AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Friday – April 22, 2022, Nisan 21, 5782
GIFTS – PART ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-SEVEN
ARMOR OF GOD – PART SIXTY-NINE
THE SHIELD OF FAITH
Greetings dear and precious saints of God and welcome back to our series entitled “Gifts” currently focused on the “Armor of God”. As you can see in the title, I have been dealing with this for well over a year, sixty-nine weeks. Please take a moment and share this teaching as widely as possible to expand our reach with the best news anyone anywhere ever heard. Thank you so much for sharing, you are a vital part of this Ministry.
Before I delve into our study for today let me ask us all a vital question. What is more important to me, to you, than the Word which is Jesus, the Logos of God, the Rhema of God, the very person of God? Perhaps all of us answered that no other person, no activity, no thing, was more important than Jesus, the persons of God. Let us reflect upon ourselves, our thoughts, our words, our actions to see if we answered truthfully. Now let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text. Today, I will be focusing on “the shield of faith”.
Ephesians 6:11-18 (KJV)
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Bold added)
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
As we reexamine the whole of our primary Bible text, we find that we have a responsibility. It is up to us to possess the whole armor of God. Remember each piece of armor is not a physical thing but a spiritual body of knowledge that we receive, believe, doubt not, and act upon as led of the Holy Spirit. Nothing including salvation is gained from the Kingdom of God without our exercise of our responsibility. There is this myth that everything is up to God. Just think about it, even salvation depended upon our acting upon the Word of God. God, the triune God, did all the heavy lifting making salvation available to all but all peoples are not automatically saved. We must declare Jesus as Lord and believe that the Father raised Him from the dead, confess with the mouth and believe (no doubt) with the heart and then and only then are we saved (born from above).
Romans 10:9-10 (KJV)
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
We have formidable adversaries whom we cannot see, thus these spiritual defensive and offensive weapons, the very armor of God Himself is ours. I used to think of this as armor that God Himself had and employed but that is not exactly correct. Although God possesses all of these and a truckload more, He is God. Look at the Complete Jewish Bible and Gods Word translations for better insight.
Ephesians 6:11 (CJB)
11 Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary.
Ephesians 6:11 (GW)
11 Put on all the armor that God supplies. In this way you can take a stand against the devil’s strategies.
As I end for today let’s look at the phrase “Above all” in verse sixteen which means the thing upon which all else rests. That thing is faith! Remember, we cannot please God without faith.
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Lord willing, I will pick up right here next Friday.
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Receive the blessing in Jesus’ name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (MSG)
24 GOD bless you and keep you,
25 GOD smile on you and gift you,
26 GOD look you full in the face and make you prosper.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
PRAYERS AND QUESTIONS – please contact us and we will respond. Our goal is to build a solid foundation upon which children of God can become sons of God, stand and do exploits in Jesus’ name.
PARTNERSHIP AND GIVING – Those of you who are not Partners of this Ministry and you find this ministry to be of value to you and perhaps others with whom you share it, we ask you to consider becoming Partners. A Partner is one who prays for the Ministry on a regular basis and contributes to the Ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually). Thank you and may the Lord be pleased with your decision.
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/awakearisetriumphministries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
MAILING ADDRESS: 15007 Rock River Street, San Antonio, Texas 78247-3030
MY BOOKS: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org/shop/
