Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 6

Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 6

Subject – The Breastplate of Righteousness

By Rick Welborne

Ephesians 6:10-14 (NIV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
¹²  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
¹³  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
¹⁴  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place… 

--The second piece of armor that we must put on is the breastplate of righteousness. 

1. The breastplate of righteousness is absolutely necessary to protect our hearts.

Psalm 24:3-6 (NKJV)
³  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?
⁴  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
⁵  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶  This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

Proverbs 4:20-23 (NIV)
²⁰  My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words.
²¹  Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
²²  for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.
²³  Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 

--It is so hard to get it through people’s heads how important it is to protect your hearts. To approach God, we need pure hearts and really to find the abundant (the wellspring) life we must guard our hearts.

--Oh, Pastor, it does not matter what I do because I can surely ask God to forgive me and all will be forgiven. First, it does matter what you do and hearts can be forgiven but they can also be scared. Warning:

Matthew 12:34-35 (NKJV)
³⁴  Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
³⁵  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

--Pastor Rick, there is no way that I am righteous; is there any hope for me? Please know that you are in good company…again we must depend on the completed work of Jesus on the cross. 

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (NKJV)
²⁰  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
²¹  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

--Righteousness is the positive result a person having a sound relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Once we are born again we strive to keep our hearts pure and to guard our hearts from sin.

2. The breastplate of righteousness is absolutely necessary to reflect the glory of God.

--Let me explain: When the Roman army was approaching an enemy, they would try to so align themselves with the sun shining against their breastplates as to not give away their numbers in the battle.

--Enemies were often frightened by the sight of this brilliant light coming toward them and many times would either flee or surrender. 

--Having this new revelation about the breastplate and the sun shining brilliantly and reflecting for the enemy to see, really made my heart leap with joy!

--As we put on the belt of truth we are putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and as we put on the breastplate of righteousness we are reflecting the glory of God. We are truly shining for Jesus!

--I began imagining preparing for battle (putting on the full armor of God) and taking the time to shine my breastplate (the thing that would protect my heart).

--I asked the Lord what would be symbolic of polishing or shining my breastplate? I felt Holy Spirit speak to me and say the polishing of the breastplate was symbolic of worship and prayer.

--Once we have put on Jesus (our belt of truth), nothing is more important than preparing for spiritual warfare by worshiping and praying especially in Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6:18 (NCV)
¹⁸  Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people. 

--I felt like the Lord spoke to me and said that the more we polish (worship and pray) the more we shine in this dark world and push back the principalities and powers warring against us. Isaiah: 

Isaiah 60:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
²  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.
³  The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
⁴  "Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
⁵  Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. 

--As we are intentional about putting on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, God’s glory will burst forth!

--When we start marching side by side (unity) with the glory of God they will no longer see us but they will see the Lord Who is risen upon us!

3. The belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness will cause the lost and hurting to come to God’s light.

--Verse 3 says, The Gentiles shall come to your light, They will come to your light…please get this…it is your light but it is God’s glory.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)
¹⁴  You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
¹⁵  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
¹⁶  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

--Isaiah says, not only will the Gentiles come to your light but kings also will come to the brightness of your rising…this is why we need to pray for our national and local leaders. Those in authority and power.

--Let’s stop speaking negatively about them and see what God will do…this is God’s Word so let’s pray for revival in our nation. 

--When we put on the belt of truth (Jesus) and when we put on our breastplate of righteousness (worshiping and praying) until His glory comes, we will see our sons and daughters return to God Who loves them.

Isaiah 60:5 (NKJV)
⁵  Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. 

--In the light of missions I especially like the last part of the verse…The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. God help us see in these last days wealth coming from the world to bless God’s Kingdom.

--The world is looking for an answer and they are looking for hope…come on Life Church, put on your belt and shine your armor…it is time to reflect the glory of God…Stop reflecting the despair of the world.

Ephesians 6:10-12 (NIV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
¹²  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

--One of the biggest distractions for the church today is that we are fighting against flesh and blood…we are fighting each other. We have to be smarter than that and recognize Satan’s tricks.

--Here is the prayer we should be praying for one another:

Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV)
¹⁵  For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
¹⁶  I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
¹⁷  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
¹⁸  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹  and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
²⁰  which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
²¹  far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
²²  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
²³  which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. 

--The Roman soldiers would strike their breastplate every step to make them sound like a strong powerful army as they drew closer and closer to the battle line.

--They marched in unison beating they armor letting the enemy know that they were united and strong…let’s do the same and see a great victory! 

--Put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness!