Shield of Faith

(Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

This life we are now called to live by faith, let’s call it the “life of faith” it is the exact opposite of anything like merit. We accept it as one would receive a gift, we believe it because it is nourishment to our souls and it gives us life. “The earth drinks in rain when the heavens feed it, as the seas are fed by streams, as night accepts light from the stars and they all give nothing in return,” it is the Providence of God. He sustains life and it is all a free gift, it cannot be earned. We cannot earn faith, it is a gift, and in fact it is one of the nine gifts of the spirit. “To another faith by the same Spirit;” We are educated by scripture that declares, “for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” So all of God’s saints have a measure of faith, without faith, it is impossible to please God.

(Hebrews 11:6) “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.”

There are two overshadowing point in the text above; we must have faith to please God, without faith he remains unimpressed with us; we must believe that our God is capable and will reward those who diligently seek him. So faith is a free gift, but once we have received it we must use it. However use it wisely!

Scripture often makes reference to the blind receiving sight, the lame made to walk again and it is always used in conjunction with a spiritual healing, foremost it speaks about salvation. Yet after salvation we are instructed to take up the shield of faith. Faith is part of our armour and it must be worn as the designer intended it to fit. We must not misuse or abuse this wonderful gift. What do I mean? Well firstly we need to understand what faith is and then what benefit it is to us. Faith is not; when I believe in something regardless of the evidence that does not mean I now walk by faith, it just implies that I have been beguiled into believing a lie. It is no good to have faith in faith, what purposes will that serve? I am HIV positive and now by faith I tell my mind that this virus is not welcome and it must be a lie as I will not accept that I have a virus living within me even though it has one intention and that is to kill me. Only a fool would conclude that HIV was not a virus. It is and I needed to live with. I have the HIV virus, but so what! My concern is not finding enough faith to somehow through trickery to try and will it away. NO, my faith is in the finished work of Calvary, praise the name of Jesus. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” My hope is not finding faith from some source that will help me denounce truth and believe a lie. Regardless of where you all may find yourselves, our faith must always take root in God’s promises. Let us look to some examples to illustrate this point. Hebrews 11, “by faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Look at Abraham’s application to faith, he did not know where he was going, but he packed up went anyway. Faith is more of a letting go of self than claiming self. Faith does not demand it does not act only when life is full of prosperity, in fact it is most glorified when it is under trial. “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.” She considered Him faithful, it was a promise from God to her and she believed God. Her faith was in His promise to her. She did not have faith in faith but faith in God. Do you see the difference? Let me use one more illustration that will drill home the point; “women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.” Faith had so gripped these woman that they did not rebuke their circumstance as if it was not welcome, but because of their faith in God’s promises (Heaven) they would not accept release while being tortured because they understood that God had promised to take them home and give them a glorified body that would not be subject to pain and they would live in these body forever. Faith ignites our hope and gives us the ability to believe God’s Word regardless of our stipulation. We must believe in the finished work of Calvary, no more and no less. We must trust Him and not be distracted by doctrine that has been watered down, remember, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Faith means we believe in God’s ability to get us home and not by our own merit.

As we are dealing with the armour of God and how the devil tries to find chinks in that armour; it is the shield of faith that is the most important of all our protective coverings, it must be used skilfully. For when this shield is expertly used it will keep out those fiery darts, the lies that try and beguile.

(Ephesians 6:16) “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Remember that our God has promised to get us home, not because of us, but because of His glorious Son, our majestic Saviour. Unbelief which equates to sin is what the devil will try and use to get you to drop the shield of faith. Take your eyes off yourself and look to the One who has overcome, it is all about Him and not about us. We will always accuse or excuse ourselves and others but let us rather look to our God and His promises.

Praise the glorious name of Jesus the only true Saviour, may we always be reminded of His obedience to His Glorious Father and may His works provoke us to walk in faith trusting our God’s promises.

Signing off

Tyrone