February 11, 2025 • 41 mins
Join Chris Schlotterbeck as he discusses the armor of God, specifically the Belt Of Truth and the Breastplate Of Righteousness.
To get connected or to give online, you can go to connect.hcv.church or give.hcv.church. If at anytime during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text "change me" to 970-00.
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Episode Transcript
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Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.
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To get connected or to give online go to connect.hcv.church or give.hcv.church.
If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text
change me to 970-00.
Thank you and enjoy the message.
Alright I guess evil Mr. John thinks he is a football player.
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Not sure what was happening there.
I want to reiterate, well first I want to welcome you.
Thanks for hanging out with us here at HCV if you are new.
That's especially important to say we are thankful that God brought you here.
If you are watching from home thank you for welcoming us into your space, your kitchen,
your living room, wherever you may be watching.
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The announcements brought up night to shine.
This past Friday we transformed this building into a giant party.
So basically we had more than 600 people fill this place.
We had over 200 special guests and their partners that came to encourage them and help them
and over 200 volunteers and it was the party of the year.
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Let me tell you.
So a big shout out to Tracy and her team.
This is a yearly event.
I am telling you, you don't want to miss it next year.
Seeing everyone just dance and do the YMCA and sing karaoke.
I mean there was one special guest that sung way maker and karaoke and I was just in tears.
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It was amazing.
So anyway thank you to everyone that made that happen.
Reach starts tonight.
We will be serving at the cold weather shelter for serving the homeless this entire week.
Kelsey needs some helpers.
So I want to throw this out there.
She needs breakfast for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
It's real simple.
If you could serve breakfast for any of those days please show up.
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It involves no cooking.
It's cereal.
All you do is set it out.
Real simple.
And she needs overnight on Friday and Saturday.
So if you can fill those needs please see her at the Welcome Hub.
There's also mustard seeds there.
My daughter made mustard seed jars this week so if you missed them at the end of the last
series you can grab a mustard seed.
One more announcement that's kind of important.
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I need your help.
Ok I need your help with an upcoming series.
In May we are going to do a series entitled Inked.
Inked.
I-N-K-E-D.
And I need your help in that.
I need you to submit your tattoos.
So if you have a tattoo and you have a story behind it I need you to go to hcv.church forward
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slash inked.
I need a picture of your tattoo and your testimony as to why you got it.
Ok.
Why you got it.
And then your testimony, your story may be in one of my sermons in the month of May because
I'm going to build my sermons in May all around your tattoos.
How does that sound?
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But I need your what?
I need your help.
I need a picture of your tattoo and the story.
If you just send me your picture it doesn't work.
I need the story too.
Ok.
Picture and story.
Send them in.
If your story isn't chosen in the month of May every tattoo that's submitted we are going
to print out black and white copies of it and fill the cafe with your tattoos to decorate
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it.
Ok.
Lots of fun.
Lots of fun.
It's going to be hard for me to pick which one I am choosing.
But I will be submitting one of my own.
Ok.
All of my tattoos are after Jesus.
So I got a lot of stories.
Ok.
Alright.
So last week we kicked off our new series Under Armour with a challenging talk on the
struggle is spiritual.
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Right.
And we learned that we are daily in a spiritual battle against the evil rulers of this unseen
world.
Listen if you missed that talk go to our YouTube channel and tune in.
Ok.
Lives were changed last week.
The spiritual warfare is real.
Ok it's legit.
And Paul is writing to a thriving church in Ephesus very similar to ours from a prison
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cell with a Roman soldier sitting right beside him and he begins to describe the armour of
God.
As you can see this is our armour.
He's starting to get what?
Transformed.
Right.
This we've named him Maximus.
So if you want to come up and high five Maximus please do.
He's not fully done yet but we are going to cover two aspects of the armour this morning
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in Ephesians 6 14.
Stand your ground.
Put on the belt of truth and the body armour of God's righteousness.
So now listen.
I was praying this morning for our gatherings and God kind of highlighted for me that this
morning I'm going to be teaching.
Ok.
This isn't preaching.
I'm going to be teaching you about two aspects of God's armour and this is my challenge to
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you.
Don't check out.
Ok.
Don't check out because if you apply these two pieces of the armour to your life your
life will change today.
I promise it will change today.
See Paul's reasoning to highlight the armour for the church and you and me is so that we
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are equipped and empowered by Jesus to follow him in the enemy territory and bring God's
kingdom to this world.
Ok.
The way that we give our life to Jesus guess what we are in a battle.
We are in a spiritual battle and the first piece of the armour that Paul highlights is
the belt of truth and you can see this belt that wraps around Maximus in his midsection.
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Notice it's shining.
He's happy now it's cleaned up.
Now Roman soldiers during this time they would have been wearing and carrying somewhere around
70 to 80 pounds of armour daily for 12 to 15 hours on their shifts and as they are holding
this heavy armour the belts that went around their waist literally stabilised the core
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or the centre of the soldier.
So the belt that Paul is describing please hear this is not an everyday fashion belt.
Ok.
It's not a fashionista belt where you are showing it off and it's an accessory to
your clothes.
It's not a nice big thick belt with a belt buckle that says you love America or anything
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like that.
Ok.
That's not the belt we are talking about.
The belt that we are referring to in modern day terminology would have been this weight
lifting belt.
Right.
So when you use a weight lifting belt you strap it around your waist.
Ok.
You put it through and you pull it back and the reason that you put on a weight lifting
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belt for those of you that lift is because you are about to carry something very heavy.
You are about to lift something so this belt it stabilises your core.
Now why is Paul referring this to us?
Because we were not created to carry the weight of our everyday lives.
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Ok.
When we give our lives to Jesus God places a calling on our life that we are going into
this world and make a difference for Him.
And we need the belt of truth.
We need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Ok.
That's why Paul is challenging us.
Next he refers to the breastplate of righteousness.
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Now most of the weight of the armour as you can see here would have been this breastplate
of righteousness.
The breastplate it covers the front and I want you to see here the side and the back.
Right.
We know that enemies they don't just attack you from the front.
They attack you from the side and the rear because they are trying to destroy you.
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Now our enemy that we face every single day right he is facing shooting fiery darts at
us because he wants to tear down our life and destroy us.
And again the breastplate is the most crucial because it protects the vital organs.
Right.
And if your heart gets stabbed it doesn't matter how strong he is it doesn't matter
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how smart he is it doesn't matter how much money he has that blow will destroy his life.
Now today's example of the breastplate would be this.
Ok this.
Does anybody know what this is?
This is Kevlar body armour.
Ok this was given to me to borrow of course by my friend Mr. Oh he promised it would be
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heavy.
Oh my gosh.
There we go.
Ok he promised it would be heavy it's about 40 pounds.
Ok about 40 pounds of weight and of course why would I wear a Kevlar body armour?
Because it protects me right from the attacks of the enemy.
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Now you'll see many police officers you'll see many armed those in the army the armed
forces.
They wear these for protection because they are constantly being attacked and bombarded.
Now Paul is telling us about the belt of truth and this breastplate right because he desires
that the church that you and I walk this out for the long haul.
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He says you're in a race I want you to run to win.
Well in order for us to run to win we've got to be armoured up which leads us to our first
thought.
Truth stabilizes a follower of Jesus.
This belt of truth stabilizes a follower of Jesus.
Ephesians 6 13 to 14 therefore put on every piece of God's armour so you are able to resist
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the enemy in the time of evil.
Then after the battle you will still be standing firm stand your ground putting on the belt
of truth.
Now everyone knows that the core matters.
Our cores stabilize us so that we can stand up straight and continue to move forward.
Talk to any physician talk to any trainer and they're going to tell you the most important
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thing you can do for your health is lose weight and strengthen your core true or false.
Okay that's that's the key to us surviving and Paul is telling the church that as we
follow Jesus into this spiritual battle we need on a belt that will stabilize us from
the attacks of the enemy.
We need to put on the belt of truth.
We need truth literally wrapped and notice this thing is velcroed it's tight around our
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waist so that we can fight off Satan.
John 17 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world okay this is Jesus praying for
us but to keep them safe from the evil one they do not belong to this world any more
than I do make them holy by your truth.
Teach them their word which is truth.
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How do we get taught the word we have to understand the foundation of our truth is the Bible.
That's it the foundation of our truth is the Bible and as we read the Bible and apply it
to our lives suddenly our lives are supported by truth because daily we're bombarded with
distractions whether it be social media news we watch a book we're reading a show we're
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bins watching we have to learn to live by truth because the world wants to bombard us
with lies right.
The world wants to tell us what we can and can't do what's fashionable what's right but
here's the reality sometimes right sometimes it's easier to believe a lie than it is to
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wrap truth around your waist and that's what the world's going to tell you just believe
the lies because truth offends people but yet this belt of truth it fits all shapes
and sizes and it welcomes us right to build a foundation that we can stand on and please
hear me out it may not be the most comfortable belt that you've ever put on but it's essential
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for spiritual warfare not only do we need to learn about the truth we need to live it
first John 318 deal children let us not merely say that we love each other let us show the
truth by our actions in other words allow what is written in that book to become a part
of us let's be a community of faith that is known for our integrity for what we say is
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true let's be a community of faith where our relationships with one another and our families
are full of grace humility and forgiveness right we are a people right we learn this
on Friday night that reaches out to the marginalized and forgotten and we will continue to do so
because I know that God is calling us to reflect his truth right in all aspects of our life
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especially the way we speak the way we live and the way we love which leads us to our
next thought see the devil deals in deception see the tactic of the enemy is to attack truth
our enemy wants to destroy truth and he whispers in our ears to the point where we begin to
doubt what God says is true did I really experience God on that Sunday morning did I really make
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that commitment to follow Jesus can I trust God to provide for me does Jesus really heal
my body can Jesus save my marriage and these things that go through our minds and it begins
to deceive us so that we question truth which causes what the rest of the armor to become
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unstable if we take this belt off in the midst of a difficult war we are going to become
unstable John 844 for you are the children of your father the devil and you love to do
the evil things he does and this is Jesus speaking to the religious leaders remember
last week he called Peter Satan now he is calling the religious leaders you are just
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children of your father the devil in other words Jesus speaks in truth he has always
hated the truth referring to Satan because there is no truth in him when he lies it is
consistent with his character for he is a liar and a father of lies remember Satan is
a father of lies he disguises himself and manipulates our perspective he wants to destroy
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our families he wants to ruin our marriages and he wants our life to be constantly filled
with bad mistakes and bad choices the enemy tries to deceive our lives every single day
and he is going to whisper lie after lie after lie and that is why it is so important to
surround yourself on a weekly basis with other Jesus followers and it is not just Sunday
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mornings it is through the week you need to get yourself around people that are going
to encourage you and love on you because see the problem with being deceived is quite often
we do not even know it we do not even know we are deceived and how do I know that because
Satan he downplays sin he tempts us is it really that big of a deal really oh you deserve
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that go ahead and buy it oh that is what is best for you I am sure of it if it is what
makes you happy indulge in it there is no need to resist God is going to forgive you
anyway and we hear those voices and then we sin and then immediately you know what happens
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Satan completely reverses his course he tempts us we sin right and then he becomes the accuser
and he says you are not good enough for God's grace and he points fingers at us you did
that you made that choice you drank that you ate that you smoked that God is never going
to forgive you you will never have joy again and notice the claims that Satan makes in
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the accusations are directly contradicting right to the temptation yet we continue to
believe him and that is Satan's plan he tempts us into doing it into believing something
and then he accuses us when we do it but there is hope which leads us to our next thought
about the belt truth is a person and his name is Jesus truth is a person and his name is
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Jesus first John 1 14 the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen
his glory the glory of the one and only son Jesus who came from the father full of grace
and truth see the focus of our spiritual warfare isn't Satan it is not some imaginary soldier
it is Jesus see Paul wasn't using this contemporary illustration to explain spiritual warfare
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see Paul was simply reminding the church right in Ephesus of prophet Isaiah's presentation
of the warrior king that would come listen to what is written about Jesus Isaiah 11 5
he will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment see this was prophesied
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thousands and hundreds of years before Jesus even came Paul knew of the prophecies and
then he is simply teaching the church as he is looking at this soldier today our series
is called Under Armour and listen to this their mission statement Under Armour is designed
to inspire you with performance solutions you never knew you needed and you can't live
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without that is the church friends we didn't know we needed this but yet we can't live
without it Hebrews 1 1 through 3 long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our
ancestors through the prophets like Isaiah and now in these final days he has spoken
to us through his son God promised everything to the son as inheritance and through the
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son he created the universe now notice this part the son Jesus radiates God's own glory
and expresses the very character of God and he sustains everything by the mighty power
of his command if we want to know God because God is truth we have the exact representation
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of him in Jesus and how do I know that well Jesus said it himself John 14 6 excuse me
Jesus told him I am the way the truth and the life no one can come to the Father except
through me Jesus made this statement which may be the most exclusive statement in the
history of mankind basically he's saying you want to know and live by truth I'm the truth
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I am truth and nobody reconnects to the Father except through me truth is a person in his
name is Jesus and to put the belt of truth around us means one thing would Jesus do it
so is it okay if I make this really practical for you today like if we want to be a church
that's founded on Jesus I believe there's a statement that we can live by that will
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set all of this straight it's four simple letters that you may have heard before but
for some reason today in 2025 it's no longer cool it's no longer accepted and it's no longer
talked about and those four letters are WWJD now some of you think in WWJD Chris is that
a website is that a link that I click or what is that it's not a website it's four simple
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letters that are actually a principle that we can all live by and it will guide us in
the truth what would Jesus do right now this was huge back when I gave my life to Jesus
in early 2000s right WWJD was everywhere bracelets commercials shirts everybody was wearing WWJD
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and now it's gone why why is it going why is it forgotten why is the fad going because
if we actually live by that principle it would lead us into all truth and you say Chris what
you think about the four letters what would Jesus do what would Jesus do in that situation
what would Jesus do with this decision I'm about to make how would Jesus speak to my
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spouse hmm how would Jesus raise my kids how would Jesus care for the poor right how Jesus
lived is how we should live it's not our way right but some of you are saying well Chris
I believe this about the Bible but I believe this is okay for my life and I want to say
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to you okay well if it's okay for your life would it be okay for Jesus's life and see
if we compare the two and they don't line up guess what it's not okay it's not truth
Jesus understood sin and the power of it so he consistently challenges us not to live
in it and he extends grace on a daily basis when we mess up so I believe if we begin to
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adopt a mindset that Jesus is truth and what would Jesus do then suddenly 99% of all of
our problems would go away 99% of all of our addictions would Jesus smoke this would Jesus
drink this would Jesus take this chances are it would be no no and then the choice then
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is up to us now this week I did something a little different I was really challenged
by as I was preparing for this so I took my little Jesus you know there's little Jesuses
that we gave out last Easter we're gonna get him again for this Easter but anyway there's
this little Jesus figure I took my little Jesus put a glue dot and put it on the right
on the dash of my car so now everywhere I'm driving to guess what Jesus is staring right
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at me so every time I get frustrated every time I get frustrated about the car gone 20
miles an hour when I'm late to church on a Sunday morning driving up Virginia Avenue
Jesus is staring at me saying what would what would I do Chris right because all of us need
a little reminder all of us need a little reminder John 8 Jesus said to the people who
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believed in him you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful my teachings and you'll
know the truth and the truth will set you free how many of you want to be set free right
I want to be set free I want to live an abundant life right what would Jesus do and my other
challenge to you is this there isn't any reason we're not in Matthew Mark Luke and John every
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day of the week there be there shouldn't be a day that goes by that we're not in one of
those books learning who Jesus was right we you can camp out there for two years reading
Matthew Mark Luke and John over and over again and guess what you will grow spiritually I
promise you because Jesus is truth which leads us to our next thought and the breastplate
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right righteousness what is the breastplate of righteousness remember it protects our
vital organs and so many people think well Chris what's right let me define it for you
righteousness is right living so it is righteousness means right living stand your ground put on
the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness again Paul is quoting the prophet
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Isaiah how do I know that Isaiah 59 17 he put on the righteousness as his body armor
and placed the helmet of salvation on his head which we'll discuss in a few weeks he
clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion
I just want to stop there just for a second because I just I have a problem with some
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of the images I see of Jesus out there right and the one that bothers me the most is the
is the long flowing beautiful brown haired American Jesus right that just bothers me
because that's not what Jesus looks like okay and if you want an image can I let me read
this for you again all right Jesus is not some wimp right he's not just this dude that
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just was strolled through the countryside carrying in and some sheep and leading them
the way he put on righteousness as his body armor right he's a warrior the helmet of salvation
on his head and he clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a
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cloak of divine passion that is Jesus right Sam I need that tattooed on me can you work
on that for me thank you okay that's gonna be my next tattoo right there I say a 59 17
because that's what I want my Jesus to look like right and righteousness is doing the
right thing it's living God's way and Jesus is our standard of living what would Jesus
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to oh my gosh it's amazing these two build on each other Matthew 633 seek the kingdom
of God above all else live righteously he will give you everything you need and this
is the problem with the American church live righteously you know what that means don't
fake it stop faking it stop showing up on Sunday morning looking good dressed up mask
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on high-fiving everybody and smiling when your life's falling apart right if your life's
falling apart you need to be upfront here on your knees desiring to get closer to Jesus
and unfortunately the American church they love their masks they live righteously on
Sunday for a few hours right but then are a complete mess the rest of the week God doesn't
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want us to act like a follower of Jesus he wants us to be one and how do I know that
Philippians 3 for his sake I have discarded everything else counting it all as garbage
so that I could gain Christ and become one with him I no longer count on my own righteousness
through obeying the law rather I become righteous through faith in Christ for God's way of making
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his right with himself depends on faith see Jesus didn't come to earth and die so that
we can have a better version of our previous life that's not why he came Jesus didn't
come to make people who were bad a little bit better or a little bit good he came to
see people who were dead trapped in their sin alive again living in abundance righteousness
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is right living so stop faking and embrace hope which leads us to our next thought of
the breastplate righteousness guards our hearts Proverbs 423 guard your heart above all else
for it determines the course of your life the words we speak the thoughts we consider
the desires we have the decisions we make ultimately come from our hearts what we truly
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value determines everything and our heart determines what we value Paul is challenging
us with the breastplate guarded guard your heart and how do you guard your heart with
righteousness Proverbs 13 6 righteousness guards the person of integrity right we are
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born into sin our hearts naturally lead us or push us towards unrighteousness right we
want to be drifting towards unrighteousness but sadly sometimes the only thing that's
keeping us from making the righteous choice right is not the lack of sin within us but
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the lack of opportunity to carry out what our hearts truly desire for example all right
what's the difference between lust and adultery what's the difference between lust and adultery
the opportunity that's the difference if the opportunity presented itself chances are you're
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going to commit adultery because you're constantly lusting over something you shouldn't have
James 4 7 humble yourselves before God resists the devil and he will flee from you why should
we not give devil an opportunity why resist the devil why is Jesus destroying the works
of the devil why should we constantly be on alert because in each case the answer is the
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same the battle is real and it's spiritual don't enter the battle underprepared which
leads us to our final thought righteousness is embraced not earned righteousness is embraced
not earned now this is where I'm going to get a little theological for you okay this
is where I'm going to teach for you so I want to silence distractions does everyone hear
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that I don't want you looking around I don't want you high-fiving your kid I don't you
know you can kiss them and cuddle them but I need your ears listening okay this is very
important it's very important for us because if we don't get our theology correct we're
going to try to fix ourselves we're going to try to do it all in our own strength not
realizing that in order to be righteous we have to first become righteous and that's
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a gift from God we have to receive that gift righteousness is both imputed and imparted
and you're like well what does that mean imputed righteousness imputed means it's given to
us at the moment of salvation so the day that we give or gave our lives to Jesus we receive
righteousness immediately it's given to us we are justified with God which means we accept
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Jesus into our lives and God no longer looks at us through our past sin it's gone he now
looks at us through our relationship with Jesus right and it's just as if we've never
sinned that is the start of the journey and that's good news 2nd Corinthians 521 for God
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made Christ who never sinned to be the offering for our sin so that we could be made right
with God through Christ we don't have to work for it we don't have to do anything we simply
embrace it we embrace righteousness 1st Peter 2 24 he personally carried our sins in his
body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right by his wounds
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we are healed which leads us to the question so many people asked well if this is truth
if this is truth Chris which it is why do I struggle every day why is my life all messed
up well the reason is we are much more complex than we think we are we are actually made
up of our bodies which is our flesh that's the physical side of us that's the side with
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all those habits and those addictions and those struggles and temptations like our flesh
needs to be born again right that's an important step and it's important for us to understand
because quite often we get our flesh or our bodies mixed up with our spirits saying but
I still struggle with my flesh you are going to struggle with your flesh till the day you
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die did everyone hear that we are going to struggle with our flesh because we are born
into sin until the day we die because when we die we get a new heavenly body and guess
what there is no more struggles with that heavenly body but until we get it it's going
to constantly be a struggle and Jesus tells us church crucify your flesh every day he
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says take up your cross and deny it every single day so we have our body and our flesh
we also have our soul which is our mind our will and our emotions right our mind isn't
crucified Paul tells it needs to be transformed because as our mind goes guess what our body
does it follows we can't change our flesh until we daily renew our mind until we renew
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the way we think we have to get the order right and so many people in the church they
are trying to fix their struggles with their flesh when they shouldn't be focusing on that
then they get into their mind and they shouldn't be focused on that you have to first focus
on your spirit your spirit so when I ask whether or not you have given your life to Jesus that
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is what I am talking about it's the spiritual side of us and following Jesus is a spiritual
decision and this is important because if we don't transform the spirit then our soul
and our body and our flesh won't change either it all starts there and if we get it all out
of order guess what you live a frustrated life and you are constantly running into a
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wall thinking I can't do it I am not going to make it but you first have to understand
that righteousness begins with our spirits and my question to you this morning and it
is the most important question I ask every single week is have you accepted what Jesus
did on the cross it is the most important question I ask every single week a new life
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begins when our spirit is born again right we don't get a new body we don't get a new
mind our heart gets saved then our bodies and our minds have to follow so if you are
in a relationship with Jesus hear this you are righteous yes you are righteous do you
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need to become righteous yes that is our bodies and our minds we are righteous but we need
to become righteous are you saved yes if you believe in Jesus are you being saved yes
it is a both and right my spirit is saved while my body and mind are being saved every
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single day every day and it has to start with that simple question are you saved are you
saved because maybe your struggles are so overwhelming and so hard because you truly
haven't given your life to Jesus so I am going to pray a simple prayer and I am going to
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invite everyone to do it just like we do every single week and it is the most important prayer
a person would pray Jesus I am broken I am full of doubt shame regret sin change me I
believe you are God's son I believe you died for me make me new set me free fill me with
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your spirit God help me to serve others in Jesus name amen now if you prayed that for
the first time guess what you are righteous you are righteous now imparted righteousness
that is imputed imparted righteousness is working it out every single day and that is
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called sanctification why does the church use all these big words I don't know right
sanctification just means you are going to allow God to do a deep work in your life right
sanctification or righteousness begins everyone hear this from the inside out and so many
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people want to fix the outside in and that is why you are frustrated you are frustrated
because you can't fix it in your own strength it has to be from the inside out Ephesians
4 but that isn't what you learned about Christ since you have heard about Jesus and have
learned the truth that comes from him throw off your old sinful nature and your former
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way of life which is corrupted by lust and deception instead let the spirit inside your
heart renew your thoughts and attitudes put on your new nature created to be like God
truly righteous and holy there is a righteousness we embrace every single day and we have to
live it out and work it out which leads us to our action step Chris how do I do that
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daily pursuing righteousness and truth it is real simple it is one step are you ready
realize whatever you feed grows and whatever you starve dies I am going to read that again
for you whatever you feed grows whatever you starve dies and I am just going to be honest
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with you some of you are feeding the wrong things in your life some of you are feeding
the wrong things you are feeding your negative thoughts you are feeding your flesh you are
feeding your temptation you are allowing it to lead you away from God when in reality
we first need to feed our spirit if we are not feeding our spirit we are not growing
closer to Jesus we have to connect into the church we have to connect into other followers
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of Jesus most importantly we have to follow him every single day can I be honest with
you the most important thing you do every day is not your family time it is not your
breakfast it is not your workout it is not your board meeting it is not your business
it is not your work the most important thing we do every day is connect to Jesus because
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guess what your family time is going to thrive when you are connected to Jesus and if you
are not connected to Jesus and you are having a bad day your kids are going to stress you
out and you are going to want to put them to bed it is the most important thing you
do every day we need to feed our spirit it produces righteousness ok when we feed our
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spirit it produces righteousness when we feed our flesh and mind it produces rottenness
everyone get their pens out everyone get your pen down when we feed our spirit it produces
righteousness when we feed our flesh and mind it produces rottenness think of those nasty
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fruit flies that are hovering around your rotten bananas they are the worst things in
the world and the only way you get rid of rottenness is to what throw them away throw
them away what is God telling you to throw away 1 Peter 1 but now you must be holy in
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everything you do just as God who chose you as holy for the scripture say you must be
holy because I am holy we must remember the same Jesus that saves us spiritually is the
same Jesus that sanctifies us and changes us every single day when Jesus left he left
behind the Holy Spirit to empower us 1 Thessalonians 5 now may the God of peace make you holy in
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every way and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until Lord Jesus
comes again will you stand with me now listen there are some of you right now I am just
being honest with you here ok I am just being honest with you here you are fighting the
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wrong battle because you are feeding the wrong thing you have to stop feeding your flesh
you have to stop feeding your mind and you have to choose to feed your spirit when you
wake up the first thing that comes into your mind when you wake up should be gratitude
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gratitude the first thing that comes to your mind when you wake up should be a hallelujah
I am alive the first thing we do when we get downstairs should be worship in the Bible
and if you do that this week for all seven days I promise you everyone hear this I promise
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you you are going to have a week of abundance and you are going to choose to feed your spirit
which is the most important thing so God challenged me to close with the song ok then I want all
of you to either listen to or sing your choice but I felt like Rhett was supposed to sing
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this song over us and it is called a hard fall hallelujah then no matter what you are
going through no matter what is happening in your life if you choose to say hallelujah
and you choose to put Jesus first your life will be transformed amen let's sing
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there's no impossible I believe that you are working now pour it out oh pour it out
Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.
(00:15):
To get connected or to give online go to connect.hcv.church or give.hcv.church.
If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text
change me to 970-00.
Thank you and enjoy the message.
Alright I guess evil Mr. John thinks he is a football player.
(00:39):
Not sure what was happening there.
I want to reiterate, well first I want to welcome you.
Thanks for hanging out with us here at HCV if you are new.
That's especially important to say we are thankful that God brought you here.
If you are watching from home thank you for welcoming us into your space, your kitchen,
your living room, wherever you may be watching.
(00:59):
The announcements brought up night to shine.
This past Friday we transformed this building into a giant party.
So basically we had more than 600 people fill this place.
We had over 200 special guests and their partners that came to encourage them and help them
and over 200 volunteers and it was the party of the year.
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Let me tell you.
So a big shout out to Tracy and her team.
This is a yearly event.
I am telling you, you don't want to miss it next year.
Seeing everyone just dance and do the YMCA and sing karaoke.
I mean there was one special guest that sung way maker and karaoke and I was just in tears.
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It was amazing.
So anyway thank you to everyone that made that happen.
Reach starts tonight.
We will be serving at the cold weather shelter for serving the homeless this entire week.
Kelsey needs some helpers.
So I want to throw this out there.
She needs breakfast for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
It's real simple.
If you could serve breakfast for any of those days please show up.
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It involves no cooking.
It's cereal.
All you do is set it out.
Real simple.
And she needs overnight on Friday and Saturday.
So if you can fill those needs please see her at the Welcome Hub.
There's also mustard seeds there.
My daughter made mustard seed jars this week so if you missed them at the end of the last
series you can grab a mustard seed.
One more announcement that's kind of important.
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I need your help.
Ok I need your help with an upcoming series.
In May we are going to do a series entitled Inked.
Inked.
I-N-K-E-D.
And I need your help in that.
I need you to submit your tattoos.
So if you have a tattoo and you have a story behind it I need you to go to hcv.church forward
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slash inked.
I need a picture of your tattoo and your testimony as to why you got it.
Ok.
Why you got it.
And then your testimony, your story may be in one of my sermons in the month of May because
I'm going to build my sermons in May all around your tattoos.
How does that sound?
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But I need your what?
I need your help.
I need a picture of your tattoo and the story.
If you just send me your picture it doesn't work.
I need the story too.
Ok.
Picture and story.
Send them in.
If your story isn't chosen in the month of May every tattoo that's submitted we are going
to print out black and white copies of it and fill the cafe with your tattoos to decorate
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it.
Ok.
Lots of fun.
Lots of fun.
It's going to be hard for me to pick which one I am choosing.
But I will be submitting one of my own.
Ok.
All of my tattoos are after Jesus.
So I got a lot of stories.
Ok.
Alright.
So last week we kicked off our new series Under Armour with a challenging talk on the
struggle is spiritual.
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Right.
And we learned that we are daily in a spiritual battle against the evil rulers of this unseen
world.
Listen if you missed that talk go to our YouTube channel and tune in.
Ok.
Lives were changed last week.
The spiritual warfare is real.
Ok it's legit.
And Paul is writing to a thriving church in Ephesus very similar to ours from a prison
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cell with a Roman soldier sitting right beside him and he begins to describe the armour of
God.
As you can see this is our armour.
He's starting to get what?
Transformed.
Right.
This we've named him Maximus.
So if you want to come up and high five Maximus please do.
He's not fully done yet but we are going to cover two aspects of the armour this morning
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in Ephesians 6 14.
Stand your ground.
Put on the belt of truth and the body armour of God's righteousness.
So now listen.
I was praying this morning for our gatherings and God kind of highlighted for me that this
morning I'm going to be teaching.
Ok.
This isn't preaching.
I'm going to be teaching you about two aspects of God's armour and this is my challenge to
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you.
Don't check out.
Ok.
Don't check out because if you apply these two pieces of the armour to your life your
life will change today.
I promise it will change today.
See Paul's reasoning to highlight the armour for the church and you and me is so that we
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are equipped and empowered by Jesus to follow him in the enemy territory and bring God's
kingdom to this world.
Ok.
The way that we give our life to Jesus guess what we are in a battle.
We are in a spiritual battle and the first piece of the armour that Paul highlights is
the belt of truth and you can see this belt that wraps around Maximus in his midsection.
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Notice it's shining.
He's happy now it's cleaned up.
Now Roman soldiers during this time they would have been wearing and carrying somewhere around
70 to 80 pounds of armour daily for 12 to 15 hours on their shifts and as they are holding
this heavy armour the belts that went around their waist literally stabilised the core
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or the centre of the soldier.
So the belt that Paul is describing please hear this is not an everyday fashion belt.
Ok.
It's not a fashionista belt where you are showing it off and it's an accessory to
your clothes.
It's not a nice big thick belt with a belt buckle that says you love America or anything
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like that.
Ok.
That's not the belt we are talking about.
The belt that we are referring to in modern day terminology would have been this weight
lifting belt.
Right.
So when you use a weight lifting belt you strap it around your waist.
Ok.
You put it through and you pull it back and the reason that you put on a weight lifting
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belt for those of you that lift is because you are about to carry something very heavy.
You are about to lift something so this belt it stabilises your core.
Now why is Paul referring this to us?
Because we were not created to carry the weight of our everyday lives.
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Ok.
When we give our lives to Jesus God places a calling on our life that we are going into
this world and make a difference for Him.
And we need the belt of truth.
We need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Ok.
That's why Paul is challenging us.
Next he refers to the breastplate of righteousness.
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Now most of the weight of the armour as you can see here would have been this breastplate
of righteousness.
The breastplate it covers the front and I want you to see here the side and the back.
Right.
We know that enemies they don't just attack you from the front.
They attack you from the side and the rear because they are trying to destroy you.
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Now our enemy that we face every single day right he is facing shooting fiery darts at
us because he wants to tear down our life and destroy us.
And again the breastplate is the most crucial because it protects the vital organs.
Right.
And if your heart gets stabbed it doesn't matter how strong he is it doesn't matter
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how smart he is it doesn't matter how much money he has that blow will destroy his life.
Now today's example of the breastplate would be this.
Ok this.
Does anybody know what this is?
This is Kevlar body armour.
Ok this was given to me to borrow of course by my friend Mr. Oh he promised it would be
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heavy.
Oh my gosh.
There we go.
Ok he promised it would be heavy it's about 40 pounds.
Ok about 40 pounds of weight and of course why would I wear a Kevlar body armour?
Because it protects me right from the attacks of the enemy.
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Now you'll see many police officers you'll see many armed those in the army the armed
forces.
They wear these for protection because they are constantly being attacked and bombarded.
Now Paul is telling us about the belt of truth and this breastplate right because he desires
that the church that you and I walk this out for the long haul.
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He says you're in a race I want you to run to win.
Well in order for us to run to win we've got to be armoured up which leads us to our first
thought.
Truth stabilizes a follower of Jesus.
This belt of truth stabilizes a follower of Jesus.
Ephesians 6 13 to 14 therefore put on every piece of God's armour so you are able to resist
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the enemy in the time of evil.
Then after the battle you will still be standing firm stand your ground putting on the belt
of truth.
Now everyone knows that the core matters.
Our cores stabilize us so that we can stand up straight and continue to move forward.
Talk to any physician talk to any trainer and they're going to tell you the most important
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thing you can do for your health is lose weight and strengthen your core true or false.
Okay that's that's the key to us surviving and Paul is telling the church that as we
follow Jesus into this spiritual battle we need on a belt that will stabilize us from
the attacks of the enemy.
We need to put on the belt of truth.
We need truth literally wrapped and notice this thing is velcroed it's tight around our
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waist so that we can fight off Satan.
John 17 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world okay this is Jesus praying for
us but to keep them safe from the evil one they do not belong to this world any more
than I do make them holy by your truth.
Teach them their word which is truth.
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How do we get taught the word we have to understand the foundation of our truth is the Bible.
That's it the foundation of our truth is the Bible and as we read the Bible and apply it
to our lives suddenly our lives are supported by truth because daily we're bombarded with
distractions whether it be social media news we watch a book we're reading a show we're
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bins watching we have to learn to live by truth because the world wants to bombard us
with lies right.
The world wants to tell us what we can and can't do what's fashionable what's right but
here's the reality sometimes right sometimes it's easier to believe a lie than it is to
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wrap truth around your waist and that's what the world's going to tell you just believe
the lies because truth offends people but yet this belt of truth it fits all shapes
and sizes and it welcomes us right to build a foundation that we can stand on and please
hear me out it may not be the most comfortable belt that you've ever put on but it's essential
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for spiritual warfare not only do we need to learn about the truth we need to live it
first John 318 deal children let us not merely say that we love each other let us show the
truth by our actions in other words allow what is written in that book to become a part
of us let's be a community of faith that is known for our integrity for what we say is
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true let's be a community of faith where our relationships with one another and our families
are full of grace humility and forgiveness right we are a people right we learn this
on Friday night that reaches out to the marginalized and forgotten and we will continue to do so
because I know that God is calling us to reflect his truth right in all aspects of our life
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especially the way we speak the way we live and the way we love which leads us to our
next thought see the devil deals in deception see the tactic of the enemy is to attack truth
our enemy wants to destroy truth and he whispers in our ears to the point where we begin to
doubt what God says is true did I really experience God on that Sunday morning did I really make
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that commitment to follow Jesus can I trust God to provide for me does Jesus really heal
my body can Jesus save my marriage and these things that go through our minds and it begins
to deceive us so that we question truth which causes what the rest of the armor to become
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unstable if we take this belt off in the midst of a difficult war we are going to become
unstable John 844 for you are the children of your father the devil and you love to do
the evil things he does and this is Jesus speaking to the religious leaders remember
last week he called Peter Satan now he is calling the religious leaders you are just
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children of your father the devil in other words Jesus speaks in truth he has always
hated the truth referring to Satan because there is no truth in him when he lies it is
consistent with his character for he is a liar and a father of lies remember Satan is
a father of lies he disguises himself and manipulates our perspective he wants to destroy
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our families he wants to ruin our marriages and he wants our life to be constantly filled
with bad mistakes and bad choices the enemy tries to deceive our lives every single day
and he is going to whisper lie after lie after lie and that is why it is so important to
surround yourself on a weekly basis with other Jesus followers and it is not just Sunday
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mornings it is through the week you need to get yourself around people that are going
to encourage you and love on you because see the problem with being deceived is quite often
we do not even know it we do not even know we are deceived and how do I know that because
Satan he downplays sin he tempts us is it really that big of a deal really oh you deserve
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that go ahead and buy it oh that is what is best for you I am sure of it if it is what
makes you happy indulge in it there is no need to resist God is going to forgive you
anyway and we hear those voices and then we sin and then immediately you know what happens
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Satan completely reverses his course he tempts us we sin right and then he becomes the accuser
and he says you are not good enough for God's grace and he points fingers at us you did
that you made that choice you drank that you ate that you smoked that God is never going
to forgive you you will never have joy again and notice the claims that Satan makes in
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the accusations are directly contradicting right to the temptation yet we continue to
believe him and that is Satan's plan he tempts us into doing it into believing something
and then he accuses us when we do it but there is hope which leads us to our next thought
about the belt truth is a person and his name is Jesus truth is a person and his name is
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Jesus first John 1 14 the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen
his glory the glory of the one and only son Jesus who came from the father full of grace
and truth see the focus of our spiritual warfare isn't Satan it is not some imaginary soldier
it is Jesus see Paul wasn't using this contemporary illustration to explain spiritual warfare
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see Paul was simply reminding the church right in Ephesus of prophet Isaiah's presentation
of the warrior king that would come listen to what is written about Jesus Isaiah 11 5
he will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment see this was prophesied
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thousands and hundreds of years before Jesus even came Paul knew of the prophecies and
then he is simply teaching the church as he is looking at this soldier today our series
is called Under Armour and listen to this their mission statement Under Armour is designed
to inspire you with performance solutions you never knew you needed and you can't live
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without that is the church friends we didn't know we needed this but yet we can't live
without it Hebrews 1 1 through 3 long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our
ancestors through the prophets like Isaiah and now in these final days he has spoken
to us through his son God promised everything to the son as inheritance and through the
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son he created the universe now notice this part the son Jesus radiates God's own glory
and expresses the very character of God and he sustains everything by the mighty power
of his command if we want to know God because God is truth we have the exact representation
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of him in Jesus and how do I know that well Jesus said it himself John 14 6 excuse me
Jesus told him I am the way the truth and the life no one can come to the Father except
through me Jesus made this statement which may be the most exclusive statement in the
history of mankind basically he's saying you want to know and live by truth I'm the truth
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I am truth and nobody reconnects to the Father except through me truth is a person in his
name is Jesus and to put the belt of truth around us means one thing would Jesus do it
so is it okay if I make this really practical for you today like if we want to be a church
that's founded on Jesus I believe there's a statement that we can live by that will
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set all of this straight it's four simple letters that you may have heard before but
for some reason today in 2025 it's no longer cool it's no longer accepted and it's no longer
talked about and those four letters are WWJD now some of you think in WWJD Chris is that
a website is that a link that I click or what is that it's not a website it's four simple
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letters that are actually a principle that we can all live by and it will guide us in
the truth what would Jesus do right now this was huge back when I gave my life to Jesus
in early 2000s right WWJD was everywhere bracelets commercials shirts everybody was wearing WWJD
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and now it's gone why why is it going why is it forgotten why is the fad going because
if we actually live by that principle it would lead us into all truth and you say Chris what
you think about the four letters what would Jesus do what would Jesus do in that situation
what would Jesus do with this decision I'm about to make how would Jesus speak to my
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spouse hmm how would Jesus raise my kids how would Jesus care for the poor right how Jesus
lived is how we should live it's not our way right but some of you are saying well Chris
I believe this about the Bible but I believe this is okay for my life and I want to say
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to you okay well if it's okay for your life would it be okay for Jesus's life and see
if we compare the two and they don't line up guess what it's not okay it's not truth
Jesus understood sin and the power of it so he consistently challenges us not to live
in it and he extends grace on a daily basis when we mess up so I believe if we begin to
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adopt a mindset that Jesus is truth and what would Jesus do then suddenly 99% of all of
our problems would go away 99% of all of our addictions would Jesus smoke this would Jesus
drink this would Jesus take this chances are it would be no no and then the choice then
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is up to us now this week I did something a little different I was really challenged
by as I was preparing for this so I took my little Jesus you know there's little Jesuses
that we gave out last Easter we're gonna get him again for this Easter but anyway there's
this little Jesus figure I took my little Jesus put a glue dot and put it on the right
on the dash of my car so now everywhere I'm driving to guess what Jesus is staring right
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at me so every time I get frustrated every time I get frustrated about the car gone 20
miles an hour when I'm late to church on a Sunday morning driving up Virginia Avenue
Jesus is staring at me saying what would what would I do Chris right because all of us need
a little reminder all of us need a little reminder John 8 Jesus said to the people who
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believed in him you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful my teachings and you'll
know the truth and the truth will set you free how many of you want to be set free right
I want to be set free I want to live an abundant life right what would Jesus do and my other
challenge to you is this there isn't any reason we're not in Matthew Mark Luke and John every
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day of the week there be there shouldn't be a day that goes by that we're not in one of
those books learning who Jesus was right we you can camp out there for two years reading
Matthew Mark Luke and John over and over again and guess what you will grow spiritually I
promise you because Jesus is truth which leads us to our next thought and the breastplate
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right righteousness what is the breastplate of righteousness remember it protects our
vital organs and so many people think well Chris what's right let me define it for you
righteousness is right living so it is righteousness means right living stand your ground put on
the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness again Paul is quoting the prophet
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Isaiah how do I know that Isaiah 59 17 he put on the righteousness as his body armor
and placed the helmet of salvation on his head which we'll discuss in a few weeks he
clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion
I just want to stop there just for a second because I just I have a problem with some
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of the images I see of Jesus out there right and the one that bothers me the most is the
is the long flowing beautiful brown haired American Jesus right that just bothers me
because that's not what Jesus looks like okay and if you want an image can I let me read
this for you again all right Jesus is not some wimp right he's not just this dude that
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just was strolled through the countryside carrying in and some sheep and leading them
the way he put on righteousness as his body armor right he's a warrior the helmet of salvation
on his head and he clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a
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cloak of divine passion that is Jesus right Sam I need that tattooed on me can you work
on that for me thank you okay that's gonna be my next tattoo right there I say a 59 17
because that's what I want my Jesus to look like right and righteousness is doing the
right thing it's living God's way and Jesus is our standard of living what would Jesus
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to oh my gosh it's amazing these two build on each other Matthew 633 seek the kingdom
of God above all else live righteously he will give you everything you need and this
is the problem with the American church live righteously you know what that means don't
fake it stop faking it stop showing up on Sunday morning looking good dressed up mask
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on high-fiving everybody and smiling when your life's falling apart right if your life's
falling apart you need to be upfront here on your knees desiring to get closer to Jesus
and unfortunately the American church they love their masks they live righteously on
Sunday for a few hours right but then are a complete mess the rest of the week God doesn't
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want us to act like a follower of Jesus he wants us to be one and how do I know that
Philippians 3 for his sake I have discarded everything else counting it all as garbage
so that I could gain Christ and become one with him I no longer count on my own righteousness
through obeying the law rather I become righteous through faith in Christ for God's way of making
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his right with himself depends on faith see Jesus didn't come to earth and die so that
we can have a better version of our previous life that's not why he came Jesus didn't
come to make people who were bad a little bit better or a little bit good he came to
see people who were dead trapped in their sin alive again living in abundance righteousness
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is right living so stop faking and embrace hope which leads us to our next thought of
the breastplate righteousness guards our hearts Proverbs 423 guard your heart above all else
for it determines the course of your life the words we speak the thoughts we consider
the desires we have the decisions we make ultimately come from our hearts what we truly
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value determines everything and our heart determines what we value Paul is challenging
us with the breastplate guarded guard your heart and how do you guard your heart with
righteousness Proverbs 13 6 righteousness guards the person of integrity right we are
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born into sin our hearts naturally lead us or push us towards unrighteousness right we
want to be drifting towards unrighteousness but sadly sometimes the only thing that's
keeping us from making the righteous choice right is not the lack of sin within us but
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the lack of opportunity to carry out what our hearts truly desire for example all right
what's the difference between lust and adultery what's the difference between lust and adultery
the opportunity that's the difference if the opportunity presented itself chances are you're
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going to commit adultery because you're constantly lusting over something you shouldn't have
James 4 7 humble yourselves before God resists the devil and he will flee from you why should
we not give devil an opportunity why resist the devil why is Jesus destroying the works
of the devil why should we constantly be on alert because in each case the answer is the
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same the battle is real and it's spiritual don't enter the battle underprepared which
leads us to our final thought righteousness is embraced not earned righteousness is embraced
not earned now this is where I'm going to get a little theological for you okay this
is where I'm going to teach for you so I want to silence distractions does everyone hear
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that I don't want you looking around I don't want you high-fiving your kid I don't you
know you can kiss them and cuddle them but I need your ears listening okay this is very
important it's very important for us because if we don't get our theology correct we're
going to try to fix ourselves we're going to try to do it all in our own strength not
realizing that in order to be righteous we have to first become righteous and that's
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a gift from God we have to receive that gift righteousness is both imputed and imparted
and you're like well what does that mean imputed righteousness imputed means it's given to
us at the moment of salvation so the day that we give or gave our lives to Jesus we receive
righteousness immediately it's given to us we are justified with God which means we accept
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Jesus into our lives and God no longer looks at us through our past sin it's gone he now
looks at us through our relationship with Jesus right and it's just as if we've never
sinned that is the start of the journey and that's good news 2nd Corinthians 521 for God
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made Christ who never sinned to be the offering for our sin so that we could be made right
with God through Christ we don't have to work for it we don't have to do anything we simply
embrace it we embrace righteousness 1st Peter 2 24 he personally carried our sins in his
body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right by his wounds
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we are healed which leads us to the question so many people asked well if this is truth
if this is truth Chris which it is why do I struggle every day why is my life all messed
up well the reason is we are much more complex than we think we are we are actually made
up of our bodies which is our flesh that's the physical side of us that's the side with
(31:09):
all those habits and those addictions and those struggles and temptations like our flesh
needs to be born again right that's an important step and it's important for us to understand
because quite often we get our flesh or our bodies mixed up with our spirits saying but
I still struggle with my flesh you are going to struggle with your flesh till the day you
(31:32):
die did everyone hear that we are going to struggle with our flesh because we are born
into sin until the day we die because when we die we get a new heavenly body and guess
what there is no more struggles with that heavenly body but until we get it it's going
to constantly be a struggle and Jesus tells us church crucify your flesh every day he
(31:55):
says take up your cross and deny it every single day so we have our body and our flesh
we also have our soul which is our mind our will and our emotions right our mind isn't
crucified Paul tells it needs to be transformed because as our mind goes guess what our body
does it follows we can't change our flesh until we daily renew our mind until we renew
(32:23):
the way we think we have to get the order right and so many people in the church they
are trying to fix their struggles with their flesh when they shouldn't be focusing on that
then they get into their mind and they shouldn't be focused on that you have to first focus
on your spirit your spirit so when I ask whether or not you have given your life to Jesus that
(32:48):
is what I am talking about it's the spiritual side of us and following Jesus is a spiritual
decision and this is important because if we don't transform the spirit then our soul
and our body and our flesh won't change either it all starts there and if we get it all out
of order guess what you live a frustrated life and you are constantly running into a
(33:10):
wall thinking I can't do it I am not going to make it but you first have to understand
that righteousness begins with our spirits and my question to you this morning and it
is the most important question I ask every single week is have you accepted what Jesus
did on the cross it is the most important question I ask every single week a new life
(33:33):
begins when our spirit is born again right we don't get a new body we don't get a new
mind our heart gets saved then our bodies and our minds have to follow so if you are
in a relationship with Jesus hear this you are righteous yes you are righteous do you
(33:53):
need to become righteous yes that is our bodies and our minds we are righteous but we need
to become righteous are you saved yes if you believe in Jesus are you being saved yes
it is a both and right my spirit is saved while my body and mind are being saved every
(34:16):
single day every day and it has to start with that simple question are you saved are you
saved because maybe your struggles are so overwhelming and so hard because you truly
haven't given your life to Jesus so I am going to pray a simple prayer and I am going to
(34:37):
invite everyone to do it just like we do every single week and it is the most important prayer
a person would pray Jesus I am broken I am full of doubt shame regret sin change me I
believe you are God's son I believe you died for me make me new set me free fill me with
(35:03):
your spirit God help me to serve others in Jesus name amen now if you prayed that for
the first time guess what you are righteous you are righteous now imparted righteousness
that is imputed imparted righteousness is working it out every single day and that is
(35:26):
called sanctification why does the church use all these big words I don't know right
sanctification just means you are going to allow God to do a deep work in your life right
sanctification or righteousness begins everyone hear this from the inside out and so many
(35:47):
people want to fix the outside in and that is why you are frustrated you are frustrated
because you can't fix it in your own strength it has to be from the inside out Ephesians
4 but that isn't what you learned about Christ since you have heard about Jesus and have
learned the truth that comes from him throw off your old sinful nature and your former
(36:09):
way of life which is corrupted by lust and deception instead let the spirit inside your
heart renew your thoughts and attitudes put on your new nature created to be like God
truly righteous and holy there is a righteousness we embrace every single day and we have to
live it out and work it out which leads us to our action step Chris how do I do that
(36:33):
daily pursuing righteousness and truth it is real simple it is one step are you ready
realize whatever you feed grows and whatever you starve dies I am going to read that again
for you whatever you feed grows whatever you starve dies and I am just going to be honest
(36:56):
with you some of you are feeding the wrong things in your life some of you are feeding
the wrong things you are feeding your negative thoughts you are feeding your flesh you are
feeding your temptation you are allowing it to lead you away from God when in reality
we first need to feed our spirit if we are not feeding our spirit we are not growing
closer to Jesus we have to connect into the church we have to connect into other followers
(37:20):
of Jesus most importantly we have to follow him every single day can I be honest with
you the most important thing you do every day is not your family time it is not your
breakfast it is not your workout it is not your board meeting it is not your business
it is not your work the most important thing we do every day is connect to Jesus because
(37:41):
guess what your family time is going to thrive when you are connected to Jesus and if you
are not connected to Jesus and you are having a bad day your kids are going to stress you
out and you are going to want to put them to bed it is the most important thing you
do every day we need to feed our spirit it produces righteousness ok when we feed our
(38:05):
spirit it produces righteousness when we feed our flesh and mind it produces rottenness
everyone get their pens out everyone get your pen down when we feed our spirit it produces
righteousness when we feed our flesh and mind it produces rottenness think of those nasty
(38:31):
fruit flies that are hovering around your rotten bananas they are the worst things in
the world and the only way you get rid of rottenness is to what throw them away throw
them away what is God telling you to throw away 1 Peter 1 but now you must be holy in
(38:51):
everything you do just as God who chose you as holy for the scripture say you must be
holy because I am holy we must remember the same Jesus that saves us spiritually is the
same Jesus that sanctifies us and changes us every single day when Jesus left he left
behind the Holy Spirit to empower us 1 Thessalonians 5 now may the God of peace make you holy in
(39:17):
every way and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until Lord Jesus
comes again will you stand with me now listen there are some of you right now I am just
being honest with you here ok I am just being honest with you here you are fighting the
(39:40):
wrong battle because you are feeding the wrong thing you have to stop feeding your flesh
you have to stop feeding your mind and you have to choose to feed your spirit when you
wake up the first thing that comes into your mind when you wake up should be gratitude
(40:00):
gratitude the first thing that comes to your mind when you wake up should be a hallelujah
I am alive the first thing we do when we get downstairs should be worship in the Bible
and if you do that this week for all seven days I promise you everyone hear this I promise
(40:24):
you you are going to have a week of abundance and you are going to choose to feed your spirit
which is the most important thing so God challenged me to close with the song ok then I want all
of you to either listen to or sing your choice but I felt like Rhett was supposed to sing
(40:45):
this song over us and it is called a hard fall hallelujah then no matter what you are
going through no matter what is happening in your life if you choose to say hallelujah
and you choose to put Jesus first your life will be transformed amen let's sing
(41:05):
there's no impossible I believe that you are working now pour it out oh pour it out
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