Supernatural Warfare - Part Five

Sermon Shield of Faith

 

The reason the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Christians at Ephesus – and by extension, to every Christian throughout the millennia – the reason is rooted in Genesis Three. No one can understand the darkness that our world has suffered since the beginning of time without understanding what happened in that early chapter.

 

In the same way, without returning to what happened in that early chapter of Genesis, no one can understand the deeply personal significance of the Lord Jesus’ comment in Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”

 

It is BECAUSE darkness entered our world that men and women have been taken hostage in this deadly spiritual battle, taken hostage by sin and Satan, who is the prince of sin and darkness.

 

And it is only – ONLY – through Jesus the Messiah – in whom (as John tells us) is the Light of men and women smothered in darkness. It is only through Jesus the Christ who, as Paul also wrote, who  “rescued us from the domain of darkness.” (Colossians 1:13)

 

And so, let us now turn again to Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus. I’m reading again in chapter six of that letter:

 

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” 

 

I focus my remarks today on the next element of our spiritual armor, which is the shield of faith – the shield that protects us from the destructive and fiery arrows of Satan and his demonic army.

 

Who here has not felt the burning wounds of his arrows? Just as the devil seduced Eve into doubting God's unconditional paternal love for her, even as she and Adam lived in a Paradise, even so, Satan works today, on July 27, 2025 to seduce you and me to doubt our Father’s care and love and compassion and abundant forgiveness.

 

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we find evidence of Satan’s tireless work to destroy us For example, listen to this word from the Biblical book of Job (Job 1:6-7) “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

The devil has not changed his strategic reconnaissance methods. Here’s Peter’s first letter: (1 Peter 5:8-9a) “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.”

 

Christian – that’s God's instructions to you and me: Resist the devil, firm in your faith.

 

But if that ‘shield of faith’ is to protect us from Satanic attacks, the word ‘faith’ requires some definitions. First, what is faith? And second, what must be the singular object of our faith?

 

The answer to the first question is easy because Scripture itself defines faith. Here is Hebrews 11:1 - “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The JB Phillips translation of the Bible renders it this way: “Faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see.”

 

In other words, ‘faith’ means we trust in the Lord with all our hearts – when things go well and when things go wrong. Faith in God means we trust Him, and we do not rely on our own understanding of circumstances. And faith means we obey God in ALL circumstances.

 

Biblical faith is comprised of two elements – intellectual assent and also trust. I can BELIEVE something to be true, but unless I TRUST it to be true, the concept of faith remains in my head and not in my heart. I BELIEVE a chair will support me when I sit on it, but if I do not TRUST it to support me, I won’t sit in it.

 

Many people BELIEVE in God. But unless that belief translates into TRUST in God in the midst of personal storms, such belief is often only intellectual and has not matured into residency in the heart.

 

Let me say all that in another way. Biblical faith is synonymous with trust in God, in His omnipotence – that nothing happens to us or around us that is not under His direct control; Biblical faith is synonymous with trust in His omniscience – that He knows moment by moment where we are and what are our needs; Biblical faith is synonymous with trust that nothing can ever separate us from His unshakeable love.

 

I think immediately of at least two instances in the life of the Lord Jesus that exemplifies that kind of trust in the Father and provides us an example to follow in Christ’s steps.

 

The first instance I want to draw attention to occurred in Gethsemane. I’ll speak about that point in a few minutes. But for now, let’s focus on the second instance, the one that occurred several hours after Gethsemane, on Calvary’s hill. The Lord hangs from nails in His hands and feet. He’s bloodied. Bruised. Hungry. Thirsty. Cold. Except for John, all of His disciples had left Him. Peter had denied knowing Him. And then Satan, through the mouths of the mob at the foot of His cross, moved in for the kill. Matthew records it this way: (Matthew 27:39-43) -

 

“And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

 

I need to pause here for a moment. Not only is the Lord suffering excruciating physical agony, but – you will remember – He was also suffering inestimable SPIRITUAL agony, for when the sin of the world was placed there on His shoulders, when “He who knew no sin BECAME sin for us – as Paul tells us in that passage in 2 Corinthians 5 – Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

 

Have you ever been there? In physical or emotional or spiritual torment – or all three at one time? And the devil let go his fiery arrows and mocked your faith, saying “If you REALLY are God's child, if God really loves you, then why are you here suffering like this?”

 

May God help us take our cue from the uncountable martyrs of Biblical and Church history. Job is only one example. Many of you know his story. In one fell swoop, he lost his ten children, his great wealth, and his health. And as he sat on ashes and scrapped the sores from his skin with a broken piece of pottery, his wife said to him: (Job 2:9-10) “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

 

And if you know Job’s story you also likely know what he said in chapter 13 of his book: “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.”

 

The prophet Habakkuk is yet another example of childlike trust in God even in the midst of pain and loss. The year is around 600 B.C. The bloodthirsty Babylonian army is poised to ravage, rape, and murder its way through Jerusalem. The prophet knows the inevitable. And so, he writes, “I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will invade us.”

 

But then he continues in that next verse: “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”

 

This kind of trust, this kind of faith is our shield of faith – faith in God – trust in God – who does all things well – even if we do not understand what He does, or like what He does. Faith in God, trust in God, who is not unaware of our suffering. And who, in the midst of our suffering, has not withdrawn His love from us one iota. Listen to the Holy Spirit tell it again to us, this time through the apostle Paul:

 

(Romans 8:35-39) “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Now let’s look at the first instance when the Lord Jesus exemplifies for us the kind of faith that is our shield.  Most anyone with even superficial knowledge of the New Testament knows what happened in Gethsemane. Jesus – fully human . . .  don’t forget that; Fully human and fully God, but STILL fully human) – Jesus begged the Father to remove the cup He was about to drink to its dregs. Three times the Son of God wept and writhed under the weight of what He knew was to soon take place.

 

Jesus, fully Man and fully God did not want to go to the cross. But Jesus the Man – and I reemphasize the point of His humanity, because He was as much a human as you and I – Jesus the Man fully trusted His Father and His Father’s plan – the plan formed before the foundation of the world, the plan initiated in Genesis chapter three when Satan stole humanity’s birthright, the plan to restore fallen men and women – you and me and everyone in this sanctuary, in this building, on this planet – to restore us to an intimate relationship with our Creator God.

 

These people I’m talking about were not stained-glass caricatures. Job, Habakkuk, Peter, Paul – all the prophets and apostles, and yes, even Jesus Himself – they were all REAL people, human beings with real emotions. They got hungry and lonely. They bled when they were cut. They got angry and heartbroken. They were men and women just like you and me.

 

So, yes, Jesus the Man did not want to go to that cross, but He would trust the Father, and so He said three times: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

 

So, Christian, with God's help alone, pick up the shield of faith, even in the face of the lies and innuendos and doubts Satan tries to introduce into our minds, pick up the shield of faith, which is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things we cannot now see.  

 

But where does this kind of faith come from? Certainly, from reading, studying, and knowing God's word. As Scripture tells us: (Romans 10:17) “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 

 

And so, the shield of faith is formed by – and strengthened by – God's undiluted, infallible, and inerrant word. But there is something else necessary to the integrity of our shield besides mere knowledge of God's word. There must be a supernatural component to that knowledge. As the psalmist tells us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

 

Only the Holy Spirit – the third Person of the Holy Trinity – only the Holy Spirit can convert in our minds INFORMATION to REVELATION. It is only when He reveals to our HEARTS His truths about Romans 8:28 will we also be able to say with the Lord Jesus, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

 

Only when the Holy Spirit changes our hearts, will we be able to say with Habakkuk, even in the face of devastation, “Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in His salvation.”  It is only through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that we will find ourselves empowered to proclaim to hell itself, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.”

 

Each week, I stand before a small group of men and women suffering varying stages of dementia. As I stand there, I am fully aware that unless the Holy Spirit breaks through their confusion and fading memory, I will be speaking into the air. Nothing I say during those 30 minutes or so will have any chance of making an impact on their lives.

 

And so, with that awareness, I always begin our time together praying aloud for the Lord to open all of our minds and hearts as I speak words of encouragement, exhortation, hope and promise.

 

But – isn’t that what we should all always do whenever we speak – or plan to speak – with someone about the Lord? Shouldn’t we always – even if it’s a quickly breathed prayer – shouldn’t we always ask the Holy Spirit to speak His truths through us?  Don’t we know that just because a person has an intact memory doesn’t mean they also have ears to hear and hearts that are soft to God's voice?

 

And – isn’t that what you and I should always do when we open our Bibles to read? Don’t we want from the Holy Spirit more than mere ‘information’? Don’t we also want from Him ‘revelation’?

 

Spiritual warfare. Spiritual armor. And an understanding of Satan’s cunning and calculating schemes to destroy you, me, and our families. THAT’S why I preach from the Bible. That’s why I teach from the Bible. We all – me included – we all need to be warned over and over to stay alert to Satan’s subterfuge; To stay faithful to Christ and obedient to His words; To learn to trust Him with childlike faith. Oh, may our God help us!

 

Gird your loins with truth – God’s inerrant and infallible word. Read it. Study it. Memorize it. Tell it to others. Live it before others. And put on the breastplate of righteousness which God credits to us through our faith in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus the Messiah. And take up the shield of faith with which you will extinguish the enemy’s fiery lies and doubts and temptations and confusions.

 

Next time we will examine our helmet of salvation and our sword of the Spirit.