Alright, turn with me if you
would to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6. The text here in Ephesians 6. We looked at verses 11 and 12,
or a couple of weeks ago, we looked at verses 11 and 12, which
say, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. The title of that study was the
whole armor of God part one. And we spent our time in that
study seeing how absolutely secure we are in Christ. It's warning
us against the wiles of the adversary. And we spent that time seeing
that Christ is the God. He is God. We worry about so
much, but Christ is God, the almighty God. Everything bows
before him. Everything answers to him. And nothing can happen outside
of His permission. Nothing. And then after we enjoyed
seeing that, I enjoyed seeing that, we acknowledged His warning
to us and His exhortation to put on the whole armor of God.
Today, Lord willing, we're going to see what the whole armor of
God is and how we put it on. All right, verse 13, it says,
wherefore, Take unto you the whole armor of God, which is
Christ. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Go with me over to Psalm 18. Psalm 18, verse 1, it says, I
will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust,
my buckler and the horn of my salvation. In my high tower I
will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall
I be saved from mine enemies. He is our armor. He is our armor. Just listen to this. Psalm 91,
it says, He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most
High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will save
the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in Him will I trust. And it goes on to say that you
don't need to be afraid for any arrow that flies, any pestilence
that's out there. It shall not come nigh thee,
not if He has not purpose to send it to you. He's God. All
right, now go with me back to Ephesians 6. Verse 13, Wherefore take unto
you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in
the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, which is Christ. That's Christ, alright? Now go
with me to John 8, and as you're turning there, I want to tell
you that I don't want to overturn you this morning. I don't want
to wear you out with scripture. I took out many scriptures because
time, I timed it and it just, there wasn't enough time, but
there, I still have a lot of scripture. So if you want to
look at it with me, you can turn and if not, you can just listen
to it. But John eight verse 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then are
you my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free. The truth will set you
free. Specifically, what is the truth?
We've already answered it, but let's look at it with our eyes.
Go with me to John 14. When we hear the truth, when
we see the truth, how can we recognize it? How do we know
that we're hearing and seeing the truth? Well, John 14 verse
4 says, Whither I go, you know, and the way you know. Thomas
saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how
can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way. That is the eye-opening revelation. Before someone truly sees, before
conversion takes place and the light comes on, everything in
the scripture is a thing to a person. But when the light comes on,
everything becomes a person. Everything becomes a person. A way is not the way. A person is the way. He is always
the answer to everything that we need. We need the whole armor
of God. Christ is the whole armor. We
need the truth. He said right here, I am the
truth. Jesus said unto him, I am the
way, I am the truth, I am the life. No man cometh unto the
Father but by me. When we hear Christ, we're hearing
the truth. Alright, go with me back to Ephesians
6. Verse 14. Stand therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness." Now don't turn, but Romans 10 verse 4 says,
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. What that
means is all the righteousness we need is in Him. He fulfilled it. And then it
goes on to say, everyone that believe it. Don't turn. But first Corinthians one verse
30 says Christ is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. But nowhere do we find clear
proof of that than in this declaration right here. Go with me to Jeremiah
23. Jeremiah 23 verse 5, Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David
a righteous branch, speaking of Christ, and a king shall reign
and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days, Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name whereby
He shall be called." This is the name of Christ, the Lord,
our righteousness. That's His name. All right, now
you know where we're going next. Jeremiah 33. Jeremiah chapter
33. Verse 14, Behold, the days come, saith
the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have
promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah. In
those days and at that time will I cause the branch of righteousness
to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness
in the land. In those days shall Judah be
saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name
wherewith she shall be called. This is the name of the bride
of Christ, all of God's elect. the Lord our righteousness. Does that not amaze us? That amazes me. Her name is His
name and it's because He is her righteousness. He is our righteousness. As he is, to enter into as he
is, so are we. That's not just a, that's not
just a good statement. As he is, so are we. Amazing. All right. Go back with
me to Ephesians six. Verse 14, Stand therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace. What is the gospel of peace? Isaiah wrote, Unto us a child
is born. Unto us a son is given and his
name shall be called. He goes on to say the prince
of peace. When the angel announced his
birth, the angel said, peace is on earth. The gospel of peace
is a person. Gospel is a person. All right. Now you can listen or turn. Mark
chapter one, verse one says, The beginning. Of the gospel. Of Jesus Christ. The son of God,
the gospel is all about Christ. The gospel is all about Christ. Someone visited one time. Who
does not attend, but? Said. Y'all pretty much just talk about Christ,
don't you? Yep, that's pretty much all we do. The gospel is
about Christ. Once we stop talking about Christ,
we're just not preaching the gospel anymore. It's the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can listen or turn Romans
1 verse 16. It says. Romans 1 16, the apostle Paul
said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. It's all about Christ. The good news of this person
is the power of God unto salvation. I was going over these notes
this morning and that just got a hold of me. I was so thankful
for that. I want men and women to be saved. How does salvation come to centers?
Through telling people the good news of what this man has done. It's the power of God unto salvation. What is the good news? What is
the gospel of peace? 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians
1 verse 17, it says, For Christ sent me not to baptize. Did the apostle Paul baptize?
Sure he did. Are we commanded to be baptized?
Yes, we are. But he said, Christ sent me not
to baptize, but to preach the gospel. not with wisdom of words,
lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. The gospel of peace, the good
news of what happened on the cross is the power of God unto
salvation. It is the good news of what one
man, the man accomplished on a cross. What did he accomplish?
Death for somebody else. That's what he accomplished.
Death for somebody else. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 2 says,
I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. His death instead of His people's
death. His death for them. That's the
gospel of our peace. All right, back in Ephesians
6. Verse 14, stand therefore having
your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate
of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith, which
is Christ. It is Christ. Now I hope that
this will be an eye-opening thing to anyone who's never seen this.
I hope this will be a real help. Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, faith
is not of ourselves, it's the gift of God. Faith does not originate
from within us. There's nothing in here. This
is probably one of the things that men and women struggle with
the most. Well, I need to have more faith.
I need to increase my faith. My problem is my faith. That's
my problem. Yes, that is our problem, but
faith does not come from within. Faith comes from without. It has to be put in. It specifically comes from Christ
Himself. In many places, the scripture
calls it the faith of Christ. The very faith that believes
on Christ comes from Christ. He's doing it. He's sending it.
He's the author. He's the performer. And he's
the finisher of it. Totally. But if we would like
to have a good understanding of what faith truly is, what goes on inside a person
when faith is working? What does it look like when a
person has strong faith? If our faith increases, how do
we recognize it? If we want to see that, then
this is all we need to do. Every time we see the word faith,
substitute it with the word Christ. Every time we see the word faith,
substitute it with the word Christ. That'll give us the clearest
understanding of what faith truly is. Now I want you to turn with
me over to Matthew chapter nine. Matthew 9 verse 1, it says, And
he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him
a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and Jesus seeing their
Christ. Said unto the sick of the palsy,
Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. Why were his
sins forgiven? Christ. It was because of his
Christ. That's faith. That is faith. All right, look right here in
Matthew 9 at verse 20. And behold, a woman, which was
diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him
and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself,
If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned
him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good
comfort. Thy Christ hath made thee whole,
and the woman was made whole from that hour. Faith ascribes it all to Christ. He's the object. You can listen
to this one, you know this one. Luke 22 verse 31 says, the Lord
said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that
he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that
thy Christ fail not. And when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. He said, I prayed for you that
your faith fail not. And the only way our faith is
going to fail not as if our Christ fails not. Faith looks to Christ,
it trusts Christ, it hopes in Christ. Go with me to Hebrews
11. Hebrews 11 verse 1, it says,
now Christ is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. For by Christ, the elders obtained
a good report. Through Christ we understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things
which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By
Christ Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying
of his gifts, and by he being dead yet speaketh. By Christ
Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was
not found because God had translated him For before his translation,
he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without Christ,
it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him." Christ, Christ, it's always Christ. All
right, back in Ephesians 6. Verse 14, it says, Stand therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the
breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith,
wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation. That helmet is
Christ, the mind of Christ. The thought of Christ, the understanding
of who he is and what he did and why he did it. Why did Christ
come? Why did He die on the cross?
I'll tell you that the average man and woman has no idea. The
average religious person, the average church-going person has
no idea. No idea what Christ accomplished
when He died on that cross. How blessed we are if God has
revealed these things to us. The Lord Himself said, though,
Every soul that my father draws to me, they shall all be taught
of God. All of my people, they'll all
be taught that salvation is of the Lord, totally of the Lord.
Verse 17 says, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of
the spirit, which is the word of God. Revelation 19 says his
name is called the word of God. Christ is the Word. These are His words. All of these
words tell us of Him. So how do we put these things
on? Now, I didn't want to run out of time without getting to
this. Everything is Christ. It's all Christ. Now, here's
the question to end this out. How do we put it on? It is Christ. How do we put it on? Verse 14
says, have your loins girt about with truth. Be wrapped up in
truth. The truth about God, the truth
about man. Some people love to wrap themselves
up in lies, knowingly. Some people love to research
lies. They love to research error.
They're curious about false things. Don't do it. Don't do it. Some people are, they know they're
in lies and they're content to stay there. Especially if it's
half truth and half lies, people are okay. I'm okay with that.
I had a conversation with a man and he admitted nowhere where
I go. He's not preaching all of the
truth. But he's still there. Don't do
that. Don't do that. We will fall. He's saying stand, stand, stand
on the truth, take a stand with the truth. If we don't, we will
fall. It must be truth all by itself. Truth alone. It has to be truth
alone. The truth of what Christ said
alone. How do we put this armor on? Verse 14 says, have on the
breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate is what's in
front. It's what guards the heart. It's
the defense for the heart. When, when, when the adversary
starts shooting arrows at your heart, alright, you are a sinner,
boom. God does not want you, boom. You are not worthy, boom. First line of defense, here's
the answer every time, in mind, heart, Christ. You are a sinner. Yes, I am. But Christ died for
my sin. God does not want you. No, but
He wants Christ. And if I'm in Christ, then He
wants me too. You are not worthy. That's true. But He is. And in
Him as He is, so am I. It's always Christ. First line
of defense. How do we put this armor on? Verse 15, your feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Be under
the preaching of the gospel. Don't forsake it for anything. As time goes on, we have a relatively
young congregation. As time goes on, sadly, we may
have a heart to fall away. These things may not be fervent
to us anymore. We may have heard these things
a thousand times. We may have read Romans 8, 28,
10,000 times. Don't forsake the gospel for
any thing. Let us not forsake the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but let us
exhort one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching. What is the fix to physical hunger
pain? Eat food, get a meal. What is
the fix to a spiritual heart pain? Get a meal. Get a meal. It may be bologna, may not be
filet mignon, but get a meal. Get a meal. Come feed on Christ. It's what will strengthen us.
It's what will give us the faith that we need to stand. It only comes through hearing
the gospel preached. So let's be under the gospel.
I'm speaking to myself first. It scares me how many preachers
have fallen away. I speak to myself first. Let's
all be under the gospel. That's what will bring that strong
shield of faith. Where with you shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. How do we put
this armor on? He said, take the helmet of salvation.
Do not entertain in your mind any doctrine that is contrary
to the doctrine of Christ. Don't read, don't research, don't
follow, don't listen to, don't give any consideration to any
written word that is contrary to the sword of the spirit, which
is the word of God. And as we stand there with all
that armor on, as soon as we finish putting all that armor
on, do this, verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints And for me, that utterance may be given unto me,
that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of
the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein
I may speak boldly as I ought to speak." If I'm the one who's
called on to preach to you, this is putting on armor. Pray for
me. Pray for me. Pray that the Lord
might strengthen and give me utterance. And that is what we're
about to look at in a moment. All right, that's our morning
message. So we'll stop right there.