By Tammy Phillips
April 28, 2020
Stand…Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. -Ephesians 6:14 & 16
The fourth piece of the armor of God is the shield of faith. (I will abbreviate to S.O.F.) Where is your shield today?
Paul says we are to take it, raise it, and carry it, above all. We might think the phrase “above all,” means most importantly. However, the translation from Greek, “above all” means over everything, before each and every little thing. Paul is stating our shield of faith of God should lead the way. Is your faith in God leading the way or is your shield lying at the end of your bed or tossed in the corner? Do you think it has lost its power and it is no good to you?
Look at these facts about the Roman soldiers’ shield in comparison to our shield of faith from Rick Renner’s book, “Dressed to Kill.”
-Romans shield (thyreos) meaning oblong door shaped.
God has given us enough faith to cover us head to toe.
-Romans shield enough to cover the whole body.
Our S.O.F will cover any and all need that comes along.
-Romans shield was usually made of six layers of leather woven together making it almost as strong as steel. It was extremely tough and durable.
Our S.O.F is strong enough to endure any attack, temptation, trial or tribulation
-Romans shield had to be oiled each morning to keep it from becoming hard, cracking under pressure, and falling to pieces.
Our S.O.F. requires frequent anointing from the Holy Spirit to keep us from falling apart.
-Romans shield rested on a clip on the loin belt.
Our S.O.F. rests on the loin belt, the Word of God. Our faith is attached to the Word of God.
-Romans shield would be submerged in water until completely saturated before battle. The enemy shot flaming arrows which would be extinguished when they came in contact with the shield.
When we keep our faith saturated in the “washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26), Our Word-saturated shields have power to extinguish the Fiery darts of the wicked.”
-Romans shield required daily applications of oil and water to keep shield in good shape.
Our S.O.F. requires daily applications of oil and water to keep shield in good shape.
-Romans shields were made to hinge together. When it was time for a big battle, they would fall in line side-by-side and interlock their shields together. This is called the Roman Tortoise or Testudo. They would march in unison against the enemy and be protected from enemy projectiles. Look at this…
Our S.O.F when joined together, makes us stronger and we can confidently march right at the enemy.
If we lay our S.O.F. down, it is of no use to us. If we don’t exercise our faith, it is just like our muscle. It becomes weak. When the enemy attacks, we just fall to pieces. How does faith come? Paul says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I propose: no word=no faith, little word=little faith, large word=large faith. Our faith is built by hearing, seeing, reading and meditating of the Word of God. If you do not know the Word of God, you do not know the promises of God which equals no faith in God or weak faith in God. If you don’t know Jesus paid for our healing, you don’t know to ask him for healing. If you do not know God is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, then you do not know God will meet all our needs according to his riches. Every answer to every question or need is found in the Word.
“If we don’t have the Word on it, we sure cannot have faith in it. -Me!
Faith to us is like gas in a car or food in our stomach. If we do not fill our tanks, we cannot go the distance. Little food or gas, we can only go a short distance. Full tank of gas or food, we can go the distance, until it is time to fill up again. Faith is the same. We need to constantly fill up to keep our shield up and operative.
I enCOURAGE you to pick up your shield of faith in God. Receive a fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit and be washed in the Word every day. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21) Be prepared so that when the enemy comes, and you know he is coming; you will have the power and ability to extinguish his fiery darts. When you need reinforcements, call me and call your siblings in Christ that are wielding the S.O.F. We will fasten our shields around you and face the enemy head on. We are overcomers in Him.
Complete in Him 