Please open in your scriptures to the New Testament book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 6. It is the very last chapter of that book written to the church in Ephesus. Keep in mind that the church in Ephesus was pastored by a young pastor, a man by the name of Timothy. Now, we don't know how young he was. Obviously, he was old enough to be a pastor, but certainly, not a seasoned life man in the sense that he had developed wrinkles around his eyes or saggy neck and all that comes with aging, which I'm quickly discovering. Yesterday, I was standing alongside of somebody who was my age, and my wife was surprised because he looked so much older. And I said, honey, the truth is 62 is old. And it is when I think back at how I always looked at 62-year-olds, right? And it just so happens that I haven't aged as quickly as that fella that was standing next to me. But there's a good thing to aging, isn't there? If your knees are bent before the Lord and if your nose is in the scriptures, Wisdom comes with it, wisdom that cannot be had before age. Age doesn't guarantee wisdom, but age allows for wisdom to occur if you are walking with the Lord, if you are applying, learning and applying his word. There's great value in age. And of course, we were designed to live, to grow old. You know, the apostle Paul said, that it is, of course, his desire to be with the Lord. In fact, elsewhere he tells us to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord. He says it is his desire and his preference to be with the Lord. In other words, to die and be in God's presence. But he also knows that the Lord has him alive for a purpose. and that he was to live to fulfill that purpose, and that purpose was to do the bidding of God, to do the will of God. And so he writes in the Book of Philippians that he will continue to serve God for as long as he lives. That might be 63 years, that might be 83 years. On occasion we hear of people who last till 103 years. Not too many, but it still happens. This week was an interesting week for us because various funerals were scheduled in our home, or in our family life. And one was yesterday for my former pastor, the pastor my wife and I grew up under. And what a great man of faith, what a man who right to the end served the Lord. He was in his 80s, he was retired, but as it was said yesterday, nobody knew he was retired. Because he continued to do the same things he was doing, even when he was on staff at that church. And what a legacy he left behind, as a person who loved the Lord, spoke of the Lord, taught the truths of the Lord, but also lived according to the precepts of the Lord. And what a legacy indeed. And whereas many people said and spoke things that are good about him yesterday, there was no shortage of people speaking well of him. Really, the only words that matter to him, to Pastor Glenn, are the words of Jesus Christ, well done, good and faithful servant. And there's no question that on the 20th he heard those words. What a certainty because of how he lived. Now the church in Ephesus found it very difficult to live well for the Lord because of their surroundings. It was an extremely pagan community. filled with all sorts of idolatry. And so when Paul writes here in chapter 6 about spiritual warfare, they're not wondering whether or not this is true. They see it. They know it. And some of you know exactly what I mean, because you've seen it and you know it. Most people, though, in American Christendom speculate to what degree is this spiritual warfare really true? How often does it happen? How severe is it? How strong? How potent is it? And I think we are in greater danger because we don't see how powerful spiritual warfare is because the spiritual warfare we have is much more subtle. It's not as open. And so we don't necessarily see spiritual warfare for what it really is. When you go to certain other communities or other parts of the world, I think in particular where I'm from, Latin America, it is much more overt. And when you see it happening, there's no question as to who or what is behind this activity. But we don't see that. And that's good that these things don't happen commonly in our circles. But the danger is, is that we forget that spiritual warfare is real, it is true, and it happens so subtly in our lives. And so Paul says, put on the whole armor of God. And there's no part of the armor of God that's not important, but I want to spend a little more time on what we discussed last week, which was the shield of faith. And you thought I said everything that needed to be said, correct? No, there's always more. And I always have to pick and choose as to what I will say and not say. And this time around I said, you know what, let me say some more. Because the shield of faith is not the most important aspect of the armor of God. All of them are equally essential. However, it seems like the shield of faith is the most neglected aspect of the armor of God. Keep in mind that Back in April of 1865, I know I've said this many times, but it's such a good illustration, I'm going to say it again. Back in April of 1865, the Civil War came to an end here in America. And the war did not come to an end because there was a peace treaty, but rather it was a surrender, a surrender by the Confederate Army to the Northern Army in Virginia. But after the the surrender was signed, and the war was ended, there were still various battles. In fact, I read of the battle at Morrisville Station, and then there was that same April, the Battle of West Point, and then the Battle of Columbus in April of 1865. But it wasn't until May, a month later, May 12 and 13, the two-day battle, in Brownsville, Texas, where the war finally ended. It took nearly four more weeks for the war to finally stop, although everything was signed. Everything was said. This is over. Well, the battles continued right there through the Battle of Palmito Ranch near Brownsville, Texas. Victory had been attained by the North, but the battles continued. And we see a very similar story with World War II. D-Day, June 6, 1944. marked the end of the Third Reich's ability to advance, to conquer, or even exist. And yet V-Day, Victory Day, did not occur until May 8, 1945, 11 months later before victory was finally declared. Battles were fought. People were dying. And this is the story of the Christian. At the cross of Christ, God defeated Satan. His doom is sure. He lost the war. But until Christ returns, Satan continues to battle, he continues to fight, he continues to cause harm. And what's his objective? Well, Satan's objective is simply to bring catastrophe into this world. He wants to bring injury. He wants to bring harm. He delights in destroying. And he is so good at it. But so good at it, he succeeds so often. He wants to bring destruction to God's creation. Of course, he wants to bring destruction, especially to the church as a whole. And how does he do that? Usually by attacking the individual Christian. He brings injury to you. so that it will overflow into the household of God. And his ultimate goal, of course, is to bring harm to God. And how is he going to bring harm to God? He cannot throw stones at God. But he can throw stones, or better yet, fiery dart at you in the hopes of injuring God and the purpose of God. But understand, my friends, that the Christian is in a position of victory despite the stiff opposition that we face. Despite that stiff opposition, Christian, you are in a position of victory. So when God calls you to stand, and that's what we see here in chapter six of Ephesians, when God calls you to stand and then remain standing in spiritual battle, he is not only going to tell you what to do, but now he's going to tell you how you remain standing. How can you stand even as the devil gives his utmost against you? And the answer is very simple. Put on the full armor of God. Now, I think we could all appreciate the armor of God. Unfortunately, we tend to piecemeal it. Today, I will put on the belt of truth, but I will not put on the breastplate of righteousness. I will wear the helmet of salvation, but I will not pick up the sword, which is the word of God. And so we venture out into this world, or we venture out into life, with only portions of the armor on, and then we wonder why we're so debilitated, why we are so defeated. Well, it's because you did not put on the whole armor of God. And I once again believe that the piece of equipment that is most neglected, not intentionally, but nonetheless neglected, is the shield of faith. So let's take a look at it again, and I'll begin with point number one, the shield of faith. And jump over to 1 Peter 5, verse 8. I don't know if the verse is there on the screen for you or not, but I do know it's in your Bible. At the very end of your Bible, 1 Peter 5, verse 8. It's a verse that we have grown familiar with. We understand it to be true. We just don't see how often it's true. How often this happens around us. First Peter chapter five, verse eight reads this way. Be sober minded. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Notice he's not coming up to cozy up next to you. He's looking to pounce on you. He's looking for someone to devour. And certainly I do think that we make the devil's job so much more easier than what it needs to be. In reference to his own sinful propensities, in reference to his own sinful habits, look at what the Apostle Paul says about himself in Romans chapter 7 verse 15. He says, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, the sin that I do, that I do. I hate my sin and yet I keep doing those things I hate. Does that sound familiar to you? I think the Apostle Paul is speaking for every Christian in this room. We don't understand why we do what we do when we hate doing it, and yet we want to keep doing it. Look at what John writes in his first epistle, 1 John 2. There in 1 John 2, verse 16, John reminds us of what we have experienced many times over. He tells us what we war against, what we are tempted by. This is what the world offers. 1 John 2.16, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. The desires of the flesh are referring to human sinful desires. And often they're sexual, but not always. But they're illicit desires. Desire of the eyes. Referring to a lack of contentment. And therefore always pursuing to fill that hollow in our soul. And usually we've tried to fill that hollow with more. More stuff. A lack of contentment. And the problem is not having more, the problem is a lack of contentment. That's the problem. And of course the pride of life. To think more highly of yourself than what you really ought to. To think more highly of yourself than the person next to you. The pride of life. So you see, I don't think the devil has to be as crafty with us as he was with Eve. I think we make his job so much more easy. Why? Because we tend to cooperate with him. He doesn't have to try very hard. Too often we're willing to cooperate with him. And that's why verse 16, let's go back to Ephesians 6. Verse 16, it reads this way. in all circumstances take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. That's why here we see an imperative. Take up the shield of faith. The shield of faith, you'll recall from last week, the shield of faith is an ongoing confident trust in who God is and in what God has said. That's what the shield of faith is. An ongoing confidence, a trust in what God has said and in who he is. The shield of faith. Confidence based on the truth that God has spoken. So we take on that belt of truth, we put that on first, right? And hinged to that belt of truth is the breastplate of righteousness. And of course, hanging on that belt of truth is the word of God, the sword. However, it is the shield of faith that protects the truth in you. You have God's truth, but it is that shield of faith that protects that truth in you. Now that's phrased in a positive, let me phrase it in a negative. Without faith, you will deny God's truth. Without faith, you will reject God's word. And without faith, your lifestyle will depart from what is righteous. It's that simple. You will not be the exception. Go back to Hebrews 11, and I say go back because we looked at it last week, but let me make mention of it again. Hebrews 11 verse one defines faith for us. Hebrews 11 one tells us that faith is the conviction of what you cannot see. If you could see it, it's not faith. Faith is the conviction of what you cannot see, and you are certain, though it's not seeable, you know it's true. And it is the certainty of things you hoped for. And why do you hope for these things? Not because you cross your fingers and you think, oh, I just wish this to be true. I want this to be true. No, that's not what we're talking about here. It says the things that are hoped for, referring to God has said this will be, and you are certain that it will be because God said it will be. And therefore you have hope. So that hope is not, I'm crossing my fingers and desiring that things get better. No, no, no. Hope is a certainty that what God has promised will be fulfilled for your good. That's true hope. Faith is the certainty that your hope is real that God will complete what he has said Now if you go down to same chapter verse 6 Hebrews 11 verse 6 Notice there that it says without faith It is impossible to please God Impossible If you want to draw near to God notice there verse 6 If you want to draw near to God because you want God to be near to you, right? You must believe that God is. You cannot draw near to God if you do not believe that He is who He claims to be, what the Bible describes Him to be. And look there, same verse, and He rewards those who seek Him out. He will reward you for seeking him out. Now listen, how do you seek God? You seek God when you take up the shield of faith. When you raise up that shield and you believe in who God is and you believe in what he has said, you are seeking God. And what Hebrews 11.6 tells us is that you will draw near to him and that you will be rewarded. When you exercise, when you use the shield of faith, you're believing his truth. And that faith, your faith, will please God, which in turn will bring pleasure to you. It will also bring contentment to your soul. It will bring victory to your life. It will bring assurance. It will bring you joy. In other words, you will be blessed by God. When you exercise faith, you will be blessed by God. And blessings are what everybody wants. Blessings meaning happiness. Everybody here wants to be happy. And yet the world goes in various ways looking for their happiness. Christian, the scriptures are clear. If you want to know happiness, you must take up the shield of faith. A confidence in who God is and a certainty, a trust in what he has said. The shield of faith. The pursuit of happiness culminates in faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. It might be an American right, the pursuit of happiness, but it will only be found in those who exercise, who carry the shield of faith. That was point number one. Just one piece of the spiritual equipment, all of them are essential if we are going to stand firm. And that's point number two, standing firm, standing firm. Again, verse 16 reads, in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. Now, last week we took a look at that aspect of extinguishing those flaming darts. This morning, let's take a look at this concept of standing firm. Please understand that it is utterly impossible to stand firm in this world of sin and temptation without faith. If you do not have faith in God, you will not be able to stand. You will not be able to withstand. In fact, the entire armor of God is essential, and faith is like a door that separates you from Satan's danger. Satan is unable to penetrate faith. He can't do it. And so, listen, when doubt, or anxiety, or threat, or if you just have this overall disquieted spirit in you, faith in God is your only remedy. Faith extinguishes the arrows of the devil. In fact, faith resists the dangers that the devil brings into our world. I like reading episodes, historical facts of World War II. I certainly enjoy watching those movies. Some of them can be much too graphic. I don't need to see all that gore in order to get an understanding of what actually happened. But I do enjoy those accounts. And among those accounts are the stories of those resistance fighters. For example, you had the French resistance fighters or the Polish resistance fighters. And these are amazing stories of amazing people who just months earlier, before there was a Nazi invasion, just months earlier, they were milkmaids or bakers or shepherds or school students. And now suddenly, because of the invasion, because of the attack, These people become fierce resistance fighters determined to protect what belongs to them. Determined to fight against a regime of terror and horror. And my friends, as Christians, we need to be resistance fighters. We need to take up arms. Not like the world, but as is explained here in the scriptures, the armor of God. We need to resist the devil. Faith in who God is and what God has said is essential. I know I'm repeating myself, but I want you to really hear it. I know you know this, but when the troubles come, when those darts strike you, what's the first thing you do? You begin to question what God has said. And then you begin to question who God really is. If you intend to stand firm, you need to place your faith on who God is and in what God has said. And listen, no Christian is exempt from this battle. Your faith will be tested in this battle and either your faith will collapse or it will be refined in this battle. Your faith will either collapse or be refined and your faith cannot be refined without the battle. And listen, I can say this too. It's a fallacy to say, well, you know, I'm a good Christian, and so I don't face these battles. No, it's quite the opposite. I've heard Christians say, well, that's not an issue for me. I don't have these battles because, well, I'm a strong, mature Christian. Well, it's quite the opposite. That tells me you're not, if you're not facing these battles. That means Satan is not even going to deal with you because you are no consequence. But rather, if you're looking to grow in Christ, if you're looking to serve God, if you're looking to know more of Him, you are going to face these battles. No question about it. The question here is whether or not you will fight with the shield of faith. Will you be protected by your faith in God, or will you be taken down by the fiery arrows of doubt? and deception, disunity, and disillusion that Satan fires at you. And the attacks do come, I would say, rather often. And those attacks will actually expose what you really believe. And of course, nobody here wants to be attacked, but those attacks will expose what you really believe about God. Do I really have faith? Without faith, even what you do believe, if you do not have faith, even what you do believe, when it comes under attack, it will be eroded and it will be conquered. You will stop believing without faith. My friends, we live in this onslaught of daily attacks that come in so many forms. Sometimes they are Satan's lies. Sometimes they are temptations from an impure heart. And there's a constant desire to have my way and fill my life with anything but Christ himself. Those arrows just keep coming at us. And what do you have to do? The shield of faith. Use, put up, take up the shield of faith. Lastly, let's take a look at what faith will do for you. Let's take a look at what faith will do for you. To some extent, I covered this last week. I gave you a short list of the benefits of faith in you. Well, let's take a look a little more in depth as to what faith will do for you. And there, to look at that, let's go over to the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 7 and verse 9. Isaiah, the prophet. After the book of Psalms, you come across Isaiah chapter 7 in verse 9. And maybe you're familiar with this verse, maybe not. But it's a verse worth underlining in your scriptures, if that's your habit. Isaiah 7, 9 reads this way. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. That says it all, doesn't it? If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. In other words, you can be firm in many other ways. But if your faith is not steady, if your faith is not solidified, neither are you at all. And the point is that God promises are not always firmly believed. God has made many, many promises, but how often, to what depth do we really believe those promises? And I must admit, some of the promises of God are hard to believe. I'll give you an example. In Philippians 4, We read, and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. And we all want to believe that. But to what degree do we really believe it? Well, think back last time there was a shortage in the checking account. Think the last time when you couldn't feed yourself or your family or when you couldn't make the bills or when you were lonely. And there's an array of situations in which we look at this verse, and God will supply every need of yours according to the riches in glory. When you were unhealthy, and you begin to wonder, well, I'm not so sure I believe that. But God said it, right? But I'm not believing that right now, because it doesn't seem like he's going to keep his word. These are hard truths to believe. But that's not the issue. The issue is not whether or not this is hard to believe. The issue is this. Did God say it? And then do I believe it? We can all believe it's easy. Can we believe the hard truths? That's faith. How is your faith doing? How strong is your shield of faith? It's a great question. You need to answer it for yourself. And so Isaiah 7, 9 says, if you are not firm in the faith, you will not be firm at all. And that phrase there, not firm at all, means that at this point, you are wobbling, you are unstable. Not only are you prone to falling, but you will imminently fall. It's just a matter of time. At any moment, you will fall if you are not firm in the faith. Your life. is in danger. Not just your convictions, but if you are not firm in the faith, your life is in jeopardy. Take a look there at Isaiah chapter 7, and you'll see if you were to read through it, that chapter 7, 8, and a part of chapter 9 are lists of attacks and defeats, battles, and victories over other nations. They're all prophetic words. But look at chapter 9, verse 4. Are you there? And notice that one phrase there. Chapter 9 of Isaiah, verse 4. As on the day of the Midian defeat. Does that remind you of anything we talked about in the last few weeks? As on the day of the Midian defeat. It harkens back to what we saw in Judges chapter 7. Remember Gideon? Defeated the great army of the Midianites with just a tiny force of foot soldiers, 300 men, that's all. Without proper weapons. And yet they were, he was, Gideon and the Israelites, were victorious. And Judges chapter 7, you see there that God forced the people of God to trust and obey because there was no other way. They had to. God forced them to. Only 300 men against this vast army of Midianites, and yet they were successful. God was in control. God's people were being forced to learn the same lesson again. And I think we're very much in that same boat, how often we have to learn that same lesson again and again and again. Take a look at how often God has provided for all your needs. And then the next time there's trouble, you're wondering, you begin to question God, even though he just provided for you. That's just the way we are. That's the way the Israelites were. And so God here is forcing them to believe. And I'm reminded here of what we read in 1 Corinthians 1, what Gabe read to us earlier in verses 28 and 29 in particular. Turn there with me, would you? Back to where we were earlier in the service, chapter one of 1 Corinthians. And what a way to start the letter. This is the introduction of Paul's letter to the church in Corinth. You'll recall that in the book of Judges, God said, the reason I am reducing, Gideon, your army to just 300 men is so that nobody will say, well, look at what great Soldiers these Israelites were. Look at what they were able to do. God said, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to show to you that you had nothing to do with it. It was all my doing, right? Well, take a look at 1 Corinthians 1, and then verse 28 and 29. It says there that God used, quote, what is not, what is not noble, what is not desired. God used what is not esteemed. In fact, he used what is low and even despised, is what we see in that verse. God used what is not to bring to nothing, to no consequence, to no value, no honor, those things that are. Those things that are considered important and esteemed and necessary and valuable. God used those things that are of no value to bring those things that are considered valuable to be understood to be worthless. Okay. And how does he do that? by saving you, by saving me. It's not exactly a building of our self-esteem here, is it? 1 Corinthians 1, 28 and 29. God is not saying, wow, look at you, you are great. I could really use you on my team. No, it's quite the opposite. It's quite the opposite. And in verse 29, he explains to us why. He tells us, I'm doing this so that no human will be able to boast about his own achievements. So that no human can boast about what God offers to me, because after all, look at me. No human can say, well, look at me, look at what I have become and how I have advanced so quickly in my knowledge and practice of God's word. Are you impressed? You see, God chose nobodies to become somebodies so that God would receive glory. We, my friends, are the nobodies. But in God's grace, we have become the somebodies who bring glory to God. You see, true faith will keep you from being proud. the benefits of faith. It will keep you from being proud. This is God's goal for you, that you would remain standing against the blows of the evil one. If you are proud, you are not standing. You look like you're standing, but you're not. He wants you to bring him glory. And in return, in return to that faith, that allows you to remain standing. You will know the joy of his pleasure in your life. You will be blessed. Now let me give you three more benefits to faith. They're brief, but I think they're important. These are not my thoughts. These are the writings of an old preacher way back when. The benefits of faith. Here's the first one. They'll be listed on the wall there for you. The first one is this. you will have consistent judgment. With faith, with the shield of faith in place, you will have consistent judgment. Judgment, of course, refers to what you think and the process you use to make your decisions. And true faith will impact how you perceive this world. It will create what desires you have in your heart, and it will determine how you respond. And of course, your faith will be commensurate to what you know about God. You see, you can't have faith in a God you do not know. So you must know God. Your ability to make consistent, moral, right judgment is the result of true faith in the true God and in his words. So we're not just simply talking about believing the right things in the sense of I really do believe this, but we're talking about allowing that faith to mold how we think and how we make decisions. It will produce consistent judgment. You must come to the Lord, as one writer put, as a poor and unlearned child. You must come to the Lord, to his word, to worship as a poor, unlearned child. And not as one who says, well, I knew that already. How often do we do that? I knew that already. No, no, no. Come humbly as a poor, unlearned child and consume his truth and see who he is and believe it. Number two, what faith will do for you. It will give you consistent judgment. Number two, it will produce in you an unwavering, stable lifestyle. An unwavering, stable lifestyle. Now, imagine how Abraham must have felt when he was told to go and sacrifice his son Isaac. By faith, he was willing to do it. Now, God, of course, kept him from doing it, but by faith, he was willing to sacrifice his son. In one sense, he did sacrifice his son. Not literally, but willingly. Think of Moses, who by faith returned back to Pharaoh and said, let my people go. My friends, in human terms, that was a suicide mission. But by faith, Moses did. Faith sees God acting out on your behalf. This is extremely important. Faith sees God acting out on your behalf, not against you. God is not warring against you. The circumstances in your life may seem adverse and hard and harsh, but God is not warring against you. He is on your side. And faith constantly reminds myself that God is for me, not against me. The shield of faith. How's your shield of faith withstanding the blows of the devil? And in all honesty, anybody can look very faithful in public. The real question is, how is your shield of faith working in private. That's what we really are, in private. Are you trusting God in those secret challenges that only your heart and mind know? That's true faith. Faith will stabilize how you live so that it will reflect, your life will reflect the precepts of God in you. And lastly, What faith will do for you? It will produce in you persistent hope. We all want hope. This is the joy of faith. Again, Hebrews 11.1, it allows you, faith allows you to draw near to God. Isaiah 26.3, one of my favorite. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you. Why? Because he trusts in you. I can be at perfect peace, why? Because I trust in God. Not because my circumstances are peaceful, but because I trust in God. Let me read to you from Romans chapter 15. I think it's on the wall. Romans 15, three says this. May the God of hope, get this, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, in believing. In other words, take away the faith and you will not have joy and hope. May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. You see, hope is the byproduct of faith. I can't overstate the importance of the shield of faith, my friends. Whenever you lean on who God is and what He has said, you are raising up that shield of faith and you are protecting yourself against the devil. I'll close with this last verse, 1 Peter 1.8. Though you have not seen Him, what is it? You love Him. And though you do not see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Take up the shield of faith. Let me pray. Our Lord and Savior, we thank you for giving us reason to believe again and again. But Lord, we pray that our faith would be not just in what you have done for us in the past, but in the fact that you cannot lie and what you said about yourself and what you will do is true. Help us, Lord. to use the shield of faith to defend against what the devil throws our way to cause us to doubt and question you.