WEBVTT 00:00:12.490 --> 00:00:14.869 Now would you open the word of God with me please 00:00:14.869 --> 00:00:19.190 to the book of Ephesians and the sixth chapter 00:00:19.190 --> 00:00:22.129 as we continue our study in the armor of God. 00:00:24.109 --> 00:00:27.870 Today we focus particularly on verses 15 and 00:00:27.870 --> 00:00:34.270 16 of Ephesians 6. And having shod your feet 00:00:34.270 --> 00:00:37.189 with the preparation of the gospel of peace, 00:00:37.350 --> 00:00:40.909 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith, 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:44.100 with which you will be able to extinguish all 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:49.679 the flaming missiles of the evil one. A Christian 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.420 soldier who does not have his armor in place 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:59.380 is as good as dead. The state of spiritual warfare 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:04.120 is one which is perpetual. All of our lives we 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:08.420 are confronted by it and its reality. However, 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:11.560 we need to keep in mind that there are periods 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:16.980 of more or less intensity. The Apostle Paul seems 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:21.120 to have those hot spots in mind as he writes 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:23.980 this chapter, those times when the spiritual 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.420 warfare heats up in our lives, for he refers 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:33.120 in verse 13 to the evil day. He says that you 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:38.120 may be able to resist in the day of evil. What 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:41.000 is he talking about? Well, in one sense, this 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:43.859 whole age could be described as the day of evil, 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:48.939 for evil man is in charge in the human sense 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:53.060 in this world. Satan is the god of this world, 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.540 the god of this age, the ruler of darkness who 00:01:56.540 --> 00:02:00.760 dominates. And yet in the context here, the apostle 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:05.230 seems to have those times in our lives. when 00:02:05.230 --> 00:02:08.509 we particularly are battling in a fierce way 00:02:08.509 --> 00:02:13.689 with the evil one. He says that especially in 00:02:13.689 --> 00:02:17.990 those times when the war is hot, that you may 00:02:17.990 --> 00:02:22.669 be able to stand against the evil one and resist 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:27.830 him. Can you imagine a soldier deployed on the 00:02:27.830 --> 00:02:30.870 front line of a hostile zone who doesn't take 00:02:30.870 --> 00:02:34.699 it seriously? who just plays with the idea of 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.939 being a soldier? How long would you want to be 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:41.259 around such a person? Would you want him guarding 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:45.639 your back? A number of years ago, I served as 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:48.039 a volunteer police chaplain in Covington, Kentucky, 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:52.360 as I was pastoring a church there. I found it 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:54.500 to be a fascinating experience when I was able 00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:59.560 to see the other side of Covington. Usually when 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:01.020 a preacher would come around, there would be 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:04.219 a certain facade put up. When you're traveling 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:07.280 with a policeman, as far as the people know, 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:11.439 you're just another cop. And so I was able to 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:14.080 see what life is like on the seamier side of 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:20.060 an inner city. We were trained for that, and 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:23.219 one of the things that was impressed upon us 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:26.219 in the training was how important it was that 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.340 if we got into a difficult situation, which they 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:32.439 tried to keep us out of, and we tried to avoid, 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:35.759 believe me, if we were to get in a difficult 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:39.960 situation, we were to stand back to back with 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:43.620 our partner, our policeman, and we were to guard 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:47.560 each other from the rear. How would you like 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:49.520 to be back to back with a person who's supposed 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:52.199 to be guarding you and helping you, who is taking 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:57.159 it all like a game? who was playing at it. You 00:03:57.159 --> 00:03:58.780 wouldn't like it very well, would you? I wouldn't 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:02.300 either. It would be foolish and dangerous to 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:05.800 be in such a circumstance. And yet, sadly, there 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.139 are many soldiers of Jesus Christ who think this 00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:11.259 whole thing is a game that we're involved in, 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:15.439 in spiritual warfare. Believe me, this is deadly 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.600 serious business that we're talking about in 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.920 these weeks. For we have an enemy who desires 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:23.779 to absolutely destroy our life's effectiveness 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:28.399 for Jesus Christ. He will be satisfied with nothing 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:33.660 less than the total ruin of you and your potential 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:38.600 in the service of Jesus Christ. This is very 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.439 serious as we talk about spiritual warfare. And 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.180 when the apostle says, take up the armor of God 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:50.170 so that you can stand, He's not saying that this 00:04:50.170 --> 00:04:53.250 is an option for us to think about when we want 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:57.209 to be spiritual for a few moments. He is saying 00:04:57.209 --> 00:05:00.129 to us that this is an absolutely vital action 00:05:00.129 --> 00:05:04.209 for us to take every day of our lives, that we 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:08.189 must be conscious of the warfare around us, that 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:12.250 we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 00:05:12.250 --> 00:05:18.220 the unseen, invisible forces of darkness. Under 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:22.759 Satan. And that wrestling hand -to -hand in combat 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:25.279 with them, we must have on the armor of God or 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.600 we will be their victims for sure. There is no 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:32.180 doubt about it. So what is the armor of God? 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:35.060 Well, we saw last week it involves the belt of 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:39.180 truth. This foundational piece of a Roman soldier's 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:42.519 army guarded his intestines and strengthened 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:46.220 the lower part of his back. It furthermore allowed 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:50.459 him to tuck in his toga so that his legs would 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:53.720 be free and he could be mobile and flexible and 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:57.300 react quickly in the time of war. For the Christian, 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:02.639 the belt is one of truth. That is, truthfulness 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:10.079 in the innermost being, integrity, honesty, a 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:16.819 life that rings with genuineness. And then he 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:18.600 talks about the breastplate of righteousness, 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:21.120 the breastplate, of course, that piece of armor 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:23.819 that protected the vital organs in the chest 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:27.379 area. For the Christian soldier, that breastplate 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:30.339 is righteousness, not the righteousness that 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:33.519 we have imputed to us by our faith in Jesus Christ, 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:37.300 but a life of righteousness, righteous deeds, 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.899 holiness in lifestyle that protects us against 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:44.379 the accusation and the attacks of the enemy. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.240 One of the best ways for us to be in trouble 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:51.240 in spiritual warfare is to live a life that is 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:57.040 loose in the world. A life that plays with morality 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:00.519 and right and wrong. A life that walks as close 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.699 as possible to darkness without trying to step 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:07.259 into it. A life that is not separated. A life 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:10.699 that has hypocrisy. He tells us here that the 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:13.459 breastplate... that protects the vital organs 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:18.459 of our spiritual man is a righteous life, the 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.959 kind of a life that causes us to walk before 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:25.579 the world blameless. That is, we cannot be accused 00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:31.500 justly of doing wrong. All of us have been reminded 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:35.379 in recent days and months of the importance of 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:39.259 a life that is genuine and truthful, a life that 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:45.300 is righteous before the world. Now he talks about 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:47.600 the shoes that we're to wear. He calls them the 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:53.220 shoes of peace. He says our feet should be shod. 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.220 Now there's a word for you. I don't remember 00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:00.500 the last time I said to my kids, be sure you've 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:06.879 shod your feet before you go out. The word shod 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:11.189 is actually the past tense of a verb, shoe. It 00:08:11.189 --> 00:08:13.329 means we're to shoe our feet or we're to put 00:08:13.329 --> 00:08:16.649 on the shoes that he calls here the preparation 00:08:16.649 --> 00:08:21.370 of the gospel of peace. Now, shoes are important 00:08:21.370 --> 00:08:25.350 to soldiers for two reasons. In the first place, 00:08:25.410 --> 00:08:29.029 protection. Even back in those days, the enemy 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:31.970 often seated the battlefield with sharp objects 00:08:31.970 --> 00:08:38.289 or even pointed stakes to injure the footman. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:41.860 Of course, a foot injury would then make the 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:45.779 soldier ineffective in the battle, for he would 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:49.519 only limp. He could not move quickly to the foray. 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:53.039 The same kind of thing has been practiced in 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:57.620 guerrilla warfare and refined into an art, if 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:00.460 such a thing could be called an art, in Vietnam. 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:05.039 I well remember the stories those years ago now. 00:09:05.690 --> 00:09:08.710 of the boots which our soldiers had rotting in 00:09:08.710 --> 00:09:11.610 the jungles, so that basically their feet were 00:09:11.610 --> 00:09:14.990 unprotected much of the time. And new kinds of 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:18.850 boots had to be made to withstand the particular 00:09:18.850 --> 00:09:23.850 rigors of jungle warfare, as well as the booby 00:09:23.850 --> 00:09:27.750 traps which were set up by the Vietnamese guerrillas. 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:33.440 Protection, that's what boots are about. But 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:37.879 boots are also required for stability. In those 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.779 days, the soles of the boots which the soldiers 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:47.000 wore were made out of a heavy leather, into which 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:53.019 were embedded pieces of metal. These pieces of 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:57.860 metal provided a cleat effect, like we use today 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:01.220 on track shoes, for example, or golfing shoes. 00:10:02.110 --> 00:10:04.470 So that their boots would have cleats and there 00:10:04.470 --> 00:10:08.029 would be firm footing when they stood their ground. 00:10:08.210 --> 00:10:11.970 Or there would be the possibility of quick moves 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:15.809 and their feet would not slip. And so shoes were 00:10:15.809 --> 00:10:18.490 important for both protection and stability. 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:22.450 And so it is for the Christian soldier. We need 00:10:22.450 --> 00:10:26.549 footing which will enable us to fight victoriously. 00:10:27.659 --> 00:10:30.820 Now he says here that our feet are to be shod 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:34.940 with a particular shoe. These are not Nikes that 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:38.460 we're to put on, but it's called the preparation 00:10:38.460 --> 00:10:42.779 of the gospel of peace. The word preparation 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:48.720 in some translation is brought across as readiness, 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:53.399 the readiness of the gospel of peace. The word 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:57.360 actually comes from a verb. which means to be 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:02.059 equipped. And it's in fact used that way with 00:11:02.059 --> 00:11:05.460 that thrust over in Titus chapter 3 in verse 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:08.840 1, where he says, Remind them to be subject to 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:11.399 rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:16.200 ready for every good deed. So the idea is being 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:20.039 equipped or to be prepared for something. So 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:21.860 it seems to me that he's telling us here that 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:24.700 we are to be equipped or prepared for the battle 00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:28.639 so that our feet are shod with the gospel of 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:32.720 peace. That will give us solidity. That will 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:37.080 give us firmness in the fight. But what is the 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:41.000 gospel of peace? Is that the gospel of Jesus 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:43.419 Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection? 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:47.240 Well, praise God for that gospel and the way 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.259 that that word is used, but I think that there's 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:53.320 another twist on it here in this context. The 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:56.299 word gospel in its simplest form means the good 00:11:56.299 --> 00:12:03.340 news. The good news of peace. I believe what 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:06.860 the apostle is saying to us is that we need to 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:11.940 have our shoes, as it were, as our shoes, the 00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:18.559 good news. that we are at peace with God. I believe 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:22.100 the peace he has in mind here is that positional 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:26.419 peace that we have as those who have been justified 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:31.340 by faith. Romans 5 .1, Therefore, having been 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:36.259 justified by faith, we have peace with God through 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:39.700 our Lord Jesus Christ. In that same chapter, 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.500 he goes on to describe us before our salvation. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:47.779 as those who are helpless, ungodly, sinners, 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:52.980 enemies. In Colossians, he says that we were 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:57.259 hostile against God. In other words, there was 00:12:57.259 --> 00:13:01.840 no peace. No peace between us and God before 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:04.899 we were saved. But when we trusted Jesus Christ 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:08.720 as Savior, there was peace established because 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:13.470 we were reconciled with God. The cause of the 00:13:13.470 --> 00:13:16.090 lack of peace was removed. That is, our sins 00:13:16.090 --> 00:13:20.470 were washed away, taken away, and forgiven. And 00:13:20.470 --> 00:13:23.149 there was put in place of that warfare, peace. 00:13:26.009 --> 00:13:28.590 I may this morning be talking with someone who 00:13:28.590 --> 00:13:32.950 is at war with God in your life. There is hostility 00:13:32.950 --> 00:13:35.370 between you and God, and the basic reason, my 00:13:35.370 --> 00:13:39.230 friend, is because God is holy, and we, in our 00:13:39.230 --> 00:13:44.600 natural state, are sinners. Our sin offends a 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:50.519 holy God, and His proper response as a holy one 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:54.700 is wrath and judgment and warfare against sin. 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:00.179 But that same holy God is the same one who came 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:02.440 into the world in the person of Jesus Christ 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:08.460 that He might deal with that sin problem. Jesus 00:14:08.460 --> 00:14:11.740 Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:16.379 He was buried. He was raised again on the third 00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:18.639 day according to the scriptures. That is the 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:23.620 gospel, the good news of what Jesus did. He, 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:27.000 as God come in flesh, has dealt with that sin 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.100 problem so that you and I who are sinners can 00:14:31.100 --> 00:14:36.820 come to him and have that sin forgiven. And once 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:40.720 that sin has been dealt with, by our repentance 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:45.059 and faith in Jesus Christ, then the Holy God 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.419 looks at us and no longer is there a cause for 00:14:47.419 --> 00:14:50.980 warfare, but there is peace established between 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:54.740 us and God. My friend, you need that kind of 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:59.320 assurance in spiritual warfare. You need to know 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:03.159 that there is peace between you and God. That's 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:09.230 what Paul is saying. Let your feet be shod. with 00:15:09.230 --> 00:15:13.549 this equipment, that you are at peace with God. 00:15:16.649 --> 00:15:21.710 I believe that David knew something about this 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:25.049 as he wrote Psalm 56. Would you turn back there 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:35.230 with me for a moment? The 56th Psalm. David is 00:15:35.230 --> 00:15:38.120 really in a predicament. As he pens these words, 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:44.019 the inscription tells us that he was in Gath, 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:47.360 in Philistia. And the Philistines had seized 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.600 him. He had gone there because of Saul's warfare 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:53.600 against him. Saul's desire to take his life. 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:56.799 He fled, went down to Philistia. And now he has 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.419 been taken prisoner by the Philistines in Gath. 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:03.639 Interesting story as it's related to us in the 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.299 book of 1 Samuel, the 21st chapter. But in that 00:16:07.299 --> 00:16:10.019 situation where he was in danger and in trouble, 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:14.779 notice how he says it in verse 2. My foes have 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:18.879 trampled upon me all day long. He says they fight 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:24.460 proudly against me. Verse 5. All day long they 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:27.100 distort my words. Their thoughts are against 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:32.580 me for evil. They attack. They lurk. They watch 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:36.029 my steps. As they that have waited to take my 00:16:36.029 --> 00:16:38.190 life, does that remind you of your fellow workers? 00:16:39.549 --> 00:16:43.250 Are you in an office situation like this? Do 00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:45.610 you need to put gaff over the door of your office? 00:16:45.909 --> 00:16:48.509 Do you feel like you live there with David? Or 00:16:48.509 --> 00:16:51.649 is that what your school is like? They lurk for 00:16:51.649 --> 00:16:58.350 me, he says. They watch my steps. God knows his 00:16:58.350 --> 00:17:01.470 servant's heart aches. In fact, David prays, 00:17:01.470 --> 00:17:05.519 put my tears in thy bottle. Are they not in thy 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:10.220 book? He says in verse 9, Then my enemies will 00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:14.339 turn back in the day when I call. This I know, 00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:22.299 he says, that God is for me. What was it that 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:25.559 gave David his stability in Gath in that time 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:29.500 of danger? When the enemies were on him, pressure 00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:33.519 was intense. What was it? How could David write 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.980 a psalm like this, of crying out to God with 00:17:36.980 --> 00:17:40.099 confidence and faith? He says, when I'm afraid, 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:44.759 I will trust in God. What gave David that kind 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:48.500 of stability? I'll tell you what it was. He knew 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:54.740 that God was for him. That's David's way of saying 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:59.519 what Paul said. Let your feet be equipped. with 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.200 the good news of peace, that God's on your side. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:07.279 No longer are you estranged and enemies, but 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.900 God's on your side. God is with you in the midst 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:14.740 of that battle. My friend, that assurance will 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:18.839 give you strength, stability, and protection 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:23.140 against the enemy. The Apostle Paul put it this 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:26.140 way in that familiar verse in Romans chapter 00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:32.720 8. It says, what shall then we say to these things? 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:39.119 If God is for us, who is against us? A rhetorical 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:41.900 question. The answer is nobody can be successful 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:47.880 in being against you if God is for you. Do you 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:50.539 have the assurance today that God is for you? 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:56.779 That he's on your side? If you do, that breathes 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:59.839 peace into your soul in the midst of spiritual 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:06.019 warfare. That will protect your mind. That will 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:10.000 give you stability as the enemy lurks and stalks 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.920 and watches you. It will enable you to stand 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:18.460 in the day of evil to know that God is on your 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:24.869 side. Wear those shoes, my friend. You know, 00:19:24.910 --> 00:19:26.529 it's interesting as you look at this text in 00:19:26.529 --> 00:19:30.230 Ephesians 6, that the verbs in verses 14 and 00:19:30.230 --> 00:19:35.430 15 suggest to us that these pieces of armor are 00:19:35.430 --> 00:19:37.950 to be permanently in place and never removed. 00:19:39.769 --> 00:19:42.450 The ones we've talked about, the belt of truth, 00:19:42.690 --> 00:19:46.970 the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of 00:19:46.970 --> 00:19:50.750 the gospel of peace. The tense of the verbs suggests 00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:53.490 that we are to put those on with... permanent 00:19:53.490 --> 00:19:57.369 results. The picture seems to be this, that when 00:19:57.369 --> 00:20:00.910 a Roman soldier had a lull in the battle, he 00:20:00.910 --> 00:20:04.670 would rest. But as long as he was in the battle, 00:20:04.750 --> 00:20:06.470 there were certain parts of his armor he never 00:20:06.470 --> 00:20:09.609 took off. He might lay down his sword. He might 00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:13.950 take off the heavy helmet from his head. His 00:20:13.950 --> 00:20:17.009 shield he would put to his side. But he would 00:20:17.009 --> 00:20:21.940 not dare take off his shoes. He would not take 00:20:21.940 --> 00:20:24.819 off that breastplate or the foundational piece 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:28.160 of it all, that belt around his waist. Those 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.660 would remain in place. The point is this, my 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:34.240 friend. As you and I go through spiritual warfare, 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:36.920 we are to be careful never to allow these pieces 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:41.299 to leave us. They are to be in place permanently 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:46.140 in our lives. Integrity. Honesty. Genuineness. 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:51.500 A life of good deeds. blameless conduct, holy 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:54.980 living separated from the world and its lifestyle. 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:00.819 The assurance, the good news that God is at peace 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:03.420 with us and we are at peace with God and he's 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:08.200 on our side. But now he comes to another important 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:12.240 piece of the armor. The verb is the same, but 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:15.420 the tense is different as he goes on. For he 00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:19.779 talks about taking up the shield of faith. The 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:22.059 point here with the shield that we'll look at 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:25.119 today and the helmet in verse 17 and the sword, 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:28.180 the point seems to be that these are to be ever 00:21:28.180 --> 00:21:33.779 ready at our side, ever present with us, so that 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:36.539 we can take them up at a moment's notice. The 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:41.519 shield of faith. To the soldier, the shield was 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:45.940 vital protection. This shield that is mentioned 00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:48.880 by the apostle was one that was four and a half 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:54.099 feet by two and a half feet in dimension. It 00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:59.640 was usually rectangular. This makes it in contrast 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:04.579 to that small, round, convex shield that we sometimes 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:09.420 see in drawings and depictions of the Roman soldier. 00:22:10.660 --> 00:22:14.700 This was what was called a scutum. There was 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:20.440 a large iron frame around wood, on the front 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:24.480 of which would be laid several layers of leather. 00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:31.339 That was this piece of armor. Often that leather 00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:34.980 was soaked in water before the battle for a very 00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:40.000 practical reason. For the enemies at times shot 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:48.140 flaming arrows against the Roman soldier. As 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:52.440 the arrows hit that leather and wooden shield, 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.799 they would go in and the wetness of the leather 00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:59.460 would immediately extinguish the flame in the 00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:04.279 arrow. These shields provided full body protection. 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:08.440 Remember that people in that day were not as 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:13.920 tall as people today. So that they could easily 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:16.799 get down behind a shield four and a half feet 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:20.539 high and be fully protected. In fact, if there 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:24.240 was a rank of men who all put their shields up 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:27.180 at the same time, it formed a solid wall of protection 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:30.400 for the soldiers who were hiding immediately 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:34.619 behind those shields. That is the shield that 00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:36.640 Paul has in mind when he says that you and I 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:40.410 are to have at hand at all times. For immediate 00:23:40.410 --> 00:23:46.470 deployment, the shield of faith. What is that 00:23:46.470 --> 00:23:51.130 faith? Well, faith very simply is believing what 00:23:51.130 --> 00:23:54.829 God says. Faith is reliance. Faith is trust. 00:23:55.910 --> 00:23:59.210 As someone has said, it is not believing in spite 00:23:59.210 --> 00:24:02.470 of the evidence, it is obeying in spite of the 00:24:02.470 --> 00:24:08.309 consequences. That is faith. Keep in mind that 00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:14.710 faith, is only as valid as the object in which 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:18.569 it is placed. There is such a thing as foolish 00:24:18.569 --> 00:24:23.950 faith. Faith is only as valid as the object in 00:24:23.950 --> 00:24:26.210 which it is placed. That gives it its value. 00:24:27.029 --> 00:24:31.250 Everyone in the world exercises faith. There's 00:24:31.250 --> 00:24:35.509 not one who doesn't. Even the atheist has to 00:24:35.509 --> 00:24:39.339 have faith that there is no God. But then he 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:41.900 exercises faith every day in his life in very 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:45.259 small and minute ways. Faith is a part of living. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:51.859 It is the object of faith. It's what we're trusting 00:24:51.859 --> 00:24:55.240 in. It's who we're relying on that makes all 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:57.660 of the difference in the world regarding our 00:24:57.660 --> 00:25:01.319 faith. Obviously here he's talking about our 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:05.619 believing God. And he suggests that the evil 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:10.539 one, Satan, shoots at us flaming missiles, arrows 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:18.160 or darts. In those days, darts and arrows could 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.059 be tipped with what was called tow, T -O -W. 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:28.200 That was the coarse and broken part of hemp or 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:33.279 flax, which had been separated by... from the 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:37.519 finer part, by an instrument. It would be tipped 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:43.759 with that material and then dipped in pitch and 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:49.019 then set afire. And as it was blazing, the enemy 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:53.279 would shoot that flaming missile toward the soldier 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:58.079 on the other side. And you can imagine the excruciating 00:25:58.079 --> 00:26:01.759 pain when one of those arrows found its mark. 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:06.190 For not only was the arrow able to pierce the 00:26:06.190 --> 00:26:13.329 body, but it pierced it with fire. It was a terrible 00:26:13.329 --> 00:26:17.450 weapon. And that's why the soldiers developed 00:26:17.450 --> 00:26:20.529 this shield, to protect themselves. They could 00:26:20.529 --> 00:26:23.369 duck down behind that shield, and the shield 00:26:23.369 --> 00:26:25.690 may be covered with arrows, but they would not 00:26:25.690 --> 00:26:28.269 strike the soldier, because he was protected. 00:26:29.970 --> 00:26:34.180 The apostle says that Satan, uses, as it were, 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:39.579 flaming arrows against us. These, of course, 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:44.259 are not material or physical arrows, but spiritual 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:54.700 ones. Thoughts, primarily. Satan uses these arrows 00:26:54.700 --> 00:27:01.900 in a spiritual sense to tempt us. Alluring, deceitful 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:07.400 attractions or desires are in mind here. Arrows 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:15.880 of self -centeredness, fear, impurity, greed, 00:27:16.140 --> 00:27:25.099 pride, or doubt. He seeks to get his darts to 00:27:25.099 --> 00:27:29.019 stick into us. And to burn there in our minds, 00:27:29.099 --> 00:27:36.240 to burn with ungodly desires or evil responses 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:43.519 or troubling doubts, we've all experienced those 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:48.259 arrows when they found their mark. We must be 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:51.359 protected against these arrows or we are in deep, 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:57.740 deep, deep trouble. Taking up the shield of faith 00:27:57.740 --> 00:28:06.019 against these arrows means this. When those arrows 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:11.799 come, we are to immediately apply against them 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:19.240 what it is that we believe about God as it may 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:25.289 relate to that issue of the moment. Satan sends 00:28:25.289 --> 00:28:28.130 at you a dart of a particular kind. This flaming 00:28:28.130 --> 00:28:32.529 arrow is coming into your mind. You have a choice 00:28:32.529 --> 00:28:35.009 at that moment to allow it to stick there and 00:28:35.009 --> 00:28:40.529 burn. Or you can raise against that arrow something 00:28:40.529 --> 00:28:45.710 that you believe about God that will shield you 00:28:45.710 --> 00:28:53.289 mentally and spiritually against it. For example, 00:28:54.349 --> 00:28:57.549 Let's suppose that Satan shoots at you a dart, 00:28:57.630 --> 00:29:02.509 a flaming dart of doubt regarding your salvation. 00:29:04.349 --> 00:29:07.369 You can allow that dart to hit your mind and 00:29:07.369 --> 00:29:10.170 to burn in you until it consumes you with doubt 00:29:10.170 --> 00:29:16.150 and wonder and fear. Or you can raise against 00:29:16.150 --> 00:29:21.269 that arrow a shield of faith in what God has 00:29:21.269 --> 00:29:27.940 said. about himself and about salvation. Salvation 00:29:27.940 --> 00:29:36.839 is by grace, not by works. God is a God who cannot 00:29:36.839 --> 00:29:41.440 lie. God is a faithful God. If I believe not, 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:46.039 yet he abides faithful. I don't know what it 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:48.980 may be that you believe about God that will answer 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:53.980 that particular flaming, dart, but you better 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:57.079 get it in place quick before it does its damage. 00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:01.119 I think that we have an example of Paul in this 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:06.259 regard in 2 Timothy chapter 4. Paul's imprisoned 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:09.559 here for the last time. He knows he's in trouble. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:12.220 He doesn't know yet the end result of it all, 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:15.319 that is, whether he will be released or not. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:19.839 He speaks, beginning in verse 9, about his difficult 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:23.740 situation. has forsaken him. Others have left 00:30:23.740 --> 00:30:25.819 for one reason or another. Only Luke is with 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:29.240 him. He's without the books which are so dear 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:34.359 to him. He wants them. There is the work of Alexander 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:40.819 the coppersmith against him. He says in verse 00:30:40.819 --> 00:30:43.519 16, at his first defense on this occasion, there 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:45.839 was no one who supported him. All deserted him. 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:48.559 He says, may it not be counted against them. 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:51.279 You get the picture here of a man who is very 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:55.059 lonely. A man who has literally poured out his 00:30:55.059 --> 00:30:58.940 life for the sake of other people. Seeing them 00:30:58.940 --> 00:31:01.700 one to Jesus Christ and established in the church, 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:04.880 and now in the hour of his excruciating need, 00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:09.579 he stands alone. And only one man, Luke, is there 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:13.059 with him. And when he must stand before the Roman 00:31:13.059 --> 00:31:17.789 officials to be charged, no one comes. Out of 00:31:17.789 --> 00:31:19.890 the thousands of people who had been influenced 00:31:19.890 --> 00:31:25.450 by his life. Can you imagine the kinds of flaming 00:31:25.450 --> 00:31:27.569 arrows that could have come in his mind at that 00:31:27.569 --> 00:31:31.730 time? Oh, look how you've wasted your life, Paul. 00:31:32.589 --> 00:31:37.190 These people don't really care about you. See, 00:31:37.349 --> 00:31:40.569 you're all by yourself in the hour of need. You've 00:31:40.569 --> 00:31:42.670 poured yourself out for others. Now no one cares 00:31:42.670 --> 00:31:47.720 for you. But notice in verse 17 what he believes 00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:50.279 about God that protected him from those fiery 00:31:50.279 --> 00:31:56.440 missiles. See that? Because he believed that 00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:00.460 about the Lord, the Lord is with me. I'm not 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:05.019 alone. He's standing with me and I have his strength. 00:32:06.019 --> 00:32:09.220 You see, that protected Paul in that hour of 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:12.680 warfare. against whatever the flaming arrows 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:14.920 may have been that Satan shot in his direction 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:17.119 and that there were arrows, you can be sure. 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:24.420 I had a personal example of this this week. As 00:32:24.420 --> 00:32:26.160 a matter of fact, as I have been dealing with 00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:29.220 this matter of spiritual warfare, I have found 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:32.059 in my life an intensity of warfare, the evil 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:37.700 one against me. This week, before I really concentrated 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:41.809 on how to apply this shield of faith, God gave 00:32:41.809 --> 00:32:43.930 me an illustration that he later showed to me. 00:32:45.410 --> 00:32:48.789 I was seated at my desk reading the scriptures, 00:32:48.930 --> 00:32:57.730 and all of a sudden, like a flood hit me, I was 00:32:57.730 --> 00:33:03.410 overcome with grief and sorrow over my mother's 00:33:03.410 --> 00:33:08.140 death. Now, many of us have lost loved ones, 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:09.859 and we know that that's something that we deal 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:13.539 with, and that's a very normal thing. We shed 00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:16.720 tears, and we shed tears for a long time. You 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:20.180 don't get over that kind of a hurt quickly or 00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:25.859 ever fully. But suddenly I found myself sobbing 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:31.720 uncontrollably with this sense of grief and loss, 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:35.500 and vivid thoughts of my mother came to my mind. 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:41.319 Emotional energy charged through me, and for 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:43.900 several minutes I could do nothing but sit at 00:33:43.900 --> 00:33:53.440 my chair and weep. I just wept. And from somewhere 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:57.799 within me, the Spirit of God I know, there came 00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:05.470 the command to do something. And I reached down 00:34:05.470 --> 00:34:09.070 to my desk and I picked up my Bible. And I held 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:13.349 it up in the air and I spoke out loud. And I 00:34:13.349 --> 00:34:21.690 said, I don't care how I feel. I believe that 00:34:21.690 --> 00:34:25.090 Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. 00:34:26.630 --> 00:34:29.550 And I believe that to be absent from the body 00:34:29.550 --> 00:34:32.309 is to be present with the Lord, which is very 00:34:32.309 --> 00:34:37.260 far better. And though I feel that I will never 00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:42.920 see my mother again, I know that I will see her 00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:47.980 again in heaven. And do you know, as I began 00:34:47.980 --> 00:34:56.960 to speak what I believe about God, the shield 00:34:56.960 --> 00:35:00.300 of faith began to go up against those fiery darts. 00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:05.300 And within a matter of but a minute or two, All 00:35:05.300 --> 00:35:08.019 of that emotional charge that had been flowing 00:35:08.019 --> 00:35:16.340 into me ceased. And my soul was at peace. I did 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:18.500 not realize at that moment what was happening. 00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:22.699 But as I began to study this passage in more 00:35:22.699 --> 00:35:25.579 detail and pull out the application that I wanted 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:28.340 to share with you this morning, God said to me, 00:35:28.380 --> 00:35:31.559 Galen, do you understand what happened this morning 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:37.019 when you were seated at this desk? And I said, 00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:43.500 yeah, I see now. I see what was going on. I don't 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:46.300 know what the flaming arrows may be coming into 00:35:46.300 --> 00:35:51.760 your mind today. But I know this. There are many 00:35:51.760 --> 00:35:59.300 of you under attack at this moment. My fellow 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:04.610 soldier in Jesus Christ, stand firm. And guard 00:36:04.610 --> 00:36:06.690 that vital territory that God has given you. 00:36:07.630 --> 00:36:13.610 Don't give it up for anything. And I charge you 00:36:13.610 --> 00:36:17.269 today to pick up the shield of faith and to begin 00:36:17.269 --> 00:36:20.489 to confess what you know and believe to be true 00:36:20.489 --> 00:36:23.829 about God against those fiery darts coming into 00:36:23.829 --> 00:36:27.489 your mind. And I want you to know that you will 00:36:27.489 --> 00:36:33.690 experience the quenching. of those fiery -fought 00:36:33.690 --> 00:36:40.150 darts and arrows. They will be extinguished in 00:36:40.150 --> 00:36:43.389 your life, and though they may thud against you, 00:36:43.489 --> 00:36:47.309 they will thud against that shield, and you will 00:36:47.309 --> 00:36:51.030 be protected from falling in the spiritual battle. 00:36:52.570 --> 00:36:56.570 That's how it works. That's why it's so essential. 00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:04.739 We have an enemy who will not be deterred by 00:37:04.739 --> 00:37:10.059 merely wounding us. He is not satisfied with 00:37:10.059 --> 00:37:14.940 inflicting a little pain. His ultimate goal is 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:21.500 to destroy you. And he will be successful unless 00:37:21.500 --> 00:37:27.179 you take up the armor of God and stand in the 00:37:27.179 --> 00:37:31.820 strength of Jesus Christ. We continue with the 00:37:31.820 --> 00:37:43.780 armor next week. Let's bow together. Father in 00:37:43.780 --> 00:37:48.340 heaven, thank you for the armor you have provided 00:37:48.340 --> 00:37:55.619 for us against this evil, wicked enemy. Forgive 00:37:55.619 --> 00:38:00.320 us for playing in the battlefield. for not taking 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:04.260 seriously what is so deadly serious and real. 00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:10.159 I pray today that there will be hundreds of soldiers 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:15.139 of Jesus Christ who will freshly pick up the 00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:23.599 armor and stand his and her ground. Frankly, 00:38:23.659 --> 00:38:27.340 Father, some of us have to admit areas of defeat 00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:32.579 in our lives. We acknowledge that and confess 00:38:32.579 --> 00:38:36.639 it. There have been arrows that have hit their 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:38.940 mark in some of us, and we are burning today 00:38:38.940 --> 00:38:52.960 with self -pity or lust or greed or pride. Thank 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:55.980 you for being willing to extract those arrows. 00:38:57.320 --> 00:39:00.260 as we humble ourselves and acknowledge our mistakes 00:39:00.260 --> 00:39:06.539 and our sins. Show us, Father, how to protect 00:39:06.539 --> 00:39:09.000 ourselves and to be aggressive in the battle 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:18.340 against the enemy. We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:20.780 Amen.