Armour of God - The Helmet of Salvation

Eph 6:17
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

So far we have learned about :

1. The Belt of Truth
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
3. The Shoes of Peace
4. The Shield of Faith

Today we learn about piece number five:  The Helmet of Salvation

1 Thessalonians 5:8-11

What purpose did the helmet serve in the Roman army?

The Roman helmet, like helmets today, protected the head from the attacks of the enemy. There is some evidence to suggest that the Romans had special ceremonial helmets used in parades that denoted rank and standing.

What is salvation?

Salvation basically means to be saved or delivered from something (see examples in Exodus 14:13 and Micah 7:6-8). In the New Testament, as we will see, it is generally used to refer to deliverance from the eternal death penalty of sin and deliverance into God's Kingdom.

We have learned through our lessons that Satan wants to stop believers from becomong more like Christ and to hinder believers from sharing their faith. In order to succeed in our battle, we must be prepared.  

The helmet is related to salvation as it indicates that Satan's blows are directed at the believers security and assurance in Christ.

Satan's target is our mind, his weapons are subtle and clever attacks on the way we think.  Physically our head is our most vulnerable part of our body; damage to the way we think can debilitate our lives completely. James 1:8  Before we converted to following and accepting God, our mind was under direct influence of the world and demons. Col 1:21, Romans 8:6-7  Even believers can be influenced by Satan if we let him. Acts 5:3

Satan wants all believers blinded by the enemy 2 Corinth 4:4,  living in darkness Acts 26:17-18, and in bondage to sin Eph 2:1-3  Believers have been delivered from these things through the Person of Salvation, Jesus Christ. Even though believers have been delivered they will still be attacked by the world and its demons.

Satan wants us to mess up or give up.

• Elijah's loneliness made him vulnerable 1 Kings 19:9-14
• Job started to question why he was born  Job 3:1-7
• Jeremiah tired of the people not responding  Jer 20:7-10
• on the road to Emmaus, the disciples allowed confusion to create discouragement  Luke 24:13-35

Discouragement usually comes when life doesn't go the way we expect.  Satan's most discouraging attack against believers is tempting them to believe they have lost, or could loose, their salvation.  God's greatest promise is that our salvation is secure.  John 6:37-39, John 10:28-29, Romans 8:38-39, Philippians 1:6

The Helmet of Salvation is the great hope of final salvation that gives us assurance that our present struggles with Satan will not last forever and we will be victorious in the end. That is God's unbreakable chain of salvation John 6:39-40, John 10:27-30, 1 Peter 1:3-5

What is the penalty of our sins, and how can we be saved from that penalty?

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 5:8-10
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

1 Timothy 2:3-4
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

Luke 1:77
To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins...

Every human being has thought and acted in ways that are abominable to God. Our sins break God's beautiful living laws designed for our good. Sin is so vile to God that it requires the death penalty. God's justice requires that penalty. But God's loving mercy provided the most incredible substitute. Jesus Christ, our Creator, was willing to die in our place! To be saved, we need a Savior.

What does salvation have to do with a helmet?

• 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11  We can receive tremendous hope and comfort by focusing on the incredible sacrifice Christ gave to save us and the amazing Kingdom that is the goal of our salvation. This hope works like a helmet to protect our minds from the discouragement and despair in this world.
• John 17:15-16  Christians have been called out of this world. Though we remain in it, we are not of it and remain separate from it. Our way of living and even of thinking should differ from the world's. We are to develop the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5), and as we have seen, that means having God's laws written on our hearts and minds so we can remember to always obey God.
• 1 Peter 5:8-9   Our enemy hates that we have chosen this path and will stop at nothing to destroy us because of it. Just as the helmet protects the vital but vulnerable head from otherwise fatal blows, the hope of salvation can protect our thoughts from our enemy's attacks and temptations to disobey God.
• Matthew 13:22  Without the helmet of salvation, we will be unprotected from the "cares of this world" that bombard our thoughts and feelings. Imagine not knowing what the future ultimately holds. The worries and problems produced by living in this world would overwhelm us!

How do I keep the helmet secure?

• Psalm 3:8   Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah. 

Remember that salvation comes from God, and that God is on our side. If we commit to fully follow and obey Him, it is impossible for us to lose our battle or our salvation.

• Revelation 21:1-4
  Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

  This is the salvation we are fighting for—to enter this glorious Kingdom! Never lose sight of this. This coming Kingdom, with its worldwide peace and prosperity, makes every price in this life worth paying. No matter what comes, no matter how vicious the attacks our enemy lands on us, we know that as long as we remain with God, we are moving slowly but unstoppable toward an eternal victory. What wouldn't we give for that?

Today's scripture refers to the area of greatest combat - the mind.  That's where we face our demonic foes and their suggestions.

God has given us each a brain which can be capable of some strange things. Thousand of thoughts can pass through our brain every day and the brain never tires.

You will face intense demonic attack n your mind. Demons want to invade your thinking and plant thoughts of doubt, fear, anxiety, mistrust, lust, discouragement and so much more in your mind.  What limitations are you letting the demons seed in your mind?

Put on your Helmet of Salvation, now!


next week: The Sword of the Spirit


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions:

1. What is meant by "take" the Helmet of Salvation?
2. If you knew God was returning one week from today, list 3 ways your life would change right now in preparation for his return: ______________________________________________________       __________________________________________________________________________      _________________________________________________________________________
3. How can you use the Helmet of Salvation to protect your mind against the enemy?
4. If you have not been reading your bible daily, now's the time to start! The Challenge: 20 minutes a day. Randomly select a book of the bible on your phone or pad, just open the pages of your bible and read a chapter.
5. How well am I expressing Godly love?
6. Do I express kindness to others through willing acts of service?
7. Do I stick with my commitments, even when they become difficult to keep? 
8. Is my approach to settling disagreements to verbally assault the other person, or do I handle things gently and with respect? 
9. Am I able to put what needs to be done before what I want to do?

Source 1 - http://keepingitpersonal.com/2014/03/the-helmet-of-salvation/
source 2 - http://ca.100huntley.com/video.php?id=48uxOjdq7gQ
source 3 - http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/armor-of-god-helmet-of-salvation.htm

The Armour of God - The Shield of Faith

“ABOVE ALL, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one.” – Ephesians 6:16

Joshua 1:9

Wouldn't it be great to be able to carry a physical shield (like this phone case) to protect us from the physical, mental and emotional turmoils and arrows we sometimes get thrown at us?

In the book of Daniel in the Bible (Daniel 3:16-18) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow down to king Nebuchadnezzar as a God. He threw them into a fiery furnace and God protected them.  But perhaps the most amazing thing about their story is their unwavering dedication to God in the face of an unknown outcome. Their faith was strong enough to accept giving their lives!

How can we have that faith?

How did the shield work in the Roman army?

The Roman shield was not the standard "medieval-esque" shield most picture in their minds upon hearing the word. It was instead a very large, slightly curved rectangular shield featuring at its center a large metal knob (called a boss).

These shields were an impressive line of defense. Because of its sheer size (some were three and a half feet tall and almost three feet wide), soldiers were afforded a great deal of protection from enemies. Because of its slight curve, it was able to deflect attacks without transferring the full force of the assault to the man holding the shield. Because of its boss, it was able to deflect even the more vicious blows and function in a limited offensive capacity as a means of knocking an opponent backwards.

What is Faith?
Read  Hebrews 11:1 & 6,  Romans 8:24-25       
Faith is believing God is in control! He is working everything out for our good; that whatever happens is for the ultimate best of everyone involved, however little it seems to be that way.
Just as a shield deflects arrows, so does our faith deflect worry, hurt, anger, and all the fiery darts of doubt. Use your shield, crouch behind it and let the shield take the hits as God helps deflects those darts.

The word Faith is not a noun, its a verb. Its not something we have, its something we do. Faith is believing, its something we do by taking one tiny step forward at a time.

Matthew 14:28-31  It is very easy for us to say we have faith, but you have to continue to hold on to that faith. To not doubt that God is in control. The minute you let that Shield of Faith down, Satan will barrage you from his worst arsenal. When we allow doubt to creep in, as Peter did when distracted by the waves, we will start to sink. The rest of our armor will be battered, and so will we. But an actively raised Shield of Faith prevents this fatigue.

Hold strong to your faith and it will protect you. Matthew 4:10-11     When Christ was being tempted by Satan, His faith in the Word and commands of God repelled Satan for a time (Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ was tempted in all things, so this was certainly not the only encounter Christ had with the devil).
God tells us that faith cannot just be in our minds, it must produce actions—works of obedience and service (James 2:20).

What is our shield today?  Today we need more that just our personal faith, we also need our church. The people in our church are provided by God, to strengthen our own shields and when we put our collective shields together it makes an impenetrable wall of faith for us all!

The church you belong with is where you want to serve, where you can build a church family. Where you can be nurtured and grow in the Word. And yes, sometimes be confronted and re-guided to the right path.