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March 5, 2020 1:00 am
Here so that when the evil day, when you face temptation at its fiercest you've already understood what this armor means and how you use this faster, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright.
Welcome to shearing the light of program of healing and hope shearing. The good news of what God is done for us in Jesus Christ were also to hear Allen's message in a series called Ephesians if you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program. I will make sure that you know how to get our special resource. Right now it can be yours for your donation this month to shearing the light as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us@shearingthelight.org or call 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program but now get started. Today's teaching here is Alan Wright is a good move of God in Jesus Christ has already done everything that is necessary for you and Christ to live a completely victorious abundant life he has provided for you in armor that is sufficient for you to walk out the abundance of the Christian life and therefore it's clear as we come to the end of this series on Ephesians today that the message is trumpeted with this absolute passion, clarity, you're more than a conqueror. You are armed for battle, and this is Ephesians in chapter 6 and its verse 10 Ephesians 6 verse 10, Paul writes.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. But on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.
And as your shoes shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in all circumstances take up the shield of faith which which it with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication.
To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak on their own her own vermin are known around the room brown arm in arm in arm in arm up anybody the James Bond fan recognizes that that means that at this particular scene in the movie bond is going to make some dramatic escape from peril. He is going to somehow escape from an impossible situation and overcome his flow and that he's likely to do so with one of his new gadgets. The best part of the bond movie is when James Bond comes in and Q gives him his gadgets that he needs for well for that movie and there certain themes to this in a bond. Fans know he's had special watches over the years watches the summer super magnets, laser cutting tools.
One of them had a little tickertape that would come out with messages and this is all before the days that are of what is really good read emails and he had a super explosives in the watch but maybe the coolest stuff he ever had was his car. I mean, when you're a kid and you see a man drive a car into an ocean. That then becomes a submarine you're hooked. I mean, that's yet and I need a car will be so fully armored that they be impenetrable, but they could do these amazing things and probably one the most famous scenes was back in the early days of smart phones and course bond had one better than anybody smart phone because it also was a 20,000 V Taser, but he is in a bad situation being shot at these crouched down in the back of his BMW but he flips open the phone and it becomes a touchpad that he can control his car by remote control, and steer himself in a big car chase and bond escapes. But here's the thing that's most unrealistic of all the things about about the bond was probably the most unrealistic thing is it Q gives him these gadgets get treated try to explain how to use them and bond didn't listen. He just takes it and goes, so he never reads the instruction manual is a typical man's I can't figure it out as I go and so he gets into the moment of crisis and is trying to use his special equipment and he, amazingly, he figures it out right away. He's got something for every occasion. Will you having been armed with the very armor of God are not one who is been given gadgets.
But you have been given the actual benefits and privileges of a recipient of the gospel and the picture that Paul paints here is the portrait of a Roman soldier, a familiar sight.
But what Paul is saying here is that you've been given all of this by the Lord and therefore know how to use it. You know you're not James Bond on the fly.
Oh wait, I got the breastplate of righteousness. What is that mean I'm in trouble when he same is prepare so that when the evil day comes when you face temptation at its fiercest that you've already understood what this armor means and how you use this.
This is one of the great examples in the New Testament of how it's possible that God has done everything for you in Jesus Christ and yet you have something very important to do and that is take it up and where it is. So that's a figure of speech that you wear all of this to where something means that you move about and it that you you you fight the battle and it that everything you do is in this armor so we want to talk today about the armor of God, and I want to give you some some general principles and then touch just a little bit on each one of these pieces of the armor as we as we come to the end of this amazing journey through the epistle to the Ephesians reversing the saved from from this text is that the very fact that he speaking about the armor is that he prefaces this that we are in a fight in life is a battle to know most the time would like to believe life is not a battle I was. I always play a lot of sports the kid and tennis was my sport and I can just honestly say that almost every tennis match, whether was in a tournament or high school match that always had the same feeling going into it and that with.
I hope this guy hope this joker just hands this thing a mate. I hope he just double faults and I only met the truck.
I mean honestly that's just the way you feel: it is safe and it always takes a little louder allows women. I gotta go in here and play this magic back in a member's best specific instances in high school. Or maybe I had a couple exams that they may got been a little bit tired maybe not get that much sleep and we go and and after schools over get on the bus get on the van and ride maybe from Greensburg bound alarm burden placed got in high school or somebody and energy. I'm just like how I would enjoy playing tennis today and I got you got a got your win-win your match for the team and and that's the feeling you get is I want to go out here and just I only know who this guy is on play never heard of 55 not that good and out, maybe he'll just start double fault in hand.
The whole thing to me and then after you after you go through this mentality in your about the third game and also your down in your last Dogon and I'm gonna have to fight for this thing and what I realizes the sooner that you realize that you have to wrestle for it, the better it's the days when I think life is not a battle that life seems as hardest because it would like life to be easy and sometimes it is so sweet and so easy, but life itself is a battleground and as a Christian, what theologians have said is that were fighting against the world, the flesh and the devil, and this this general sense of theology has been built on text like Ephesians chapter 2 Paul says your dead in trespasses and sins. If you were you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you want to walk following the course of the world, following the prince of the air spirit is now at work and lived in the passions of our flesh, so text like that and some other good. The battle really is against the world that surround us, the culture, the influences of the world against the flash our own selfish desires that are part of the old sin nature and against the devil himself, Tim Keller and commenting on. This makes a very important point.
He says that that it most ideologies tend to emphasize only one of these dimensions of the battle so behaviorism on BF Skinner L following that's is essentially your life is determined by operant conditioning.
According to the environment around you so that everything depends on the world around you. Everything this shapes you and this explains about the holes that other sociologists would say no, everything is internal. Their desires inside of you.
There's an unconscious being with going to LB's desire to have. This is what fuels all human behavior and then primitive religions over emphasize the fact that there's a spirit behind everything. If there's a drought and it must be the rain God is not happy what Christianity proposes is that much more complex view of evil in the world and of the nature of the battle that is not any one thing that's Allen listening to shearing the will have more teaching in a moment. Today's important series ever wish you could be a child again ever long for the simpler days when your biggest financial worry was counting the money in the shoebox of the lemonade stand ever long for the more carefree times when you wish to long summer days would never in. If you've ever long to be like a child again. Author Alan Wright has some good news. You can Jesus invitation to become like a little child means it's possible when you make a gift to shearing the like. To date, will send you a special bundled gift that includes two audio messages that will help you banish worry and a copy of Alan Wright's book, childlike cards that will lead you into the freedom and wonder of childlike faith. Most of all, when you make a gift to shearing the like today will help us broadcast the love of God. The tens of thousands of people every day shared when you get to Shanghai right this broadcast is only possible because of recent financial support you get today. We will send you today's special affect you. Happy to send this to you as I banks from sharing the right ministries, 877-544-4860 or come to my website sharing the right leg listening to shearing a lot in today's teaching that you once again Alan running close focusing on here is not to say that the only battle is against the devil himself what he saying is that every form of evil that is ever come.
Whether it is in HCN that came from the from our forefathers Adam and Eve who were tempted by Satan or whether it's the influence of the culture around us that's been corrupted by the sin of the world or all whether it is a direct spiritual attack from from the devil himself did all of this has its origin.
All evil in every single thing wrong in the world has its origin and a fallen angel and and many other fallen angels that were creatures that rebelled against God, and whose leader is that the Bible calls Satan, which means an accuser or a prosecutor and what does a prosecutor do a prosecutor essentially uses the law to seek to bring condemnation against the accused and therefore to bring about a condemning punishment against the accused.
That's what a prosecutor does and and and this is how Satan is labeled an accuser and so all spiritual warfare in one way or another has to do with the accusations of the devil against you want to speak much about the devil is that the say that that the Bible's clearly affirms that there is a a personal embodiment of evil in the angelic being that is is called Satan and many other many other demons, but again he alone all demons are creatures they're not God, and there is no equivalent to God.
There's no dualism.
You know this. This is not this isn't you know of a good force in a bad force and we don't whose when this is the God of all creation.
And then there are creatures that are angels and some of them have rebelled and absolutely hate God and therefore hate people.
One thing about about Satan himself and all evil is that this is it it it is it is an evil that is beyond our imagination and so there's absolutely nothing but hate and all of health and this is the important thing to understand spiritually from under lies everything I had to say today about the armor of God, is it Satan has been defeated through the cross. According to Colossians chapter 2 Paul said you were dead in your trespasses and on circumcision your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with his legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. So if Satan is an accuser who who has some weaponry against you that that gun has been disarmed.
The bullets are gone, so to speak, so that it's like is like a criminal with an empty gun who was threatening but has no ultimate armament against the Christian life because what Jesus did was and so come lately taking our sin upon himself and imputing his righteousness to us that God has inaugurated and a covenant of grace wherein we are not measured by our performance to the law and therefore, since we are no longer under that wall is a legal system but we are in grace, Satan has no accusation that can even bring against us and this underlies everything that we learn about the armor of God. Second principle to note about all of this is that every single Christian is given all of this armor and therefore is the preacher, my youth would say we are in it to win it.
This is not a desperate discussion for a losing Army.
It is an assurance that you have already been given this, be strong in the Lord is an announcement of who you are.
This is this is this is is my preacher I you said the Christian life is not an aspiration to strive for is a fact to adjust to this armor is not something you strive for. It is a fact that you adjust to and you wear it and you live it. The repetition of this idea of being strong about being blessed with every spiritual blessing is to say that God has already announced of this. It's not something that simply is possible.
It is a reality. It is just a matter of will.
We understand it and will be appropriated. I love the story of Napoleon Bonaparte after he was reviewing his troops one day. Has the horse. He was on began to buck and and he was about to be embarrassed as the rains slipped out of the great rulers hand and there was a lowly little Cpl. who acted quickly got the reins and brought them over back to other great leaders hands and the and and Napoleon save face and in grateful response. Napoleon looked down at the low ranking officer and smiled and said thank you Capt., and I love the young Cpl.'s response, he said, of which Regiment Sir so when God says be strong. The Christians answer is, thank you. What shall I defeat today. This is a reality for every single crush Christian and Paul says the whole armor is yours. Now here's the most important principle about this before we come to look at some of these individual bees armor.
It is the armor notice what he says. The armor of God, you take up God's armor is a wonderful image when most famous images in the Bible of armor is in the scene when young David who was a shepherd boy who brought some bread to his brothers at the battle line against the Philistines realizes that all the Philistines are scared and are not fighting Goliath. And David says that he wants to fight Goliath and and eventually King Saul lets him he's okay you can go fight on our behalf, but Saul says here take my armor, but in it. It must've been a comical single David was nowhere near as tall as Saul Lee puts on his armor. They were never born armor before an act is imagine clicking around in this this armor and David says I don't and I can't wear this armor. I don't want this armor and and so David goes out to fight Goliath, seemingly with no armor and get these five smooth stones.
The first stone. As you know the story the slings it kills the giant will David is much as any figure creep it in the Old Testament prefigures Jesus himself because Jesus is the son of David, what you seen in that story is that David is essentially saying I am going to wear a different kind of armor where Saul had this majestic armor.
Saul had no integrity and no righteousness. And David is wearing armor of integrity and righteousness.
He's a man after God's own heart.
Saul was a coward with thick armor, David had faith. So David, what is he do he beat Goliath with righteousness and faith a different kind of armor and when Jesus came, Jesus approached all of life from a different perspective than all the other great leaders.
He loved enemies and fellowship with centers. He was a friend to the outcast. He marked his life, but utter and complete righteousness never ever once sitting at his word was so full of truth that every single thing he said he also did the only person is ever done that complete integrity peace so sweet and so deep that banks form a hurricane could be brewing in his sleep, and in the boat, he will are in armor, it was different. What Paul saying is we don't fight against flesh and blood and so you don't wear the kind of armament that the world wears, but instead you where the armor of God, it is if this is what happened when you accept Christ you are, mysteriously, mystically, eternally joined with Christ and you being found in Christ are closed with Christ's armor.
If Christ was righteous, that becomes your righteousness.
If Christ had peace that he gives you that piece it.
If Christ had faith that he instills in you that same faith is a what you do is you adjust to this that this is who you are.
The Lord saw that he needed to send someone into the earth, who would have this armor as Isaiah prophesied in chapter 59 it, he saw there was no man wonder that there was no one in her sleep in his own arm brought salvation and his righteousness upheld him and he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. This is a picture of a messianic picture of Christ himself. He has come.
And when you accept Christ you get his armor on right listening to shearing the entities are battle watch the way a one-year-old sleeps, not a care in the world or listen to the belly laugh of a toddler finding joy in the simplest things little children don't know the meaning of dread do they freedom, wonder, and trust come naturally to little children. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be like a child again.
Here's the good news you can. Jesus invitation to become like a little child means it's possible when you make your generous donation to shearing like today will send you a special bundled gift that includes a two message audio CD that will help you manage worry and a copy of Alan Wright's book a childlike heart that will lead you into the freedom and wonder of childlike faith. When you partner with shearing the you enable us to share the grace of God. People everywhere to make your gift today and rediscover the piece of a childlike heart shared when you get to shearing the right. This test is only possible because of riskier financial support. When you get today.
We will send you today's special affect you happy send this to you as I banks from sharing the right ministries, 877-544-4860 or come to my website sharing the right leg.
Alan today's teaching you're armed for battle. I can hear some people right now all right pastor you been you've been teaching great all through Ephesians now you talk about something about so comfortable with his forces spiritual forces of darkness armed for battle, and I skipped this message yet.
Well, you could skip the message but you can skip the battle at write and win a battle every day. And clearly, this is what the Bible teaches and what Paul is one to say here at the end of Ephesians, this battle that were in its cosmic in its nature and we can pretend like there's not a battle but that's not going to help us and so we can see how every Christian is in it to win it. Then I just don't know of anything more important for our daily living than to understand what it is to get up in the morning and put on the armor of God. If you really know who you are, then it'll change how you think it will change what you say it will change how you react to people will change everything and no more fitting way to draw it all to conclusion in the say that God's given you all of this armor. This is yours.
You are the rightful recipient of the armor of God is his armor on you and so you still going to face problem just about have tribulations. And yes, you can still stumble and fall. But you have been designed by God through Jesus Christ. In such a way that you can live with a spiritual victory and that's my prayer for each and every one keep in mind over and over and over. Who am I in Christ. Remind yourself in the morning and in the evening when you lie back down and it will change.
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