FASTINING ON THE BELT OF TRUTH

IN THE DAYS OF HIS POWER SERIES.

TOPIC: FASTINING ON THE BELT OF TRUTH

COMPILED/EDITED BY:-
Rev. Innocent Peace-Udochukwu
President Living Fountain Ministries Int’l LIFOM

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.
Ephesians 6:13-14a

There are many people who wonder how the world got into the mess it is, but I think you can trace it all back to one place: the day we began to reject truth.

There was once a day when we divided ideas into two categories: true and false. If something was true, it was true for all people, in all places, at all times. If it was false the same conditions applied. Any discussion or argument forced you to accept what’s true, and reject what’s false.

But slowly we’ve rejected the idea of truth. Today people don’t talk so much about true and false—they talk about what works, or what’s true for you and what’s true for me, as if truth were a preference, like choosing your favorite kind of ice cream. Doubt and uncertainty are virtues, and anybody who claims to possess truth is labeled intolerant or bigoted.

This, in my humble opinion, is a big reason why our world is in such a mess. And it’s not accidental. The war with truth didn’t begin in the 20th century—it began in the heart of Satan.

Deceit and lies are two of the devil’s most powerful weapons. Most of our problems and defeats in our life have not been just because we’re weak or ignorant, but because we believe a lie instead of believing the truth, because we chose to lie instead of telling the truth.

It’s also the reason truth is one of the most important pieces of the armor of God. Tonight we’re going to talk about this first line of defense we need to stand against the devil: the belt of truth, described in Ephesians 6:14a.

There’s a very important reason I wear my belt when I go out in public—it holds my pants up. If I didn’t wear a belt things would get ugly very quickly. My belt also keeps my shirt tucked in, so I keep the slob factor to a minimum. And of course, I need my belt for this handy dandy phone clip. My belt holds everything in place.

The Roman soldier’s belt was a six inch wide strip of leather that holds the breastplate in place and provides a sheath for the sword. It holds everything together.

In much the same way, truth holds everything together for us in 2 basic ways:

• It holds together who you ought to be and who you are. The word we use is integrity=wholeness

A person who wears the belt of truth is an honest person who doesn’t pretend to be one thing while he’s really another. He not only doesn’t tell lies, he doesn’t live a lie. She is not sinless, but blameless, consistent, faithful, and truthful.

• It holds your soul together with the truth of the Scriptures. Wearing the belt of truth is not

just being honest, but knowing and believing the truth of the Word of God. God’s Word is the standard by which all truth is measured. Scripture tells us that knowing the truth means knowing Christ as the Source of truth, from which all other truth flows.

If you don’t wear the belt of truth, the devil will make sure you get caught with your pants down.

If you don’t pursue a life of integrity, he’ll defeat you by exposing you. He’ll expose your hypocrisy so people lose faith not only in you, but in God. Look at the preachers and Christian celebrities who say one thing and do another, who end up a laughingstock to the world and a stumbling block to the weak.

He’ll expose your lies so nobody trusts you. Lying always backfires, it always ends up making things worse, not better. The devil is an expert not just in telling lies, but in using lies to do as much damage as possible. How many marriages or friendships or churches have been destroyed by lies?

Put on the belt of truth and never take it off. Pursue integrity, live what you preach, tell the truth, even when it’s inconvenient or painful. This is how you stand against the devil.

A second reason we need this piece of spiritual armor is

2. The belt of truth strengthens your backbone.

If you’ve ever been around somebody that does a lot of heavy lifting, you’ve probably seen them wearing those wide stylish black belts. They don’t have anything to do with karate—they strengthen the person’s back and prevent injuries.

A Roman soldier’s belt served much the same purpose. It not only held everything together, it reinforced his backbone, helping him stand not only taller, but stronger against the attacks of his enemy.

The belt of truth gives you courage to stand against the attacks of the devil.

• Truth emboldens you with the courage of a clean conscience. Liars are cowards.

They‘re always afraid of being found out, always afraid the truth will come back to haunt them, always afraid the truth will end up hurting them.

But when you wear the belt of truth, you’re bold because there is no chink in your armor, no fear of being found out. You have a confidence that comes with integrity, that as long as you tell the truth and live the truth, you have nothing to fear.

• Truth emboldens you with the courage of certainty. When you know the truth, you have something to believe in, something that defeats your doubts, conquers your fear, something worth living for and dying for, something that stands the tests and trials of time, an anchor that helps you stand strong no matter how everything else crumbles around you.

When the Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dared to defy the communist leaders of the USSR, he showed this kind of courage. When he concluded his Nobel lecture on literature, he closed by quoting a Russian proverb: “One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

Here is a man with the courage to know the truth, tell the truth and live the truth no matter.

The only truth we can be absolutely certain about is the truth of God’s Word.

This is courage born in the certainty of our faith in God and His Word, the courage that fills the heart of Moses standing before Pharaoh, the courage that fills the heart of David running toward Goliath, the courage that strengthens our Lord as He prays in the Garden and hangs on the Cross.

Wearing the belt of truth means having a backbone!
If there is one thing upon earth that mankind loves and admires better than another, it is a brave man–a man who dares look the devil in the face and tell him he is the devil.–James Garfield
Some Christians are afraid of standing for the truth. In the name of tolerance, they stay silent when they should speak up, sit down when they should stand up, back down when they should hold their ground.

I know it can be hard to tell the difference sometimes, but when the line in the sand is drawn, I think it’s better to fall on the side of courage than on the side of fear.
Knowing and living the truth, being certain of the truth of God’s Word, makes you bold as lion, brave enough to stand against the lies of the devil.
The belt of truth holds everything together, strengthens your backbone, and finally.

3. The belt of truth prepares you for action.
   The Roman soldier didn’t wear pants—they wore kind of a leather skirt that hung a little
   lower than their knees. When they were off duty, this skirt hung down, but when they went into action, they girded the skirt by pulling it up between their legs and stuffing it into their belt. This is what the old KJV called girding your loins=preparing for action.
   The belt of truth is not just about what we think and believe—it spurs us into action. That involves two very important areas:
   • Application. Before you go into action you have to be sure of what you are doing. It is
   much wiser to think through what you need to do instead of going into acting without thinking.
   2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

You cannot stand still and stand against the devil. You must wear the belt of truth by applying it and acting on it.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Ephesians 6:10-20

You must choose your side. You can let the devil deceive you and defeat you. You can swallow his lies like a fish swallows the bait on the hook, and in the end, you will die.
Or you can stand against the devil by wearing the belt of truth, the belt that holds everything together, that strengthens your backbone, that spurs you into action. The lies of Satan and this world and your own heart will put you chains and make you a slave. But Jesus’ promise is still just as true right now as it was when He first said it.
John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

SHALOM!

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