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In my presence we are happy.
In my presence we are secure. In my presence all afflictions we can easily endure.
Thy presence we can conquer, we can suffer, we can die wandering from Thee. We are feeble. Let thy love, Lord, keep us nice.
Savior Lead.
We're reading in Ephesians chapter 6.
And since many were not here yesterday, maybe we could can read again the same verses we read yesterday from 10 to 20.
Inclusive.
00:05:02
Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 20. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins skirt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation.
And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints. And for me the utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.
Yesterday we took up the early portion of this passage. I thought perhaps this is sum it up quickly. We can look at these verses this way. Verses 11:50 tells us about the warfare that we are.
Against and then verses 13 on to verse 20 tells us what are the armors, what are the protections that we need?
In order to withstand. And I enjoy our brother Don's comment yesterday too saying that this is not really about you.
Decisions, work, trying to destroy God's work, taking honor away from His Son. And I was thinking perhaps we can add a little bit of illustration because some of us may say, I don't see any warfare. I don't see Satan coming after me. And you may be right, because if you do not make a stand for Christ, there is no need for Satan to come after you.
But when you stand for him, so we think about the one who came into this world.
He suffered. Why did he suffer? Because he's bringing salvation to mankind, something that Satan did not want to see. What did we do to Satan's power? Man was against our blessed Savior. They put him to death. The consensus from this world was we do not want this man to reign over us. We see the apostles taking up the cause, continuing on to preach Christ. What did they receive?
Same rejection if we were to take up the cross and follow him, we too will face the rejection of this world. But as the book of Ephesians remind us that our home is not here is the heavenlies that we have to keep our eyes on. And we find in the book of Colossians it says if EV risen with Christ see those things which are above where prices. But here in Ephesians we are viewed as if we are already in the heavenlies.
And we need to enjoy what we have. Don't believe, brethren, because it soon should be a reality for us.
11 it says to stand.
Verse 13 Take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. So it's important to know what this armor is, and I trust we can take up the seven points that are so important in connection with the armor of God.
Because we need to stand against the wickedness, the spiritual wickedness of our day, and having done all, to stand.
We kneel before God.
But before the enemy we should stand and withstand.
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Standing, Bob mentioned and even in verse 14 it repeats it again. Stand like to go back to chapter one because I think it gives us an understanding of what we're standing for and where we're standing. That word is what we're to hold on to.
In chapter one.
In verse 19, what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us? Word, who believed according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. That's Christ. That's the place where He stands this morning. He stands while He's seated at the right hand of God, but his place is in heaven.
Having finished his work here on Earth and gone back to the Father's house.
By a mighty power that raised him into that place where he is this morning. But then if you go to chapter 2, you learn where we are. And it says in verse five. I'll read verse four. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love we're with, He loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ.
By grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.
As David already commented, that is the place.
Into which we have been brought in Ephesians, as seen with Christ in his place.
In Glory.
Heavens and the armor in chapter 6 is armor given to us that we might stand and not give up in our lives and in our way of life, the position and place to which we have been brought.
We are seen by God.
Enroll in Ephesians with Christ.
Where he is in heavenly places and we have armor here because the enemy Satan, who has access to heavenly places is does not want us to stand in the position in which we are. He would have us leave it.
Spiritually speaking, leave it in practice while we can't leave it in position, but leave it in practice and find ourselves like everybody else, living in the world and for the things of the world and not be identified with.
The Lord, the Master.
The one that would lead us on to keep that place with Him and give testimony to the world as a heavenly people.
So we're told four times, really, stand, stand with stand, stand. Don't leave it, don't give it up. And if we don't value it, we won't even enjoy it and won't care whether we stand for it or not. But if we do enter into it in our souls, then we will wish to have the armor that will keep us in that place that God has brought us into.
There are several.
Admonitions given in Scripture. One of them is old, fat, and, as we've been speaking, stand fast.
And I believe there's a verse in the book of Judges, the 1St chapter of Judges, that frequencies do things together.
With a verse for a while that I had some difficulty understanding if we look to the first chapter of Judges.
And verse five, since then they found a donate peace act and peace act and they fought against them and they threw the Canaanites and the paradise, and the donations flagged and they pursued after him and caught him.
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And cut off his thumbs and grape toads that don't eat these excess restore 10 kings having their thumbs and their great toes credible gathered their meat under my table, as I have done so far have required me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. Well, without the problem. There is no opposition. We cannot grasp, we cannot hold anything. And so.
Characterized not only that game, but the three score 10 without your great toe. There's a lack of balance and we can't stand firm. So I believe that these two admonitions are so important. Hold fast and stand fast.
There's a word.
To the book of Ephesians, and that's in verse 10 of chapter 2. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, and the good works which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Well, that word workmanship is an interesting word.
The Greek word is poema. In other words, it's the word that we get our our word in English.
For home. So this is the epitome of God's counsels.
That we have in the book of Ephesians holy minutes, God's home, if we can put it that way, or sometimes it's been translated masterpiece. So the truth we're speaking about are the highest truths of Christianity have often appreciated A statement that Mister Faraday makes in his little book on Solomon, he says is Israel is the aristocracy of the earth. That's the theme of the Old Testament, isn't it? The Christian is the aristocracy of the universe.
But we need to enter into that calling and that's why he says in chapter 4 verse one, I therefore the prisoner in the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation of the calling wherewith your call. That's Our Calling is to enter into this these highest privileges that God has entrusted to any of his preachers. Now there's a difference, isn't there between wilderness.
Needs and cana needs. It's often been said that the book of Ephesians is the New Testament Joshua. And what that simply means is that in the Old Testament we have the wilderness, and the food in the wilderness was manna. And that scene is the Lord Jesus coming down, having taken manhood into his person. He lived in this world as a perfect man and his God at the same time. And that's a pattern for our life as strangers and pilgrims.
But then the children of Israel passed over the river Jordan and they entered into the land of Canaan. What does that speak of? Well, I read a quotation yesterday that's been a help to me. I'll just repeat it because somewhere here then. But it says the saving grace of God meets our condition as sinners. That's really coming out of the land of Egypt. But the councils of God reveal what God has purposed to bring to pass for the satisfaction of His own art.
Those are the things we're speaking about. That's the pole of God, the masterpiece of God. That's the warfare here, isn't it? Not the warfare between the flesh and the spirit that we have more in the wilderness, but it's a warp. That's a different warfare, the very real one. But what we have in the book of Ephesians is entering into Our Calling. I might just mention in Acts 20, we have a brief outline of Paul's teaching.
False gospel. He mentions three things, and it's important, I think, to lay a hold of those three things. This is when he's addressing the Ephesian elders. The 1St is the gospel of the grace of God. There's no blessing apart from that, is there? That's the foundation. But then it goes on to speak to the Ephesian elders and he speaks of the Kingdom of God. What does that mean? Well, that means if I'm a Christian, then I'm required and blessed.
To walk the holy life of Christian life, and that's so important. But many people's Christianity ends there. It's good to walk a Christian life, but many people do it, half in the world, half in Christianity. But what we're speaking about here is more the third thing the apostle speaks about, and it is practical as well, but it begins in the councils of God. And that is the third thing Paul mentioned in Acts 20, all the counsel of God.
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That which God has, as we just said.
Formed, headed to go here what God has purposed to bring the past for the satisfaction of His own heart, the highest truth of all God's creatures. We've passed far above angels in our privileges by the finished work of Christ and being brought into Christianity. This is the calling that we're to contend for.
In the book of Ephesians, is that right?
Yes and as soon as you want to walk in the enjoyment of all those things, you're going to find opposition. And to me it's interesting, brethren, how it shows itself in different ways. The enemy tries to sometimes distract, get your mind off of it, think about other things, material things that are we put so much importance on in this life and so.
In our chapter notice in verse 11 it speaks of the whole armor of God. Again speaks of that in verse 13. Take unto you the whole armor of God. There's a wholeness about it. 7 distinct things that I trust we can cover for our young people, for ourselves as well.
But let me just number them briefly before we start in taking them up. First is in verse 14, having your loins dirt about with truth. That's number one. Number two, having on the breastplate of righteousness #3.
Your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace #4 Above all, here's a very important one.
Taking the shield of faith #5 Verse 17. The helmet of salvation number six, The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God #7.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all things.
Brethren, these are practical things, and I trust we can see the importance of making them real in our hearts.
For example, in verse 14, the first one having your loins girt about with truth doesn't say that you need to know the truth. It's more than just knowing it, it's putting it on.
Practice it, be real with it. And this is so important if we're going to be able to stand. Oh, brother. And this is such a challenge in my own soul and I must say.
My own soul, I sometimes go over these seven things because you want to put the armor on before you go into the battle. You don't put the armor on when the battle has already taken place. No. And so we need to.
Be exercised to walk in the practical reality of these things.
Not only to know the truth, we talked about that yesterday, the importance of making a specific effort to learn the truth of God, the whole council of God that you were mentioning, but put it on. Let it be practical in your life. And to me, it's been such a challenge to think of the Lord Jesus here in this world, brethren, and those that followed on the apostles.
And especially the apostle Paul, who was the very chiefest of the apostles, and at the end of his life, he says for the love of Christ he had lost everything.
Was he ashamed?
He said to Timothy, I am not ashamed, for I am persuaded.
I'm going to have to read it, I'm sorry.
First or Second Timothy, chapter one and verse 12.
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Where the witch 'cause I suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day of the confidence with which he speaks, Even though he had lost everything, all those in Asia turned against him.
Was he ashamed? Not for the life of your brother. He was confident. And this to me, speaks so loudly. He made it practical. He lost everything down here.
Lord help us, brethren.
Refer to be the prisoner of Jesus Christ. He doesn't take on that high place to say look at me, look how well versed I am. No, he take the lowly place. And I want to go back with a bit to chapter 4. As our brother read that, I was thinking that as if it was the preparation before we put on the armor because as we walk with these armors, we have to keep something in mind. Let's just turn to chapter 4.
Verse two. How are we to walk as the one who belongs to Christ?
With loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. It wasn't long ago, a brother said to me, due to some political issues you folks have here and and as Vinnie know that the opinion in the politics are so strong, he said. We got to stand up and we got to fight for our rights.
It's not the thought, is it, that this world politics does not belong to us. We're to walk in loneliness and meekness.
We're to have long-suffering or forbearing one another. Oh boy, that's a tough one, isn't it? There are certain certain brother just rubbed me the wrong way. Do we ever feel that? Can we for bear one another? Verse 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Important, isn't it? I don't want to spend the time to turn that into another meeting. Verse four, there is one body.
And one spirit, even as we recall, in one hope of your calling. So how precious to that. We exhibit that there is one body to go through the book of Ephesians, you go through the book of Colossians, you'll find that the body is mentioned repeatedly. Important, isn't it? The mystery of God speaks of that. There is one body with a head in heaven.
There is one body that's a testimony, a quiet testimony to the world that we believe and we exercise that there is one body, there is one bullet. We if we Lord, leave us here till tomorrow, we have the privilege again. Why do we put one loaf exhibition to the world too? Isn't it not just to be remembered as we are one body? Those are the things we are to walk and these these warfare is not something that we can fight by our might.
We need the help. We need God's help. We need the Spirit guiding us into how we need to answer this world in a proper manner.
It's good to be reminded in this chapter that there's an order in which these things are given. There's an always an order in the ways of God. Still remember more than 10 years ago, brother and I that home assembly in Ontario, Canada. He pointed out that in James four and seven, it says to submit to God first and then it exists. The devil and he will flee from you. So sometimes we want to resist the devil, but if we haven't submitted to God, we wonder why the things will arrive.
Sometimes someone's going so reflect. Why do things go sideways?
Why does this happen? There's an order in the things of God. You see it in these verses that we've read here this morning. But also look at the Old Testament. In Exodus chapter 12 we have the Passover. Chapter 13, we have the feast of unknown and bread. Chapter 14, they have the crossing of the Red Sea. Chapter 15, they were worshipping. They were singing on the song of Moses there on the seashore. Then in chapter 16, they had the bread from heaven. Chapter 17, they had the water from the rocks.
And then it speaks of the battle they had, the battle they had and they were at one point almost losing until Moses, his hands were held up. And her brother had pointed out that the warfare and the wilderness is different. So this is not exactly the same. But we can see there's a sequence there. There's the Passover unleavened bread. There's the crossing of the Red Sea. There's the the worship. There's the song there the song of Moses. And there's the the bread from heaven. There's the water from the rock.
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And then they can face the war there. And it's striking. It's interesting. My brother has mentioned there's three things in Acts chapter 20 that are given. And then at the end it said they sorrowed, but they sorrowed the most, that they would see his face no more. They had become attached to the person, the apostle Paul, who had been taken up and seen Christ and glory. He hadn't experienced it. Very few, if any, had ever had.
And you know, why do come people come from so far away here? We need each other. We need to be able to build one another up in our most holy face. But even more, we need to see his face. It says we will see his face and his name will be in their forehead. And when we see him, all of a sudden all the fears, all the troubles, all the doubts, all the conflicts, we find that in David inquired of the Lord, did he move? You know, look at the battle David took.
You know, when he was first playing his heart that says, I think four times in First Samuel 18, right after he defeated Goliath, it says he behaved himself wisely. He behaved himself wisely. And then we find that the battle strategies were different. Sometimes he was to charge ahead. Sometimes he was awake to go, the wind going through the trees.
Inquired of the Lord. I was on a family reunion many years ago in Colorado, and I don't remember the name of the mountains, but we spent all day hiking up this mountain in Colorado Springs. And we got there and we looked over and, you know, we've been sweating, we've been tired. All we could see was the rocks either side. And it was, it was like kind of miserable and tiring. We finally got to the summit and we can see the view.
And it was worth, that was one of the longest hikes of my life. It was worth it. And you know, we may sometimes feel like we're sweating. It's difficult. Maybe we're losing the battle, maybe it's struggling. But you know what? There is a view. And we need to look unto Jesus. We need to view him. They sorrow because they cannot see his face anymore. We have the one who loved us. There's an order here, there to submit. The parents should obey Masters. There isn't always an order. God's order is always right.
But He wants to bring us to that right state of soul, so that when these difficulties come, we can triumph when we triumph in Him, thanks to God, who always causes us to try, and in Christ.
I think.
The book of efficient is also contains both aspects, the oppositional aspect and the practical aspect. Like we have in chapter one, we believe of substitute with Christ in the heaven.
And in chapter 2 we have got to God by His grace. In chapter 2 we are reminded our sinful nature. We were lost without God. And in chapter 3 we are brought to the mystery of the church. We have become the part of the church.
All the provisional respect that God has done, and we did nothing for that.
But that does not seem dear. And chapter 4-5 and six.
There is a practical aspect, and many times Christians have forgotten those practical aspects.
Because many Christian thoughts are I am sent by grace, I am good. Now I have been brought to the relationship. Hallelujah, that that means. But that is only the positional aspect, what God has done. So I think from chapter 4 there is a practical aspect what we each Christian need to do not in not in order to get the salvation, not to be born again, but since we are already born again, we have found the salvation in God.
That we need to work up like a personal power says in First Thessalonians. Work out your own salvation.
So I think that for us, we question, we need to, we need to balance.
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40 small and practical aspects.
We would love to be carried just away. We just need the Buddhism and we are not to be deceived that I am safe, that I am good now. That is not the end of the Christian process. I hope that we have from chapter 4 working. Of course, in chapter 5 we have the family relationship. In chapter 6 there is an offer of God and I think this two things have to go through alongside.
And if somebody is not born again, if somebody has been just received, just talking to the Christian sort of, but never born again.
Then we have nothing to do for chapter four, chapter 5, and chapter 6, and May God help us, but we also need to be a factor as well as because we have been sick, because there is a desire in our heart when we are saved by God because He loved us and there is the gratitude in our heart. We want to do something. I want to do something for that. I want to commit my life unto God. I want to be a practical, not just like a positional and dirty.
And make God.
That's why it says in verse 14 stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. It's making it practical. It's putting it on mention that Scripture says there is one body, brethren, we have brethren all over the globe that some of that are suffering severe persecution. Does that affect you in your life? Is that something that's practical with you? Do you pray for them at least?
And there are some things that we can do to help them.
I understand in areas there is a real need for Bibles and they're crying for Bibles in China. They can't seem to supply the need for Bibles that there is because of how many that are converting to the Lord Jesus. So these are practical things, but it goes on in verse 14. The second piece is.
Having on the breastplate of righteousness, which covers the breast, that's very important.
One arrow right through the heart of the soldier is done. Brethren, this is very important to having on, and this is practical righteousness.
And it's I say brother, and I like to connect it with a good conscience.
You know when you do something wrong, you do not have a good conscience, and that's important to maintain a good conscience. The conscience is the knowledge of good and evil.
And when you do something wrong, your conscience is wrong.
Don't ignore the voice of conscience, attend to it. Judge yourself. Tendency of us is to justify ourselves, but when conscience voice speaks, we need to judge ourselves. Notice what Paul says in Acts chapter 24. I think it's such an important.
Verse in connection with this, the breastplate of righteousness.
Acts 24 and verse 16. Here is what he says in his testimony.
And herein, do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men? He doesn't say I always have a good conscience. No. I exercise myself. The exercise I have today, I'm going to have to exercise tomorrow too. It's a constant exercise to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men. How important.
Is this piece of the armor of God?
A question.
Because I know often when we speak I we look at it and many of us just listen but don't hear.
So I want to raise a question and and as I raised the question, I'd like to leave it perhaps without comment for a few seconds and perhaps then others can help because I'm thinking of the young people and particularly I want that question sink into your heart. So we just read in verse 14 to have your loins girt with about with truth. The question is what is truth by not lying?
00:40:11
And we sometimes say, then you're telling the truth. What is it really referring to? And I address it to the younger ones. If someone were to ask you that, what is truth, What is your answer? So give it a few seconds to think and maybe someone else can help us answer that.
That regardless very few inhibitor that years ago that I've never forgotten, he says. Truth is what is.
That's truth, isn't it?
But we know who is the truth. Lord Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the light.
Word is true, and I think it's important when we speak of truth.
To remember that in its absoluteness we have the truth in the person of the Lord Jesus and in His precious Word. Sometimes we like to make ourselves the reference points in connection with truth, but people look at us and they see failure.
And they shake their hands.
Brethren, let's be careful to keep the focus.
On the person of the Lord Jesus and His precious Word.
Living the day when I approved his relative the changes with circumstances, but that is a far cry from the absolute truth that we have in the word of God is about.
I would just like for a moment to go on and comment on something on verse 15 that I have enjoyed where it says add your feet shod with the preparation for the gospel of peace I think we have.
Example of this given.
In First Samuel chapter 25.
David is sending a message to Naval in this chapter and in verse five of that chapter says David sent out ten young men.
David said unto the young man, Get you off the Carmel, and go to neighbor, and greet him in my name, And thus shall he say to him that liveth in prosperity.
These be both thee, and peace be divine house, and peace be under all them all that thou hast.
Here were ten young men.
They were sent out by David.
To greet Mabel and his and David's name of peace. And we know I'm reading the chapter they were rejected.
Some of us who are older have gone to a foot doctor or a podiatrist and and all the times that I've been to podiatrist.
They've examined my feet, but they have never asked a very important question, where have these feet taken you? Where have these feet? And so I believe that we have that answer given in first Samuel chapter 25. And just briefly, one further verse in Isaiah chapter 52.
Where it says in verse 7 how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.
Fighting and that publishes peace and bringeth good. Tidings of good that publishes salvation. That said unto Zion, thy God reigneth.
Preparation of the gospel of peace. Not the gospel of peace per SE, but what lays the foundation for? Isn't it? Is that a consistent Christian life? Isn't that what gives power to the gospel of peace?
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What he's saying to a person that was a professing believer, but his life testimony was not in order.
And it was said, what you do speak so loudly I can't hear what you say. And to me, that's exactly what that means. It's the preparation of the gospel of peace. The way you walk prepares the means to give the message.
It's a very strong statement that I hear about with Mahatma Gandhi.
He said that it wasn't for Christians. I would be a Christian. So he read the inconsistencies. He saw the inconsistencies of those that profess the name of Christ, and as a result, he did not see any reality in the message that they proclaimed.
14 and 15 as they relate to the heart.
What's controlling your life this morning?
Pretty important question, really. You're asked some questions last night in the gospel meeting. I'll ask one this morning. What's controlling your life this morning?
Whatever is controlling your heart.
Is controlling your life.
When he says stand.
It's standing.
That has to do with what should be and in the position what had the control of the hearts of the Saints. And so he says, let your loins be gird about with truth.
It's already been said. Truth is not fact. What hasn't been said, but the thought's been given.
Truth and facts are not the same thing. When the world talks about things, they very often will say, well, what's the truth they're really saying? Can you tell me what the facts of the case are in an accurate way? But in fact, truth has because I am the truth.
And the Word of God gives the truth. It gives everything in its proper respect and relationship to God.
And truth brings everything out that has yet properly related to God and what He is and what He does and what He says. And so to have truth, you have to have knowledge.
A child doesn't know much truth because it's a child, and so in order to have wines gird about with truth, knowledge is necessary. But the important fact about it is knowledge in the head is not where truth properly resides.
Now we get back to the heart.
The true residing place that's of truth.
Is the heart.
And if you don't have the truth in the heart, you don't have it and you can't walk in it.
Preparation of the gospel of peace. You can't present the message of God properly. You're not properly prepared to present it unless you can present it as from the heart of God.
A God who has made peace in his love by the cross as now from his own heart, presenting through his servants that message. And so in order to have it, you have to have it in the heart so that it may be presented not clearly, concisely, correctly, only all that's important. But if it's going to speak from the heart of God to the heart of a soul.
It has to come from God's heart, and His servant needs to be able to, whether consciously or otherwise, be entered into the heart of God in order to present God to the soul in peace.
One more living practical example of it who got.
The truth first on the morning of the resurrection.
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Who got it first?
Was it John? He knew a lot. Was it Peter? He'd spent 3 1/2 years in the presence of truth. Did he get it first? No.
It's well to remember that the woman from whom 7 devils have been taken.
Had her heart bonded to the person of the Lord Jesus?
In a way that nothing else could satisfy her, and even if it was only to take the body.
And properly take care of it.
She could turn her back on angels, she could turn her back on other people, because there was only one object of her heart that could satisfy her soul, and that was the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's the essence.
Of what it is to get the truth is to have a heart that's bonded to the person of the Lord Jesus.
So that nothing else short of that satisfies the heart. And she became.
The bearer of the most wonderful truth of Christianity. That morning when she saw the Lord and she recognized Him, he made his heart known to her and satisfied her heart. And on that day she was the most knowledgeable person in the world. She knew more than anybody else. So what was really important?
But again, it starts with the heart, and that's why these seven points begin with that which has to do with the heart, the truth that has to have its lodging place in the heart, the knowledge of the heart of God which is necessary if there's to be a preparation to share that message with others. The 13th verse of John chapter 20 for the daughter. And they say unto her, woman, why we could style.
She said under that because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him.
And when she had us said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why we bestow who seeketh style. She's supposing him to be the gardener set up in there. Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast played him, and I will take him away.
She supposed that everyone knew who that him was because the Lord was her objective. She didn't state his name, but she just said to him, and that's all that accounted to her, as our brother, John said.
They convert 50 with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That's helpful.
To see that it's really the fullness of Philippians chapter 4 and penetrating all the way through to the God of peace that keep our feet in the conflict. It's just, it's not just peace with God that we're ready to proclaim to others. That's given to us, say in Romans, but in Philippians chapter four. We have those anxieties, we have those fears, and we lay them at his feet in prayer. And then that heart is open to take in and feed on what's noble, what's full of virtue and so on, feed on Christ.
Sequence in Philippians 4 ends with the God of peace. And it's knowing that person, that God of peace, that keeps my feet from being jittery. In the conflict. A Roman soldier had sandals that had cleats because they discovered that on grassy battlefields with blood, their feet tended to slip. And on the battlefield that we have in the conflict that we're in, our feet will slip unless we're in full and proper communion with the God of peace. That's what prepares our feet to stand in the conflict.
Is that personal, practical, as we've been talking communion with that one? And if my heart is filled with anxieties, if it's wrestling over things in the heart and it hasn't left them with Him in prayer, then my feet are in danger of being jittery and slipping in the conflict. But if we've gone through in the heart and mind are filled with that person and we're enjoying that God of peace, the feet are firm and standing in the conflict.
00:55:22
When you say something to these young people about this project.
The enemy of your soul is a liar.
We find in the word of God that he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning.
And so he will work insidiously.
And deviously to tell you that everything that God is for and everything God has done is wrong, you think back to his first interaction with Eve in the Garden.
He loved first, he introduced the doubt. Has God really said that? Then he says, oh, God's wrong, you're not going to die. And young people.
The enemy that we're striving against. I mean, this is sophisticated.
High level.
Elaborate work there that Satan would tell you.
God is not really for you. You don't have any value.
I look around at young people that I see and my interaction, you know, I have kids in high school and I look at young people and I tell you, my heart goes out to you and the messages that you're being given, God isn't for you. You don't have any value.
God is a liar. Or perhaps if we can't get you to believe that, maybe.
To your parents don't care about you. All these rules that they have, they're they're just being mean to you young people, don't take your basis of your thinking from Satan. He's a liar. Whatever he's telling you is not going to bring you closer to the Lord. I really appreciate brother Don your thoughts about the heart.
It's so critical.
To have your heart.
Engaged with the Lord Jesus.
To take hold of the fact that God is for you and all that he is. I can't quote this exactly right, but I've enjoyed this thought that.
All of our failures in life stem from a disbelief, that of the goodness that's in the heart of God. I don't know if we said that originally, but Satan would take God's truth.
And twist it, change it, you know, and we're under tremendous cultural.
Influence to say, well, you know, you need to take a few bricks off the wall. Compromise. You know, God really doesn't know what he's doing. He's not addressing your needs. He is, young people, he is.
I have a sister-in-law that's a banker and a cousin that's a banker.
Both of them have told me that the way they teach their employees direct to recognize counterfeit money is to handle the real money.
Learn to get familiar with the love of God, the truth of God, what he says your place is, you know the enemy would say you don't have any value, you don't have any worth. What does God say about it? We've been talking about this in the first chapter Chosen in Christ.
All those spiritual blessings, God is for you. And Satan would say no, no, no, no, God is not for you. He's against you.
Think of the we spoke about the truth of the one body. Why does.
Satan wants you attack that because it draws us closer to Christ and if anything he can do to undermine and attack, he's going to do it. And so that's why having this armor on and understanding.
That the messages from the enemy and the overwhelming flow of the culture of this world. It's a lie. Find truth here, don't find it out there in the world.
01:00:11
If you think that you're on solid standing, you're not. I have an enjoyment of history and I yesterday was.
Something that has a Newfoundlander. I was sharing this with the girls yesterday as Canada Day is also Beaumont Hamill Day.
What do you mean? Bernie Beaumont Hamill Day is World War One and the Newfoundland Regiment was designated yesterday in a battle in World War 1.
The insidiousness of the enemy. Some of the things that he would do is, I'll just use some World War One examples because I like history. They would tunnel underneath the enemy trench, fill it up with explosive and just blow it up. He wants to annihilate you that way. They can't get you that way.
You know, a deception. I think it's interesting that one of the tactics that was used this.
They would sneak up, take a piece of enemy trench, leave a bunch of false documents and retreat. The enemy would come. This is what David's plans are.
That's how the enemy works. Is present to you what isn't true as if it is true.
He wants to take you out, so recognize everything He's doing is against God and against Christ and against your enjoyment. Believe that.
Take into your soul the goodness that's in the heart of God. It's so critical.
It just said way more than I plan to. I'm sorry.
You're talking about me is verse 16 taking the shield of faith, implicit confidence in God and His Word and so often.
The enemy presents outward.
Evidences of his lies and you've got to learn to walk by faith, not by sight because what is seen is often not the full reality. So learn to go by God's word. That's the shield of faith. It's this thing that is generally in their left hand. They carried the shield and it says.
Which ye are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Now I like to say the darts are the doubts. Satan throws doubts at you. Did God really say that? No, you're not going to die. He put those doubts into Eve's heart and she fell for it. And the same tactic he's using today. Trust God implicitly. Trust him. When He says something in His word, He means it. You can count on it.
That's the shield of faith, and that's why it says here in verse 16. Above all, this is one of the most important pieces of the armor of God. Lord help us.
Two parts involved.
There's your heart and God's heart, and we've been having both sides of it.
It's so important is that we recognize that there needs to be a bonding between our own heart and the heart of God, and the shield of faith is connected with the heart of God is already brought out. If you go back to the first temptation of Adam and Eve, what was the work of Satan there? It was to bring doubt into the heart.
Of the heart of God. It was to make Eve question the heart of God and not trust what he said in faith. God said don't eat of it.
And Satan would say, wait a minute, it's going to make you wise. And it's true. It was going to make it wise. And so she responds and says, well.
We were told not to eat of it and not to touch it. That's the way the heart works. It adds to or changes the simplicity of what God says. That makes it a little more intolerable to us.
01:05:06
And so she adds that word, but nonetheless, the purpose behind it was to destroy her faith in the heart of God. And we one of the things that connected with it as well, as Bob mentioned a while ago, the good conscience.
It says if our heart condemn us not.
Then we have a good conscience toward God. And so it is the importance of not allowing anything that comes between our heart and God. And if we do something wrong, if our conscience bothers us and brings in a distance, and sometimes to cover up that distance, we're willing to compromise the truth as we know it because our heart condemns us and we aren't willing to submit.
And sub in repentance to what God has to say. So just again, let's remember not to let anything as Mary didn't on that resurrection morning come between her own heart and the heart of God.
And verse 5.
Says, And hope maketh not ashamed.
Because the love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, so this is God's way of bringing reality of His love home to our hearts so that our hearts can be healthy and so that we can be in fellowship with God and with His plans. Hope maketh not ashamed.
Well, hope.
Is always based upon the promises of God. Here we're taking up in our in our chapter in Romans, all the councils of God that center in Christ to bring us into that blessing in association with him. And Satan is wanting to rob us of the enjoyment of this and of the testimony that it will bring for the glory of God in our lives.
Hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.
By the Holy Ghost, it's the activity of the Holy Ghost which takes the reality of the love of God and makes it good to our soul. And if there's anything hindering the Holy Ghost from doing that, then the love of God won't be able to float freely to our soul. So it's it is really important that the spirit be free.
It's not a matter of us putting forth all kinds of fleshly energy to enter into the love of God. No, it's just allowing the Spirit of God liberty to reveal the love of God to our hearts and and then we'll have the the hope of these things will be will be vibrant because the relationship that we have with God.
Is real, but I just want to emphasize the work of the Spirit of God.
Is essential. He has to be free because he's the one that communicates the reality.
Of relationship that we're in.
It says that the shield of faith extinguishes the fiery darts of the wicked. And lifting the shield, it doesn't take away the dark, but it extinguishes the dark. And I experienced this in my own life. I'm sure many here have. I know when I was a teenager.
I believe the devil sent me a fiery dart and it had to do with.
The the work of Christ, the substitutionary atonement of Christ. And it was, it was a clever strategy. And you know, it was a question, a challenge. I didn't have an answer for it.
And, you know, for a couple of hours I was rocked. You know, here I was. I wasn't, to my knowledge, going on in sin of some kind. It's not that kind of warfare. It's rather Eric brought out it was, this is the warfare when we're going on well and we get targeted.
01:10:16
And you know, what I need to do is lift the shield of faith. I lifted the shield of faith. Trust God. I can fall back on his heart. I can trust his love that this person I've come to know and that and the flame goes out, the fiery dart is extinguished. I may not have an answer, but the dart was extinguished. And then later on I was able to draw the the sword of the spirit and the Spirit of God brought.
A verse of Scripture to my mind that that just perfectly answered that and.
But again, above all, that shield of faith, if there's that burning.
Doubt that's there in your mind. Lift the shield of faith and they'll take care of it right away.
Very brief thought regarding Shields. We have the master.
Somebody else carried Goliath's shield.
He didn't respond. He was dependent on somebody else. We need our own faith.
Can't depend on the faith of our parents or grandparents or brothers or sisters or somebody else that we look up to. We need that shield of faith for ourselves. I know it's certainly God's order. The Goliath be killed by David with his faith in the Lord, but still Goliath and somebody else carrying the shield. We need to carry the shield for ourselves.
Brother Tim, you had something to say.
Steven better than I was going to so.
Take just one final comment as we're out of time, but at the beginning of verse 17, I think is so critical and sometimes misunderstood. And take the helmet of salvation. It's not what I'm first saved, is it? But salvation is in three tenses in Scripture, isn't it? It's past, present and future. And this is practical salvation day by day in our walk, not when I first came to the Lord, but it's salvation day by day and I just want to read.
Some verses in 2nd Corinthians 10 that I think are so critical here because in this day it's called the Information Age and there's all kinds of thoughts we can pick up on the Internet. For instance, we have to be careful to control our crops. That's what this is speaking about. They have to be in submission to the Word of God and not just free flow or we'll get in trouble. Just 2nd Corinthians 10.
Verse 3 where we walk.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. And then this verse particularly, casting down imaginations or reasonings, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
I love you about the last verse of 16 in the appendix as the shield of the Helmet of Salvation, Brother Eric.
For every tribulation.
For every sore distress in Christ I've full salvation, Sure help and quiet rest, No Fear of foes prevailing. I triumph, Lord in thee, Oh Jesus, friend unfailing, how dear art thou to me?
Maybe we can sing that hymn.