On Monday afternoon I came in for a break from mowing. I opened a coke, got out some deli turkey and a brand new can of Pringles. Now these weren't just your ordinary Pringles. They were given to us by my mom and sister when we stopped by for a visit in Anderson on our way to the Clemson game. They always buy a bunch of junk food when they know we're going to come by because the boys are always hungry. Then usually we get to take the uneaten stuff home with us.

So these were special Pringles because they came from Mom's house. But that's not all. These Pringles were a new shelf item stocked just in time for football season. Each chip had a football trivia question and answer on it. How they imprinted those chips I'll never know. I just hope they used edible ink.

Anyway Anita was reading a book on world religions. And I was reading football trivia. She asked me a trivia question on world religions, to which I had no clue what the answer was. So I popped off a more important question—one on football, to which she didn't know the answer. Those Pringles are really diet food. Usually you eat about four at a time. But with those football questions, you eat only one at a time.

One of the trivia questions had to do with football helmets. And since I'm preaching on helmets today, I thought I'd do a little research. The first football helmets were made of leather and were used for the first time in 1893 in an Army-Navy game. An Annapolis shoemaker created the first helmet for Admiral Joseph Reeves, who had been advised by a Navy doctor that he would be risking death or "instant insanity" if he took another kick to the head.

Can you imagine the weekly injury report if today's football players didn't wear helmets? I guess I should say, can you imagine the weekly obituary column if players didn't wear helmets?

We're continuing our studies on the theme "Survivor" this morning. Be strong; be swift; be sure. We're looking at each of the critical pieces of the uniform that God wants us to wear in our daily battles against the devil. And just as there is fierce hitting on the football field, Satan's attacks can be just as fierce and then some. We've talked about the belt, the breastplate, the shoes and the shield. All of these are essential, but you'll still get killed in battle if you're not wearing your helmet. So today we're going to talk about "Your Spiritual Head Protector." Let's read Ephesians 6:13-17.

"Take the helmet of salvation." Your spiritual head protector. We've talked a lot with the other pieces about how important it is to protect your heart. But it is also extremely important that you protect your mind. And that's what the helmet of salvation does. It protects your mind.

Notice with the shield, the verse reads, "Take up the shield of faith." Today's verse reads, "Take the helmet of salvation." We're talking about two different words here in the original language. The work take in verse 17 actually means to "accept, welcome, receive." When it comes to salvation, you don't take it in the sense you worked for it and therefore you can take it. No, salvation is a gift that you accept and receive.

Satan is engaged in an all-out battle for your mind. He will mess you up in a heartbeat if he can just get a foot in the door of your mind. The helmet of salvation protects you against these attacks. If you want to be victorious in the battle for your mind, here are three very important things you must do.

First, know that you are saved. I know saved is one of those religious words that non-believers may not understand. And for that matter many believers may not fully understand the term. To be saved means that you have made a personal decision to follow Jesus Christ and because of that decision, Jesus has saved you from the penalty of all your wrongdoings and has given you the assurance of going to heaven after you die to live for eternity.

I often drive my staff and classes I teach crazy by asking them to put things on a scale. Students, scale of 1 to 10, where are you in your walk with Jesus? Staff, scale of 1 to 10, how passionate are you about the upcoming Edge service? The responses usually open the door for some great discussion.

Your turn. Scale of 1 to 100, how certain are you that you will go to heaven when you die? I wish I could come to each one of you and face-to-face ask that question. I know the responses would be extremely varied because I've posed this question to many people. If your score is less than 100, over the next several minutes I want to help you make up the difference between your level of certainty now and 100. Let's talk because there is a lot of confusion about how we can know for certain if we are saved.

Sometimes Satan falsely convinces people that they are saved because they have been baptized or because they are a church member. I can't tell you how many times I've had adults come to me and say, "Ken, I got baptized as a child because my parents pressured me or because all my friends were getting baptized. Honestly, I don't believe I knew what I doing or why I was doing it." And then there are others who when asked about their salvation will spill off how long they have been members of such and such church. And there are others who say, "I've always been a Christian."

Another trick Satan uses is the "good life" lie. How certain are you that you will go to heaven when you die? "Oh, I don't know. Pretty good chance I think. I'm a pretty good guy. I love my family and my country and I work hard to make an honest living. Compared to most people, I'd say I will make it to heaven." The good life, baptism, church membership, always been a Christian—each of these is a tool Satan uses to convince people in their minds that they are Christians when in reality they have never made a personal, conscious decision to be a follower of Jesus.

So how does a person know he/she is saved? Very simple. Becoming a follower of Jesus represents a point in time. There is a point on your life's timeline when you made your commitment to Christ. Before that point you were not a Christian. The time after that point you are a Christian. Even if you can't pinpoint the exact moment you accepted Jesus into your life, you must know in your heart that you consciously made a decision to follow Christ.

So, are you saved? Let me point out one more factor. The Bible teaches that when you get saved, your life is different from that point on. He changes the way you think, the way you speak and the way you live. I'm not the judge—whether or not you are saved is between you and God. But if you claim to be a Christian and yet you continue to live in ways that you know do not please God, you better do a heart check. Saved people live like saved people.

My purpose is not to generate doubt in your mind. At the same time, if you're counting on a good life, church membership, or baptism to save you, then you need to have seeds of doubt planted in your mind. And if you claim to be a Christian but your lifestyle doesn't match your claims, you need to have some doubts.

The helmet of salvation. Know that you're saved. Second, thank God that you're saved. When is the last time you prayed, "God, thank you for saving my soul"? Unless you regularly give thanks to God for saving you, salvation can very easily become routine. Don't ever get over the wonder of life-transforming salvation.

One hour Paul was persecuting Christians. The next hour he was asking Christ, "What do you want me to do?" From the time he found Christ to the day he died, he never stopped telling others what a difference Jesus made in his life. Out of a heart of gratitude, he thanked God for saving his soul.

Don't ever forget the day you came to Christ. It may have been one year ago. It may have been eighty years ago. It may have been in church or in your bedroom. It may have been in the day time or it may have been at night time. Remember the place; remember setting; remember who it was who influenced you the most. Picture it in your mind. Feel the emotion. Remember the peace that God gave you. Keep it fresh in your mind and give thanks to God regularly for saving your soul.

Know you are saved. Thank God that you are saved. And, third, remind Satan that you are saved. To prevent injuries, football leagues have cracked down on players delivering blows to the head with their helmets. That variety of personal foul can actually get you ejected from the game.

Satan loves to deliver blows to your head. And he's got nothing to lose. For him, you are open game. If he can successfully mess with your mind, then he's well on his way to your heart also. Your spiritual head gear protects you from these blows.

The helmet protects you from the blow of death. Kathy Hanegraaff, wife of Bible Answer Man Hank Hanegraaff, gave birth to a tiny six-week-old fetus. The baby died instantly. As Kathy looked over the little body, a peace came over her. She named the baby Grace because she recognized that she didn't lose the baby. The baby was now in heaven. It was her helmet of salvation which gave her the hope of eternal life and the strength and peace she needed.

On their top ten list of fears, teenagers listed fear of death as third. Satan wants you to fear death and even become preoccupied with it. But with the helmet of salvation in place, you are able to look at life from an eternal point of view.

The helmet also protects you from the blow of doubt. Remember the 1 to 100 scale I did with you? Subtract your answer from 100 and that's your doubt score. If you said 80, then your doubt score is 20. With the helmet of salvation in place, the doubt score becomes zero.

This blow of doubt is one of Satan's favorites. He points out your weaknesses, your mess-ups, and your sins, and he says, "Look at you. And you call yourself a Christian. If you were a Christian, you wouldn't be having these problems. If you were a Christian, you wouldn't have spoken those unkind words." After a while, the seeds of doubt are planted and you begin to wonder if you're even saved.

When those doubts appear, it is very important that you know where they are coming from. And then remind the devil that you are saved and that there is nothing that can change your eternal destiny. If you have made a commitment to be a follower of Jesus Christ, that means you are a Christian. You are saved. And once He saves you, you cannot ever again be unsaved. You cannot lose your salvation. You don't have to keep on asking Jesus over and over to come into your life. The God who saved you by grace is the God who will keep you saved by grace. You don't become a Christian by works and you don't stay saved by works. The God who began His work in you will bring it to completion.

Finally, the helmet protects you from the blow of disappointment. Sometimes life doesn't work out like you planned. Sometimes you pray about stuff and God says no. Satan enjoys magnifying our disappointments. He makes you wonder if God still loves you, if He's really out there to help you. You pray for a new job. Nothing pans out. You pray for more income, but times are tighter now than ever. You pray for healing from a terminal problem, but the prognosis doesn't look favorable.

In these times you need the helmet of salvation to remind you that you are a child of God and that no disappointments are going to discourage you to the point of giving up or growing bitter. The helmet reminds you that in God's hands all will be well. He is in charge and you are not.

Yes, Satan loves to mess with your mind. And he is good at it. If you're a Christian, he will make you think you're not a Christian. If you're not a Christian, he will make you think that you already are a Christian. He will tempt you to dwell on all your problems. He will depress you, discourage you, and defeat you. He is relentless. He never lets up. That's why you need to be properly equipped for battle every day.

If you put on your spiritual head protector and wear it properly, you will be ready to face Satan and all his demon buddies. Make sure you are saved. Thank God you are saved. And remind Satan that you are saved. Just mention the name of Jesus—just remind him of what happened on the cross, and the evil one will go running. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. I'm born of His Spirit washed in His blood. This is my story. Is it yours?