From His Heart

Larry Nobles: Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve, you'll learn how and why you should put on the full armor of God.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Are your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace? Have you put on the belt of truth? You have the breastplate of righteousness? And then when the devil accuses us, we cling and claim his word. We tell the world there's a savior whose name is Jesus who will save anybody who puts his faith, her faith and trust in Jesus.

Larry Nobles: Let me ask you a question. Are you a good soldier for Christ ready to do spiritual battle each day with the enemy? Are you prepared for the battle? Or are you going into your day vulnerable to attacks by Satan because you've not put on the full armor of God that he's provided for you? This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us today as we're in the middle of Pastor Jeff's seven lesson series, Soldiers of the Cross, with lesson four today entitled The Armor of a Good Soldier. Now, if you miss any of these timely lessons we'll have for you this month on From His Heart, we hope you'll go to fromhisheart.org and click the listen tab.

There too you can listen to or download an MP3 of this or any broadcast as well as the sermon outline notes from Pastor Jeff. It's free, of course. But don't go there now. If you can, open your Bible to Ephesians chapter 6 and let's explore the power and protection we can have when we put on the full armor of a good soldier.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Paul talks about the armor of God here. And he says that we need to take up the full armor of God, put on the full armor of God. We don't go off half-cocked into the battle. We go on fully dressed. We are dressed for success. Now, there's six pieces of armor that Paul mentions. We want to look at the first three pieces. We'll look at the next three pieces next time. The first piece he talks about is the belt of truth. The belt of truth. Now, the belt of truth is necessary to combat the devil's divisive strategies.

God gives us the belt of truth because the devil has a strategy to divide us. He says in verse 14, Stand firm therefore having girded your loins with truth, having put on the belt of truth. Now, the belt of truth combats the devil's divisive strategies. He is a divider and he wants to divide your heart and my heart. Gird your loins with truthfulness. It is truthfulness in your life. The the truthfulness, integrity in your life that holds you all together. It is so critical. Now, remember that the devil works to divide your loyalties. He works to divide the loyalties in your heart.

The very first commandment of the Ten Commandments, I am the Lord your God who delivered you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. And what does the devil do? The devil tries to draw us away from that, from the simplicity, impurity, of devotion to Christ. He works to bring hypocrisy into your life and mind. Hypocrisy. So that we talk a big game, but we don't walk it out. How do you really walk with God in sincerity and in integrity? You walk in the light with him.

It means that people can look at your life, public life, private life, even secret life and say that person walks the talk. That's the belt of truth. That is so important to have that on. You know where your sword attaches? It attaches to the belt. So you lose the belt of truth, you lose the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God and you're not held together and your robe can't be cinched and you're in deep trouble. So the belt of truth combats the devil divisive strategies and you mark it down. He is working.

Second piece of armor that he mentions is the breastplate of righteousness. Now, what does that correspond to? The breastplate of righteousness combats the devil's accusations against us. You know what the word devil means? Diabolos in the Greek. False accuser. Revelation chapter 12 verse 10 tells us that the devil accuses us before God day and night. Constantly accusing, accusing, accusing. And the breastplate, sometimes it was metal or sometimes it was uh heavy leather or sometimes it was metal kind of ring together like a coat of mail. Um but but that is what we see like in Gladiator or something like that.

They would wear those kinds of breastplates. It's to guard your heart. It's to guard your vital organs. Well, the devil wants to hit you in the heart. He wants to strike a mortal blow and if you get hit in the heart, if you get stabbed in the the stomach, chances are you're not going to make it. And so the breastplate of righteousness, it protects your heart. It protects your vital organs. It protects against the schemes of the devil and one of his big methods, one of his big schemes is false accusation. Now, think about the word righteousness, the breastplate of righteousness.

What righteousness is he talking about? Is he talking about self-righteousness? No. What he's talking about is his righteousness. And Christians wear his righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. He's the breastplate of righteousness. We put on the Lord Jesus Christ and we make no provision for the flesh with regard to its lusts. And we get to claim his righteousness because we wear his righteousness, he's put that on us. He's delivered us as it says in Colossians, he delivered us from the domain of darkness and transfers us into the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption.

What is that? The forgiveness of sins. We are clothed in his righteousness. We get to wear his righteousness. We get to claim his righteousness. Now, remember the devil is an accuser and he's a false accuser. And all who are Christians have experienced the accusations that come from the devil. When you try and do something for the Lord, you're going to take a step and do something for the Lord. You hear the accusing voice of the enemy. Oh, how dare you? Who are you to do this? Who are you to sing in the choir? Who are you to teach a Sunday school class?

Who are you to give a testimony? Look at the sin in your life. Look what you did in the past. We remember what you did last year, last uh five years ago, 10 years ago. Remember when you were in high school and you did this on a Saturday night? He he just beat you up with guilt over your life, your past life, over sins that have been confessed. Now, Romans chapter 8 verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The the devil is a condemner.

He tries to condemn you and condemn me and beat us up with guilt and help us and make us feel so guilty and so condemned and so ashamed over things that we've done. Hey, he's wrapped me in a robe of righteousness. Did I deserve it? No. Did anyone deserve it? No. Did the apostle Paul deserve it? No. He says I I'm the chief of sinners. I mean, wow. That's why we call it amazing grace. Wow, that he would forgive me, that he would save a wretch like me. But once he wraps the gavel and says not guilty, you've put your faith and trust in Jesus.

I've delivered you from the domain of darkness and I've transferred you to the kingdom of my beloved son. I have put a robe of righteousness upon you as one little girl said in Sunday school when she was asked the question, Is there anything God can't do? And she said, Yes, there's one thing God can't do. He can't see my sin when it's covered in the blood of Jesus. Ain't that good news? He has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness. So the breastplate of righteousness, it's his righteousness that we wear as believers. It's his righteousness that we claim as believers.

We rest in that as David who committed terrible, horrible sin, the sin of adultery and the sin of murder to cover his adultery. Psalm 32 verse 5, I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I did not hide. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin. We sing that song from the Gettys, No guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me. So we wear his righteousness, the breastplate of righteousness. We claim his righteousness and we walk in his righteousness.

Now, this is where we fall apart. We fall apart in claiming his righteousness and we fall apart in walking in his righteousness. He's given us a robe of righteousness. He's declared us righteous. He says every all your sins are forgiven. But so often we don't walk as the scripture says in a manner worthy of the Lord. Colossians chapter 1, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you've been called.

Walk in a manner, that word worthy means suitable, adaptable. It it it's the manner that fits. So because you were delivered from the domain of darkness and delivered from sin and transferred into the kingdom of his beloved son, we're to live like that. The the Lord says, You shall be holy for I am holy. You belong to me now and so I want you to be a witness in this world of my holiness, of the fact that I have changed your life. Now, if you don't walk in his holiness and you don't deal with sin in your life, it goes back to the hypocrisy that comes in.

Your your belt starts slipping. Your your breastplate starts falling. The accusations start coming and they start sticking. Why? Because you know you're not living right. You know you're letting sin get in your life and you're not dealing with it. You 're not walking in the light and you're letting sin have a place in your heart. You can't live like that and walk in victory. You're going to get defeated every single time. Hey, a soldier is serious about his job as a soldier. Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 4, No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

We don't get tangled up in this world and we don't uh follow after the things of this world. You know it's very interesting. The last chapter that Paul ever wrote, Second Timothy chapter 4, he says no doubt with a broken heart, Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me. Hypocrisy got in his life. The breastplate fell. The devil wiped him out. And we need to walk in his righteousness. We need to deal with sin. That's true for me. That's true for you. That's true for the apostle Paul. That's true for all of us. Hey, the breastplate of righteousness, when you're walking in the light with the Lord, that silences the diabolos, the devil, the false accuser and that keeps him from gaining traction in your life.

And then the third piece of armor, the shoes of the gospel of peace. Now, the shoes of peace combat the devil 's plan to bring war with God. The shoes of peace. Now, remember this, the devil is at war with God. He wants people, believers, to be at war with God, to be at odds with God, to see God as your enemy and not as your friend and not as your savior and not as your redeemer and not as your king. You see God as as somebody that you fear not in a good way, but in a bad way and you see God as somebody who's not good.

He wants that so that in your heart you begin to fight God. Now, here's the thing. Every non-Christian is at war with God. He doesn't want She doesn't want God's will, God's word, God's ways. Every non-Christian wants to be captain of his or her own ship, wants to do what they want to do. They're led by self. And they they may tip their hat to God. They may uh throw a few bucks in the offering plate. They may come to church periodically or they may come a lot. The Pharisees were at church all the time.

But they were at war with God. You say, Well, why do you say that? Read the gospel accounts and see how they fought against Jesus. They hated him. He is God in the flesh. Every unbeliever is fighting against God. And the devil wants to get a believer to fight against God too. So what do we do? Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Here's a picture of a Roman soldier's shoes. They're sandals. It's first century. They're sandals and on the bottom of those sandals they would nail in these little hobnails to make them like cleats.

To make them They They're like golf shoes, like spikes on golf shoes. Why? Because when you're going to fight, you have to have sure footing. You can't go into battle with skates on. You're not going to do well. So you have to have cleats, something that sticks in the ground so that you can fight so that you don't slip. And the shoes of peace, that is what God gives us to combat the devil's schemes to get you to see that uh God is my enemy. God is not your enemy. And the gospel comes. It's called the gospel of peace.

The gospel of peace brings us peace with God. That s what it does. It brings us peace with God. Gospel, the word gospel, is the word good news, good story, good message. And it's a good message of how you can have peace with God. Romans chapter 5 verse 1. Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 2, Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exult in hope of the glory of God. This faith in which we stand, which we stand firm, shod our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

The moment that you believe the gospel, put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he wraps you in a robe of righteousness and you have peace with God. You're not at war with him anymore. You know we talk about the word atonement. The cross was the atoning power of God. That's Atonement means you you take holy God and sinful man and you bring them together through the cross. You bring them into one. Atonement is also described as at-one-ment. Through Christ we're brought into unity with God. We're not against him anymore. He's not against us. But the devil will work just like Hey, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. But there are a lot of Christians living in condemnation. Why? Because they're believing the lies of the devil and they're not suiting up for the war. And many who have trusted Christ, they're still at odds with God. Why? Cuz their feet aren't shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The gospel brings us peace with God and sharing the gospel keeps us on mission with God. Feet are shod with the preparation. I'm prepared to share the gospel of peace.

Why? Because we live in a world where there are lots of people that don't have peace with God. Lots of people there at war with God. Lots of people that are angry with God. Lots of people say, God, I don't want you messing in my life. Uh sure I like you to bless my life, but I'm not going to do what you want me to do. I'm going to do what I want to do. And if what I want to do matches up in some way, shape or form, with some of the things you want me to do, I'm fine with that, but I'm still in control.

See, that's what sin is. S I N. Sin is the big I. It's I want to do what I want to do. That is sin. God is opposed to that. He's opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Now, when we receive the gospel, we have peace with God. When we share the gospel, we're on mission with God. And it keeps our hearts right with God because we're doing what he wants us to be doing. Jesus said, The son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus told the disciples and us, You shall be my witnesses.

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses. Why are we here on this earth? To be his witnesses. To tell people in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the remotest parts of the earth that Jesus Christ is Lord and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. We're his witnesses. We tell the world what the Lord has done for us. Yeah, hey, you don't have to go to seminary to be a witness.

All you have to do is tell, Hey, I'm just going to tell people what God has done in my life. How he has changed me. How the grace of God has changed me. And thanks to Calvary, I don't come here anymore. I'm not the man I used to be. Now, I'm not all that I'm going to be cuz God, he's still working on me to make me what I ought to be. Took him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient he must be.

He's still working on me and you're a work in progress and I'm in work in progress. And when Paul wrote Ephesians, he was a work in progress. We're a work in progress until the Lord takes us to glory. But hey, we have something wonderful to share with people. And we need to be prepared to share. First Peter chapter 3, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you yet with gentleness and reverence. I 'm ready to share with people what the Lord has done in my life.

I'm learning the Roman road. I'm learning about salvation, verses about salvation so I'll be ready to go if somebody asks me, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? I'm ready to tell them, This is what you do. Now, what about you? Are your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace? Have you put on the belt of truth? That holds you together so that when the devil comes and tries to divide your heart and pull you away to other things, you're held together. You have the breastplate of righteousness, his righteousness, not your righteousness, but you walk and I walk and we walk in his righteousness.

And then when the devil accuses us, we cling and claim his word. And we tell the world there's a savior whose name is Jesus who will save anybody who puts his faith, her faith and trust in Jesus.

Larry Nobles: You're listening to From His Heart today with Pastor Jeff Schreve describing the first three pieces of the armor of God that we should have on and we should leave them on all the time so we're always ready for the attacks of the devil. But because we don't want you to go half dressed with the armor of God, next time Pastor Jeff will reveal the last three pieces of the armor to guard your hearts and minds with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. Now, today's lesson called The Armor of a Good Soldier is just one of seven in Pastor Jeff's series, Soldiers of the Cross.

This series is also our thank you gift for your support this month of any amount. The series is available on CDs, DVDs, USB flash drive, or as an immediate MP3 download. And we'll send you the series and also the companion booklet, The Lord's Army, when you make your gift of any amount today to From His Heart. All you have to do is call 866-40 Bible, 866-40 Bible, or go online to fromhisheart.org. It's only through the generous and faithful support that we receive from listeners that we're able to broadcast on this and hundreds of stations around the world each day.

The good news and the hope of Jesus is what we share. Dr. Jeff Schreve pastors a thriving church in Texarkana, Texas and From His Heart is a separate nonprofit organization that is tasked with the mission to provide these messages to the world on radio, television, and online. Pastor Jeff is paid a salary by his church in Texarkana, but he receives no income from any of the donations that come to From His Heart to help us get these on the air. So thank you for considering your gift today and help us sustain and expand the impact of From His Heart around the world.

To do that, call 866-40 Bible, 866-40 Bible, or go to fromhisheart.org. God bless you for joining with us in this mission to share Christ around the world. Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles encouraging you to be right back here tomorrow for a message exploring the necessity of guarding our hearts and minds with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. Join us for the lesson From Defense to Offense. That's on Thursday when Pastor Jeff will open the Bible and share real truth, love, and hope from God's heart here on From His Heart.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: From His Heart is the listener supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Schreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out about that when you go to fromhisheart.org.