HoHum:
(Opening illustration from here: https://www.sagebrush.church/next-steps-week-2/next-steps-week-2-day-4/). A woman went into her kitchen to find a robber loaded down with a bunch of stuff he was stealing from her. Not having any kind of weapon to scare him off, she raised her hand and said, "Acts 2:38," and proceeded to quote Scripture. The robber froze in place and didn't move. The woman called 911. The police arrived and were amazed to find the robber still frozen where he stood. The officer asked her, "What did you say to him that kept him from moving?" She told them that she had simply said Acts 2:38 and quoted Scripture. The police escorted the robber out to the patrol car. They asked the robber, "Why did the woman quoting scripture scare you so much?" The robber said, "Scripture!? I thought she said she had an ax and two 38’s!"
WBTU:
Series is called Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles. Looking at each piece of spiritual armor of which Paul makes mention in Ephesians 6:10-20- Read this- come back and read Vs. 16
I love the Roman legionnaire. Imagine Paul in his imprisonment looking at the soldier assigned to guard him and compares each piece of that soldier’s equipment to a spiritual truth. The Roman military had taken over the known world and their genius was the Roman legionnaire, the foot soldier, infantrymen. Oh, they had special units but the force that took over the known world was the Roman legionnaire.
Look at this picture of Roman soldier (Last picture of Reenactor on this web page https://www.romanobritain.org/8-military/mil_roman_soldier_shield.php)- we can locate the belt (of truth), the breastplate (of righteousness) is prominent here, find the sandals (gospel of peace), and now come to the shield (of faith). Other armies had little shields but one of the geniuses of the Roman army is that they had large shields that covered a large portion of their body. Next slide
(Go to picture of graphic of Roman and enemy soldier in middle of web page at: https://www.romanobritian.org/8-military/mil_roman_soldier_shield.php)- notice this talks about the sword being a stabbing weapon- this was used behind the shield- notice that enemy soldier, he is half naked and without the equipment of the Roman legionnaire- very open to stabbing because he has about half the shield of the Roman. At the bottom of the figure of the Roman legionnaire, it says, “With its metal boss and reinforced edges, the scutum (shield) could be wielded offensively if necessary.” If without sword, can do damage with shield. All of this equipment is defensive except for one and that is the sword (sure Tim will talk about this in 2 weeks). Interesting, but the 2 pictures on the left are the most important for our discussion. The top picture is of a Roman formation at the front of a battle. The Roman legionnaire would have their shield in front of them. As soldiers were stabbed or getting tired, they would move to the back of the formation. Always in a tight formation, never leaving the formation unless they were dead, always close together. This also discouraged retreat, remember our series, “Standing firm in spiritual battles.” Notice the bottom left picture- this is of a Roman formation that is a distance from the battle lines. I know the description is talking about storming fortifications but this also applies to arrows. In that day there were no airplanes that would drop bombs. In that day there also were no cannons or artillery. The only long range weapon was the arrow. The enemies of the Romans loved arrows. This is how the Romans defended themselves against arrows. (Go to tortoise formation picture of reenactors, next picture after Trajan's column at: https//www.romanobritian.org/8-military/mil_roman_soldier_shield.php). They would have their shields overhead and the arrows would bounce off or stick in their shields, doing little damage to the Roman legionnaire. The shield overlaid with leather. This was called the testudo (Latin for “tortoise”). Often these arrows would be dipped in tar and on fire because it was more dramatic, caused more fear and panic. Before the battle, the Romans would soak their shields in water so that if the flaming arrow did stick it would cause minimal damage. The majority of the shield was wood, the middle was metal where the handle was on the inside. When this formation of soldiers got to the battle line the arrows would stop. No shooting arrows to the front of the battle because will hit all of the soldiers, friend and foe alike, so that was not done. Arrows were used to pick off soldiers who were a distance away. Oh, my, lots of spiritual parallels here.
Thesis: Let’s talk about arrows and then go back to shields of faith
For instances:
I. Flaming arrows of the evil one
This is talking about Satan and his forces, kingdom of darkness. Proverbs 26:10 says, “Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.” Like an archer who wounds at random- this is what Satan and his forces are doing- just shooting in the general direction and hoping to hit something to cause damage. No long range rifles at this point. It says of King Ahab in 1 Kings 22:34- someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor- see what can penetrate and cause damage. Notice question on bulletin- What might some of those things be in my life that cause damage? (Portions of this section come from Sermon Central sermon id # 275011 by Roger Hasselquist)
1. Desire- James 1:14-15 “each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin”.
2. Despair- Ecclesiastes 2:20 “So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor.”
3. Discouragement- Psalm 44:9-10 “But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us.”
4. Doubt- Jude 22 “Be merciful to those who doubt”
5. Fear- Psalm 91:5 “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day.”
6. Worry- Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.”
7. Busyness- Wilbur Chapman said, “Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it.” Hebrews 12:1- let us throw off everything that hinders (busyness) and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us
Told that if the flaming arrows were effective, they would no longer dip the arrows in tar but would dip them in poison so that when the arrow penetrated a person, that person would die quickly. Sounds like addiction to me- having young people come on hospice service that die, just one more high, one more hit and then comes death. 1 Peter 5:8-9— Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith
II. Shield of faith
Where does faith come from? Does faith come from within a person or outside of a person? Some have the idea that God must give faith. If never have that feeling of assurance, then have no faith, then condemned. First funeral I did was for a man who never had that feeling so lived a life of eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Interesting that the Bible gives us a definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says in KJV, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” NIV says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Even though we do not see God in a physical sense, we can still be confident He exists and is at work in us and around us. Faith says, “God, I don’t see you, but I believe you are there.” Faith is more than just belief. Faith contains 3 tenses: The past, present and future. (Much of this comes from an article by Javan Rowe in Lookout Magazine at: https://lookoutmag.com/2011/three-dimensional-faith/)
1. The Past
From the rest of Hebrews 11 we see what the ancients did because of their faith in God. The Old Testament reveals how faith passed from generation to generation. Hebrews 11:39-40 says, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” What is this saying? Coming to the New Testament, as confirmed in Hebrews 12:2- Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. I like what Peter said in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 10:38-40: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.” These things we did not see but the New Testament writers give us many evidences of those things. These things have been verified again and again. We do not have a blind faith but faith in the facts of the gospel. Our faith’s history is more than what we see in the Bible, though. Our faith has its own unique past, where God personally intervened. Many shared their faith with us because someone else presented the gospel to them. We are products of generations of people in a line that runs all the way back to the apostles and Jesus himself. My testimony…
2. The Present
In that picture of the Roman soldiers, they were best in a tight formation with those shields making a wall in front and around and a cover on top. Psalm 5:12: “Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Yes, the Lord is our shield but the Lord gives us people to make a wall of shields to protect us. We should not live the Christian life in solitude. The New Testament consistently refers to the community of believers. We stand as a whole regimen of soldiers ready to assist other Christians when they stumble. The gospel spreads rapidly when a multitude of soldiers march in unison. This is a call to become involved in the local church. Connect with a small group so we can grow through interaction. Find a ministry to give expression to our faith. Christianity is communal so we should strive to become as involved with other Christians as possible. “I can do this on my own.” No lone soldiers in the Roman army and they took over the known world. Acts 4:32- All the believers were one in heart and mind.
3. The Future
Certain of what we do not see. In hospice often talk about heaven. Revelation 7:15-17: they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ As we place our faith in God’s promises, our perspectives will change from pessimism to optimism.
Invitation: 1 John 5:4: "everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” Encamped along the hills of light, Ye Christian soldiers...
