Thursday -- The Girdle of Truth

A warm welcome to Mike, who is with us tonight. Mike was in the military and spent time in the Phillipines and in the Middle East. After hearing some of his experiences we thank God for our country and the blessings we have here.

We continue with the armor of God.

The Belt of Truth

Where was the first place that Satan ever attacked? In the Garden of Eden, Satan cast doubt on God's word. So Mr. Art Mathias (www.akwellspring.com), in his book "Biblical Foundations of Freedom", says that we should start with the Belt of Truth because that is the first place of attack.

There is defensive and offensive armor. Putting on the armor takes effort. God gives us access, but we are to do it. It is the result of Doing, Believing, Embracing, Responding and Studying to gain knowledge and truth.

There were three types of belts the Romans used. One type was an apron used for protection, a sheath to hold the weapon, and a sash to show authority.

In the first part of Ephesians, prior to mentioning the armor, Paul makes a few key points:
Eph 1:4--God SELECTED us
Eph 1:7 God SAVED us
Eph 1:13 We are SEALED in the Holy Spirit
Eph 2:6 We are SEATED at the right hand of God.
Eph 2:19 Eph 3:6 We are SECURE in Christ
Eph 3:16 We are in a position of STRENGTH.

The best defense is a good offense. We need to remember this when we are attacked by Satan, instead of just sitting and taking it, we need to act. We need to Praise, to Worship, or get in the Word or listen to a teaching. Jesus defended attacks against himself by quoting the Bible, "It is written..."

John 17: 17-19 Sanctification of truth.

1 John 2:20 We have an unction from the Holy Spirit (unction means the act of annointing). We know in our hearts, even as immature Christians what is from the Lord.

King Saul did not acknowledge his sin, but David did repent, and God blessed his family and kingdom. In Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar was going to be as a wild beast until he acknowledged God.

Rick Joyner's "The Call"
The author had a vision of an intense physical/spiritual battle and he had glorious shining armor. But over the shining armor he had to put on the cloak of humility. Because the brilliant armor reflecting the glory of the Lord was actually distracting from the battle, therefore the cloak of humility was a way to win the battle without taking off the armor. Had he not had the cloak on he would have led a lot of people into disaster. It was a matter of life and death.

James 4:7 The humbling part is submitting to God. James says here that we are to submit, then he says if we resist the devil will flee. The order is that we should submit first.

The weapons in the military from the conventional to the potent nuclear weapons which could destroy the world were under control of people. In the USA the weapons were under the control of Christians who were serving at the highest posts in the military.

In Nehemiah 4:16-18, there is a description of building the wall. Each builder had a sword as he built, and when they heard the sound of the trumpet they were ready to battle. Even when they were building the wall, they wore their armor and were prepared. They built the wall in 52 days.

A couple of links showing the belt that the Roman soldier wore--here and here.