Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Armour of God Part V Your Spiritual Shield of Faith
What if your faith could be your greatest shield against life's challenges? In this episode, we're diving deep into Ephesians 6, exploring the shield of faith that serves as a cornerstone for every believer's spiritual journey. Discover what faith truly means, its historical context in the form of the Roman shield, and how this can be a powerful defense against life's adversities. Drawing on biblical examples and personal insights, we emphasise the importance of community in strengthening our individual faith. You’ll learn practical ways to reinforce your own faith while supporting others in their journeys.
Join us as we reflect on how the shield of faith not only protects but enables us to overcome life's challenges together. Will your shield of faith be raised? Make sure to tune in—and don’t forget to subscribe, share your thoughts, or leave a review! Your engagement makes a difference!
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Here we are back again on the armour of God. Now we're starting to get into some serious stuff. We're talking about the shield of faith, ephesians 6.16. So by the time I finish going through all of this, you should understand and get the full revelation knowledge about Ephesians 6. Paul said Christians should be above all taking the shield of faith, with which you'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. So in the natural, we first need to know what is a shield and what it is and why it is important. See, once again, paul uses what he knows and what he can see. So what better thing than the Roman shield?
Speaker 1:The Roman shield, or what's commonly known as the suctum, was a central part of a soldier's defence. The suctum was a first century. It was a rectangular in shape and rounded on the ends. It was typically made from two sheets of wood and it was glued together and then covered with canvas and leather. The canvas and leather could be doused in water to protect them against flaming arrows. Now I'm just giving you an example of this so we can get further into the understanding from a scriptural and a spiritual side of things. Side of things now. These shields roughly weighed about 22 pounds, or you know, 9.97 kilograms, and was roughly 40 inches, or 116 millimeters, high and 30 inches, about 762 millimeters, across. A metal piece ran across the center of the shield, so it could also be used as a weapon to punch or to push forward.
Speaker 1:Paul, in his analogy of the Christian armament, says that above all, we should take the shield of faith. So if you are going to take the shield of faith, there's several things that you need to understand first. To see why faith is important, we must first understand what it is. The author of hebrews describes it as the realization of something we can't see, and we all should know. Hebrews 11 1 my wife's favorite one now. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good testimony. That goes into Hebrews 11.2.
Speaker 1:The word faith in the New Testament is translated from the Greek word pistis, defined by Vine's complete expository dictionary as firm belief. Faith is an unshakable belief in the promise of God. This, fundamentally, is the foundation of the Christian faith. If you don't have faith in the word of God, or if you don't have faith in our Lord and Saviour, jesus Christ, there's nowhere to go. There's no foundation for you and you notice that I use this word quite a lot as we're going through the armour of God because you've got to have a foundation. If you can't start with something, you can't really build anything. And that means like if you try to build a house without a foundation, it's going to fall apart, it's going to get wrecked, it's going to disappear very, very quickly. You need a foundation. Our faith. Jesus is the capstone, or he is the cornerstone, or, in other words, he is our foundation for us to build our faith on. So without the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have no foundation.
Speaker 1:The Bible's faith chapter is Hebrews 11. It highlights men and women of God who died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, far off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Now, if you go to Hebrews 11.13, their faith, unshakable belief in the promises of God, allowed them to overcome Satan's attacks and traps. Moses, for instance, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of a Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasure of Egypt, for he looked to the reward Hebrews 11, 24-26. His faith was his shield. Rather than pursue the passing pleasures of sin as royalty in Egypt, moses followed where God led him, even when it would have been easier to just give up. Even when it would have been easier to just give up. It's fairly easy to say this. Putting it into practice is something entirely different. We have to constantly be aware of the parameters that we're working in.
Speaker 1:The Apostle Paul specifically mentions that the shield of faith is needed to defend against the attacks of the devil, the fiery darts of the wicked one. Those fiery darts can take many shapes and forms because Satan is always looking for effective ways to attack us where we're weak. Now notice Paul's statement here, right in Ephesians 6 11 put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Indeed, satan is a wily adversary. He approached even the garden of Eden by tempting her with the fruit that was pleasant to the eye and by telling her that it would bring wisdom. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eye and the tree desirable to make one wise, she took of it fruit and ate it.
Speaker 1:Let's go way back to Genesis 3.6. Now, we're not going to go into that because we talk about that another time. Don't want to get off track this time. Now, paul warned the church of Corinth about Satan's devices, his methods of taking advantage of us if we fail to forgive one another. Now, whom you forgive, anything I also forgive, for if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven anything. I have forgiven that one for your sake, in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. That's 2 Corinthians, 2.10 and 11.
Speaker 1:See, if you look at this from the Roman soldier's perspective. In fact, just like a Roman soldier, in battle we are confronted by arrows of fiery darts of the enemy. We too can be attacked at any time and at any angle by the wiles of Satan. The shield of faith is the armor God has given us to defend against those attacks. Now, there are always weak points in anybody's armor, and we have to continuously reinforce those weaknesses with the written word of God. Now, the Apostle Peter paints a vivid picture of how we must humble ourselves and hold up the shield of faith against Satan. Now, this is 1 Peter, 5, 6 through to 10. So I'm just going to read the whole lot.
Speaker 1:Seems everybody likes me reading the word of God Says this therefore, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you due time. Casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after you have suffered a while perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. Now. I mean that's a beautiful passage of scripture which is telling you just how easy it is If you just humble yourself before the Lord, and he will give you that strength and that conviction, that ability to be able to attack the devil.
Speaker 1:Now we go back to Paul and back to Ephesians 6. I think it's really important that you write these scriptures down and go over them and meditate on them and actually even read the whole passage. It's the same with Hebrews. Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter. So read the whole chapter and just see how faith worked with so many different types of people, different personalities, different lifestyles, different connections, and you find the same in the Christian fraternity.
Speaker 1:All right, when Paul listed the spiritual armaments in Ephesians 6, he emphasized faith, saying that, above all, we need to take the shield. In the Greek, this phrase tells us to add the shield to every other piece of the armor that came before it, that the shield of faith is to be used in addition to the rest of the armour of God. And by examining some of the attributes and spiritual benefits of faith, we can begin to understand the value of its importance. And we do need to do that. See, the shield of faith is not everything. Things will get past the shield of faith, but you've got the other parts of the armor to protect you.
Speaker 1:Now I've broken this down into four sections. I think four, yeah, four, four sections, all right. So I want you to sort of take note of this. Okay, number one we are justified by faith. Romans 3.23,. As human beings, we all sin, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6.23. The penalty for sin is death, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Okay, now and then we go into Romans 5, 1 and 2. What we, as humans, earn is a death penalty because we all have sinned.
Speaker 1:Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, it is possible to be given the unearthly gift of eternal life. Right, this justification of our sins before God requires faith on our part. Okay, and this is why this is what it says in Romans 5, 1 and 2. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also, we have access by faith into his grace, in which we stand and rejoice in hope for the glory of God, for the glory of God. Beautiful scriptures, really, really pivotal scriptures. But also to the extent where it enables you to understand just how God has prepared us in such a way that we're not going out there on our own. Because of our grace, we can be justified before God, and our faith in that justification becomes the shield of faith that protects us from the fiery darts of Satan.
Speaker 1:Now, number two faith makes it possible to please God. Good things happen when we please God. Consider these two passages about the blessings God desires to give us for those who live those lives in a way that are pleasing to him. When a man's way pleases the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. See Proverbs 16.7 and also in Luke 12.32, it says in Luke 12, 32, it says Do not fear little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It's his good pleasure. He wants to do it right.
Speaker 1:With its many biblical examples of people who were faithful to God in Hebrews 11 shows us how vital and rewarding it is to be able to please him with our faith. And it says but without faith it's impossible to please God. So because of faith, we know that faith is a substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen. It allows us to see beyond how things are right now and focus on what they will be one day. I really get excited about this because it's really important to understand that whatever we're doing in the kingdom of God is there to bring glory and honour to our Heavenly Father, but also it is structured in such a way that he actually gives us everything we need so that we can go out there and do the work, because he's already established it. Faith allows us to trust that a God we can't see will fulfill his promise to establish a future we can't imagine. The more we exercise that trust in obedience to him, choosing the right way over the easy way, the more we please him. And look, you can come up with the wildest, most outlandish type of picture of what heaven is like, and you're not going to be even close to that. God has prepared a mansion for you Now.
Speaker 1:Number three faith enables us to overcome. Now Christians are admonished to overcome evil rather than to give in or being overwhelmed by evil. It says do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with God. Sorry, try that again. This is Romans 12.21. It says Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good Romans 12.21. The elements of spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6 are for the purpose of defending ourselves against evil and the attacks of Satan. The shield of faith goes one step further by allowing us not only to defend ourselves, but to actively overcome evil.
Speaker 1:1 John 5.4 says this For whatever is born of God. 1 John 5.4 says this See our faith in God and the promises he has made can be strengthened when we consider the examples of Jesus Christ, who overcome the forces of temptation he faced. He admonished his disciples to bear this in mind as he faced his crucifixion, and this is what he said to them in John 16.33. He said you may have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Wow, what a statement to be given to you just before his crucifixion.
Speaker 1:And finally, number four faith allows us to shield each other. This is very, very important. See, the Roman soldiers of Paul's day were sometimes subject to a virtual shower of arrows that rained down on them from above. For example, when laying siege to a walled city or a fortified hill, they had to advance, whilst arrows were launched from above. As a protection to enable them to advance, they used a formation known as the testido or the tortoise. Some people call it the tortoise shell. Romans are very, very famous for this.
Speaker 1:So you've got a group of Roman soldiers, so you've got shields on the front, shields on the side, shields at the back and then shields on top. So everybody, depending on where they're located, has a particular role. So what they do is they lock all their shields together and it's basically impregnable unless someone fires a big catapult or something like that. I mean, I know some of them say, oh yeah, at least you've got a gun or something. But I mean the reality, the fact is that formation was bringing everybody together in different directions. So it um it, it sort of like, made a complete package, it sealed it up, so there was virtually no way of getting through. And then, you know, they also had the spears. They stuck out and did all that sort of stuff. So it did actually become a very, very powerful formation for the Roman soldiers back in that particular period of time. Similarly, those back and raising shields, those middle ones, raise their shields over their head, protect the arrows flying from above, from the side, from the back, from the front. So they were basically totally impregnable. Now I hope you can't hear those dogs barking. It drives me crazy.
Speaker 1:The Apostle Paul spoke of the need for the body of Christ to be joined together, helping each other, much like the band of soldiers who raised their shields to defend each other, from whom the whole body joined and knitted together, and they were all just linked together. We can do the same thing. It talks about it in Ephesians 4.16, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of its love. Unfortunately, babysitting the dogs. Now let's just sum this up Jesus is looking for our faith.
Speaker 1:A shield, whether it be physical or spiritual, can only be effective when it is raised, when it is put up. This requires an ongoing state of preparedness and patience on our part. Jesus raised the question, in the content of patient endurance through difficult and trials, of whether he would even find faith on the world when he returned. And shall God not avenge his own elect, who cry out day and night to him? Though he bears long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, he will really find faith on the earth Luke 18, 7 and 8.
Speaker 1:To truly be faithful, our unshakable faith and belief in the promise of God must be enduring. The shield cannot remain effective. It is lowered. To personalize Jesus' question when the Son of man comes, will your shield of faith be raised? And the other thing is to remember it is. We are all knitted together. I talked about the tortoiseshell, with all the shields coming around and making an impregnable fortress. Faith, like, christians must come together. There's unity in the body of Christ, right Unity, it says. A three-course street cannot be broken. Right, we've got to bind together.
Speaker 1:When Moses was told to hold his staff above his head, and as long as he did that, the battle below he would be winning. But his arms grew tired as the day grew on, and so he needed others to come alongside of him and to help lift up the staff. We all need support. No matter how we look at things, we all need support, and the shield of faith is something that we need to join together with other Christians. So, as I go through this, I want you to try and visualize what is going on. Visualize what is going on.
Speaker 1:I got these coins given to me for my birthday just recently, and they're a big gold coin. It's all about the armor of God. It's got the whole picture on one side and it's got all the parts of the armor of God on the other side, so that alone people could carry around in their purse, in their pocket, in their wallet, right? Not that I really promote this type of thing, but Timu was where my daughter got this for my birthday, and it's unusual that you look at a Chinese online shopping place having Christian stuff.
Speaker 1:I won't get into that, but I mean what I'm just saying is that whether you've got something physical you can use, or whether you read Ephesians 6, you can use, or whether you read Ephesians 6, the idea is to make sure that you can put on the whole armour of God every day, and so this will protect you against the attacks of the devil, but join with others as they do the same thing. So it says, line upon line, precept upon precept Okay, see, every word that comes out of our mouth, okay, needs to be edifying, uplifting, encouraging, you know, because it's all about the word, the word of God, okay. And the word of God says that we need to be ready, we need to be armed and we need to find ourselves in that right standing so we are ready to face the world, and the world is the devil's playground. All right, that's it for today. Hopefully the dogs weren't making too much noise in the background and we'll see you next time on Great Vine Ministries. Bye, for now.
