July 23, 2025 • 40 mins
In this message from Ephesians 6:14, David Platt points us to a critical piece of armor in our battle with Satan and sin—the belt of truth.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
If you have a Bible and I hope you or somebody
around you does that you canlook on with.
Let me invite you to open withme to Ephesians, chapter 6.
Feel free to use table ofcontents if you need to.
Ephesians chapter 6 is near theend of the Bible.
I'm going to jump right intothe deep end today by asking you
a few questions and I'm goingto give you a little bit of time
(00:30):
to reflect on them.
So here's the first one whatlies are you most tempted to
believe about yourself?
So what thoughts are you proneto have about yourself that do
not come from God?
I told you we're jumping intothe deep end.
(00:52):
I want to challenge you toreally think about this.
What are you tempted to thinkabout yourself that is not true?
And then, related to that, whatlies are you most tempted to
believe about your circumstances?
(01:14):
So what thoughts do you oftenhave about your circumstances
that don't come from God?
Or what lies are you mosttempted to believe about others,
other people in your life orjust other people in the world?
And then one more what lies areyou most tempted to believe
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about God?
And I want to give you a minute, literally 60 seconds, to think
about these questions and itmight help to write down
whatever comes to your mind.
That might help you really name, identify these lies.
So take one minute to reflecton the lies you are most tempted
(01:57):
to believe.
Go for it.
Okay.
Now, as if we weren't alreadydeep enough, let me ask one more
question that will take us onestep deeper, beyond just our
lives.
So take one minute to answerthis one.
What are the most dangerouslies you see people in the world
(02:20):
believing?
And I'll give you an example ofa lie that we know was
widespread in our country 200years ago.
Many people, including manyChristians, in settings just
like this, believed that certainpeople were less than human
(02:41):
because of the color of theirskin, and that lie led to people
being treated as property to becontrolled, bought, sold,
enslaved.
It was a dangerous lie.
So what are dangerous lies thatpeople in the world are
(03:03):
believing today?
Maybe even specific lies we seepeople believing in Metro DC,
where we live the city, or maybelies we see people believing
around the world, and I shouldmention that the answer to this
question may be similar to youranswer to some of the previous
questions, but take a minute tothink Again.
(03:25):
Maybe write down Name dangerouslies.
You see people in the worldbelieving today.
Go for it.
All right.
As you finish reflecting, Iwanna pray over us.
Oh God, you are the author, thesource, the very definition of
(03:55):
truth.
So we pray today.
We ask for your help to knowand believe and live according
to that which is true.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
So for those of you who missed,last week we started a series
(04:21):
on spiritual warfare called howto Fight in the Dark, and we're
walking through Ephesians 6, 10through 20, just verse by verse,
word by word, and last week waspretty foundational.
So if you missed it which Iknow, like hundreds of our
students were at camp last weekand missed it so whether that
was you or others, I wouldencourage you to go back and
(04:42):
listen to some really importantfoundations that were laid.
I'll try to summarize some ofthat here at the beginning, but
let's start by reading Ephesians6, 10 through 20.
And I was thinking about itthis week We've talked a lot
about Scripture memorization.
I'd like to challenge you tomemorize this passage over the
course of these eight weeks thatwe're walking through it.
It's a pretty short passage.
(05:03):
That's a little over a verse aweek.
So if you're not alreadymemorizing something else, why
not memorize this?
It's definitely a passage worthmemorizing, so let's read it
out loud together.
I'm gonna put it up here on thescreen and then we'll stop
today at verse 14.
But let's start in verse 10.
This is the word of God to us.
(05:24):
Let's read it out loud together.
Finally, be strong in the Lordand in the strength of his might
.
Put on the whole armor of Godthat you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil, for we do not wrestle against
(05:44):
flesh and blood, but against therulers, against the authorities
, against the cosmic powers overthis present darkness, against
the spiritual forces of evil inthe heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the wholearmor of God that you may be
(06:06):
able to withstand in the evilday and having done all to stand
firm.
Stand, therefore, havingfastened on the belt of truth.
All right, that's where we'llstop.
Let me recap what we saw lastweek.
So here's my summary of verses10 through 13 in three truths.
(06:29):
One we live in a spiritualworld.
This passage makes clear thatthere are spiritual rulers,
spiritual authorities, spiritualpowers over darkness and
spiritual forces of evil inheavenly places.
Therefore, so everything inthis passage hinges on this
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reality, and we talked last weekabout how we don't think like
this.
Most of us only think in termsof what we can see or touch in
the physical world, but there isan invisible, spiritual world
that is just as real as thephysical, visible, physical
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world that's around us.
So this is actually one of thelies that we and, I would say,
most people in Western culturebelieve that what we see is all
that exists, when the truth isthere is so much that exists
that we do not see, includingangels, demons, the Holy Spirit
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of God.
Let me put it this way Imagineyou're in a conversation with
somebody that starts to leadinto an argument and you start
to lose control of your emotions, and suddenly an important
person walks up whom you greatlyrespect.
Do you change your demeanor?
Probably so.
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So here's the question whydidn't you change your demeanor
in light of the fact that theHoly Spirit of God was already
present in that conversation?
Here's why Because people aremore real to us than God himself
is, because we can see them,and we can't see God or
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spiritual rulers, authorities,powers and forces of evil in
heavenly places, which leads tothe second truth we wrestle
against spiritual forces.
You and I wrestle against,against, against, against,
against.
We get the point.
We're in a wrestling match.
We get the point.
We're in a wrestling match,which means there's both defense
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and offense involved here.
You and I are being attacked inways we need to defend and you
and I are on the attack in wayswe need to battle.
We saw last week how God iscalling you and me to stand firm
in Jesus and press forward withJesus as we engage in spiritual
(09:08):
battle.
I was thinking this week aboutmembers of the US military,
including many in our churchfamily, who wear uniforms like
this, with the American flag onthem in a way that looks
backwards, for a reason, as manyof you know, because it
represents how those going intobattle would carry the flag with
stars at the front and thestripes waving behind it.
(09:30):
It's a picture of how servicemembers move forward into battle
in the name of our country.
This is far more true forfollowers of Jesus.
To be clear, not in physicalbattle, but in spiritual battle,
the command in Ephesians,chapter 6, is not to sit back.
It's to stand firm and pressforward against spiritual forces
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of evil in our lives and in theworld around us, spiritual
forces of evil whose schemes inthe Bible are described this way
they slander.
It's what the devil's namemeans there in Ephesians 6, 11.
One who engages in slanderagainst God and others they
(10:16):
accuse.
It's what the name Satan means.
He's the accuser.
They tempt people to turn fromGod.
They steal.
The devil is a thief who wantsto steal your life and all that
is good from you.
They lie.
(10:37):
Jesus says Satan is a liar andthe father of lies, but they do
not announce to you that theyare lying.
Instead, they deceive.
Revelation 12.9 calls the devilthe deceiver of the whole world
, who, 2 Corinthians 11,disguises himself as an angel of
light.
They deceive through falsereligions, false teachings,
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false disciples, convincingpeople that what they're
believing is true when it isfalse, which ultimately leads to
how they destroy.
Jesus says the devil was amurderer from the beginning.
There are spiritual forces ofevil all around you and me and
the world who exist to slander,accuse, tempt, steal, lie,
(11:28):
deceive and ultimately destroyyou and every single person
around you.
This is who we are wrestlingagainst and we saw then Last
week how spiritual battleagainst these spiritual forces
cannot be fought and overcomethrough merely physical means,
(11:52):
which leads to truth numberthree we need, we have and we
must use spiritual weapons,which is what this whole passage
is about.
God says here's your only hopefor standing firm and pressing
forward in this spiritual world.
Put on my armor, take up myarmor, my whole armor.
(12:17):
Now, the language I'm usinghere in this third truth is
really intentional One.
We need the armor of God.
We can't fight with our ownarmor and our own strength.
We need his strength, his might.
We saw that last week.
Two we have this armor, so Godis not holding it back from us.
(12:39):
He has given it to all whotrust in Jesus as Lord.
And this is so important because, when it comes to spiritual
warfare, immediately peoplestart talking about all kinds of
things that we don't actuallysee in the Bible I read.
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I hear Christians here andaround the world immediately
start talking about how we needspecial training and methods to
fight demons, to speak to demons, to bind them and rebuke them
and cast them out, demons whoare passed on from generation to
generation, or territorialspirits that inhabit homes or
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cities or cultures.
But so much of what's writtenand talked about when it comes
to spiritual warfare here andaround the world is foreign to
how God speaks about engaging inspiritual battle.
Did you know?
Not one time in all the Bibledoes God ever command us to
(13:43):
speak to demons?
Not one time.
Yet one writer on spiritualwarfare says in a prayer of
rebuke, we must break demons,hold on a person, contain their
power and eliminate theirpresence.
I usually say, in the name ofJesus, I rebuke you, evil spirit
.
You have no part in thisperson's life.
But look at God's word.
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There's not one time when weever see New Testament writers
under the inspiration of God'sHoly Spirit talking like this.
Prayer is always to God, neverto demons, and this can be
practically dangerous.
David Powelson wrote a greatbook that I would recommend,
(14:27):
called Power Encounters, wherehe talks about counseling as it
relates to spiritual warfare,and he mentioned how quote some
people see a demon behind everybush, and he talks about a woman
named Cynthia, who he wascounseling, saying she once cast
demons out of her toaster whenit failed to work.
More seriously, though, she andher husband Andrew had a
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remarkable and remarkablydestructive way of arguing with
each other.
For the first five minutes,they warmed up with normal
person-to-person bickering, butat a certain point, when the
fighting turned nasty.
They shifted gears and wheeledin heavier artillery.
They would bind rebuke andattempt to cast out demons of
anger, pride andself-righteousness from each
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other.
In Cynthia's words I saw thedemon looking out of his eyes,
glittering and murderous.
So I said demon of anger, Ibind your power in Jesus's name.
Then I claim the power ofJesus's blood as my cover from
all demonic assault comingthrough my husband.
The result not only did Cynthiaand Andrew reinforce their
hostility, they trampled thename of Jesus through the mud of
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their superstition, hostility,fear and confusion.
Needless to say, the real devil, who aims to dishonor God and
conform us to his evil ways,could only be pleased at the
personal and interpersonalwreckage he brought about in
their marriage.
Just think about God's word.
We're in the book of Ephesians.
Here, at the heart of the cityof Ephesus, was the temple of
(15:54):
Diana, promoted all kinds ofidolatry and sexual immorality.
And not one time does God sayrebuke cast out the demons of
sexual immorality and idolatry,organize territorial prayer
walks around the temple and bindthe spirits.
Instead, what does God say?
He says put on truth andrighteousness, with the gospel
(16:19):
of peace guiding your every step, the shield of faith guarding
your every step.
So don't believe the idea thatyou need extra methods and extra
training that you don't havefor spiritual warfare.
One writer said dealing withterritorial spirits is major
league warfare and should not beundertaken casually.
(16:40):
I know few who have thenecessary expertise.
And if you don't know whatyou're doing, satan will eat you
for breakfast.
And if you don't know whatyou're doing, satan will eat you
for breakfast.
And I wanna say as loudly andclearly as possible that is not
true.
God's power in spiritual warfareis not confined to experts who
(17:00):
have been to major leaguetraining camps.
God's power, his armor, isavailable to every man and woman
who is in Christ, who possesseshis truth and his righteousness
and his gospel, with faith inhis word.
And when you are walking inthis armor, satan will not eat
you for breakfast, you will notturn into toast, guaranteed.
(17:22):
You will stand firm and pressforward when you have the whole
armor of God.
Well then, what's this armorthat we have and we must use?
Well, it all starts, it allholds together.
Stand, therefore, havingfastened on the belt of truth.
(17:45):
What a statement.
So just let this soak in, let'sjust meditate on this.
Spiritual battle starts withfastening on the belt of truth.
If that is true, that meansspiritual battle begins in your
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mind, with your thoughts, and wesee this all over the Bible.
Let me show you a few differentplaces.
First, here in the book ofEphesians, look back at what
Paul wrote before this, inchapter four, verse 17.
So the Bible's talking aboutGentiles who are living in all
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this immorality and idolatry.
And Paul says now this I sayand testify in the Lord.
You must no longer walk as theGentiles do, in other words as
those in the world do, withoutGod, as you used to walk, in the
futility of their what Minds.
They're darkened in theirunderstanding, alienated from
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the life of God because of theignorance that is in them, due
to the hardness of heart,they've become callous, have
given themselves up tosensuality, greedy to practice
every kind of impurity.
But that is not the way you'velearned Christ, assuming that
you've heard about him and weretaught in him, as the truth is
in Jesus, to put off your oldself, which belongs to your
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former manner of life and iscorrupt through deceitful
desires, and to be renewed inthe spirit of your what Minds
and to put on the new self,created after the likeness of
God in true righteousness andholiness, do you see it?
To fight spiritual warfare youneed a renewed mind that is
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filled with the truth that's inJesus.
You need to leave behind futileways of thinking, false ways of
thinking in your mind, which,we know from the very beginning
of the bible, is where sinstarts.
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Do you remember the firstpicture we see of spiritual
warfare, genesis, chapter 3?
The serpent was more craftythan any other beast of the
field the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman did Godactually say you shall not eat
of any tree in the garden?
The woman said to the serpentwe may eat of the fruit of the
trees in the garden, but Godsaid you shall not eat of the
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fruit of the tree that is in themidst of the garden.
Neither shall you touch it lestyou die.
But the serpent said to thewoman you will not surely die,
for God knows when you eat of it, your eyes will be open, you
will be like God, knowing goodand evil.
So when the woman saw the treewas good for food, that it was a
delight to the eyes, the treewas to be desired to make one
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wise, she took of its fruit andate.
She gave some to her husbandwho was with her, and he ate.
Do you see it?
Where did sin start?
Not when they took a piece offruit and ate it.
It was when they doubted theword of God in their minds, when
they thought I won't die if Ido this.
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I'll actually be better off ifI do this.
This is an anatomy of all ofour minds.
Sin starts with thinking ourway is better than God's way, or
maybe choosing not to thinkabout God's way at all.
Either way, spiritual battlebegins in your mind.
(21:27):
How about one more example?
How about the battle with worryand anxiety in this world?
How do you fight that spiritualbattle?
Listen to Jesus in Matthew 6.
I tell you, do not be anxiousabout your life, what you'll eat
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or what you'll drink, or aboutyour body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food andthe body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor reap, norgather in the barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
Do you see this?
How do you not be anxious?
Here's how Jesus says look atthe birds Like.
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Think about the birds.
Think, wait a minute.
God feeds the birds, and I'mmore valuable to God than birds.
So God will provide for me,which means I don't have to
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worry.
According to God's word, theantidote to worry in this world
is filling your mind with truth.
From his word, philippians 4says the exact same thing Don't
be anxious about anything, butin everything, my prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving,let your requests be made known
to God.
Same thing Don't be anxiousabout anything, but in
everything, my prayer andsupplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made knownto God, and the peace of God,
which surpasses allunderstanding, will guard your
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hearts and your minds in ChristJesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever ispure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, ifthere's any excellence, if
there's anything worthy ofpraise, think about these things
.
How can you not be anxiousabout anything?
Here's how you think about whatis true.
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It's the same exact word thatPaul uses in Ephesians, chapter
six, verse 14.
Put on truth.
Some people say you have tocheck your mind at the door to
become a Christian, to havefaith, and that is the farthest
thing from the truth.
Faith in Jesus revolves aroundand requires thinking all the
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time about what is true.
Worldliness involves notthinking.
Just go along with what theworld says about money and sex
and ambition and a million otherthings.
Christianity says no thinkabout what's true.
Do you see the spiritual battlethat is taking place between
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your ears every day?
Your mind is a battleground andthere are spiritual forces of
evil who want to have their wayin it, that want you to believe
all kinds of lies about yourself, about your circumstances,
(24:29):
about others, about the worldand ultimately, about God
himself.
And if spiritual battle beginsin your mind, then that means
spiritual victory comes throughbelieving and spreading what is
true.
That's the language here inEphesians 6.14.
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This phrase, having fastenedsome of your translations say
girding your loins with truth,like your innermost private
parts of your being with truth.
It's amazing imagery when itcomes to armor, a Roman soldier
which is what Paul's depictinghere would basically have a long
robe that he would gird up,tuck in, fasten in place with a
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belt in order to go into battle.
The Bible is saying from thevery beginning spiritual battle,
you need truth holdingeverything together.
Spiritual battle, you needtruth holding everything
together.
Which obviously then leads tothe question how do you know
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what is true?
And we live in a world that hasall kinds of answers for that
question that follow this, donot hold up.
People say well, the standardfor truth is our reason, our
reasonable thinking.
The problem with that is noneof us knows everything, none of
us understands everything.
(25:59):
We don't see everything, so ourreasoning is not perfect.
The way we reason is not alwaysaccording to what is actually
true.
So then we think, okay, wellthen, what does contemporary
culture say is true?
But surely any understanding oftruth that's confined to a
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particular culture and aparticular time is going to be
faulty.
Like we think we know betterthan people 100 or 200 years ago
knew.
But who are we to think thatpeople 100 or 200 years from now
aren't going to say the samething about us?
Another version of this thinkswell, what's true is whatever
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those in power say is true.
We know how deadly that isthroughout history, as very
powerful people have deceivedmultitudes.
Or even another version of thisthat says what's true is what
people I most admire say is true.
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The name of the game today is tobe an influencer.
People amass large followingson social media sharing their
opinions about all kinds ofthings, and we scroll for hours
through our feeds filling ourminds with whatever they say.
After all, surely if they'regood at music or sports or have
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enough plastic surgeries look acertain way, they must be
authorities on truth.
But then we realize how foolishthat is.
So we think whatever I feel istrue.
But how unreliable is thatKnowing you may feel differently
tomorrow than you do today, notto mention 10 or 20 or 30 years
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from now?
Surely you don't trust yourfeelings or your desires at any
given moment, any given time asthe standard of that which is
true throughout all time.
Don't miss it.
The devil is wreaking havoc inour minds, filling them with all
kinds of thoughts and messagesall day long that are not true.
(28:17):
Fake news is his specialty, andI don't just mean what's in the
headlines, although that'sincluded.
But he is actively working fromthe moment you wake up to the
moment you go to sleep, andwhile you're sleeping for that
matter.
There are rulers, authorities,cosmic powers over darkness and
(28:37):
spiritual forces of evil in theheavenly realms who want to fill
your mind with lies about whoyou are and about what you're
walking through right now, andother people around you.
And ultimately God.
And God is saying girdyourselves, fasten around
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yourselves, fill your mind withtimeless, unshakable, totally
reliable, eternally infallibletruth.
You say well, where do we findthat?
And here's the good news youand I do not have to wander
around in the darkness of thisworld trying to find that truth.
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God has revealed it to us inhis word.
You say wait a second.
Are you saying the Bible is thestandard of truth?
To which we respond yes, andyou don't have to check your
mind at the door to believe that.
See the sermon from a few monthsago on the reliability of the
Bible them no cap, timelessauthority, historical accuracy,
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eyewitness testimony, manuscriptreliability, internal
consistency, Fulfilled prophecyand supernatural authenticity.
But isn't the Bible old,antiquated?
Absolutely, it is old.
It's been around for thousandsof years.
Its truth has persisted fromcentury to century.
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Where else are you going to gofor truth like that?
Fox News, cnn, the most popularpost on your favorite social
media feed?
God has revealed truth to usabout who he is, about who we
are, about how this world worksand how to experience life in it
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and beyond it, and there isliterally no authority like it
in the world.
So fasten it around you, fixyour mind on it, fill your mind
with it, come back to thequestions from earlier.
What lies are you most temptedto believe about yourself and
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what is the truth that God saysabout you?
Because God says you arefearfully and wonderfully made
by him in the beauty of hisimage.
Genesis, chapter one.
Psalm 139.
Every one of you, within thesound of my voice, see your
inherent, innate worth.
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You are not a glob of cells inan accidental evolutionary
process.
No, you are crowned with gloryand honor by your creator.
You are loved by the infinitelyholy God and for all who are in
Christ, you are his adopted,beloved, chosen, forgiven,
(31:32):
redeemed child.
Ephesians 1.
You are free from all guilt andshame.
Romans 8.
And you have no reason to beanxious about or afraid of
anything in this world.
1 John, chapter 4.
Fix your mind on what God saysabout you, not on what others
think about you, not on what youthink others think about you,
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not even on what you think aboutyou, not on what you think
others think about you, not evenon what you think about you
when you look in the mirror.
Fix your mind, fasten yourselfwith the truth God says about
you and about your circumstances.
Your circumstances are not outof control and they are not
hopeless because God is incontrol Psalm 31, 15,.
(32:20):
He is holding you and yourcircumstances in his good hands
and he is working.
Romans 8,.
All of these circumstances, allof them, is the word he uses
together right now for your good.
And suffering and sorrow anddiscouragement and despair that
you are walking through will notbe the end of your story.
(32:41):
Your story is going to end inredemption and glory Romans 8,.
Revelation, chapter 21,.
For all who are in Jesus, fillyour mind with the truth of what
God says about youcircumstances you are walking
through, about the people aroundyou and, ultimately, about God.
(33:02):
Do not believe the lies of theadversary that God is not good
and great and gracious andmerciful.
And just Think.
Genesis, chapter three.
Think every sin you arestruggling with in your life
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right now is Satan and hisspiritual forces trying to
convince you that you knowbetter than God what is best for
you.
Don't believe them.
Believe him.
See it.
Every sin in your life tracesback to lies you're believing
about yourself, about God.
(33:44):
So fasten yourself.
Fill your mind with the truththat God's word is more
trustworthy than your thoughts,that God's design is for your
delight.
You can trust his desires foryou even more than your own
desires for you and amidststruggles.
(34:05):
I was on FaceTime right as theservice was starting, with
Emmanuel.
A teenager in our church familywho had a brain hemorrhage with
internal bleeding has been inthe hospital for a month trying
to relearn how to walk and talk,and Emmanuel said he'd be
listening.
And, emmanuel, you have a wholechurch family right now with
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you and for you, saying to youwhat God's word says, amidst all
the lies that the adversarywould like to say to you in that
hospital bed.
What we read in our church'sBible reading this morning Psalm
46, one God is your refuge andyour strength, and he's not just
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present, he is a very presenthelp in trouble.
That's who he is for you.
He is he's not just with you,he is for you Romans 8, 31.
And if he is for you, he is,he's not just with you, he is
for you Romans 8, 31.
And if he is for you, thennothing can stand against you,
no matter what you are facing.
And he promises, proverbs 3,he's worthy of your trust.
And James 1, he will lead youthrough these trials for your
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good, in ways far beyond whatyou can ask or imagine Ephesians
3, 20 and 21.
And that's for Emmanuel andthat's for every single person
who knows the truth of Jesus Intheir hearts.
Gird up your fasten yourselfwith truth amidst the lies that
the adversary wants to sell you,in the middle of your struggles
(35:33):
and then when you think aboutthe dangerous lies that people
in this world are believing,that are leading to all kinds of
destruction and idolatry andinjustice in the world.
Let's fight spiritual battlewith not just believing truth
but proclaiming truth, spreadingtruth.
Let's fight to show, to say andto show that every single
(35:58):
person in this world is an imagebearer of God, innately worthy
of honor.
Let's fight to say and showthat wealth is not for hoarding
but for giving generously topeople in need.
Let's fight to expose andcounter lies that lead to
injustice and evil, whether it'staking babies' lives, to
(36:21):
turning blind eyes to the poorand the oppressed.
And let's fight to spread thetruth in this nation and to all
the nations that Jesus has diedon the cross, that Jesus has
risen from the dead and Jesus isthe way and Jesus is the truth
and Jesus is the life, thatthere is a thief who comes to
(36:44):
steal and kill and destroy, butJesus has come that we might
have life and have it to thefull.
Fight spiritual war in thisworld, with Jesus and his truth
at the core of who you are.
That's where spiritual battlestarts.
So I want to give you a moment,then, before God, to engage in
(37:09):
spiritual battle right now inyour mind, on two fronts.
Your mind on two fronts.
So one, what truth or truthsfrom god's word do you need to
believe today in order tocounter lies in your mind?
Let's just engage in battleright now, fasten truth on our
(37:30):
minds that we need to believetoday in order to counter lies
in our mind.
And then, second, what truth ortruths from God's word do you
need to spread today in order tocounter lies in this world?
I really wanna encourage you tothink on both these levels.
And then, one final questionthat's so important is how are
(37:54):
you gonna intentionally fillyour mind, fasten yourself, with
truth from God's Word this weekIf we're not alert,
intentionally fastening on beltof truth, and statistics show
you and I are going to spendhours every day this week on
(38:15):
devices and in other waysfilling our minds with messages
from this world, many of whichare lies.
So how are you gonna counterthat?
How are you gonna spendintentional time, filling your
mind, fastening yourself withtruth from God's word amidst
spiritual battle in this world,as you think about those
(38:38):
questions, specifically forthose who are followers of Jesus
, I want to say for anyone,everyone today, who is not
currently a follower of Jesus, Iwant to invite you for the
first time, for the first time,to believe the truth about God's
(38:58):
love for you in Jesus.
You are not here by accidenttoday.
God has brought you here tohear the greatest truth in all
the world that God has made youfor relationship with him, that
God loves you and, despite yoursin against him, all the ways
(39:24):
you and I have turned from himto ourselves.
God has made a way throughJesus, who lived a sinless life,
completely true, and then diedon the cross to pay the price
for the sins of anyone who willtrust in him.
And then he rose from the dead.
(39:47):
He conquered sin, the devil anddeath itself, so that anyone
who believes in Jesus, trusts inJesus as Savior and Lord, will
be forgiven of all your sin andrestored a relationship with God
forever.
That is God's invitation to youtoday Believe his love for you
(40:13):
in Jesus.
So let me give you a couplemoments with these questions,
just you and God, and then I orsomeone at your location will
lead us from there.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
You are listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
If you have a Bible and I hope you or somebody
around you does that you canlook on with.
Let me invite you to open withme to Ephesians, chapter 6.
Feel free to use table ofcontents if you need to.
Ephesians chapter 6 is near theend of the Bible.
I'm going to jump right intothe deep end today by asking you
a few questions and I'm goingto give you a little bit of time
(00:30):
to reflect on them.
So here's the first one whatlies are you most tempted to
believe about yourself?
So what thoughts are you proneto have about yourself that do
not come from God?
I told you we're jumping intothe deep end.
(00:52):
I want to challenge you toreally think about this.
What are you tempted to thinkabout yourself that is not true?
And then, related to that, whatlies are you most tempted to
believe about your circumstances?
(01:14):
So what thoughts do you oftenhave about your circumstances
that don't come from God?
Or what lies are you mosttempted to believe about others,
other people in your life orjust other people in the world?
And then one more what lies areyou most tempted to believe
(01:36):
about God?
And I want to give you a minute, literally 60 seconds, to think
about these questions and itmight help to write down
whatever comes to your mind.
That might help you really name, identify these lies.
So take one minute to reflecton the lies you are most tempted
(01:57):
to believe.
Go for it.
Okay.
Now, as if we weren't alreadydeep enough, let me ask one more
question that will take us onestep deeper, beyond just our
lives.
So take one minute to answerthis one.
What are the most dangerouslies you see people in the world
(02:20):
believing?
And I'll give you an example ofa lie that we know was
widespread in our country 200years ago.
Many people, including manyChristians, in settings just
like this, believed that certainpeople were less than human
(02:41):
because of the color of theirskin, and that lie led to people
being treated as property to becontrolled, bought, sold,
enslaved.
It was a dangerous lie.
So what are dangerous lies thatpeople in the world are
(03:03):
believing today?
Maybe even specific lies we seepeople believing in Metro DC,
where we live the city, or maybelies we see people believing
around the world, and I shouldmention that the answer to this
question may be similar to youranswer to some of the previous
questions, but take a minute tothink Again.
(03:25):
Maybe write down Name dangerouslies.
You see people in the worldbelieving today.
Go for it.
All right.
As you finish reflecting, Iwanna pray over us.
Oh God, you are the author, thesource, the very definition of
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truth.
So we pray today.
We ask for your help to knowand believe and live according
to that which is true.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
So for those of you who missed,last week we started a series
(04:21):
on spiritual warfare called howto Fight in the Dark, and we're
walking through Ephesians 6, 10through 20, just verse by verse,
word by word, and last week waspretty foundational.
So if you missed it which Iknow, like hundreds of our
students were at camp last weekand missed it so whether that
was you or others, I wouldencourage you to go back and
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listen to some really importantfoundations that were laid.
I'll try to summarize some ofthat here at the beginning, but
let's start by reading Ephesians6, 10 through 20.
And I was thinking about itthis week We've talked a lot
about Scripture memorization.
I'd like to challenge you tomemorize this passage over the
course of these eight weeks thatwe're walking through it.
It's a pretty short passage.
(05:03):
That's a little over a verse aweek.
So if you're not alreadymemorizing something else, why
not memorize this?
It's definitely a passage worthmemorizing, so let's read it
out loud together.
I'm gonna put it up here on thescreen and then we'll stop
today at verse 14.
But let's start in verse 10.
This is the word of God to us.
(05:24):
Let's read it out loud together.
Finally, be strong in the Lordand in the strength of his might
.
Put on the whole armor of Godthat you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil, for we do not wrestle against
(05:44):
flesh and blood, but against therulers, against the authorities
, against the cosmic powers overthis present darkness, against
the spiritual forces of evil inthe heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the wholearmor of God that you may be
(06:06):
able to withstand in the evilday and having done all to stand
firm.
Stand, therefore, havingfastened on the belt of truth.
All right, that's where we'llstop.
Let me recap what we saw lastweek.
So here's my summary of verses10 through 13 in three truths.
(06:29):
One we live in a spiritualworld.
This passage makes clear thatthere are spiritual rulers,
spiritual authorities, spiritualpowers over darkness and
spiritual forces of evil inheavenly places.
Therefore, so everything inthis passage hinges on this
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reality, and we talked last weekabout how we don't think like
this.
Most of us only think in termsof what we can see or touch in
the physical world, but there isan invisible, spiritual world
that is just as real as thephysical, visible, physical
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world that's around us.
So this is actually one of thelies that we and, I would say,
most people in Western culturebelieve that what we see is all
that exists, when the truth isthere is so much that exists
that we do not see, includingangels, demons, the Holy Spirit
(07:38):
of God.
Let me put it this way Imagineyou're in a conversation with
somebody that starts to leadinto an argument and you start
to lose control of your emotions, and suddenly an important
person walks up whom you greatlyrespect.
Do you change your demeanor?
Probably so.
(07:58):
So here's the question whydidn't you change your demeanor
in light of the fact that theHoly Spirit of God was already
present in that conversation?
Here's why Because people aremore real to us than God himself
is, because we can see them,and we can't see God or
(08:23):
spiritual rulers, authorities,powers and forces of evil in
heavenly places, which leads tothe second truth we wrestle
against spiritual forces.
You and I wrestle against,against, against, against,
against.
We get the point.
We're in a wrestling match.
We get the point.
We're in a wrestling match,which means there's both defense
(08:46):
and offense involved here.
You and I are being attacked inways we need to defend and you
and I are on the attack in wayswe need to battle.
We saw last week how God iscalling you and me to stand firm
in Jesus and press forward withJesus as we engage in spiritual
(09:08):
battle.
I was thinking this week aboutmembers of the US military,
including many in our churchfamily, who wear uniforms like
this, with the American flag onthem in a way that looks
backwards, for a reason, as manyof you know, because it
represents how those going intobattle would carry the flag with
stars at the front and thestripes waving behind it.
(09:30):
It's a picture of how servicemembers move forward into battle
in the name of our country.
This is far more true forfollowers of Jesus.
To be clear, not in physicalbattle, but in spiritual battle,
the command in Ephesians,chapter 6, is not to sit back.
It's to stand firm and pressforward against spiritual forces
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of evil in our lives and in theworld around us, spiritual
forces of evil whose schemes inthe Bible are described this way
they slander.
It's what the devil's namemeans there in Ephesians 6, 11.
One who engages in slanderagainst God and others they
(10:16):
accuse.
It's what the name Satan means.
He's the accuser.
They tempt people to turn fromGod.
They steal.
The devil is a thief who wantsto steal your life and all that
is good from you.
They lie.
(10:37):
Jesus says Satan is a liar andthe father of lies, but they do
not announce to you that theyare lying.
Instead, they deceive.
Revelation 12.9 calls the devilthe deceiver of the whole world
, who, 2 Corinthians 11,disguises himself as an angel of
light.
They deceive through falsereligions, false teachings,
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false disciples, convincingpeople that what they're
believing is true when it isfalse, which ultimately leads to
how they destroy.
Jesus says the devil was amurderer from the beginning.
There are spiritual forces ofevil all around you and me and
the world who exist to slander,accuse, tempt, steal, lie,
(11:28):
deceive and ultimately destroyyou and every single person
around you.
This is who we are wrestlingagainst and we saw then Last
week how spiritual battleagainst these spiritual forces
cannot be fought and overcomethrough merely physical means,
(11:52):
which leads to truth numberthree we need, we have and we
must use spiritual weapons,which is what this whole passage
is about.
God says here's your only hopefor standing firm and pressing
forward in this spiritual world.
Put on my armor, take up myarmor, my whole armor.
(12:17):
Now, the language I'm usinghere in this third truth is
really intentional One.
We need the armor of God.
We can't fight with our ownarmor and our own strength.
We need his strength, his might.
We saw that last week.
Two we have this armor, so Godis not holding it back from us.
(12:39):
He has given it to all whotrust in Jesus as Lord.
And this is so important because, when it comes to spiritual
warfare, immediately peoplestart talking about all kinds of
things that we don't actuallysee in the Bible I read.
(13:01):
I hear Christians here andaround the world immediately
start talking about how we needspecial training and methods to
fight demons, to speak to demons, to bind them and rebuke them
and cast them out, demons whoare passed on from generation to
generation, or territorialspirits that inhabit homes or
(13:22):
cities or cultures.
But so much of what's writtenand talked about when it comes
to spiritual warfare here andaround the world is foreign to
how God speaks about engaging inspiritual battle.
Did you know?
Not one time in all the Bibledoes God ever command us to
(13:43):
speak to demons?
Not one time.
Yet one writer on spiritualwarfare says in a prayer of
rebuke, we must break demons,hold on a person, contain their
power and eliminate theirpresence.
I usually say, in the name ofJesus, I rebuke you, evil spirit
.
You have no part in thisperson's life.
But look at God's word.
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There's not one time when weever see New Testament writers
under the inspiration of God'sHoly Spirit talking like this.
Prayer is always to God, neverto demons, and this can be
practically dangerous.
David Powelson wrote a greatbook that I would recommend,
(14:27):
called Power Encounters, wherehe talks about counseling as it
relates to spiritual warfare,and he mentioned how quote some
people see a demon behind everybush, and he talks about a woman
named Cynthia, who he wascounseling, saying she once cast
demons out of her toaster whenit failed to work.
More seriously, though, she andher husband Andrew had a
(14:47):
remarkable and remarkablydestructive way of arguing with
each other.
For the first five minutes,they warmed up with normal
person-to-person bickering, butat a certain point, when the
fighting turned nasty.
They shifted gears and wheeledin heavier artillery.
They would bind rebuke andattempt to cast out demons of
anger, pride andself-righteousness from each
(15:08):
other.
In Cynthia's words I saw thedemon looking out of his eyes,
glittering and murderous.
So I said demon of anger, Ibind your power in Jesus's name.
Then I claim the power ofJesus's blood as my cover from
all demonic assault comingthrough my husband.
The result not only did Cynthiaand Andrew reinforce their
hostility, they trampled thename of Jesus through the mud of
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their superstition, hostility,fear and confusion.
Needless to say, the real devil, who aims to dishonor God and
conform us to his evil ways,could only be pleased at the
personal and interpersonalwreckage he brought about in
their marriage.
Just think about God's word.
We're in the book of Ephesians.
Here, at the heart of the cityof Ephesus, was the temple of
(15:54):
Diana, promoted all kinds ofidolatry and sexual immorality.
And not one time does God sayrebuke cast out the demons of
sexual immorality and idolatry,organize territorial prayer
walks around the temple and bindthe spirits.
Instead, what does God say?
He says put on truth andrighteousness, with the gospel
(16:19):
of peace guiding your every step, the shield of faith guarding
your every step.
So don't believe the idea thatyou need extra methods and extra
training that you don't havefor spiritual warfare.
One writer said dealing withterritorial spirits is major
league warfare and should not beundertaken casually.
(16:40):
I know few who have thenecessary expertise.
And if you don't know whatyou're doing, satan will eat you
for breakfast.
And if you don't know whatyou're doing, satan will eat you
for breakfast.
And I wanna say as loudly andclearly as possible that is not
true.
God's power in spiritual warfareis not confined to experts who
(17:00):
have been to major leaguetraining camps.
God's power, his armor, isavailable to every man and woman
who is in Christ, who possesseshis truth and his righteousness
and his gospel, with faith inhis word.
And when you are walking inthis armor, satan will not eat
you for breakfast, you will notturn into toast, guaranteed.
(17:22):
You will stand firm and pressforward when you have the whole
armor of God.
Well then, what's this armorthat we have and we must use?
Well, it all starts, it allholds together.
Stand, therefore, havingfastened on the belt of truth.
(17:45):
What a statement.
So just let this soak in, let'sjust meditate on this.
Spiritual battle starts withfastening on the belt of truth.
If that is true, that meansspiritual battle begins in your
(18:06):
mind, with your thoughts, and wesee this all over the Bible.
Let me show you a few differentplaces.
First, here in the book ofEphesians, look back at what
Paul wrote before this, inchapter four, verse 17.
So the Bible's talking aboutGentiles who are living in all
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this immorality and idolatry.
And Paul says now this I sayand testify in the Lord.
You must no longer walk as theGentiles do, in other words as
those in the world do, withoutGod, as you used to walk, in the
futility of their what Minds.
They're darkened in theirunderstanding, alienated from
(18:54):
the life of God because of theignorance that is in them, due
to the hardness of heart,they've become callous, have
given themselves up tosensuality, greedy to practice
every kind of impurity.
But that is not the way you'velearned Christ, assuming that
you've heard about him and weretaught in him, as the truth is
in Jesus, to put off your oldself, which belongs to your
(19:18):
former manner of life and iscorrupt through deceitful
desires, and to be renewed inthe spirit of your what Minds
and to put on the new self,created after the likeness of
God in true righteousness andholiness, do you see it?
To fight spiritual warfare youneed a renewed mind that is
(19:39):
filled with the truth that's inJesus.
You need to leave behind futileways of thinking, false ways of
thinking in your mind, which,we know from the very beginning
of the bible, is where sinstarts.
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Do you remember the firstpicture we see of spiritual
warfare, genesis, chapter 3?
The serpent was more craftythan any other beast of the
field the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman did Godactually say you shall not eat
of any tree in the garden?
The woman said to the serpentwe may eat of the fruit of the
trees in the garden, but Godsaid you shall not eat of the
(20:20):
fruit of the tree that is in themidst of the garden.
Neither shall you touch it lestyou die.
But the serpent said to thewoman you will not surely die,
for God knows when you eat of it, your eyes will be open, you
will be like God, knowing goodand evil.
So when the woman saw the treewas good for food, that it was a
delight to the eyes, the treewas to be desired to make one
(20:44):
wise, she took of its fruit andate.
She gave some to her husbandwho was with her, and he ate.
Do you see it?
Where did sin start?
Not when they took a piece offruit and ate it.
It was when they doubted theword of God in their minds, when
they thought I won't die if Ido this.
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I'll actually be better off ifI do this.
This is an anatomy of all ofour minds.
Sin starts with thinking ourway is better than God's way, or
maybe choosing not to thinkabout God's way at all.
Either way, spiritual battlebegins in your mind.
(21:27):
How about one more example?
How about the battle with worryand anxiety in this world?
How do you fight that spiritualbattle?
Listen to Jesus in Matthew 6.
I tell you, do not be anxiousabout your life, what you'll eat
(21:47):
or what you'll drink, or aboutyour body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food andthe body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor reap, norgather in the barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
Do you see this?
How do you not be anxious?
Here's how Jesus says look atthe birds Like.
(22:12):
Think about the birds.
Think, wait a minute.
God feeds the birds, and I'mmore valuable to God than birds.
So God will provide for me,which means I don't have to
(22:35):
worry.
According to God's word, theantidote to worry in this world
is filling your mind with truth.
From his word, philippians 4says the exact same thing Don't
be anxious about anything, butin everything, my prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving,let your requests be made known
to God.
Same thing Don't be anxiousabout anything, but in
everything, my prayer andsupplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made knownto God, and the peace of God,
which surpasses allunderstanding, will guard your
(22:55):
hearts and your minds in ChristJesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever ispure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, ifthere's any excellence, if
there's anything worthy ofpraise, think about these things
.
How can you not be anxiousabout anything?
Here's how you think about whatis true.
(23:17):
It's the same exact word thatPaul uses in Ephesians, chapter
six, verse 14.
Put on truth.
Some people say you have tocheck your mind at the door to
become a Christian, to havefaith, and that is the farthest
thing from the truth.
Faith in Jesus revolves aroundand requires thinking all the
(23:43):
time about what is true.
Worldliness involves notthinking.
Just go along with what theworld says about money and sex
and ambition and a million otherthings.
Christianity says no thinkabout what's true.
Do you see the spiritual battlethat is taking place between
(24:06):
your ears every day?
Your mind is a battleground andthere are spiritual forces of
evil who want to have their wayin it, that want you to believe
all kinds of lies about yourself, about your circumstances,
(24:29):
about others, about the worldand ultimately, about God
himself.
And if spiritual battle beginsin your mind, then that means
spiritual victory comes throughbelieving and spreading what is
true.
That's the language here inEphesians 6.14.
(24:53):
This phrase, having fastenedsome of your translations say
girding your loins with truth,like your innermost private
parts of your being with truth.
It's amazing imagery when itcomes to armor, a Roman soldier
which is what Paul's depictinghere would basically have a long
robe that he would gird up,tuck in, fasten in place with a
(25:17):
belt in order to go into battle.
The Bible is saying from thevery beginning spiritual battle,
you need truth holdingeverything together.
Spiritual battle, you needtruth holding everything
together.
Which obviously then leads tothe question how do you know
(25:37):
what is true?
And we live in a world that hasall kinds of answers for that
question that follow this, donot hold up.
People say well, the standardfor truth is our reason, our
reasonable thinking.
The problem with that is noneof us knows everything, none of
us understands everything.
(25:59):
We don't see everything, so ourreasoning is not perfect.
The way we reason is not alwaysaccording to what is actually
true.
So then we think, okay, wellthen, what does contemporary
culture say is true?
But surely any understanding oftruth that's confined to a
(26:22):
particular culture and aparticular time is going to be
faulty.
Like we think we know betterthan people 100 or 200 years ago
knew.
But who are we to think thatpeople 100 or 200 years from now
aren't going to say the samething about us?
Another version of this thinkswell, what's true is whatever
(26:45):
those in power say is true.
We know how deadly that isthroughout history, as very
powerful people have deceivedmultitudes.
Or even another version of thisthat says what's true is what
people I most admire say is true.
(27:09):
The name of the game today is tobe an influencer.
People amass large followingson social media sharing their
opinions about all kinds ofthings, and we scroll for hours
through our feeds filling ourminds with whatever they say.
After all, surely if they'regood at music or sports or have
(27:30):
enough plastic surgeries look acertain way, they must be
authorities on truth.
But then we realize how foolishthat is.
So we think whatever I feel istrue.
But how unreliable is thatKnowing you may feel differently
tomorrow than you do today, notto mention 10 or 20 or 30 years
(27:53):
from now?
Surely you don't trust yourfeelings or your desires at any
given moment, any given time asthe standard of that which is
true throughout all time.
Don't miss it.
The devil is wreaking havoc inour minds, filling them with all
kinds of thoughts and messagesall day long that are not true.
(28:17):
Fake news is his specialty, andI don't just mean what's in the
headlines, although that'sincluded.
But he is actively working fromthe moment you wake up to the
moment you go to sleep, andwhile you're sleeping for that
matter.
There are rulers, authorities,cosmic powers over darkness and
(28:37):
spiritual forces of evil in theheavenly realms who want to fill
your mind with lies about whoyou are and about what you're
walking through right now, andother people around you.
And ultimately God.
And God is saying girdyourselves, fasten around
(28:57):
yourselves, fill your mind withtimeless, unshakable, totally
reliable, eternally infallibletruth.
You say well, where do we findthat?
And here's the good news youand I do not have to wander
around in the darkness of thisworld trying to find that truth.
(29:18):
God has revealed it to us inhis word.
You say wait a second.
Are you saying the Bible is thestandard of truth?
To which we respond yes, andyou don't have to check your
mind at the door to believe that.
See the sermon from a few monthsago on the reliability of the
Bible them no cap, timelessauthority, historical accuracy,
(29:43):
eyewitness testimony, manuscriptreliability, internal
consistency, Fulfilled prophecyand supernatural authenticity.
But isn't the Bible old,antiquated?
Absolutely, it is old.
It's been around for thousandsof years.
Its truth has persisted fromcentury to century.
(30:04):
Where else are you going to gofor truth like that?
Fox News, cnn, the most popularpost on your favorite social
media feed?
God has revealed truth to usabout who he is, about who we
are, about how this world worksand how to experience life in it
(30:24):
and beyond it, and there isliterally no authority like it
in the world.
So fasten it around you, fixyour mind on it, fill your mind
with it, come back to thequestions from earlier.
What lies are you most temptedto believe about yourself and
(30:46):
what is the truth that God saysabout you?
Because God says you arefearfully and wonderfully made
by him in the beauty of hisimage.
Genesis, chapter one.
Psalm 139.
Every one of you, within thesound of my voice, see your
inherent, innate worth.
(31:07):
You are not a glob of cells inan accidental evolutionary
process.
No, you are crowned with gloryand honor by your creator.
You are loved by the infinitelyholy God and for all who are in
Christ, you are his adopted,beloved, chosen, forgiven,
(31:32):
redeemed child.
Ephesians 1.
You are free from all guilt andshame.
Romans 8.
And you have no reason to beanxious about or afraid of
anything in this world.
1 John, chapter 4.
Fix your mind on what God saysabout you, not on what others
think about you, not on what youthink others think about you,
(31:56):
not even on what you think aboutyou, not on what you think
others think about you, not evenon what you think about you
when you look in the mirror.
Fix your mind, fasten yourselfwith the truth God says about
you and about your circumstances.
Your circumstances are not outof control and they are not
hopeless because God is incontrol Psalm 31, 15,.
(32:20):
He is holding you and yourcircumstances in his good hands
and he is working.
Romans 8,.
All of these circumstances, allof them, is the word he uses
together right now for your good.
And suffering and sorrow anddiscouragement and despair that
you are walking through will notbe the end of your story.
(32:41):
Your story is going to end inredemption and glory Romans 8,.
Revelation, chapter 21,.
For all who are in Jesus, fillyour mind with the truth of what
God says about youcircumstances you are walking
through, about the people aroundyou and, ultimately, about God.
(33:02):
Do not believe the lies of theadversary that God is not good
and great and gracious andmerciful.
And just Think.
Genesis, chapter three.
Think every sin you arestruggling with in your life
(33:22):
right now is Satan and hisspiritual forces trying to
convince you that you knowbetter than God what is best for
you.
Don't believe them.
Believe him.
See it.
Every sin in your life tracesback to lies you're believing
about yourself, about God.
(33:44):
So fasten yourself.
Fill your mind with the truththat God's word is more
trustworthy than your thoughts,that God's design is for your
delight.
You can trust his desires foryou even more than your own
desires for you and amidststruggles.
(34:05):
I was on FaceTime right as theservice was starting, with
Emmanuel.
A teenager in our church familywho had a brain hemorrhage with
internal bleeding has been inthe hospital for a month trying
to relearn how to walk and talk,and Emmanuel said he'd be
listening.
And, emmanuel, you have a wholechurch family right now with
(34:27):
you and for you, saying to youwhat God's word says, amidst all
the lies that the adversarywould like to say to you in that
hospital bed.
What we read in our church'sBible reading this morning Psalm
46, one God is your refuge andyour strength, and he's not just
(34:47):
present, he is a very presenthelp in trouble.
That's who he is for you.
He is he's not just with you,he is for you Romans 8, 31.
And if he is for you, he is,he's not just with you, he is
for you Romans 8, 31.
And if he is for you, thennothing can stand against you,
no matter what you are facing.
And he promises, proverbs 3,he's worthy of your trust.
And James 1, he will lead youthrough these trials for your
(35:11):
good, in ways far beyond whatyou can ask or imagine Ephesians
3, 20 and 21.
And that's for Emmanuel andthat's for every single person
who knows the truth of Jesus Intheir hearts.
Gird up your fasten yourselfwith truth amidst the lies that
the adversary wants to sell you,in the middle of your struggles
(35:33):
and then when you think aboutthe dangerous lies that people
in this world are believing,that are leading to all kinds of
destruction and idolatry andinjustice in the world.
Let's fight spiritual battlewith not just believing truth
but proclaiming truth, spreadingtruth.
Let's fight to show, to say andto show that every single
(35:58):
person in this world is an imagebearer of God, innately worthy
of honor.
Let's fight to say and showthat wealth is not for hoarding
but for giving generously topeople in need.
Let's fight to expose andcounter lies that lead to
injustice and evil, whether it'staking babies' lives, to
(36:21):
turning blind eyes to the poorand the oppressed.
And let's fight to spread thetruth in this nation and to all
the nations that Jesus has diedon the cross, that Jesus has
risen from the dead and Jesus isthe way and Jesus is the truth
and Jesus is the life, thatthere is a thief who comes to
(36:44):
steal and kill and destroy, butJesus has come that we might
have life and have it to thefull.
Fight spiritual war in thisworld, with Jesus and his truth
at the core of who you are.
That's where spiritual battlestarts.
So I want to give you a moment,then, before God, to engage in
(37:09):
spiritual battle right now inyour mind, on two fronts.
Your mind on two fronts.
So one, what truth or truthsfrom god's word do you need to
believe today in order tocounter lies in your mind?
Let's just engage in battleright now, fasten truth on our
(37:30):
minds that we need to believetoday in order to counter lies
in our mind.
And then, second, what truth ortruths from God's word do you
need to spread today in order tocounter lies in this world?
I really wanna encourage you tothink on both these levels.
And then, one final questionthat's so important is how are
(37:54):
you gonna intentionally fillyour mind, fasten yourself, with
truth from God's Word this weekIf we're not alert,
intentionally fastening on beltof truth, and statistics show
you and I are going to spendhours every day this week on
(38:15):
devices and in other waysfilling our minds with messages
from this world, many of whichare lies.
So how are you gonna counterthat?
How are you gonna spendintentional time, filling your
mind, fastening yourself withtruth from God's word amidst
spiritual battle in this world,as you think about those
(38:38):
questions, specifically forthose who are followers of Jesus
, I want to say for anyone,everyone today, who is not
currently a follower of Jesus, Iwant to invite you for the
first time, for the first time,to believe the truth about God's
(38:58):
love for you in Jesus.
You are not here by accidenttoday.
God has brought you here tohear the greatest truth in all
the world that God has made youfor relationship with him, that
God loves you and, despite yoursin against him, all the ways
(39:24):
you and I have turned from himto ourselves.
God has made a way throughJesus, who lived a sinless life,
completely true, and then diedon the cross to pay the price
for the sins of anyone who willtrust in him.
And then he rose from the dead.
(39:47):
He conquered sin, the devil anddeath itself, so that anyone
who believes in Jesus, trusts inJesus as Savior and Lord, will
be forgiven of all your sin andrestored a relationship with God
forever.
That is God's invitation to youtoday Believe his love for you
(40:13):
in Jesus.
So let me give you a couplemoments with these questions,
just you and God, and then I orsomeone at your location will
lead us from there.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
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