We have noted that soon and very soon, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will return to earth! While we wait, while God allows the devil loose for a little while, we must be strong in God’s mighty power! Every Christian has the power of God available with the full armor of God.
But we must always be on the alert; most of the time the devil will attack with his schemes. Schemes are planned, tricky, subtle actions which can result in big damages! And so, our loving God provides for us and gives us instructions. Are we listening?
Please open your Bibles to Ephesians 6…..
Before reading, let us pray together our commitment to God’s Word….. Ephesians 6:10-18……
We are living in evil days. Let us make sure we understand the full armor of God and most importantly to put it on always. Remember that no one else can put on this armor for you; each one of us is personally responsible for putting on the armor of God for protection against evil.
Do we understand the pieces? B B S S S H F
The first B is the Belt of Truth. Are we daily putting it on?
What’s the next thing we are to put on?? - The Belt of Righteousness. And, are we ready to tell our personal Gospel story? Put on the Shoes of the Gospel of peace!
How big is our Shield of Faith and are we alert?
What is the “S” we are to take up??
And along with the Sword of the Spirit, we are to take the Helmet of Salvation! What is it? And again more importantly, what does it mean to us in a practical way?
You see, you can take a helmet and even put it on and still not be protected; like this woman riding a motorcycle (picture) who wore her helmet backwards!
Let’s first of all know what a helmet does.
In general, what does a helmet do??
A helmet protects the head from being injured when hit by something. And why must one protect the head??
Your brain is in your head! The head must be protected because it holds the brain which is crucial for all thinking and actions! Our brains are so important that our heads must be protected if there is a chance of injury. You can go to the Internet and read stories after stories of people protected from major head injuries because they wore a helmet. And of course, those who go to battle, where there is a chance of something hitting the head, soldiers wear helmets. According to a report by the United States Army, over half of the American Soldiers who fought in World War II, would have been killed if they didn’t wear their helmets!
A helmet is to protect the head because the head holds the brain which is crucial for all thinking and actions!
Now, the full armor of God is spiritual.
What good is a spiritual helmet for the Christian?
What does a spiritual helmet protect for the Christian?
A helmet mainly protects the brain from injuries.
In the same way, a spiritual helmet will protect our spiritual brains which are crucial for spiritual thinking and actions.
Now, what’s in the brain that actually does the thinking which leads to action??
The mind is what’s in the brain that does the thinking which leads to actions. A spiritual helmet for the Christian protects the spiritual mind! If the Christian’s spiritual mind is injured, improper thoughts and actions will follow. How often does this happen to us? The devil loves to see Christians think ungodly, because he knows it will lead to ungodly actions and testimony.
God warns Christians of the devil’s schemes!
Let us all listen very carefully to what God is saying!
Please turn briefly to 2 Corinthians 11:3-4..
We can note a couple of things from this passage:
Christians are to be sincere and pure with their devotion to Jesus Christ. How devoted are we to Jesus Christ? Or, are we following someone else or something else?
Christians are to be careful of false gods. If you’re spending more time on something else besides reading the Bible and praying, you have false gods!
Christians are to be careful of wrong spirits (something supernatural doesn’t automatically mean it’s from God).
Christians are not to accept other means to salvation. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to God the Father in heaven except through Me!”
And so, God through the apostle Paul tells Christians to protect themselves from the schemes of the devil by putting on the full armor of God. And it is crucial that Christians protect their minds from the influence of the devil. Put on the Helmet of Salvation!
What is this Helmet of Salvation?
A spiritual helmet protects our minds and salvation is about being saved from God’s eternal judgment because of sin.
The Helmet of Salvation is to protect our spiritual minds by knowing we are going to heaven! Christians are citizens of heaven! Christians belong to God!
Note that the full armor of God is for Christians, those who already believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! The Helmet of Salvation is not about being saved but to remind Christians that they are already saved and destined for heaven.
You see, only Believers of Christ have a Helmet of Salvation and it is to protect their minds from the evil one. If you are not a Believer of Christ, you don’t have a spiritual helmet available to you. Those who do not truly believe that Jesus Christ is their only Savior and God have minds that are open targets to the devil. If you are not a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, your mind is an open target for the devil!
Do you really want your mind to be an open target for the devil? Again, if you have never prayed to God that you are a sinner in need of Jesus Christ as your only Savior and God, do it today and God will give you the Helmet of Salvation for protection.
For those of us who have already accepted and received Jesus Christ as our Savior and God, in other words, if we profess to be Christians, we are to always put on the Helmet of Salvation, reminding ourselves that we belong to God and we are citizens of heaven!
Now, this actually may be harder than it sounds.
Why? – We all have a tendency to live by feelings!
We are to live by faith not by emotions!
Please turn to 1 John 5:11-13………
We are to live by faith in what God says and not on feelings!
Can the mind really be influenced by the world or the devil?
Look at this front page article in the Wall Street Journal 3/16/10, “Altering our Memories!!”
Be careful of what you put in your minds. Note Romans 12:1-2, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Here’s what we need to put constantly in our minds:
First and foremost, no matter how we feel, if we believe in and have Jesus Christ in our lives, we have eternal life! And of course we Christians must constantly renew our minds by reading, understanding, and taking action with the Bible!
And so, how do we apply all of this to our daily lives?
As Christians, as Believers of Christ, we are to tell ourselves OFTEN and have confidence in God’s Word that we are citizens of heaven.
Christians are in a battle with the devil on a daily basis. Christians must always have on the Helmet of Salvation!
We are to tell ourselves often, I believe in Jesus Christ as my only Savior and God, therefore I am saved by God’s grace and I am a citizen of heaven! This is the Helmet of Salvation that we Christians must always have on! Again, we are to say often, I believe in Jesus Christ as my only Savior and God, therefore I am saved by God’s grace and I am a citizen of heaven!
Here’s a challenge for you and me: Let us take an inventory everyday this week of how many times we say to ourselves, as a Christian, I am a citizen of heaven.
Every time you tell yourself this week that you are a citizen of heaven, make a note of it. At the end of the week, you should see a consistency in your faith in Christ. If not, keep at it!
Our goal as Christians is to live a life always with the confidence in our minds that we are citizens of heaven! Make this your goal and you will see less and less of the devil’s attacks to your mind. Always put on the Helmet of Salvation, so when the devil comes to confuse your mind, you can tell him, “I will not listen to your lies, I am a citizen of heaven!” Memorize this statement, “I am a citizen of heaven, I will not listen to the devil’s lies!” Say it with me!
“I am a citizen of heaven, I will not listen to the devil’s lies!”
“I am a citizen of heaven, I will not listen to the devil’s lies!”
“I am a citizen of heaven, I will not listen to the devil’s lies!”
