SUNDAY (LIVE) - Jan 4, 2026 | Ephesians 6:14-15 - Being Ready

We're in a section of scripture in Ephesians that says to the believer, these are things that you need to be doing all the time because if I'm trying to put on my armor in the battle, I'm gonna lose some blood. So these are holy habits or the way of the warrior because whether you realize it or not, we are in a constant spiritual battle. That the enemy is ceaseless and he is sleepless. [00:43:08] (26 seconds)  #SpiritualBattleDaily

I was looking at this book recently called Empire of Pain, and it it's about the OxyContin thing with Purdue pharmaceutical and all that that twice they've lost in federal court for deceitful business practices and doing lying about what OxyContin is and what it can do and all that kind of stuff. And Empire of Pain says this, that the lies that Purdue pharmaceutical put out have been led to half a million people dying. Are lies powerful? Oh, they are massively powerful. [00:48:13] (34 seconds)  #LiesHaveConsequences

Have you noticed today it is getting harder and harder and harder to figure out what truth is? There's been explosion of because of the web and all that. There's been an explosion of people that put out whatever they want to, and then the more views they get, the more radical or crazy their views are or their their views are, the more views they get. So guess what that's a recipe for? Insanity right now. [00:48:57] (31 seconds)  #TruthInTheNoise

And so there are these big things that are international or national, gigantic issues, I'm never gonna change those things. I'm never gonna affect that. I can be absorb all the information in the world on it, but I'm never gonna change it. I could do a deep dive on who killed Kennedy. I could spend probably years of my life researching that. But at the end of the day, I'm not gonna make any change there. I could spend a fraction of that time getting involved in foster care in Josephine County and make gigantic changes here locally. [00:51:04] (33 seconds)  #LocalChangeMatters

I think the enemy is really good at distracting the believer. Getting us consumed with things that they seem super important, but in a year or two, they won't matter. And all that effort, and all that energy, and all those conversations that we had about that, they don't matter. So I don't personally, I don't have enough time to do that. So I'll be aware of it, but I'm not gonna deep dive on it. I'm gonna focus on things that I can actually change. [00:51:38] (28 seconds)  #FocusOnWhatMatters

And then whoever I listen to, I always look at what are they trying to do? Are they trying to do you know what demagogic is? It Demagogic is somebody that speaks in a way that rouses up prejudices in me, stereotypes in me, that rouses up emotions in me. It inflames me, it doesn't inform me. And then you make a lot of money inflaming people. [00:52:06] (24 seconds)  #RejectDemagoguery

I wanna be listening to and reading people that are really good at knowing both sides of the aisle. They don't set up straw men, they set up iron men, the best arguments for the other side. They say, this is what they I wanna read people like that. Because I'm not persuaded then, I'm informed then. I can make good decisions about what's the most important thing that I'm supposed to do right now. [00:52:30] (21 seconds)  #SteelManArguments

And I always watch money. Is there a lot of money in this? Because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. So I get careful. I I know this. I, Matt Heavily, am the keeper of my soul. Not that person out there, not those. I'm the keeper of my soul. So when I'm listening to this person or watching that person or reading this person, how do I now view other people? [00:52:51] (27 seconds)  #GuardYourSoul

And those are the two great commandments, love your neighbor as yourself, and love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. All the other commands hang on these two. Is that leading me in that direction? If it's not, I don't want anything to do with it. So those are kinda the things that I do, and I know this. Community really matters in this. You and I actually matter to each other on this. [00:53:34] (23 seconds)  #LoveGodLoveNeighbor

And then it go through the 14 actors first, and all 14 actors would choose a shorter line. It was obviously shorter. And then they would get to the fifteenth person and say, which line is the shortest? All 14 other people have chosen the wrong line. They've lied, essentially. But it's so powerful when all 14 people say a lie that the fifteenth person would always choose the same as the other 14. They would lie as well even though they knew it was a lie. It's called the Ash conformity experiments. [00:54:28] (30 seconds)  #ResistConformity

But then they changed the experiment just recently. What they did was this, same fifteen, fourteen are actors, one real person that is clueless about what's going on, but this time, one of the 14 told the truth. So 13 of the people would lie, lie, lie, but somewhere, either first person or middle person or last person, they change it all around, would actually tell the truth and choose the longest line. When just one of the 14 told the truth, the real person that was clueless would then tell the truth as well. That's the power of the belt of truth. [00:55:04] (33 seconds)  #PowerOfTruth

We're to be a people. No matter what 13 other people are saying, we're to be a group of people because community matters so much that put on the belt of truth. We're to be doing that. Well, Matt, he didn't talk about the Bible at all. Right? Because the Bible has its own. It's called the sword of the spirit. We'll get to it in a while. This is just broad truth that would be existent in any culture were to be a truthful people. [00:55:37] (32 seconds)  #CommunityOfTruth

Number two, breastplate of righteousness. Again, it has a function and a material. It's a breastplate protecting your chest area, and it has a material. It's made of righteousness. Perhaps you've read righteousness in the Bible. What does righteousness mean? If you look at the Greek and you look at how it was used, righteousness means this, that according to an authority, you have been examined by that authority and found approved. That's what righteousness is. Examined and approved. [00:56:09] (45 seconds)  #ExaminedAndApproved

And whether you can realize this or not, the human soul needs to be examined and approved. It is a vital need for us. And it always has to come from outside of us. It's why when you put a picture on Instagram and somebody else likes it, what happens in you? There's a little bit of, ah, righteousness. I'm approved. They examined my photo, and they approved it. Oh, that feels really good. It has to come from outside of us. [00:56:54] (35 seconds)  #ApprovedFromOutside

So what does a breastplate do? If that's the material, what does a breastplate do? It protects your heart. That's what it does. So what happens when that professor that you really love, that teacher you really admire, what happens when they give you an f? Your heart hurts. Ouch. Wow. What happens after that date and that guy ghosts you? That gal ghosts you. What happens in your heart? Ouch. What about when you tell your mom or your dad about your new plans and they disapprove? What happens? Your heart hurts. [00:58:45] (42 seconds)  #BreastplateProtectsHeart

It's a gift to every believer that has bowed the knee to king Jesus, who has said, Jesus, you are my savior. Jesus, you are my lord. Jesus, you are king of the universe. Jesus, you are God. And I'm bowing my knee to you. It is a gift from him. And it comes to the believer as the foundation. We start as righteous. We don't earn righteousness. We start as righteous. So we're not starved. We're not needy. We're not desperate. We're not that kind of people. [01:00:37] (40 seconds)  #GraceNotEarned

And then, like, three or four weeks later, this man came and was like, hey, did you get that book for me? And then I'm like, oh my goodness. I totally forgot. But that's not what I said to him. Guess what I said to him? The book's in the mail, which is a white lie. What happened to me? My heart was exposed. I wasn't wearing the breastplate of righteousness. His approval became more important than my morality, and that happens all the time. [01:03:15] (30 seconds)  #ChooseIntegrity

Jesus aced the cross, the hardest event in history, and he gives to you and me his grades. That's what impudent righteousness is. And when you understand that, that the greatest opinion in the universe is for me, not against me. When you understand that I've been examined by the only judge that matters, and he has approved me. When you understand that, when that truth actually becomes flesh and dwells in you, you become bulletproof. That's what happens to you. [01:05:08] (30 seconds)  #ApprovedByChrist

Because Luther knew the attack of the enemy is this, to attack our righteousness. You're not a good Christian. You failed again. You should have been nicer. You should have read more. You should have prayed more. You told a little white lie. You're not really saved. That's the constant attack of the enemy on the believer. And the way that we get protected is understanding, no. I wear the breastplate of righteousness. That my standing before God is not based on how I did yesterday. [01:05:50] (35 seconds)  #StandSecureInGrace

As I look at 2026 and I look down this armor, I think, I don't know if there's two more important things. Truth protects your mind. Breastplate of righteousness protects your heart. Wear these. Know what it means to have imputed righteousness. Have your radar up for what is truth. [01:11:28] (32 seconds)  #ArmorOfTruth