The Shield of Faith
Eph 6:16… above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to Eph 4:27-28
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
NIV
2 Sam 22:36
36 You give me your shield of victory;
you stoop down to make me great.
As we grow together through the ministries of Open Door Church we will need to understand the importance of our individual and our corporate faith.
Spiritual warfare is always continuing around us. Weather you want to fight or not you are in listed in the war. All believers in Jesus are either continually under attacked or conquered by our spiritual enemy.
So many Christians often go to war without learning about the weapons we have to use. We grab our bibles yelling I have got a sword of the Spirit and set out claiming what we want before we ask God what he wants.
• We ask for revival but God wants to bring holiness!
• We ask for relief from pain but God wants to establish our character!
• We ask for a monetary blessing but God wants us to obey the scripture on tithing!
• We ask for God to save our unsaved family but God wants us to be the living illustration of His love and grace right before their eyes.
Believers in Jesus decide to stand on their faith without ensuring their faith that their faith has been properly maintained or discerning how God would want to use their faith.
Each piece of the armor listed here in Ephesians 6 is very important. But above all we must understand faith.
Ill… All members of the army have to be fully instructed in the use of all the weapons they use. If they are not fully instructed they are a great danger to themselves and to their fellow solder’s more than they are to the enemy.
All of us, each one, are in a battle for our spiritual life. It is more serious that the war on terrorism. It is a fight for your eternal existence.
The shield of faith must be understood and effectively used for the victory that God intends to be ours.
When Faith Fails
Many believers tell of the war stories when they stood in faith and it did not work.
Many have fallen away from the church because they felt that God did not come to their aid when they believed He would.
How is it that we can be sure we have heard from God, confident that we have received His instruction, fully guided by the Holy Spirit and then fail?
Let us never be afraid to ask hard questions about our faith.
Instead of questioning God and His ways let us examine our own faith.
Instead of feeling we have been abandoned by God let us abandon our own self assurance.
We should not condemn ourselves or belittle our faith that we do have, but we need to examine fully our faith failures so we can increase our effectiveness in all things.
We must never walk the path of denial or disillusionment that result from misunderstandings of our faith.
These are not the results of God’s failure to comply too our wishes but as a result of our failure to discern and know God completely.
A careful understanding of faith will help a believer exercise better discernment and deal with the problems caused when our faith gets off track.
The Shield
The solders of Rome always had two shields. One was a parade shield and the other was a battle shield.
The parade shield was an oversized medallion carried on one arm that barley covered the chest.
The battle shield of which Paul was speaking was much larger and more powerful.
This shield was about 2 feet wide, 4 feet high and 6 inches thick. It was made of 6 or more layers of animal hide sewn together to become nearly as strong as steel.
This shield was designed to withstand the heavy hard blows of the enemy who is bent on destruction.
As a believer most of the deadliest blows will come against our faith.
When the enemy attacks our righteousness, it has less effect because our righteousness comes through Christ.
When the enemy wants to do real serious damage it must be real, true, God given faith that will stop the deadly blows and attack the enemy.
Above all take with you the shield of faith.
If we do not understand and maintain faith our shield will fail when the enemy attacks.
A cracked or broken shield in battle is a disaster for whole army because an effective army functions as one unit.
The power of unity in a church is illustrated when we all understand the shield of faith and advance on the territory of the enemy.
Many times the solders would link the shields together and push forward. One broken shield would stop the entire advance. A broken and useless shield meant a solder with out a defense and a gap the opposing army could penetrate.
In the same way we all are connected together by our faith. The unity of the church depends on all of us connecting our faith together to attack the enemy.
When one of us falls in battle it affects all of the others. When one refuses to obey God it weakens the entirety of the church.
The battle becomes much harder every time a believer shield fails.
The moral failure by one Christian has a tremendous effect on others.
The return to a sinful lifestyle creates a hole in the churches defenses that the enemy penetrates through to reach others.
When one person’s faith fails our own faith is tested and must work harder to gain the same result.
The person that says, MY walk is My walk and no one else’s business. Does not understand how we are all interconnected.
Any believer’s failure will affect family, friends and the entire church. You are such an important part of Open Door Church that our effectiveness in reaching people for Jesus Christ is connected to your personal shield of faith.
Maintaining the shield of faith is not just for self protection but also for maintaining the effectiveness of the entire church.
Maintaining Your Shield
The leather on the battle shields had to be treated or it would dry out, crack and eventually break. The Roman solder had to attend to it everyday.
It was required of the solder at first morning, before doing anything else; he was to oil the battle shield.
Any solder who ignored the care of his battle shield was risking death.
The Shield represents our faith. The Oil represents the Holy Spirit in scripture.
Faith must be addressed daily with the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. Without the anointing on your faith every day it will become brittle.
Believers will then go to the spiritual battlefield and find their faith will not sustain them.
The Roman solder would often get a pass to go home and visit, but his shield still had to be treated everyday.
He would leave his helmet, breastplate, and the rest of the uniform but he would take his shield with him ands oil it everyday.
Our faith demands that we drench it in the Holy Spirit frequently.
It is not enough the have been baptized in the Holy Spirit one time some years ago and then sit back and observe the work of the lord.
We need more than a once per month flowing of the Holy Spirit into our lives.
Daily oil the battle shied of faith
During the normal wear and tear of life can the anointing can fade. You don’t have to commit some sin. The anointing can just dry up without a fresh dip into the oil.
Preparing and Engaging
Along with the daily care of the battle shield we need to prepare the shield before we go into battle.
The Roman solder would soak the shield in water so the fiery arrows would be extinguished when they hit the shield.
Paul speaks of the flaming arrows that come against the Christian. It is these arrows that need to be extinguished.
Eph 5:25-26… Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word… NIV
Here the water represents the word of God. We need to be immersed in the word before we head out to battle.
Proper grounding in the Word of God is essential for effective use of the battle shield of faith.
When we are attacking the enemy we need to be biblically grounded. Too many times believers think all I need is an altar experience, an anointing, and then I am ready for war. But the anointing alone will not win the victory we need to win.
It is important, but it will not quench the flaming darts of the enemy when we are attacking his territory.
The truth of the word will defeat the flaming arrows the enemy uses.
Matt 4:1-11… Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, ’Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ “5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
’He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and, ’In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ "
7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, ’You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ “8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ’You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
NKJV
Jesus used the right weapon to deal with the temptation, faith grounded in the word of God.
Ps 119:9-11
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You!
NKJV
Greek = shield = Explosive speaking of a shield that can move into the enemy’s fire and deflect it.
The battle shield of faith, anointed daily by the Holy Spirit and saturated in the word is an offensive weapon.
Eph 6:16
Quench all the fiery darts = One of the flaming arrows used in battle had a hollow shaft which oil was poured. Upon impact the arrow would explode into flames. It was designed to spread the fire quickly and cause panic and confusion.
Many of Satan arrows just cause confusion. He wants to panic the believers so we will not use our battle shield of Faith.
Roman shields also had clips on the sides. These could be locked together when the army needed to work in one unit.
Some solders would hold the shields to protect the others during a task.
Your shield of faith is not just for you but for the benefit of your fellow believers.
• When your shield is oiled daily
• When your faith is saturated in the word,
• Then you bring more power to your fellow believers.
Eph 4:27-28… and do not give the devil a foothold. NIV
We give a foot hold to the enemy when we fail to keep our battle shield of faith prepared for conflict.
We give place to the enemy when we allow sin to abide in our life. The Holy Spirit convicts each here of sin, to allow the sin to continue and remain gives Satan the foothold necessary to defeat your faith and to cause much harm to the church.
No one can give this kind of place to the enemy and then expect to see faith work on your behalf.
A foothold for the enemy is a place where he feels comfortable in the midst of your life.
Any place where convicted sin has not been defeated or if one time defeated returned is a place of comfort for the enemy.
Because he has the foot hold in your life, your battle shield of faith for will fail.
• It can not be oiled daily by the Holy Spirit
• It will not be saturated by the word
When we refuse to confess and repent of our sin then sin has legal ground into our life. Satan can come and go as HE pleases.
But if we confess our sins, turn to Jesus. Repenting of our actions and really changing then we have this promise of God
2 Sam 22:36… You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.
Closing:
• Battle Shield of faith
• Oiled daily
• Saturated with the word
• Locked together in unity
What is it that keeps your shield of faith standing ion the corner or up on the shelf?
Is your battle shield of faith ready for war?
