[0:00] Ephesians chapter 6, we'll be reading verses 10 through 18 again.! Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10,! Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
[0:14] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
[0:34] Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
[0:46] Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with a readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
[0:59] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests.
[1:19] With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. And then turn to Matthew chapter 4.
[1:32] Matthew chapter 4. And we'll read the first 11 verses. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
[1:46] After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
[1:58] Jesus answered, It is written, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
[2:13] If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
[2:27] Jesus answered him, It is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
[2:41] All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. And Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, for it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
[2:57] Then the angel left him, and the angels came and attended him. Well, we are privileged, aren't we, to live in a land of peace and freedom, to meet here as we are today, without fear of police coming in and arresting us for worship.
[3:17] It is not like this in many places, where our brothers and sisters meet to worship the same Savior. But that peace can be a bit deceptive as well, because the reality is, that though we have this political peace in our land, every one of us are engaged in a spiritual warfare.
[3:39] Even as you sit there, you're engaged in this war of the kingdoms of darkness against the kingdom of light. Satan and his hordes against King Jesus, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and his people.
[3:59] And if you're in Christ, you are then a soldier of Jesus Christ, locked into this battle. You have been placed into Christ, and that means you have won the hatred and the rage of Satan and his demons.
[4:19] They've made you the target of their vicious attacks, and he seeks to pull you away from Christ, put distance between you and Jesus, to even pull you back onto his side.
[4:30] And if he can't drag you down to hell, he'll seek to get you to sin against Christ, and bring misery into your life, and shame upon the Savior, who loved you unto death.
[4:44] The Christian battle. This is the identity we're studying, that the Christian is a soldier. A soldier in a very real war. Now last week we saw what it means to live as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
[5:00] That this identity is to shape us then. How should a good soldier live? Well, he's to endure hardships. The hardship of war. You don't expect ease when you're at war.
[5:11] You expect hardship. Secondly, you should be pleasing your commanding officer, the Lord Jesus, who enlisted you as a soldier in his army. Thirdly, you should be watching against the devil's schemes, alert, awake to his temptations, seeking to get you to sin.
[5:31] Fourth, you should be praying as one desperate to have the help of God against this enemy that is stronger than you. And fifth, you must not fight alone, but remain vitally connected with the local church, a whole battalion of soldiers, because Satan loves to isolate and attack those who are lagging behind on their own.
[5:56] Now today, we return once more to this passage in Ephesians 6, and I believe we'll move on next week. But this passage is the classic passage on the Christian warfare.
[6:09] And so we had it read each week. This morning we find great encouragements for every soldier of Jesus Christ. Our commander does not just send us into the battle unarmed or unaided.
[6:26] He doesn't say, Now you go and you do the best you can to kill, to stay holy in the midst of this tempting world and tempting devil and try to come up with some weapons if you can.
[6:39] No. Do you fight in his cause? Are you on his side? Then he supplies you with all that you need to triumph. And so that's what we're looking at this morning.
[6:51] You say, But I'm so weak, and the enemy is so strong. And our captain says, I know. And that's why I'm making my own strength available to you. And that's why I'm giving you supernatural armor and weapons to fight with.
[7:09] So two things, strength and armor. First of all, the strength. And you notice in verse 10 of Ephesians 6, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
[7:23] So since our enemy is not mere flesh and blood, it's not just people, not humans, but demonic powers. Therefore, human strength is no match for them.
[7:37] And if we try to use human argumentation and human methods to fight this battle, we will surely fail. The arm of flesh will fail you.
[7:48] You dare not trust your own, we sing. Supernatural enemies require supernatural strength. And that's what's provided for us. The Lord's own strength.
[7:58] The very strength that created all things. The strength that raised the mountains. that made the birds, that made the flowers, that made human beings with all their intricacies.
[8:15] That's the power that is given over to you in this battle. The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That caused a dead heart to start beating again.
[8:31] It caused lungs that were dead to start breathing again. And the one who was dead to live. That's power, isn't it? And that's the power that's made over to you.
[8:42] The power that utterly defeated Satan when Jesus walked this earth. So this is full provision for our weakness. You say, I'm weak. I know that. Here, here's my power, my mighty power at our disposal.
[8:59] Oh, if that's true, then seek it. Ask for it. Believe it's yours. Make use of it. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Secondly, in this war field, God provides the armor and the weaponry that we need to fight it.
[9:17] Verses 11 and 13, put on the full armor of God. So that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Because you're not fighting against mere flesh and blood, but against spiritual enemies.
[9:28] Therefore, put on the full armor of God. So that when the day of evil comes, you might be able to stand your ground. And after you've done everything to stand. Paul's point is, it's because of who the enemy is that we're to put on the full armor of God.
[9:45] And it must be armor of God. Human armor will not suffice. Superhuman enemies require superhuman weaponry and armor.
[9:56] So this is called the armor of God. It's, it's made by him. It's provided by him. Not of man's devising.
[10:09] The God who, who knows Jesus Christ, who, who engaged the enemy. when he was here for 33 years, he knows the kind of armor you need and the kind of weapons you need.
[10:21] And it's his provided armor. Paul tells the soldiers of Christ in Corinth, though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
[10:32] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, our weapons have divine power, divine power, the power of God to demolish strongholds.
[10:49] That's a lot of power. I've heard fellows who have shot machine guns and, and automatic guns come back and say, it's amazing power that you're holding in your hands.
[11:01] What about divine weapons? Weapons that, that have divine power. This, this is what God is telling us this morning. We need nothing less.
[11:13] If we would be more than conquerors. So Paul lays out this armor in Roman or in, in Ephesians six. And it seems that he takes the picture that he saw often there, wherever he was in the Roman world of, of a fully armed Roman soldier and dress for war.
[11:33] And so he makes his way through each piece of his armor and his weaponry. And he puts a spiritual, uh, meaning to it, uh, the spiritual kind of weapons that God gives us and armor that he gives us.
[11:49] These are not the only ones. And it's not that the breastplate is always that of truth. Other places he calls it the breastplate of love and, and other things, but he's just using this picture to say to us, we need supernatural armor and weapons to fight against the devil.
[12:08] Twice. Twice. He tells us to put on the full armor of God. So if I've got the helmet on, but nothing over my heart, where do you think the enemy is going to shoot? He's going to find the place that's not guarded.
[12:20] And so we sing, leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul. Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole, the whole panoply of God, the, the whole, uh, armor of God.
[12:35] Now we're watching a video on pilgrim's progress in the Sunday school hour for the adults. And, and do you remember when Christian was decked out in the armor of God?
[12:47] Where was he? It was palace. Beautiful. Wasn't it? It was the church, the local church. That's where Christian received this full armor for his journey and the battle that he would face on the way to heaven.
[13:04] Again, it's emphasizing the importance of not fighting alone. We get decked out in our armor through the local church's ministry to us. It's here that the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness are taught and buckled around us.
[13:18] It's here that our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace that is preached week by week. It's, it's here that our shield of faith is strengthened by God's word, strengthened to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
[13:35] And here, the helmet of salvation in Christ is ever held before you. The sword of the spirit is put in your hand, which is the word of God. And here, prayers in the spirit are made for all the saints.
[13:46] So the church is Christ's armory where soldiers may come and find this armor needed for the Christian battle.
[13:59] Again, it's why good, good soldiers must be vitally attached to the local church. So here's the armor all provided by our captain Jesus. Now put it on from head to toe.
[14:12] Don't be caught without it. Always prepared for all of a sudden unexpected assaults from the enemy to get you to sin. Trying to interrupt your fellowship with Christ, the vine and that life that flows to you and that power that comes to you through Christ and your attachment to trying to interrupt that.
[14:31] Be careful. Be guarded. Don't let it happen. Trying to cut you off from your source of power or to grieve the spirit by whom you're sealed for the day of redemption.
[14:43] So the armor. Now, we've done a series in the past on the Christian and complete armor and, and I'm not going to do that. I think that we're just going to take one piece of armor this morning and then move on to our next identity in Christ.
[14:56] The one piece of armor is the sword of the spirit. Take the sword of the spirit. Verse 17 B. Which is the word of God. It was said of Goliath's sword that there was none like it.
[15:13] None like it. Those words fit all the more. This sword. The word of God.
[15:24] There is none like it. No sword like this one. We have 66 books today that make up our sword.
[15:35] And we need every one of them. The trusty sword with which we fight against our spiritual, invisible, supernatural, deceitful enemy.
[15:47] The evil one. And what can we say of this sword? Well, Hebrews 4 tells us that the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword.
[16:00] And it cuts and it divides between soul and spirit and joint and marrow. And it gets right down to the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.
[16:11] This active and living sword. There's none like it. But notice it's called the sword of the spirit. Now, that means it has the spirit as its source.
[16:23] Where did we get our Bibles? Well, it's God breathed. It's inspired by the Holy Spirit. He moved on the hearts of those holy men who wrote. Such that his activity and involvement with those who wrote the scriptures is so, so powerful and all-encompassing.
[16:43] And that at the end of the day, what they wrote down to the very words, yes, down to the jot and tittle, is exactly the word of God. What the Bible says is what God says.
[16:57] What a sword this is. It's the word of God. And that's why it's so profitable to us for everything. Because it's his word and it equips us for everything that we will face in this life.
[17:11] It's sufficient. It's the sword of the spirit. But also because it needs to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. But the word left without the spirit just goes in one ear and right out the other and leaves us unchanged.
[17:29] But as the spirit takes up that word, the gospel comes not only in word but in power. And with the spirit and with deep conviction.
[17:41] It's the sword of the spirit. It's soul searching. It uncovers the very motivations of why we do what we do. It leads us to Christ where we find forgiveness of sin and salvation and strength for the battle.
[17:56] It comforts and consoles the believer against all of Satan's discouragements to grow weary in doing good. This book, the sword of the spirit, will fight against Satan's discouragements.
[18:08] It sets forth the truth that exposes the lies of the evil one. Every temptation comes as a hook but it's covered with a worm. And this book will show you the hook beneath the worm.
[18:21] It marks out the true way of holiness that leads to life. It's a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Even when Satan suggests an alternative route.
[18:34] It's a huge help in the temptations of the evil one. So Christian, don't forget your sword. We're blessed to have this sword. We're blessed to have it.
[18:44] You know, men shed their blood and died that we might have this sword in our own English language. There were days when it was a capital offense to translate the scriptures into English.
[19:00] Men were willing to die to give the word of God to the church in their own language. So here it is. We have it. The Bible, the supernatural sword of the spirit.
[19:12] I wonder if you've seen a good sword fight. If you've seen Princess Bride. You've seen when Wesley bested the Spaniard.
[19:24] Nigo Montoya. A superb sword fight. We used to have a Notre Dame student who was on the fencing team. I went to one of the meets.
[19:36] I was amazed. I was impressed. At the skill factor. I could tell right away that these fellows hadn't just picked up their weapon the day before.
[19:48] The thrust of the opponent was so quick that they needed a reflex response to defend against it. And then to go on the attack. It all happens just so quickly.
[19:59] And it came at great practice to come to that level of skill. And all of that to say it's one thing to own a good sword.
[20:13] It's another thing to be skilled in the use of it. And the difference could be the difference between life and death in battle.
[20:23] So the effectiveness of the sword is due in no small part to the skill of the one wielding it. The one using it. It's the same in the spiritual warfare.
[20:36] This is a wonderful sword. There is none like it. But it doesn't wield itself. Does it? We don't set it on our shelf and say, well, I'm safe today against Satan's attacks.
[20:51] Because if I'm attacked, I've got a great sword. Watch it. It'll do nothing. It'll just sit there. And you'll be snookered by the devil. Just tricked by his lies.
[21:03] No, it doesn't wield itself. It doesn't jump off the shelf and defeat Satan for you. It's the mightiest of weapons. With divine power. But Christian, you must take it up.
[21:16] You must use it. You must be skilled and know how to fight against Satan's temptations with this sword. Or else the best of swords will be of no help to you at all.
[21:28] In the battle. The Apostle John says in 1 John 2 and verse 14. He's talking about the spiritual warfare. And he's praising the young men.
[21:41] Because they're strong. Notice where this strength comes from. 1 John 2, 14b. I write to you, young men, because you are strong.
[21:52] And the word of God lives in you. And you have overcome the evil one. You're strong. You have strength to overcome the evil one.
[22:04] How did that happen? Because the word of God lives in you. You have it living in you.
[22:16] Young men, old men, young ladies, older ladies. If you would have the strength to overcome the evil one, you must get the word of God living in you. Not just sitting on the shelf.
[22:30] It must abide in you. Controlling your thoughts. Your responses. To life's trials and Satan's temptations that come at you.
[22:40] It must be abiding in you. Paul uses similar language in Colossians 3, 16. He says, let the word of Christ, what? Dwell in you richly.
[22:53] Let it live in you. Not as an occasional visitor here and there. Once a week for an hour. No. Let it live in you.
[23:05] Dwell in you. Let it find its home in you. That it belongs in you. And don't do that just a little. Do it a lot. Do it richly. Let the word of God dwell in you richly, abundantly.
[23:21] Let there be gobs of God's word living in you. So that when Satan comes knocking at your door with his temptations, he'll find the word of God home every time.
[23:32] Because it dwells there. That's where it lives. It's found a place. In your heart. You're strong. And the word of God lives in you.
[23:46] And that's why you overcome the evil one. And again, Paul, when he says in Colossians 3, 16, let this word dwell in you richly. He goes right on and points out the context in which this happens.
[23:59] As you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. And as you sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
[24:12] That's the context of the local church, folks, isn't it? That's where this word of God dwelling in you richly happens. So again, don't fight alone.
[24:22] Vital attachment to the local church. And that's why here at Grace Fellowship Church, we seek to keep God's word central when we gather for worship. We want it to be about what God has said to us.
[24:37] So we read the word together. We preach the word. We pray the word. We sing the word. We fellowship around the word. We memorize it.
[24:48] We obey it. We hold it forth to the world. The word of God. So it's this sword. As it lives in you that overcomes the evil one with strength greater than your own.
[25:05] So we need to know how to use it. Every sword needs a skilled hand. So where do we learn that? Where do we learn how to use our sword?
[25:17] Well, we just said we can learn it in the local church. But aren't you glad that we have Matthew 4 in our Bibles? What do we have in Matthew 4? What was just read for us? When we get to seek our Captain Jesus, the eternal Son of God.
[25:32] And now he's a man. He's become a man. He's taken on humanity just like our humanity to teach us how as a man to fight against this evil one.
[25:43] And we get to see him in action. We get to see his sword use and skill as the devil comes with assault after assault.
[25:54] He's engaged in this 40 day battle with the temptations of the devil. And after 40 days, he's met with these three great temptations that are recorded specifically for us.
[26:04] But if in any of that 40 day battle, Jesus just sins once. In thought, in word, in deed, in motive.
[26:16] We have no Savior. We're still in our sins. We're still headed to hell. The moment we die, we're going to be there in spirit. And at the great resurrection, our bodies will be there forever and ever.
[26:29] We have no Savior if he stumbles and falls to just one temptation of Satan. So we watch. We're very interested in the outcome of this battle.
[26:40] And at the end of 40 days, Satan just left him. But not for good. For a more convenient time. And he'll get him again. And all his life, he's dogging the Savior. And if he falls once, we have no Savior.
[26:52] So what do we see here in this fight of Jesus? Well, we see him triumphing. We see him not sinning once.
[27:03] What is he doing? He's working out a righteousness. A report card of straight A's. Not one sin at all. Out of all this tempting, that he might have a righteousness to give to us lawbreakers who have no righteousness.
[27:18] Because we need righteousness to get into heaven. And so by obeying every time God's word, he now has a righteous record to give to every believing sinner who puts their trust in Jesus.
[27:31] He takes our sins and he gives us his righteousness that we might enter heaven. That's what we're seeing. We're seeing Jesus work out that perfect righteousness. He's fulfilling all righteousness for us.
[27:42] But he's doing something else. He's showing us how, as men and women, with human natures, we are to fight this good fight against the enemy.
[27:54] He's leaving an example for us that we should follow in his steps. So let's fix our eyes on Jesus. Let's watch him with the sword and learn from him as he fights so perfectly without yielding an inch to his enemy.
[28:10] First thing we notice is Satan times his temptations to take advantage of us when we're most weak and vulnerable. Where's Jesus? He's in the desert.
[28:22] There's no Woody's grocery store on the corner. He's far from food and he hasn't eaten for 40 days and 40 nights. And that's when Satan comes with the attack.
[28:33] If you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread. You can't trust God to meet your needs.
[28:45] You're going to have to take your own divine power now and work a miracle and show us that you really are the son of God. If you're going to be provided for, you can't trust God. James 4, 7 says, resist the devil and he will flee for you from you.
[29:01] How did Jesus resist him? It was the sword of the spirit, wasn't it? The word of God. It is written. It is written. Man does not live by bread alone. But by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
[29:14] I don't need bread to live. All God has to do is say, live and I will live. Either supernaturally or he'll get the means to me to make me live. But I don't depend on having this bread.
[29:27] I depend upon my father whose word is powerful. And when he speaks, I live. It is written. It is written.
[29:37] It is written. Three times in this hand-to-hand combat. He uses that powerful sword of the spirit. And with what skill does he wield it to the victory over the evil one?
[29:53] And what we see then is that the battle with the devil is a battle for the mind. Whose thoughts and whose words will hold sway here? Satan's or God's?
[30:05] And each time the devil attacks, he finds the word of God living at home in Jesus' heart. It is written, Satan. It is written. It's in his heart, so it's on his lips.
[30:16] And he resists the devil. Now, how do you get the word of God living in you like that? Well, you do it the same way Jesus did. You memorize it.
[30:27] You memorize it. You read it over and over. And then you take it word by word and phrase by phrase. And you add a little more to it. And add a little more. Until finally you got the whole verse.
[30:39] And you can say, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And then you meditate on it.
[30:51] Which means you chew the cud like a cow. And you just keep going over it. Chewing on it. Thinking about it. What does this verse have to do with this temptation?
[31:02] This situation in my life. You think how it applies to you. And so by memorizing it, you have it always with you. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, you've got the word of God.
[31:16] And you can be thinking about it. And wherever you're tempted. And whenever the devil thrusts an evil thought into your mind, you can have that word ready.
[31:27] You know, Jesus didn't say, you know, we're out here in the desert. If you'd excuse me for a minute, I've got to run into the nearest town and find a synagogue and find some scrolls and see if God said anything about turning stones into bread.
[31:43] No. He had it memorized. So it was ready at hand. It lived in him. He'd memorized it. Much of God's word he had memorized.
[31:56] He'd meditated on it day and night. So it's available. Last Sunday, our friend Baruch Maoz over in Israel during the bombings wrote and sent us a note about the 400 missiles that were shot deep into Israeli territory.
[32:12] And they could hear many of the bombs going off around them where they live. And the Israeli government gave this warning to the people, their citizens.
[32:27] They said, never get further than 15 seconds away from a bomb shelter. Just think about that. How would that limit your day? How far could you get?
[32:38] Never be more than 15 seconds. Did I say minutes? It's seconds. Never be more than 15 seconds away from getting into a bomb shelter. Because you never know when the siren will go off and a missile is on its way.
[32:53] And so there must be this readiness. And Jesus' readiness was even quicker than 15 seconds. He's ready because the word of God is living in him. He's memorized it. He's thought about it.
[33:03] It's there. And so as soon as the attack comes, he's got an answer. And that's the way it is in sword fighting. As soon as the, you've got a defense. You've got to, you've got to come back. And Jesus had it ready.
[33:14] He could say with David in Psalm 119.11. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
[33:26] My aim is to never sin against you, Lord. And to accomplish that aim, I have hidden your word in my heart. It's living in there now. So that I can be armed against Satan's temptations to sin.
[33:39] So Jesus has a counter to every lie of the devil with a corresponding truth of God.
[33:51] I wonder if you've figured out by now that Satan's temptation always includes some kind of lie that he's telling you. Behind every temptation that comes from him, there's a lie.
[34:04] That's the work of the devil. He's a liar and is the father of lies. And that's how he deceives us. So always be looking for the lie. It might be covered up a bit.
[34:15] So it's tricky. It's not just laying on the top on the surface. Sometimes it's, it's got the worm covering it, but it's there. The lie is there. And here.
[34:27] The lie is that God cannot be trusted to provide for Jesus. You must look after yourself. You must use your divine power to turn this, these stones into bread. The third temptation is worship me and I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world.
[34:40] What's the lie? We face the same thing, don't we? Do evil so that good may come. You want good, right? Well, you got to just fudge this a little bit here and you'll get good.
[34:55] That's a lie. It is written. You should worship the Lord God alone. So at the heart of all temptations is some lie.
[35:07] But for every lie, there's a truth in God's word to expose it and to answer. So that's why we need to know this book. When Satan comes knocking with his lie, like he did from the very beginning with Eve, you will not surely die.
[35:22] Had God said anything about that subject? If she ate of the tree, had God said anything? Yes, he had said. And the day you eat of it, you will surely die. She's not thinking about what God said.
[35:35] She's now thinking about what Satan has said. And she takes it and eats. But there is a word from God, wasn't there?
[35:47] To unmask that lie. And there is for every temptation that you face. Now, Jesus knew his Bible so well that he could call up specific passages to counter Satan's specific temptation.
[36:02] And all three of his Bible quotations are from the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament. And I wonder, do you know the book of Deuteronomy well enough to use it against Satan's temptations in your life?
[36:21] Have you read it recently? Have you ever read the book of Deuteronomy? It's part of the sword. It's a big book.
[36:34] It's a big part of the 66 books. Don't shorten your sword. You need it all. And we see Jesus wielding the book of Deuteronomy. God's word there to the absolute destruction of Satan and chasing him off the field of battle.
[36:51] And as you read Deuteronomy, notice these very passages that Jesus picked up and fought against Satan's lie with the truth of God.
[37:04] Again, we have the beauty of fighting together as a battalion of soldiers. Helping each other become more skillful in our use of the sword of the spirit.
[37:19] In addition to your own private reading and studies of scriptures. Here at the church, we receive preaching and teaching in Sunday school and Sunday morning and Sunday evening. What do we do?
[37:29] We're studying the word of God with application to our lives. How does this apply to our lives? That's part of fellowship, too.
[37:40] If we're really enjoying Christian fellowship, we're helping each other with how does that now help me tomorrow and Thursday afternoon. And that's one of the reasons for our small groups.
[37:53] That we're thinking together as a small group. How can we apply the word that we heard in Sunday school and Sunday morning, Sunday night? We're hearing all this word. How can we apply it?
[38:05] How can we use it in the battle, you see? And you can ask a brother or sister for help. Do you have a verse of scripture? I don't know the Bible that well yet.
[38:16] Could you help me find a verse about how to control my tongue? And I find that it's often out of control and I need some weapons because Satan knows how to push that button.
[38:28] Well, ask a brother or sister. You don't need to be a scholar to help one another with this weapon of the scriptures. And neither do you need 20 verses on the tongue.
[38:40] You know, Jesus just had one verse for each temptation. And that was sufficient, wasn't it? So just get one verse and use it against Satan's lies.
[38:56] But not only did the Lord use the right verses, but he had the right meaning of those verses, didn't he? The right interpretation of God's word.
[39:09] Why is that important? Because Satan himself will quote the scriptures. And we see that in his second temptation. It's like he said, OK, Jesus, if you want to quote scriptures at me, I've got some for you.
[39:21] And he comes right back at Jesus. You see now, now the temptation, he takes him up to the highest part of the temple. And he wants to get Jesus to jump off.
[39:32] And after all, it is written, Jesus, and he quotes Psalm 91, that God will take care of you.
[39:44] He'll send his angels to take care of you and to catch you so that you won't even be harmed. And we learn that Satan is not averse to quoting scripture.
[39:57] So prove you're the son of God by throwing yourself down from this highest point. Since God has promised to send his angels and protect you. Satan is skilled at twisting scripture.
[40:19] But the fact that he's using scripture gets him closer. And gets him into our minds. And gets him to thinking, oh, this is the way. This is what I need to do. But he's twisting the real meaning of God's word into something that God never intended from it.
[40:38] You see, scripture isn't a piece of clay for us just to decide what it means. No, God has the true interpretation. And there is just the one interpretation. It's just the truth of God.
[40:50] And so we're not free to say, well, I think this means this for me. And no, it means this for me. And this. Now, it can apply. The same truth can apply in different ways. But the interpretation is either true or false.
[41:03] And Jesus smells the false in his use of scripture. Yes, there is a true comfort from this passage that as a child of God, I have his promises of protection.
[41:15] But that's not a reason to take my steering wheel and drive into the oncoming traffic. And to see, how is God going to protect me now? How will these angels really do? That's to tempt God.
[41:27] And that's why Jesus pulls the verse right out of Deuteronomy and says, do not put the it is written. It is also written. Do not put the Lord your God to the test. So God's word in one place will never violate God's word in another place.
[41:41] So if you have Jesus word and the devil's word, guess who's lying? And he exposes him.
[41:51] And Christian soldiers need to know the difference between true and false applications of scripture. And can I just say it once again? That's why you're given pastors.
[42:03] One of the reasons who can spend more time in the word of God and can give you the true interpretation. But always with your Bible to check, to be sure that what we're saying lines up with scripture.
[42:17] But again, you're not on your own. You're not on your own. You have others to help you to discern the true meaning. But if you ever find it conflicting and contradicting other scriptures, you know that it's not the right one.
[42:30] And Peter warns us that ignorant and unstable people twist the scriptures to their own destruction. And that's the way most false teachings are spread.
[42:42] The Bible is used, but with a different meaning upon it. Does the Bible teach that God is love? Well, yes. Yes, it does. And in many, many places. Does that mean he won't send people to hell if they don't repent?
[42:57] No, it doesn't mean that. God is more than love. He is love. He's also just. And so on. So again, the Bible is being used, but it's twisted.
[43:08] Now, we learn then from Jesus' example how to use the sword of the spirit in battling Satan's temptations. And last week I left you with the challenge not to be ignorant of Satan's devices.
[43:20] He's thought about you. He's got certain strategies to use based on your age, your gender, your situation in life. And he's thought this thing out. The enemy has intelligence on you.
[43:32] And so I challenge you to ask and answer the question, if I was Satan, how would I tempt me? And thereby to seek to be alert to Satan's devices.
[43:44] We're not ignorant of them, Paul assumes. So be aware of his devices with you. Where you're most vulnerable, where you're weakest. Now, this week I'm leaving you with the challenge to use your mighty sword and to find one verse for each one of those three areas that you said, yes.
[44:01] If I were Satan, I would attack me here. And here. And here. Okay. Go to your sword.
[44:12] And find a verse for that situation, that situation, that situation. Write it. Write them down. Start to read them every day.
[44:22] Many times a day. Start to memorize. And get it memorized. And think about it. Meditate on it. Pray it in. Live it out. Independence upon the spirit of Christ.
[44:35] Keep your mind well stocked with pertinent scriptures that when Satan comes knocking, you'll find the word of God living in you. Ready to answer his lies with the very truth of scripture.
[44:48] So it's Mother's Day. Kids. You ever tempted to talk back to your parents? To your mother? Ever tempted to complain? Argue with her?
[45:03] Do you have the sword ready? You got the sword ready? You got some words of God to answer. You know the devil's lie behind that? If you want to be happy, you can't just be following mom's word all the time.
[45:17] You got to seek your own happiness outside of your mother. That's the lie. You got a word for that? Children, honor your father and mother.
[45:30] Father. So that you. So that it may go well with you. And that your days on earth may be many. Don't let those thoughts go unchallenged, kids.
[45:42] Draw your sword. Have the word of God living in you. Mothers. Does the enemy ever meet you in the laundry room?
[45:53] Or in the kitchen. And whisper into your mind. That you're wasting your life with these kids. You got far greater talents that could be used in a career and make tons of money.
[46:07] And that you could find greater self-fulfillment. In letting somebody else raise these kids. And just pursue some career for yourself. Don't let those words go unchallenged.
[46:21] Do you know where to find? God's word that's calling you to the high calling of motherhood. To be the one that brings up children. Do you know where to find those?
[46:34] If you don't ask someone. You need to be armed. That's where mothers are being attacked in our day. Take up the sword. Fight back. And is Mother's Day a day to honor faithful mothers.
[46:50] Who have sacrificed themselves on behalf of their children. The Bible tells me. That there is coming a Mother's Day like no other Mother's Day. When the King in all of his glory.
[47:09] Will meet you mom. And he will say to you. Well done. Good and faithful servant. Well done.
[47:21] Good and faithful mother. You have. You stuck to the assignment I gave you. You didn't let Satan pull you away from it.
[47:32] You pursued it. Great. Great is your reward. In heaven. Fight weariness against doing good mothers.
[47:45] By looking to the end. That's what we find in this sword. It takes us to the end. Yes there's hardship to endure. But there's glory. There's glory.
[47:57] There's glory forever and ever. For the Christian mother. There's reward. That far outweighs. The pain of changing diapers. And being taxi.
[48:08] And cooking meals. And endless laundry. Satan knows how effective this sword is. That's why he's trying to keep you from reading it. Did you know that he'll go anywhere?
[48:21] He comes to church. Even. He wants. He doesn't want you listening to this book. The church even. Remember Jesus parable. The sower. The farmer goes out.
[48:31] And he scatters the seed. And some of it falls on the hard packed ground. And before the seed can even germinate. The birds of the air just come and snatch it away. And it's over with.
[48:42] Nothing happened to that. Soil. By that seed. And Jesus says. That's like. People. And.
[48:54] And the birds are. Satan. Who comes to snatch up the word. Just as soon as it's scattered. And it's being scattered today. And Satan has his henchmen here today.
[49:05] And. And they're trying to distract you. They're wanting to snatch that word away. Before it ever. Changes you. And gets inside of you. There was one man that. That heard. The.
[49:15] The famous evangelist. George Whitefield preach. And he came up to. To. Mr. Whitefield. At the end of the sermon. He said. You know. Usually. I'm a shipbuilder.
[49:26] And usually. During the sermon. I'm able to. To build a whole ship. I can assemble it. It's all. All in one sermon. Tonight. I couldn't get the first board laid.
[49:40] You see. The. The word didn't just come in word. It came with the spirit. With power. With conviction. And Satan doesn't want that. He wants your mind.
[49:51] A thousand miles away. What you're doing this afternoon. Or tomorrow. Or. Ten years from now. What you did. Twenty years ago. Anything. Other than. Letting this book.
[50:01] Find its target. And expose your heart. And show you. That you're a sinner. And you need a savior. Come to Jesus. He doesn't want that happening. And.
[50:13] He's happy to. To take you to hell. As a sermon hearing. Churchgoer. As much as a murderer. Because both serve his purpose. To keep you from Jesus.
[50:28] If all I had was. Satan's. Energetic activity. To keep people from this book. I would know. This must be a powerful sword.
[50:39] My enemy doesn't. Want it coming near. Anybody. Well. May we. Learn from God's word. Just how effective. This sword is.
[50:49] And. Fighting against. Our enemy. So which side of the battle.
[51:01] Are you on? You on Christ's side. He's recruiting today. And he. He takes all of his crew. Recruits. Right out of Satan's kingdom. Doesn't matter how long.
[51:11] You've been serving Satan. He'll have you today. If you'll have him. Come and trust in. The Lord Jesus. All your sins forgiven. And. He'll put his spirit in you. And he'll. He'll start to teach you.
[51:22] How to. How to use his sword. Let's pray. Thank you Lord. For not letting us go on our way forever.
[51:32] Many of us are here. And we. We dodged your sword. We. We didn't want to hear. And how we thank you. You. That one day. It found us out. It was living and active.
[51:43] And it had hands. And it. It had feet. And it ran after us. And. And a sharp point. That cut. And pierced us. And brought us to say. What must I do to be saved. And it. Pointed us to a savior.
[51:55] Who's more willing to forgive. Than I am to be forgiven. And how thankful we are. For. Our Lord Jesus. Bring. Mothers today. Here. And all around the world.
[52:06] To put their trust in him. Bring. Each. One. Of. Your dear. Christian mothers. Father. To. To be armed.
[52:17] Against all the fiery darts. Of the evil one. And to know how. To use the scriptures. In their calling. We thank you for them. And the important work. That they're doing. For the kingdom.
[52:28] And that. Not one deed. Will. Be left. Unrewarded. Send us on our way. Then. Aware of our enemy. But more aware. Of our savior. And his mighty power.
[52:39] In which we. Are more than conquerors. We pray in his name. Amen.