Weapons of Warfare: Belt of Truth 7/27/14

Transcription

1 Weapons of Warfare: Belt of Truth 7/27/14 We have Divine Weapons! Belt of Truth Facts: God s Truth is Absolute & Unchanging It is not based on how you feel It is imperative without absolute truth we are just making up our morality on how we best see fit. What is immoral today is seen as moral tomorrow because societies truth is not absolute Action Steps I. Own it (Know the Truth God s word) 1. Be prepared to give a defense for what you believe 2. Know the truth based on God s word (Test the truth scripture) 3. The Israelites were fooled by a lie because they did not seek out God (Joshua) 4. What are you doing to armor up? 5. Lack of armor proves fatal and starts controversy in the Iraq war. If you are going into battle what would you do for the proper gear. Parents were sending their kids proper armor because the military was not supplying it, are you parents teaching your kids the truth? Teaching yourself? 6. A lie can be easier to believe but there will be consequences to the lie! The truth is costly but it is worth it! II. Put it on (Put it into practice) 1. James (who hears the truth and does nothing ) 2. But it is possible to speak the truth in hypocrisy. We may get the details correct in Bible study and fail miserably to live by the truth we can recite. 3. Our use of God s word is ineffective, and even counterproductive, if we are not living genuine lives, free from hypocrisy. Scripture constantly warns us against the threat of hypocrisy. III. Trust it (Stand on the Truth/committed to the Truth) 1. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 2. Hezekiah 3. Joshua 1:8 (Meditate on the law day and night) 4. Hold on to the promises of God/Who you are in Christ. 5. With the promises of God we walk forward confident in our mission. 1

2 Manuscript Weapons of Warfare The Belt of Truth In 2004 during the Iraq war the American people were in uproar because American soldiers were dying in battle for a lack of proper armor. Parents of soldiers were sending their kids proper vest that would withstand bullets and IED s. There was even local drives throughout the country to raise money to send proper vest to soldiers so they would be protected in the midst of battle. It was a public outrage that our government would send in our soldiers into battle without proper gear. How many of you if you were forced into battle would want to go into battle unarmed? Proper gear is essential to win any war. This principle is the same for spiritual warfare. We are continuing our study that we began last week that as Christians we are soldiers in Christ, anti-terrorist in Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3 reminds us that we are called to endure hardship as soldiers in Christ. 1 Timothy 6:12 tells us to fight the good fight of faith. No one wants to be in war. But the simple truth is that we have been forced into battle because Satan has declared war on God and His people. Satan is a terrorist, and we are in the midst of a spiritual battle, and are Christ s soldiers. There are no civilian Christians, reserve Christians or retired Christians, and every Christian is a soldier. Satan is our enemy, he is a terrorist, and he is alive and active. You may not want to be in war, who does, but nonetheless you are in the midst of a spiritual war. Satan is looking to kill, steal and destroy you, your family and your loved ones. He hates God s creation and especially His children. It is for this reason we are in a battle, it is spiritual battle but a battle no less lethal than a physical battle. We have a choice, to hide and be victims of Satan s terrorist attacks or engage and make a difference. The good news is that while we have no choice in the fact that we are in a war God has given us the necessary weapons to win the war. We read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. What strongholds are you facing today? Maybe you are facing fear and worry? Or maybe you are facing a stronghold against your marriage or family, or maybe you are facing an addiction. We all have our weaknesses that Satan uses to discourage us and attack us. This our own personal battles, but God has not called us into battle without giving us the necessary armor and weapons, but rather He has given us the perfect weapons to win the battle. But a successful soldier not only has the proper gear but also knows how to utilize that gear. If you were to give me an advance weapon I would not know how to fully utilize that weapon without proper training. It is the same with our spiritual weapons. This is why scripture states in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Today I want to talk about what weapons we have available as soldiers in Christ and how can we successfully utilize these weapons of warfare that we may have victory in Christ. Read with me Ephesians 6: First, we read that we are to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand and be ready against the devil s schemes. Notice that the admonishment to stand is mentioned 4 times. We are then reminded that our battle is a spiritual battle. Therefore to stand ready we must put on the full armor of God. Like any good battlefield commander, Christ has thoroughly equipped His army 2

3 with tried and tested battle gear. It is essential that you know what each piece of this armor is and what it is used for, and to never go into battle without it. Neglecting or forgetting any part will leave you exposed and unprotected. It is also important to understand that the armor of God is not something you put on everyday like a pair of jeans. They are not items you put on only before you prepare for battle, like a football player putting on his equipment before a game. Each piece of the armor is a characteristic and quality that is reflected in one s daily life. They re lifestyle characteristics of a sincere and significant faith. They are not articles of Christian clothing to be leisurely put on and worn, but convictions and beliefs that are to be lived and maintained as a regular pattern of our lives. That being said lets look at the first piece of armor the belt of truth. The Apostle Paul uses the armor of God in comparison to a Roman Soldier who he was chained to as he was writing this description. The armor listed in Ephesians 6 is six-fold. The first piece of armor is the belt of truth placed around your waist. The purpose of a belt is to hold all things together. Roman soldiers wore wide, thick leather belts. It was used to cinch up his tunic (outer garment) and allowed him freedom of movement and ensured his garment did not impede him in the midst of battle. In addition the belt held the other essential weapons of warfare all together. It was the belt that secured the breastplate and the scabbard for the sword. The belt of a soldier indicated the soldier was ready for action. Without the belt the soldier would be hindered, unprotected, and defenseless. In the same way, the Christian without the truth of God is left hindered, unprotected, and defenseless in their walk. A soldier takes off the belt when he/she is off of duty and wears it in the midst of battle. As Christians we are engaged in an ongoing battle so we are to never take off our belt of truth. The idea of the belt holding everything together, the breastplate, the sword, and the uniform is analogous to the truth of Christ holding the body of Christ together. Your understanding of the truth enables you to even get to your sword. Therefore, it is essential we understand God s truth. Jesus says in John 14:6, I am the way and the truth and the life. God is truth and His truth is absolute and it does not change and God does not change. Jesus says in John 17:17 that God s word is truth. It says in John 8:31-32 "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The truth is Jesus and all that He taught. He is God. Thus, if we are not viewing and acting upon the truth of God then we are acting upon error and deception. It is important to understand that Satan is a liar and lies! He wants you to doubt the truth and believe lies. We must understand that God and His word is truth and it is absolute. This does not mean that we cannot see God s truth in other sources outside of the Bible. For instance, God is love. This truth can be seen and witnessed outside of the Bible. Many people of many different faiths can also acknowledge the fact that God is love. However, all truth that we recognize must be aligned with the Bible. Simply because a non-biblical source can recognize God is love does not place the Bible on equal footing with any other source. The Bible is God s direct word to humanity and must hold supreme authority in our lives. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16 & 2 Peter 1:20-21 that all scripture is God breathed and all scripture came about from God s will. Satan and our society want you to believe that truth is relative, that what is true for you is fine but what true for me is also fine. This is called being inclusive. But by its very nature truth is exclusive and cannot be relative. Two plus two cannot equal both 3

4 four and nine. The answer can only have one correct answer. While all religions have similarities they all state different things thus cannot all be true. And sincerity does not make something true. People die all the time for sincere beliefs but that does not make it true. The capital of the U.S is Washington DC, it cannot be both Washington DC and some other place. You may believe sincerely it is somewhere else, but that doesn t make it true. Truth matters. We can sincerely believe that human flight is possible by jumping out of a three-story window and flapping our arms, but our sincerity doesn t make the sidewalk any softer. Truth is absolute. Truth does not change over time or at the whims of political correctness. What is moral, right and true today, was moral, right, and true yesterday, and will be moral, right, and true according to the standard set by God tomorrow. Nor is truth subjective. You don t get to weigh in on the truth. Truth is established and set by God. The Bible is not a book inspired by man but by God. Many people want to make truth subjective to their own ideas and convictions to ease their conscience and enable them to live without guilt, but it doesn t work that way. There has always been a philosophical view that truth evolves with society. It is the idea that truth needs to be filtered through the present culture. So what is true yesterday may not be true today. This is false! God s truth is always constant and unchanging. The methodology or application of the truth may look different in each culture or society but the principle of God s truth is unchanging. For example, the Bible says do not eat meat if it causes your brother to stumble. The principle truth is to not cause your brother or sister in Christ to stumble. The methodology has changed for our culture, since eating meat is not a big deal. However, the principle truth is constant. For us today in our culture drinking alcohol is equivalent to the issue of eating of meat. There is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol but if my drinking alcohol causes someone to stumble then that is wrong. That is the principle truth that is taught in scripture which is unchanging. This is the same with all of the other hot-topics that people say are relevant. Idolatry is a sin. It may look different in the 21 st century compared to the 1 st century but the principle is the same. Sex outside of marriage is a sin. Murder is a sin. It is not a cultural relative truth that changes, it is an established truth by God. That is a principle truth. People have constantly sought to water down and manipulate God s word to suit their own desires. That is why scripture gives us the warning to rightly handle the word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 states, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. As believers we are admonished to correctly handle the word of truth God s word. If God s word defines something as true it is true, no one has the ability or authority to manipulate truth, for God defines truth. And it is the truth that will set us free and enable us to stand our ground against the spiritual war that is all around us even when we do not see. So let me ask you, what is defining your truth? Is it culture, your friends, television, your feelings or the Word of God? So, if the belt of truth is an essential element of the soldier s weapons of warfare how do we arm ourselves with it and practically apply it? I want to share a few practical action steps so that we can stand ready and fight against the terrorism within our lives. First we need to have the belt! What I mean is that we need to have the truth of God the word of God. Remember I mentioned to you that soldiers in the Iraq war were never given proper gear so they were being killed unnecessarily in battle. It took pressure 4

5 from the American public and in some cases groups and individuals personally sending proper armor so that the soldiers would have it. In the same way if we are going to arm ourselves with the belt of truth God s word we need to seek out and know God s word! 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to be prepared to give a defense of what we believe. How many of you are prepared to defend what you believe through scripture? In order to defend what we believe we need to know from scripture what God believes and seek out His truth. Otherwise we are making up our own truth as we see fit and that is almost always going to conflict with what God says is true. For His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. If we make up our own belt of truth it will never stand against the real enemy. It is only the real truth of God that can withstand the attacks and defeat the enemy. Just as the substandard combat vest were failing the soldiers in the Iraq war and were resulting in casualties, so too a false or substandard belt of truth will fail a Christian in battle and result in spiritual casualties and failure to reach the objective. To stand against Satan s schemes we must always possess the truth of God, not some diluted version of it, but the whole truth. The Israelites experienced this very lesson. When the Israelites were set free from bondage and slavery God promised them a new land, hence the name promise land. As the Israelites were entering into the promise land they were defeating their enemies and winning battle after battle because God was with them. However, a group of people heard about the Israelites victories and came up with a plan to deceive them. They told them they were from a far off distant country and wanted to make peace with the Israelites. They even made their sandals old and the bread old and moldy to back up their lie. So they appeared as though they had come from a distant land and all evidence seemed to support their story. The problem was the Israelites never prayed and checked with God. So they made a peace treaty with the people. Well it turns out that these people from a distant land were actually inhabitants of the promise land that God was going to give them. And because they failed to check with God first they believed in the lie and ended up having to honor their peace treaty and missed out on fully possessing God s promise. In the same way, we so often buy into the lies of society and of Satan and miss out on the promises of God because we fail to check with God and His word to see if what is before us is true or not. We simply go by our feelings or what we can see instead of what God s word tells us and then we suffer the consequences. Satan will sow subtle lies mixed with truth to entice us to make a peace treaty with the evil of the world. When I was in college both at Mesa and UCSD I spoke about Christianity on several occasions with my professors during class. Quite often it was very intimidating because they painted a picture of Christians as idiots so it was scary to stand up and say..., Hey, I am one of those idiots. However, every time I had sufficient enough courage to engage in conversation almost 100% of the time the professor had inaccurate information on what the Bible even taught. There was always some mixture of truth with error and taught as fact. If I did not know what the Bible said, what God s truth is, then I would not have been able to go to battle and combat the lies. Instead I would have been discouraged and defeated. Jesus faced the same situation. We read in the Bible that Satan came to tempt Jesus and deceive Him by telling Him lies but it was always lies with a mixture of truth found in scripture. But praise God, Jesus had the full truth of God and stood on it. He was not led astray by half-truths or lies but was able to fight the lies with the truth of God. And Jesus was able to do this because He knew and had the truth. 5

6 You may not be engaged in a debate with your professors but maybe you are being told subtle lies about who you are and your value as a child of God? Maybe you are being told your value is rooted in what you look like or the size of your bank account? These are all lies from the world, lies that we need to combat with the truth of God. So let me ask you, do you own a belt? I am not simply talking about do you own a Bible, but do you own the truth that is do you know the truth? Are you studying and reading God s word so that you can stand your ground on the truth? Are you teaching your kids and loved ones the word of God so that they can know and have the belt of truth in the midst of the battle? Parents I am speaking to you for a moment. Kids are so impressionable. I know that Skyla my 5 year old daughter will walk around singing songs about there are no rules and it is my responsibility to teach her that there are rules and that God has set them up. It seems like an innocent song, but there are subtle lies that exist in that song and in so many other messages the world is sending that I need to make sure that my daughter has the truth of God to combat those lies. Otherwise I am sending her into battle unarmed. We need to be consuming God s word because our life is held together and depends upon it. This is one of the reasons we encourage life groups here at OB1. Part of the role of a life group is to encourage you to know God s word and apply it correctly to your life. What are you doing to know the word of God better in your life? The belt of truth will hold your life together, your family and loved ones together. God s word will guide us and direct us and be a light unto our feet, but we must know the word. Jesus says the truth will set us free but you must know the truth. Other wise you will not be free or victorious as a soldier in Christ. Not only do we need to know the truth, i.e. own it inside and out, but we need to actually put it on. I always laugh when I see my little brother walk around with his pants sagging down below his butt. I will yell at him to get a belt and he says, I have a belt. So we laugh, mostly because he looks ridiculous but also because he has what he needs to fix the problem but he isn t using it. I imagine there are not too many soldiers who are going into combat, with bullets flying all around and bomb s going off, having a bulletproof vest but not actually putting it on. That would be insane. But when it comes to spiritual warfare people are doing the same thing. They know the truth but do not apply the truth and worse yet they think that it is no big deal. God says other wise. The word of God says if you know the truth and do not apply it then you are like a man who is deceived. Listen to James 1: Here we see that it is not only those who know the truth but those who know it and apply it. Simply having the truth of God does you no good if you are not willing to practically apply it. Satan knows the truth and the demons believe in God yet refuse to submit. God s truth is what will set you free but you must apply the truth. Too many soldiers of Christ know the truth but are not applying the truth. For some it is about sexual purity, for others it is about lying or worrying. I know many times I have watched television programs that I know that were not good for my spirit but I watched them anyways, and later that garbage I put in my head became ammunition that the enemy used and uses against me. I know that those programs are not good for me but I have to put on the belt of truth, just knowing is not enough. What truth of God s do you know but have yet to put on? A belt does a soldier no good unless they actually put the belt on. To utilize the gift of God s armor, the belt of truth, you must not only own it, but put it on. 6

7 Once you know the truth (own it) from the word of God, apply the truth (put it on), we then practically need to trust it to do it s job i.e. stand on the truth and be committed to it. When a soldier goes into battle he must trust his gear and believe that it is going to perform as it is designed to do so that they can focus on their mission at hand. In the same way we are called to not only put on the belt of truth but to stand on the truth of God, that is to be committed to the truth of God. The truth is not always popular or easy, but it is what holds us together. We need to know it, we need to apply it, and then we need to stand committed to it. We cannot be double minded, placing the belt on and then taking it off. If we do that we will end up caught in the middle of a battle unable to see the battle to the end. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three Israelite heroes of old, who lived during the time of captivity to a foreign ruler. Although their country was living in the midst of political defeat they were living in spiritual victory. They were being held up by the belt of truth, God s word and promises, and were committed to that truth. They refused to worship any other god except the one and only God even if that cost them their life. And it almost did. They were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusal to worship a false god, but God, the one and only true God, saved them. But, what is most impactful about this story is their commitment to the truth. They stated before the furnace, that even if they are not saved by God they still will not worship a false god. They knew the truth and were willing to see it to the end. Are you will to stand on the truth and trust the truth to the end? I see too many believers who know the truth but when hard times come they are willing to bail out on the truth usually out of fear. We must learn to trust in God s truth even when we do not understand. For our enemy is the father of lies and he will constantly seek discourage you and break your commitment to the truth of God. You may not feel like a child of God, but the truth is that if you have Christ in your heart you have been born again, set free, and are a new creation. You may not feel forgiven, and perhaps you are riddled with shame and can t even look in the mirror and don t even want to go to church because you don t feel worthy or that God can love you. That may be how you feel or what you are thinking but that is a lie, because the word of God says if you have repented then you are forgiven and God loves you the same today, yesterday, and forever. You may not feel as though you are worth much, but God says He knows every one of your hairs and you are worth more than all the treasures in the world. You may not know or feel as though you have a purpose in life, but you must stand committed to the promise, the truth, that God has the perfect plan for your life. These are a few of the thousands of truths that God has given us to guide us and protect us and shape us into His image. God has given us His irrefutable, unchanging, absolute, and life changing truth. But we must stand committed to it if we are going to find victory through the truth. Satan is going to attack you a million and one different ways, but they will all be with lies. Just as Jesus was committed to the truth and defeated Satan, so too we must trust the truth that we have been given and not doubt in the dark what God has shown us in the light. In addition to the belt of truth we next read we are to put on the breastplate of righteousness. But we have run out of time today, so if you want to learn about how to place the breastplate of righteousness on then you have to come back next week! But I will close with this one final thought. We are in a battle, whether we like it or not. We can choose to bury our heads in the sand and pretend it does not exist but 7

8 your enemy, Satan, will not stop attacking you, your family, and your loved ones. He is seeking to kill, steal, and destroy you. The good news is that Christ has won the war and He has given us the weapons and armor to win the battle. We have been given the truth of God, which is the belt that holds all things together. Therefore we must know and study the truth. We must apply the truth to our lives and then stand firm on the truth. God has given us what we need for victory, so let us put it on and stand firm. I also want to invite anyone who has yet to accept the truth Jesus Christ. If you are here today and you have never received Christ as your Lord and Savior, your commanding officer, then I want to invite you to do so today. Lets pray. 8

9 Scriptures for The Belt of Truth 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Ephesians 6:10-17 See Bible John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 2:15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. 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, James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it they will be blessed in what they do. 9

10 Scriptures for 7/27/14 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 Ephesians 6:10-17 John 17:17 John 8:32 2 Timothy 3:16 2 Peter 1: Timothy 2:15 1 Peter 3:15 James 1:

11 Life Group Questions 1. How did this sermon speak to you? 2. In light of wearing the belt of truth, what in your life would not hold up to truth? 3. What are you doing to learn the Bible, to get the word of truth in you? 4. If it is not the Bible defining your truth, what other influences are defining your truth? 5. What is one thing in your life that you know is not lining up with the truth and needs to be removed from your life? 6. How is God asking you to choose to trust His truth in the midst of insecurity? 7. Can you share a testimony when you trusted God in a time of uncertainty and God was faithful? 11