The Armor of God, Faith

The Armor of God

Faith

    We get the word picture of it from the Roman military, which was the world superpower during the time of the early church. These Romans otherwise known as ancient killing machines, were demonized by the commanding generals to dehumanize them so they could in fact destroy life.
    The shields that these soldiers used were generally about 2 ½’ wide by 4’ long, which enabled them to hide behind them efficiently. In comparison, most of the other armies of the world at that time used small round (sometimes square) shields that had to be moved around quite a bit to protect their bodies.
    These shields were sometimes used in unison with soldiers lined up beside each other creating a wall of defense for several soldiers to hide behind. This enabled them to advance into the fray as one unit behind a moving wall. Sometimes the battle would get really tough and the soldiers would create what they called the tortoise shell. What that was is, they would band together in groups with walls of shields around them and a roof of shields over-top of them. This was often a last resort and could be used to move along fighting out of pockets of shields. The Romans’ shields were constructed of light wood with brass bands and then covered in strips of leather that could then be soaked in water to extinguish any fiery darts the enemy launched at them.
    The shield we use against the devil is Faith, drenched in the Water of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to apply the Water thoroughly so the Water of the Word is not just surface. This Shield of Faith is light enough to be easily moved around, yet large enough to cover all exposed areas. Faith is an invisible shield that is efficient and well able to ward off the darts the devil hurls at us. When we hold up the Shield of Faith, nothing can break through that barrier. The gift of Faith is precious and not to be taken lightly, but to be used to further our resolve in Jesus Christ. We are not forced to take this gift, but choose to take it; for without it no one can please God! The flaming darts that come against us are from Hell itself, but cannot penetrate the barrier of Faith that is built by the work of the Holy Spirit.
    Faith is having confidence in what you have hoped for. It is the reality of things you cannot see. Faith is based in Love. If we truly Love God we will have Faith in His Sovereign will.
A hope that is alive is not just wishful thinking. There may have been times we may have wished for something only to as time passes have our hope vanish before our eyes. That is a dying hope, there really is no future in a hope that wishes but doesn't dare to hope. A lively/living hope has full confidence it will be realized no matter how long it takes.
    Our Shield of Faith is a faith that will not get tired of waiting, but will be able to deflect the fiery darts of discouragement and doubt that Satan hurls at us. Our Faith in Jesus Christ is what will save us from our sin and keep us from sin. It is when we lose sight of Christ that we sink into the perilous waters that want to sweep over our soul.
    Faith has a lot to do with the Christian Life as well as Trust and Love. Love is the greatest, but is only possible by Faith. We must believe in Jesus and then believe that we can have a relationship with Him and then search for it then believe He will reward our search by revealing Himself to us.
Having Faith in Christ may well include our having to look at our situation a saying, “I will not doubt God’s goodness, strength, and etc…”
    Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Without a doubt, Satan has launched an attack on Faith in Jesus Christ. Doubt is a major tool that Satan will use to undermine our Faith in Jesus, so we need to be strong and defend our Faith. In a way Faith is the pin that holds our Christian life together, because once Faith has crumpled we are no longer a believer.
    Faith, when exercised, will grow into a Faith that will stand the test of time. Each time we face temptations and use our Faith as a weapon against Satan, our Faith in Jesus will be stronger than ever, producing in us the ability to fight stronger and stronger battles; through the power of Jesus Christ. It is as if we are in God’s Gym of life and the many hurdles, the giants, the trials we face are the means by which our Faith is stretched, therefore causing it to grow ready for the next bigger battle.
    When Satan comes against Faith, he has no chance against you because you are not trusting in yourself but in God. Satan loves to use doubt but faith will give doubt no room.
Paul told Timothy to be an example of Faith. Timothy, a young pastor, seems to have been receiving some disregard from people who believed he was to young to lead.
When it comes to Faith, there really is no age level on maturity of your Faith, and really Jesus said that to have Faith as a child is a good thing. As we age physically, we tend to be more driven by the cares of this life than by Faith and Trust.
Satan tempted Jesus with an extremely ridiculous temptation. Satan first questioned whether Jesus truly was the Son of God by using the word “IF”. In Genesis 3 Satan used the question “Did God really say that”? The temptations that Satan uses really doesn't change a whole lot from time to time. Satan pretty much uses things that either question the existence of God or what He said. What this amounts to is an attempt to disrupt the Faith we have in God and what He says.
     Faith is extremely necessary for the strength of our armor. As a clarification…let’s look at whether there is something we can do to enhance our Faith.
It seems as though faith is almost elusive because of how difficult it is to attain. On one hand, “Faith comes by Hearing”; while on the other hand, “Faith comes by Trials working Patience in our lives which produces Hope (a living hope), which translates as Faith”. While all this goes on, Faith is not like some free-radical agent that may or may not occur; nor will it grow in our hearts, without the work of the Holy Spirit in our Soul. Faith is a gift which comes as a yearning of our heart ie. “Lord help my unbelief” or “Lord, increase my Faith”. When we pray these prayers, and mean it with our whole heart, our Faith will indeed be blessed, and will grow, but only through the hearing of the Word of God and through our trials.

• Hebrews 11:1,6
• 1 Thessalonians 5:8
• Luke 17:6
• Romans 10:17
• Matthew 17:20
• 1 Peter 1:3
• Matthew 14:30
• Proverbs 30:5
• 2 Timothy 1:7
• 2 Timothy 2:3-5
• 1 Timothy 4:12
• Ephesians 3:17
• Matthew 4:3
• Philippians 4:8
• Romans 10:17
• James 1:3
• Romans 5:1-5