Word Outreach Podcast - Encouragement in Christianity with Rudy Vaughan Rudy Vaughan

Temptation and discouragement do not have to stop us in our tracks. Our shield of faith can protect against any spiritual arrow the enemy wants to shoot at us.   Paul knew that the Roman soldiers were equipped for success in battle. The fact that he used their armor as an illustration says a great deal about what he believed our chances for victory are in spiritual battle. Today, we are looking at the fourth kind of spiritual armor from Ephesians 6. In Today's episode: What does a spiritual arrow from the enemy look like? How can we 'Take up the Shield of Faith' like Paul says to do? Why would the enemy want to target us? How our response to his attacks can be the preparation we need to go forward and do great things for God in the future. Hear missionaries talk about their strategic plans to take the Gospel to another land. Ephesians 6:16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. Illustration of the Roman soldier used by Paul in chapter 6
Paul spent lots of time around the Roman soldiers of his day. One time he had as many as 470 with him while he was being moved from one location to another (Acts 23:23)
Roman soldiers were very successful agains their enemies…
3 Reasons for Success
Equipment
Physical Training
Mindset
Equipment ~ Shield
-size of a small door (2 ft by 4ft)
-thin strips of wood glued together and covered in canvas and leather
-in middle, a round knob made of iron; used to knock down the enemy
-shield weighed almost 22 pounds
Physical Training
-Endurance exercises including marching—have to travel about 20 miles in 5 hours, with all equipment on!
-Fighting exercises including practicing strategic ways to use shields/different formation
1 More item necessary for survival…
Mindset!
Soldiers on the battlefield, closing in on the enemy, approaching enemy fortress…
Critical moment that reveals whether the soldier has an attitude of trust in his leader.
Their leader decides what formation to use
Soldier could just try to protect himself…OR obey his leader and move into formation
If there is going to be success, soldiers have to completely trust their leader
Not only must he trust the ability of the leader to make good decisions, but also the leader’s character!
-Trust that the leader was there to help, not secretly planning to hurt
-Trust that the leader has best intentions and planning for the army’s success.
Having this mindset of trusting the leader would have been critical, because if you really trusted him, you would naturally obey. You would take your shield, and move into the correct formation that the leader has decided to use.
Recognizing the Spiritual Arrows
There are spiritual attacks by our enemy, meant to target us in a particular way…keeping us from standing strong in the Lord.
Understanding about these arrows will help us know how to use the shield of faith.
4 Main Parts of an Arrow Analogy
The Nock: Reminds me of the timing of the shot. Enemy waits for just the right timing.
The Fletching: Reminds me of the topic or subject area Satan will use to keep arrow on target.
The Shaft: Reminds me of the actual deception; the goal of the enemy getting us to believe a lie about God.
The Arrowhead: There are different types of arrowheads for different situations. The arrowhead is what this weapon is all about. The other 3 parts work together to accomplish 1 goal: getting the arrowhead on target.
The arrowhead reminds me about:
the kind of wound Satan wants us to have.
And the best way to explain it is to show you what it looks like in action.
First, we have to take a close look at the day Satan shot his first arrow at humans, in Genesis 3
Satan waits for the perfect timing (the nock). Eve seems to be near the tree with the forbidden fruit and it appears that God is not talking with them right now, like in the past. Satan waits for just the right time.
The topic Satan uses to

Wearing the right kind of shoes was critical for the Roman soldier, and the Gospel of Peace shoes are important for us, as well. It's our third kind of spiritual armor from Ephesians 6. In Today's episode: What are the Gospel of Peace shoes?
How can we wear them?
2 Tricks of the enemy, and how these shoes can help us to stand strong against these tricks
How wearing these shoes can be a help to us in putting on the rest of the armor
Hear missionaries from Niger, West Africa In Ephesians 6, the next piece of spiritual armor Paul wants Christians to wear is a pair of the right kind of shoes. Verse 15 “…And, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” What is the Gospel of Peace? 4 chapters before Paul talks about having our feet prepared with the Gospel of Peace, there is a passage where Paul mentions “Peace” four times in Ephesians 2:13-19. In this section, the Author of peach is mentioned, as well as 2 groups that were once fighting and now have peace. The 2 groups: Those who were “far off” in verse 13, (the Gentiles), and those who were “near” in verse 17 (the Jews).
Why was one group considered far off from God and the other considered near?
Gentiles were anyone who was not a Jew. God’s laws didn’t come to them, and they didn’t perform the Old Testament sacrifices. The Jews, however, were near to God. They were His people, and they had received God’s laws and did the sacrifices. There was huge hostility between these 2 groups, and many Jews had great pride in being God’s “chosen people”.
Christ is our peace in that Christians have been brought near to God through his death, and also in that He establishes unity among people by His death. So keeping the law is no longer a requirement for having peace with God. Jesus is our peace.
4 important questions about the unity that Jesus creates.
1. Why would Jesus do all this?
So that He may present a unified body of believers to the Father.
2. Why would He want to present the unified body to the Father?
(John 17:11 “…that they may be one, even as we are one.” Here, Jesus expresses to the Father that he wants those who believe in Him to be one. Also verses 11, 21-23.)
The unified believers would serve as evidence to others that Jesus was truly from God.
3. How is this evidence that Jesus is from God?
This is evidence, because nobody else could bring together people who have such bad feelings toward each other…and help them consider one another as family! Only one sent from God could do this.
4. How did this unity happen?
It came about through the cross of Christ! Ephesians 2:16.
And this last important fact is what Satan does not want people to know: that true and lasting peace only comes through Jesus, and what he did for us on the cross.
Jesus wanted to take groups that were fighting, break down the barriers, and bring them as one body into a relationship with God. (Ephesians 2)
A reason that Jesus wanted his followers to be unified is so the world would believe that He was sent from God. (John 17)
This would be amazing evidence! And it would only happen by the cross.
Through his act of sacrificing himself, he has brought the message of peace. And it is a message that the enemy wants to hide, and even use Christians to hide it.
Which brings us to the two schemes of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
The first trick that Satan uses to hide the message (that peace comes through Christ and His cross) is that he wants us to think that what unifies Christians the most -our greatest bond- is something other than the cross.
We all come to God the same way, by the blood of Jesus, and so there is no room for pride. No one is less deserving of God’s judgment for sin than the other.
Of course, we all have various views on different things…
-traditions in the church
-interpretation of

What if God's Character was the greatest influence on our life? It would mean protection for our mind, will and emotions. In Today's Episode we learn about the second piece of spiritual armor from Ephesians 6.
How to wear the Breastplate of Righteousness  The areas of protection The story of the changed life of Moses Interview from Singapore about missions What is the greatest influence on your life? What influences your thoughts, desires, and emotions? 3 Areas targeted by our spiritual enemy
the way we think our desires, our emotions The Breastplate of Righteousness, from Ephesians 6;14, can protect us in each of these areas. The physical breastplate of the Roman soldier in Paul's day was constructed of  bronze or iron, and held together by leather cords or buckles. It protected the soldier’s vital organs. Two of those were the heart and stomach.
The heart is linked to 2 areas in Scripture:
 the way we think about life our desires The stomach and intestines area is linked with our emotions in Scripture.
Verses about our heart and thinking:
Matthew 9:4 “But Jesus, knowing their evil thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart . . .”
Proverbs 16:16 “The plans of the heart belong to man…”
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Verses about our heart and desires:
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 20:4 "May he grant you your heart's desire."
Besides the heart, the breastplate also protected the stomach and intestines areas.
Verses about our emotions:
Have you ever felt excited or nervous about something, and felt it in your stomach a bit?
In the original language the New Testament was written in (Greek), the word used for the intestines in Acts 1:18,  referring to the intestines of Judas gushing out of him after he fell to the ground when he was hung,  (Strong's Number G4698) is the same word used for "heart" in Colossians 3:12 where the heart of compassion is mentioned.
Colossians 3:12 “. . . put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
A form of this same Greek word is also used in Matthew 20:34 when it says, "Moved with compassion."
Matthew 20:34 “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed him.”
This reference to the stomach / intestines and bowels area was mentioned in connection with emotions in the culture of the day.
Back in Ephesians, the Breastplate of Righteousness physically covers 2 areas of a person (the heart and stomach/intestines area) that which are also linked in Scripture with 3 areas in a person’s life:  the thinking, the desires, and the emotions. God offers protection for these parts that are targeted by the enemy.
The word “righteousness”
Synonyms of righteousness are: integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting
Question “whose righteousness protects us ?”  God's righteousness.
Philippians 3:9 “…and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith...”
2 Ways that God's righteousness protects us:
In one way, God’s own righteousness already protects the Christian: from future judgment (Hebrews 9:27) In another way, His righteousness is available to protect us in this life, if we choose to wear it. Have you ever heard anyone talk to you about hanging out with the right kind of people? It’s important to have our closest friends be people of high character. These 2 verses in Proverbs provide wisdom about the powerful influence people can have on one another.
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
Prov

Protecting our respect for the Truth of God’s Word is the first line of defense against the attack from our spiritual enemy.   The battle is real. The enemy is serious. But our God is much more powerful! Living with His armor is the key to living in victory. Don’t go through life without wearing the armor. Today, learn how to live with the Belt of Truth on. In today’s episode: 2 Important facts you should know about our spiritual enemy
The Devil’s background, strategy, limitation and future
4 steps for living with God’s protection: the Belt of Truth
Interview about short-term missions with Wayne and Nancy Reigel 1st Fact about our enemy: He is serious about doing damage  We know our enemy is serious about doing damage because:
He takes the time to come up with schemes; he is tricky and crafty.
Genesis 3:1 – Satan questioned God’s Word.
2 Corinthians 11:14 – Appears as an angel of light
We know our enemy is serious about doing damage because: 
We see the results of his very effective system that plays on our weakness.
Ephesians 6: 12 – He has a large, well-organized group of fallen angels that work for him. This organization has brought him a lot of success.

Examples: Satan has had success with …
those who were dedicated to God from birth (Samson’s story in Judges 13-16)
those who had a parent involved in ministry (the priest Eli and his sons, 1 Samuel 2-3)
even the wisest man who ever lived! (Solomon, 1 Kings 11) Even his heart was turned away from God.
No one is immune to being targeted by the enemy.
2nd Fact about our enemy: He is not in total control 
Ephesians 6:13 With God it is possible to stand firm!
Reminders for us that Satan is not in total control:
He was cast out of heaven by God (Ezekiel 28:12-13, Isaiah 14:12-15, Luke 10:18)
He has to submit to God’s limitations on how far he can go in hurting people (Job 1)
We see Jesus casting out demons, and others who cast them out in Jesus’s name (New Testament)
One day, God will put Satan away forever! (Revelation 20:10)
The first area of attack is against our respect for the truth of God’s Word, so the armor we need is the Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14) 
Steps for living with the Belt of Truth:
Example from King Josiah 
Allow it to command our attention (2 Kings 22:10) 
Allow it to move us emotionally (2 Kings 22: 11-19) 
Seek God (2 Kings 22: 13) Find out how this truth applies to our life and circumstances. 
Allow God’s truth to move us to action (2 Kings 23:1-25) 

King Josiah dedicated himself to following God and then led his people to do the same. He made major changes in the land. Because Josiah decided that the truth of God’s Word would command his highest respect, he was able to have good judgment to make the right choices. And that is what the Belt of Truth can do for us in life!
 

As we submit to God's work in our lives not only will we begin to change, but we will have the help of God to make a difference in many situations that we find ourselves in. Why? Because now we will be bringing God's perspective to the scene. In today's episode: 7 Characteristics of 7 people who made a difference -
King Josiah, Moses, John the Baptist, Caleb, Joshua, Paul, Nehemiah.
Why these particular qualities are the ones we need today,
Short-term missions: interview with Wayne and Nancy Reigel.

There are two very different paths that Christians can walk down in life. We can either be on, what I'll call, "The Path of Christian Fulfillment" (it's a path we can see in Romans 12). Or we can be on, what I call, "The Path of Regret". This is a path we get on when we choose to ignore our Christian character. Today, I'll be talking about both of these paths. And I'm particularly excited about sharing with you about the habit God has used to change my life. In today's episode: What the path of fulfillment looks like How to get off the path of regret Staying on the path of fulfillment: the habit God has used to change my life Short-term missions: interview with Wayne and Nancy Reigel