"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."  
Ephesians 6:10-17

 

Today I want to talk about the shield of faith.

God has been prompting me to tell His people to

"Enlarge Your Shield".

 

What you have had in the past is not protecting you or your loved ones. The fiery darts of the enemy is penetrating your shield, because they are bigger and more powerful."

 

Our faith grows when we pray. Our faith is nourished through prayer. Our prayer to the Lord is essentially listening to him speak to us in our hearts. When we listen we will hear his voice in the silence of our hearts and we will have the opportunity to respond – to grow in faith. The response to the psalm captures this well.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Psalm 95:8)

 

When we plead the blood of Jesus, “Pleading the blood” is actually a legal term.

Think of it like a lawyer pleading his case before the judge. He presents evidence and facts to support his case. We have examples of this term in the Old Testament

(1 Samuel 24:15; Psalm 43:1).

 

When the accuser says we’re guilty, our plea before God, the Righteous Judge, is the blood of Jesus. It changed everything.

The blood of Jesus established a new and better covenant between us and a holy God.   (Hebrews 8:6-7, 9:11-14, 22, 12:24)

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The blood is our defense.

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It declares we are not guilty but free from all penalty of sin.

The blood also gives us the authority and dominion to resist Satan and put him out of all the affairs of our lives and our families’ lives.

 

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary, the devil has no legal right to interfere in our lives anymore. He says we’re guilty; we “plead the blood!”    (James 4:7; 1 John 3:8; Luke 10:19)

We have every right and provision to walk in victory through the precious blood of the Lamb.

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Every day you have the right to exercise that authority by pleading what the blood of Jesus has done for you. Refuse to give the enemy even one small inch of territory. Satan is a defeated foe and through the precious blood of Jesus we are victorious, when we declare and decree over our situation and our loved ones!

 

Take a stand against the enemy and speak the Word of God (sword of the Spirit) back to him.  Draw near to the Lord and the devil will flee.   James 4:7 

 

He is our front and rear guard, our fortress, our shield and buckler. 

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.   Psalm 18:2

 

Beloved, we are in troubling times. The enemy knows he has a short time and he is pulling out the big guns. He is here to steal, kill and destroy. John 10:10

 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:6  stresses the importance of faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Satan’s attacks can sometimes cause us to doubt God.

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Faith prompts us to believe God.

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We give in to temptation when we believe what it has to offer is better than what God has promised. Faith reminds us that, though fulfillment of God’s promise may not be readily visible to us, God is true to His Word. When Satan attempts to plague us with doubt or entice us with instant gratification, faith recognizes the deceptiveness of his tactics and quickly extinguishes the arrows.

When Satan accuses us, faith chooses to believe that Jesus has redeemed us and that there is no more condemnation (Romans 8:1, 34; Revelation 12:10–12)

 

Faith is one of the greatest gifts (1 Corinthians 13:13), and it is the means by which we receive grace and come into right relationship with God (Ephesians 2:8–9). It is because we have been justified through faith that we belong to God and have peace with Him (Romans 5:1).

Faith is the doorway to hope in God (Romans 5:2). Because we have faith in God, our suffering need not faze us; in fact, we can persevere under it (Romans 5:3–5). The things Satan attempts to use to discourage us can actually become tools in the hands of God.

 

All believers have this promise:

“Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has

overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

 

Faith is a protective barrier between us and the schemes of Satan.

 

When we believe God and take Him at His word, we remain grounded in truth, the lies of the enemy lose their power, and we become overcomers. In that way, faith is our shield.

 

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