but seven -part study on 1 Thessalonians. I hope
that you men will register today in the lobby
and will plan to be with us. Last week you received
some idea worksheets. I want to remind you how
important it is that we receive those back so
that we can hear from all of you as to your ideas.
Some wonder how does this fit in with Project
2000, which we're involved in. Well, it's a part
of Project 2000, which is an overarching kind
of... of name, Preparing Our Church, a program
preparing our church for the turn of the century.
What we're involved with here is a three -year
part of that. Last year, about the same time,
we did have some small group meetings in homes
and here at the church in various places, and
some 300 of you shared ideas regarding the church.
But now we're giving the opportunity for everybody
to do that in a written form. And you will notice
that this particular series of worksheets focuses
on dreams and ideas regarding the development
of our ministry. So it's a little more focused
than last year's assessment was. It's made available
to everybody here. Of course, last year's was
too, but only 300 part took. But I'm hoping that
hundreds more will take advantage of this opportunity
to have input into the future direction of our
ministry here. We need to have those back today,
if at all possible. If you cannot get it in today
and leave it at the information desk, then would
you please mail it in so we'll get here by Wednesday
of this week or bring it on Wednesday night.
It's vital that we have those, and I want to
thank you in advance for your good participation.
Today we're going to resume our study in Ephesians
chapter 6 as we think about the spiritual warfare
in which we are involved. Today we'll begin looking
at the armor of God, and we're going to focus
especially on chapter 6 of Ephesians, verses
13 and 14. Therefore take up the full armor of
God, that you may be able to resist in the evil
day. and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins
with truth, and having put on the breastplate
of righteousness. God's word declares explicitly
that every genuine Christian is involved in spiritual
warfare. That is true whether or not he or she
may be aware of it. Each of us is carefully scrutinized
by our enemy in order to gain some advantage
over us so that he might destroy our life's effectiveness
and potential. Our enemy is the devil. The devil
is a fallen angel of the highest created order.
He is a personal being who is not deity, but
who nonetheless desires to be worshipped. That
is his great desire, his all -consuming desire,
that he might be worshipped. The devil controls
the flow of human history, the affairs of nations,
the development of culture, and all of that within
the boundaries which God has established for
him. The devil works through a host of evil spirits
who rebelled with him and were cast out of heaven.
He attacks the believer with a vicious hatred.
He is opposed to anyone who is identified with
the Lord Jesus Christ. The realm of our warfare
is the heavenlies. It says in verse 12, our struggle,
that is our hand -to -hand combat, our wrestling,
is not against flesh and blood. That word struggle
is a very potent one. I suppose that most of
us have seen wrestling matches from time to time.
I'm not talking about the... dramatized form
that you see on Saturday evenings on television.
I'm talking about the real thing where athletes
grapple with each other. And the contest is based
upon skill, strength, and even trickery. The
purpose of it is to gain advantage over one's
opponent. This word says that you and I are in
a hand -to -hand arm -to -arm, face -to -face
combat or wrestling match with Satan. He refers
here to the powers of Satan, the rulers, the
powers, the world forces of this darkness, the
spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places. There we have identified the sphere of
our warfare. It is not in the material realm.
It's in the immaterial realm, the realm of spiritual
things called the heavenlies in the book of Ephesians.
That is where the realm of our warfare is. Now,
in light of this truth that we are at war, we
are instructed in verse 10 to be strong in the
Lord. To be strengthened or to be empowered in
the Lord. We are not left to our own feebleness
in this warfare. If we were, God help us. We
would be immediately overcome. But we are able
to be strong in the Lord and in the power of
His might which He provides for us. We are told
to put on the full armor of God in verse 11.
The full armor there and in verse 13 again is
the word panoplia in the original language. It's
an armor that God has fully provided everything
that we need. And he says to us that we are to
stand firm against the crafty methods of operation
of the devil. He says stand firm in verse 11.
Stand firm in verse 13. And stand firm. In verse
14. In verse 13 again he says resist. The idea
is that you and I are to hold our ground. The
picture that Paul paints here is not of an army
that is marching forward so much as one that
is guarding vital territory. And the army is
to stand firm in its place and wield its weapons
carefully and effectively. against the enemy.
We are to resist the devil. This suggests to
us that each one of us as believers has a vital
assignment from the Lord. He has given us, as
it were, territory in His work, in His kingdom,
for which we are responsible. We have an assignment
from him as soldiers. He has said to us, guard
this. And you and I are to stand firm against
this wily, crafty enemy who is already upon us
in a hand -to -hand combat. We are to stand firm
against his advances. God has placed us and gifted
us in his work, in his body. according to His
sovereign plan for us. It is not a mistake, I
trust, that you are a part of Grace Church Roseville.
It is not a mistake that you have the gifts,
the spiritual gifts that you have. God has prepared
you for the work that He's called you to do.
He has gifted you for that work. He has given
you everything you need to be... a victorious
soldier of Jesus Christ. And so he says, be strong
and stand firm. Resist the spiritual enemy. But
to stand in our place in the midst of this battle
is possible only by putting on the armor of God
which he has provided for us. Keep in mind that
in this battle we do not battle for victory,
but rather we battle from victory. That is an
important concept to write upon your mind. We
do not battle for victory because our Lord has
already won the war. He did that at the cross
and at the empty tomb. The battle is over. It's
finished. But there are still skirmishes going
on. There are still little battles that are being
fought here and there, which you and I can claim
for Jesus Christ because he has won the victory.
It says, thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ always
leads us in his triumph march. You see, he's
already won, folks. That battle is over. The
final victory has already been declared. And
now we're in this mopping up campaign. And you
and I are to go at that campaign recognizing
that our Lord has won the victory. And as we
stand against the enemy, we are standing on victorious
ground already. You say, well then the victory
is automatically ours. Well, not really. Although
we battle from a position of victory which Jesus
Christ has provided for us, we nonetheless have
a responsibility to do our part. We are to make
the necessary preparations on our part, so that
we might experience victory in the battles in
our own lives. He tells us here that we are to
put on the armor. We are to appropriate the armor.
Many there have been of God's people, even spiritual
leaders, soul winners, teachers, authors. who
have fallen in the battle because they did not
realize the strength or the subtlety of the enemy,
or because they failed to appropriate the armor
God has provided. There is not a one of us who
can stand in his own strength. Even though we
stand on the ground of victory that God has provided,
we dare not ignore the armor that God has given
us. to put on and to appropriate. If we do, we
do so at our own peril. Consider with me, if
you will, the armor pieces that we are commanded
to put in place. This morning we will look at
the two that are found in verse 14. There are
four other pieces of armament that we will look
at in the future. The first piece of the armor
that is suggested to us in verse 14 is the belt
of truth. He says, having girded your loins with
truth. Regarding this picture of the Roman girdle
or belt, we have this helpful word from the linguistic
key to the Greek New Testament. The Roman soldiers
wore one of at least three wide belts or girdles.
The breech -like leather apron worn to protect
the lower abdomen, or the sword belt which was
buckled on together with the sword as the decisive
step in the process of preparation of oneself
for battle, or the special belt or sash designating
an officer or high official. And so there were
three different kinds of belts that might be
worn. It seems to me that he is talking here
about the most essential or foundational one,
and that is the breech -like leather apron that
was worn by the Roman soldier. This leather belt
protected the loins, the intestines of the soldier.
Because it was made of a thick kind of leather,
it provided protection. It also provided strength
for the mid part of the body, the back. In addition
to that, it provided a place for the soldier
to pick up the tunic, which was a common uniform,
to tuck the tunic into so that his legs would
be free from that flowing cloth. He was able
then to be flexible and mobile to move about
in his warfare. It seems to me that that is the
belt that Paul has in mind as he writes about
the belt of truth. It is that part that guards
the loins or the intestines of a person. Now
he says here that we are to put on the belt of
truth. The belt of truth. Now in what sense is
this belt one of truth that we are to put on?
What does that mean? Well it can mean on the
one hand what is true. That is objective truth.
The content of something. Paul has spoken earlier
in this very book about the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. He is talking there
about revealed truth that God has given to us
in Jesus Christ and in this book. And of course
that truth is very important. This truth that
is in Jesus Christ, this truth that is found
recorded in this book, is the opposite of falsehood.
It is the antidote to lies. It is the protection
against deceit. And of course, lies, deceit,
falsehood, those are some of Satan's chief weapons.
He is a liar and the father of lies, said the
Lord Jesus Christ. One of his chief tools is
the lie. He loves to deceive, to trick. He is
very cunning. The devil is the greatest salesman
there is of falsehood. Look at all the people
in the world who are following after it. The
Bible, the truth of God, is a weapon against
lies. I don't think, though, that that's what
Paul is talking about here. He's going to talk
about the truth of the Word of God as our sword
a little bit later on. So as important as truth
is in an objective sense, in the sense of content,
of the revelation of God, I don't think that's
what Paul means here. Rather, I think that Paul
is thinking here of the belt of truth in the
sense of what is truthful. It's a subjective
aspect of truth referring to one's own character.
He is saying here that if we are going to defend
ourselves against the enemy, we have to be truthful
people. Our character must be one that is characterized
by truth. integrity, honesty, lack of hypocrisy.
What makes us more vulnerable than living a lie?
What makes us more open to the attack of Satan
than hypocrisy in our lives? How much like Satan
it is when we hide things in our lives and are
unwilling to be honest and truthful. I believe
that Paul is telling us here that you and I need
to have this character quality of truthfulness
about us if we are going to be successful in
defending the ground that God has given us for
our responsibility. If we are going to be soldiers
who are going to stand against the devil, we
have to be people of integrity. And ladies and
gentlemen, there is a crisis of integrity in
the evangelical world these days. How recently
we are reminded of that. The world around us
snickers. It laughs. It mocks. Because of some
of God's soldiers who have lacked integrity and
honesty. I believe this is what David was praying
about in Psalm 51 when he said to the Lord, Thou
desirest truth in the innermost being. He is
talking about our hearts being transparent. Open.
Honest. I believe that there is nothing that
will equip us better to ward off the attacks
of Satan than being transparent with people,
being honest. Not pretending to be something
we aren't. Ananias and Sapphira. pretended to
be something that they were not. And Satan filled
their hearts. And they lied to God. We are left
vulnerable, folks, to Satan when we have things
in our lives that we're lying about or we're
hiding. I believe it is important for all of
us to have someone or some ones to whom we can
be completely honest about ourselves. Satan has
a stranglehold in our lives. When we have areas
of our lives that we hide in shame or we cover
up, because of embarrassment. When we allow areas
like that to develop in our lives and to exist
there for periods of time, it gives Satan a wonderful
opportunity against us. He defeats us from the
very start. And what's the answer to that? It
is to find someone that we trust, that we love,
that we know, and who in turn loves us and knows
us, to whom we can just open up ourselves and
say, you know, here is an area of life where
I need your prayers. I want to be honest with
you about something. If you and I are going to
stand in the battle against Satan, we have to
put on, first of all, number one, the belt of
real gut honesty, real truthfulness about ourselves,
about our weaknesses, our battles. When you can
come to the place of being honest and transparent
with another person, You are going to be amazed
at the steps forward which you will make spiritually.
It will absolutely thrill you to see how that
will loosen Satan's grasp on you. The steps of
victory that will come to your life as a result
of simply being open with someone else. Sin seems
to especially have power over us As long as it
is hidden and suppressed in our lives, when we
take the lid off, suddenly the power drains from
it. And it's not quite the battle that it was
before. Now, I do want to say this. You can't
be open with everyone. I'm not suggesting that.
But find someone. your ministry pastor in your
small church, a trusted counselor, friend, one
of the pastoral staff, an elder, your wife, your
husband. Find someone with whom you can be honest
because, folks, that is the very first piece
of equipment that the Apostle Paul mentions for
the Christian soldier. The belt of being truthful.
in the innermost being, being transparent. The
character quality of integrity and honesty. Let
our lives ring with reality. And I tell you,
all of hell will shudder because of the piece
of armor that is suddenly put upon you that will
make you victorious in your battle. And then
he mentions the breastplate of righteousness.
The Greek word here is thorax. The breastplate
was that which protected the vital organs between
the shoulders and the loins. It was usually a
piece of molded metal or a male or mesh of chain
or perhaps a mesh of small overlapping metal
rings. The purpose of it was to protect the heart
and the lungs of the soldier. The apostle tells
us here that the breastplate for us, which accompanies
the girdle or belt of truth, is the breastplate
of righteousness. Now, is he talking about the
righteousness that is imputed to us when we trust
Jesus Christ? Is he talking about our righteous
position before God, given to us as a gift because
we trusted in Christ who died for us and rose
again? I don't believe that he is. Because that
is something that we always have. It's the very
ground upon which we walk. It's our imputed righteousness,
our righteousness in Jesus Christ. Rather, I
believe he's talking here about... the righteousness
of sanctification, practical righteousness, holiness
of life, a quality of lifestyle that reflects
one's right relationship to God. He is not talking
about self -righteousness. That's based upon
pride and self -sufficiency. If one is self -righteous,
he is vulnerable to the enemy. But he is talking
about genuine righteousness in one's lifestyle.
Doing and being what is right and pleasing to
the Lord. Being a holy person in that sense.
We are instructed in the Word of God to eagerly
pursue righteousness. Not the righteousness of
justification, but the righteousness of sanctification.
We are told to pursue it. with vigor and with
energy, with eagerness. I'd like you to turn
over to Titus chapter 2 for just a quick moment
as we see some important words of Paul as he
writes to this brother in Christ. And he says
in chapter 2 and verse 11, The grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing
us. to deny ungodliness and worldly desires,
and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly
in this present age, looking for the blessed
hope and the appearing of the glory of our great
God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself
for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless
deed and purify for himself a people for his
own possession, zealous, for good deeds. He tells
us that now in this present age, you and I are
to do some things. The grace of God that saves
us also teaches us, in the first place, to deny
some things. If you and I are going to live righteous
lives, there is a negative side to that. We must
deny some things in our lives, things that are
ungodly. In other words, things that leave God
out of the picture. It's like the un -cola, ungodly,
no place for God. And we must also, he says,
deny worldly lusts. That is those strong passions
that are a part of the world system around us.
The lusts or the passions that control unregenerate
people. We are to deny those things. But he says
on the positive side, we are to live sensibly,
using the brains that God has given to us. We
are to live righteously, there's our word, and
godly. In other words, God is to be included,
not left out. Notice in verse 14 he says it's
for this very reason that Christ gave himself
for us, that he might make us his own people.
He is in a very special sense of people who are
zealous for good deeds. Oh, my friend, it will
set you apart from the enemy's attack. It will
defend you and me when we live righteously. Right
there in that world of the office building where
you work. There in the neighborhood, there in
the factory, there in the classroom. There in
your home. Live righteously. Do what pleases
God. Include God in it. Be sensible, sober. Deny
what is the passion of the world. Deny what leaves
God out. Set it aside and live in a way that
is holy to the Lord, pleasing to the Lord. Because
you're His. His in a very special sense. He's
purchased you. The breastplate of righteousness.
Would you protect your heart? Would you protect
your lungs? You don't live long without those.
Nor can we live long without righteousness in
our lives. So how do we do that? First of all,
I believe we have to become sensitive to sin.
I believe we have to open our hearts to God and
ask Him to expose any sin in our lives. As we
sang earlier, search me, O God, try me. See if
there be any wicked way in me. And if God indeed
exposes something to us, then to be quick to
acknowledge it and to repent of it. But then
we live righteous lives. By understanding and
grasping the truth of our union with Jesus Christ
and learning how to appropriate the victory over
sin that he has provided. That's what we're talking
about on Sunday nights. We continue tonight regarding
this matter of the victory that Jesus Christ
has provided for us through his death and resurrection
and our union with him. Do you know what that
means? That is a truth. the knowledge of which
is essential to the Christian. We cannot put
on the breastplate of righteousness unless we
understand how God has provided for us to live
righteous lives in this present world. That's
the truth of Romans chapter 6. Let me assure
you that Satan will take every advantage of you
that he can. He has an amazing ability to make
things seem attractive up front. He is able to
hide the payoff. About a week ago, my wife went
out to our garage, and there she looked at a
plate with a piece of apple pie on it that she
had been preserving. You know, one of the wonderful
things about wintertime in Minnesota is that
your freezer capacity expands tremendously. Have
you noticed that? I've had to put a heater out
by my freezer to keep it warm in my garage. You
can put something in the garage and it will be
preserved for months. But this piece of apple
pie, she noticed, was disappearing. And it wasn't
me. This time. And there were, well, shall we
just say, other evidences there that indicated
that this was a little creature that had adopted
our garage as its home. Now, I'm an animal lover,
but that's not an animal. That's a pest. And
so the other day, I went down to the hardware
store and picked up a trap. And I went in, I
put a little bit of peanut butter on that trap.
Oh, that smelled good. If you like peanut butter,
it just makes your mouth water to smell it. And
so I smeared it around that trap, and it just
filled the whole kitchen where I put it on. Then
I took it out in the garage, and I set the trap,
keeping my fingers out of the way. And I slipped
it there on the ledge, which I thought was the
runway. And I waited, and it took about two hours,
and I went out. The trap had done its work. That's
just the way Satan is. He puts the peanut butter
on the trap, and it looks so good and tempting.
And so often we're just like that mouse. We want
what's being offered. And we forget to look at
the trap. Do not be a soldier who falls into
a trap. They're set and they're custom designed
just for you because the enemy knows you. Stand
firm. Begin by a transparent, honest inner being.
And then put on that breastplate of righteousness.
And we'll talk further about the rest of the
armor that God has provided too. Let's bow together.
My friend, what needs to be your response this
morning? Do you have on the belt of truthfulness?
Or quite frankly, are you hiding something in
your life? Is there a lie that's being protected?
I warn you, I warn you, you will be defeated
by the enemy and you will fall in the battle.
This is not an option. If you are aware today,
of some lack of integrity in your life. You must
deal with that today. You dare not put it off
any longer. You may have already stepped into
the trap. If it hasn't snapped yet, it will,
I guarantee you. But you may have yet time to
step back. Will you talk to God about that? Will
you open up to some friend, someone who can trust,
who loves you? There are those kind, you know.
There really are. Is your life characterized
by righteousness? Are your vital organs being
protected by a holy life in this present world?
Father, thank you for searching out our hearts
today, even as we prayed that you would earlier.
Now we want to be faithful to do our part and
to respond to you. Thank you that you are a God
who pardons. You are a God who cleanses and justifies.
Lord, there are some soldiers here this morning
who are wounded. some who are in trouble. I pray
that you will cause all of your soldiers to be
strengthened today and protected today by the
armor that you've provided. In Jesus' name, amen.