Sermon Tone Analysis

Put on the Whole Armour

Put on the Whole Armor of God

Put on the Whole Armor of God

There is a truth you need to know, if you want to live well: You are in a lifelong, daily battle.

Every single morning, from the time you first open your eyes in the morning, still under the blankets, head on the pillow ….

Until the moment you close those eyes in sleep, back in bed at night – from very beginning of day until its end – from the moment you become a Christian, until you close your eyes for the last time, in death - - you are on a journey, through battle after battle, that will last your whole life long.

You wake and immediately – you have to make a decision - - “is this going to be a day of holy joy, no matter what’s in store?

OR, am I going to just hang on through the hours of this day and try to survive?”

You get out of bed - - another decision: “am I going to grab my phone and check what’s going on in the news or on social media?

… Or am I going to stop – because of my hunger to meet with God – I’m going to spend time with Him first?”

You travel to work - - there is traffic everywhere, the driver in front of you is clueless - - - another skirmish - - - “Will you curse the traffic in your way that is there with no good reason?

- - Or will you trust that even in senseless traffic – God is working out His good plan for your life?”

You get to work or school - - and again – there’s another battle: you know the way the game is played … the rules that the people around you play to climb the career ladder or the ladder of popularity within the social circles.

The relentless, naked – self-advancement and ambition … is that how you are going to play today – by the world’s rules?

Or, are you going to see yourself, this day, first and foremost – as an ambassador of Jesus Christ?

That’s another battle.

You get home after work or school - and don’t get the greeting you were waiting for . . . the greeting you deserve.

Are you going to grab that hurt and put it in your memory chest – to bring out another day, as ammunition in a fight?

Or are you going to pour yourself out in love, no matter the response that comes the other direction.

Do you see what I mean?

Moment by moment - - situation after situation, Every day in a thousand different ways, from Sunday to Saturday, you are engaged in hand to hand combat.

Your spiritual enemy – the Devil – that fallen angel and archenemy of God – he is on the attack … He can’t control you – so he does the next best thing – he’s tempting you.

At the root of every temptation the devil has one goal: He wants to see you blind to the glory of Jesus Christ.

The psalmist says, ‘The Joy of the Lord is my Strength’ - - your enemy wants you to say, ‘That strength is not sufficient for me.

There is no JOY in the Lord for me.’

John Piper: “He hates to see Christ honored.

And Christ is mightily honored when the sight of his glory gives rise to the kind of gladness that cuts the nerve of sin and causes radical sacrifice in the cause of the Gospel.”

Isn’t that so true?

The devil HATES to see Christ honored.

And there is no GREATER place where Christ IS honored – than in the holy, contended joy of His people.

- - when you are so satisfied in Him – that sin to you, loses its appeal – you see it as it is – worthless.

Dung.’

The devil hates that – so he seeks to blind you to the glory of Christ …

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (, NIV)

That is where spiritual warfare comes in - - - the fight against Satan’s temptation to sin is not, ultimately, a fight against pride or lust, or gossip, or gluttony – or any other specific sin that you might fall into.

At its root - the fight first and foremost, is a fight to see and enjoy Jesus Christ.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve focused our attention on the person of our enemy and his strategy against us.

Last week: his strategy against us boils down to a two-pronged attack - - to TEMPT us to sin and then to TROUBLE us for the sins we commit.

This morning I want to take an overview of the protection that God has given us in this warfare.

And, oh you need to hear that there IS PROTECTION for you – God-given protection - - - because I know that through the doors this morning, some of you have come, carrying a heavy burden on your backs.

Some of you have come in here, weighed down by anxiety, weighed down by guilt about your past, weighed down with a heavy heart and battling depression and hopelessness ….

You are just NOT SEEING the glory of the Lord and you know you are a sitting duck for the enemy’s strategies.

You NEED to know that God has made PROVISION for you – that He has PROTECTION for you.

That’s the armour of God.

We are, over the next several weeks, going to look piece by piece at the armor of God, described in .

But before we get into the trees, I want to look first at the forest.

1. THE COMMAND: GET DRESSED

v. 10, Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord”.

Stop right there.

That makes sense.

Every Christian would agree, “That’s my calling” – He is saying be strong in your fight against temptation.

“Be strong in the Lord.”

James puts it like this in , “Submit yourselves to God.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

That makes sense – when you are in a fight you need to be strong and resist, and here – in the Bible, God promises that if you do – you will win the battle and know joy.

So why does Paul go on and say, in v. 11: “Put on the whole ARMOR of God?

“The Armor of God”.

Many of us have heard the term so many times – we don’t even give it a second thought.

It’s meaningless to us.

“Armor of God” – we picture a Roman soldier in a shiny helmet and a skirt with a belt tied around to keep him from tripping on it when in battle – and think, “I don’t wear a helmet, I don’t wear a skirt – and my belt is to keep up my pants – not for warfare ….

This is Irrelevant”.

That has NOTHING TO DO WITH MY LIFE TODAY.

Well, it does.

And I want us to stop this morning and consider what it is and why it is important for us to put on this armour – and why it’s not just helmets and belts.

Paul tells us what the armor of God consists of: v. 14, “The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness . . .

v. 15, shoes of readiness given by the gospel of peace . . .

v. 16, the shield of faith . . .

v. 17, the helmet of salvation . . .

and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Six pieces of armor, which cover a soldier from head (helmet) to toe (shoes).

There are defensive weapons, like shield, breastplate and helmet.

There is also an offensive weapon – the sword of the Spirit.

So, in other words, not only are we called to STAND FIRM – to resist … that’s a defensive posture; BUT, we are also called to advance - - The SWORD – that’s an offensive weapon – to advance into enemy territory.

Now, I wonder if you’ve noticed something missing in the armor?

It’s what Christian realized in Pilgrim’s Progress.

He is on his journey to the Celestial City, which is heaven.

He has just come out of a great time of fellowship with other believers, but now he has to continue on towards his goal, and the next part of his journey, he has to walk alone.

He finds himself, all by himself,

… in the Valley of Humiliation.

He sees a monster coming toward him – it is Apollyon, who is the devil: The monster is hideous and threatening – a mouth like a lion, protective scales all over him and massive, muscular body … This is far too much for Christian to handle on his own.

Christian’s first instinct is to turn around and make a run for it.

Can you identify?

“I’m not up for this”

But all of a sudden, Christian realizes, “I have no armor for my back.

So if I turn and try to go back where I came from, I’ll give Apollyon a greater advantage – a much easier target to hit with his flaming darts.

In the armor of God - there is nothing for a soldier’s back.

There is no protection for those who turn and run away.

There is, in spiritual warfare, no place for turning and running away.

There is no place for retreat.

And some of you need to hear that.

Sometimes we find ourselves, at certain places in our lives, where you look back, over course of life, and look at pivotal decisions made in the past - - - and you are tempted to think, “If only I had made a different decision … THERE …

“You look at the trouble you are in now – and you trace your problems, your struggle - - back to that decision that you can’t undo ….

And you think, ‘If only I had chosen differently … then.”

But I made my choices … I made my own decisions and maybe they were sinful choices ….

Now you find yourself in misery and the temptation is to obsess – to think ….

“I need to go back and UNDO that bad choice ….

I need to go in a different direction … and that will fix THIS ….

Whatever suffering you are enduring.”

God’s word says that there is NO turning back for a Christian … that wherever you find yourself right now, friend … is exactly Where God has allowed you to be ….

Even if the choices that led you to be here were NOT good choices … rebellion even … BUT STILL … you didn’t catch God off guard.