Supernatural Warfare - Part Seven: The Sword

 

Sermon Aug 10, 2025

Supernatural Warfare: Part Seven

The Sword of the Spirit

 

In 2019, the Pew Research Center published survey results examining the knowledge of the Bible among self-identifying Evangelicals. In the course of their survey, they found the following: Only 66 percent of evangelicals knew that Jesus was from Nazareth; Only 69 percent of evangelicals knew that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount; And 25 percent of evangelicals thought the Golden Rule was one of the Ten Commandments.

 

Three years later, in 2022, Ligonier ministries asked U.S. Evangelicals if they agreed or disagreed with this statement, “The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.”

 

Twenty-six percent agreed that the Bible was more an account of ancient myths rather than true history. When asked if God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, 56 percent of evangelicals said ‘Yes.’ And, by the way, I myself have spoken to many Christians who believe the same – that faith in and obedience to Jesus in NOT the only door to heaven.

 

It gets worse. From 2020 to 2022, there was a 13 percent increase in the number of evangelicals who agreed with the statement “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” And none of these statistics should be surprising when we also discover that according to surveys, only 35% of Christians regularly read their Bibles.

 

With that sobering piece of information about the state of Bible reading among self-professed Christians, we continue our series on the spiritual armor God has given us to wage successful battle against our supernatural enemy, our enemy whose overriding goal is to destroy every man, woman, and child created by God.

 

Let’s return now to the sixth chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 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.”

 

We’ve looked these past several weeks at various elements of the supernatural armor God provides His children to successfully wage war against a supernatural and deadly adversary. Today we turn our attention to our sword.

 

As I’ve said during the last several weeks, every article of the Roman soldier’s armor was designed for defense – except for his sword, which was his offensive weapon.

 

Likewise, each piece of the Christian’s armor is designed for defense. However, the sword of the Spirit, the eternal, infallible, and transcendent Word of God – along with prayer, as we will see next week – it is with that sword that we conduct our necessary offensive against our supernatural enemy.

 

During the 40-day temptation in the wilderness, the Lord Jesus wielded the Word of God against each of Satan’s challenges. And that is how WE must also battle against our supernatural enemy. The Scriptures are the foundation of the truth with which we gird our loins, perhaps especially in our own wildernesses. God’s word is the strength of our shield of faith with which we stave off the fiery arrows of the enemy. The Bible is the vitality of our breastplate of righteousness which God imputes to us by His grace. It is the impenetrable material that forms our helmet, and it is the energy behind the reason we shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace we bring to others. If we neglect God’s provision, we ought not be surprised when Satan so easily defeats us time and time again.

 

It's really just as simple as that.

 

Listen to St Paul’s words to Timothy – and to us in the 21^st century: It is “the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, [Gk: ‘thoroughly’] equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15b-17)

 

I know I am being redundant, but I do so purposely to emphasize the point – the strength and integrity of the Christian's spiritual armor is fixed uncompromisingly in God's word. That’s why in the battles we face each day, it is crucial – crucial – to examine every philosophy, every thought, every idea under the light of the whole of Scripture, not just isolated texts here and there. Remember: A text taken out of context is usually a pretext for error.

 

There is too much at stake to be sloppy or casual about our spiritual gear. The statistics I just shared with you at the beginning of this message ought to make that point clearly enough.

 

There are, I suppose, many reasons people don’t read the Bible when it is so readily available. Some keep the book closed because they tell themselves they don’t have to read it. Or they don’t see a need to read it. Or they don’t understand some of the archaic language found, for example, in the King James version of the Bible.

 

But though there may be many reasons people keep the book closed, the fundamental reason – unconscious or conscious – the fundamental reason many keep their bibles closed is because it wounds their conscience. Listen to Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

 

Our conscience is that inconvenient voice in our minds that accuses us when we do something wrong or when we don’t do what we ought to do. Mark Twain - not one who thought kindly of Christianity — once commented: "Most people are bothered by those passages in scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in scripture which trouble me the most are those which I do understand."

 

Our conscience is that troublesome voice – that intuitive ‘sense’ deep inside our souls – that tells us we are created by God FOR God and are therefore accountable to God. It’s that irritating voice that causes many to avoid the Bible because they want to live their own way. They don’t want to be told by God to change their paths.

 

I have personal experience with that excuse. Some of you may remember the story I’ve told before. I was 19 years old and stopped at a red light on the corner of Mott Avenue and Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway, NY. I still see the moment in my memory. And this thought dropped into my mind: What if there is a God?

 

The thought caught me off guard, and so I considered the question for a few moments – until I realized that if God existed, I’d have to change my lifestyle of ‘sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.’ So, as the light turned green, I made a choice. I made a MORAL choice. I rejected the idea that God exists because I didn’t want to obey Him and change my lifestyle.

 

Of course, at the time, I didn’t know that the Lord Jesus spoke specifically about people like me when He said: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21)

 

Listen, people can grouse and sputter and argue all they want, but they ALL know intuitively that God exists. And they know they’re accountable to Him. They just like to think if they can ignore His existence, they somehow won’t have to face Him at their Judgment.

 

How utterly foolish is that?

 

I realized what I just said begs this question: How can we be certain EVERYONE knows God exists? That easy to answer because God has made His existence unmistakably known to them. Listen to the Scriptures again: Romans 1:18ff “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. or even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened . . .

 

And what is the inevitable result of a willful rejection of God and mocking His Word? Listen to these next verses:

 

“Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them . . . [and] God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind . . . and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

 

Have you wondered why so many so-called ‘experts’ in medicine, theology, law, and a host of other disciplines in our pagan culture – have you wondered why they so persistently try to influence men, women, and even children to accept lesbianism, and homosexuality as normative behavior? Do you understand from that text in Romans why our culture at nearly every level encourages the sins of abortion, fornication, adultery, blasphemy, self-idolatry, and every other sin that bludgeons against God’s Ten Commandments?

 

The ungodly and anti-Christs not only mock the idea of a divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God, but they also suppress the truth in unrighteousness. “And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

 

Christian, because you believe and obey God’s word, you know that unless they repent, there is no hope whatsoever for their eternal souls. And THAT is Satan’s goal – that they have no hope whatsoever for their eternal souls.

 

Those who make excuses to keep their Bible closed know instinctively and intuitively what God requires of them. But the choose to fool themselves into believing that if they embrace atheism or even agnosticism, they can live as they choose. And in so doing, they make themselves fools.

 

Listen again to God say it: Psalm 14:1-3 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

 

Satan wants you dead. Forever dead; Dead, yet fully conscious and with him and his demons in the eternal lake of fire. THAT is why he feeds people all kinds of excuses to leave their sword sheathed.

 

Yet God’s warning remains forever true: (Proverbs 13:13) “The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”

 

The sword of the Spirit is the infallible, inerrant, and fully inspired word of God we call the Bible and which you have in your apartments. Christian: We must know it, believe it, and obey it if we are to mightily wield it against our ancient foe who seeks to work us woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate – on earth is not his equal.

 

We do not wrestle with flesh and blood. Our battles are with supernatural forces and therefore must be met with supernatural force. That is once again why we have spent these past several weeks talking about and examining the supernatural armor given to us by the Holy Spirit.

 

It was out of great love and concern that the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy – and by extension, to us in the 21^st century: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

I close this message with this simple reminder of my ‘2+2 = 1+3’ method of Bible reading. If you read only two chapters of the Old Testament every day – takes about 10 minutes or so on average, and you read two chapters of the New Testament every day – takes another 10 minutes or so on average – then you will have read the entire Old Testament once in a year and the New Testament THREE TIMES in a year. Thus the 2+2 = 1+3. There are dozens of Annual Bible Reading Plans on the internet. I have given many of you my own annual plan to try.

 

For as long as I have been here at Ashwood Meadows as your pastor, I have striven to help everyone grow in their faith and remain on the narrow road that leads to eternal life. I do not want anyone to fall prey to liars and false teachers who want to steal your soul.

 

Next week we will conclude this series on our spiritual armor with an examination of prayer.

 

 

Supernatural Warfare - Part Six

In the past few weeks, we’ve examined several elements of the supernatural, spiritual armor God has provided us in our ongoing, never ending spiritual battle against our unseen but extraordinarily seductive and destructive enemy. We’ve looked at bracing ourselves with God's unchanging truth. We’ve talked about the breastplate of the righteousness which God imputes to us as a result of our faith in Christ. We examined what it means to put on shoes prepared to bring to gospel of peace to the John Lennons of the world. Last week, we looked at the shield of faith.

 

Today we turn attention to the helmet of salvation. In Paul’s letter to the Christians at Thessalonica, Paul calls the helmet, ‘the hope of salvation.”

We’ll compare both descriptions in a few minutes.  So, please follow along with me as I read again from our text in Ephesians chapter six:

 

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. (Eph 6:13-17)

 

The most obvious value of a helmet during a battle is to protect against blows to the head. If the soldier’s head was badly injured, the rest of the armor would be of little use. And in the same vein, it ought to be equally unthinkable for the Christian to engage in this spiritual warfare without his or her helmet of salvation. God designed our supernatural helmet to protect us from spiritual injury and deadly poison that is embedded in the ideas and philosophies of any pagan culture – including America’s pagan culture.

 

That is likely one of the reasons St Paul wrote to the Christians living in pagan Rome – and by extension, the Christians living in pagan America:

 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may [discern] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

 

To make this point about protection from the weapons Satan uses to indoctrinate humanity to behave and think as he wants us to behave and think, I turn our attention to the example of the four Jewish men among the thousands exiled to Babylon in the 6^th century B.C. Their story is told in the Old Testament book of Daniel.

 

When Nebuchadnezzar’s army ravaged its way through Jerusalem, Daniel and his three companions, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were bound with chains and brought to Babylon. In short order they found themselves in a strange land, surrounded by a people of a strange language, and now living in a culture – a Pagan culture – totally foreign to the one in which they were raised, educated, and worshipped.

 

After they arrived at the king’s palace, Nebuchadnezzar placed them in his indoctrination program into Babylonian culture. You’ll find that text in the first chapter of Daniel. For the sake of time, I won’t read it to you, but I urge you to do so later today. It’s only 20 or so verses.

 

Part of the king’s strategy was to make Daniel and his friends think and behave like Babylonians. To that end, he had them immersed in their literature, laws, ideas, and religion of Babylonian culture and society - just as Satan wants us immersed in our culture so that we also will behave and think like the ungodly among us.

 

Christian, let me say that again for emphasis: Satan wants us immersed in our culture so that we also will behave and think like the ungodly among us.

 

What Daniel and his three fellow Jews experienced in their captivity exquisitely illustrates the danger we all face in our 21^st century culture and society. And unless we recognize the spiritual battles spread across the landscapes of media, academia, literature, entertainment, and so forth – and unless we intentionally dress ourselves in the entirety of God's spiritual armor, including the helmet of salvation, we ARE at grave risk of leaving our first love and slowly being indoctrinated to think and behave like the world around us. This point cannot be overstated.

 

Let me remind us again of the Lord’s Jesus’ ominous warning to the Christians at Ephesus. This warning occurred AFTER Paul wrote the letter we’ve been talking about over the last several weeks. Here is Revelation chapter two, the Lord Jesus is speaking: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”

 

Did the Christians in Ephesus no longer take seriously Paul’s infallible warning about spiritual warfare and spiritual armor? Christian! And I address myself now as well—stay alert. Stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Put on the full armor of God – and that includes the helmet of salvation – the full armor by which and through which we are conformed to the holy lifestyles God commands of us.

 

What Daniel and his three companions experienced during their exile is a sober illustration of the danger every Christian in our own culture faces – whether or not we recognize the danger. Satan’s strategy to indoctrinate all of humanity – that includes you, me, and our families – his strategy is to inculcate into our minds godless and even anti-God philosophies, ideas, and attitudes, any of which and all of which will ultimately bring us with him to the eternal Lake of Fire.

 

Christian, do not neglect that helmet of salvation. Do not let the culture conform you into its own mold. Listen to the Holy Spirit command us in Colossians 2:8 (LEB version), “Beware lest anyone take you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ.”

 

Surely, by this time in our lives we have heard and read some of these anti-God philosophies and ideas in film, magazines, books, the workplace – and even in some churches. For example:                   

 

1. The Bible is a compilation of moral stories, but certainly it is not the inerrant and infallible word of the Almighty and Holy God.  

2. Because the stories were copied time after time through the centuries, significant errors are sure to have occurred over the millennia.

3. There is no absolute truth. Everything is relative. As long as no one gets hurt – so goes the babbling – then it’s okay to do.

4. The Bible addresses the problems facing today’s people with archaic and uselessly outdated rules. That means, for example, what was considered sin in Bible days was rooted in the ignorance of an agrarian and intolerant people. Twenty-first century humanity is far more sophisticated about human nature and therefore more tolerant about things such as human sexuality.

 

Christian! Do not be ignorant of the devil’s strategies! Don’t fall for his deceptions.

 

I mentioned earlier Paul’s other reference to the Christian’s helmet. That one is in his letter to the Christians at Thessalonica. And so, as we let Scripture interpret Scripture, notice Paul’s use of the term, ‘helmet’ in 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9: “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

In this Thessalonian text, Paul refers to the helmet as “the hope of salvation.” Let me again remind you, the Greek word, elpis (el-peace) is not defined as a ‘maybe’ hope – like saying, “I hope it won't rain next Saturday.”

 

The way Paul and other New Testament writers use the word is to speak of something much more definite than wishful hope. It carried the idea of a ‘joyful and confident expectation that something WILL occur – because God promised it would occur.

 

The New Living Translation recognizes the nuance of elpis when it translates 1 Thessalonians 5:8: “But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.”

 

Did you catch that? “The confidence of our salvation” is our helmet, a head covering stronger than the Kevlar ones worn by soldiers on today’s battlefield. The supernatural helmet Paul speaks of in both Ephesians and 1 Thessalonians is our protection against Satan’s seductive and blasphemous lies – one of which whispers, “You never can know of your salvation until you die.”

 

By the way, do you notice how the helmet of the confident expectation of our salvation is similar to the shield of faith we talked about last week, how it ALSO wards off the blows of the enemy?

 

The sandals for our feet which bring good news to the John Lennons of the world, combines with the helmet and the shield, because we cannot share the hope of salvation with others if we ourselves do not have that confident expectation that God will do for us as He promised.

 

I do not understand how Biblically literate and faithfully obedient Christians can be unsure of their salvation. But I know many who say we can’t know we are saved until we die and stand before the Lord. And we certainly can't be sure of the salvation of anyone else until we see them in heaven (if we ourselves get there).

 

I can’t imagine living my life with Christ without trusting God’s word that assures me of my salvation as I follow Him in obedient faith. If I can't trust THAT promise, then what else in Scripture can I not trust?

 

Christian! Put on that helmet of the expectant hope of heaven. Here are only a few Biblical promises in which every follower of Christ can place utter confidence.

 

Before we go on, let me draw your attention to the operative words in my last statement – every ‘follower of Christ.’ Such a person seeks every day, and in every situation, to obey God’s word regarding faith and morals. If the Bible says something is sin, then it’s sin, regardless of how WE feel about it, or what Ph.Ds and Th.Ds, and the rest of the cultural says about it.

 

So, follower of Christ, here are only a handful of God’s sacred promises to you concerning your salvation. And as you listen, pay close attention to the verb tenses in these following texts.

 

John 5:24 (Jesus is speaking) “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation but has passed from death to life.”

 

1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (present tense)

 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

 

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

 

I could spend the next hour quoting one promise after another after another in which God assures everyone who believes and obeys Jesus Christ that we HAVE eternal life. So, why do we let anyone or anything cloud our minds with half-truths and ‘what-ifs’ that rob us of the joy of our salvation?

 

That’s what the helmet of salvation – and the shield of faith – is all about. In a physical world where nothing is permanent, God’s promise of salvation AND the forgiveness of our sins made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – those promises never fade away. Those promises represent stability in an unstable world. It gives hope in the worst of circumstances, enabling us to fight against despair and discouragement!

 

His assurance to us of salvation is our mighty fortress against anything the enemy throws at us. If you believe the good news message of our Lord Jesus Christ, if you obey Him who is God from God, Light from light, true God from true God, begotten – not made – and consubstantial (of the same essence) as the Father, then your name IS WRITTEN right now in the Book of Life.

 

Those are the clear words of the God Himself. But if we do not believe the Scriptures, then no wonder we will worry about our salvation.

 

So, with our helmet securely fastened, and wearing the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and our feet adorned with the gospel of peace – next week we will pick up the next pieces of our armor which is the sword of the Spirit and prayer.

 

 

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.