:27.150 --> 00:20:28.670 said, hey, Bob, you got that? He goes, no, I 00:20:28.670 --> 00:20:30.130 don't think I ever pick one up. So I gave that 00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:32.509 to him, and he read some, and then we'd have 00:20:32.509 --> 00:20:37.309 coffee, and how are you doing? And so I realized 00:20:37.309 --> 00:20:43.990 Bob was a cultural Christian. He was smart, wealthy, 00:20:44.210 --> 00:20:47.009 good -looking. Lived in the very, very nice part 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:53.730 of town and came to church semi -regularly. Sort 00:20:53.730 --> 00:20:55.670 of, if you grade it on the curve, a better moral 00:20:55.670 --> 00:20:59.849 person, much nicer than most people. And yet 00:20:59.849 --> 00:21:03.309 I sensed, you know, I don't think Bob has a personal 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:08.269 relationship with God. And so he read that book 00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:10.269 and then he said, can we get coffee? I said, 00:21:10.289 --> 00:21:13.359 sure. He read about being surrendered to God 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:16.420 and separate from the world's values. And he 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:17.880 said, you know, he said, he read it. I said, 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:19.759 I've read it twice. And he goes, and then I started. 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:21.380 He goes, you know, I've never done this before. 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:23.420 He goes, could you tell me, is there like a, 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:25.400 this is really a big book. Is there, is it a 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:27.900 place to start? So I gave him one and, you know, 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.900 so he starts reading the Bible. And so this is 00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:33.019 now two years, you know, you know, and he'll 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:34.920 just say, hey, I'm ready for coffee. And he'll 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:37.119 name the spot and we'll go there. And I just 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:40.400 got with him recently. And I'll never forget 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:44.740 one day. And this is a good guy. He goes, you 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:47.660 know, if anybody would ask me, are you a Christian? 00:21:47.859 --> 00:21:50.200 I would have said yes. Are there any big issues 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:53.119 in your life? I would have said no. And he had 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.420 this phrase, I'll never forget it. He goes, you 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:57.480 know, there's a really big difference between 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.920 being a church -going Christian and a word -centered 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:03.940 Christian. I'd never heard anyone use it, a word 00:22:03.940 --> 00:22:06.680 -centered Christian. I said, well, Bob, what 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.240 do you mean? I mean, this is a really smart, 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:11.750 esteemed. doctor. I said, well, what do you mean 00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:14.710 by that? He goes, well, man, I thought I was 00:22:14.710 --> 00:22:19.190 good. And he goes, man, I look back. I mean, 00:22:19.230 --> 00:22:21.869 the idols in my life, the idols of success, the 00:22:21.869 --> 00:22:24.170 idols of money, the idols of do I look good, 00:22:24.210 --> 00:22:26.289 the idols of what people think, the idols that, 00:22:26.369 --> 00:22:29.410 I mean, I had a crazy life, but I wanted to be 00:22:29.410 --> 00:22:33.150 the 49ers doctor, you know? And then he says, 00:22:33.230 --> 00:22:34.910 you know, my family and his guys, what happened 00:22:34.910 --> 00:22:37.990 to dad? He said, I read the Bible every single 00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:40.420 day now. And he goes, every single day, it's 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:43.339 just like God actually speaks to me, a regular 00:22:43.339 --> 00:22:46.640 person. And here's his line. Isn't it amazing? 00:22:47.059 --> 00:22:51.640 I was absolutely convinced I was okay doing the 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.480 right thing and following the God that I perceived. 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:58.519 And this is a line. I was completely deceived. 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:05.200 Wow. And this is like a really intelligent person. 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:12.170 You see. It's not about how smart we are. It's 00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:17.269 about really being honest with yourself. I read 00:23:17.269 --> 00:23:22.150 again a little word from Dallas Willard because 00:23:22.150 --> 00:23:25.410 I think sometimes when we talk about this, part 00:23:25.410 --> 00:23:27.930 of our minds can go to, I want to keep the lights 00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:31.170 on and there's these powers. And that's true. 00:23:31.490 --> 00:23:36.279 But I think we so miss the way... About 90 % 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:39.640 of all the enemies work. In this one little paragraph, 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:43.160 I think Dallas says it. He says, God always looks 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:46.480 at the heart for two reasons. First, our heart 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.099 is the source of our actions in life. Remember 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:52.759 Proverbs 4 .23, watch over your heart with all 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:56.740 diligence. Why? For from it flow the issues of 00:23:56.740 --> 00:24:00.119 life. But more important here, second, our thoughts 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:15.819 are where Satan... So this is the arena where 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:20.180 Satan focuses his tasks. It's all so very, very 00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:24.079 subtle. It's not like weird things. He says, 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:26.660 again, I remind you, human beings cannot be forced 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:30.440 to do evil, nor can they be forced to do good. 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:34.920 They must choose to do evil or good. Well, how 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:38.460 do they choose? Listen carefully. By being persuaded 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:40.839 that one course of action is better than the 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:45.279 other. So Satan works upon the heart through 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:49.140 the mind as he did with Eve and as he still does 00:24:49.140 --> 00:24:52.700 today. And I just share that because I think 00:24:52.700 --> 00:24:56.240 it's so important for us to get a sense of the 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:59.589 subtlety. and where the battle is, and not make 00:24:59.589 --> 00:25:02.950 it about weird creatures or all the scary movies 00:25:02.950 --> 00:25:06.069 or all the images that come to your mind. And 00:25:06.069 --> 00:25:11.170 the application here for me is Psalm 139, verses 00:25:11.170 --> 00:25:16.509 23 and 24. I would like to say I pray this daily, 00:25:16.589 --> 00:25:20.109 but I pray the Lord's Prayer or Psalm 23 almost 00:25:20.109 --> 00:25:22.809 every single morning just as I'm waking up. I 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:24.710 just know that the very first thing that I allow 00:25:24.710 --> 00:25:27.660 to go into my mind and... And there's something 00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:30.759 about, you know, and when I pray the Lord's Prayer, 00:25:30.940 --> 00:25:34.039 because, you know, I knew it growing up. I mean, 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:36.079 I could pray the Lord's Prayer in probably under 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:39.539 10 seconds thinking about whether Magic Johnson 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.619 or Larry Bird was on at 2 o 'clock or 4 o 'clock 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:44.759 in the afternoon. Our Father who art in heaven, 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:46.079 hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:48.940 be done on earth. Right? That's not exactly what 00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:52.880 I think Jesus had in mind. But I do think when 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:58.000 you pray, Lord, search my heart. Psalm 139, 23, 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:01.940 and 24, David is a man after God's own heart, 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:04.240 and what I love about this is that he's a man 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:09.299 after God's own heart despite incredible failure. 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:13.160 See, we tend to think that God always looks at 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:16.559 our history, and I think God looks at the intent 00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:19.220 of our heart. We mess up, and when we're humble 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:21.380 and genuine and vulnerable and ask for forgiveness, 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:25.279 he is a God who loves. We don't have to twist 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:29.480 his arm for him to be merciful. He longs to not 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:32.559 give you what you deserve. He longs to give you 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:35.480 grace. He longs to do what is ever necessary 00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:38.759 to forgive and to restore and to pull his children 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:42.140 back close to him. But the prerequisite is that 00:26:42.140 --> 00:26:46.339 we're honest. See, the spiritual armor, as unfancy 00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:49.059 as it sounds, the spiritual armor, you know what 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:52.640 the belt of truth is? Being honest with God and 00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:55.240 honest with yourself. and honest with others. 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:59.339 It's nothing more. It's nothing less. And so 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:02.920 it's knowing. Here's the thing. It's so funny 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:06.220 when we talk about being deceived. When you're 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:11.779 deceived, guess who doesn't know it? We kind 00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:13.519 of forget that. I mean, when you're deceived, 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:15.180 it's not like, oh, wow, I got to really work 00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:17.960 on this deception stuff. This deception is really 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:20.180 messing with my life. When you're deceived, you 00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:24.990 don't have a clue. And so he prays, search me, 00:27:25.089 --> 00:27:29.069 O God, and listen to his words, and know my heart. 00:27:30.029 --> 00:27:33.569 Test me and see if there be any anxious, any 00:27:33.569 --> 00:27:36.990 division, or any wicked way in me, and then lead 00:27:36.990 --> 00:27:40.589 me in the everlasting way. That's the very end 00:27:40.589 --> 00:27:44.089 of Psalm 139 where he says he knows God has intricately 00:27:44.089 --> 00:27:46.869 made him. He knows God is before him and behind 00:27:46.869 --> 00:27:50.750 him. He knows God is aware of all things. There's 00:27:50.750 --> 00:27:53.069 no playing games with God. There's no positioning. 00:27:53.250 --> 00:27:55.410 There's no bargaining. And he just comes really 00:27:55.410 --> 00:27:59.049 humbly and says, I just want to be real. I just 00:27:59.049 --> 00:28:01.390 want to be honest if there is anything that I 00:28:01.390 --> 00:28:03.970 don't see. In fact, in another psalm, David, 00:28:04.109 --> 00:28:06.130 it's interesting. He says, forgive me for these 00:28:06.130 --> 00:28:08.670 things. And then he says, and forgive me for 00:28:08.670 --> 00:28:11.200 any presumptuous sin. In other words, I'm sure 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:13.740 I've messed up other places that I don't even 00:28:13.740 --> 00:28:15.359 know about. Could you forgive me for them as 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:20.980 well? And you might jot down Psalm 34, verse 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:24.140 17, and it goes on to verse 18. But this has 00:28:24.140 --> 00:28:28.180 been such a comfort to me. The Lord is near to 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:31.420 the brokenhearted, and he saves those that are 00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:36.720 crushed in spirit. Psalm 145, 18 says, the Lord 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:40.680 is near to those who call upon him. to all who 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:44.279 call upon him in truth. For years and years, 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:46.160 I felt somehow like when I really did something 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:49.200 wrong and I thought wrong and I had lust over 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:51.539 here and I did this here and I lied about that. 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:53.799 And, you know, as a good Christian, of course, 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:56.539 that, okay, now I've got to sort of, I've got 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:58.559 to feel really bad for a while and I won't read 00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:02.000 my Bible for a couple of days. And God's going, 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:05.799 Chip, do you think any of that surprised me? 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:10.900 Just. Just come the millisecond that you get 00:29:10.900 --> 00:29:14.619 real. The millisecond that you say, oh, God, 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:17.160 I don't want to be like that. And here's the 00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:20.099 deal. You own it. You know what the word confession 00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:24.980 means? It means to acknowledge. It means I gossiped 00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:29.509 about her. shaded the truth, and I presented 00:29:29.509 --> 00:29:31.710 myself like this, and the truth is I was really 00:29:31.710 --> 00:29:36.049 like that. I made myself out to be the hero of 00:29:36.049 --> 00:29:39.329 that story, and that was just all about me. And 00:29:39.329 --> 00:29:42.559 you know, when you see that, isn't it ugly? But 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:44.920 what happens, it's so painful to see, our temptation 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:47.259 is to push it down, push it down, push it down. 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:50.900 And you know, like a thin little layer followed 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.279 by another thin little layer, followed by another 00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:56.000 thin little layer. Pretty soon, your relationship 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.299 with God, the light, it gets more and more opaque. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:02.039 And then instead of being an authentic, genuine 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:05.230 follower, you start faking it. And you know, 00:30:05.309 --> 00:30:06.950 if you've been around the game for a while, you 00:30:06.950 --> 00:30:09.170 know a few verses, throw out a praise the Lord 00:30:09.170 --> 00:30:11.430 here, read the Bible now and then. You've got 00:30:11.430 --> 00:30:14.029 five or six verses that can keep you going. And 00:30:14.029 --> 00:30:18.309 you can kind of, right, all the while while your 00:30:18.309 --> 00:30:23.130 soul is shrinking. And the enemy, you're neutralized. 00:30:24.789 --> 00:30:28.190 You're neutralized. And that was the goal. And 00:30:28.190 --> 00:30:30.009 then you don't feel worthy of praying, right? 00:30:30.490 --> 00:30:32.630 Then you don't feel worthy of being used. Then 00:30:32.630 --> 00:30:34.630 you don't feel worthy. So here's the thing. The 00:30:34.630 --> 00:30:38.430 enemy is so shrewd. He gets you deceived, and 00:30:38.430 --> 00:30:40.849 then we mess up, and then he condemns you for 00:30:40.849 --> 00:30:43.750 messing up. But he's the one who tempted you 00:30:43.750 --> 00:30:45.910 to do the very thing that's wrong. You know, 00:30:45.970 --> 00:30:49.750 he's got a real business going on, and it's been 00:30:49.750 --> 00:30:53.269 very, very effective. So the first step is to 00:30:53.269 --> 00:30:58.890 be honest. I think this is the most challenging. 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:03.940 Because it's often painful and it leads to brokenness. 00:31:05.359 --> 00:31:10.500 But brokenness is where we meet God. It's where 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:14.160 you experience his compassion. By the way, when 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:16.740 the Spirit, or sometimes, obviously, he uses 00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:19.299 people. This is a little thing I put a little 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:22.859 asterisk for me. If I'm deceived, it would be 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:25.140 nice if we had a little light on the dashboard. 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:27.440 that when you were being deceived, it would go 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:29.240 beep, beep, beep, beep. Or you're like when our 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:32.140 car's back up. You know, I like these cars now, 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:33.900 you know, because I get carried away. I'm thinking 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:35.240 about something and putting it in reverse. Beep, 00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:38.240 beep, beep, beep. Boy, I'm glad I didn't hit 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:44.779 them. Here's a little beeper for me. Just write 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:48.500 the word defensiveness. When someone says something 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:51.259 to you, When you're praying and you feel sort 00:31:51.259 --> 00:31:53.839 of a little barrier come up, when you're defensive, 00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:55.940 when you have to explain your behavior, when, 00:31:56.059 --> 00:31:58.740 oh, that's not really true. The moment I'm defensive, 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:03.339 it tells me, you know what, Chip? There's probably 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:06.299 a little something to this that you need to take 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:10.019 a look at. Doesn't mean it's all true. But the 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:14.640 moment you find yourself defensive. You know 00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:16.900 the position God is looking for? He's looking 00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:23.480 for a man or a woman who... Remember when Samuel 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.480 was a little boy and he went to the prophet and 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:30.160 he didn't know what was going on? And the prophet 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:31.680 said, I'll tell you what, Samuel, here's what 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:34.519 you do. The next time you hear that, you just 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:37.640 go back in there and say, speak, Lord. Your servant 00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:40.680 is listening. And God may speak to you through 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:43.599 someone you don't like. God may speak through 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:46.900 a boss that really is unfair. God may speak through 00:32:46.900 --> 00:32:50.279 circumstances. But when you start to feel that, 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:52.680 I think that's the response. Lord, speak to me. 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:59.640 I want to be open. And then the devil uses a 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:05.259 second strategy. You've put on the belt of truth, 00:33:05.420 --> 00:33:08.720 second, and having put on the breastplate of 00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:12.710 righteousness. This was made of bronze. If you 00:33:12.710 --> 00:33:14.930 were a more affluent officer, it was a chain 00:33:14.930 --> 00:33:18.230 mail. If you've seen one of the Gladiator movies, 00:33:18.410 --> 00:33:20.150 you know the shield, the round shield that they 00:33:20.150 --> 00:33:22.950 have? That's not the shield. This is a shield 00:33:22.950 --> 00:33:25.990 that went from the neck down to the knees, and 00:33:25.990 --> 00:33:30.730 it had a hook on both sides. This was the most... 00:33:30.970 --> 00:33:33.769 formidable fighting machine on the face of the 00:33:33.769 --> 00:33:36.230 earth. And so what they would do is they would 00:33:36.230 --> 00:33:38.750 be in long, long rows and they would put the 00:33:38.750 --> 00:33:40.869 shield here and they had a helmet on and they 00:33:40.869 --> 00:33:43.069 would hook up together and they would just march 00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:46.089 in mass. And we'll learn about the shield. It's 00:33:46.089 --> 00:33:48.029 interesting, the shield was actually made in 00:33:48.029 --> 00:33:50.670 such a way that when an arrow came in, they left 00:33:50.670 --> 00:33:54.490 the gap so a fiery arrow could come in and there 00:33:54.490 --> 00:33:56.450 would be a gap of air so it would extinguish. 00:33:57.130 --> 00:34:00.569 And so what he's saying is... this breastplate 00:34:00.569 --> 00:34:04.250 of righteousness that would be in front of them. 00:34:04.509 --> 00:34:08.030 And then the shield would be the faith that we'll 00:34:08.030 --> 00:34:11.170 talk about a little bit later. But this breastplate 00:34:11.170 --> 00:34:14.289 that's underneath all of that, it's the upright 00:34:14.289 --> 00:34:16.570 living. It's the integrity in one's lifestyle 00:34:16.570 --> 00:34:19.670 and character. It's conforming our will to God's 00:34:19.670 --> 00:34:23.820 will. And again, We already are righteous positionally, 00:34:23.820 --> 00:34:26.500 chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Ephesians, but this is 00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:29.500 talking about practical righteousness, the application 00:34:29.500 --> 00:34:32.659 of truth to our lives. And so the darts are going 00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:34.179 to come in, and we're going to learn about the 00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:36.099 shield of faith, but he's saying you have to 00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:38.900 protect your heart. This is the breastplate. 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:45.539 This is what went over your heart. This is Living 00:34:45.539 --> 00:34:48.369 on the Edge with Chip Ingram. You've been listening 00:34:48.369 --> 00:34:50.369 to part one of Chip's message, How to Prepare 00:34:50.369 --> 00:34:53.170 Yourself for Spiritual Battle, from our series, 00:34:53.369 --> 00:34:56.130 The Invisible War. Chip will be back shortly 00:34:56.130 --> 00:34:58.570 to share some helpful application for us to think 00:34:58.570 --> 00:35:01.269 about. Right now, there's a spiritual battle 00:35:01.269 --> 00:35:04.170 happening all around us. We can't see it, but 00:35:04.170 --> 00:35:06.769 it's an epic struggle for our hearts and minds. 00:35:07.030 --> 00:35:09.969 So what are we as believers supposed to do? Well, 00:35:09.969 --> 00:35:12.210 through this eight -part study, Chip shares some 00:35:12.210 --> 00:35:15.349 insights from Ephesians chapter 6 for how we're 00:35:15.349 --> 00:35:18.710 to think about, prepare for, and respond to spiritual 00:35:18.710 --> 00:35:21.869 warfare. Learn why we don't have to be afraid 00:35:21.869 --> 00:35:24.369 because of the armor God's given us to fight 00:35:24.369 --> 00:35:27.210 back and fight well. To learn more about this 00:35:27.210 --> 00:35:31.510 series, visit livingontheedge .org or the Chip 00:35:31.510 --> 00:35:34.199 Ingram app. Well, Chip's back in studio with 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:36.280 me now. And Chip, you know, a lot of people coming 00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:38.920 into this series may have thought spiritual warfare 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:41.820 is more prevalent on the mission field or in 00:35:41.820 --> 00:35:44.800 notable churches or ministries. But as you've 00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:47.340 been teaching us so far, our battle against Satan 00:35:47.340 --> 00:35:51.219 is much closer than we may realize. Well, that's 00:35:51.219 --> 00:35:54.000 absolutely right, Dave. And where it's happening, 00:35:54.179 --> 00:35:57.389 and I think... It's going so unnoticed. It's 00:35:57.389 --> 00:36:00.269 inside people's homes. It's that moment when 00:36:00.269 --> 00:36:03.030 one kid goes one direction, another goes another 00:36:03.030 --> 00:36:05.809 direction, and they turn on screens or they open 00:36:05.809 --> 00:36:09.659 up their phone. And messages and lies and comparison 00:36:09.659 --> 00:36:13.179 and all the things bombarding. It's a movie here. 00:36:13.300 --> 00:36:15.219 It's someone at school that says this to your 00:36:15.219 --> 00:36:18.340 kids over there. Lies that tell them you're not 00:36:18.340 --> 00:36:20.840 good enough. You don't measure up. Life's not 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:24.059 worth living. We're living in a day where 30 00:36:24.059 --> 00:36:27.780 % of female middle schoolers have considered 00:36:27.780 --> 00:36:32.199 suicide. There is a real battle. And parents... 00:36:32.710 --> 00:36:35.550 You need to not just say no and set boundaries 00:36:35.550 --> 00:36:38.289 around things that impact your kids. You need 00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:40.869 to teach them the truth. I want to encourage 00:36:40.869 --> 00:36:43.309 you to get the small group study, The Invisible 00:36:43.309 --> 00:36:45.909 War, what every Christian needs to know about 00:36:45.909 --> 00:36:49.409 Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. It's not 00:36:49.409 --> 00:36:53.150 scary. It's not weird. It's teaching your children 00:36:53.150 --> 00:36:56.989 of all ages you're in a battle. Here's the belt 00:36:56.989 --> 00:36:59.949 of truth. Here's how you guard your mind. When 00:36:59.949 --> 00:37:02.170 weird things happen or you don't understand, 00:37:02.510 --> 00:37:05.130 here's how you have authority in Jesus' name 00:37:05.130 --> 00:37:08.070 to deal with these things. Our kids are bombarded 00:37:08.070 --> 00:37:11.710 each and every day. We as parents need to equip 00:37:11.710 --> 00:37:15.090 them and teach them, have times around the table 00:37:15.090 --> 00:37:17.530 where we discuss what's going on in their lives, 00:37:17.650 --> 00:37:20.570 and teach them how to deal with the spiritual 00:37:20.570 --> 00:37:22.889 warfare they're facing. Let me encourage you, 00:37:22.909 --> 00:37:25.719 mom or dad. Take the time, make the commitment, 00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:28.539 get the small group, and do it with your family. 00:37:28.980 --> 00:37:31.940 To learn more about the Invisible War small group, 00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:35.880 go to livingontheedge .org. Join Chip in this 00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:38.400 vital study and uncover the biblical weapons 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:41.320 and armor we've been given to withstand Satan's 00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:44.679 attacks and stand victorious over him. Place 00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:46.960 your order for the Invisible War small group 00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:50.800 by visiting livingontheedge .org. App listeners 00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:53.980 tap special offers. Here again is Chip to share 00:37:53.980 --> 00:37:56.300 some additional application to what we heard 00:37:56.300 --> 00:37:59.900 today. So often when we think about Satan and 00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:03.619 demons, we think of TV shows and things moving 00:38:03.619 --> 00:38:06.519 and scary feelings. But the fact of the matter 00:38:06.519 --> 00:38:10.820 is that when Satan is doing his best work, we 00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:13.539 rarely know it because his number one tactic 00:38:13.539 --> 00:38:17.460 is deception. And deception by definition means 00:38:17.460 --> 00:38:20.539 you don't know or I don't know what's going on. 00:38:21.230 --> 00:38:23.730 Can I ask you to make a very specific application 00:38:23.730 --> 00:38:26.610 today? I'd like you to open your Bible, listen 00:38:26.610 --> 00:38:29.989 carefully to Psalm 139, and I want you to read 00:38:29.989 --> 00:38:32.170 that one psalm, but when you get to the very 00:38:32.170 --> 00:38:35.590 end, pray the prayer. Pray the prayer that David 00:38:35.590 --> 00:38:37.730 prayed. Search me, O God, and know my heart. 00:38:38.190 --> 00:38:41.610 Test me and see if there be any hurtful or wicked 00:38:41.610 --> 00:38:44.409 way in me. And as we close today, ask yourself, 00:38:44.570 --> 00:38:48.239 could it be you're deceived about yourself? or 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:50.900 about the character of God? Could you be deceived 00:38:50.900 --> 00:38:54.139 about your work relationship, a marriage relationship? 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:57.119 Could it be that you think that things are going 00:38:57.119 --> 00:39:00.199 in one direction, but God wants to show you there's 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:02.920 a blind spot in your life? Today's application 00:39:02.920 --> 00:39:07.860 is, Lord, show me the truth. He will always respond 00:39:07.860 --> 00:39:10.500 to this prayer. Today could be a breakthrough 00:39:10.500 --> 00:39:14.199 day in your life. Pray the prayer, search me, 00:39:14.260 --> 00:39:17.000 O God, and know my heart, and he will answer. 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:20.380 That's right, Chip. Great reminder. We'll listen 00:39:20.380 --> 00:39:22.599 to next time as Chip picks up in his series, 00:39:22.739 --> 00:39:25.760 The Invisible War. Until then, I'm Dave Drewy 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:27.960 saying thanks for joining us for this edition 00:39:27.960 --> 00:39:29.639 of Living on the Edge.