Giants & Grasshoppers - Part Ten

Eph 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 

Today we will look at the shield of faith.

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Transcript

Sunday July 4th 2021
Giants and Grasshoppers
Part Ten

1).  Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-

In our foundational scripture from Ephesians, we can see that our warfare is against the first, or chief rulers over the earth, those who are a delegated authority, presently higher in authority than Man but lower than God.  They are the princes of this world, the powers of the darkness of this age, those whose purposes and desires are described as wickedness; those who are responsible, in a spiritual sense, for the blindness of Christians to the regal purposes of God in the 7th Day – 
2Co 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

And in these verses from 2 Corinthians, we see this spiritual blindness brought to pass by the original rulers, through the one Paul, calls, ‘the god of this age’.
a).  And we will note that the ‘god of this age’ has blinded the eyes of those who are in the process of perishing, so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. And because they are blinded to the gospel of the glory of Christ, we know we are dealing with the eternally saved and not the unsaved. And those who remain blinded have already been overcome without ever engaging in the spiritual warfare.
b).  Perhaps we can remember what it was that the disciples on the road to Emmaus had been unable to see, that had brought them a rebuke from the newly risen Savior? - Lu 24:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

They had not believed in all that was written by the prophets concerning the Lord’s suffering and His glory. And from a NT perspective, that which has been recorded in the Scriptures concerning Christ’s sufferings and His glory, is what Paul has called, the gospel, the good news, of the glory of Christ; good news synonymous with the Word of the Kingdom and the gospel of peace.  It is the good news concerning the establishment of a new order of rulers; Christ and the many sons He will bring to glory with Him, who will replace the earth’s original rulers in the age to come. And this change in rulership has always been God’s purpose, a purpose set in place from before the foundation of the world – Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

Heb 2:5 ¶ For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.

2).  So, we will realize then, that the whole armor of God has been made available to those who have not been blinded to protect them from the wiles of the devil, the systematic plans and schemes of Satan and the rest of the original rulers, whose purpose is to overthrow those who would be a part of the new order of rulers in the age to come. And we had seen last week that although described as individual pieces, the armor that God has provided is in fact an interdependent, cohesive whole that we will either have or not have, depending on certain criteria.
a). And in relation to those criteria, we have seen that we must have a determined resolve to enter the spiritual conflict to take the heavenly realm of the Kingdom, having the certainty of victory because of that which God has promised. And this we had seen is something only possible if our feet are set firmly on the ground of the truth of the gospel of peace - Mt 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

‘The rock’ on which the house is built is the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, which in itself is the good news of the Day of the glory of the Prince of Peace. And because of having this immovable foundation and the resolve that comes with it, good works, acts of righteousness will be forthcoming – Eph 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

1Ti 3:15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.  

Heb 3:6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

And all is contingent upon one thing, believing that which God has said about the Christ and the 7th Day. In other words, having faith to the saving of the soul.
b). And with this in mind we will see that the piece of armor presented next in Ephesians is the shield of faith. And this shield we are told we must take ‘above all’ – faith then is the means of our defense against the wiles of the devil and the means of our victory in the spiritual warfare.
c).  And as we consider the interdependent, holistic nature of the armor, it should really be obvious to us that faith is not only central to our protection from the enemy, but it is also central to accomplishing the goal of our calling, to be one of the many sons who will be brought to glory.  Both our protection now and the realization of the goal of our calling at the Judgment Seat come from the same source – faith to the saving of the soul - Heb 11:6 But without faith [to the saving of the soul] it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

1Jo 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. [to the saving of the soul]

1Pe 1:9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

Quite simply, faith is believing that which God has said about a matter, and then that belief, that faith, is brought to its goal by good works, acts of righteousness, in response to that which God has said.  This is what we know to be faithful obedience, exemplified for us through Abraham – 
Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

This may seem very obvious, but we must have it settled in our own minds that Scriptural faith cannot exist apart from the Word of God – 
1 Co 15: 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed [had faith] in vain.

Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by [through] hearing, and hearing by the word of God

This verse from Romans is a self-evident truth.  It tells us that faith is something that comes as a result of us hearing, in the sense of receiving and understanding, the Word of God - 1 Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Re 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

What we are dealing with then is not just being able to comprehend the ‘storyline’ of Scripture but being able to understand the spiritual truth through the types, the figurative language, the numbers and the metaphors contained within it.
d).  And we should note, with regard to the dispensation of the Church, that God has made it very clear that He only speaks to us through His Word - Heb 1:1 ¶ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

We will remember from - Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word, the complete OT Scriptures, from Genesis to Malachi, became flesh, were physically embodied, in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we know, there is nothing in what we call the NT that is not already in the Old. And it is through this complete written record that God speaks to us today.
e).  And let’s remember what the Lord Himself said on the day of His resurrection that opened the eyes of those blinded disciples on the road to Emmaus - Lu 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

He took them to the Scriptures, beginning with Moses, to see all that is contained in them concerning His past, present and future ministries – Prophet, Priest and King.
f). And it is particularly encouraging for us to know that – 
2Pe 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

It is Scripture that must be allowed to interpret itself, thereby leaving us in no doubt as to what the Lord requires us to know as He opens His Word to us, as it is brought forth from above, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
g).  For the shield of faith to be operational in our life we must have received and believed that which God has said in the Scriptures, beginning with Moses, concerning His plans to reconcile all things, whether things in heaven or things on earth, in Christ, in the 7th Day and His present High Priestly ministry with respect to that end. And if we remember the foundational verse from Ephesians, we are told to have this ‘shield’, ‘above all’.
h).  In fact, as we continue to study God’s Word, we come to the realization that the gospel of the glory of Christ is not just one facet of the Word of God, it is the subject of the entire revelation that God has given us.  It is set out for us in the opening 34 verses of Genesis with all the Scripture that then follows drawing us to the conclusion of the matter in the Revelation.
i).  And everything between Genesis and Revelation moves inexorably towards this end – Christ and the Kingdom. This must be received and understood otherwise it will be all too easy to be overcome by the deceptive wiles of the devil.

3).  Now we have seen previously that hearing and understanding the Word of the Kingdom so as to produce fruit, good works, acts of righteousness, is the measure of spiritual maturity and that spiritual maturity is something we must have to be able to ‘put on’ the armor.
a).  Recall for a moment what we have read in Isaiah – 
Isa 28:9 ¶ "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."

A correct engagement with the Scriptures, as we would also see in James, is then of paramount importance for us - Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
 
And this is our own individual responsibility.
b).  The Word of the Kingdom is being taught here this morning, but it is our own individual responsibility to have ears to hear, in order to receive the Word, have faith to the saving of the soul and produce acts of righteousness, accordingly, having searched the Scriptures for ourselves.
c).  I hope we realize that I also preach to myself on Sunday mornings, and I have the same responsibility as everyone else to hear what is being said - 1 Co 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Have we, so far, received and believed what the Word of God has said about the shield of faith, and how having it will quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one?  If we have, and if we then act upon it, this Word will be able to save our souls.
d). Whatever fiery dart the god of this age would throw at us in his attempt to cause us to be overthrown, it will be extinguished by the shield of faith, the faith we have to the saving of our soul.
e). He might try to ignite the flames of Gehenna in our lives – 
Jas 3:5 See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. [Gehenna]

But our faithful obedience to the Word of God with respect to what comes out of our mouth, is the shield of faith in action, providing our flame proof protection.
f).  There was a fiery dart shot into the camp of Israel at Kadesh Barnea and two million people were ignited by it, except for Caleb and Joshua who had the shield of faith - Nu 32:11 'Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 'except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.'

Here then is an example of the shield of faith in action – Caleb and Joshua wholly followed the Lord in everything He had said, and what He had said had to do with the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, an inheritance in that land and the establishment of the theocracy.
g).  By continuing to wholly follow the Lord, the shield of faith continued to protect them both for the next 45 years even as they lived in the midst of two million who would perish in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness.  And the protection their faith provided for them resulted in them alone, out of that whole first generation of Israel, being able to enter the land and receive what God had promised.
h). It is the shield of faith that we can also see in Ruth, the type of the faithful Christian - Ru 3:5 And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do."

And because of Ruth’s faith, ‘all that you say to me I will do’, the conclusion of the matter for Ruth was marriage to the kinsman redeemer and a redeemed inheritance. And as with the type so it must be with the antitype.
i).  And we can see the shield of faith in operation in the lives of the faithful OT saints in - Heb 11:32 ¶ And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

And we have seen it operating in the life of the Apostle Paul – 
Acts 20:22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

And we can see it exemplified in the lives of faithful Christians at the Judgment Seat through the Church of Philadelphia – Re 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

4).  So, let us encourage one another today to ‘take up’ the shield of faith, in conjunction with the rest of the armor, as part of our exhortation to one another to love and good works, knowing that with this properly in place we can stand firm, we can be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. We can have victory over the enemy of our souls.  We can win the prize and receive the reward of the inheritance – 1 Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal [age lasting] life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Remember what we have read from Hebrews Chapter 11 and remember what God has said about those recorded there with respect to ourselves  
Heb 12:1 ¶ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This great cloud of witnesses is a proof for us of the veracity of God’s Word.  And those who witness to that fact were men and women of flesh and blood, and temptation and foolishness, and failures, just like us.  Yet in the midst of their ordinary day to day lives they were extraordinary because they took up the shield of faith and chose the promises of God over anything the world had to offer them. 
a).  Remember - Ro 4:13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Ga 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ro 8:17 ¶ and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Christ suffered in the death of His flesh and so must we.  Our enemy will throw darts of deception to deceive us into keeping our flesh alive.  He would like nothing better than to see us sow to the flesh and find ourselves in the garbage dump outside the city instead of sitting on the throne with Christ – Ga 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  

Having an ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the Word of the Kingdom, believing it, having faith to the saving of the soul and then acting upon it provides our total protection from the wiles of the devil so that our inheritance will be secure. This is what God has promised us – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God [the whole armor of God] through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

We will continue next time, if we remain and the Lord is willing.