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The Spiritual Armor
(Part 3)
By Pastor Young Joon Park
4-4-10
Review
I.
Our Enemy
II. Our preparation
for the war
III.
The Spiritual Armor
¡¤
Personal combat
Armor
¡¤
Armed forces
combat armor
1. Personal
combat Armor
Armor
#1: The Helmet of Salvation (the hope of Salvation)
Armor
#2: The Breastplate of Righteousness
Armor
#3: The Belt of Truth
Armor #4: The Shoes with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace
Ephesians 6:15
your feet shod (shoe) with the preparation of the
gospel of peace;
Are you
to walk on the path of peace, or a path of frustration, anger, or hostility?
The
example of Apostle Paul
to
travel to Jerusalem – the prophecies about the fate that awaited him on this
journey - begged him to reconsider – Paul knew that his life will
be in danger
His
answer to them who wanted him to change the plan of traveling to Jerusalem
"What
do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be
bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts
21:13).
Paul
was willing to walk through the suffering path having shod his feet in
preparation of the Gospel of Peace without any fear.
What purpose do shoes serve?
A
shoeless soldier could run into real trouble in the heat of battle. He is going
to encounter some debris. It may be nothing more than twigs and pebbles, but to
a bare foot those can be a cause of serious pain - and one of the last things
you want to deal with in the middle of a fight is worrying about where you
step.
In
short, shoes allow us to step freely and without fear while we turn our full
attention to the battle at hand.
What is the Gospel of Peace?
The
Greek word of gospel is translated - simply "good news."
What
is the good news?
The
gospel of the Kingdom, The good news of the Kingdom of God includes the good
news about Jesus Christ the King, His grace and His plan of salvation for all
mankind. This plan gives us peace with God now, and will bring peace to the
whole world with God! This is the message God's people are eager to share with
others.
What does the Gospel of Peace have to do with shoes?
Romans 10:15
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who
bring glad tidings of good things!"
The
news, the Gospel, has to be spread out all over the places.
God's
Church is sent to announce the good news of God's Kingdom, which will spread
His Way of Peace around the whole world. Having our shoes on, we are ready to
move, to spread these glad tidings to others.
So
many our brothers and sisters walked countless miles throughout the world to
share the Gospel for so many years.
We
must also be ready at all times constantly to do our part to spread the good
news.
God
knows our weakness to carry this News to the world, which is why God sent the
Holy Spirit to us.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
The
purpose of the power of the Holy Spirit is to spread of the Gospel from where
you are and to continually reach out to the end of the earth.
The
people do not know the way of Peace unless we share the Gospel with them.
We
have the answer and the keys for their true peace.
How do these spiritual shoes help us to stand firm? – The Authority
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give you the
authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Just
as shoes allow us to walk on otherwise painful terrain without fear, so the
preparation of the gospel of peace allows us to traverse the otherwise painful
trials and tribulations of life without fear, knowing that what awaits is
greater than anything we could possibly suffer in this world (Romans 8:18).
How to wear
1.
I have to have a peace with God through Jesus Christ.
2.
We have to prepare to share the Gospel and share with the lost today.
3.
Prophetic action
Armor #5: The Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6:16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you
shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The shield is different than 4 armors
We
put on the belt, the breastplate and the shoes, and they essentially hold
themselves up. The shield is different.
There were two
kinds of Romans shields.
1) a round shield,
12 to 14 inches in diameter, and used in hand to hand combat.
2) a door shield
which was large enough for a person to hide behind.
Paul referred the
shield as a door shield in this verse.
How
the shield to be used
Paul
tells us that
1) the
shield is something we must take up, something we are required to raise. Just
strapping it to our arm won't do any good at all if we don't make the effort to
hold it aloft and use it.
2) Protect from the
flaming arrows of the evil one.
3) lock their door
shields together creating a unified wall of protection.
This human size shield
was made with one piece of light, solid wood and covered with animal skin which
had been soaked in water. When the enemy shot his fiery darts at the person,
the skin on the shield would put out the fire.
A fiery dart was an arrow
tipped with tar or pitch and then set on fire. When a soldier took his bow and
shot the flaming arrow, it would throw burning tar all over the person, as well
as anyone else nearby. But if such a dart hit the door shield with the leather
that had been soaked with water, the fire would be put out; the hot tar would
cool
off.
Soldiers would often lock their door shields together as they marched toward a
city, creating a unified wall of protection.
A
shield deflects. Satan is always hurling his fiery darts of fear, doubt
and worry in our direction, and bring to our mind the confusion, but
the only time they can hit us is when we let our shield of faith down - when we
stop believing that God is in control; that He is working everything out for
our good; that whatever happens is for the ultimate best of everyone involved,
however little it seems to be that way.
The shield of faith that God has given
us is like the soldier¡¯s door shield, protection us from satan¡¯s fiery
darts. The weapon of faith is simply
believing in God and the promises in His Word. We have to believe and
join our faith to what He has said. Remember, whatever you ask in Jesus¡¯ Name,
if you believe, you will receive (Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24).
People have the conflict with the Lord¡¯s Will because of our strong will.
Another means that we have more faith to my will than God¡¯s will, also at the
same time our flesh pursue our desire than the Lord¡¯s. Also we believe what I
can see and we act how I can feel.
Our eyes can see, but many things we cannot see with
our own eyes.
We rely on microscope to observe for the microscopic
organism, binocular or telescope to observe things for the long distance. We
cannot see a thing without this tool.
Faith is the same thing without trust in Him we
cannot see and do a thing at all, without the faith shield we are going be in
flame by satan¡¯s fiery dart.
What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith
is not a guess, or wishful thinking, but it is real and the irrefutable truth.
Faith
involves a huge element of trust with
pure heart like a child.
Our faith has to stand on the foundation of Real Truth, our Lord Jesus
Christ.
1)
Salvation
Ephesians 2:8a
For by grace you have been saved through faith¡¦
We
have to have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, because He is the
only truth that we can rely on for the rest of our life eternally.
The
first woman Eve wanted to know the good and evil and to be like God even she
was in the God¡¯s Garden and in God¡¯s presence. She fell for satan¡¯s false
truth, the deception, and ate the fruit instead of submitting to God.
As
the result of this rebellious action, her sin brought the death to all human
beings until today.
Her
faith was based on satan¡¯s deception, not the truth of the Lord.
She
just tossed all the Truth of God away, and accepted satan as her god.
There
are many people looking for the truth in the wrong sources instead of relying
on the real Truth of Jesus Christ. I believe that those people will fall into
the confusion and into the wrong place unless they escape from the deception.
2) We have to walk by faith in daily life
The
true faith or false?
Example)
During the war King Saul was about to inquire before the Ark, and he changed
his mind for the inquiry due to the fact that the situation changed.
Many
times our faith depends on the result of the influenced by what I am doing now.
Furthermore we do more or give up depending on the result.
This
is not a faith, but to trust or rely on my ability and my power using God¡¯s
Name.
Jesus
wants us to deny ourselves and take up our cross in daily, and then
follow Jesus alone.
Believing
in Jesus Christ my Savior and the Lord means that we put all our will aside and
just follow His Will alone.
John
15 Jesus taught very clearly that
the true Christian life is to abide in Him, and it is the main key of Christian
life.
¡°Abide
in Me¡± (=Faith in Him) is what
really need in our life. There are many people who are looking for wonders,
signs and miracles instead of abiding in Him. Abide means to yield to Him
alone.
—
Yield
—
Give up my will
—
Submit to His Will 100%
—
Intimate relationship
—
Carry our own cross: Luke 9:23
—
Die daily: I Corinthians 15:31
Christian
= Christ + I Am Nothing = the Lordship
Making
the confession that I am a Christians carries a meaning that I am nothing but
Christ is everything in my life. He is the Lord in every area of my life with
no exception whatsoever. Jesus Christ is not my Lord if I want to live out my
own will against God¡¯s Will.
Our Lord Jesus Christ lived in Father¡¯s Will alone.
John 5:19
Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself,
unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does,
these things the Son also does in like manner.
Jesus¡¯
40 days fasting and the temptation
from satan
Satan
tried to entice Jesus into letting Him use His Will instead of following Father
God¡¯s Will.
Jesus
never used His Will, but submitted Himself to Father God and used Father¡¯s Word
against satan.
Satan
knew that God¡¯s redemption plan will be perished if Jesus used His Will even
just once that was not Father God¡¯s Will.
Satan
relentlessly tried to tempt Jesus in many different ways to let Him do His Own
will rather than Father¡¯s Will until Jesus died on the Cross.
Our
Lord Jesus Christ never did follow His Own Will, but only Father¡¯s Will because of you and me. The
purpose that God sent Jesus Christ to earth and Jesus lived on earth is just
for you and me.
Jesus
has been submitting and living with only Father¡¯s Will throughout His entire
Life, but this one night He was in the great agony and He said to His
Disciples, ¡°My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death.¡± And after that
He started to discuss with Father God in the Garden of Gethsemane in the
middle of night before He was illegally arrested by the mob of Roman soldiers.
In
this time Jesus brought His Will to Father God¡¯s attention.
Jesus
asked Father, ¡°My Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.¡±
What
was Father¡¯s Will? – Judgment of entire world
And
what was Jesus¡¯ Will? – avoid the cup of wrath of the judgment
Jesus
Christ our Lord¡¯s agony was not about the physical death, but the wrath of God.
1) Jesus has to become the sin of the
entire of human race
2) Jesus has to receive all the wrath
of God 100% on Him
3) Jesus will be abandoned by the
Father God and separated from Him during the Judgment on the Cross
He
wanted to avoid because it is so painful and horrible to Jesus,
He
made a request to Father God not just one time but 3 times with the same
questions, the same answers and the same commitment.
Jesus
made a request to Father
¡°My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.¡±
Father
God answered with full of His Love.
¡°My Son, You have to drink every drop of this cup, and there is
no other way for them.¡±
Jesus
submitted to Father and committed with full of His Love for us.
¡°Yes, Father. Not as I will, but as You will.¡±
Father
confirmed to Jesus that His Will will not be changed, and Jesus has to go
through for the entire people of the world that is for you and me.
And
Jesus did not choose His Will, but Father¡¯s Will for you and me.
He
was on the cross,
¡¤
He became our
sin itself,
¡¤
be cursed for us
and every drop of the wrath of God was poured over Jesus broken body and
¡¤
put to death on
the cross for the penalty of the entire world people¡¯s sin.
At
this moment He cried out to God.
¡°MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?¡±
He called Father as
¡°My God¡± instead of Father, because He was judged by God and all the wrath of
God was poured on Him. The Father had to pour out the full force of His Wrath
against sin upon His Beloved Son.
As
Jesus submitted to death on the Cross, bowed His Head and released His Spirit without
even one small defeat of failure, satan¡¯s fate was sealed.
Satan
was excited that Jesus was killed on the Cross, not realizing that he only
bruised Jesus¡¯ heel.
Also
Jesus¡¯ Crucifixion is to bruise on satan¡¯s head that is permanent destruction.
The meaning of
Jesus¡¯ Death without any failure to Father¡¯s Will,
¡¤
He
vanquished (defeated) satan.
¡¤
All
of satan¡¯s legal claims upon the earth and the entire human race were canceled.
¡¤
The
war was won!
¡¤
Jesus
Christ had disarmed and dethroned the adversary of mankind.
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Christ
alone had become the scapegoat for the sin of the whole world, as if He Himself
were guilty of the entirety of that sin.
¡¤
As
His Soul was mad an offering for sin, He had to descend into hell (Ephesians
4:9).
¡¤
satan¡¯s
bankruptcy was complete.
¡¤
Jesus
took the teeth out of demonic powers and made an open show of them by
triumphing over them.
¡¤
Hell
was thrown into total chaos.
¡¤
Satan
was stripped of his usurped legal authority over mankind; his dominion over the
earth was snatched.
¡¤
From
this climactic struggle with the underworld of darkness, Jesus emerged
triumphant with the keys to death and hell.
¡¤
Furthermore,
Jesus translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:12-13).
Jesus¡¯ Resurrection
Christ was
resurrected in a human body that He paid the wage of sin fully by His Blood as
the Lamb of God. His resurrected Body is not like our body today, but it is
Glorified Body and Immortal Heavenly Body.
The meaning of
Jesus¡¯ Resurrection
¡¤
Jesus
is the Messiah as the Son of Man and the Son of God
¡¤
Jesus
is the only way, the Life and the Truth
¡¤
Jesus
overcame the death and He has the keys of death and of Hades (Rev 1:18)
¡¤
Jesus¡¯
resurrection proof the truth everything in the Word of God
¡¤
So
our faith is not in vain at all.
¡¤
We
are the one who have the great Hope and Truth in Jesus.
John 12:24
JN 12:24 ¡°Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of
wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit.
A grain of wheat – it is the hardest seed – it has to be ground to
make flour
Our mind and will is very hard, unless we do die the will of ours
will control our life.
We can confess our faith through our mouth, but not from the heart
at all if our grain (our strong hardened mind to against the will of God) is
not die.
John 12:25
JN 12:25 ¡°He who
loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it
to life eternal.
His
life means our stubbornness, and love means to keep our will against the Lord¡¯s
Will.
Hate
means to yield our will to God¡¯s Will.
Jesus
taught very clearly about this area. If our stubbornness does not die, then we
will lose it (salvation), but if we die then we gain the eternal life.
That is
why Jesus command us to deny our will, take up our cross continually meaning my
will to die daily and choose His Will to follow Him alone.
This is
the real faith and Christian life.
This is
Jesus¡¯ Life.
In Jesus¡¯ entire
life He only followed Father¡¯s Will alone, and took up His Cross to give up His
Will, He died fully and He was resurrected for the new life.
1 John 2:6
He who says he abides in
Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
So we have to
follow after His Food Step.
How we put the shield up
1)
We
have to believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior and the Lord throughout our entire
life every moment.
2)
We
have walk by faith in Him and His Promises alone, also the Lord must be my
foundation of faith
3)
Prophetic
action
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