Episode 70: Helmet of Salvation; Sword & Spiritual Prayer

In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

Spirit forever. Amen.

Glory be to the everlasting mercies which sent you to us, O

Christ, the Light of the world and the life of all.

Give us wisdom by your law and enlighten our impulses by your

knowledge. Sanctify our souls by your

truth, and grant that we may be obedient to your words and may

fulfill your commandments at every hour.

O you who enlightens the rationale with the knowledge of

your greatness, do enlight, O my Lord, our thoughts that we may

meditate upon your holy and divine scriptures at all times.

O Lord of all, Father and Son and Holy Spirit forever.

Amen. While I was preparing this

episode, the question came to mind.

Who invented the helmet? So I did the usual asked Hal to

Halo or to Google, and he or she replied that helmets were

invented around 2500 BC, that is before Christ, not before Common

era, 2500 years before Christ. And they were invited to protect

the wearer during battle. And these were individual

examples but not mass produced, so they would be made

individually. Interestingly, the first mass

production or the 1st mass produced versions were worn by

lo and behold, the Assyrians. It was the Assyrian soldiers 900

years before Christ or 900 BC. They actually made a mass

production of helmets and they were mainly made from bronze and

protecting the wearer from sword blows and arrow strikes.

A little trivia for you. I was really encouraged and

proud of my nation, as I always am.

Every time you look into something an an invention,

you'll find an Assyrian name. Praise and glory be to God.

Now let's get back to the armor of God, which we've been

speaking for the past. I think there's three episodes

and we're discuss discussing the Armor of God to be utilized to

avoid giving Satan a foothold. And today we're going to discuss

the helmet of God and the sword in Ephesians chapter six.

First part of the 17 Saint Paul encourages or instructs that we

take the helmet or the God of salvation.

And by this Saint Paul is implying the firm, the rock

solid hope in God, one of his implications, the firm and rock

solid hope in God. And this saves and protects our

head, that is our mind, our intellect, and protects it from

white from every raid of evil thoughts.

And also it is Christ himself. Indeed who is the author of

salvation. Who is the salvation that God

sent to mankind? He is our head, and it is indeed

Christ who guards the heads of the faithful that have committed

to him, are faithful, loving him and obedient to him.

Therefore he is the helmet of salvation.

So when Paul is saying take the helmet or God of salvation

alongside with the rock firm solid hoping God it's taking on

Jesus Christ. So how do we put on Christ?

What do we how do we take him and wear it and use it as a

helmet, as a God? How do we utilize Jesus Christ?

Praise be to his name as a God, to our mind and our thoughts and

our intellects, is to have him constantly on our thoughts, our

minds, our thinking, our contemplations.

In one of the episodes of The Simpsons, Yes, it's very big in

Australia. I'm not sure if it's still big

in Australia. Not so much in the United

States. I recalled an episode, a scene

where Homer receives a new working partner, and it's a

female working partner. And they are selected to attend

some show and it's in the elevator.

And Homer is the with the female work partner and he's telling

his brains to think of unsexy thoughts and he's constantly

repeating it to himself. What is he doing that is to

avoid falling for immoral temptation and lust?

We do the same, but in a contrary way.

When we take on Christ as the helmet of our salvation, it is

as though we are constantly telling ourselves, filling our

minds, filling our thoughts and telling it to think of Jesus

Christ, think of Jesus Christ. That's what we need to be

telling our minds. That's what we need we need to

be doing with our minds and thoughts to think continuously

of Jesus Christ, our salvation. Who is the God and how do we do

this? Saint Paul in the 5th chapter of

his Letter to the Ephesians verse 19 gives us the clue.

But speak to yourselves in psalms and hymns and songs of

the spirit meaning spiritual songs by singing in your hearts,

which also implies the minds to the Lord God constantly sing

Padisha. Allah or Holy God, Holy mighty,

holy, mortal, have mercy on us unto you.

Lord of all we confess in truth. O my Lord, we are not worthy.

All right, constantly say to yourself, Think to yourself,

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord Jesus, Jesus, in the name

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, you know

those who'd like. And I'm going to commit Stephen

and Audrina, the producers, to this.

I have recorded a few church hymns and antiphons, and I think

you can find them on somewhere. Just message us and Stephen and

Audrina will will direct you to it so we have where you can

continuously be listening to spiritual songs.

That's what Saint Paul is instructing.

Beloved, be speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns

and songs of the Spirit by singing in your heart or your

mind to the Lord God. And the second-half of verse 17,

Paul also instructs that we take up the sword of the Spirit,

which is the word of God. Hence, when I invite my beloved

brothers and sisters to the adults Bible studies gathering

on Mondays at 6:30 PM at Larsa Hall, I end my message, which

with bring your sword and a friend implying to the word of

God the Holy Scriptures. Now you may have noticed that

the past episodes and what we've been discussing, that the

weapons given and recommended by Saint Paul and spoken of

previously are defensive ones. Ones where we defend ourselves

with now comes our offensive weapons or armors to strike and

slay the enemy, which is the sword of the spirit, which is

the word of God. And that is possibly a

translation of the Holy Spirit itself, or the grace of the Holy

Spirit or the spiritual way of life.

By this means we can cut off the strikes and cut off the

temptations and the luring and the deception of the evil one.

In Isaiah chapter 27, verse one we read this is a prophecy.

Isaiah 27 · chapter mention

In that day the Lord shall visit with the hard and great and

powerful sword, which is the Word, which is also Christ

himself, the word of God. He will strike.

He shall visit with a hard and great and powerful sword against

Levithean, which is a servant, a serpent dragon, and against

Levithean, the widening serpent. This is all a a typology of the

enemy Satan and he shall kill the dragon in the sea with the

sword which is the word of God, which is Christ himself, the

word of God. Remember, beloved is not just

the scriptures, it's not just the written word of God, the

accounted word of God. The word of God with a uppercase

W is Jesus Christ. He is the word of God our Lord

Jesus Christ and by this also Saint Paul casted out demons.

By this then the Apostles healed the sick in the name of Jesus

Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Saint Peter said commanded in Acts chapter 3 verse six.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

So what Saint Paul is also referring to here is that the

spiritual truth, wisdom, power, direction, conviction,

encouragement, inspiration, reassurance, etcetera.

They all reside in the Word of God, the Word of God, Jesus

Christ, and the written Word of God.

You know when you hear a sermon, when you hear a proclamation of

the Word of God, it is the power of that word that fills your

mind, guards your mind. We pray this guard our minds

from the evil one. How do we do that?

By contemplating, thinking constantly on the word of God,

Jesus Christ himself, and the written Word of God.

And by by taking on Christ in our minds we have put on that

guard. Hence this.

This podcast is the double edged sword.

This is our weapon. In Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12,

Hebrews 4:12

Saint Paul writes for the word of God is quick and powerful,

sharper than any two edged sword.

If you have no relationship with the word of God, which is Jesus

Christ Himself, praise be to His name and you have no

relationship. You you have no affiliation with

the written word of God, which is your sword, the Bible, the

Holy Scriptures, you are in a very dangerous position.

You are open to the flaming arrows of the enemy who will

shoot them and will make the market the the the target will

hit the target and the fall will be great.

But when we do constantly have that unwavering relationship

with the word of God, Jesus Christ, the written word, the

Holy Scriptures, we are guarded. And then Paul continues to say

that we need to continue to pray in the Spirit.

Let me read to you what Marishudad, Bishop of Hadatha

writes and comments on this. According to Mauritius, Dad,

prayer is spoken of in a three fold way.

There are three ways we pray. First of the words that we

utter, just like Hannah prayed with a mouth speaking in her

heart, meaning she was miming in her heart, she's praying.

She was just moving her lips and Eli the priest thought that she

is drunk and she was praying for a child.

And then we have Phinehas in Psalm chapter 106, verse 30,

Psalms 106:30

which was a prayer of an act of zeal.

He got up and he prayed and he ended the plague.

So there's two ways. There is the uttering of the

heart and the lips and is there is the prayer where you have

confidence and zeal that you stand up and you pray and you

can perform through your prayer what you have intended to do.

But it's the third one that Christ has command us commanded

us to do is the prayer of the mind, that is that we pray and

we understand what we are praying.

When we pray, others must understand what we are praying.

In One Corinthians chapter 14, verse 15, Saint Paul writes, I

shall pray with my spirit and I shall pray also with my

understanding, knowing what it is that we are asking for,

knowing how we communicate with God the sovereign Father and his

Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

And Paul goes on to say, I shall sing with my spirit and I shall

sing also with my understanding. See, sometimes we we fall in

that trap. Where prayer is, you know, it's

a little downplayed. It's just speaking to God.

Yes, Amen. Prayer is speaking to God.

Prayer is communicating with God.

But we must remember that through prayer, and I've always

mentioned this, is that we enter into the presence of God.

So you just imagine Jesus Christ appearing to you.

What happened to Saul on the way to Damascus?

You just, you just put in your mind and imagine this for a

second, that while you're praying, Jesus Christ appears to

you. Are you going to be slumbered

over your seat with the, you know, shaking of your foot and

talking as though you're talking to your best friend or a

neighbor or a family friend? Or you will be falling on your

knees, bowing your head, striking your head on the ground

because you are in the presence of your Lord and your Savior,

Jesus Christ? So understanding when we pray

what we are praying and how we do pray.

And Mari Shuddat continues to say that that every one of them,

what I just spoke about, the three ways of praying is also

threefold, is bodily, mentally and spiritually.

But as I mentioned, our Lord has delivered to us the last kind,

the understanding to know what we are praying.

And He told us that when we do pray that we pray not using vain

repetitions. We don't need to mention Jesus

name 35,000 times to cast out demons.

We don't need to mention God's almighty sovereign way or name

15,000 times to accomplish what we want.

Once when Simon said to the beggar silver and gold, I have

none. But in the name of Jesus Christ,

this is what I have. This is the authority.

I have that by the name of Jesus Christ you may be healed once,

because in the name of Jesus demons shudder.

So there's no need to repeat and repeat.

God's not death. Jesus is not death.

Satan is not, you know, powerful to that point where you need to

continue to inject and inject and inject the name of Jesus

Christ. No, Satan is a weakling.

Satan is basically nothing before Jesus Christ, beloved.

He has crushed his head and he's given us that that authority to

do so as well. So be careful when you pray.

Use not vain repetitions as the heathens do, for they think that

they shall be heard for things much speaking like through many

words. Now yes, many people have have

confronted me. Well why is it that we say the

the Trisagi and Khadija Allah 3 times?

Well, we say it once in honor of the Father and in honor of the

Son and in honor of the Holy Spirit.

Not that we don't have confidence that when we say it

once we don't receive the blessing and the sanctification,

No, and we're glorifying God. But when you repeat in vain

words that possibly not even understand and know what the

power of that word is, well, that's what Jesus is talking

about. We are to pray in the Spirit and

at all times, beloved, let our deep affections enter our

prayer. You know before praying, and I

always say this, when we end up a meeting with the youth or and

I said, OK, let us close in prayer, there are people still

continuing with their conversations and as soon as

they finish a conversation they want to enter a prayer.

No. There's got to be at least at

least 5 seconds of preparedness to prepare yourself, to put

yourself in that spiritually realm that we are now going to

enter God's presence. And when we pray, beloved that

way, that is when we do not give Satan not a foothold, not even a

toehold. There is no place for Satan

because it's already been preoccupied by the power and the

majesty and the holiness of Jesus Christ.

You do not know what to pray or how to pray.

Some people ask you know what you know I have difficulties

praying to the Lord. Well.

Christ has given us a a model of prayer and you know it's it's

it's heartbreaking that this prayer is sometimes frowned

upon, lack of a better term. Like you know you don't know how

to pray. You just pray the Lord's Prayer.

Of course that's the Lord's prayer you just mentioned the

Lord. You know you don't know what the

Lord is. You don't know who the Lord is.

If you're just going to take his prayer, just something that is

so light and so easily taken. No.

Christ taught us that in this manner we shall pray and say our

Father in heaven, pray with me. Our Father in heaven, hallowed

be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, as in heaven.

So on earth. Give us the bread of our need

this day, and forgive us our debts as we forgave our debtors,

and bring us not into trial, but deliver us from evil.

For yours is the Kingdom and power and glory forever and

ever. We hope you enjoyed this week's

message. Please don't forget to rate and

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For any future topics, suggestions, or to give us

detailed feedback, please visit our link in the show notes

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Until next time, God bless you all.