Drip 1
Drip • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Have you ever wondered why different sports wear different outfits/uniforms?
I mean obviously they wear the team logos etc to show what team they are playing for, but why don’t all sports just wear shorts and a t shirt?
Well here’s a reason certain sports wear the different uniforms:
Baseball players wear thicker jersey’s and pants. This is because it helps pad the legs/body when sliding on the dirt and grass
Basketball players wear shorts typically above their knees and their jersey's have no sleeves. This is because they want to be able to dribble the ball between their legs without the ball hitting the shorts, and the lack of sleeves allows the arm to have full range of motion
Wrestles wear the singlet. This allows for there to be no material in the way when you are trying to do a move. Your arm won’t get stuck in their clothing
These just a few of the different uniforms that are worn, but they all have a purpose
Over the next seeks week we are going to be looking at the uniform that all believers should be wearing
Looking at the drip that we should all have on
But before we look at the uniform we need it’s important to understand why we need it
Body
Body
Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.
Paul writing to the Ephesian church tells them that they are in a war
He tells them in verse 12 that they are in a war and it is not against flesh and blood
That the way they are thrown into is not against people
It is against Satan, the ruler of this age
Paul wants them to know right away that this war they are in is not against people, but Satan
8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.
Satan is called a roaring lion on the prowl. He is stalking and seeking all to destroy them
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
Satan sole goal is cause us to lose our Christian witness and pull us farther and farther away from Jesus
To steal kill and destroy us
That is why in the two earlier verses, 10-11 Paul tells them to be strengthened by the Lord and to put on the armor of God
Why?
Because the battle is not against mankind, but instead against Satan
It it was against mankind we could defend ourselves, but since it is against Satan we must have God’s power to protect us
That is why Paul tells us to put on our Kingdom uniforms, the Armor of God!
The reason Paul is telling us that we will “stand firm” and not “defeat Satan” is because Jesus has already done that
Jesus on the cross already defeated Satan and the demons and their plans
We don’t need to defeat a enemy that is already lost, we just simply need to stand firm, until Jesus comes back
So I want to look at each piece of the armor of God and see why it’s important, and how Satan tries to stop us from using it
Truth
Truth
14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness,
The first piece of armor that Paul tells us to put on is the belt of truth
It’s interesting that Paul starts with the belt, a piece of clothing many of us forget to wear, or it’s the last thing we think about when putting our outfit together
But for a Roman Solider it was one of the most important pieces of their armor
The belt did a couple things for the solider
It was thick and worn up high, so it would give back support to the solider as he wore the armor all day
The breastplate of the solider connected to the belt, allowing for the solider to walk and run without it bouncing every where
It would allow the sword, as well as food and water to be clipped to the belt so the solider was always protected
The belt was significant to the soldiers
The same is true for us when we think about the armor we are called to put on
Our belt is that of Truth
As a believer we are called to put on the belt of truth long before we focus on anything else we are to do
That’s because just like a belt was significant for the soldier, truth is significant for the believer
Truth opposes Satan
Truth opposes Satan
It’s significant because
Truth opposes Satan
Truth is the very thing that opposes Satan who we are in a Spiritual War against
44 You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan according to John is the father of lies
He is the one that started lies, created lies and weaponizes lies
When Satan tempted and inevitable caused Adam and Eve to fall in the Garden it was because of lies
“Is it really true God said....” “God knows that when you eat from it you will be like God”
He authored up lie after lie to Eve causing her to fall
When Satan tempted Jesus he offered up lie after lie to Jesus trying to get Him to fall
When Satan attacks you with sin it’s all a lie - he promises you that what you see will make you better, you’ll feel better, love more, everything will be great
When in reality all sin does is destroy you, your family, and everyone around you
That’s why Paul starts with the belt of truth
To stand against the devil we must know truth in order to combat His lies
We must know the truth, that Jesus and His word is truth
6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.
Truth strengthens our witness
Truth strengthens our witness
Here’s the second reason truth is so significant
Truth strengthens our witness
Being about the truth, and telling the truth is what will strengthen our Christian witness
Nothing will destroy your witness about Jesus faster than telling someone a lie
Nothing breaks trust quicker than lies
Nothing allows us to tell about Jesus more than our truth
4 The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.
We can see when people are not following God because they are not walking in the truth
They are not living in truth or marked by truth
John tells us we can see when people are against God when they are very clearly walking in disobedience to God
This is true for believers and non-believers
Anyone can tell if you are really “about that life”
The roman’s soldiers belt wasn’t a small piece of leather like our belts today
They were thick, often even decorative to signify their rank in the army
They never took of their belt because it was what signified to everyone around them that they were a solider in the Roman army
Similarly as a believer in Jesus we are called to have the belt of truth on at all times
It is the marker that lets everyone know we are a follower of Jesus, it is what builds rapport with people, and will allow us to share the Gospel
Conclusion
Conclusion
Students you are in war today
Satan is crafty, he is tactical, he’s prowling and stalking you
He knows your every move, your weaknesses and is constantly looking for ways he can pounce
That’s why you must lean into the armor that God is providing
That’s why you must put on the belt of truth to oppose the Devil and strengthen your Christian witness