Don’t Fight Naked:
The Sheild of Faith!
Eph 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; KJV
Last week we learned……..
Above all: upon or unto something already mentioned or implied. That upon which something rests as a basis, foundation, support, to sustain or support life upon, implying hope, trust, confidence upon
Of the 5 times this warfare is used, it is never used in connection with the devil. It always refers to the internal or psychological conflict within an individual.
Take: to receive by deliberate and ready reception whatever is offered
What is offered?
Sheild: door, gate, threshold. A door referring to a stone for closing the entrance of a cave. Later it came to refer to a shield in the form of a large, oblong-shaped door that acted as a cover for the entrance of a cave. In Eph 6:16, used symbolically of shielding like a door.
John 10:7-10
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV
Rev 3:20-22
20 "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches." NLT
Why is God knocking at the door?
When my foundation is built on Truth, Righteousness, and Peace, the door will be opened for a relationship with God through Christ!
Faith: to win over, persuade. Subjectively meaning firm persuasion, conviction, belief in the truth, reliability, reality
Rom 10:16-18
16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. NLT
Heb 11:1
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. KJV
Rom 4:17-22
17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed — God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." NKJV
My foundation and relationship become my Shield of Faith!
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Wherewith: the place in, at, or on which something is found
2 Cor 4:13-18
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, so I spoke." 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. NLT
Quench: Extinguish
Fiery Darts: arrows that strike the heart or emotions, they often explode and set human passions aflame, causing a minor issue to develop into a fierce, flaming situation
Conclusion: As real as the fiery darts may seem, they are just that, a minor issue trying to bigger than God! But my faith rests in the door that has been opened for me and that truth will be my solid rock on which I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; KJV
Last week we learned……..
Above all: upon or unto something already mentioned or implied. That upon which something rests as a basis, foundation, support, to sustain or support life upon, implying hope, trust, confidence upon
- My foundation, support and rest come from my understanding of the Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness and the Gospel of peace!
Of the 5 times this warfare is used, it is never used in connection with the devil. It always refers to the internal or psychological conflict within an individual.
- Without this foundation, all other weapons will come short in their effectiveness in our lives, but understanding these truths permits us to Take up the Shield of Faith!
Take: to receive by deliberate and ready reception whatever is offered
What is offered?
Sheild: door, gate, threshold. A door referring to a stone for closing the entrance of a cave. Later it came to refer to a shield in the form of a large, oblong-shaped door that acted as a cover for the entrance of a cave. In Eph 6:16, used symbolically of shielding like a door.
John 10:7-10
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV
Rev 3:20-22
20 "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches." NLT
Why is God knocking at the door?
- He wants us to receive what has been offered!
- In fact, He wants us to be deliberate!
When my foundation is built on Truth, Righteousness, and Peace, the door will be opened for a relationship with God through Christ!
- It takes faith in the Foundation not yourself!
Faith: to win over, persuade. Subjectively meaning firm persuasion, conviction, belief in the truth, reliability, reality
Rom 10:16-18
16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. NLT
Heb 11:1
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. KJV
Rom 4:17-22
17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed — God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." NKJV
My foundation and relationship become my Shield of Faith!
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Wherewith: the place in, at, or on which something is found
- My conviction and belief are the place where I will have the power (Dunamis) to see what unseen is!
2 Cor 4:13-18
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, so I spoke." 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. NLT
Quench: Extinguish
Fiery Darts: arrows that strike the heart or emotions, they often explode and set human passions aflame, causing a minor issue to develop into a fierce, flaming situation
Conclusion: As real as the fiery darts may seem, they are just that, a minor issue trying to bigger than God! But my faith rests in the door that has been opened for me and that truth will be my solid rock on which I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!