Armored With A Helmet

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Turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Again, I want to say that we are thankful for Memorial Day tomorrow, and so thankful for men and women who have given their lives so that we could have the freedoms that we have today in the country that we live in.

So can we give one more round of applause?

Thank you to all those here that serve and have served.

And uh we're so thankful for that.

Last week was the busiest week on CCW's calendar year.

And so with graduation and all of that going on, we had something every single night of the week in the church, and then all the things that go on during the week.

And so, man, it has been busy.

This week felt like a breeze, I'm gonna be honest, um, with only church on Wednesday night and a few meetings here and there, but I'm I'm so thankful that God's given us.

Not everybody gets to come in and see, but when there's 300 unique individuals in this building that are not here on a Sunday morning, I'm so thankful for the community mindset of our church.

And that happened six days last week.

And so praise God for the church He's given us.

Amen.

We can clap for that.

Ephesians chapter 6, we're talking today, armored with a helmet.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And just as a review, we started with the armor of God, the belt of truth that you have to belt up.

We had to put on the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace.

And then last week, Pastor Joe so well explained to us the shield of faith.

So today we're talking about the helmet of salvation.

The first point this morning, as you look at Ephesians 6, we're gonna look at verse 17, is the head is covered against hopelessness.

Let's look at verse 17.

It says, And take up the helmet of salvation, and take up that helmet.

Mark Twain once said, A man's life is in his head.

Paul wrote Ephesians to the church, these were people with salvation.

These were Christians, and yet he wrote, take up salvation.

You who have salvation have to take up salvation, he said.

Therefore, sometimes saved people don't think like saved people.

Amen?

Thoughts not like saved people.

Sometimes saved people don't then direct their steps towards saved actions.

They don't do like saved people.

You ever feel like a borderline Christian?

Anyone honest this morning?

Like you knew you were a Christian, but you lost it on your kids?

You remember your mom yelling at you when you was growing up?

I mean, just your room, your stuff, and then the phone rang.

Y'all remember this?

She was just going off on you.

Hello.

You're like, my mom just got born again?

Why she answered the phone?

Mom literally just got saved.

He was like, what just happened?

I mean, her face, everything was contorted as you just said, hello.

Or you've been on the ride to church on a Sunday morning.

There are people here this morning.

You got in an argument on the way.

I just know it happened.

You were on the argument, you were in the argument, and you got out of the car, right?

This happened to me growing up all the time.

And dad would get out, just got done yelling, fighting over whatever it was, and somebody walked up to him and said, How you doing, brother?

Praise the Lord.

Praise the what?

I mean what happened in the car.

The word of God said, Hold your tongue, but the borderline Christian in you, you said the thing that you shouldn't, right?

Maybe you held your tongue, but some of y'all couldn't hold your face.

Anybody like that?

Amen.

There's saved people today that sometimes you don't act saved.

So Paul says, take up.

When you wake up, you gotta take up your salvation.

You don't have to take it up.

You're gonna have to think like a saved person.

So Paul's battle cry here is take up the helmet.

Pray with me.

Father, we ask that you would fill this place.

God, we thank you for the worship.

God, what good reminders.

God help us.

I echo that.

I am available.

Together as a church, we echo that, God.

We, Lord, just want to be used.

So take whatever we are, whatever that is, and if you can make good of it and serve this church, this community.

But God, we ask today, Lord, that you would fall through your word to our hearts and God, draw us to a point of change.

We don't want to leave here the same way that we came.

So meet with us in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Letter A this morning is this the enemy of physical discouragement.

Why do you got to take up the helmet of salvation?

Because there is an enemy.

In Ephesians 6, 10 through 13, we've read this week after week, but let's read again.

It says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand.

Look at this word, we're going to read a couple times, against the wiles of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand an evil day, having done ought to stand.

I want you to see and hear that word against.

It says, stand against, wrestle against.

That word against is pros.

And it means from the enemy side, one to take the advantage of, to gain an advantage of you in a fight.

That's the against.

And it says it when the Bible repeats something over and over, it's important.

And so we have to put on our arm because there is this pros.

We're not putting on our armor for no reason, not just to put on the helmet, but because there is a pros, there is an against.

Every day, there's an against.

And so I want you to know that this helmet is because there is this pros.

When you wake up, pros, that against has started.

And you need to know, even though there is a pros, there is an against mentioned throughout that, that God is sovereign.

God is in control, even of your pros.

Your against.

Nothing is outside of God's control.

And so even physical discouragement.

You see examples of physical discouragement throughout the Bible, and people like Jonah, who didn't listen to what God said, and he sure did get some physical discouragement as he ended into the belly of a whale.

We see physical discouragement and people like Paul, who talks about being beat and whipped and nearly lost his life, was drowning, was in the ocean.

All kinds of things Paul went through, the disciples.

So when physical discouragement comes, where does that put us?

I want you to see a couple of things.

Physical discouragement isn't just because Satan's out to get us.

Physical discouragement is going to happen in life.

So what do we do about it?

Number one, choices bring physical discouragement.

All right?

Your choices bring consequences.

I can't just go and do certain things to my body and expect not to have a consequence.

Right?

Your choices have an impact.

Okay?

So the person at the health club until their 80s, which I see it, has made a decision that has impacted their physical encouragement.

Right?

We have choices that impact our physical discouragement.

Secondly, the world is a fallen world.

It's decayed and diseased.

So everybody here, this is real cheery, is gonna have physical discouragement.

Period.

That's just going to happen.

But we're gonna peer into the third type a little bit deeper, this form of physical discouragement that God allows.

Let me give you the example of Job.

Okay.

Job was blessed.

And if you turn to Job 1 and 2, you could see this example, and we could go verse by verse, but I'll highlight for you.

Satan argued that Job feared God because God had produced a hedge around his life, had given him like a bubble of protection.

And Satan argued that, and God said, okay, we'll allow a season of physical discouragement.

So if you look through Job, you see this.

It says he was blessed with all kinds of livestock.

And so all of a sudden, in chapters uh one, verse 13 through 21, his donkeys and oxen were stolen, his servants were killed.

Fire fell and burned his sheep and killed his servants.

His camels and his other servants were killed.

A tornado came and killed his kids.

That's chapter one.

That's a bad day.

Chapter 2, Satan comes back and says, Well, you didn't impact him personally, physically, so that's why he didn't curse your name.

And so in chapter 2, verse 4 through 7, Job gets boils.

His own physical life has calamity.

He has every reason physically just to be what we call today a hot mess, right?

And I want everyone to know here about physical discouragement.

Life is not about ifs, but a win.

Okay, it's just a when.

It's like the newspaper article.

Job reminded me of this.

There was a lost dog in the lost column of the paper, and it said, Brown, uh, his some of his fur was missing due to mange, blind in one eye, deaf, one lame leg due to a recent accident, slightly arthritic, dog goes by the name of Lucky.

You ever felt like you were having a bad day?

Remember the name of that film?

Alexander and the very bad terrible.

I don't even know I can't say it, but there's ten things bad about it, right?

Job, after all of this, the boy was losing most of his family, and his wife said, Curse God and his die.

And if you look, curse God and die, and his friends, they're no help.

Job says something remarkable.

Job says, Naked, I came into this world.

Naked I'm gonna leave.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

How did Job go through all of that physical discouragement?

It was his mentality.

Job put this on.

And he said, I'm helmeted.

I came into this life, God's child.

I'm leaving this life, God's child, and his mentality, he made mental choices that allowed him to remain steady, even though life was not steady.

Letter B is this.

We see the enemy of mental depression.

I found this this week in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 17 through 22.

Ephesians 4:17–22

And I looked through there's several definitions of depression.

We're gonna look at that verse in just a second.

Um this is just one that I found.

It is a constant feeling of sadness, lowering our mood, makes us have a lack of interest in normal daily activities.

Like I said, there's several definitions, but that's one that I thought fit in ways.

Well, I read through Ephesians 4, because again, we're getting to the armor, but Paul was writing throughout the whole letter.

Why are we going to get to this point of armor?

Well, here's one of the things he captures in Ephesians 4, 17 through 22.

Listen to these words.

This I say, therefore, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind.

Think about the definition of depression here.

Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness, but you have not so learned Christ.

If indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth in Jesus, then you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.

And so as you break down those verses and you think about the strategies of the enemy, the enemy, every one of the enemy's strategies leads to a point where he wants you to be mentally depressed.

Because he wants a Christian, he wants someone on God's side to be useless for the cause.

And so the description Paul gives here as you walk through these scriptures, he says, one, your understanding darkens.

Remember that lowered mood?

Alienation, lonely.

Depression is aloneness, and alienated from a life of God means you're pulled from purpose.

Anyone here today that has come in and you feel separated from God, then you are alienated, you're lonely when it comes to purpose.

And he gives the because, because of a sinful heart.

Alienated, singled out, alone, and then it says in verse 19, their past feelings, remember?

Their mood is lowered, their past feelings, and so give themselves over to sin.

In order to overcome darkness and the loneliness, they look to something.

And it says here that they look to sin.

I want you to think about this.

What happens when a discouraged person, we'll say a Christian, a discouraged Christian injects something into their body?

A drug.

Does that fix what happens when a man is empty in the church and he clicks on pornography?

Did that fix his depression?

Sin doesn't fix depression.

More darkness piled on darkness doesn't make things light.

It leaves you empty and more lonely.

See, the enemy employs deceit, fear, conflict, pride, disunity, temptation, guilt, shame.

It's an all-out effort for us that we would become depressed.

Because it's part of that end game.

He wants us useless for the cause.

He wants our minds darkened and feeling futile.

Verse 23 in chapter 4 was the answer.

He says, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

He says, re-helmet, because depression is real.

He says, re-helmet.

If you don't believe me, depression is real.

I want you to see Psalms 42.

Turn your Bibles over there for a second.

This Psalms produced a hymn that I can remember singing vividly at Tennessee Temple University that I love.

And I thought for a long time this was a psalm that was expressing just a longingness to be close to God.

But as you develop into it, let's read the verses and I'll explain.

The song is as the deer panteth for the water, and it says, My soul longs after thee.

Verse 1 through 5, as the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

Hear these words, these this the depth here.

My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is your God?

When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me, for I used to go with the multitude.

I went with them to the house of God with a voice of joy and praise with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

And he says in verse 5, Why are you cast down, O my soul?

Why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

See, I was thinking all the time singing this hymn.

I didn't understand the psalm, but what this really is expressing seems to relay that the psalmist is depressed.

He wants to want God.

It's not that he wants God, he wants to want God, and he's seeking the motivation within himself.

He wants to get back to this place, but he feels so empty.

He just wants to be able to worship again.

Anyone ever feel like that?

Uh going through motions.

Just how can I get back to this place?

Feeling empty.

Anyone come in today?

Just being honest with yourself.

And you came in the tanks on E.

Discouraged.

Anyone here this week?

Be honest, you were discouraged this week.

You got down about something this week.

We got it's good.

Two people.

Man, it's gonna be good.

Well, we'll pray.

Everybody's gonna pray for you too.

And we got a bunch of liars.

Raise your hand if you're a liar.

Sheesh, help us, Lord.

A long way to go.

He said, My tears have been my food day and night.

Man, sounds like somebody who just can't stop crying.

Verse 4, I used to go to the house of God full of praise.

Verse five, he's just in anguish with himself.

He says, Why are you so cast down?

Hope again.

Verse 11, he says again, why are you cast down?

Hope in God, praise God.

He's trying, but the thing is, mentality is not a light switch.

Right?

You can't wake up tomorrow and go, I'm better.

If it was that easy, we'd all be great.

Right?

And some of y'all would flick the switch for somebody near you, right?

But depression debilitates a person.

People today, if you're honest with yourself, many, everyone here has times where you're not okay.

Who or what makes you leave your helmet?

What makes you leave it to the side?

That's why he says, take it up, because it's a decision.

When I wake up, no matter how I feel, I don't trust my feeling.

I still do the thing that I know that I should do.

And so I take up my salvation.

It's my mindset, it's not how I feel.

My helmet tells me this is the day the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

This day, my helmet says that.

My helmet says, I'm an heir of salvation.

I'm a child of a kid, a king.

And so I understand that how I feel is not what I do.

Now, there's some people, I want to say this and I want to approach this in the right manner.

Not everything can just be fixed.

Not everything is going to be fixed because you read a scripture.

I want to say that I believe in this book.

But some people hear it's deeper and you need real counseling.

I know we live in a world where that hopefully we're coming out of that, but mental health is a struggle, and there's people here today that need a counselor.

Okay.

There's drug and alcohol counselors, there's marriage counselors, there's sexual addiction counselors, there's gambling counselors, pornography counselors.

There's a reason why we have all that, and I'll tell you through a couple of steps.

Number one, what you need to do today if you're in a struggle.

Number one, you need to look in the mirror.

You need to be able to look in the mirror.

Some of us earlier couldn't, right?

I know it's a joke, but we have to first be able to look in the mirror and say, yeah, I'm going through a thing.

We want to keep face or save face or we're concerned about somebody else, or whatever it is.

But first, if I want change, I have to be able to look in the mirror.

When I first started ministry, I got sent someone who was dealing with a major drug issue.

And I'm telling you, I learned a lesson in nine minutes.

Months.

He never wanted to be there in the first place.

I had nothing I could do.

If you don't want change, you're gonna get what you want.

You have to first be able to look in the mirror.

And that's why the word of God we're gonna see next week is so important.

The sword begins to cut and clean and discern this heart.

And so you have to first want change.

You have to be willing to look in the mirror today.

The second thing, once you're able to look in the mirror, is to be able to confess, yes, this is true of me.

I want to be better.

It's like the old argument between a couple, right?

Going back and being getting through your pride and being willing to say, yes, I did that.

It was really bad.

I shouldn't have.

I'm I'm a bad person sometimes.

And they go, Yeah, we are, you know, right.

Like I knew that.

Right.

Broken.

That's a better word.

So we confess, but number three, hear me.

The Bible said there is wisdom and wise counsel.

Sometimes you need help, and it's just not gonna happen in and of yourself.

Now there are some people, man, they can become a Christian, they can drop everything.

All of a sudden, instantly the Holy Spirit works and they take these desires and it's all gone, and it's like a it's a really a miracle.

But for some, listen, you need it, you need the Bible says there's wisdom in a multitude of counsel, a counselor, a trusted friend, it could be, it could be a pastor, could be a licensed counselor.

But here's the deal the goal is to get you back living with your helmet on, and you live like a Christian.

Paul said, take it up.

And so, whatever the thing is that you're dealing with, it may need that because depression is real.

The third thing this morning, there, letter C is the enemy of eternal destruction.

I want you to see in Ephesians 1 as he started the book.

Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 is all about salvation.

And Ephesians chapter 1, it's about our spiritual inheritance.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 2, it's for by grace are you saved through faith, it's how it's obtained.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

And Ephesians 3 is how it's for everyone now, the Jew and the Greek, and it's the mystery of salvation to go out from Paul and all the Christians.

But in Ephesians 1, 11 through 14, I want you to see, because the enemy wants you to see nothing.

Depression, destruction, nothing in front of you.

And Paul is reminding Christians, chapter 1, verse 11 through 14, he says, Let's look at 10, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in him, which are on earth.

And in him also, hear this, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that he who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory.

In him, you also trusted.

He's reminded them of what they did, what is their salvation when the enemy attacks you, you got your helmet on.

You trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you trusted, you believed, and then you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance and to the redemption of his purchased possession to the praise of his glory.

So he says, Listen, don't forget what this salvation has done for you.

He said, After you heard, you believed, you inherited, you were sealed, the guarantee is there, the Holy Spirit's in you.

Now put on your helmet and fight.

The threat of eternal damnation is gone from you because you have the helmet of the Spirit.

Don't let the enemy come at you about that.

So it's about keeping.

So daily I can keep my head, keep my mind, keep my focus, because one day I know that this earthly fight has an end.

And my eternity is not about destruction.

So I can press toward the mark when I don't feel like pressing toward the mark because I've got a helmet on that tells me.

Even though I don't feel good, even though I feel like being flesh and human and prideful, I can press on because I'm saved.

But I can't do that if I don't take this up.

In and of myself, without this helmet, I am fleshly.

I want me things, I want my pride, I want my ego.

But I gotta put on, I gotta take up, as Paul said.

Why?

Because John 10 10.

The enemy seeks to kill, steal, and destroy.

Satan primarily is most gratified in opposing anything of God.

R.

C.

Sproull said this quote that I want you to hear.

Satan may be opposed to God, but he is by no means equal to God.

Satan is a creature, God is the creator.

Satan is potent, God is omnipotent.

Satan has information, God is omniscient.

Satan exists, God is omnipresent.

The message of the Bible is one that is full and final with ultimate victory.

It's not one of our destruction.

Paul says, so helmet up.

We know that Satan's doom is certain.

The Bible says his head was crushed by Jesus' heel.

Even though Satan is our pros five times in Ephesians 6.

He's our against, and he has his minions against us five times in Ephesians 6.

In the book of Ephesians, over 35 times, we find a little phrase.

You know what that phrase is?

In Christ.

You know how I put on this helmet?

In Christ.

Because we have an in Christ, no pros, no against can overcome, because greater is he, the in Christ that is in us than he that is in the world.

Can I get an amen, church?

That takes us to the second point this morning: a head covered against hesitance.

Satan, if he can get into your head through physical discouragement or mental warfare, he will.

And he'll make every effort to get you twisted up in that.

But if for some reason you're helmeted through those things, if he can get you stagnant.

If he can get you hesitant, if he can get you slow about getting this helmet on, you may not move backward, but you won't move forward.

And so the enemy seeks to see us ineffective.

Ephesians chapter 3, letter A, we see the enemy of doubt.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Ephesians 3, 18 and 19 says this that you may be able to comprehend, hold on to that word, with all the saints, what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Verse 17 said that you be rooted and grounded.

He wants us, Paul says, that we be rooted and grounded, able to comprehend, able in here to know and be absolutely sure of the love that filled you.

It's a picture of unwavering, that we don't shift left or right, that we're unwavering.

But we see doubt is riddled through the pages of the Bible.

It's all throughout Scripture, and it was the very first tactic of Satan in Genesis 3.

We see the serpent coming to Eve in Genesis 3.

And what does the serpent say?

He says, Did God really say that you should not eat of every tree of the garden?

And it begins to operate in doubt.

Do you remember Sarah and Moses?

God said, I'm going to give to you an heir of a generation.

And Sarah laughed.

She had doubt.

Moses was told he could deliver Israel.

I'm sorry, Sarah and Abraham.

I think I said Sarah Moses.

Y'all check my theology.

Somebody call me out.

Let's go.

Moses was told he would be the deliverer of Israel, and Moses had doubt.

How can I?

How can I?

Who am I that I would speak to Pharaoh?

He had doubt.

Gideon asked God for a sign.

He said, I'm supposed to deliver these people.

He said, I need a fleece.

I need you to show me.

If it's supposed to be me, the youngest and the tribe of Manasseh and all the lamb, if it's supposed to be me, you better show me some dew on a fleece, God.

He had doubt.

Elijah hid in the cave when Jezebel sent out her dirty note.

He had doubt that he could face this lady, right?

He had doubt.

Do you remember Thomas?

Could not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He said, unless I see the wounds.

He had doubt.

The opposite of doubt, church, do you know what that is?

That's faith.

The enemy wants us to doubt God is real.

He wants us to doubt God's prayer, and he wants us to doubt God's power.

And so he uses doubt.

Well, as I thought about that this week in terms of our helmet of salvation, I wanted to broach an important subject because many people, young and old in here, have had struggles before or may to come in terms of doubting your salvation.

If you ever have the enemy kind of whispering your ear about your salvation, nobody, no pastor, nobody can take that test for you.

But I want to tell you just a great overview.

1 John is a book about how you can know.

And the Bible says that you can be absolutely sure how to know that you're saved, how to know that you even have a helmet.

And here's a couple of things in 1 John that it says.

What I'm saying is it part of my purpose, my desire.

This is the direction I'm going, and I'm keeping it.

That's a God command, that's a check.

God's command, I'm doing that.

Okay.

So first marker.

Second thing.

1 John 4, 7 and 8.

Beloved, let us love one another.

For love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

The one who does not love does not know God.

For God is love.

Y'all catching that?

The second thing is love for the brethren.

Do you have a love for other saved people, for other people on the team, other individuals with the helmet?

Now I'm not talking about people that are just like you people.

You got people that fit into your circle.

I'm talking Christians.

There is a genuine love for any Christian you come across.

Look, I'm talking about the ones that are tough.

I'm talking about the forbearing kind.

Do you have a love for brothers and sisters in Christ?

Would you do anything for a brother and sister in Christ?

Because John 13, 35, he said, this is the marker of my disciples that you have love for one another.

He said, if you want to show the world that you're mine, here's the identification badge.

Love the church.

Do you love your brothers in Christ?

Genuinely.

This is a check for you.

I can't answer that.

Are you showing that to others?

Are you talking about others?

How are we showing our love for the brethren?

1 John 3, 6 through 10.

Third marker.

Who says, Whoever abides in him does not sin.

Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him.

Little children, let no one deceive you.

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous.

He who sins from the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.

For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God.

Alright.

I said a lot there.

And I want you to hear this.

Nobody here has been glorified.

You haven't reached heaven, so you are a sinful creature to the death.

But what it's talking about is a continuation of a sin, a stranglehold in something.

Is there something in your life that you cannot get away from?

That'd be a check.

That'd be a check.

Is there a continuation without fail?

It says there.

Okay, the Holy Spirit does a work in that for the saved person, for the person with the helmet.

Alright, 1 John 3, 24.

Last one.

Obedience to Christ's command, love for the brethren, no continuation, just a life stuck in a sin.

Number four.

It says, we know this by this that he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given us.

The fourth marker is the conviction of and fruit of the Holy Spirit.

If you can do those sinful things and not feel wrong, if you can continue in something and not feel conviction, he says the marker is the can the Holy Spirit that's in you.

You have to have a conviction over sin.

And then further, it's the fruit.

Galatians 5, 22, and 23 gives a list of the fruit of the Spirit.

Love, joy, peace, patience, long, gentleness, kindness, goodness.

And so the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

And I want to say this to you maybe you're here today and that's been a struggle.

Don't leave here with that struggle.

Check those things.

Do that test for yourself.

And see that you be in the faith that you can put on the helmet.

Letter B is this the energy of the defended.

Ephesians 3 20.

The energy.

Let's see what it says.

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.

We can stand in this fight because we're defended.

Paul said God is able, listen, to work exceedingly abundantly.

Maybe you're like, man, can God do this in me?

Can I get this right?

Can I go to a counselor?

Can I give up this thing?

He said, He through the Holy Spirit, he can do things that this mind can't even comprehend.

You can't even imagine.

He says, through God, through our faith.

You remember the verse on that faith?

For by grace are you saved through faith?

He says, You're saved by grace through faith unto works.

And I want you to picture it this way: this exceeding abundance.

God's grace is like an ocean.

And you're standing at the ocean with a cup, looking to get enough.

You're with me?

God's grace is like an ocean.

We're going, I just don't know if I can get enough to fill this up so that I can go out and do what he needs me to do.

And let me tell you, God can fill that cup and he can fill your bucket and he can fill the back of your truck and he can continue to work exceedingly abundant.

God wants to use saved people to carry out his sovereign aim, allowing us to have a great existence in this earth and the next.

But Satan wants to thwart every heavenly treasure.

He can't maybe stop you from being a Christian, but if he can have you keep your helmet off your head, he can at least keep you from blessings here.

He may not be able to get you to be totally ineffective, but if he can keep you from blessings, he will.

If he can keep you from thinking saved and make you a problem, he will.

He wants to snatch blessings.

Well, 1 Peter talks to us.

I wanted to share First Peter chapter 3.

1 Peter 3 · chapter mention

So what do we do?

1 Peter 3, 15 through 16 says, but sanctify the Lord God in your heart and always be ready.

That's that taking up, to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may not be ashamed.

He said, Taking up the helmet is always being ready.

You're always ready to give your reason of hope.

You've taken up your helmet, so you've got your salvation on.

Oh, there's gonna be attempts to defame you.

There's gonna be attempts to discourage you, there's gonna be attempts to shame you.

But he says, with meekness, he said, We're ready.

We've helmeted up.

You know, the helmet, when it's on, it's like noise canceling headphones.

Anybody go to the gym and you see people in headphones?

Right?

You see people like this.

Headphones in people is a certain kind of etiquette in our culture now, right?

I see somebody with headphones on, I've determined they really don't want to talk.

They're walking around in the gas station with headphones, they're not looking for a conversation.

Well, I go to the gym.

Sometimes I have headphones in, sometimes I don't, right?

God makes me sometimes not have them in.

Because anytime I don't have them in, there's a conversation.

Maybe there's a point for me to learn.

Anyways, but I look at people and it's funny watching people because it's like we have gone back, we've become barbaric.

You know, the headphones are on and we can't even communicate like normal.

Sir, sir, are you like are you using that?

What?

Like, what's going on?

Right?

And then culture in general is just like the emoji, right?

We're going back, we're using hieroglyphics now.

We can't, not only can we not talk, we can't text, we gotta send a picture, right?

Like we're just going backward anyway, but it's like this noise canceling happens.

Hear me.

It doesn't mean the enemy isn't in your ear or trying, but when I put on the helmet, I'm armed.

When I'm helmeted up, I can stand with hope.

The helmet protects me, it protects me from the things I should not go through.

Right?

Satan's coming, and he's coming from my head.

It's funny, with this right here, I can't hear as good over here.

But he's coming.

I can't even see the attack, I can't see anything over here.

I can barely hear, right?

He's still coming, but you know what?

It's not gonna matter because I've taken up my salvation.

I'm covered.

You've heard the back end of this story, but I want to share a different part of it.

At the during the pandemic, COVID, we got the family all together one day.

I'm at the end of the story, I'm gonna go back.

We got the family together one day, and we got in the car and we're gonna go to Starbucks.

Wyatt was in the back, and we said, Wyatt, if you want to go to Starbucks with us, we all want to get you.

We were dying to get out.

Everybody had to get out and do something.

Starbucks was open, so we're gonna do something.

I've been sitting around, hadn't seen people.

And we're like, Wyatt, if you want to get, you know, go to Starbucks, you have to wear a helmet.

He's in the back seat.

He said, Why are you gonna have to wear a helmet?

Right?

In the car, you gotta put your seatbelt on, put your helmet on.

Like, why in the world, Pastor, would you have your kid ride to Starbucks with a helmet on?

Well, reluctantly, he sat back there, and to get out of the house, he put the helmet on.

Why would I make an 11-year-old?

You guys are really protective, Pastor.

14-mile round trip.

Well, earlier that week, me and Callie were walking Charlotte.

Wyatt got on a ripstick.

I'm not gonna go through all the stories, so most of you have heard it, but he went down the hill, he passed me, and in a moment, as a parent, I watched it happen in front of my eyes, and I wish I would have stopped him.

There was a second, a catch.

Parents, if you have that, used it.

And in a moment, I thought, this isn't gonna be good.

And I started to try to say something, but it was just too late.

It was happening fast, real time.

He passes me and he's going down a really steep hill on the ripstick, flying down.

He flies off the ripstick.

He busts, I mean, does a carwheel in there, busts his head on the pavement, and we get down to him, and I mean it's melee in our house for the next two hours.

The emergency people came and they didn't want to take him to the hospital because they were afraid he was gonna get COVID.

We called Leslie Sawyer, Peter.

She said, It sounds like he needs to get checked for his cranium.

And so we get him, and he hasn't opened his eyes in an hour and a half.

He asked me at one point, he said, Dad, am I gonna die?

And um, he never acted anything like that.

And all I could think is, I want my son to be okay.

I get him in the car and I get down to the emergency, and we get there and we're checking everything, and but something I remembered, and he jumped up later, he ran across the floor because he had a vomit.

It was awesome.

Everything was okay, we found out, but no less than five times through this whole thing, doctors came in and asked me something.

They kept asking me, did he not have a helmet on?

A nurse came.

I explained everything.

Did you was your son wearing his helmet?

I got on the phone with somebody who was supposed to be praying, and you know what they asked me?

I'm like, I am the worst parent.

So you so he didn't have a helmet on?

Like, no.

No, his helmet is sitting at home of no good.

He didn't have a helmet on.

Church, I want you to hear something.

If he would have had his helmet on, he would have had some scrapes on his arm and walked away.

But my son, who I thought for two hours his life was going to be altered, I had no idea.

All of that could have been different had he been helmeted.

He'd have had some scrapes, but he'd have walked away.

He's really tough.

He'd have just walked away with his scrapes.

But he got a concussion.

And so a week later he was riding the Starbucks.

Guess what?

Taking no chances, not in a car.

I'm not talking about some ripstick.

Christian, I'm not saying, hear me, I'm not saying being a Christian is gonna eliminate battles.

You're gonna have battles and you're gonna have storms and you're gonna have crashes, but you will be better at the crash if you got your helmet on.

Are you hearing me?

There is a crash, there is a storm, there is a fight, but you're gonna be better if you got your helmet on.

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