Reading: Theme: 1. Why The Helmet Is Provided.

Transcription

1 Reading: Psalm 73 Theme: The Helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17a) The purpose of the helmet of any soldier is to protect his head. This is particularly true of the combat helmet worn by modern soldiers as well as being true of the Roman soldiers of Paul s day. Another feature of the Roman soldier s helmet was that it marked him out with the dignity of being a soldier of Rome, sometimes even which army or regiment he belonged to. The typical helmet of a Roman soldier was a kind of leather cap, to which was added plates or bosses of metal which were designed to give protection and to decorate it. On top of this was a kind of crest or plume which was mainly for ornamentation. The helmet was used in battle to protect the soldier s head and often a visor was attached to give added protection to the eyes. That is just something of the Roman soldier s helmet which Paul used in his picture of the Christian s armour. Let s go on and see what we can learn from this and apply for our own lives. 1. Why The Helmet Is Provided. We are to take the helmet of salvation. It is to be a conscious, active thing that we do. We are to put on this helmet. It is obvious that as a helmet protects the head, so too in the spiritual application, we need our minds, intellects, understanding, thinking protected. It is not a fashion hat, a beret, a woolly hat, or night cap to go to sleep, but a helmet to protect and safeguard our minds, thoughts etc. Such a helmet is not only for our safety, but for our glory as it distinguishes and marks us out as soldiers of Christ. We have mentioned that the devil will seek to attack us. His most common entrance into our lives is via our minds - lies, deceptions and so we need the belt of truth; he attacks our consciences and hearts through our thoughts and so we need the DEC ~ 1 ~

2 breastplate of righteousness; we need to stand firm with the gospel boots on so that even in times of muddy uncertainties we are standing and resisting him steadfast and unmovable on the truth of the faith; the shield of faith points us to the need to protect our minds, hearts and emotions from the flaming arrows of the evil one. Here with the helmet again the attention is drawn to the fact we need to protect our thinking, our attitudes from the enemy s attacks. This can never be too strongly emphasised. Although I m going to use the ideas, concepts of mind, understanding, thoughts and the like, we need to realise that we are not merely minds, intellects, but our minds affects such things as our innermost being, desire, emotions, understanding, behaviour, words, deeds, attitudes and our spiritual life to a greater degree. We are to realise it is possible to have a knowledge of, to be able to debate doctrines, Bible truths and to be able to apply them to our lives; even to be going on quite well in the Christian life. Yet suddenly something happens and we feel discouraged, perhaps over a period of time we feel worn out and the ongoing battle gets to us and causes us to wonder if it is worth going on; maybe to think we deserve a rest from Christian things; that we need to widen our interests and get some new hobby and so we begin to take Christianity less seriously. It may be we wonder what is the point of the church, our church here - seeking to reach out and to expand as very few come in! Doncaster, Wheatley and society in general seems to dismiss us and Christianity. Even among professing Christians our evangelical beliefs seem so easily dismissed and ignored. In such discouraging times the devil is attacking and he is causing our minds to be downcast. Asaph felt downcast in Psalm 73 as in v1-16 he looked around and wondered what was the DEC ~ 2 ~

3 point for the wicked prospered, their lives seemed so cushy and he felt he d wasted his time by trusting God, trying to live a good life - the devil was attacking as he will attack us and cause us to be brought low in our attitudes and expectations. We are to realise the devil can also attack people s minds directly as they dabble with the occult and they open themselves up to infiltrations by the evil one. The devil also uses seducing spirits to capture people s minds - the cults, JW s, false teachers or prophets in churches, heresies being taught; can I warn you to stay clear of horoscopes, Ouija boards, tarot cards, fortunetelling and the like. Have no doubt there is a battle being fought for our minds and attitudes. The world would squeeze us into its mould, make us conform as individuals. This is a reason why we need the helmet of salvation to safeguard our minds etc. We will move on and see: 2. The Helmet Provided. What a glorious helmet it is, for it is the helmet of salvation. It is not a leather cap with metal and a plume attached, but is the helmet of salvation the salvation which the Lord has provided at great cost and it is so great salvation. It is a great and glorious salvation because it saves us from such an awful end - hell; yet at the same time it saves us to such a glorious end - heaven. It has brought us eternal life and abundant life now; it is priceless for we were redeemed not by corruptible things such as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus; it is an exclusive salvation as there is no other way for any person to be right with God and yet it is offered freely to all and is inclusive of everyone who believes. It is salvation in all its wondrous and glorious joy and fullness. This means we have to take and consider our own salvation. If we are a believer we are to go back and consider when and how DEC ~ 3 ~

4 the Lord saved us. We may or may not be able to give an exact date or time, but there was a time when we realised that we had been saved, that where we were once dead in trespasses and sins that we are now alive to God in Christ Jesus, with our sins forgiven, we were then at peace with God for we had been justified by faith. We could say Once I was blind, but now I see. We should go back there often and consider what we have been saved from, that all our sins have been completely forgiven, God s new life is implanted in us by His Spirit and because of that we are born again. Perhaps someone here cannot do that as you ve never had this experience of conversion, when you trusted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour. If you cannot, then I would urge you to consider the amazing truth that God will make you His child, will shower His love upon you, will give you this glorious so great salvation and the abundance of life that goes with it. This can be yours even this evening as you trust the Lord Jesus and have all the benefits of salvation. Yet the helmet of salvation isn t just looking back at what God has done in saving us, for it is also looking at the present. The Lord does not save us and leave us on our own for He has given every believer His Holy Spirit to help, to guide, to empower, to comfort and to make the things of Christ real. Yes He the Holy Spirit uses God s word and applies it to our trials, joys, to the circumstances of our life. We are to consider that even now this salvation is being worked out in our lives - answers to prayers, strength in difficulties, grace to bear up in trials, joy and peace in believing, becoming more Christ-like day by day, a growth in holiness, at times He is an active witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. There are so many evidences in our lives of the Lord s hand of salvation still upon us. We can look at these evidences, these testimonies of God s grace upon us and DEC ~ 4 ~

5 realise we belong to the heavenly Regiment and have His colours upon us. I am all too aware that these things can so often be of no comfort to us. We can be low, all can seem dark and we feel the heavens are as brass and the Bible is as dry as a desert rock. This brings us to what I feel is the main thrust of the helmet of salvation, for it not only points to the past and the present, but it causes us to look expectantly to the future. As wonderful as our salvation is for the here and now, with great joy and peace, a great awareness of our Saviour s care and love now; yet it points us on to the fact that one day we will end the battle, the slog and be in glory! There is heaven ahead of us. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 of the hope of salvation as a helmet and in Colossians1:27 of Christ in you, the hope of glory. Asaph in Psalm 73:17ff looked ahead to the future and instead of envying wicked people, he felt sorry for them. The past, the present and continuing joys of the Christian life are nothing compared to the reality and wonder of heaven. We are not going to be in heaven as disembodied spirits, for our salvation encompasses our bodies. There is the hope of the resurrection, a new heaven and earth in which we will worship God and our Saviour in resurrection bodies - free from pain, tears, sorrow and sickness - all this is included in this glorious term salvation. We have been called and justified - that is our past; we are being sanctified and made like the Lord Jesus in our present lives and our future is summarised by the term glorified! If we are God s children we are predestined to, set aside for and guaranteed glory and being glorified. The helmet of salvation is salvation that is to be taken and applied to our lives. It is to encircle, defend and guard our hearts, DEC ~ 5 ~

6 thoughts and minds as we consider the wonders of our salvation - past, present and future. It is to be a conscious thinking on, dwelling on and applying these to our lives and the situations we face. We are to have an ongoing testimony - yes we are saved, but we see evidences of God at work in our lives daily and we have the hope of salvation ahead for us - glory, heaven and all that entails. Let s move on and try to apply it to some situations: 3. The Protection Given. The world would seek to make us conform and be squeezed into its mould. Now then, we are to think as saved people. We are to see past the illusionary schemes of the world, to see reality, the truth as God sees things in accordance with the truth of His word. If we are a Christian, we are to no longer do as the worldling does, nor are we to think as they think and react. We are to have the helmet of salvation on and be protected and distinguished with the dignity, the honour of being a Christian (Romans 12:1-2). We are to realise that on this helmet is a visor to protect our eyes and minds and we are to use it and use it often as Paul says in Philippians 4:8 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. We are to use that as a visor in our reading, music, TV, DVDs, radio programs, to all we do and say, we are to apply it to the use of the Internet and social media etc. It is a visor to protect us as beloved children of God. Our Father doesn t want us polluted, doesn t want us hurt or poisoned by sin and we all need to use this visor. John Bunyan as he wrote of the battle for Mansoul in his book The Holy War noted that the gate that was most often breached was the eye gate and things we see can often affect our minds, desires and hearts. We need to make a covenant with our eyes not to look upon DEC ~ 6 ~

7 others with lust, or with anger, suspicion, distain, pride and contempt. We need to use our minds to test the spirits, as so many speak in Christ s name and yet all are not of Him. Our minds must be guarded around by God s word and His standards. We are not to be mindless, but we are to understand what the will of the Lord is. Our attitudes and thoughts are to be protected by this salvation. We are not to retain proud and arrogant attitudes, nor have unfounded prejudices, nor to be those who follow unthinkingly every fashion and trend. All things in our lives are to be brought under the word of God so that we are not tossed about by winds of mood or fashion or trend, but we are to be settled in our attitudes, our understandings and so we are maturing and growing in Christ likeness. The hope of salvation, the hope of glory should also be predominant in our minds and attitudes. Should we suffer and such suffering causes us to lose heart, we are to consider our end - glory 2 Corinthians 4:16ff Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. When the battle seems hard for us, and we are weary, we are to consider that this day the noise of battle, but who knows if the next day could be the Victor s song and our battle would be over and we will be there in glory with the King of Kings. Even as we battle on, we are to bear in mind we are soldiers of the cross - the honour and the dignity of the Lord Jesus is in our hands. Surely we want people to think more highly of Him. We DEC ~ 7 ~

8 then are to consider His work in us - past and present and so go on for Him and His glory. Having Him as our Saviour means He is with us forever, every pain and heartache are known by Him, He understands and cares about us and He will never let us go - no matter how weak we feel, no matter how we are attacked. He has never lost one soldier, never lost one member of His body and we are to keep on keeping on. The helmet of salvation upon us should cause us to resolve to keep on going on because of His past and present work in us, let alone as we consider what lies ahead. We are to keep looking to Jesus, to the glory that will be revealed in us, to the glory laid up for us and live for His glory and honour now in this world as we on the battlefield. When we are tempted to despair, to question if is it worth it, to question will Christianity survive, then we are to look to the future, our future as believers. We are to remember that one day all nations will bow down before the Saviour, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the praise of God the Father. We are to stand there by faith, to view heaven s glories with our present understanding, also to view ourselves redeemed, restored, standing in our resurrection body and then consider if is it worth going on, if Christianity is full of false hopes, or vain promises and will it survive! As we look like that we were realise it is worth it, and yes our Lord will reign and His kingdom rule be known here on earth. The helmet of salvation is a glorious helmet. As brothers and sisters we are to take it, to be conscious of the privileges of grace and mercy that had been lavished upon us and we to wear that so great salvation as a helmet to safeguard our minds and hearts in every circumstance of life, and yet wear it with true pride and dignity so that others will think the better of our Saviour. DEC ~ 8 ~