WEBVTT 00:00:01.019 --> 00:00:07.839 So if he's in six And let's just read these first 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.060 few verses here beginning in 10 Finally be strong 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:13.939 in the Lord and in the strength of his might 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:16.519 Put on the full armor of God so that you will 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:18.800 be able to stand firm against the schemes of 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.660 the devil For our struggle is not against flesh 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:23.640 and blood but against the rulers against the 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:26.239 powers against the world forces of this darkness 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:29.160 Against the spiritual forces of wickedness in 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.809 the heavenly places Therefore take up the full 00:00:31.809 --> 00:00:34.250 armor of God so that you will be able to resist 00:00:34.250 --> 00:00:37.130 in the evil day And having done everything to 00:00:37.130 --> 00:00:40.030 stand firm stand firm therefore having girded 00:00:40.030 --> 00:00:43.570 your loins with truth And having put on the breastplate 00:00:43.570 --> 00:00:48.789 of righteousness and so on there So we've talked 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:51.869 here about being strong in the Lord we've talked 00:00:51.869 --> 00:00:56.670 about The reason the need for it because of our 00:00:56.670 --> 00:01:01.219 adversary because of all of the forces that seek 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:05.579 to harm us and to cause us to sin, to stray. 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:08.519 And so this evening then we're going to talk 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.400 about putting on the full armor of God. So in 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:13.780 verse 11, Paul says, put on the full armor of 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:17.480 God so that you'll be able to stand firm. And 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:20.579 then in verse 13, he says, therefore take up 00:01:20.579 --> 00:01:23.319 the full armor of God so that you will be able 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:31.260 to resist in the evil day. This idea of standing 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:34.739 firm or resisting that's he mentions that in 00:01:34.739 --> 00:01:37.000 a few things and so we'll deal with that But 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.939 that's that's an important issue there that Paul 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:43.120 seems to be stressing for us is the need to stand 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:47.859 and to resist But first here he says to put on 00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:53.760 or to take up the full armor of God and so The 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.739 idea there of taking up is to take up in order 00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:59.140 to use all right, so that's an important thing 00:01:59.450 --> 00:02:03.930 We're not just to have this not just to have 00:02:03.930 --> 00:02:09.050 this armor Sitting in the closet sitting there 00:02:09.050 --> 00:02:12.689 on our our mannequin looking real nice and pretty, 00:02:12.770 --> 00:02:17.949 you know a nice Set of whatever kind of armor 00:02:17.949 --> 00:02:23.009 you want But it's to be used okay, so that's 00:02:23.009 --> 00:02:25.830 important that we keep that in mind we see also 00:02:25.830 --> 00:02:28.490 here that it's a command Paul doesn't say it's 00:02:28.490 --> 00:02:30.469 a good idea to do this if you have time, but 00:02:30.469 --> 00:02:33.569 it's a command, it's some clear instruction to 00:02:33.569 --> 00:02:36.969 take up to put on this armor. And of course we 00:02:36.969 --> 00:02:41.729 know, right, that the reason is we're in a warfare, 00:02:42.009 --> 00:02:44.550 we're in a battle, and we know that our enemy 00:02:44.550 --> 00:02:47.849 is fierce, our enemy is ferocious, and the armor 00:02:47.849 --> 00:02:53.090 is for protection, right? It's for protection, 00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:56.050 but it's also for what? All these things that... 00:02:55.870 --> 00:02:58.110 paul is going to mention here it's for our protection 00:02:58.110 --> 00:03:06.789 but it's also we could say defense and offensive 00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:10.550 offense right there's both aspects here to this 00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:14.370 armor so if you think of you know the breastplate 00:03:14.370 --> 00:03:16.289 the breastplate of righteousness what's that 00:03:16.289 --> 00:03:19.150 for that's so when you're hit there in the in 00:03:19.150 --> 00:03:23.229 the chest you don't die the helmet of salvation 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:25.979 the helmet again that's what it's for but what's 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:30.580 that sword for that's to go on the offense right 00:03:30.580 --> 00:03:33.759 to go against something to wield the sword in 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:36.719 a way to strike a blow against someone else or 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:40.180 something else right so both aspects there of 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:43.379 of this armor that it's used for it's used in 00:03:43.379 --> 00:03:49.159 offense and it's used in defense now he says 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:53.050 to stand What comes to mind why does Paul say 00:03:53.050 --> 00:03:55.509 stand? Why does he say resist what comes to our 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:58.590 minds when we hear this? Command to stand to 00:03:58.590 --> 00:04:09.250 stand firm to resist Okay active posture in other 00:04:09.250 --> 00:04:16.730 words Okay, we're not sitting Okay, we're ready 00:04:16.730 --> 00:04:19.329 for something right we're ready to do something 00:04:19.709 --> 00:04:21.949 So there's a lot of athletes here in the room, 00:04:21.949 --> 00:04:26.410 I know. And so we often talk about having an 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:29.629 athletic stance, right? Why? Because you want 00:04:29.629 --> 00:04:31.689 to be ready for something. You want to be ready 00:04:31.689 --> 00:04:34.470 to do something. Talk about getting in position, 00:04:34.649 --> 00:04:36.689 right? It's the same idea, that's what Paul's 00:04:36.689 --> 00:04:39.730 saying. He's saying stand, in other words, be 00:04:39.730 --> 00:04:43.930 ready. Be ready to do something. Whatever that 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:50.399 might be. Be ready. So again, what can we say 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:52.500 the opposite of that is I think it's always helpful 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:55.399 to think of okay being ready But what's not being 00:04:55.399 --> 00:05:19.589 ready? What does that look like? Completely caught 00:05:19.589 --> 00:05:22.949 off guard and you're not in position. You don't 00:05:22.949 --> 00:05:25.089 even know what's going on. That kind of stuff. 00:05:25.569 --> 00:05:26.930 Right. So that's the opposite, right? That's 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:29.069 what we don't want to be. We don't want to be 00:05:29.069 --> 00:05:31.949 those who are surprised at the attack of the 00:05:31.949 --> 00:05:34.689 devil or some temptation or whatever it might 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:37.930 be. We don't want to be caught off guard. We 00:05:37.930 --> 00:05:40.670 don't want to be sitting down. Again, now if 00:05:40.670 --> 00:05:43.250 you think of this in warfare, right? That's what 00:05:43.250 --> 00:05:44.750 we're dealing with here. Paul's talking about 00:05:44.750 --> 00:05:46.949 a warfare. He's talking about soldiers and their 00:05:46.949 --> 00:05:50.860 armor. In a war, it doesn't do you any good to 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:53.240 just be sitting there and not paying attention. 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:56.480 By the time the enemy comes, what happens? You're 00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:58.680 dead. It's over, right? There's no real battle 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:02.839 there. You've failed. And so that's what Paul 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:05.399 is trying to get across to us. That's one thing 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:08.560 here that we need to remember. It is imperative 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.319 that we are ready and that we're always ready, 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:18.439 okay? I forget who was that said this, but the 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:21.040 Christian warfare here, this battle, it's not 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.560 as though we put this armor on, we get it, we 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:26.959 get it, we put it on, and then at some point 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:30.379 during the day, or at night, we're gonna set 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:32.399 it aside and then we're gonna pick it back up 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.899 the next morning. That's not the idea here. The 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:39.220 idea is that we're always having, we're always 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:43.240 prepared, we're always ready. When does Satan 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:47.970 attack? When does he strike? I wrote down a few 00:06:47.970 --> 00:06:50.550 things here, if I can find them in my notes. 00:06:59.769 --> 00:07:05.930 At home, at work, at the store. How about during 00:07:05.930 --> 00:07:08.569 the meeting? Here we are sitting at the meeting. 00:07:08.709 --> 00:07:11.870 Are there any? Is this the time to let our guard 00:07:11.870 --> 00:07:14.209 down? Is this the time when we don't need the 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:20.420 Army? Or are we vulnerable here as well? Right? 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:24.120 We often think this is a safe place, but are 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.540 we complacent while we're here? Is our mind wandering? 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:28.899 Are we thinking about things that we shouldn't 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:31.839 be thinking about? While we should be thinking 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.959 about what's being preached or what's being sung 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:37.620 or the testimony or the prayers of the saints, 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.720 right? I mean, there's something easily, right, 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:44.889 during the time of prayer. How easy is it to 00:07:44.889 --> 00:07:49.329 just drift? Let your mind go. And before long, 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:52.750 you're thinking about who knows what. Certainly 00:07:52.750 --> 00:07:55.129 nothing to do with the Lord or the prayers of 00:07:55.129 --> 00:07:57.670 the saints. What have you done? You've let your 00:07:57.670 --> 00:08:01.050 guard down. And the enemy has taken full advantage 00:08:01.050 --> 00:08:04.790 of that opportunity. So, there's no safe place. 00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:07.670 There's no safe place where we can say, ah, now 00:08:07.670 --> 00:08:11.189 I can just set the armor aside. Now I'm free. 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:16.730 Now I'm here, but no it's it's a continual always 00:08:16.730 --> 00:08:21.029 ready Driving watching TV sitting on your phone 00:08:21.029 --> 00:08:23.029 resting now some of these things are fine. These 00:08:23.029 --> 00:08:24.970 are good things to do, right? There's nothing 00:08:24.970 --> 00:08:28.050 wrong with sitting at home resting Get home from 00:08:28.050 --> 00:08:30.550 work. You're gonna rest. It's night. You've done 00:08:30.550 --> 00:08:32.409 whatever and you're gonna rest Maybe you're gonna 00:08:32.409 --> 00:08:34.330 watch some TV. There's nothing wrong with those 00:08:34.330 --> 00:08:36.950 things in and of themselves But do we let our 00:08:36.950 --> 00:08:40.009 guard down at that time? Are we are we mindful 00:08:40.009 --> 00:08:44.000 of what we watch? What we talk about while we're 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.200 sitting there resting all of those things Guarding 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:56.600 ourselves with this arm It's an always and always 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:09.620 an imperative that we have this armor So be ready 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:13.409 Be on the alert, right? We hear that. That's 00:09:13.409 --> 00:09:19.289 another passage there. Be alert, be on guard, 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:25.169 be ready. All right. The other thing Paul says 00:09:25.169 --> 00:09:28.590 here is put on the full armor or the whole armor, 00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:33.389 depending upon your translation. Again, another 00:09:33.389 --> 00:09:35.889 important thing to understand. As we go through 00:09:35.889 --> 00:09:41.090 these... Six or if you if you want seven things 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:45.990 that Paul mentions Can you just put on six of 00:09:45.990 --> 00:09:50.350 the seven or five of the seven is? That putting 00:09:50.350 --> 00:09:55.090 on the is that is that sufficient? Is that sufficient 00:09:55.090 --> 00:10:01.370 for us? No, that should be an obvious answer 00:10:01.370 --> 00:10:04.570 right Paul doesn't say Put on the full armor 00:10:04.570 --> 00:10:06.649 of God and what I mean by that is five out of 00:10:06.649 --> 00:10:08.549 the seven things I'm going to mention. That's 00:10:08.549 --> 00:10:15.190 silly. The full armor. So the idea there is without 00:10:15.190 --> 00:10:19.350 one, you're vulnerable. Without one, you're subject 00:10:19.350 --> 00:10:23.049 to die. Again, we think of a soldier and he goes 00:10:23.049 --> 00:10:28.190 out to battle with no helmet on. He's pretty 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:32.080 vulnerable. He's looking to get hurt. He goes 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:36.080 out there with everything on but his shoes. Again, 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:40.200 that's a bad place to be. What happens when you 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.059 come across the thorns and the thistles, the 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:44.740 rough ground and all these other things? You're 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:49.159 vulnerable. So you cannot go with just part of 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:53.759 it. It's not sufficient to go with most of the 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:56.179 arm. You've got to go with all of it. You've 00:10:56.179 --> 00:11:00.580 got to gird yourself with all of it. It's important. 00:11:01.870 --> 00:11:04.710 What else is important there that Paul says put 00:11:04.710 --> 00:11:08.590 on the full armor of God now I'll get back to 00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:14.210 that in a minute, but He doesn't say to put on 00:11:14.210 --> 00:11:18.710 the armor of God and some other things Okay, 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:21.710 so you can't not put on the full armor, but you 00:11:21.710 --> 00:11:24.789 can't say I've got the armor and some other stuff 00:11:24.789 --> 00:11:30.960 Okay, I forget who it was mentions how silly 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:32.600 it is to think that we're going to have armor 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:37.919 on top of armor. No, that's worthless, right? 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:41.039 You got two layers of armor, now you're just 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:45.480 bogged down. So, what do I mean by that? Well, 00:11:45.500 --> 00:11:48.879 how about the wisdom of the world? Right? Here 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.100 we have the armor of the Lord, the armor of God, 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:52.940 we're armoring ourselves with that, but we're 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:55.759 also going to take just a little bit of this 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:00.889 wisdom of the world to war. This spiritual warfare 00:12:00.889 --> 00:12:08.370 that we're engaged in you say what is that? There 00:12:08.370 --> 00:12:12.529 are some really bad ones out there that all sorts 00:12:12.529 --> 00:12:17.149 of religions take to themselves but We've mentioned 00:12:17.149 --> 00:12:19.009 a few of them. How about just thinking of our 00:12:19.009 --> 00:12:20.730 self -discipline and all those things that we 00:12:20.730 --> 00:12:23.870 said we're good to have and Thinking that's we're 00:12:23.870 --> 00:12:26.730 going to add that to our armor that because I'm 00:12:26.730 --> 00:12:29.500 disciplined because I'm this, that, or the other. 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:33.500 That's not it. Our trust is not in ourselves. 00:12:34.059 --> 00:12:36.500 Our trust is in God and His armor and His strength. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:40.059 Some other examples here, if you think of the 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:42.320 Catholic Church, right? What are all the things 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.259 that they do to protect themselves? Well, they 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:47.600 pray to the saints. They pray to Mary. They pray 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:50.539 to angels. They do all of these other things. 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.279 How about those who would seclude themselves 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:54.960 from the world, thinking, well, if I can draw 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:58.889 away from the world, and just live by myself, 00:12:59.190 --> 00:13:02.370 now I'm protected. Now I'm on guard against all 00:13:02.370 --> 00:13:05.129 of these other things. Well, that's again, contrary 00:13:05.129 --> 00:13:08.830 to scripture and that's adding to this armor. 00:13:08.909 --> 00:13:12.509 That's not what we're called to do. That's not 00:13:12.509 --> 00:13:18.750 gonna help us as we war in this battle. Battle 00:13:18.750 --> 00:13:21.710 in this war. So all of those types of things 00:13:21.710 --> 00:13:25.610 that we would think are good that really aren't. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.320 These things that we're going to rely upon apart 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:33.179 from God things in our own strength or our own 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:37.200 wisdom and understanding So we must have the 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:43.000 whole armor and nothing else and Then it is God's 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:47.360 armor So this is this is something that God has 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.120 supplied for us That should be a great encouragement 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:53.379 to us, right? The Lord has not called us out 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:57.070 of this world and set us in this battle against 00:13:57.070 --> 00:14:02.429 a powerful enemy and has not equipped us. He 00:14:02.429 --> 00:14:05.730 has equipped us for the battle. He has equipped 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:12.990 us with all that we need. Think about that. Think 00:14:12.990 --> 00:14:16.870 about the fact, again this is a fact, that we 00:14:16.870 --> 00:14:26.539 have all that we need. Whatever may come. Okay 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:29.539 What are some of these things we have we'll just 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:31.879 put this freedom here So that we're reminded 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:34.059 of and then we'll talk about them. We might get 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:39.419 to one tonight so being girded girding our loins 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:43.759 with truth the breastplate of righteousness Our 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.820 feet shod with the preparation of the gospel 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:52.440 of peace the shield of faith The helmet of salvation 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:56.159 and the sword of the spirit and all prayer So 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.000 in all those things there and we'll flush some 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:00.720 of those that will flush those things out as 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:04.299 we go on here Do we think that those are sufficient? 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:09.919 Are those sufficient for the warfare? Will those 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.379 be enough to win the battle? The daily battle 00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:16.720 that we find ourselves in Will those be enough? 00:15:19.150 --> 00:15:22.690 It's easy for us to say yes surely we can all 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:26.990 say well obviously it's enough Can we agree on 00:15:26.990 --> 00:15:30.350 that? Do we think it's enough? Everybody's looking 00:15:30.350 --> 00:15:36.610 at me like they're not sure It is but do we act 00:15:36.610 --> 00:15:43.289 in that way So do our actions Are our actions 00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:48.190 the same as what we testify to believe okay? 00:15:49.669 --> 00:15:53.289 Pain, hurt, depression, disappointment, failure, 00:15:54.509 --> 00:15:56.269 thoughts and feelings, all of these things come 00:15:56.269 --> 00:16:01.610 against us. Temptations to sin. Is the armor 00:16:01.610 --> 00:16:05.750 sufficient that we could overcome all of those 00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:09.330 things? Are we able to overcome discouragement, 00:16:11.029 --> 00:16:16.549 failure, hurt, and pain that we experience in 00:16:16.549 --> 00:16:20.519 this world? from loved ones from from the world 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:26.679 itself is the armor sufficient for that or Does 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:29.120 it cut the blow does it cut us so deep is the 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:33.740 blow so severe that? We're done We're laying 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:38.940 on the ground Debilitated and dying there so 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:42.659 to speak or is this armor when we take it up 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:48.279 and we use it sufficient So often we're looking 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:50.899 for something else. We're looking to other things. 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:53.500 We're not looking to God. We're not looking to 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:56.860 Christ. We're not looking to the one who overcame. 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:00.299 We talked about that. Be strong in the Lord. 00:17:00.460 --> 00:17:05.259 Why can we be strong in the Lord? Because Christ 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:08.359 has overcome. Christ has conquered. He is the 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:11.640 conquering King. He is reigning. He is ruling. 00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:14.839 He has risen from the grave. We are confident 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:17.730 that we will be with Him and that we will be 00:17:17.730 --> 00:17:22.670 in glory. Do we live in that reality or do these 00:17:22.670 --> 00:17:27.029 things of this life and the failure? I mean, 00:17:27.450 --> 00:17:37.230 we've all failed. Yet, what? Christ has overcome 00:17:37.230 --> 00:17:41.349 all of those things. We are free. We have been 00:17:41.349 --> 00:17:45.400 forgiven. We have been justified. And so we're 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:49.319 not failures in that sense. We're righteous. 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:52.740 We're pleasing to the Lord. We're loved by God. 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:57.079 Or are we failures? What do we think there? Which 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:02.799 one is it? So often we live, again, maybe temporarily, 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.980 maybe it's for a day, maybe it's for a few hours, 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:10.480 as failures. And we allow that to overcome us. 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:15.309 But the armor protects against that. The armor 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:19.569 gives us a right view. It causes us to think, 00:18:19.569 --> 00:18:24.630 I'm not a failure. I'm loved by God. I can repent. 00:18:24.670 --> 00:18:27.950 I can move on. I can be strong. I can overcome 00:18:27.950 --> 00:18:30.650 this. I'm going to get back up by the power of 00:18:30.650 --> 00:18:32.690 the Lord and I'm going to move on. I'm going 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:36.410 to press on in my battle, in the warfare. Do 00:18:36.410 --> 00:18:38.890 we really believe that this armor is sufficient 00:18:38.890 --> 00:18:43.250 for us? We should. We should lay hold of it. 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:48.839 and use it for our good, for our benefit in this 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:53.279 world. So, it's the armor of God. He's given 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.619 it to us because it is necessary and because 00:18:56.619 --> 00:19:03.940 it is sufficient to wage war in this world, these 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:10.660 spiritual battles that we engage in. Any comments 00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:16.609 or questions? Comments are just as welcome as 00:19:16.609 --> 00:19:22.089 questions. I was instructed last week to to say 00:19:22.089 --> 00:20:06.710 that as well Yes Sure, so give us the right mindset 00:20:06.710 --> 00:20:22.279 to set us back on the right path I was thinking 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:25.299 when you said anything, nothing but the hour. 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:29.880 Anything in addition, but I was trying to think, 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:34.319 well, where would that come from? Anything else? 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:39.400 And that would be that would be trying to fight 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:43.400 the devil with the devil. He's the one who wants 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.640 us to take, you know, rely on something besides 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:48.880 the Lord. Sure. He's screaming at in all those 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:51.000 places you were talking about. yeah from the 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:54.200 world and the world and the catholic church and 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:58.339 all the rest of the foolishness so that's how 00:20:58.339 --> 00:21:02.420 i mean it would be totally goofy to think that 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:04.519 we're going to fight the devil with the devil 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.220 and have any success yeah those were all his 00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:11.700 schemes and his wisdom that that we would be 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:29.460 engaging in Right no everybody who's not a Christian 00:21:29.460 --> 00:22:01.279 is is already fighting with the devil Sure Yeah, 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:07.420 absolutely And it's doubtfully gonna give that 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:10.440 attention and the time to leave more than likely 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:13.700 it's gonna be in preparation to the meeting that's 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:22.410 where he's gonna be stirring up and Yeah, yeah, 00:22:22.410 --> 00:22:25.390 I mean I've I've experienced that multiple times 00:22:25.390 --> 00:22:30.789 in my own life I Just remember I think I've shared 00:22:30.789 --> 00:22:33.890 this before but for years Bob and I used to just 00:22:33.890 --> 00:22:36.390 argue all the time No, it was in love. I mean 00:22:36.390 --> 00:22:39.289 it was a it was a discussion an argument. Whatever 00:22:39.289 --> 00:22:41.250 However, you want to think of it, but there's 00:22:41.250 --> 00:22:43.930 doctrinal things there and we were constantly 00:22:43.930 --> 00:22:46.319 going back and forth But Bob and I loved each 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:50.359 other, and there was never any doubt of that, 00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:53.359 really, except every now and then. I would allow 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:59.019 myself to, whatever, to think these thoughts 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:02.380 that the Satan would bring, that Bob doesn't 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:04.759 really have my good in mind, Bob's just being 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:07.339 stubborn, Bob's just this, Bob's just that, and 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:10.140 I would have to, and then it would be a difficult 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:12.299 thing. And then I'd have to go to the meeting 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:16.250 and meet with Bob. Try to worship with Bob now. 00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:19.809 How's that gonna work, right? But then I would 00:23:19.809 --> 00:23:23.210 realize this is not the this is not true. These 00:23:23.210 --> 00:23:26.750 are lies from Satan And then I would war against 00:23:26.750 --> 00:23:29.849 that and next thing, you know I'm able to worship 00:23:29.849 --> 00:23:32.450 with Bob and I'm loving Bob in the way that I'm 00:23:32.450 --> 00:23:35.250 supposed to be loving him Even though we disagree 00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:39.950 on some things. So yeah, and that's Constant, 00:23:39.970 --> 00:23:44.319 right? I mean, I hope we all realize that That 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:48.500 it's it's a constant battle to think properly 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:53.740 just of one another of your spouse your brother 00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:58.839 of your sister your friend Anybody in the church 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:02.420 meeting Right. I mean how many times have we 00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:04.940 done things to one another that you know, maybe 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:09.619 we didn't even think about These small piddly 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:12.119 things that next thing, you know, it's It's just 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:15.900 a weight on our mind. And it's a hindrance to 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:20.079 the worship. And we're angry with somebody. So 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:23.259 it's a constant battle. It's not just out in 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:30.099 the world, so to speak. It's everywhere. It's 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:35.900 everywhere. I mean, that's why Paul says, where 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:40.339 is it? Maintain the unity? That's in Ephesians 00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:56.059 here. Where is it? Yeah, being diligent to preserve 00:24:56.059 --> 00:24:58.380 the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:02.660 Again, the idea there, the truth there is there 00:25:02.660 --> 00:25:07.039 is unity and peace. But Satan seeks to destroy 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:09.519 it, and we need to be diligent to preserve it, 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:15.380 to keep it, to maintain this unity that we have. 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:19.220 So yeah, Satan seeks to destroy that at every 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:50.680 opportunity. Okay. So always being armed always 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:57.039 being sober village it alert Peter says I was 00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:01.680 reminded of this Christian and his Battle against 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:04.099 the Polly and he comes down into the valley of 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.980 humiliation as a hard time down there if you 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:09.740 remember slipping down the hill because he was 00:26:09.740 --> 00:26:13.279 a proud man That's the idea that we're told there 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:16.240 and then he wars with a Polly and then what's 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:19.670 his what's his stance the rest of the way through 00:26:19.670 --> 00:26:26.029 sword drawn he's ready okay that's the idea of 00:26:26.029 --> 00:26:30.150 being in this bat standing and resisting is we're 00:26:30.150 --> 00:26:34.730 ready i was i thought also of uh being out in 00:26:34.730 --> 00:26:37.769 the wind right if you've ever been in some really 00:26:37.769 --> 00:26:41.150 strong wind or like i think of us there's times 00:26:41.150 --> 00:26:44.019 we're sheeting a roof and you gotta Sheet of 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:46.200 plywood and the wind is blowing. What are you 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:49.920 doing? You have to be very intentional. You have 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:52.920 to resist the wind You can't just willy -nilly 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:55.160 just walk it up there or else you're gonna just 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:59.180 blow away literally But you have to resist it 00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:02.480 takes strength. It takes effort. It takes intention 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:09.420 and it is difficult and The sudden slightest 00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:14.470 wrong move and you're down That's the idea here. 00:27:16.069 --> 00:27:20.890 One small misstep and you're coming down. So 00:27:20.890 --> 00:27:24.730 it's imperative, it's important that we are diligent 00:27:24.730 --> 00:27:30.569 in our standing and our resisting. All right. 00:27:34.130 --> 00:27:58.099 Okay. So let's think about this next thing here. 00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:01.079 This is the first thing that we are to do here 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:11.039 Paul says to Stand firm Having girded your loins 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:19.619 with truth All right So girded loins We are to 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:26.670 gird our loins What does that mean? Anyone know 00:28:26.670 --> 00:28:31.109 what that means? Anybody ever thought about it? 00:28:32.509 --> 00:28:35.349 Think of it. Think of what Paul's talking about 00:28:35.349 --> 00:28:37.529 here. So in all of these things then that he's 00:28:37.529 --> 00:28:39.769 going to deal with, he's dealing with the soldiers. 00:28:40.589 --> 00:28:43.210 So think back to the day, what are we talking 00:28:43.210 --> 00:28:47.750 about? A Roman soldier, right? So it would be 00:28:47.750 --> 00:28:51.750 helpful to you if you looked up the Roman armor 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:55.299 from back in the day. You'll see what... All 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:57.240 of these things that Paul mentions are really 00:28:57.240 --> 00:29:00.400 talking about here. But the first thing he does 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:04.140 is he says to gird up your loins. And so the 00:29:04.140 --> 00:29:08.119 idea there is to prepare yourself for battle. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:11.039 So back in the day, they wore more of a long 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:14.259 tunic or a robe or something like that. And you 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:17.799 would gird that up. You would pull it up and 00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:21.000 you wrap it up so that your legs were free and 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:24.190 it wasn't. floating around to be caught on something 00:29:24.190 --> 00:29:28.569 or to hinder your legs from moving. And so that 00:29:28.569 --> 00:29:30.730 was the first thing that you had to do was to 00:29:30.730 --> 00:29:36.089 gird up your clothing there and be ready. So 00:29:36.089 --> 00:29:40.549 gird up your loins, he says. So the girdle it 00:29:40.549 --> 00:29:43.650 was a belt or a cord or a sash worn about the 00:29:43.650 --> 00:29:46.869 waist. The purpose of girding about the loins 00:29:46.869 --> 00:29:49.630 was to fasten the long robes worn in those days. 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:52.279 and to keep them up out of the way so they could 00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:54.539 freely move without tripping or stumbling on 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:57.740 them. So that's what he's talking about there 00:29:57.740 --> 00:30:06.599 when he says girding up. What are the loins? 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:12.000 Elsewhere it says gird up the loins of your mind. 00:30:12.579 --> 00:30:15.579 There's another verse about that, right? What 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:18.059 does that mean? Gird up the loins of your mind. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:25.940 Does your mind have loins? I heard him says waste. 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:35.619 There's your way. OK. Mine might say it too, 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:41.900 but. I've. Memorized, I think the King no mine 00:30:41.900 --> 00:30:47.579 says loans King James says lawns are waste. OK. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:31:04.539 All right, so what are our loins? Okay. All right, 00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:06.599 those are our loins, but what does Paul mean 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:09.759 when he says gird up your loins? Or when he says 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:11.859 gird up the loins of your mind? What's he talking 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:22.880 about there? The reason that this is put first 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:24.599 is because you have to do it before you do anything 00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:28.680 else. Because if you don't gird up story time, 00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:35.839 in third grade, we did a providence. We had a 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:38.980 Roman festival near the end of the year because 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:42.420 we started Roman history. And we made cardboard 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:46.500 box chariots. And we raced them by running. And 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:49.480 the guys were wearing togas. I don't know what 00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:51.609 the girls were wearing. But I didn't gird up 00:31:51.609 --> 00:31:54.789 my loins. And I tripped, and I still have a scar. 00:31:55.569 --> 00:31:58.089 So if you don't gird up your loins, you're going 00:31:58.089 --> 00:32:01.569 to trip. And if you do all this other stuff, 00:32:01.670 --> 00:32:03.369 you put on your breastplate, you put on your 00:32:03.369 --> 00:32:05.609 shoes, you get your shield, you get your helmet, 00:32:05.869 --> 00:32:09.170 you get your sword. But all that just to fall 00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:12.109 right out of the gate, or whatever, it's useless. 00:32:12.289 --> 00:32:13.930 And that's what the truth is. Because if you 00:32:13.930 --> 00:32:15.430 do all this other stuff and you don't have the 00:32:15.430 --> 00:32:18.210 truth, what's the point? You're not getting anywhere. 00:32:18.699 --> 00:32:20.319 You're pulling right in your face right off the 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:22.920 get -go. You know, that's kind of what I was 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:26.279 thinking. Okay, yeah, so if you think of the 00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:30.140 loins, it has to do with physical strength, right? 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:33.539 And so if you're girding up your loins, it's 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:36.579 just what Jake said. First of all, it is the 00:32:36.579 --> 00:32:38.480 first thing that had to be done before you put 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.519 your armor on. I think I said that. And then, 00:32:43.019 --> 00:32:46.799 yeah, what good is anything else, right? How 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:53.000 do you know what to think, what to do, if you 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:57.559 don't know the truth. Okay? That's imperative 00:32:57.559 --> 00:33:01.500 to know the truth. It's the center, the loins, 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:05.940 I wrote it down here, it's the center of physical 00:33:05.940 --> 00:33:08.220 strength and genitive power. So if you think 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:11.640 about that, physical strength, genitive power, 00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:15.460 that's the truth. That's where it all begins. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.950 That's where it all starts. That's where it's 00:33:18.950 --> 00:33:22.589 so central. So he says to gird up your loins 00:33:22.589 --> 00:33:26.890 with truth. That's the beginning. That's the 00:33:26.890 --> 00:33:30.250 first thing. All of these other things then build 00:33:30.250 --> 00:33:34.069 upon that. The breastplate of righteousness. 00:33:34.309 --> 00:33:36.809 You've got to know the truth. You've got to know 00:33:36.809 --> 00:33:41.130 what is true and what is not. You've got to know 00:33:41.130 --> 00:33:44.470 that the Word of God, the Bible, is the Word 00:33:44.470 --> 00:33:47.579 of God. And you've got to know what it means, 00:33:47.720 --> 00:33:50.380 what it says. And that what it says is truth. 00:33:51.140 --> 00:33:54.079 There can be no question in that. Or else we're 00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:56.779 just setting ourselves up for failure. We have 00:33:56.779 --> 00:34:00.420 no real basis for anything. Your truth, my truth. 00:34:01.099 --> 00:34:03.380 It's such nonsense, isn't it? It's amazing that 00:34:03.380 --> 00:34:07.599 people talk about my truth and your truth. It's 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:09.860 just so silly. But that's the world that we live 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:14.179 in. So we must have the truth. We must know the 00:34:14.179 --> 00:34:17.619 truth. Okay, it's not enough just to say I read 00:34:17.619 --> 00:34:21.099 my Bible. It's not enough. We've got to know 00:34:21.099 --> 00:34:26.579 the truth Wrote down to a few a few things here 00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:32.360 that we have to know I Didn't I didn't mention 00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:39.400 these earlier But the whole counsel of God so 00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:42.260 this is just a couple you have justification 00:34:42.260 --> 00:34:47.090 sanctification glorification all of the prophecy 00:34:47.090 --> 00:34:50.329 in Scripture, the history in there. Again, the 00:34:50.329 --> 00:34:53.550 history that we're given in Scripture is not 00:34:53.550 --> 00:34:56.349 just so that we know some history. There's truth 00:34:56.349 --> 00:35:00.130 given to us there through the history of Israel 00:35:00.130 --> 00:35:03.750 and the Church and all these other things. Teaching 00:35:03.750 --> 00:35:08.630 on marriage, family, children. These are all 00:35:08.630 --> 00:35:13.690 parts of the truth. We must know truth. We've 00:35:13.690 --> 00:35:16.099 got nothing to stand on. if we don't know the 00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:19.840 truth. And so it's the first essential part of 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:24.719 the armor. This girding up, preparing ourselves 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:29.019 for battle is knowing the truth. So girding up 00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:32.619 our loins, knowing the truth, girding our loins 00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:46.789 with truth. Another way to think of it here is 00:35:46.789 --> 00:35:53.489 as a foundation. So again, all those of us who 00:35:53.489 --> 00:35:55.989 build, you've got to have a solid foundation. 00:35:56.670 --> 00:35:59.909 You've got to have something to build upon. We're 00:35:59.909 --> 00:36:01.849 building a house right now. It's a nightmare. 00:36:02.869 --> 00:36:05.690 Because I don't have a solid foundation, literally. 00:36:06.429 --> 00:36:09.710 I'm missing some peers. And so I've got some 00:36:09.710 --> 00:36:12.829 stuff temped up. And I'm like, I can only go 00:36:12.829 --> 00:36:15.829 so far with this. Because it's not going to be 00:36:15.829 --> 00:36:18.250 solid. It's not going to be sure. It's not going 00:36:18.250 --> 00:36:22.510 to be trustworthy. How can I build upon this 00:36:22.510 --> 00:36:26.510 if it's not sure and sound and trustworthy? That's 00:36:26.510 --> 00:36:29.250 the truth. It's the foundation. It's the bedrock. 00:36:29.369 --> 00:36:33.010 It's the beginning of all things. So that's where 00:36:33.010 --> 00:36:35.829 we've got the beginning. That's what is essential 00:36:35.829 --> 00:36:56.570 for us. I'm not going to get into the breastplate 00:36:56.570 --> 00:36:59.130 tonight. So are there any other questions or 00:36:59.130 --> 00:37:12.610 comments? What did you say about there being 00:37:12.610 --> 00:37:15.110 a verse that says gird up your weight, your mind? 00:37:15.289 --> 00:37:17.829 The loins of your mind? Ah, that's in 1 Peter. 00:37:18.389 --> 00:37:23.210 1 Peter 1 something. I have it written down. 00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:36.519 I think it's 113. Did you say yeah, babe? Yes. 00:37:43.139 --> 00:37:45.340 Right, therefore prepare your minds for action. 00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:47.820 Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely 00:37:47.820 --> 00:37:50.920 on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation 00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:54.659 of Jesus Christ. So prepare your minds for action 00:37:54.659 --> 00:37:57.860 mine says King James says gird up the loins of 00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:05.300 your mind, right? So again the same idea there 00:38:05.300 --> 00:38:11.260 prepare yourself for action Prepare your minds 00:38:11.260 --> 00:38:25.010 for action. Yes What are you using All right, 00:38:25.110 --> 00:38:27.090 well no comments or questions