2002-10-10
Good Morning Treasured Ones,
As I promised yesterday, I have been led this morning to begin a new segment of our Spiritual Warfare series on Faith. EPH 6: 16, "At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the evil one." Before I became as familiar with the Scriptures as I am, I would have never thought of faith as a shield in this way. But that was before I was fully aware of the unseen warfare that goes on between believers and Satan. The Lord illuminates for us exactly what faith is through the writer of the book of Hebrews (who I believe to be Paul). HE 11: 1, "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see." We had to have some way to deal with the intangible phenomena of the universe, the things we can't explain using the laws of Newtonian physics or Einsteinian relativity. God has given us the ability to have faith. Satan would like nothing better than to cause us to doubt and eventually reject that faith. I don't think it's empty circular reasoning to say that Satan would like us to be the warriors that go into battle forgetting our shields, and thus, making ourselves vulnerable to him. Our Lord loves each of us too much to call us into battle with the enemy unprepared, left to our own devices, or without the weapons we need.
To illustrate the importance of a shield, Kay Arthur relates its crucial nature to a Roman soldier in battle. Let me share that description with you:
"Fiery darts were frightening missiles-arrows dipped in pitch and then set ablaze. When that fiery came dart came blazing through the air, a soldier could drop his shield and run, leaving his backside unprotected, or he could stand fast with his shield in place. The shield, called a scutum, was made of iron, and shaped like a door. Its size alone provided good coverage. But it was also covered with layers of leather which were soaked in water just before the battle began. Water puts out fire!"
This last sentence is compelling in the spiritual sense. We can see this from Christ's own words in JN 7: 37-38, "Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink. As the Scriptures [EZK 41: 1; ZECH 14: 8] say, 'Whoever believes in Me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart.'" Life-giving water puts out the fiery arrows that Satan sends our way. HE 11:6 must be taken into consideration too. "No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek Him." One of the most important things we can do is to seek God in faith often, making Him an active and integral part of our lives. That is what living "in Christ" is all about. It is the stuff of trusting and obeying God, having a deep, close personal relationship with Him, and pleasing Him. It is also at the basis of our keeping our end of the covenant relationship we have with Him. Dear Ones, it is a blessing to live this way!
One of the questions that comes up is: Why pray and engage in daily study of the word? New believers and those inquiring before coming to faith often ask it. The answer is seated in the fact that faith needs to be nurtured, so it will grow. Spiritual maturity can never be achieved without going to God frequently, because that is God's primary way of being able to reveal Himself to us. It is our source of guidance, correction when needed, encouragement, and instruction. When faith is built, we are better prepared for that battle with Satan that we inherit upon becoming believers. It keeps the leather on our shields wet, so it will dowse the flaming arrows hurled at us by the enemy. I would encourage each of you today to read HE 11 in its entirety. This is the great faith chapter of the Bible, although hardly the only place where faith is discussed. Every time I go back to this chapter, the Lord has something new to teach me. See if that is not your experience too. Just as those old Roman shields could dry out, our faith can dwindle if it is not fed regularly by an active prayer life and daily time in His word. Remember that when we set an example of faith, others are impacted positively by that. So, we don't do this for ourselves alone; we also do it for others whose faith might be strengthened or who might come to faith for the first time because of it. God is counting on us!
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge that the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, and the shoes which represent the willingness to witness to the Gospel message of peace and salvation are not enough for us to win the battle against Satan. Without faith, they can't help us enough. You have called us to have faith in the things we cannot see or have not yet received. All around us, You have given us ample evidence that You will keep Your promises, and we must accept that in faith. One of the most salient examples is Christ's death and resurrection. That was observed by at least 500 people alive at the time [AC 1: 8-9; 1 COR 15: 1-8]. It was followed by Your promise through Paul in RO 8: 29 that Christ is the "first among many brothers"-the actual statement that those who endure in their faith will be resurrected as Christ was. Dearest Father, You knew that we would suffer many trials at Satan's hands, and You had the love and grace to prepare us for that. We must have faith in EPH 1: 18-20, which tells us that You impart to us the same power You used to raise Christ from death to life to fight Satan and win the battle in Christ's name. Furthermore, we learned from You through Paul in RO 5: 3-4 another reason for enduring through our suffering in faith. "We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance bring God's approval, and His approval creates hope." There a so many things that the physical laws of earthly science can't explain, and yet we observe them. They are intangible phenomena, like miracles, the transfiguration [MT 17: 3], and the consistency of Your plan for us. Without faith, people miss that. 1 COR 2:14, "Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really dos not understand them; they are foolishness to him, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis." We come before Your throne today in humility to confess our sins and to express our profound faith in You and everything You teach us. Your servant, David, who upon first inspection was an adulterer and murderer, with so much blood on his hands that You insisted his son, Solomon build Your temple [2 SAM 7: 12-13], exemplifies the magnificent power You have to bring someone to faith, who can make a huge difference for mankind. It is through his line that our Savior comes [2 SAM 7: 13; IS 9: 6; IS 11: 1]. It is David who reveals the faith You gave him in the Psalms. For example: PS 1: 5-6, "Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God's own people. The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord, but the evil are on the way to their doom." You are a magnificent and awesome Deity in Whom we place our faith. Without our faith in You and Your compassion and love for us, our lives are useless and worthless. We express our faith using David's words in PS 29: 11, "He will give His people strength. He will bless them with peace." We adore and worship You, pledge our loyalty and diligence to You, offer You our glory and honor, give You our trust and obedience, and lift You up in thanksgiving and highest praise. In Christ's name, amen.
I am led to take a look at some of what the Scriptures say about the devil's fiery missiles in tomorrow's message. This will be kept in the context of the shield of faith that the Father has so graciously given us. It is revealing to imagine what our lives would be like without the faith He has given us. We wouldn't know Christ or the great sacrifice He made for us on the cross. Any wisdom the Holy Spirit imparts to us to understand God's teaching would be unavailable to us. When life's bad times assail us, we would be left unable to deal with them and helpless. We would panic and be without direction. Any person who has been without faith and later acquired it, can report just how terrifying and painful his former life has been. We would be without the hope of one day living in heaven under the umbrella of God's loving fellowship and the joyful, peace of eternity with Him. We would not look forward to that reunion with other believers who endured in their faith and left us when called home by the Father. We would not know what real love is. We would be helpless and abandoned. Most of all, we would be on a one-way trip to the torment of the lake of fire and sulfur. All these reasons for having faith reveal the underlying love that our Lord has for us, for He wants nothing more than for us to be saved and endure in our faithfulness. His love is the greatest love anywhere, and He wants each of us to have it. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn