Body Armor: Ephesians 6:15

James 1:1-4
Ephesians 6:15 ...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Be ready, because Satan is coming to try and attack you. Roman soldiers' shoes were strapped on tightly and had spikes on the bottom so that they could dig in and withstand the attack.
Peace - calm and tranquility in the midst of turmoil. This is the opposite of anxiety and worry.
1. Peace of God/Peace of Salvation: Genuine peace starts with the knowledge of our sin and salvation. Ephesians 2:1, 4-5, 8-9, 14, 17-18. Jesus came to bring peace with God. Rom 5:1
2. Peace of provision: God will provide for those who have been saved. Mt 6:25-33, Eccl 2:4-11
3. Peace of protection: If you are saved, rejoice, pray and give thanks to God that He protects us and gives us peace that passes all understanding. Phil 4:4-7
God gives us strength to choose peace every day. Jn 14:25-27

Body Armor: Ephesians 6:14b

Ephesians 6:14b ...the breastplate of righteousness...
Breastplate - a chest protector that would protect your vital organs.
Righteousness - doing the right thing according to God's Word, my response to God's truth. Righteousness is not self-righteousness: to follow all of God's rules on your own (legalism). Phil 3:3-9
1. Positional righteousness: (imputed righteousness): the righteousness of Christ - his sinless life traded for my sinful life, placed upon me because of the Lord's love for me. 2 Cor 5:21. Good sees us as perfect through Jesus. Rom 3:20-22.
2. Practical righteousness: the appropriation of the righteousness of Christ (sanctification). 2 Cor 5:17, 1 Jn 3:10, 1 Tim 6:11. The breastplate of righteousness protects our heart, living this out protects us from Satan. Prov 4:23 Guard your heart!
Spend time in the Word. James 1:22-24, don't stay the same if you see sin in your life.

Body Armor: Ephesians 6:14a

Ephesians 6:14a "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist."
Jn 8:44 Satan is the father of lies. His greatest lie is "there is no thing as absolute truth."
Lies:
Secularism - to make everything worldly
Humanism - I can do it on my own, I don't need God
Relativism - what's relative to you is not relative to me
Religious pluralism - believing that 2 or more religions are true
Religion within Christianity - counterfeit gospels within Christianity

Truth - the self expression of God. Jn 17:17 sanctified through the word, Jn 1:14 the word became flesh (Jesus).
The "belt" was the centerpiece of the Romans' armor, it held everything in place.
Stand firm with the proper armor! Eph 4:14

Body Armor: Ephesians 6:10-13

Ephesians 6:10-13
1. Our strength is in the Lord. v10. We are called to live a life worthy of the Lord, but can only do this through His strength.  Phil 4:13.
2. We have a real enemy! v10. Our enemy is Satan - v12. Struggle- almost like a fight to the death. Satan has no good intentions for those who follow Christ. Jn 8:44. v11 - Satan is a schemer and deceiver. He studies us and knows all about us, knows where we are weak and exactly where to attack. We have to be prepared by putting in the armor of God. Satan most often operates in the area of "almost right."
3. Our response is not to be fear, but readiness! (v11, 13 Put on the armor!)
4. Stand firm!! v13-14. Stand your ground with your armor of God. You are standing in His strength, with His protection. 2 Kings 6:8-17.

Ephesians 6:1-4

Ephesians 6:1-4
The best thing our kids can see from us:
1. Our love of Jesus
2. Our love of our spouse

Ephesians 6:4 We are called to:
1. Lovingly lead with controlled authority
2. Actively lead with humility
3. Purposely lead with training and instruction in the Lord. One way to correct our children is to correct the example we are setting for them.

Ephesians 4:25-32

Ephesians 4:25-32
If Jesus has changed our lives, we will not continue in our old sinful patterns. Here are some things that are not characteristic of our new self:
- Lying v25, Jn 8:44, we need to be truthful
- Sinful anger v26-27, we need to deal with our anger, do not hold on to it or it will give the devil a foothold in our lives.
- Stealing v28, do honest work and share with others.
- Unwholesome talk v29, we need to be in control of our tongues. Speak in a way that is helpful, beneficial, life giving, and appropriate. Jas 3:1-12.
- Do not grieve the Holy Spirit v30
v32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgive one another.

Ephesians 4:17-24

Ephesians 4:17-24 Do not live as someone who is far from God. Put off the old self and live as someone who has been made new in Christ.
v 17-19 People who are far from God are not thinking correctly, they are darkened in their understanding, ignorant of the truth, and separated from God. They become calloused and give themselves over to sin. What we do best apart from God is sin. All we need to do to see this in action is to watch the news. We must realize that we are all one step away from ending up on the news, and not one of us would want our life decisions shown on the big screen.
v 20-24 We need good Godly teaching to learn about Christ. Our old self is a liar, trying to deceive us and tempt us into sin. We need to put off the old self. Rom 7:21-25, Gal 5:16-17. Which one will win-the old self or new self? It's the one you feed the most. We should put on the new self, created to be like God. 2 Cor 5:17. This is not just a "better" version of ourselves, for there is nothing good in us. It's God's version of us, which is better by far. We are not bad people trying to be good. We are dead people made alive in Christ, who want to be more like Jesus.