A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (pt-5) - [Ephesians 6:10-20]

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It must have been ten years ago, and I was driving down the street close to my home in North Hollywood, California And I noticed a helicopter in the distance.
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I thought that's not a big deal We usually see those almost every night drive over our home And I was working with my boss in the car we were driving from hospital hospital and as I was looking further into the smog haze
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Smaze of Los Angeles I saw another helicopter and then another one
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And I must have seen about six or seven helicopters Hovering over a general area and that general area was 6132
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Carpenter Avenue my home I thought something's going what's happening and At the time it was just Kim and Haley I believe
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Let's drive over here a little closer. I got closer and closer and closer. I thought I better turn on the radio station the news station to figure out what was happening and some men with complete armor and heavy duty machine guns
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Stormed into the Bank of America you may have seen the story And they shot a bunch of people killed a lot of people and then began walking through the neighborhoods where I lived
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With all these machine guns and their heavy armor and the policemen did not have the right kind of weaponry to counteract them
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They had nine millimeter guns. They were all hiding behind their cars They finally drove down to the nearest gun shop
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B &B gun sales Got ammo and proper guns from them to come back to actually shoot and then to kill these two murderous thugs
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I Remember finally figuring out the answer and I called Kim and I said stay inside.
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No don't go outside I don't know if they fixed it, but for at least a year when we would go back to our
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Shopping store our grocery store. It was called Ralph's you could still see the bullet holes up above The sign at Ralph's grocery store from these heavy -duty machine guns these men had so too we
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Christians are in a war and If we don't battle with God's armor it is like the policemen with pea shooters trying to go against those with ak -47s
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The Christian life is a battle if you're a Christian you're in the battle My question to you this morning is what kind of weaponry?
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What kind of armor? What kind of protection? What kind of offensive gear do you have in this war?
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And if you'll turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6 We need to learn and understand from Paul inspired by the
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Spirit of God Since we're at war against Satan sin and self for that matter
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We need to have the proper equipment Rubber band guns against Panzers won't do and neither will self -righteous
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Christians Accomplish anything as they try to battle invisible supernatural
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Demons Satan himself and even try to say no to sin and yes to righteousness
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You all know this passage of Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 and following and it is a great passage
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It's one of those that you probably memorized as a kid I remember the CBD sale We would go there all the time and you could buy plastic armor to put on the kids
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So they would know this is the helmet of salvation and here's the sword of the Spirit You could just kind of don that dress put your kids with this armor and you know they probably wanted to march right down to Higgins Armory just to to kind of see what that was like and experience it
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Martin Lloyd -jones says the great Scottish preacher the great English preacher who died in 1981 said
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There is nothing more urgently important for all who claim the name of Christian Than to grasp and to understand the teaching of Ephesians 6 10 to 20
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It's important. We don't need a scholar to tell us it's important But that just almost magnifies the intensity of this passage and why we should understand it and how we should understand it
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To give you the backdrop of Ephesians remember of the book of Ephesians Tells local churches how to glorify
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God in their midst a good theme of the book of Ephesians would be glorifying Jesus Christ in a local church and in chapter 1 that glorious scene with High intensity beams.
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It's a halogen like light zooming in saying God is to be praised Because he has a plan and that plan he works out in and through the person of Jesus Christ And he works out this plan in a local church through people like us to the praise of his glory of his grace
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God has got a plan for the church. God has a plan for you. God has a plan for all kinds of folks
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To have his glory shown our shining. I'm gonna make sure we get these guys some seats back here, please
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Thank you in chapter 2 He tightens the noose a little bit and makes it more specific and he says we used to be slaves to sin
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We used to be blinded by Satan if this great God of ours Christ Jesus on a white victorious charger as it were comes in to rescue us
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But God has great mercy and God saves by grace through faith alone and he does it to his for his own glory
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Chapter 3 is about Gentiles. We Gentiles here for us who are non -jews
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God even has a plan for us even way back in the Abrahamic Covenant in the eternal plan of God Even God knew that he would not just send his son to die for Jews only
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Praise the Lord but for Gentiles as well For those of us who are not born in Israel who are not of the tribe and of the nation and the circumcised
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Israelites Then he says almost turning on a dime in chapter 4 and then 5 in chapter 6
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Since we have all these blessings since we are to show God's glory. We should act like a particular
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Peculiar different kind of person to show Christ's glory in us. It's not by our own strength.
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It's not by our own power It's not because we're better But now we have the Spirit of God in us and since we're different that ought to show itself in relationships with parents
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Relationships with children relationships with one another at church. We are just different because God has changed us
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I could put it this way if the God of the universe dwells in you will there be a change?
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If God takes a sinful person and he says now the Holy Spirit not just any spirit
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But the third person the Trinity who by name and by nature is holy Invades and indwells us we're going to be different.
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We're going to speak differently We'll think differently will act differently and we'll deal with sin differently than those who are captured and captivated by sin
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And that's what happens in chapters 4 5 & 6. It's like a scale Walk worthy of all of our calling
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God puts all the weight of all the riches of Christ Jesus here And he says by the
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Spirit's power you begin to live out who you are Be who you are become more of who you are act more like Christ is the theme of chapters 4 5 & 6
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And now let's zero in on Ephesians 6 10 and following with a little recap and then we'll look at some of the pieces of the armor today
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So you can stand effectively against sin Satan and even yourself today could be called drawing a line in the sand against Satan and sin
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The line must be drawn here the buck stops here all this imagery that we'll read has to do with military language and that language is not of Capturing the hill over there take that hill take that plateau secure that land
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No on the flip side it is God through Christ's victory at Calvary has given us this turf this land
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This position now hold the line keep your position. Don't go backwards
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And I just love this. I have been wanting to preach this for weeks and that's a translation by the way beloved when
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I want to Preach something for weeks that's gonna take a long time to preach Lewis knows that it's just so good.
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It's so rich. Can you imagine? Every one of you should be so envious of my position that you should just drool at night
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You pay me You free up actually you pay God, but the money that you give to God in worship
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Goes to me so I can pay Mass Electric the gas company the propane tanks the mortgage
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So that I am free to study the riches and the glory of God in his word So then
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I get to preach to you and for go for God's glory to think of the riches and treasure
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I don't know if you've ever been on kind of a scavenger hunt But when you find that last thing in the scavenger hunt you think
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I'm gonna race back. I've got it. I'm gonna win God has not only given us a scavenger hunt mentality
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But he's given us the Spirit of God to come alongside of us to help us understand the text and we get the riches of his word how churches will have a
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Service a worship service not centered around The Word of God is beyond me
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When we did the memorial service yesterday, we went to a church in Franklin and I gave a reflection if that gives you an idea what a sermon is is
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Called and I just thought as I look out among these people probably most not saved I thought they're starving for the glory of God found in his word
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And God, thank you that I could just at least for 10 minutes get up and preach the Word of God Oh get ready for a big feast right now.
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Just you might want to just push your pew back a little bit Give a little extra room for your stomach
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Loosen that belt up a little bit men and just get ready for a Thanksgiving feast and it's a little hot
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So you'll have to pay attention But the key to worship while you listen to a sermon is to have your
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Bibles open To take notes to kind of follow along and just be engaged and you will be blessed and if you fall asleep today
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It won't be my fault. It surely won't be the Bible's fault And I guess that leaves our environment
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Look at some of the strategies we looked at before to get us up to speed in Ephesians 6 a 10 and following the first strategy in review was found in verse 10 that we cannot do it on our own
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We cannot fight the battle on our own our own righteousness our own self -reliance will not do he says finally
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For the rest be strengthened in the Lord Says be strong in but it's really
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God strengthening us be strengthened in the Lord the king and in the strength of his might
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And friends God is eager. God is willing God is capable of Giving us this strength.
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He's not being chintzy he's not being some kind of a God who's just barely giving us enough and kind of goading us on wanting us to have nutrition through cotton candy
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No, he's giving us this and that's why Paul says with the command This should be strengthened in the Lord with all his strength that he has with all his power that he has
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You certainly have a need so therefore feast on the strength that God gives the supernatural dominion and power
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That is more than sufficient for what we need and if we're not relying on ourselves on whom should we rely
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Verse 11 conversely relying on God's weaponry How to be strong grammatically verse 11 put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand
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Firm against the schemes of the devil and just like a good general He's not saying but and therefore and and he just gives the next command
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Here's verse 10 now here comes another command and he says be clothed with the full armor of God the
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Greek word We get an English word from the Greek word It means to endow and you endow yourself with clothes you put some clothes on it's the same kind of thing clothe yourself why for a purpose that you may be able to stand against the methods or schemes of the devil and The devil is scheming.
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The devil has all kinds of plans. The devil has a strategy He's after the apple of God's eye you the corporate church.
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And so Paul warns us. We need to be ready He says maintain your ground Didn't last as long as I thought if the
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Lord desires intimacy with you and communion union Closeness Satan will try to drive that wedge through to separate to alienate to divert to divide
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That's why we need to be really biblical in our response verse 12 says For our struggle is not against flesh and blood
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That might be bad But against rulers against powers against world forces of this darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places
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He's trying to say your enemy is great so pay attention and do it the right way While ago,
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I went home to visit mom This must have been nine months ago or something and she was doing pretty well So after a few days of visiting my brother and I we rented
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Harleys and just drove around Omaha and Nebraska just I Used to ride motorcycles and my dad wisely at age 16 sold my motorcycle because he said
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I know you won't ride on this dirt anymore you'll ride on the street because that was the age to drive on the street in those days 16 and my dad was wise because I would have
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Driven on the street. I could have been part of the organ donor plan
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My brother and I were riding all around and we drive down to DeSoto Bend and see this wildlife Preserve and we would just drive out in the country and it just felt so good and free and I thought riding a motorcycle
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Then we drive into town and all these cars coming up in intersections and everything else I have never had such a worse stress headache in my life as I did that night
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I just kept thinking one wipeout and I'm dead one wipeout No, daddy one wipeout who knows what's going to happen and as kids try to think when they get to the bottom of an elevator
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That breaks the cable brakes. They jump at the end I was trying to think he think when I do crash on that motorcycle
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I'm gonna push it under my body kind of climb on top of it. So it doesn't crash on top of me All these kind of weird machinations in my mind didn't make any sense and you say pastor
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What does this have to do with anything? the whole time I was Driving Defensively, I was driving not knowing not not worried of what
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I might do but with the other guy in mind That was my driver's ed class. It's not you who are probably gonna kill yourself
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It's the other guy and so same thing here with warfare. He stacks one spiritual
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Force against us upon another upon another almost like a parade Here comes the parade of one bad guy after another so you pay attention.
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So you listen Much to your chagrin maybe in the 80s I went to several Los Angeles Laker championship parades to the streets of Los Angeles And in one car there would be
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Magic Johnson And then another car there would be James worthy another basketball player another car Kareem Abdul Jabbar and another car
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Michael Cooper and another car Byron Scott one after another after another and I just thought the
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Lakers are great until the Celtics beat them the next year Here comes the parade of all these spiritual
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Demons and forces so that we all pay attention healthy respect for the enemy
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Cs Lewis said there are two extremes regarding satanic activity quote There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devil's
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One is to believe in their existence. The other is to believe and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them
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They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialistic our magician like delight
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Well Paul when recaps it and he says in verse 13 a summary of 10 11 and 12 therefore
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Because of this enemy because of his potential because of his power because of his numbers take up the full armor of God Don't just put it on but assume it
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That you may be able to resist in the evil day. I Might say any evil day and having done everything to stand firm
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Well now we're caught up we are in a battle I could ask you this question what
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Kind of battles. Have you been in lately? Do you think with the system of the world Satan your own flesh society?
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Are you having any battles right now? Are there any is there spiritual warfare going on in your life that you know about I? got convicted when
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I read this from my old pastor a Christian who no longer has to struggle against the world the flesh and the devil is a
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Christian who's fallen into either sin or into complacency No struggle
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Means that here's the front lines of the battle as an infantry men are person and you retreat where the bullets don't fly as fast
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The bombs don't explode as much and so when you're up close to the battle, there's intense struggle when you back off no big deal and Paul is almost writing this so that the the troops don't relax their discipline, so they don't become complacent and lax and I did notice as I've read these three verses.
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Did you notice the same thing these four verses nothing in there about technique? Nothing in there about demon infestation territorial demons rebuking demons binding demons demons and dwelling nothing about technique
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Nothing about testimony nothing about experience. Just who they are and what they've done
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RC Sproul you know him as the Bible teacher had a mentor and his name was John Gershner and John Gershner had a real rough gruff voice
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RC like and our and Gershner said this when tempted to do wrong flee as Joseph did from Potiphar's wife
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But when attacked by Satan for doing right? stand firm as Daniel did before the decree of Nebuchadnezzar and That's Ephesians chapter 6 10 and following with what should we dirt ourselves?
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What kind of things should we put on? Well, let's move now to verses 14 through 17 as we look at the armor of God.
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What was Paul's Bible? Which part which Bible did Paul have? the Old Testament Now many people and I think it's fair will say
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Paul has been chained to so many Roman guards That he looks at that Roman guard and he sees the belt he sees the breastplate he sees their shoes
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He sees the sword He sees all kinds of things a shield and as Paul would sit hour upon hour and when the shift
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Changes the new guards would come in he would notice all the armor and now in a way that will try to capture your attention
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He's going to use that Roman armor for a good illustration because he's seen enough Roman soldiers in his time
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Maybe I don't buy it though. Why don't I buy it? Would you turn to a Isaiah chapter 59 keep your fingers here on Ephesians 6?
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Turn to Isaiah chapter 59 and we'll show you where all this terminology comes from.
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I don't believe it comes directly are primarily Because there's guards everywhere
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Roman guards But because this is armor that God has this is armor that God uses and even the capital letters in your
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Ephesians text should point to you backwards to the Old Testament and between Isaiah 11 and now
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Isaiah 59 with which we'll look at at which we'll look at You see this armor from God Use God's armor chapter 10 chapter 6 verse 10 11 12 13.
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What armor might that be Isaiah 59? 17 through 20 Excellent.
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If you don't read your Old Testament, I'd encourage you to read through your Old Testament. Even this summer That'd be a good goal.
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I have a loved one and they said my goal is to read through the entire Bible this summer How about just the
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Old Testament and then the New Testament just comes alive? Watch it happen right here verse 17 speaking of God the warrior
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He put on righteousness like a what? Breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his
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God's head And he put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped himself with zeal as a mantle
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What great language? According to their deeds so he will repay wrath to his adversaries recompense to his enemies to the coastlands.
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He will make recompense So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the West and his glory from the rising of the
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Sun for he will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the Lord drives a
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Redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob Here God is clad with armor
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He is decked out in royal divine armor And as we see this divine armor
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God wants us to use that armor that God has supplied for us And so therefore let's go back to Ephesians chapter 6 and look at these six pieces of armor that you need you meaning the church at large then by Implication you individually need to stand against sin and Satan when the battle is hot
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Drawing a line in the sand against Satan You'll need these six pieces of armor to stand your ground against sin and Satan These six pieces of armor are
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God's armor that we use these six pieces of armor have spiritual equivalents
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They're not just pieces of armor that we go pick up. It's not like with Goliath.
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Remember Goliath. Did he wear literal armor? coat of mail and all kinds of other things he was
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Just laden down with all kinds of iron it's not that kind it's going to be a kind of Armor that is identified with the divine gift our virtue
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Putting on God's armor this metaphorical use of these literal pieces of armor and to tip my hat ahead of time this passage will say this
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Be who you are if God has given you armor then use it if God has made you righteous act more righteously
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Here's how Paul could have said Ephesians chapter 6 verses 14 and following with non armor language
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Romans 13 14 put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to the lusts
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Instead of put on all this armor. He says to the church at Rome put on Christ He says earlier in chapter 4 of Ephesians put on the new man
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Act like who you are be more of who you are. Well, you say I want to know the armor I want to know what comes first Well, let's go to that six pieces of armor that are essential for you to stand your ground against sin and Satan number one the first bit of armor and I will put it in the virtue
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Mode Number one you must commit yourself to live a life of truthfulness in every area number one the first piece of armor
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Teaches us that you must commit yourself to a life of whole truthfulness and integrity in all areas of your life
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In other words be truthful Ephesians 6 14 after again saying stand firm therefore he then tells us with command like words
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Having girded your loins with truth. So here's what we'll do for each one of these six. There's something about God's armor
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But there's also something about Roman Infantry infantryman's armor, so we'll describe what that armor is and then we'll tie it with the metaphorical application
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So what does this mean gird your loins with truth? Was the last time you did that was the last time you girded your loins?
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That sounds like a good new ministry gird your loins ministry. What would they do? You'd open with prayer you'd sit in a circle like Baptist do hold hands sing kumbaya open in prayer and then what?
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girding your loins Well, we have form -fitting clothes these days and you can get the tailor to cut your clothes in any way you want in those days
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You didn't have much you had a little undergirth. He had some undergarments. You had a big robe and For around the house and for walking or about that was okay.
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Just a long flowing kind of a robe But when there was action and you needed to run or fight or do both you had to take this
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Excess these four corners of the robe pull them up and tuck them in your belt So you could run because otherwise and children know this girls know this if you have a dress that's too long
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And you try to run Or you have a dress that's too form -fitting and try to run you're not going to really run
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There's no way you can get around and here he's saying with this attitude of readiness I think of the
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Israelites in Exodus 12 You shall eat in this manner with your loins girded your sandals on your feet your staff in your hand and you shall eat in Haste it's the
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Lord's Passover be ready anytime to gird up your loins means you better be ready to make a quick exit and So you'll have the belt around this
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Around your back around your waist and you could put your dagger in there You could put your sword in there you could stash things but mainly you were taking your cloak and Taking your cloak in your or your robe and tucking it in so you could
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Get about your business in a fast way in a speedy way in a way that you wouldn't trip up First Peter one says gird your minds for action make your minds ready prepared for action
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Be ready in a moment's notice and what does he say to be ready with?
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He says with the truth Having girded your loins with truth now certainly this could mean with the gospel truth with Christian doctrine with a summary of Christianity with systematic theology
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Doctrines that are all biblical and he could be saying now when you want to fight Satan make sure you know your
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Bible But I think he's going to do that with the sword. The sword is going to be going to be talking about Using the sword against Satan and other things here.
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He's not talking about objective truth a body of truth Christianity here He's talking about subjective truth
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Look at back at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 24 He's talking about since you have the truth be truthful.
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He's not even using the truth in Greek. It's just truth Gird yourself with truth.
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Look at Ephesians 4 24 Most commentators are with me and they believe this is to mean to be reliable and faithful What do you do when you put on the new self?
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What do you do when you put on armor? What do you do when you put on Christ? Ephesians 4 24 and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth
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Ephesians 5 9 for the fruit of light which consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth as God in Ephesians 5 1 wants us to be more like him were to be more truthful because God is a
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God of truth We walk in truth John says because he is in truth And I think here's what
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Paul is saying John chapter the third chapter of Third John says
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I have no greater joy than this to hear of my children walking in the what? truth
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Boy, it is hot in here today, isn't it? You having a hard time staying awake? Whoo, I'll do this and now you'll all take a break to Love it.
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Don't fall asleep. Hang in there spouses you have my permission if your spouse begins to fall asleep you give them not greet them with a holy kiss greet them with A holy pinch just a little pinch right there.
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Wake them up in a battle.
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It's important to have integrity and faithfulness Anything that might be a hindrance
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When it comes to that area one man said this live your life with absolute truthfulness commit yourself to truthfulness in all areas of your life and As spin control and half -truth might be good for politics.
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It leaves open the armor for the Christian When he or she is in a battle
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Homer Kent said one cannot hope to grow spiritually and thwart the evil ones attacks if he is not willing to live with absolute truthfulness and Integrity and that's the armor that he's wanting us to put on God desires truth
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And we all dress in a certain way when I dress Well, I could ask you the question when you dress you put your shoes on first or men do you put your slacks on first?
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Put your socks on before your shoes, you know I guess we could do that way but everybody has a certain order of dress and here truth is the first one because it's almost encompassing everything we do we want to live truthful lives of Integrity, how about taxes?
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I think you can fight the spiritual war against God if you don't tell the truth in your taxes It's that kind of attitude
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Well, let's keep going and we're never gonna get through six pieces of armor that are essential To draw the line in the sand against Satan number one committing ourselves to a life of truthfulness
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Number two, you must be determined to live a holy life He's gonna say the same thing here and think about it beloved.
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Why would he say something objective like? Study the truth when he's already saying in chapters four or five and six be who you are
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Be more holy like God's holy act out who you are imitate Christ So since God is a God of truth be truthful here since God is a
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God of righteousness be righteous be holy He says it in 614 and having put on the breastplate of righteousness
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Paul is saying it in this way so we can just grasp it so we can get the military language So we can understand boy
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This is important and this is easier to remember then Paul just getting up saying this be truthful be holy use the
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Bible He's just painting this picture. So we go. Yes, that's the way we should do it Putting on or having put on the breastplate of righteousness
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When I was a kid and I studied insects, what were the three components of an insect the head? I'm not an insect.
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So it's not one -to -one and Abdomen this word here put on the thorax
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Righteousness and that was where we got the word breastplate the thorax because it covered the Thorax kind of area
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Protection of the heart protection of your your innards of the Greeks would call it the splinton of the the inner part
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And it would protect everything and sometimes they'd have a little some kind of felt or other something underneath here So you wouldn't chafe against your neck and it'd have straps on the back
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So it'd be around you and that's why people say there's no armor on your back So you can't go backwards even
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John Bunyan made that mistake. There is armor on your back It's just not as thick as the stuff on your front.
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It preaches. Well, you've got to go forward Christian But there's armor on the back too, and we're not even supposed to go forward onward
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Christian soldiers That's not Ephesians 6 Stand your ground Christian soldiers and there's no way you can stand your ground if you don't have a life of truthfulness you don't have your your
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Shawl kind of wrapped up and you're not having a breastplate. These things would be a big they'd have straps of bronze over them or big thick straps of Something thick the rich guys could make it chain mail
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Wesley. Where's Wesley Wesley Blackstone? He makes chain mail things kind of like scale
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Armor the rich would have that the poor would just have a bronze a brass Breastplate and they would put it right over your body.
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The Latins would call it pectorally like a pectoral muscle It would cover that area of your body the word for breast thorax means breastplate it would come up to the neck and down to the thigh and He says here
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What would you think in? Chapters 4 5 & 6 where he tends to tell you be who you are chapters 1 2 & 3
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Here's who you are in Christ 4 through 6 live it out. Do you think here he's saying now? Here's the here's the armor you need you need to remember that you have the righteousness imputed to your account by Christ Or do you think he's saying since you have the righteousness of Christ imputed to your life live righteously defend your vital parts
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With the righteousness and I think it's the second one even though God has clothed us with the righteousness of Christ Isaiah 61 as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland as a bride adorns herself with jewel
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He has clothed me with garments of salvation It is true Paul knew in Philippians 3 that he has a righteousness not of his own
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But right after he says that in Philippians 3 He says this and I press on towards the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus I am righteous in Christ.
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God has given me Christ righteousness at salvation but since I have that positionally,
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I want to act that out and that's the way I guard my my vulnerable areas Here's the way you could answer the question
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Or ask the question. Are you living a life in obedience to God's Word and to him?
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And if you aren't do you think Satan can get at you in an easier fashion answer? Yes Ready for conviction
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One man said if you have problems in your life, the first place to look is that your own holiness
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Because if you're not being righteous if you're not being holy you're exposing your your Organs that are vital.
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We don't want to do that Now what we don't want to do is say well every time we see the word breastplate
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Breastplate means righteousness because first Thessalonians 5 8 says having put on the breastplate of faith and love
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What does that mean faith and love breastplate? I thought this is breastplate of righteousness the metaphor is as a breastplate would protect your vital areas
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So to your own righteous life stemming from Christ righteousness should protect you Must protect you to guard your body from a sword or a spear or an arrow
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I remember that King in first Kings 22 Remember that guy a guy shot a arrow at random and it went up and it went in between the breastplate and killed the guy
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And so we live unrighteous lives we're open for satanic attack more the third piece of armor is found in verse 15
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This armor that's essential for us to stand Committing ourselves to a life of truthfulness Committing ourselves to a be holy and number three
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You must commit to live a life of confidence in the gospel a life that exudes confidence in the gospel
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You have to be confident that the gospel is what it is and does what it says Verse 15 having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
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When I was in high school, there's only kind of one tennis shoe and it was the
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Chuck Taylor Converse kind of all -star before they even had all -stars There was an all -star shoe and if you played basketball you wore
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Chuck Taylor's didn't you one color grunge? White canvas whatever it was and then
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I'll never forget they had a new kind of shoe and it wasn't just for only For all kinds of sport.
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It's only for basketball and it was pro kids suede
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My dad said if you make the basketball team, I'll buy you a pair of pro kids suede shoes
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I also used to be in the marching band playing the sousaphone and I was on the football team, but in the marching band and usually those two things are like two parallel lines never the
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They'll never meet But I like music and I thought that was kind of fun but it certainly wasn't cool to be in the marching band and so you had to buy these kind of like nurse shoes to be in the marching band and they were white and I Just couldn't stand to spend $14 on some nurse shoes now nurses wear these cool clogs and stuff but back in those days early 40s
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Long story short. I remember taking I got black Pro kid and Then they had no they were white with black stripes and you had to have all white shoes to be in the band
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So I took white tape and I taped it over all the black parts of that so then I can march in joy with joy with my pro kids
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What does this have to do with anything it doesn't have anything to do with anything it has to do with you So I give you a break so you can get ready for the next onslaught because it's tired.
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So that was your breath Let's go back to the passage Different shoe for every sport when you want to fight when you fight against the enemy
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You've got to have the right kind of shoes on or you'll never make it Alexander the Great Julius Caesar and others were very
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Victorious with their conquest because their armies were well shod they had good shoes.
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They had the right kind of firm and safe Footing and here's what he says here Shoe yourself shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
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Let's forget about the preparation the gospel peace for a moment What does it mean to put a shoe on it literally means having bound under you would bind the rope underneath the shoe some would have cleats and hobnails and there would be it would be necessary because of all the thorns and Razor sharp sticks what they call landmines back then
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Heat you just need to have the right kind of shoe and sometimes you would tie The laces up your leg or sometimes you might have greaves to protect it just all depends
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But you need to have the right kind of shoes to protect your feet Now, what does this passage not say?
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I'll tell you what it doesn't say Look at the text verse 15 and having shod your feet with the proclamation of the gospel of peace
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You want to have battle against Satan and be victorious make sure you preach the gospel That's not what this passage is saying.
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It has nothing to do with the proclamation of the gospel Romans 10 Quoting Isaiah 52 means preach the gospel in this context
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It has nothing to do with the proclamation of the gospel if you're in spiritual warfare Is it a good idea to preach the gospel? Certainly, but that's not what this passage is focusing on.
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It's not talking about the proclamation It's talking about something else the preparation or the readiness of the gospel of peace.
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What does that have to do with anything? Be prepared or be ready to stand with the right kind of footing against the onslaught of Satan Be firmly grounded with the gospel of peace.
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What must that mean? Be sure -footed with the gospel of peace We with the right kind of shoes as Christians provided by provided for by God Will make us ready to plunge into battle knowing this
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That God is on our side that God is on our side as the
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Roman Soldier had shoes that were firm We have a good firm
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Confidence or resolution that we're fighting with God on our side And how do we know that look what he calls it? They're the gospel of peace the preparation of the gospel of peace
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We now can be resolved in our heart with having a frame of mind that says, you know
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I know what this gospel does this gospel brings peace This gospel makes me at peace with God and when
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I fight others, by the way, I find this interesting when you're at war Make sure you Remember that God has made you at peace with him
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We stand in confidence in other words of God's love for us his union with us and his commitment to fight for us in other
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Words, it's one man said John MacArthur said Second Corinthians 2nd Chronicles 2015 says this for the battle is not yours, but the
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Lord's we have Firmness a solid foundation proper footing knowing that we have the
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God of peace the immovable God on our side Boy, if you could just see some of your faces it looks so hot in here
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Maybe we need to have a baptismal service right about now. I almost have enough sweat for full immersion
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But right now we're still at infant baptism mode When you fight a fight knowing that you could never die
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Because the God of peace has made you at peace with him. What's the worst thing that will happen to you if you're in a fight? You could think about a man now who's in Iraq the worst thing that happens to a
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Christian who's fighting a real battle What happens well, they die and go to heaven. What's the worst thing that could happen to you?
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Well, we still have the The promises of God the God who's made our peace One man said it this way
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This is a recognition that the good news of salvation has provided peace with God and thus all we need for spiritual victory
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Furnishes us with calm for the conflict if God has saved us God has given us peace and God has sent us out to go to the front lines
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We should be able to say you know what God I can trust you. I know what you can do I know you're a God of peace I know you can do whatever you want whenever you want as easily as you want that I'm going to be confident
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Let's do one more Let's make it fast fourth piece of armor so far
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We've seen a life of truthfulness a holy life a life of confidence in the gospel I mean without those how could you fight and thirdly fourthly rather?
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The fourth piece of armor you need to stand your ground against Satan to draw the line in the sand against Satan as you must Live by faith
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You must live by faith Verse 16. Oh, this is a neat verse in addition to all overall
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Taking up the shield of faith We'll stop there Okay, there's two kinds of shields a little small round shield kind of that you hit somebody's head with and big oblong door like shields that were
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Rectangular in shape two and a half feet by four feet and you can just imagine all these people lined up Have you seen them before and shows about Roman armies, and they all kind of bend down behind them
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They lock shields they get really close, and then the archers are right behind them shooting away They just kind of lock in this phalanx.
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Just are all there these big huge seal Shields And what they would do is they would cover them with leather, and they would soak them with it water a bunch of times
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Why? because the That's exactly right because if you look at the rest of the verse
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Satan is shooting some flaming missiles at us and this might extinguish them if they're smooth
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Shields if they've got kind of water on them And if they're thick shields what would happen if I took a candle that had a light on it and threw it against that shield really hard if I just even against that wall the brunt of that shield the
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Protective force of that shield most likely would extinguish that candle We need to be protected is what he's trying to say
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And we need to have this shield of faith that will be like a flame retardant protector protector.
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They'd hold it with their left hand Actually it comes from the word door the word shield comes from door because it's this big door like Object and I found it very interesting this week when
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I studied this more in history Ski Siva counted no less than 220 darts sticking into his shield after one battle
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Can you imagine you can just hear the sound of that hitting that This shield that protects us.
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And again, this is all kind of protection. That's why it's an it's an armor And if you study the word faith and Ephesians, you're gonna find it everywhere and this shield that protects us is faith
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That God can be trusted to keep his promises How about this
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Matthew 7 9 what man is there among you when his sons asked for a loaf will give him a stone?
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How much more about God if you have faith in God when you're a battle This is what Paul's after that you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one
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They would take a little darts and they would dip them in pitch. They would light them on fire and shoot them This is faith in what
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God has said and faith in who God is and faith in what God has already done and faith that The God of the universe who is eternal and doesn't change will be faithful in the future as we fight
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The siege of Ambrosia with the Romans the history account says quote some advanced with burning torches others carried toe and pitch and fire darts their entire line being illumined by the blaze and Here Satan shoots in something.
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Oh, you're hurting so bad. God's not faithful. You just lost your mother God's fallen off the throne.
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Oh, you can't have enough money to pay for these bills. God started a good work, but he won't finish it
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But when you have faith in God and his promises and who he is that will help you in the battle
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I Almost think faith is what's the opposite of faith and put it this way I give you
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I'll give you a word you give me an antonym the opposite of trust is distrust a trust sometimes
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I think when the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 3 trust in the Lord with all your heart the opposite of trusting
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At least how it fleshes itself out in lives of churches like ours is worry is fret
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How can you protect yourself against Satan's darts of God can't be trusted. How could he how could you lose that loved one?
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How could you that happen? How could all this happen when you say I still have to believe by the way Isn't faith belief in someone or something?
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We can't see I thought about my mother the other day I said to Daniel with him losing his mother and I lose and with me losing my mother
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Many times I had the privilege of teaching my mother theology And she would teach the ladies at Omaha Bible Church and before she teach the lesson
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She'd call me and make sure it was all theologically correct kind of thing And so we'd go through oh, yeah teach this and oh mom that was good and that would be good for the ladies and way to go and And so Daniel to over the last several years has taught his mother much about theology.
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I said to Daniel yesterday or the day before Do you know our moms are better theologians than we are now?
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Because our moms now see face to face and there is no such thing as faith in heaven because you see But now on earth we walk by what?
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Faith not by sight. It was like MacArthur asked the question. How can you raise three kids in the middle of Los Angeles? What could what are you thinking?
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And he said well, I walk by faith not by sight Trusting God no matter what I see what I feel.
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That's a good one for us. I don't feel like God cares I don't feel like God hears my prayers. I don't feel like anyone cares
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I don't feel like this is all going to work out and that's the kind of Weakness you have in your armor that needs to be supplanted with and replaced by God can be trusted
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God is a God who doesn't change Titus chapter 1 doesn't say a God who cannot lie in Greek It says the unlying
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God by nature He doesn't lie And so when we're fighting the battle and the temptations come in those need to be replaced with good theology that says
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Even though he might slay me. I'll trust in him Doing away with dependence on self
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Because self is just going to take another one of those darts. Thank you, sir. May I have another? With the worry warts and with dependence on self
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Faith is our shield faith. The Bible says is evidence of things not seen in the substance of things hoped for So when you get those evil thoughts
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That's when scripture memory is so good. Well, we have two more pieces of armor and we can save those for next week
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Here's Ephesians 6 for you. You're in a battle if you're not in a battle one of two things is happening a you're not a
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Christian Or be you're a Christian who to use the colloquialism has backslidden who has just begun to sin
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God says you're in a battle and you have the privilege of fighting for God on the front lines That's why sometimes
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I almost wish there was more chaos in this community with our church Not within our church. I think that's bad
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But our church creating chaos and after my sermon at Franklin Federated yesterday, we may be a marked church
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I'm not sure and after Daniels comments as well Why because you tell the truth and then there's a response
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If I ask you this question What kind of response are you getting from some of your family friends loved ones and neighbors?
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Regarding the gospel because if you haven't been preaching the gospel, the response has been hi neighbor.
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Welcome. You're great Thanks, brother, thanks sister But once we stand for truth, can
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I can't even imagine it? Paul said in 1st Corinthians 16 if you don't love Jesus, you're accursed
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When you love somebody don't you talk about him all the time? I? Remember the first time Kim came to my door and you know the story it just the sovereignty of God I move into this apartment and in Brentwood and there was a vacuum cleaner there and I said to the landlord
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His name was high row. I said, I don't need this vacuum cleaner. I'm a bachelor. I don't vacuum Must be the people who left it.
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Well, that's okay. If they come back give it to them not a week later Hi, I know this girl upstairs that you go jogging with and she said you have a vacuum maybe and could
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I borrow the vacuum? I said sure Bring it back whenever gave her
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I said hope it works Gave it to her called the girl upstairs her name She was in a cult her name was
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Sharon, but her new cult leader named Jesus Christ gave her a new name called Aria That's another story.
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I called up Ari and I said I gotta get to know that girl Who is that girl? give me a date with that girl and Then as Kim and I began to spend time together and that was a time when my father was dying of cancer and she would
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Do strange things she'd say, you know, you like the Bible you were trying to understand the Bible You want to know why your dad's dying or where he's gonna go and you want us to understand the keys of the universe?
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You need to read your Bible go to church. So he began to go to church. She said there's something you might like It's called
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Christian radio. There's some guy preaching on the radio Man, that is wild. There's a Christian radio
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What I've been doing the whole time My life driving around as a sales rep. I began to listen to Christian radio.
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There's a kind of a stuffy guy He was right, but he was too stuffy for me this guy John somebody John Mac John MacArthur somebody
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I just kept listening anyway And then the more we spent time with each other
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If you would have come to my house my apartment and you wanted to borrow my vacuum cleaner
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I would have not talked about my vacuum cleaner I would have talked about the love of my life this girl that I just met and this girl
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I got engaged to oh You've got a you got to hear about this girl that God gave me You've got to hear about my wife.
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And when you love somebody, what do you do? You set him free. No You talk about him and Be Meaning it's a fact and it starts with me and then it works its way down to you though one of the reasons why
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I don't think we're in that much warfare at this church is Because even though we're good at Bible teaching and even though we're getting better at fellowship and even though we're struggling and striving and getting better In certain areas, we don't evangelize hardly at all
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Case -in -point being by there's no pushback. Nobody's mad at us I shouldn't say at all because we have very some very faithful people to do that But as a church on the whole and I'm the one who's responsible with the elders
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But may I plead with you and may I even take my own preaching advice? Would you preach the gospel to your friends?
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Knowing that God will be pleased even though they might hate you One of the reasons why we don't have any warfare any conflict because we're not in the front lines telling people
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Do you know what God doesn't love you and have a wonderful plan for your life? If you've turned for if you don't turn to him
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God says he's angry with the wicked every day and your sin is so heinous that God had to send his son and kill him in Your for your point in your place and so I would love to see this kind of spiritual warfare flush itself out in evangelism and Now we don't have to be afraid.
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What are we afraid of? Well, we'll take we'll live truthful lives We'll live holy lives
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We'll know that God's on our side and we'll know that God keeps our promises. So what can man do to us?
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What can man do to you? Fifth and sixth piece next week. Let's pray Lord, we give you praise and glory and honor and father.
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We always talk about wanting to be like your son What would Jesus do? What would he do and father?
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He preached the gospel all the time They wanted him to heal more and he said I didn't come to heal mainly I came to preach father make us like preachers
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Preachers like your son. Maybe we preach the gospel so much that everyone will know It's the only tune that church has is that Jesus Christ is a great savior of great sinners father help us and help us for those who are struggling to move
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From headquarters up to the front lines and what a joy it is to serve you What a joy it is to have people even yesterday.
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I Could tell didn't like me Lord because I preached your word Father I count that as a privilege and give us many more opportunities in the weeks to come
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Maybe even today Lord to tell the good news of salvation by faith alone through Christ alone for your glory alone.