"Helmet of Salvation & Sword of the Spirit" | Sunday AM | Joel Austin

It's in Ephesians chapter six, verse seventeen.

And Paul said, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Let's go before the Lord in prayer.

Dear Lord, we ask you, God, to bless us today, Lord.

We ask you, Lord, to let your word speak to us and minister to our hearts, renew our minds with your spirit, Lord.

Minister through us to other people.

Help us to reach other people, God.

Use us today, Lord.

In Jesus' name, you may be seated.

So Paul intentionally pairs these two together: the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

And so we know that helmets protect the head.

The helmet protects, the helmet of salvation specifically, protects what you think.

The sword empowers what you speak.

And so when you speak truth from God's word, it is empowered.

Not because you speak it, but because it's God's word.

But when you speak it, it resonates in those around you and it ministers to those around you, whether you see it on the surface or not.

God's word is powerful.

Together, they are the believer's authority, a mind protected by salvation, and a mouth empowered by God's word.

And so where spiritual war is won or lost, spiritual warfare does not begin on the battlefield of circumstances.

Where does it begin?

Right between your two ears.

Right?

What you believe.

We live what we believe.

We may have a picture in our minds of what we believe, but we truly live what we believe.

It comes through in our actions.

The mouth.

That's another area where spiritual war is won or lost.

The tongue is the hardest member to control, tame.

You know, if you're trying to reel it back, it's already too late.

I'm sorry.

We say what we believe or have been conditioned to believe.

Far too many times we declare unscriptural or negative things.

And so the last few years of my life, you know, it's it's taken me a while to get here, but I've gotten here finally.

I have been on a mindset of, you know, we all say things that kind of, and not to put us down, but they're slightly negative.

You know, things like, well, that's just my luck.

Or just things that we say.

And I have been making a conscious effort not to say those things.

And, you know, I don't always succeed because it's it's so routine, it's so um second nature, you know, in the world that we live in to say negative things.

Why?

Because it's all around us.

And so uh the enemy will attack any way he can, right?

He'll attack your mind, he'll get you to say things that you wish you hadn't said in a moment of anger, frustration, questioning God, well, whatever, whatever the case is, it may be, you know, you may be going through a time of grieving.

Uh a lot of things go through our minds, and we we tend to, you know, let those thoughts percolate.

And it's good to not let them percolate sometimes.

The enemy will attack with confusion, doubt, accusations, accusing, or accusations of the brethren, sisters, would you see what sister so-and-so did?

And there it goes.

The rumors fly.

Fear, mental fatigue, and lies.

God responds with salvation that guards the mind.

If we put on the helmet of salvation and we are looking through the standpoint of a salvific mindset, I have been saved by my creator, I have been redeemed, I'm blood bought, then I can reach out to those around me, helping those to come to Christ, sharing with them, ministering to them.

Salvation guards the mind.

His word stands and cuts through the lies.

Hebrews 4 12 says, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

It's good to have a daily prayer time.

If you don't, I encourage you to start.

Doesn't have to be an hour.

Start with five minutes, start with ten minutes.

You're gonna find you want to be there longer.

You're gonna find you want to spend time with God.

It gives you peace and it gives you a solid foundation for the day.

We're talking about how to think saved and speak scripture.

So that the helmet, the Roman helmet, let's look at the Roman helmet.

The Roman helmet was made of bronze or iron.

They made it of both.

It was lined with leather for comfort.

It covered the cheeks, the jaw, and the back of the neck, obviously the head.

It was designed to withstand crushing blows, often decorated to show identity and rank.

That's important.

Identity and rank.

Purpose was to protect the brain, the command center.

And what's important, what happens in the brain?

That's where thought happens, creativity happens, inspiration happens, and our emotions are seated.

Salvation is not just a past event.

Being saved is a continuous work.

It's not a you can point to a date on the calendar where it began.

In your mind.

In God's mind, it began before you existed.

And so it's a continuous work.

The Spirit continuously renews us.

The blood continuously washes us.

In 1 John chapter 1, verse 9, it says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

It's a continuous work.

It is a present identity, a daily mindset.

My identity is found in Christ.

I am saved by him.

He is my Redeemer.

It's a daily mindset of reminding yourself I am saved.

I represent my Redeemer.

I should be reflecting him, right, in my daily business.

Wherever I go, whatever I say, how I conduct myself, how I'm dressed.

It is a protective covering and it's also a filter for thoughts.

If you're thinking in a salvific mindset, it's so easy to guard yourself against thoughts.

Right?

The helmet of salvation guards your assurance.

It guards your identity as a child of God and your hope in this life and not just this life, but in the next.

It guards your perspective.

It watches, it helps you watch how you perceive things, how you take in information, how you take things that people say.

Your mental stability is anchored in the truth of God's salvation.

And you cannot live a victorious life with an unprotected mind.

Can't do it.

It's not possible.

You're going to be frustrated.

2 Corinthians 10, verse 5 mentions casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Colossians 3 2 says, Set your affection on things above, not on the things of the earth.

We get too caught up in this world.

This world is not our home.

We are just passing through.

And we get so comfortable with, I understand, because it's tangible, right?

What happens in this world affects us.

But we cannot lose sight.

This is our proving ground.

We're meant for better things.

We're meant to walk on streets of gold, to be with our Savior forever.

Romans chapter 12, verse 2 says, And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

The sword of the Spirit, speaking the word.

So the Roman sword, it was different than you know, different different countries around it.

The Romans had perfected battle.

They were excellent at it.

For slicing either way.

It was designed for close combat, obviously.

It was precise.

It was not a wild instrument.

You didn't just flail your way through battle with that short sword.

It was up close and personal.

It was used skillfully, not emotionally.

And the sword of the spirit, it's great when you're studying, but when you're in the world, it needs to be spoken.

You need to speak the word.

In your prayer time, speak the word.

Say it.

It becomes alive in your life when you do that.

I promise you.

So the word of God, it is a scripture applied to a situation.

It becomes a sword when it's aimed specifically at a challenge, a lie, or an attack that you're facing.

Targeted application is devastating to the enemy.

Truth used as a weapon, it does not merely inform, it defeats.

Truth stands.

We don't, truth defends itself.

You know how it is when you're talking amongst your friends or coworkers or whoever you come across and you hear, you hear, or you've heard a statement said, and you realize that's truth.

That kind of light bulb goes off in your brain, and it's like, that's that's true.

I recognize that.

I agree with that.

When God's word is spoken aloud in faith, it cuts through the darkness, confusion, and deception with surgical precision.

Surgical precision.

It's precise.

It goes out and accomplishes what it was sent out to do.

It does not return void.

It accomplishes.

We may not see it on the surface, don't worry.

It's accomplishing what it's going out to do.

Truth used as a weapon.

Jesus used it in the wilderness.

He was he fasted 40 days.

Anyone want to take out that challenge?

Go right ahead.

The enemy approached him three different times, tempted him three different ways.

Every single time he responded with, It is written, the Word of God.

And that's all he had to say.

He said, It is written, and then he would quote the word.

The enemy turned away.

That's all the enemy could do.

The enemy cannot fight truth, cannot fight the word of God.

It is God speaking through you when you quote his word, when you say his word.

The word cuts through lies, temptation, any confusion.

Confusion can be challenging, but the word cuts through it.

It's true.

It gives you a place to stand.

It cuts through accusations and it cuts through fear.

Matthew chapter 4 is where Jesus dealt with the enemy after he had fasted.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Psalms chapter 119, verse 105, it says, The word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Psalms 119:105

It guides me.

It gives me direction.

It enables me to see what I'm encountering.

Right?

It enables me to navigate my path.

God gives you direction.

Stay in the Word of God.

It will give you direction.

It will, even if you don't understand things, it still gives you direction.

It may tell you, stand, trust me.

Right?

That's direction.

Trust in the Lord with your whole heart.

You cannot effectively wield a weapon which you do not practice with.

You may wield it.

Okay, if you're not practiced, you may wield it.

But you run the very real risk of destroying people by not using it properly.

It's important to spend some time in the word.

Study it.

And if you study, you don't have to be fearful because his word is going to flow out of you.

2 Timothy 2, verse 15 says, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

If you have the word, you have the message.

You have the answers.

And let me stop for a minute here.

We have truth.

Okay?

Let me just let that settle into your spirit.

The world does not have truth.

The world identifies whatever the latest fad is.

It continuously changes.

We have, do not be intimidated by the world.

You have truth.

You have God's word.

You have truth that they can stand on, that they can benefit from, that they can learn from, that they can grow with.

Don't be afraid to share the word.

But the word only becomes a sword when it is spoken, not just known.

You can know it, and it will benefit you.

But you need to speak it so it benefits others.

Speak the word.

How the helmet and the sword work together.

So it gives us some things.

The helmet protects the mind and it stops lies before they take root.

The sword attacks the lie and it cuts down what the enemy tries to plant.

Okay?

That root of bitterness that is trying to dig into your brain, settle in your heart.

That sword will cut that down.

Speak the word.

When the enemy comes against you, what does the word say?

Raise God raises a standard against it.

Speak the word.

Together, they give you some mighty benefits.

They enable you to think with clarity.

A mind rooted in salvation's truth cuts through confusion and receive God's thoughts without distortion or doubt.

You can speak with authority.

And this is what I mentioned earlier about not being afraid to speak God's word.

Speak with authority.

I mean, do they pay your light bill?

No.

So why are you worried about what they think?

And I don't mean say it in a harsh or cruel way.

Speak it with love.

But speak the word, speak that truth that they need to hear for that moment.

A mouth aligned with Scripture releases declarations that carry the weight of heaven behind every spoken word of faith.

Fight with confidence.

You are not fighting for victory, you are fighting from victory.

You are not fighting for victory, you are fighting from victory.

God has already won.

He's already dominated before anything.

It was like, okay, God won zero for everything else.

God won.

He is the victor.

He has risen.

He is alive.

He works in the hearts of men and women in this earth, and he gives deliverance and healing.

Amen?

Stand with stability.

When the battle is long and the pressure is great, the fully armored believer does not crumble.

They are able to stand.

This is the believer's mental and verbal warfare strategy.

And so some practical applications.

We get so busy, our world is just so busy.

I was shocked when Brother Ross said last week that I don't know what the exact statistic was, that um this year or this month or whatever it was, that 57% of the internet traffic is now done by by AI.

That scared me like crazy.

I was like, whoa.

Robots are okay, never mind.

Um but we get so busy.

Information is Moving like that.

Faster than we can think, faster than we can adjust, faster than we can know what's going on.

Hundreds, hundreds of companies just in America, probably thousands, I wouldn't doubt it, thousands, are all switching to AI.

Why?

Because they got to beat their competitor.

What does that make us?

That makes us busy.

You may not work directly with AI, but you're affected by it.

You may not believe it, but you are.

I promise you.

When we walk out of our doors or when we are getting ready in the morning, we have to prepare our minds and do a mindset reset.

Okay?

When a thought enters the mind and you're not sure of the origin, ask whether it's looking through the eyes of salvation.

Or is it from the enemy?

If it's not from a salvation mindset, you must reject it, replace it, and speak truth over it.

This builds mental discipline.

Use this as a format.

Get your mind ready.

Do your helmet on maneuver in the morning.

Assert aloud, my mind is covered by salvation.

I will think with clarity and truth today.

Where does truth come?

From the Word of God.

I reject every lie and receive God's word and thoughts.

You start the day fully armored before the battle begins.

The enemy loses ground the moment you open your mouth in truth.

When you say God's word, it's already a losing battle for them.

For the enemy.

So memorize, declare, repeat.

A sword you cannot draw quickly is a sword that cannot protect you.

If you are not practiced in memorization, you know, start memorizing.

Start putting a familiar scripture that you're used to hearing.

Okay, memorize that one.

Let's start with memorization.

Let's get these words in our heart.

Memorization in speaking aloud, a key verse, keeps your weapon sharp.

Not just sharp, but ready and personal.

Just like any instrument, whether it's a garden instrument or a weapon, you work with it, you get familiar with it.

You know the intricacies of it, right?

You know how it behaves.

You know how it joins to you.

You know what position you need to be in for the most effective attack, right?

And so get used to that word.

Get used to that helmet of salvation.

Isaiah chapter 54, verse 17 says, No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

Isaiah 54:17

Declare this over every attack, accusation, and assignment of the enemy against your life.

I promise that scripture will reap benefits.

We live in today's society in such a defeatist mindset.

Everybody is like, oh, you know, you hear my work.

Oh, I had such a bad weekend.

It wasn't long enough, you know, and blah, blah, blah.

God's design for our lives is what?

More abundant than we can ask or think.

Okay, I can think some pretty big things.

More abundant than we can even ask or think, that we can dream up.

God can do bigger.

And He wants to.

Psalms chapter 27, verse 1 says, The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?

Psalms 27:1

Speak this into every dark or fearful situation you encounter.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

When you stand upon the authority of the Word of God, having the helmet of salvation on you, wielding the sword of the Spirit, you are not fearful.

You are not worried.

It doesn't matter what comes your way.

It doesn't matter how you're affected in this life.

Okay, God's got me.

I'm not worried because I'm standing on his word.

I'm standing on his promises.

And his promises are what?

Yea and amen.

They are settled.

When he says it, what do they say?

Take it to the bank?

I don't know.

1 John chapter 4, verse 4 Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world, a declaration of supreme authority that reminds you whose spirit lives inside you.

1 John 4:4

You maintain a ready weapon loaded, aimed, and available at a moment's notice.

Combining the helmet of salvation with the sword of the spirit allows you to effectively wield the word while keeping one's emotions in check so that you don't affect harm to those to whom you are ministering.

You do not have to be a minister to minister to someone, to touch someone's life.

In fact, it was much more so in the early church where everybody ministered to those of need.

They reached out.

They helped the widows, they helped anybody who needed help.

They reached out and ministered to them, not only in physical things, but in spiritual things.

They spoke the word.

Combining the helmet of salvation with the sword of the spirit does more than make you formidable in spiritual conflict, it makes you effective in ministry.

When you use the word of God, when you put yourself in position, it's like anointing.

When Samuel anointed David to be king, if David had just stepped, okay, maybe a foot to the left when Samuel started pouring the oil, okay, the oil's not going on him.

If he stepped a little bit to the left or right, any other place, but staying under the anointing oil, he would not have been covered.

It's the same spiritual thing with us.

If we do not position ourselves under submission of the Holy Ghost and ingest the sword of the Spirit and use it, we are not going to have that anointing on our lives.

We're just not.

God wants to anoint you.

It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12, 32.

He wants to give you his best.

He wants to have you live your best life.

Okay?

God wants to give you his best.

What that looks like, it's going to be different for everybody.

It's not going to be the same.

The danger of an unguarded sword.

Truth wielded without a protective mind can be driven by pride, frustration, or a wounded ego, causing great collateral harm to the very people God has called you to serve in love.

The power of the balanced believer.

When your mind is settled in salvation and your mouth is filled with scripture, you bring God's word as healing, liberation, and life.

Wow.

Healing, liberation, and life.

Can you imagine if we all spoke with that salvation mindset, speaking the word of God to people, giving them liberation and life and healing.

And we give it to them with precision, compassion, and lasting spiritual fruit.

Think clearly before you speak.

I understand not all of us have a filter.

Practice thinking with clarity.

That mental discipline I spoke of earlier.

Reject what the enemy tells you.

Speak truth.

Declare it with the word of God.

That builds your mental discipline.

That gives you clarity.

When you know the word, it gives you clarity.

It gives you clear thought.

I promise you that it's amazing to me.

We all hear, you know, stories of or or conditions of brain fog, and you know, whether it be what we eat, what we, whatever we're doing, God's word not only gives you the ability to minister to people, it heals you.

Okay?

It gives you clarity of thought.

Let truth flow through love and minister from wholeness, not wounds.

If you're allowing God to minister to you, you're ingesting his word, that word is going to change you.

When God's DNA touches human DNA, human DNA is cleansed.

When Jesus touched people when he was walking on the earth, they were immediately cleansed.

When God's DNA touches your mind, when his word touches your mind, it heals, it cleans, it removes, it just removes things that shouldn't be there.

You start thinking about his word, and it gets to a point to where I can't stop thinking about this.

You know, God's making a place for me to come to.

This world is not my home.

I'm redeemed.

He gives me truth to stand on, he gives me truth to share with other people so that they can be saved, so that God can change their family tree.

It's infectious.

When you read God's word and you speak it, things change.

Sometimes we're like, okay, do we have enough information to make this decision?

And that there's certain personalities that are uh wait, wait, wait till they get enough information, and they're still hesitant when they have enough information.

Well, is this is this everything?

You know, I remember uh Bob, you were telling me about this, and his personality is fire, fire, fire.

He's like, let's go.

Our deepest problem isn't what we don't know.

It's not intellectual, it is spiritual.

We don't need more information.

We need minds that are willing to walk humbly and hearts willing to trust and abide in Christ.

Solomon had the most wisdom of any man before and since.

But hear me, wisdom was never meant to replace our dependence upon God.

Never.

You may be wise, okay, maybe right under Solomon.

I'm not there.

You may be there.

It's never meant to replace dependence upon God, trusting God, relying upon God, looking to God for the next miracle that we need.

The goal of Christianity is not in being smarter or more logical than anyone else.

The goal of Christianity is to abide in Christ, reflecting Him, and reaching the lost with compassion.

Wear the helmet, guard your mind every morning, draw the sword, speak the word aloud, specifically, and in faith, and stand in when you are not the defeated, you are the redeemed.

Identity politics is all out there.

I don't even want to get into that.

Our identity is in Christ, who is the winner of our soul.

Christ stands.

His truth stands.

It has stood the test of time.

He has preserved his words.

I mean, there's still, you know, every now and then you hear of, oh, we found something archaeologically that confirms what it says in God's word over here.

God's word is truth.

His promises are yea and amen.

And when we guard our mind with the helmet of salvation, we look through salvation to other people.

We receive continuously that work of salvation in our lives.

We position ourselves under the anointing hand of God so that He can minister through us.

And while that happens, He is definitely ministering to us.

He's healing, He's realigning, He's testing, He's touching, He's anointing.

Can we all stand?

Second Timothy chapter 1, verse 7 says, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

Don't be fearful.

Go out with authority.

Not harshly, but through love.

Speak love to people's life.

Speak care into their life.

Speak God's word into their life.

Minister to their hearts.

When we follow Acts chapter 2, verse 38, continuously, continuously putting ourselves in repentance, continuously being renewed by the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Acts 2:38

God can use you.

God can use you.

It doesn't take someone up here to be used.

You are the hands and feet of Jesus.

We all are.

I encourage you to speak the word with authority.

Get familiar with that, with that word.

Draw that sword.

Wear your helmet of salvation.

Put it on every day.

Say those declarations.

When you're walking out of your house, put it on your mirror.

Somewhere you're gonna see it.

Speak those declarations.

God's gonna change your life.

I promise you.

I just I'm so excited up here.

It's just God's gonna do it.

I promise you.

Let God lead you.

Let God lead you.

Let God use you.

Step into that.

When that door opens, step into it.

Don't be fearful.

Step into it.