For example, we often see race car drivers involved in some terrible accidents in their efforts to beat all the other drivers.
This is something that these drivers hoped never would happen, but it is something they expected to happen. This is why they have equipped themselves for these situations:
• Their car is equipped with roll bars
• They wear helmets that protect them from head injuries
• They wear clothing that is padded that gives them some protection on impact and from fire
A sensible race car driver would not think of entering a race without using this protection that is available to him.
Some who have never played football cannot help but wonder how those fellows can do what they do and not kill each other. But everyone who has been suited in a football uniform knows the protection that the uniform they wear provides for them.
A sensible football player would not think of playing without this uniform of protection.
It is common knowledge that there are some dangerous situations out there, and we need to be prepared for those situations in the event they may occur in our life.
We recognize that these bodies are not made for certain kinds of abuses and we must protect them.
The same thing is true spiritually, we must have some protection. God has given us the ARMOR OF GOD that we must wear every day.
• It is essential that we put on EVERY PIECE of the armor He has provided, because if we don’t, that is where Satan will attack us.
• It is essential that we put it on EVERY DAY, because if we don’t, that will be the day that Satan will attack us and do the most harm.
In this sermon, we want to look at another piece of armor that God wants us to PUT ON for our protection.
The fourth piece of armor we must PUT ON is the SHIELD OF FAITH. This piece of armor is somewhat different from the other pieces we PUT ON.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? This particular piece is not PUT ON our bodies like other pieces of armor, instead, it is something we must reach out and grasp and SKILLFULLY LEARN TO USE. This piece of armor is only good, as we learn how to use it.
Illus: You can have the best hand gun for your protection, but if you do not know how to load it and discharge it you are no better off than the man who does not have one at all.
We must learn how to use the SHIELD OF FAITH for our spiritual protection.
• One of the most dominating things you saw when you saw a Roman Soldier was the big shield that was placed before him
• A great deal of his training dealt with HOW TO USE IT
WHY WAS THIS A NECESSARY PART OF HIS TRAINING?
Because often he would find himself in the heat of the battle, and if he did not know how to take that shield and use it, he could not protect himself from all the arrows and javelins that were thrown at him.
Sad to say, many Christians today do not even recognize that the SHIELD OF FAITH is available to them, much less know how to use that shield.
Every day the devil is shooting arrows at them, and they are not even aware that it is the devil trying to destroy them.
• They think it is only a case of bad luck
• They think it is a mid-life crisis they are facing
• They think it is a post-Christmas depression
But all the time it is Satan hurling everything he can hurl at them to try and destroy them.
Therefore, if we are to understand the importance of FAITH in our spiritual battle against SATAN AND THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS, it is helpful to understand the importance of the SHIELD OF FAITH in physical combat.
I. EXAMINATION OF THE SHIELD
To examine this shield, we need to examine the shield of the Roman soldier, because Paul probably had this in mind as he spoke of the SHIELD OF FAITH.
Let’s look at the-
A. CONSTRUCTION OF THE SHIELD
The shield which Paul speaks of in this passage is not the small, round, shield which would be called a "buckler."
This shield is a long shield which measured approximately four feet by two feet, and the profile of it was contoured to fit the body.
Every time we see these Roman soldiers in a Hollywood movie, they are carrying a shield made of metal.
But actually this was not the case. These military shields were constructed of wood and covered on the outside with thick leather.
The leather:
• Absorbed the shock of the arrow
• Protected the frame of the shield from the fire tipped darts used in the artillery of the ancients
Often as they faced their enemies, the enemy would hurl thousands of flaming arrows shot from their bows. But they could hide behind these shields and they were protected.
But there is something else we need to consider about these shields. That is, there were days they never needed those shields, but when the time came when they needed them, all of a sudden they were the most important thing they possessed.
For example, Job, in the old testament, went for a long time with the blessings of God on His life. But then suddenly life turned sour on him one day, and the devil hurled everything he could hurl at him. The messengers came to his home one after the other only to tell him the bad things that were happening to him.
But he withstood all that Satan threw at him because he knew how to use the SHIELD OF FAITH to quench all the fiery darts thrown at him.
Look how he trusted the Lord. Look at what he said in Job 13:15, we read, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”
Job was saying:
• I do not know why these things are happening to me
• I can’t do anything about the things that are happening to me
But I know this, I am going to trust Him with the last breath he gives me.
When things are going well in life we do not need the shield of faith, but life can suddenly turn sour on us, and we had better keep the shield of faith nearby, because then we are going to need it.
When the Roman soldier found himself in the heat of the battle, the bigger his shield was, the better off he was. When those times in our life come, the bigger our faith is, the better off we are.
We have looked at the CONSTRUCTION OF THE SHIELD, but also look at the-
B. COVERING OF THE SHIELD
Faith is to cover our entire being like a shield. There is nothing in our life that we cannot handle with the shield of faith.
Paul is not magnifying the power of faith, but the object of faith. That is, we do not worship faith, BUT WE RECOGNIZE IT IS A TOOL THAT WE USE TO LINK OURSELVES TO THE UNBOUNDED RESOURCES OF ALMIGHTY GOD.
A soldier did not fight the battle alone, he had other soldiers that stood beside him and fought with him. These shields were constructed so that the soldiers could stand side by side and interlock their shields together.
In other words, as their shields became interlocked together, they became a wall of protection that many could hide behind.
Evidently this is what the Lord also had in mind in Matthew 18:19, when He said, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
In the heat of the battle, it is essential that we learn how to interlock our faith with other believers and trust God for the victory.
We have looked at the EXAMINATION OF THE SHIELD, but let us also look at the-
II. APPLICATION OF THE SHIELD
It is not enough to know what the shield is, we must know also how it can help us. Look at -
A. THE SUPREMACY OF THE SHIELD
Notice, Paul said of the shield, "above all". Paul is letting us know that if we are going to stand in the battle and be victorious, “above all” things, we had better have our SHIELD OF FAITH to protect us.
Faith is able to COVER all areas of difficulty and every realm of attack in your life.
B. THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE SHIELD
The SHIELD OF FAITH that Paul is talking about is not "saving faith".
• God never commands the sinner to wage war upon Satan
• The reason is obvious, the devil has already captured them
The faith that Paul speaks of is TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD.
The faith that protects us like a shield is an UNSHAKABLE, UNFAILING, UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE OR TRUST in the God who loved us and gave His Son for us.
We are to trust in God's PROVISION, PROTECTION, POWER, and His faithful care as we faithfully follow His will for our life, even if that will brings hardships and adversities.
Look at Psalm 115:9-15, we read, “O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.”
But sometimes, before we can discover WHAT FAITH IS, we have to discover WHAT FAITH IS NOT!
Unfortunately some Christians have been mislead about faith and its nature as a shield.
(1) Faith does not always shield us from physical sufferings.
How many times have you heard Christians say, “I do not understand why all these bad things are happening to me”?
Let me tell you why they are confused. Somebody told them that you can accept the Lord Jesus Christ and live “Happily ever after”. Someone might have told them this, but the Bible certainly does not say that.
Paul had GREAT FAITH, but he also had GREAT SUFFERINGS. An example of this reality is found in 2 Cor. 11:24 27, we read, “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”
The reason the television preachers get on television and tell people that it is the will of God for them to never suffer, is because they are ear ticklers, telling people what they want to hear.
God’s Word said this time would come. In 2 Tim. 4:3-4, we read, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
But Bible preachers will tell them the truth, that our FAITH DOES NOT SHIELD US FROM SUFFERINGS.
(2) Faith does not always shield us from the loss of our possessions, which is evidenced in the life of Job and many others.
Some of God’s finest servants have been poor, and deprived of earthly luxuries.
(3) Faith does not always shield us from pain, sorrow or bereavement; for believers must face sorrow and personal heartache.
Sometimes we can hear a Saint of God say, “I do not understand it, I gave my heart to the Lord and lost several members of my family to death.”
We lose members of our families the same way the most evil people in this city lose members of their families.
Our faith does not shield us from these things. Faith is not the ability to believe your way to a problem free life, or a life without difficulties. Our faith does not shield us from a life of problems.
The shield of faith is something we must all come to know how to use if we are going to survive. Why?
2 Tim. 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
WHAT IS FAITH? It is, the ability to be shielded from all the fiery darts of the wicked that he hurls at us each day.
Faith never guarantees a life of ease, rather it shields us when attacks come, whether through temptations or trials, so that we might be able to overcome and not become overwhelmed.
Conclusion:
• The Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York
• The Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio
• The Cowboy Hall of Fame is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• The 11th Chapter of Hebrews is Faith's Hall of Fame
Remember, all of God’s great soldiers are not recorded in Hebrews 11. I hope that you are among those who have put on the whole armor of God, and today you may be facing the heat of the battle, but you are safely protected by the SHIELD OF FAITH.
I. EXAMINATION OF THE SHIELD
II. APPLICATION OF THE SHIELD
