“THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOR: THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”

For many of us, the issue of protecting our hearts has been something we have mastered over years of practice, resulting from experiencing some kind of emotional trauma growing up. Perhaps you may still be experiencing it.  Anytime we’re involved in relationships we subject ourselves to the potential of abuse, especially verbal abuse!

   

You have probably wished, at some point in the past, that you were wearing armor to protect your heart from hurtful people.

    

It has been my experience that good, moral, well-meaning people are capable of anything given the right circumstance, even hurting those that they love the most!

    

Basically, what it boils down to is this: hurt people hurt people! Too often, people who are hurting attack those that are closest to them with a barrage of lies mingled with hurtful words.

    

I am sure that you remember growing up and hearing this saying on the playground: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me!”  I am here to tell you that that is just not true!  Words, especially lies about us, do hurt. They pierce right to the heart.

    

Where do those words, those lies come from? The Bible says that all lies originate with Satan himself.  He is known as “the father of lies”. So, anytime that we abuse someone by lying about them with insults, remember that you have just partnered with the great deceiver himself, Satan.

    

It has taken me a long time to understand who I am in Christ. And because I now understand who I am in Him, I no longer buy into the lies that Satan throws my way.

    

Jesus says that I am forgiven, that I have a new name and character. He says that He gave His life for me so that I may live. He says that I am a child of God who has been set apart for good works. He also says that I am righteous, not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus did for me on the cross.

    

Jesus is now my righteousness who helps me stand up against the fiery arrows that Satan throws my way. He and I can now stand against the devil’s schemes.

    

The devil often attacks our heart - the seat of our emotions, self-worth, and trust. God’s righteousness is the breast plate that protects our heart and ensures His approval. He approves of us because He loves us and sent His Son to die for us.

    

Come this Sunday and be encouraged by God’s wonderful Word to us. I look forward to seeing you in Worship Service. Enjoy the study!

OBSERVATION:  What do I see? Read- Ephesians 6:14b

   

The second piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. Every believer is clothed with the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), but he must also manifest integrity and uprightness in his personal life. Someone has said, “When a man is clothed in practical righteousness, he is impregnable. Word’s are no defense against accusation, but a good life is.” If  our conscience is void of offense toward God and man, the devil has nothing to shoot at. David put on the breastplate of righteousness in Psalm 7:3-5. The Lord Jesus wore it at all times (Isaiah 59:17)

    

The typical breastplate used by the Roman legions fell into four categories. Some were made out of leather and some out of  700 to 1,000 small interwoven rings per breastplate. High ranking officers sometimes had breastplates produced form two single pieces of molded bronze, one for the back and the other for the front. The two halves were tied together with short strips of leather in the back and front. Bronze, although not the strongest metal known in the first century had the advantage of being lightweight.

    

In this era, when hand-to-hand combat was almost always necessary, soldiers had to balance protection with ease of movement. The discomfort of the breastplate around the neck was usually softened by a woolen scarf.

    

The function of the breastplate was simple - to protect the soldier’s vital organs. In close and-to-hand combat the breastplate was essential for survival. No trained Roman soldier would venture into battle without it. If we start to believe that our own righteousness, effort, or good works can make us worthy of God’s protection, the advantage quickly changes to benefit our enemy. Our righteousness is worthless in the battle. We need to get our eyes of of ourselves and back on the provision of the cross and the righteousness that is found in a relationship with Jesus.

Q-What image comes into your mind when your read the word “breastplate”?

INTERPRETATION: What does it mean?

Q- What does “put on the breastplate of righteousness” mean to you?

APPLICATION: How does it apply to my life?

Q- How can you put on the breastplate of righteousness? Name three ways.

SUPPLICATION: Where do I need God’s help?

Q-In what way has Satan attacked your heart with false accusations, your emotions, self-worth and trust. Would you take a moment and pray trusting God with it?

“THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOR: THE BELT OF TRUTH”

They say that a sign of insecurity is seeing some old guy wearing both a belt and suspenders to hold up his pants!

    

We don’t understand the value and importance of a good belt until we don’t have one.

    

Many of you spent your summer months swimming as I did. I learned how to swim with the help of a bully uncle, pushing me into the “acequia madre” aka: main irrigation canal. The water was dirty, swift and treacherous and it was either sink or swim. I never took formal swimming lessons, but non-the less, with practice in the canals, I became a pretty good swimmer.

    

In my early teen years, I finally graduated to the public pools. Thank God for water you could actually see through! We looked forward to having my mom drive us to the pool, drop us off and pick us up about 4 hours later.

    

Since I was new to public pools, I had never jumped off anything higher than a tree stump, let alone a high diving board! I soon began gaining confidence by diving off the regular lower diving board and even started learning how to do some flips with my friend’s help and coaching. One day, I finally got up enough nerve to climb up the long ladder, step out to the end of the high dive board and after being coaxed and teased by friends, I took the plunge!

    

For a brief moment, everything seemed to be going smoothly until I hit the water, head first, in a near perfect dive. Suddenly I felt the water-force strip my trunks down to my ankles. There I was, thinking I was so cool with my “bare necessities” exposed. Thank God that my toes were able to hang on to my trunks and kept me from loosing them completely!

    

These were my very first pair of store bought swimming trunks. Prior to this, I used to cut off my old blue jeans into shorts and use them as swim trunks. I didn’t know that the string I had found to be such a nuisance was actually there to serve a specific purpose! The reason I lost my trunks is that I had neglected to tie a knot in the lace intended as the belt. I had not properly used the belt provided.

    

Belts are a very important part of our attire. They are one of the most functional pieces of our clothing. They help support:  holding things in and keeping things up.

    

As we continue our study in the book of Ephesians, we’ll be taking a closer look at chapter 6 verse

14, which says, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” and strive to understand why this belt is so important to us as Christians, answering 3 pertinent questions about the “belt of truth”: 1. What does the “belt of truth” look like? 2. How does it protect me against Satan? 3. How do I put on the “belt of truth”?

OBSERVATION:  What do I see? Read- Ephesians 6:10-14

Q-List three key words from v.14 that are examples of contrasts and comparisons and purpose and result words.

INTERPRETATION: What does it mean?

(v. 10) Paul is coming to the close of his Epistle. Addressing all the family of God, he makes a stirring appeal to them as soldiers of Christ. Every true child of God soon learns that the Christian life is a continual warfare. The hosts of Satan are committed to hinder and obstruct the work of Christ and to knock the individual soldier out of combat. The more effective a believer is for the Lord, the more he will experience the savage attacks of the enemy: the devil does not waste his ammunition on nominal Christians. In our own strength, we are no match for the devil. So the first preparatory command is that we should be continually strengthened in the Lord and in the boundless resources of His might. God’s best soldiers are those who are conscious of their own weaknesses and ineffectiveness, and who rely solely on Him. “God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27b) Our weakness commends itself to the power of His might.

    

(v. 11) The second command is concerned with the need for divine armor. The believer must put on the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand against the strategies of the devil. It is necessary to be completely armed; one or two pieces of armor will not do: nothing less than the whole panoply (complete or impressive collection of things) which God provides will keep us invulnerable!  The devil has various strategies he uses like frustration, discouragement, confusion, moral failure, and doctrinal error. He knows our weakest point and aims directly for it. If he cannot disable us by one method he will try another to defeat us!

    

(v. 14) The first piece of armor mentioned is the belt of truth. Certainly we must be faithful in holding the truth of God’s word, but it is also necessary for the truth to hold us! We must apply it to our daily lives. As we test everything by the truth, we find strength and protection in the combat.

Q-Paul uses the armor of a soldier to represent our spiritual strength for standing firm against Satan. What’s the analogy, the reality, and the meaning that Paul uses in (v. 14)?

    

APPLICATION: How does it apply to my life?

Q- On a scale of 1-10, (1: very low,10: very high), how would your rate your commitment to the truth? What needs to improve? How and when will you start?

SUPPLICATION: Where do I need God’s help?

Q-What practical change do you need to make to become a more effective soldier for Christ? Would you take a moment to pray and commit to Christ to begin TODAY to take the necessary steps to become more effective?

“PREPARING FOR SPIRITUAL BATTLE: THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOR”

As a kid, I loved pretending to be a Roman soldier. I remember picking up any- thing from my dad’s construction material pile at home and using it as a part of my “armor”. I recall one particular time when my cousins and I even built a fire to heat up some rebar beating it down flat to make some really neat swords. After crafting our armor and weapons, we then assigned sides and finally, the war began! Oh the trouble we got into in those days! The funny thing is, I still like swords, bows and arrows. I guess we never do out grow the kid still in all of us!

At that young age, I never knew about or realized that the day would come when I would give my life to Christ, enlisting to be a genuine commando in God’s army.  The moment I gave my life to Christ, Satan waged war against me and, believe me, it has not stopped!  The Bible says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

    

Boy, did Paul get it right! Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Too often we think that our battle is against another person, but in reality we have an adversary, an enemy, that is called “the prince of the power of the air”, also known as Satan. We are reminded that he is busy trying to destroy us. He is the one who battles against you daily.

    

Every time I say that, I remember a ‘70‘s comedian, Flip Wilson, saying, “The devil made me do it.”  In actuality, the devil gets way too much credit! Too often, we cave in to our temptations without as much as a skirmish. If you and I really desire to please God, we must learn to “fight the good fight” as Paul said, and call upon God for strength!

    

I no longer have to pretend that I have “armor” that I can wear for battle. If you read the passage referenced below, you will find that God has already given us ALL that we need to stand up to fight against Satan and to live victoriously. It’s simply a matter of “putting on the whole armor of God”. It’s not a physical armor, but spiritual weaponry, none the less, it is real armor worthy for a soldier of God!

    

We begin our study of God’s armor this Sunday as we look at “Preparing For Spiritual Battle”, laying a foundation for the upcoming weeks. I encourage you to do the study below and come prepared Sunday to worship.

OBSERVATION:  Read- Ephesians 6:10 & 11 What do I see?    

INTERPRETATION: What does it mean?

     (v. 10) “Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power” refers to strength derived from God, not strength we humans have to somehow obtain. The words “be strong” describes the continual empowering of the Christian community. God’s strength and power are part of the Kingdom blessings available to God’s people. The power that raised Christ from the dead also empowers God’s people as they prepare for the spiritual battles they must face on this earth.    

     (v. 11) God empowers his people, but he does not send them into battle unarmed. God’s people must put on ALL of God’s armor (see Romans 13:12). The “panoplia” (or full armor) means complete equipment, head-to-toe protection, both defensively and offensively. This gear was for hand-to-hand combat. This “armor of God”, as mentioned in Isaiah 59:17, describes God as wearing the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. Paul wrote this letter while chained to a Roman soldier. Certainly the soldier’s armor must have brought this metaphor to mind. Paul described a divine and complete “outfit” that God gives believers in order to provide all we need to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of Satan, who rules the world of darkness, the kingdom opposed to God. “Stand against” was a military term meaning to resist the enemy, hold the position, and offer no surrender. Satan does not fight fair; he uses subtle tricks, schemes and strategies. Our ability to stand firm depends on our use of “the whole armor of God”.

APPLICATION: How does it apply to my life?

• (v. 10) Beginning with “Finally ...”, how does this section fit into this letter to the Ephesians?
• (v. 10) Where is the source of our strength? What does this imply about our own human strength? How available is this God-given strength for us? How do we tap into it? 
• Read the cross references and fill in the blank on God’s strength for His people:

1.   Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong .... for _________________________________.”

2.   Joshua 1:9 “_______________? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be   dismayed, for ________________________________________.”

3.   Psalm 27:14 “______________; Be strong, and let your heart take courage.”

4.    Psalm 31:24 “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, ALL you who ______________.”

5.    1 Corinthians 16:13 “______________, be strong.” 

6.     2 Timothy 2:1 “You therefore, my son, be strong _____________________.”

• (v. 11) What will using God’s full armor enable you to do/accomplish?
• (v. 11) What does the phrase “the devils schemes” tell you about Satan’s activity in this world today?

SUPPLICATION: Where do I need God’s help? What particular area of your life do you desire to see victory in? Take a moment and ask God to help you with it.