Review
•
Paul was writing to people in Ephesus who knew a thing or two about
armor (training facility; Paul chained to a Roman guard)
•
There is a spiritual battle happening around us
•
Therefore we must be prepared for battle
•
We do this by putting on the whole armor of God
•
The armor of God allows us to stand firm against the attack of the devil
•
We cannot wait until the battle commences before we arm ourselves
•
Our battle is not against people, but against demonic forces at work
•
We must put on the whole armor of God to resist the enemy’s trap
•
Belt of truth:
Truth is absolute and it does not change. The devil wants to change what you
believe to be true. Therefore we must know the truth so that we can be free
from deception. We must engage, confess, and stand on God’s Word so that we can
know the truth and believe it.
•
Breastplate of Righteousness: Righteousness is the standard in which we please God.
It is living rightly. Righteousness is meant to protect our heart from allowing
the devil access into our life. Sin opens the door for the enemy to have a
legal right into our life. Only true righteousness will guard us from the
enemy. We received the righteousness of Christ at salvation, however we have a
part to play as well. We must also walk out righteousness in our own life.
•
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace: Peace is calmness of soul in the midst of difficult
circumstances. Through Christ, there is a peace available that despite our
circumstances, we can be free stress and worry. This peace is found in the
Gospel. Because we have peace with God, we have access to the peace of God. If
we want to receive this peace then we have to go to the God of peace to claim
it.
That brings us to the shield of faith.
Ephesians 6:16 - “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
We are all familiar with a shield. While we don’t use shields in our everyday life, there is one shield we are used to using every single day. That is a windshield.
A windshield is used to protect you from debris that could be thrown your way by the vehicles in front of you. It is also meant to protect you from the elements outside while driving.
Thank God for a windshield! Most people listening to this message either own a car or ride in one everyday. We all know what that moment is like when you are driving and all of a sudden you see a rock flying in the air. You realize that flying rock is headed straight for you. However because you have a windshield, you know everything is going to be okay. Why? That windshield is there to protect you. I still have a large crack in my windshield as a reminder of what I endured. It’s a battle scar. Really, it is just a large crack in my windshield that I want to get fixed.
A Roman soldier also had a shield. It was not one of those small circular shields seen in midevil movies or even like Captain America. Instead these were large rectangular shields. They were 2 and a half feet wide and 4 feet tall. They were large enough for a soldier to crouch behind it in the heat of battle and he would be completely protected. Their shield was was also used as the first line of defense against an enemy’s attack. It was meant to be their main source of protection.
As Christians, we have a source of protection as well. It is called faith. Like a Roman shield, faith is our first line of defense against the enemy. Although we have armor like the breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, and shoes of peace, we still have a main line of defense. That is the shield of faith. Now, if faith is our first line of defense, then the devil will have to get through your faith if he wants to get through to you. This shows the importance of having faith in our life, understanding what it is, and how to employ it.
So what is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 - “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.“
Faith is confidence and assurance.
It is confident assurance. If you are not confidently sure about something, you probably are not going to go through with it. However, when you are confidently sure about something, you act on it. Faith is simply acting on the truth. Truth is found in the Word of God.
So if faith is acting on God’s Word, we have to know what God’s Word says about the situation at hand. When we know what God says, then we can act on it. Once we act on it, we are walking out faith. You see, we can talk about having faith, we can say we have faith, but saying you have faith is not the same thing as acting on it. Our action shows our faith.
Faith is not saying that you believe; it is showing that you believe.
We all have faith. We all have a measure of faith. The question is, what are we putting our faith in?
WHAT FAITH IS NOT
Faith is not based on feelings. Some people may feel their way into faith. The vibe feels good, the sermon makes me feel good, I feel good when I leave church, I love the feeling when I worship God, etc. We have to be careful of that. If we can feel our way into faith then we can feel our way out. Faith is more than feelings!
Faith is not based on what you see. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that we “walk by faith, not by sight” Faith is not based on what is going on around you. Someone might say, “I have to see it before I can believe it.” However, that is not how faith works!
Faith is not based on feelings. Faith is not based on circumstances. Faith is based on the truth. Feelings change. Circumstances change. But the truth does not change.
Notice the words that Paul uses when talking about the
armor of God:
- PUT ON the belt of truth
- PUT ON the breastplate of righteousness
- PUT ON the shoes of peace
v16 - “In all circumstances TAKE UP the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
Paul says to “put on” these pieces of the armor and to always have them on. Do not take them off. You always need them. Then Paul changes his verbiage here. He then says to TAKE UP the shield of faith. In other words, the first three pieces of the armor are meant to always be with you; you don’t take them off. The last three pieces you take up on a need-be basis. The last three pieces you take up when the situation demands for it. It is your responsibility to take up faith.
For what purpose? To extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. Which means in every circumstance in which you are under attack, take up the shield of faith to protect you from that attack.
So how do we “take up” our shield of faith?
1.
Declaring
God’s Word
•
Faith is acting
on God’s Word
•
When we are walking
out God’s Word we are walking in faith
•
Walking in faith
strengthens your faith
•
When the enemy
comes in like a flood, we can call on the name of the Lord to raise a standard
against Him.
•
We can declare
that
- “All things are possible with God”
- “God will help me in my time of need”
- “God will not abandon me”
- “Me and my house will serve the Lord”
- “Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ”
- “God has not given me a spirit of fear”
- “He will deliver me from all of my fears” (Psalm 34:4)
2.
Surrounding
yourself with other believers
a)
Roman Turtle
Formation
b)
Link your faith
with other believers
3.
Keeping
your eyes on Jesus
Hebrews 12:1-2
“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let
us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of
our faith…”
Takeaways
I.
Walk
in faith by acting on God’s Word
•
Faith is acting
on the truth.
•
Truth is found in
the Word of God.
•
By knowing what
God says about a situation through His Word, you can believe it and act on it.
•
Acting on God’s
Word over and over again is called walking by faith.
•
Walking in faith
is our new way of living as a believer in Christ.
•
Let us not just
talk the talk, but let us walk the walk.
II.
Strengthen
your faith by surrounding yourself with other believers
•
Every person has
a measure of faith and it is enough to accomplish everything that God has for
us.
•
However, your
faith can be strengthened by linking up with other believers.
•
Do not stand
against the enemy on your own.
•
Allow other
believers stand along side you in your time of need.
III.
Allow
faith to protect you from ALL the attacks of the enemy
•
Your faith is the
first line of defense against the devil.
•
It is meant to
protect you from all the attacks of the
devil.
•
We can only do
that by taking up our faith in all circumstances.
•
Take up faith:
•
Declare God’s
Word
•
Link up with
other believers
•
Keep you eyes one
Jesus
