The Armor of God 1: The Belt of Truth
Scripture lesson: Ephesians 6:10-18
Key verse: John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
- Some things are true in every circumstance, for every person,
- no matter what.
- Knowing the truth is the foundation of your spiritual protection
- Seven truths for Christians that will protect you and set you free
1. I have loved you
with an everlasting love – Jeremiah 31:3
2. Like a roaring lion
your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone
to
devour – 1 Peter 5:8
3. All scripture is inspired
by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in
righteousness – 2 Timothy 3:16
4. God makes all things
work together for good for those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose – Romans 8:28
5. God is faithful, and
he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with
the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may
be able to endure it –1 Cor.10:13
6. The one who is in you is
greater than the one who is in the world – 1 John
4:4
7. Let us therefore approach
the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in time of
need – Hebrews 4:16
The Armor of God 2: The Breastplate of Righteousness
Scripture lesson: Daniel 6:1-28
Sermon key verse: Proverbs 29:6 Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.
Righteousness doesn’t mean sinless perfection,
it means being in good standing with God
Three aspects of righteousness:
- A gift of God - 2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Received by faith - Romans 4:5 People are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.
- Demonstrated in our lives - Ephesians 4:24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness—righteous, holy, and true.
Like body armor, righteousness protects you when you are attacked
- Righteous thoughts protect you from temptation – 2 Corinthians 10:5 Take every thought captive to obey Christ.
- Righteous acts protect you from accusation – 1 Peter 2:12 Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God.
- Righteous relationships protect you from pressure – Proverbs 12:26 The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.
- A righteous lifestyle protects you from stress – Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.
Keep your body armor in good repair
- It’s never too late to lose righteousness - Ezekiel 18:24 If righteous people turn to sinful ways and start acting like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their previous goodness will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
- It’s never too late to choose righteousness - Ezekiel 18:21 If wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.
The Armor of God 3: The Shoes of Preparation
Scripture lesson: Ephesians 2:1-10
Key verse: 1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
· Spiritual preparation is spiritual protection
- Understanding the peace and hope of the good news will protect you from deception and doubt
- Experiencing the peace and hope of the good news will protect you from anxiety and despair
- Being ready to explain the peace and hope of the good news will protect you from embarrassment and feeling like a spiritual failure
· Understand the good news, from Ephesians 2:1-10
- We were all born with an evil nature, and we lived accordingly (1-3)
- Living that way puts on the wrong side of God (3)
- God loved us just the way we were, but he loved us too much to leave us that way (4)
- God gave his son Jesus to die in our place, so we can live in him (5; John 3:16)
- As far as God is concerned, we are already sitting in heaven (6)
- God loves to show off how much he loves us (7)
- We can’t take credit for any of this, it’s an undeserved gift from God (8-9)
- Now we can do the good things God has planned for us (10)
· Experience the good news for yourself, by the spiritual ABCs
- A – Admit you can’t do it yourself
- B – Believe Jesus died in your place and rose to give you new life
- C – Commit yourself to follow Jesus, by the help of God’s Holy Spirit
· Be ready to explain the good news, by your own experience
- Write out your story of what God means to you
- Practice telling your story
- Ask God to give you opportunities to share your story with people who need to hear it
The Armor of God 4: The Shield of Faith
Scripture lesson: 1 Kings 18:16-39
Sermon key verse: Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
· Faith basics
- What is faith? – Hebrews 11:1
- Where do you get faith? – Romans 12:3
- How do you use faith? – 1 Kings 18:16-39
- How do you increase faith? – Romans 10:17
· The shield of faith
- Faith stops the devil’s arrows
- Faith puts out their fire
· When the devil shoots fire arrows at you, protect yourself by choosing faith
- When the arrow is doubt, put your faith in God’s love. “Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts.”
- When the arrow is deception, put your faith in the truth you’ve been taught instead of the seductive new lie
- When the arrow is temptation, put your faith in God’s lasting goodness instead of quick gratification
- When the arrow is accusation, put your faith in God’s grace and forgiveness instead of your feelings of guilt and condemnation
- When the arrow is fear, put your faith in God’s power and faithfulness instead of endless “what-ifs”
- When the arrow is circumstances, put your faith in God’s plan for your life instead of what seems to be happening
· The first and most important faith is putting your faith in Jesus
The Armor of God 5: The Helmet of Salvation
Scripture lesson: Philippians 1:20-25
Sermon key verse: Matthew 10:28 Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
· All the devil’s weapons attack our minds
o Fear
o Accusation
o Temptation
o Deception
o Circumstances
· God has given us a special piece of armor to protect our minds: the helmet of salvation
o 2 Timothy 1:7 protects us against fear
o Romans 8:1 protects us against accusation
o 1 Corinthians 10:13 protects us against temptation
o John 16:13 protects us against deception
o Philippians 4:11-13 protects us against circumstances
· The way you use your helmet is by taking control of your thoughts
o Romans 12:2
o 2 Corinthians 10:5
· The helmet of salvation protects against the devil’s strongest weapon, fear of death
o When Jesus rose from the dead he defeated death for himself and all his followers
o For the Christian, death is just the doorway to heaven
o Salvation gives holy boldness
o What could you do for God if you knew you couldn’t be killed?
The Armor of God 6: The Sword of the Bible
Scripture lesson: Luke 4:1-13
Key verse: Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8
o Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations, not by divine power, but by quoting the Bible
o This book of the law – The principles of the Bible rule creation
o shall not depart from your mouth
o Discuss it with Christians
o Tell it to non-Christians
o Quote it to the devil
o but you shall meditate on it
o Think about it
o Dig out the treasures
o Figure out ways to apply it to your life
o so that you may be careful to do – The Bible is for doing
o according to all that is written in it – Follow the whole Bible, not just bits and pieces
o for then you will make your way prosperous
o To prosper means to have all you need
o God has given you the means to make your way prosperous, if you will use it
o and then you will have success.
o Success means accomplishing your purpose
o God has given you the means to be successful, if you will use it
The Armor of God 7: The Radio of Prayer
Scripture lesson: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30
Key verse: 1 John 5:14-15 We can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for.
· As soldiers of God, prayer is our means of requisitioning supplies and calling in help
- God wants us to succeed in our mission – Joshua 1:8
- God wants to provide what we need to succeed – Hebrews 4:16
- God will not interfere until we ask him to – Ezekiel 22:30-31
· Steps to operating your prayer radio
- 1. Be joined to Jesus – John 15:7
- 2. Determine God’s will concerning the specific situation – 1 John 5:14-15
- 3. Come boldly to God – Hebrews 4:16
- 4. Ask for what you need in the authority of Jesus’ name – John 14:13-14
- 5. Believe that your prayer is being answered – Mark 11:24
- 6. Thank God for his answer, even before you see it – Philippians 4:6
- 7. Keep the channel open – 1 Thessalonians 5:17