Sermon for February 12th (Shield of Faith)

This Sunday, the topic is the shield of faith. But what is that? You see, I come up with these sermon topics like two months ahead of time and I know that God is calling me to preach on the armor of God, but then I get to this week and I’m like—what was I thinking! I didn’t know what a shield of faith was exactly and I’m supposed to tell you. You trust me to do that. To read the Bible and to give that message to you. That’s my job. So let me take you where I went this week and I pray that God’s Holy Spirit works in your heart like it did through mine from what I found.

Ephesians 6, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” What is Paul trying to tell us by calling faith a shield? A Roman soldier didn’t just carry around a shield on his back to look pretty, he had to be able to use it. Soldiers were not simply trained on how to use their swords, but they were trained on how to use their shields as well.
Think of all the things you can use a shield to do: You could push an enemy back with it, block swords with it or deflect arrows. The outside of the shield was made of leather which a soldier could douse with water so that not only would it protect from arrows, it would put them out if they were burning. You see, an arrow lodged in your chest, well, that would hurt. But enemies would sometimes wrap an arrow with a rag dipped in oil and light that rag on fire so that you were not only cut if you were shot at but then your clothes might catch on fire! These battles weren’t jokes and neither is the battle with the devil. He’s not just out to hurt you, but to destroy you.

I’ve explained what shields can do, but what can a shield of faith do? For that answer, we need to look at scripture. Faith gives life according to Romans, “The righteous will live by faith.” Faith frees us according to Galatians, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” Faith actively heals according to the gospel of Matthew, “Take heart daughter,” Jesus said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Faith can also be used to heal others: “Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

In Matthew chapter 17, the disciples were given authority to drive out demons, but they found one that they couldn’t drive out. Jesus says that they couldn’t do it, “Because you have so little faith” he says. Because according to scripture, “If you believe (if you have faith), you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” The Devil attacks us with guilt, doubt, demonic oppression, sickness, disease, and the accusation of hell. But the shield of faith promises us protection from these deadly attacks.

But here’s the thing. Do we do all that stuff? Do we use our faith to do these things? I have to ask myself: do I ever USE my faith or just thank God I have it and leave it at that. What about you? Have you been carrying around a faith that might be “dead” as James calls it. A shield of faith that just hangs around your neck and never gets used. A faith that you hold onto like a binky, a pacifier, for comfort, but you never even think to take it out for a spin? We go off to work and say yeah, I’ve got faith, my shield of faith is lying on the floor at home by my bed. I got that when I was confirmed or baptized—I’m sure I’ll be protected. But is that what the Bible says about faith? James says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has not deeds? Can such faith save him?” Faith MUST be living and active—it’s the definition of faith. To be used for protection, it needs to be practiced with and developed and used.

In 1st Corinthians, Paul says that there are some who say that they have faith, but that there is no resurrection of the dead. What!? He says, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” You’ve heard this before. Yeah, I’m a Christian. I go to church. But I don’t believe EVERYTHING in the Bible. Jesus might not be the ONLY way to eternal life. I don’t HAVE to pray. I don’t HAVE to read my Bible to be a Christian. Really? Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!” Is your faith in your own faith or in your relationship with God?

Do you reflect your faith in your actions? Do you have faith in a God who hates sexual immorality, but continue looking at pornography or living with your girlfriend or boyfriend? Do you have faith in Jesus who DIED to forgive you, but still can’t forgive your friend, your spouse, or your enemy? Do you have faith in a God who gave you all that you have, but you throw in a five dollar bill every single week for the offering? Is your faith in Jesus Christ, or is your faith in what you’d prefer Jesus to look like?

It’s really easy to think of faith as a way of thinking, a way of thinking about things, a set of rules and doctrines, a common set of beliefs, but it’s not. It’s not really about thinking or about “feeling” something is right or not. It’s about a relationship. Faith isn’t a substance, it’s about trust. If you asked me why I love my children, I could tell you logically why: Sophia is so loving, smart and creative. Malachi has a terrific laugh and he is so kind and compassionate. Micah is a lovable little boy who is just the best behaved little baby ever. But, when Micah screams and cannot be consoled. When Malachi is thoughtless and whiny. When Sophia is selfish and rude, there is no logical reason to love them . . . but I still do because I’m their dad. This is a relationship that I cannot fully comprehend.

Faith means to put your trust in Jesus Christ and to have an ongoing relationship with him. There are some days when this may very logical: Well, if God really did create heaven, earth and me, then I should love him . . . he deserves it. Or, Jesus died for me, that was pretty nice, I will love him back. Or, I would have never survived that car wreck had it not been for the grace of God. Those kind of statements involve our thoughts, our mind and our reason. That’s great! But there are other times when faith doesn’t always make sense. When despite all the suffering you’re going through, you just know that God still loves you or when you don’t have time to go to church, but if you don’t, you know the rest of your week just won’t be right. Ephesians says that faith is a gift from God. Just like my kids are a gift from God. If I don’t continue developing my relationship with them, I’d still be their dad, but I’d be useless to them. You may have also been given faith, as a gift, but are you a Christian in name only?

Psalm 33 says, “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” This shield of faith is about a relationship, putting your trust in God. Scripture says that faith can grow just like any relationship. In fact, if it’s not growing—it’s dying. From what I have read, there are two specific ways that you can better develop your shield of faith: through serving and through suffering.

1st Timothy 3:13, “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” This statement is referring to someone called a “deacon” which simply means “one who serves”. A translation of this for our church might mean someone who serves on the council, or on a ministry team, or the altar guild, or our secretary, or the ministry coordinator or ushers or readers. I believe that the pastor of a church should not do everything that needs to be done for many reasons. It’d be way to much work for one person first of all and I don’t have all the gifts that are needed, but most interestingly, because it would be greedy.

When you serve, you are given greater assurance of your faith in Christ Jesus! When you step out of your box and make a difference in the lives of others, you find that God gives you the strength that you need to do it. It not only gives your life meaning, but it brings you into a deeper relationship with God. And the more you serve, the stronger your faith can become. There’s an old saying that says that adults don’t create children, children create adults. Well, faithful people don’t become servants of the Lord, when you begin serving on behalf of God, you often find yourself becoming more and more faithful to Him. On your card this week, maybe you’ll want to commit to serve.

Finally, suffering and persecution also encourages faith. We read this in 2nd Thessalonians, “your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” At a Natural Church Development Summit in South Africa, a man named Eddie Leo, shared about a spiritual revival in Indonesia. One church had added 1,600 believers in the last six months! Other churches wanted to know what they could do to experience a similar revival. Eddie said, “You want revival? Then pray for persecution.”

In the book of James we read, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” When you face suffering, you are forced to put your hope and your trust in something, and when you place it in Jesus Christ, you find your shield of faith strengthening. You start praying more, longer and more passionately because God is the only one who can understand what you’re going through. You find yourself reading your Bible because, as the disciples once said, “Lord, where else can we go? You alone have the words of eternal life!” Suffering will come, you don’t have to seek it. But if you are suffering right now, instead of trusting money, or drugs or even another person for hope, imagine how your faith might grow by turning to God right now when the times are the toughest.

Pastor Francis Chan tells a story of a group of Korean missionaries to Afghanistan who were arrested and detained in prison by the Taliban for their gospel ministry. Chan had dinner with one of the missionaries who told him about the conditions of the prison. As the story goes, one woman managed to sneak a Bible into the cell and they tore it into as many sections as there were people, so that they could have the Scriptures to read whenever they had the opportunity. It became apparent that some of them were going to be put to death and the senior pastor of the group announced that he would die first. Another man told him that he could not die first, because he was their shepherd, and that the second man must die first as he was an elder. They argued back and forth, with the senior pastor eventually winning. It was however the elder who died first and it was the senior pastor with whom Francis Chan spoke.

The senior pastor told Chan something that I will never forget. He said that since the incident members of that group kept coming to him privately and saying, “Don’t’ you wish you were back there! In prison!” They wished they could go back to the prison cell, with the looming threat of death and torture ever upon them, because the fellowship with Jesus brought them so much joy. Faith felt real! It was alive! The group unanimously agreed that they had never been so close to Christ as they were in that cell, completely dependent on Him as to whether or not they carried on in the flesh or went immediately Home to Heaven.

I believe that most all of you have faith in Jesus Christ or else you wouldn’t be here. But if your faith isn’t growing it’s dying. It’s a relationship that needs constant care. Maybe you are new to this whole Christian thing or don’t think you’ve ever had faith and never had a relationship with Jesus. Maybe you just feel guilty for your lack of faith, for your lack of interest and your lack of passion. . . but hear this: “God’s love for you does not depend on your effort or desire, but on God’s mercy.” He has imprisoned us all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all. God is in the business of bringing the dead to life, dead bones, dead people or even a dead faith. So hear this: in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. God continues to desire to have a relationship with you. Put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. And in addition to all this, take hold of the shield of faith—it’s yours again today because it is a gift of God. Amen.