Holding It All Together - Prepared to Prevail Series- Pt. 3

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Illustration: The drunk husband snuck up the stairs as quietly as his staggering legs would allow. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he'd received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded, with utmost care, to gently climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he'd pulled one over on his wife. 

When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. "You were drunk last night weren't you!" 

"Why, no, honey."

"Well, if you weren't, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?"

“Holding It All Together”

Prepared to Prevail Series – Pt. 3

Text: Eph. 6:10-14

PPHC – 1/21/07 a.m.

I. The Names of the Armor

 A. The Belt of Truth - 6:14a

  1. Soldiers wore a long tunic...in time of battle; they tucked it in the belt for mobility purposes.

   a. Wore his sword on his belt; breastplate connected to the belt...without the belt, he couldn’t

keep it together.

  • Illustration: “A great battle was won in the past by a clever general who told his men to cut the belts of their enemy while they were sleeping. The next morning the enemy troops were so busy holding up their trousers that they weren’t able to shoot their guns, and therefeore, they lost the battle.”            Thru the Bible Commentary Vol. V, J. Vernon McGee, p. 281
  • Illustration: Dr. J. H. Jowett says, "Loose armour was troublesome and disturbing, making the soldier feel soft, and awkward, and unready, giving him a sense of going to pieces.”                                                                             The Belt of Truth, Dr. Mark Rupport

1.      Tightening the belt securely around himself gave the soldier confidence to stand against his enemy.

  • What is The Truth? It is the Word of God.

   b. Note 2 things about the truth:

    1. We must be faithful in how we hold the TRUTH

·         How we handle the Word of God. Many have “mis-represented” the Word (i.e. Jesus as an archangel [J.W.]); 1Jesus was recognized as a “rabbi”, “teacher”, and a prophet only (placing Him on the same plane as Muhammad and other prophets). 2Cults have swayed millions who have trusted their souls to what they felt was the Truth, but in reality was a lie cleverly fabricated in the pits of hell!)

    2. It’s also necessary for the TRUTH to hold us! (Jms. 1:21 – “…able to save your souls.” 

2. The truth is designed to hold everything together.

  • The belt of truth: the foundational piece of armor – Upon it, the sword rests. Sword (rhema) the spoken word. The Truth of the Word should birth our speech.

   a.  The TRUTH - “An objective standard of reality that stands outside our experiences and above our opinions.”

  • “Today…we have football players, baseball players, movie stars, television stars, all giving testimonies. Many of them do not know any more Bible than does a goat grazing grass on a hillside. We need people whose loins are girt about with truth. They need to know the Word of God.”                  Thru the Bible Commentary Vol. V, J. Vernon McGee, p. 281

    1. The belt of truth is becoming more significant every day...as the world no longer accepts objective truth  (65% of Americans) (truth without bias or prejudice).

     a. Jn. 14:6 Jesus stated, “I am the Way, the truth, and the life…”

      1. Our country was founded on THE Truth – statues, monuments, legal documents…

·         “In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country…” –

     Mayflower Compact, Nov. 11, 1620, by William Bradford 2

·         Spoken to the chiefs of the Delaware Indian Tribe: "You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ… Congress will do every thing they can to assist you in this wise intention.”                               George Washington

·         "In this age there can be no substitution for Christianity… That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”

House Judiciary Committee - 1854

·         Public schools were initially established to insure that all children received lessons in the Bible so that propagation of the Christian faith would continue to the glory of God. Of the first 108 colleges, 106 were founded on the Christian faith established by Evangelical Christians.

2. “We’ve drifted a long way from the standard set so long ago by our forefathers.”

    2. Today, “tolerance” is the buzzword - “what’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me.”

     a. Today, we laugh at homosexuality; today, the woman has the “right” for an abortion.

·         Is. 55:9 “…my ways are higher than your ways, my thoughts than your thoughts.”

     b. This mindset has seeped into the Church today.

      1. To many, God is depicted as He/She.

      2. The Virgin Mary is now at times described as a “young woman.” But after all, DOES IT REALLY MATTER??

       a. YES…Isaiah prophesied that a “virgin” should conceive - 600 yrs. prior to the event.

   b. We need to know God’s truth because the devil is a liar...if he can get you in an environment

where there is no objective standard of truth, he will milk it for all it’s worth.

    1. Suppose your pharmacist said, “I can’t say for sure, but I think this is the medicine

that you should take. The pharmacist down the street thinks these pills could kill you,

but who knows? What’s right for him isn’t necessarily what’s right for me. Try them and

let’s see what happens.” DOES IT REALLY MATTER??!!!

  3. Truth keeps us from replacing the Word of God with our feelings.

   a. You must be willing to say that when God’s Word contradicts how you feel, then your

feelings are wrong and God’s Word is right.

·         “Just as the belt gave the Roman soldier stability, so for the Christian, the belt of truth gives us stability in life to walk boldly forward in the path of God's Word, not deviating to the right or the left. As we go throughout our daily life, let us gird ourselves with the belt of truth and never take our eyes off of Jesus.”                   The Belt of Truth, Dr. Mark Rupport

·         “Only one truth saves, only one gospel brings eternal life.”

1 Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments, MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. 1997, c1995.. Thomas Nelson: Nashville

2  Mayflower Compact, http://www.nationalcenter.org/MayflowerCompact.html

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