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Taking Warfare To The Streets V
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
What does salvation means, salvation is to be saved or delivered from something. There are 3 statements which all are true:
1. If you trust in Jesus Christ, you have been saved
2. If you trust in Jesus Christ, you are being saved
3. If you trust in Jesus Christ, you will be saved
-If you trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation, you have been saved. Because there was a transaction at the cross. And that transaction at the cross was one that Jesus took your sin and He gave you forgiveness, He gave you His perfection. So when you trust in Christ your sin is wiped away, you enter into a eternal life. You enter into the life of the Kingdom of God, and you are know considered to be saved. You have been saved.
-You are being saved, you are being delivered, you are being saved or delivered from sins which attack you and the temptations that would come against you. As you grow up in the Lord you are being delivered from those things and you are walking more fully in the knowledge what it means to be in the Kingdom of God and release the power that God has given you into the life around you. So you are being saved as you conqueror sin in your life and if you release the power of God more fully in your life, you let the Kingdom come.
-You will be saved means that you will be totally delivered from sin and all of its effects on the day that you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ.
But what is it specifically that Paul is talking about, the specific temptation that Satan brings against us after having a victory?
I Thessalonians 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
But what is now the hope of salvation? You resisted the flaming arrows that are coming to you. You feel the victory, so you stand up and you look over your shield and you see the next attack that is coming to you. And you think”……oh no!!” You feel discouragement and depression and you are beginning to lose hope.
When there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present. The enemy comes against you and try’s to put discouragement on you. He is trying to steal your power for the present by robing you from your hope for the future. Hope is faith for the future.
Hope in what?
-That you have been saved
-That you are being saved
-That you will be saved
That hope!! Because the enemy comes with discouragement, and sometimes you fall. But, my hope is in the cross of Jesus Christ. My hope is in the transaction, which Jesus performed on the cross for me. My hope is what He has done for me and now is existed into the present I am able to stand in Hope, in the cross of Jesus Christ, I have been saved. You will be saved is the hope in the eternal life.
Sometimes you don’t know what is going on around you and think “what is this all about?” and you feel discourage. You can even feel discouraged after a victory!
God took Moses away after leading the Israelites out of Egypt and 40 years in the dessert, because he hit the rock with his stick not the way God wanted it. Joshua had seen all the leadership from God through Moses and now he stood alone.
Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go
After the great victory of Jericho, Joshua was discouraged.
Joshua 8:1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.”
Helmet of salvation is having hope for the future so what we don’t fall in the present but having power in the present. God is the one who gives us what we need to go forward in His power if we will continue to have hope for the future.
How do we fight discouragement and depression? Simple by celebrating the Lord. God loves to be celebrated and worshipped. The joy in the Lord is my strength.
