Sunday, February 21, 2016

Sermon Notes for Sunday the 21st of February 2016



2016.02.21            Ephesians 6: 17                                                 
           The Armor of God      Part 3                
Once again this morning… I have Good News for you…. His name is Jesus… As most of you know… Here at Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden we teach through the Bible verse by verse… Because we want to see the Big picture… We want to know and understand our great God and Savior… The Lord Jesus Christ… That is the reason that we study the Bible…. To know the Lord Jesus better day by day…
 We are studying Paul´s letter to the Ephesians… This morning we will pick up chapter 6 again as we continue part 3 of the Armor of God For context, I will back up a few verses and read verses 10-17… Eph 6… 10-17…
Ephesians 6: 10-17                 NLT  Neues Leben
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6: 10-17                 NLT  Neues Leben
10 Noch ein Wort zum Schluss: Werdet stark durch den Herrn und durch die mächtige Kraft seiner Stärke!
11 Legt die komplette Waffenrüstung Gottes an, damit ihr allen hinterhältigen Angriffen des Teufels widerstehen könnt.
12 Denn wir kämpfen nicht gegen Menschen aus Fleisch und Blut, sondern gegen die bösen Mächte und Gewalten der unsichtbaren Welt, gegen jene Mächte der Finsternis, die diese Welt beherrschen, und gegen die bösen Geister in der Himmelswelt.
13 Bedient euch der ganzen Waffenrüstung Gottes. Wenn es dann so weit ist, werdet ihr dem Bösen widerstehen können und noch aufrecht stehen, wenn ihr den Kampf gewonnen habt.
14 Sorgt dafür, dass ihr fest steht, indem ihr euch mit dem Gürtel der Wahrheit und dem Panzer der Gerechtigkeit Gottes umgebt.
15 Eure Füße sollen für die gute Botschaft eintreten, die den Frieden mit Gott verkündet.
16 Setzt den Glauben als einen Schutzschild ein, um die feurigen Pfeile des Satans abzuwehren.
17 Setzt den Helm eurer Rettung auf und nehmt das Wort Gottes, euer Schwert, das der Geist euch gibt.
As we saw last week… There are 2 two essential components to this final exhortation…
#1 you must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might... Then, you must #2 put on the whole armor of God... Both of these components are essential…  
Equipping ourselves for Christian combat must begin with the Lord Jesus… Our focus this morning is verse 17…
v17a… Put on salvation as your helmet… In the ancient world… this was a thick leather cap studded with metal for extra strength… Salvation is pictured as this kind of helmet… protecting us from the potentially fatal blows of the enemy… A soldier would be foolish to go into battle without his helmet…
1 Thessalonians 5:8 speaks of the helmet of salvation in connection to the hope of salvation…  The helmet of salvation protects us against discouragement… against the desire to give up… giving us hope not only in knowing that we are saved… but that we will be saved…  It is the assurance that God will triumph… Not only in the world out there… but here in our hearts and minds too… That´s Good News…
One of Satan's most effective weapons against us is discouragement… When we are properly equipped with the helmet of salvation… it's hard to stay discouraged… He will finish the work that he has begun in our hearts and lives… Philippians 1:6… What a wonderful promise… The promises of God are Powerful Tools in our battle to stay Joyful and Hopeful… We need this book…. We need to hide it in our hearts… next phrase…
v17b… take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… The idea is that the Spirit of God provides a Sword for us…  And that Sword is the Word of God… It us to defend ourselves against pride and sin and discouragement… It is also our only offensive weapon…
Now… Some Christians seem to think that we have another even more powerful weapon… Our tongues  We sharpen our tongues and get to work on brother so and so…. And of course the pastors and elders do not escape it… Sadly… We use often this terrible weapon on each other…  and the leaders of the church… James says our tongues are set on fire of hell itself… Our evil tongues must be tamed by the Work of the Holy Spirit…
We need to apply the only true weapon that the Lord has given us… on ourselves first… We must apply the Word of God to our own hearts and minds…. So that we can enter into this battle…. Remember… This battle is for the hearts and lives of our own families and friends and neighbors…
We Proclaim and defend the Gospel with His power and His wisdom… 
We are called to change the world… One heart at a time…
Now to effectively use the Word of God… The Sword of the Spirit…  We need to understand the power that is has #1 The power to correct and teach us… 2 Timothy 3…
#2 The power that it has to bring repentance and revival… Nehemiah is a great place to go to study prayer… and the power of the Word of God to bring genuine repentance… This book has everything we need for Life and Godliness… It is the Word of life… Salvation… forgiveness and mercy… Will we hide it in our hearts to protect and correct us…. Will we let it show us what we need to do to follow Jesus moment by moment and day by day…
Jesus said you are the light of the World… Go into all the world… This our call to arms…. The battle is out there…. It to rescue lost sinners from the hands of Satan who wants to destroy them… Will we Go into all the world?… That is the question…. Will we… take up the Sword of the spirit…. Will we open our mouths with these words of life…Will we proclaim the Good News to this sick and dying culture… It is full of lost and hopeless men and women… We live in a lost and dying world… The Word of God is the only light … the only hope for them…
Here in the 21st century…. We can and must be totally confident in the Word of God…. The Divine inspiration of Scripture is central to the Power and authority of this book… It is God´s revelation of Himself…. In it we see his character…. His CHESED… His unfailing love and grace… Not only did the Holy Spirit give us the Scriptures… but also He makes them alive to us… The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth… 2 Timothy 3… John 16:13… I don’t know if we even understand the fullness of what it means to have the Word of God… We have in this book…. God´s direct revelation of Himself… He created us and the entire universe…. He has revealed Himself to us…. He has despite our sin and rebellion…. Sent His only Begotten son…. The Lord Jesus Christ to redeem us…. To save us from our sin and pride and rebellion… It is the tool used by sword of the Spirit...  This incredible book is the final element of armor given to the believer in the battle against Satan…  And the sad fact is that so many Christians do not really know how to use it....  We fall victim to Satan because we are unable to handle the sword of the Spirit…. IT is the Word of God  Do you realize what kind of a book this is?  Do we really realize what we have in our hands?...  Good question…  Let us start by looking at what the Bible says about itself...
What does the Bible say about itself?
#1 the Bible tells us that it is perfect and infallible… Psalm 19…
#2 The Bible is complete… 2 Peter 1: 3…
#3 The Bible is authoritative…  Isaiah 1: 2…
#4 The Bible is sufficient...  2 Timothy 3: 15-17…
#5 The Bible is effective… Isaiah 55: 11…
#6 The Bible is divine…  Second Peter 1:21

 #1 the Bible tells us that it is infallible  That means that it is without error in all that it affirms…    In Psalm 19:7 it says, “The law of the Lord is perfect.”  Perfect!!!
Proverbs 30: 5, 6  says, “Every word of God is pure.”  Every word...
#2 The Word of God is complete…  The scriptures says that it contains all that we need for life and Godliness…
#3 The Bible is authoritative…  In Isaiah chapter 1, in verse 2 we read, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken.”  When God speaks everybody better listen.  That’s what it means when it says it’s authoritative.
#4 The Bible is sufficient...  In 2 Timothy chapter 3: 15…  it says, “That it is sufficient to make you wise unto salvation.  It is sufficient to make you perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works”.  This book can bring you to salvation and bring you to perfection…  There is nothing other than that that is needful…  So the Bible is infallible and inerrant in part, complete, authoritative and sufficient.
#5 The Bible is effective…    The Bible changes things.  The word of God causes  transformation and salvation…  In Isaiah 55… v11      says… “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return void but shall accomplish what I please.”    The reason I preach it is because I believe it’ll do what it says it’ll do…
#6 The Bible is divine…  2 Peter 1:21 it says, “That the Scripture did not come from any private interpretation.  It came not from the will of man but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”  It’s God’s book…  Because we have received from God… It is divine is a book… This book ought to be obeyed and cherished…  The Word of God may hurt and wound us with the truth… But it will never comfort us with a lie  What a person does with a Bible reveals his relationship to God...  Jesus said, “He that is of God hears God’s word.  Ye are not of God, therefore you hear them not”.. John 8:47...
If you accept and obey the Bible… it shows you belong to God…  If you don’t, it shows you don’t…     What an incredible book...  There is no book in existence in the universe that can make these claims and prove them… only this magnificent Book… The  Bible… The Word of God…
What does the Bible do for you?     What resources does it bring to us?  Well, let me just suggest a few
What does the Bible do for us?
#1 It is  the source of (true) truth… John 17:17
#2 the Bible is a source of permanent happiness... Luke 11: 28
#3 the Bible is the source of spiritual  growth…  1 Peter 2:2
#4 the Bible is the source of spiritual power… 
#5 the Bible is the source of guidance… Psalm 119:105
#6 The Bible is a source of comfort…  Romans 15:4
#7 The Bible is the tool for our perfection…
 2 Timothy 3: 16
#8 the Bible is the source of victory over the enemy…  Ephesians 6:17
 #1 It is  the source of truth  In John 17:17… Jesus  says, “Thy word is truth.”  It tells us the truth about life and  death…. It speaks to our time here and now…. And it speaks to our forever in eternity…  It shows us the truth about heaven and hell…. And clearly marks out the difference between right and wrong... It shows us the truth about our culture and society…  
In fact… The bible helps us to understand the truth about every relationship… between God and man… . between man and man… and every relationship between man and His awesome  creation… 
#2 the Bible is the source of permanent happiness... Proverbs 8:34 We see the world around us chasing happiness… This culture is desperate for a moment of peace and happiness…
The simple answer of Scripture is found in this statement of Jesus… Luke 11:28, “Happy are they who hear the word of God and obey it.”  That’s happiness…  And so Jesus tells us The Bible is the source of truth and happiness…
#3 the Bible is the source of spiritual growth…  2 Peter 3:18 says… “Grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Grow in grace…. Grow…. How do we do that?  Well… In 1 Peter 2:2… it says…  “As babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby.” 
Growing in the knowledge of the word of God… Helps us to grow in grace…  And so we see that the Bible is a source of truth… the Bible is a source of happiness… the Bible is the source of spiritual growth…
And then #4 the Bible is the source of spiritual power…  We’re really powerless in our Christian lives unless we   use God’s word... 
The Bible is the source of our power…  “The word is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.” 
#5 the Bible is the source of guidance, Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
#6 The Bible is a source of comfort…  Romans 15:4 tells us about the comfort of the Scripture… 
#7 The Bible is the source of perfection… 2 Timothy 3:16, “That the man of God may be perfect!”  
The Bible is the source of so many things for us as believers…  This incredible book brings truth and happiness… spiritual growth and spiritual power for the Christian life… and the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to provide us with guidance and comfort… and He uses it to cause our perfection as we in obedience… submit to the scriptures…
And one other thing…  #8 the Bible is the source of victory over the enemy…  And with that we arrive at Ephesians 6:17… 
Ephesians 6:17                         NLT   Neues Leben
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
17 Setzt den Helm eurer Rettung auf und nehmt das Wort Gottes, euer Schwert, das der Geist euch gibt.
It is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God…  that gives us the only effective weapon against our enemy...  And Friends… that’s why We preach the Word of God…  That’s why we systematically teach the Word of God…  Because, you see, it wouldn’t even matter if all of those other things I said about the Bible were true if you never learned it…  What good would it be to have at our disposal  resources that we never used…  And so we systematically teach the Bible… book by book and verse by verse…  Preaching and Teaching the Word of God…  Why?  Because it gives us the source of all truthTrue truth as we said last week… It is the source of happiness… the source of growth… the source of power… the source of guidance… the source of comfort… the source of perfection… and the source of victory…
Now we know that we’re in a battle…  Right?  That was made clear to us in Eph 6… v10 to 12…  And if you look back at verses 10 to 12 you will remember the battle that we’re in...  We are wrestling against Satan and his demons…  Nevertheless we have nothing to fear… As Christians we’ve been given everything we need… because we are in Christ… We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavens…  We know how we are to walk our Christian life out in the real world… That’s laid out in Ephesians chs 4, 5, and 6…  We know what our resources are…  They are in Ephesians chs 1, 2, and 3… 
Listen carefully now…  the Bible is a powerful tool that we need to use in our lives … it shapes our hearts… It transforms our lives… It gives us all the important things we need for Life and Godliness…. And when necessary…. It is a weapon for fighting our spiritual battles… The Word of God is absolutely necessary for living our Christian life in this dark and dangerous world…
It’s not only important to have… we need to know how to use it...  And learning how to use it…  is dependent upon how diligently we study and apply the Word of God…  That’s why the apostle Paul spent three years in Ephesus…  In Acts 20:27… Paul said to the Ephesian elders… “I have not failed to declare unto you the whole council of God”...  Why?  He wanted to teach them how to use the sword...  He wanted  them to be able to use it effectively...
So we have an awesome spiritual sword… a sword not forged on human anvils or in earthly fires…  This sword has a divine origin… It is powerful and effective… This amazing weapon is all of those things that I said earlier… It is incomparable… A matchless tool in the hand of a believer…  It is so powerful that nothing can withstand it… and nothing can overpower it…  The light sabre from Stars Wars is nothing in the face of the True truth that we find in the Word of God…  It pales in light of the invincibility of the Word of God in the hand of a righteous saint who knows how to use it… The Word then is our weapon… and it’s powerful…    Romans 1:16   says… “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation”…  When we proclaim the truth as we use this sword…. People will get saved…  We can use the sword… And tear away souls from the kingdom of darkness... We can shine the Light of the Gospel into the darkest of hearts… With this sword we can cut a swath through Satan’s dominion and set captives free…  Powerful… Look at Hebrews 4…v12,13…
Hebrews 4: 12,13      NLT   Neues Leben
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
12 Das Wort Gottes ist lebendig und wirksam. Es ist schärfer als das schärfste Schwert und durchdringt unsere innersten Gedanken und Wünsche. Es deckt auf, wer wir wirklich sind, und macht unser Herz vor Gott offenbar.13 Nichts in der ganzen Schöpfung ist vor ihm verborgen. Alles ist nackt und bloß vor den Augen Gottes, dem wir für alles Rechenschaft ablegen müssen.
The English phrase “able to judge thoughts”… comes from the greek krinō… which means to judge by sifting out the evidence… Sift the Bugs out of the flour… The Word of God becomes the instrument that which convicts hearts… It shows us our sin and judges all people...  When we preach the Word of God to the lost…  It sifts and weighs their life in the balance… Every time we look at ourselves with open eyes we know that we are in trouble…  The Authority of the Word of God  shows them their sinfulness… v13…
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable….. We look in this book… we see the truth…. We know that we are accountable for our sin and pride and rebellion… God’s Word is a powerful tool… A Sword that frees souls from the kingdom of darkness… God’s Word comes like a sword piercing into the hearts of men… splitting them open… sifting the evidence… and showing them their own sin and guilt before a holy God…  This is a powerful weapon…  It is so powerful it can bring the light of truth into the darkest heart…  It is so powerful it can turn sadness into Happiness…  It  brings light to darkness and shows us the way we should go…  It changes sorrow into joy… It takes spiritual babes and makes them mature and complete in Christ…  This is a powerful thing...  This is what we hold in our hands… the sword of the Spirit… 
Let’s talk about its defensive capability… We can use the Bible as a defensive tool or weapon…  The Word of God helps us to resist the lies and temptations of the devil…  
In Luke chapter 4 and Satan comes to Tempt Jesus…  Satan attacks Him with three direct temptations…    And Jesus  quotes the Scripture each time…. He used the Sword of the spirit to defeat the temptations of the Devil…
We can learn how to apply the Word of God to the circumstances of our temptations too...  back to Eph 6: 17…
Ephesians 6:17                         NLT   Neues Leben
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
17 Setzt den Helm eurer Rettung auf und nehmt das Wort Gottes, euer Schwert, das der Geist euch gibt.
Notice at the end of verse 17 it says the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God…  The term, “Word,” here is not logos…  Logos is a term meaning word that speaks of The word in a general sense…  The Word of God big picture… The  general idea…  But here it is the word rhēma… This word  is more focused… It points us to a specific statement… A specific scripture to apply to a specific problem or temptation…      
The proper use of the Sword of the Spirit… Is to use the specific statements of God on a particular issue… For instance…. What does the Bible say about stealing… Adultery…. Hatred…. Etc….   And if we don’t know what God specifically says about those temptations… Then we can’t properly defend ourselves against it…   In order to really know the Word of God… We need to understand the big picture… We need to see the principles and inter connectedness of the Scriptures… And to hide the Word in our hearts so that we can resist the attacks of the enemy…
That’s why when we teach the Bible… I don’t just read you a Scripture… tell three stories… and send you away…  What we try to do is teach the principles in the text… 
Listen my dear friends… we must learn the principles of the Word of God… and that’s why we have to study to show ourselves approved unto God... 
We will overcome Satan when we know the Word of God and apply it… First to our own hearts and lives…. Then to the temptations that the Devil throws at us… A when we testify of the grace and mercy of God to a lost and dying world…   
I think that the reason so many Christians fall to temptation… Is because they just don’t know how God’s Word deals with such things…  They have not spent enough practicing with their swords…
I use the Word of God in my life to defend myself against Satan’s attacks.  Whenever Satan hits me with discouragement I think of verses that relate to the circumstances…
Do you know where to go to defend yourself against sorrow and grief… Can you defend yourself against discouragement… and defend yourself against a lack of commitment…. against the temptation to the lust of the eyes… How do we combat the lust of the flesh or the pride of life?  Do we know how to go against those things?  That’s how you use it defensively…
We should also be using the Sword of the Spirit to attack the strongholds that are destroying the people in our lives… Every time we take the gospel to an unsaved soul…    Every time somebody is redeemed… We see a swathe cut through his dark kingdom…  When we stand up and proclaim the Word of God… When we teach it to our children… When we talk about it to our friends… When we witness on the job or when we talk with other students at school…
Effectively using the sword takes practice... The great example of this was Jesus combating the temptation of Satan in the wilderness... It is a great place for your own quiet times this week… He used the Word of God to respond to the temptations of the evil one… The great King David loved the Word of God…. He used the Scriptures that he hid in his heart to help him stay away from sin…. He didn´t do it perfectly but he did hide it in his heart…. His goal was to stay free from sin… God calls him a man after mine own heart… Because he was perfect?..  No… because he was quick to confess and repent when he fell into sin… Let´s pray…

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