{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"013 Protect Yourself With the Breastplate","description":"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\u2019s 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 \u201cBut Jesus, knowing their evil thoughts, said, \u201cWhy do you think evil in your hearts?\u201d Psalm 119:11 \u201cI have stored up your word in my heart . . .\u201d Proverbs 16:16 \u201cThe plans of the heart belong to man\u2026\u201d Hebrews 4:12 \u201cFor the word of God is . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u201d Verses about our heart and desires: Psalm 37:4 \u201cDelight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.\u201d 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 \u201c. . . put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.\u201d A form of this same Greek word is also used in Matthew 20:34 when it says, "Moved with compassion." Matthew 20:34 \u201cMoved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed him.\u201d 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\u2019s life:  the thinking, the desires, and the emotions. God offers protection for these parts that are targeted by the enemy. The word \u201crighteousness\u201d Synonyms of righteousness are: integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting Question \u201cwhose righteousness protects us ?\u201d  God's righteousness. Philippians 3:9 \u201c\u2026and 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...\u201d 2 Ways that God's righteousness protects us: In one way, God\u2019s 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\u2019s 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 \u201cIron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.\u201d Proverbs 13:20 \u201cWhoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.\u201d What if we were to walk with God? What if we, as believers, made the conscious decision to make sure that His righteous character was the greatest influence on our lives? It would have a big effect on the way we think, what we desire, and what our emotions look like! Furthermore, what if we even started embracing those righteous character qualities with our actions; what would that look like? If God had the greatest influence on our lives, the influence of this world\u2019s philosophy would not be able to change our way of thinking, shape our desires, or control our emotions. What would this look like? Protection Example of a man who was influenced by God and the change life that resulted: We\u2019re now going to look at the true story of a man who allowed God to be his greatest influence.  He spent time with God, and over time embraced God\u2019s plan, and became a changed man. In Exodus chapter 4, Moses was against the idea of being a leader for God\u2019s people. But 10 chapters later, he had become a changed man. He had embraced God\u2019s plan for him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. This change of heart didn\u2019t happen over night-Moses got upset at God in chapter 5, verses 22-23. In chapter 8, Moses\u2019s attitude is beginning to change. That is because he has learned some important things about God. God is compassionate, He cares about his covenant with Israel, He is very powerful, God could be trusted - so far, everything He said would happen is coming true! After coming to understand all these things about God through his experiences in Egypt, Moses was ready to become more involved. Moses had just been a spokesman up until now, but in chapter 9 he began to be more involved in the miracles that God was doing. Finally the day arrives when it became obvious how far Moses has come in his spiritual growth. As the Israelites escape from Egypt, and see Pharaoh\u2019s chariots coming at them on one side, with the sea on the other, Moses gives the pep talk of his life to the frightened people he\u2019s leading. Exodus 14:13-14 Moses is convinced that God loves these people and is really going to rescue them. Now, we see the ultimate physical demonstration that Moses has embraced all that he\u2019s learned about God. He truly believes in Him. Only 10 chapters before, he had no clue about standing strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. But now, Moses is living it! How can we put on the Breastplate of Righteousness? We might think of it like a two-step process. 1- We spend time  getting to know the Righteous character of God - through reading His Word on a regular basis. It might be morning, it might be later in the day, or at night before bed.  But you and I need to find a way to spend time around the righteous character of God. Nobody is going to schedule it for us. If we want protection, you and I need to make the time for this. 2 - Embrace His character As we learn about His character from the Bible, we begin to THINK the way God does. We begin looking at life from His perspective, bringing the way we do life into obedience to what God says is right. And then, we find out what is important to God's heart. What does He DESIRE? And then we ask Him to give us a heart for the things that He  has a heart for. And while we are getting to know God through His Word, we watch to see: what kinds of things please God? What kinds of things make God sad? Or angry? And we ask Him to help us to have the kind of EMOTIONS  that He would be in agreement with. We are deciding that His character will be the greatest influence in our lives. This is protection. And it's the kind of protection that we need to make time for.   ","author_name":"Word Outreach Podcast - Encouragement in Christianity with Rudy Vaughan","author_url":"http:\/\/www.wordoutreach.org\/","html":"