Armor of God: Shield of Faith Introduction: Ephesians 6:10-18 (ESV) 10

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1 Armor of God: Shield of Faith Introduction: Ephesians 6:10-18 (ESV) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 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, Review of the series: o Be strong in the Lord s strength working within you. o The armor is there for us to be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NLT) 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes. Do you know what schemes he uses to attack you? o Have you ever asked God to show them to you? We have an enemy that s out to destroy us. (John 10:10) 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Many times, this is a mental battle; we become devoured and unfruitful because of our incorrect thinking. o If the devil cannot kill you, he will make you distracted, unproductive, and ineffective for the Kingdom. This is being devoured by a roaring lion. God has given us the Armor of God so that we can stand and win battles. James 4:7 (ESV) 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We are to Take Up the Whole Armor of God: o Not just certain pieces All of it ILL: Running around with just the shoes on or the helmet would be awkward. When we are not fully dressed we will be embarrassed a lot. 1

2 o But we do that sometimes. We focus on one piece so much we neglect the very weapon we need to win the fight. The sword is great for stabbing but is a poor breastplate. We are to take it up- that s our role. He gave it and we take it up. o Belt of Truth/Breastplate of Righteousness/Shoes of Peace/Helmet of Salvation/Sword of the Spirit/Shield of Faith. All of the armor is connected in some way or other to the belt of Truth. It is the key to it all The logos The Bible USE IT, LIVE IT, APPLY IT. o I want my armor to be strong but I am going to do everything except spend time in the Word (excuses for why we don t use it). Are we going to take up and use the whole Armor of God in our lives? He has given it to us, now it is our choice to wear it or not. o ILL: Kids with food we give them food but they want us to feed them. It s given, but they must take it up. Whose fault is it if they are hungry? Whose fault is it if we get hurt because we haven t put on the armor? Today- We are talking about The Shield of Faith : Ephesians 6:16 (ESV) 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; Ephesians 6:16 (NLT) 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) 11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) 11 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Faith is acting like it is so, even when it is not so, so that it might be so, simply because God said so. Tony Evens Faith must be connected to the truth, not just our experiences, other people s faith, or our own desires. The truth will strengthen our faith and build it up to withstand even the hardest battles. Romans 10:17 (ESV) 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. o o The shield would hang on the belt on the opposite side of the sword. These two weapons are to be used in tandem (together). The shield protects and can be used to shove the opponent if needed. The sword is to stab in close combat. 2

3 Both working in rhythm will produce a great victory. The shield makes it so you can get close enough fight the real battles. o Without the shield we are shot and out of the battle before we get to the real fight. The shield is to be taken up, meaning that we can put it down. o If you have laid your faith down due to life or a hurt, please pick it back up again. You cannot live the victorious life looking for someone else to carry your shield for you. The Romans had two different types of shields, one was for show (Celebrations and Ceremonies) and the other was for war and life. o Sometimes we do the same. We have a show faith- we say and do all the right things in front of people. We boast of our faith, but it cannot defend us from the flaming arrows. Talking and doing are two different things. o The shield Paul speaks of is the size of a refrigerator door and would cover the solider. These shields were made of wood and wrapped with 6 layers of animal skin. It was durable, strong, and resilient if maintained correctly. o Our Shield of Faith is to be Strong, Durable, and Resilient. The shield was maintained by rubbing it with oil so it wouldn t be brittle and break when it was hit and saturated (not just dipped) in water to extinguish the flaming arrows. o This represents what we must do to keep our faith ready. Oil- Anointed by time spent with the Spirit o Anoint- oil rubbed in repeatedly Water- Saturated with the washing of the Word o Saturate- to soak to capacity o These processes take effort and time, but without doing them your faith can and will fail. Sounds a bit like Abiding! If soldiers didn t maintain their shield they would become ridged and brittle. Then they would crack and break in the midst of battle. o Our faith can do the same if we don t maintain it correctly. The Shield of Faith is to be out in front of us, not beside or behind. o Faith by nature leads forward. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. The Fiery Arrows : o If the enemy cannot get at you though the other pieces of armor, he will shoot fiery arrows at you. Arrows were shot from afar and sometimes used in surprise attacks. 3

4 o Fiery arrows were used to distract and some were created to be a type of missile that would explode on impact. These are the attacks that our Shield of Faith can extinguish and repel. These can be temptations, attitudes, or emotions that hit out of nowhere. o Our faith must be ready to go up and though we might not feel or see it, we have the truth and we are living our life based on that. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to [ a ] bear it. Locking Shields : The Shield was so important to the Greeks that if you lost your shield you had a huge consequence loss of citizenship rights. o The shield was not only for you, but also for the rest of the soldiers beside you. Locking shields together protects yourself and others. When we do, we are able to take more ground for the Kingdom and are better protected. Galatians 6:2 (ESV) 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. o Illustration: Four friends and Paralytic ( Luke 5:17-26) Pressing Forward : You might feel like your faith isn t doing anything, but it is. People with great faith come by it through learning how to apply their faith to their daily livers through Personal Abandonment and Absolute Trust in Christ. Hebrews 10:35-39 (ESV) 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. God is working and will bring the victory. STAND your ground with the Shield of Faith. Faith works by love, not by our efforts of saying the right things. Galatians 5:6 (ESV) 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. If you are not loving God and people, your faith will become weak from the inside out. The wood core of your shield will rot! Remember, Christ has won the victory already; all we are doing is laying hold of what He has already given us. Colossians 2:15 (ESV) 4

5 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. The only rights that the devil has in our lives are the ones that we allow him to have. o When we walk out of our abiding in Christ with the authority of the believer and armor taken up and ready for battle: The demons should hear the rattle and sound of our amour. The sound should scare them and have them running because we are those who know that Christ has won the battle and we are laying hold of what was bought for us by His blood. The weapons and arrows can and will be formed, but they will not prosper in a person s life if they have the Whole Armor of God in place. Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV) 17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me, Says the LORD. Closing Be Brave, Be Strong. And LOVE 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV) 13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. Next week, Pastor Nate will be sharing about the importance that prayer has on our ability to stand, because we need communication with the One that gives us our marching orders. Take Away Questions: o What condition is your shield of faith in? o What are some schemes that the devil uses to try to cause you to become distracted, unproductive, and ineffective? o Do you feel that your shield of faith is strong, durable, and resilient? Why or Why Not? Do you have any blind spots? o In what ways are you going to grow in the process of anointing and saturating your shield of faith with the Holy Spirit s presence and the Word of God? o Who is God calling you to lock shields with so that you can stand? o How are you going to use your shield of faith in an active way this week? The victory has already been won by Jesus; we just need to live and walk in that truth instead of the lies of the devil. o Stand and put on the armor of God and see how your life will change. PRAY Great books to reference 5

6 -Dressed to Kill by Rick Renner - The Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer 6