Is there evil in the world?
All we have to do is follow the recent quadruple murder here in Milwaukee, which includes 2 babies!! Did you know that one of the ladies murdered witnessed the murder of her own mother when she was a kid right here in Milwaukee?
Although God through Jesus Christ has already defeated the devil, for a little while yet, God is allowing the devil loose.
Please open your bibles to 2 Corinthians 4:13-18………
God is in control and through Jesus Christ God will take care of us now and forever in spite of the present spiritual battle going on. You have nothing to fear if you are a Believer of Jesus Christ. Please see me later if you have fears right now and in your future. But maybe, our passage today will help you. Open your Bibles now to Ephesians Chapter 6. Let us pray together (pray slide) before reading v10-18…..
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth!
God created both what is seen and what is unseen to us. If God is real, then the spiritual world is real. This is what the Bible says and real faith comes from hearing the Bible!
Although many are blinded to the spiritual world, there is a spiritual battle going on even where we live. And so, God tells Christians in Ephesians 6:11, Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. And again, the Greek grammar for putting on the full armor speaks of personal responsibility. Every individual Christian is personally responsible for putting on the armor of God.
There are 7 pieces to this full armor of God – BBSSSHF.
We are focusing on the Shield of Faith this morning.
God uses items that people are familiar with in the physical world as teaching tools for the Christian life. Of course, this full armor of God is for the spiritual battle every Christian is confronted with! And so again, in order to understand what these pieces of the armor are good for in the spiritual world, we need to first understand their purposes in the physical.
You know when Ephesians was read for the first time, there were Roman Soldiers with their full armor just outside the building where the Christians were meeting. The early Christians knew exactly the power of a soldier’s armor.
Picture for a moment Roman soldiers with their full armor just outside our doors; What will happen to you if you attacked them? You think you can fight against their shields?
In general, what is a shield used for??
A shield is meant to block attacks. Here’s the point: A shield could be used for offense, but its main purpose is for defense!
How is a shield used? Is a shield any good if I just put in on my back or on my legs??
Not using a shield properly is like wearing a winter coat unzipped when it’s 20 degrees below zero! Why do people do that? – They put on something that doesn’t do any good because they are lazy or ignorant. If a soldier is lazy or ignorant and the enemy attacks, they are as good as dead! A good soldier will take a shield and be alert to where the attack may come from.
A shield is held by the arm and is moved to wherever the attack is coming from! How about us? Are we using this Shield of Faith properly? Let us continue to learn!
How big should a shield be?
If a shield is to be moved to wherever the attack is coming from, the user must be able to handle the shield with ease, not too heavy and not too big.
What about a tiny shield, which is easy to handle? What’s wrong with a tiny shield??
A tiny shield may be of some use, but likely will not protect!
The right answer for how big should a shield be? The shield size should be appropriate for the specific person.
Now, for the spiritual battle, God tells Christians to take up the shield of faith.
The spiritual shield Christians are to take up is faith.
What is faith?
If we look at the original Greek word for faith, it is pistis, which means a firm conviction of belief to give complete trust.
Let us briefly turn to Hebrews 11. Faith is defined in v1…….
Faith is a firm belief in something even if it is not seen! If we look at Ephesians 6:23, it tells us that faith comes from God.
Romans 10:17 tells us, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Faith comes from God’s Word, the Bible!
Now, is faith just a strong belief on God’s Word?
What good is it if I say, I have faith in a shield to protect me, but leave it laying on the floor?
James 2:17 tells us, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. And look back again at Hebrews 11. After defining faith in verse 1, we read all the actions taken by godly people BY faith!
Putting all of these truths together about faith, let me suggest a simple definition: Faith is taking action on what you believe!
But let us note that this definition is a general one. Because, based on this general definition, we can actually have faith in just about anything! One can have a strong faith in Buddha. One can have a strong faith in Mohammed. One can have a strong faith in Avatar! Be careful of definitions when they are not totally based on the Bible; this is a scheme that the devil uses! Faith must be defined totally based on what God says in Scriptures!
Godly faith, which is the true faith that God wants us to have, is taking action in what you believe from the Bible!
Now, let us conclude and note how we can be victorious Christians with the Shield of Faith.
If a shield is to block attacks, the Shield of Faith is to block the lies of the devil.
1. Our Shield of Faith is our response with God’s Truths to the Devil’s lies!
Remember how Jesus Christ Himself responded to the Devil’s lies? We are to respond with God’s truths when we are given lies.
Secondly, a shield is to be held by the arm and ready to be moved to where the attack is coming from. In other words,
2. Christians must be alert to look out for the attacks of the devil.
We are to keep watch. We should see things as Jesus would see them.
And our Shields of Faith must not be tiny;
3. Christians are to grow their faith by hearing God’s Word more and more.
Are we reading and listening to God’s Word on a daily basis? If not, our shield of Faith will be tiny and we will find it difficult to block the flaming arrows of the devil towards us.
But let us be careful of trying to use too heavy or too big of a shield. A shield should be the appropriate size for the user.
4. Our Shield of Faith should be appropriate for the situation.
Christians can be so knowledgeable of the technicalities of the Bible that all they end up doing is showing off and not really be of help to anyone. Our Shields of Faith should be godly truths with love. Don’t beat up people with your shield. Don’t beat up people with the Bible. Share the truth in love! In other words, when we talk about our faith, are we really thinking of the other person or are we just building our egos?
We are to take up the Shield of Faith; but remember, it is mainly for defense not offense. In other words, know your apologetics, defend your faith, and not be offensive!
What will happen if we do not take up the Shield of Faith from God? God’s Word tells us; If we do not take up the Shield of Faith from God, we will be hit with the flaming arrows of the devil and our lives will not be of much worth.
If we Christians are not wearing the full armor of God, the devil will hurt us. Always put on the full armor of God!
Put on the Belt of Truth!
Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness!
Put on the Shoes of the Gospel given to you!
Take up the Shield of Faith to block the devil’s lies!
