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Full Armor of God
Part 8 – The Helm of Salvation
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
This document is a Sermon Outline. You may hear the full audio of the sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on Facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church. #worship #godheals #newtestament #jesuslovesyou #churchfamily #godsword #loveoneanother #holy #godislove #church #jesus #god #bible #christian #love #faith #worship #jesuschrist #gospel #prayer #christ #christianity #pray #holyspirit #godisgood #hope #blessed #armorofgod
SERMON TIMELINE
1. Introduction
2. Strength of the Lord
3. Put on the Armor
4. Belt of Truth
5. The Breastplate of Righteousness
6. The Gospel of Peace
7. The Shield of Faith
8. The Helm of Salvation
INTRODUCTION
Today is Sunday. November 26th, 2023
A few months ago we looked at what we as followers of Christ are called to do. We spoke of the difference between a new Luke 5 disciple and a trained, seasoned, spiritually mature Matthew 28 disciple. I speak more about spiritual maturity in my latest book, Drowning in Milk.
It is important for us to recognize where we are at on that scale of maturity, and press on, so that we may be ever-growing, and serving the Lord.
For us to be effective in our serving, we must understand the will of God. We covered the three “wills” of God, which are 1) All are saved and call on the name of Jesus, 2) You, as a disciple, share the gospel to everyone who will listen, and 3) “How” you use your specific gifts God has endowed you with, some naturally, others through the Holy Spirit, to accomplish His will in your life.
From there we began to speak about your salvation, and how God gives you, as the bible calls it, a “down payment” of the Holy Spirit as both a promise of your coming future perfection in Glory, and as a provider, giving you fruits (or characteristics) of God as evidence of salvation, the Full armor of God, to protect you and equip you to serve during this spiritual battle on Earth, and gifts, which are specific abilities so that you may build up, edify and strengthen the Body of Christ while serving the Lord.
We have already covered the Fruits of the Spirit in great detail in our last series. Recently we have been covering the Full Armor of God, and each piece with its purpose.
We read in Ephesians 5:1 that we are to be “imitators of God, as beloved children.”
KJV says “followers of God”
NIV “follow God’s example”
YLT “followers of God”
However, the Greek used here is “μιμητής” (mimētēs), which is literally “imitator”
So the (LSB) Legacy Standard Bible rendition is more accurate when it says in Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Imitator is such a stronger word than follow.
Follow, means to go after, move, or travel behind.
Imitate, on the other hand, means to copy in speech or mannerism. To simulate.
We are called to be “copies” of God, and Ephesians 5:1-6:9 tells us exactly what that looks like. Why does it explain what it looks like? So we can be good imitations, not cheap knock-offs.
So we ask ourselves in our walk, are we displaying what scripture teaches to be good imitators, or are we bending truth and discipline to be accepted by others?
Did everyone love the truth Jesus shared in His walk? NO. In fact, there were times they wanted to throw Him from a cliff because they were so angry, times Jesus flipped tables and fashioned whips and whipped people, and they eventually crucified Him for the Truth He shared.
As imitators, we will not be loved by all for imitating God. There will be times people hate us for sharing the truth of scripture. There will be times they want to throw us off a cliff, or crucify us.
On the other hand, if we are cheap knock-offs of God as opposed to imitators, the world will love our truth bending, progressive all-inclusive misrepresentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:4-6 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
– Imitator of God
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”
– Do not love the world nor what is in it
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
– an imitator of God will be hated by the world
James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God.”
– which is the life of an imitator of God, friend of the world and enemy of God, or enemy to the world and friend of God?
You cannot be both.
This is one of the reasons we require the “Helm of Salvation”
SCRIPTURE READING
Ephesians 6:10-18 (Legacy Standard Bible)
10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,
and having put on the Breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all, having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one,
17 also receive the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit,
and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints
Today’s Topic: the Full Armor of God – The Helm of Salvation
TODAY’S MESSAGE: Receive the Helm of Salvation
I. THE HELM IS SOMETHING WE RECEIVE
a. Many parts of the armor and how we obtain them
i. Firstly
we are commanded in Ephesians 6:10
“be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength.”
ii. Then,
“Put on the full armor of God”
iii. Verse 13, “Take up the full
armor so you are able to resist, and stand firm against the evil day”
(this evil world)
iv. Most
parts we are told to take or put on
v. However,
the Helm we must “receive”
b. The Helm we must “receive”
i. Because the Helm has to do with salvation, it is something we must receive.
1. You
cannot “take” salvation, it must be given
2. You
cannot “shod, put on, take up”
3. Salvation
can only be given to you by the Lord
ii. Therefore,
the Helm of Salvation is something we must receive to use
c. How do we receive the Helm of Salvation?
i. We
receive the Helm of Salvation with the Full Armor of God
ii. We
have the Full Armor of God from the Holy Spirit
iii. We
have the Holy Spirit as a “down payment” because of Salvation in Christ Jesus
iv. We receive Salvation when we call on the only name that saves, Jesus Christ
When you call on the name of Jesus, and
He gives you Salvation, you receive a portion of the Holy Spirit and with it,
access to the Fruit of the Spirit, the Full Armor of God and Spiritual Gifts,
so you are equipped by God to serve Him.
Therefore, if you a are a saved
believer, you have access to the Full Armor of God and the Helm of Salvation.
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE HELM
a. What is a helm?
i. Helm
is archaic for helmet
ii. Usually
a metal cylinder with cutouts for your eyes and sometimes holes to make
breathing easier.
iii. In
Roman armor, the helm typically covered the top of the head, and usually had
side flaps as well for protection.
iv. It
wasn’t until medieval times when the helmet covered the entire head and face
with knights armor.
v. The
medieval era began around 500 ad (the dark ages) which followed a great loss of
power throughout Europe by the Roman Empire. The middle ages spanned between
1400-1450 before becoming the Renaissance and the age of discovery.
b. How it is used in battle
i. Like the breastplate which protected the heart and other vital organs, the helm protected the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and brain.
1. How you see
2. How you hear
3. How you smell
4. How you speak
5. How you think
ii. These are all very important functions in this world! Nearly all of the senses are located near the brain.
c. What are the pros and cons of a helm?
i. When
you protect something with a covering, you also “dull” its ability
ii. Wearing a helm it’s
1. More difficult to see
2. More difficult to hear
3. More
difficult to speak
iii. Now
to examine why Paul uses this part of the armor to represent Salvation, and how
we use it to serve the Lord.
III. HOW WE USE THIS HELM TO SERVE THE LORD
a. What this means for us
i. If
the helm is Salvation, what does that mean for us?
1. The
helm effects how you see
a.
Measure what you see by the importance
of Salvation
b.
Matthew 7:15-20
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly
they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear
bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits
you will know them.”
c.
We see them through the Helm of
Salvation so we know of what tree they are from.
d. This is our discernment because of Salvation we see their fruits and know whether they walk in the spirit or flesh.
2. The helm effects how you hear
a. Discerning what we hear through the helm as well
b.
1 John 4:6 “We
are from God. The one who knows God hears us; the one who is not from God does
not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
c.
If you have the helm, you
hear and receive truth because you know God. If you reject truth, you are being
led by the spirit of error, and do not truly know God.
3. The helm effects how you speak
a.
The helm of Salvation causes us to
speak truth
b.
Ephesians 4:25-27
“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his
neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and yet do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an
opportunity.”
c.
We allow the helm of
Salvation to dictate the truth we speak
d. Be angry? Yes, truth will almost always anger others. If they allow that fleeting and momentary emotional (our feelings) response of anger to fester, and they don’t let it go, they will give the devil an opportunity to deceive.
The truth of God’s Word offends, angers, and causes trouble, but only to those who do not receive the truth, and reject it.
4. The helm effects how you think
a.
Our thinking was given to us by a
fallen sinful world which wishes to indoctrinate you into an all-inclusive
world view of accepting sinful behavior and lifestyles as normal and acceptable
behavior, even for those within the church.
b.
Jesus first sermon He preached, found
in Matthew 4,
had the central theme of “change the way you think.”
c.
Just after the temptation in the
wilderness, and just before choosing His first disciple, Simon, Jesus began His
ministry, saying in Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.”
d.
Repent? From what? The sin you commit
that the world tells you is O.K.
What took place just before this?
Satan attacked (spiritual warfare) Jesus in the
wilderness, misusing scripture to try and deceive Jesus, and cause Him to sin.
But Jesus, just as we should, not only knew the scriptures, but understood them.
2 Timothy 2:14-19 “Remind them of these things, solemnly charging them in the presence of God not to dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid godless and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their word will spread like cancer. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “Yahweh knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of Yahweh is to depart from wickedness.”
You cannot love this world, the sin in it, live in
sin, and belong to God.
God calls us to “depart from wickedness,” and “hate
this world.”
But, but, God is love…He doesn’t hate
anything…WRONG.
God hates
· Arrogant, superior, egotistical, conceited eyes (Proverbs 6:16-19)
· Lying tongues
· Hands that shed innocent blood
· Hearts that devise wicked plans
· Feet that run to evil
· The deeds of the Nicolations who taught sin was O.K. (Revelation 2:6)
· False idols (Deuteronomy 16:22)
·
Acting unjustly (Deuteronomy
25:16)
You notice that the things God hates are sins.
You cannot live in the things God hates and expect
to be in communion with God.
This is why sin separates us from God, because He hates it.
Jude 5-7
“Now I want to remind you, though you know all things, that Jesus, having once
saved a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did
not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned
their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the
judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around
them, having indulged in the same way as these in gross sexual immorality and
having gone after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the
punishment of eternal fire.”
b. Protection against specific attacks
i. How
do these people fall into sinful acts and beliefs?
ii. Through
deception, through indoctrination, through the teaching of the world
consistently telling everyone that sin is OK
iii. This
fallen sinful word teaching sinful things are not sinful
1. They can’t help it, they were born that way
a. Pedophiles say this
b. Serial killers as well
c. Does this excuse their acts against humanity?
d. Does this justify their acts to God?
2. They cry love is love
a.
While not understanding the difference
between sexual desire and what love truly is
b.
I Corinthians 13
c.
Perversion, immorality, fornication,
adultery
d.
None of these have anything to do with
love
e.
But said long enough, loud enough, to a
young enough child who is not taught proper by their parents, it will be
believed
iv. The
helm of salvation protects our minds form the falsehoods we hear, the things we
see, and in the way we think.
v. The helm of Salvation through the work of God’s Holy Spirit, conforms our minds to think like Christ Jesus, and reject Satan’s lies and deception that surround us in this fallen and sinful world.
1. TV
2. Radio
3. Magazines
4. Ads
5. On the shelves in stores
6. In our schools and universities
7. And, in some of our churches
a. Sometimes in the tears of the congregation
b.
Sometimes from the pulpit itself
c. Our minds are the root of our being
i. Proverbs 23:7 “For
as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
The helm of Salvation protects our minds from the
falsehoods of this age.
CONCLUSION
We are called by the Lord to change our thinking, think as He does so that we may be imitators of God!
Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and complete.”
Next week:
The Full Armor of God Part 9: THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
To see all books by Rev. B. A. Shields, visit
Official Website of Author B. A. Shields
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