Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 3
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
So there were the English foot soldiers on one end of the battlefield, and the Scots on the other. The calvary flanked the English foot soldiers, while the archers gathered behind them. Suddenly the flaming arrows were released from the bowstrings and the sky took on the appearance of huge fire flies in the night.
Without hesitation the Scots raised their shields above their heads, forming a solid canopy to shield the soldiers from the arrows. The assault of the English archers had been repelled by the shields of war in the hands of the Scot soldiers.
So is it with the Christian in repelling Satan’s assaults. We have this fine piece of armor given us by our Lord. It is called “the shield of faith”, and it functions in a most simplistic manner.
“Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (cf., Romans 10:17). Faith is defined as taking the Lord at His Word and conducting ourselves accordingly. God speaks to the Christian by means of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit interprets it to him.
The Christian receives his marching orders and does what again? Maybe he goes to the movies and ignores his marching orders? Uh, I hope not! Oh, then perhaps he goes to prayer and argues with the Lord about it? That would be a “No!” The child of God responds to his marching orders by OBEYING his marching orders! That is known as faith in marching boots.
Let’s envision this battlefield where the Christian conducts spiritual warfare. On one end is Satan and his minions, on the other the Christian under the banner of the mighty Shekinah cloud of glory.
Satan’s archers are assembled behind his foot soldiers. Satan gives the order to draw the bowstrings. Every dirty demon with a bow responds in unison. Moments pass and Satan shouts, “Shoot!” Again each and every dirty demon lets go of his bowstring, and the flaming arrows fill the sky.
On the other end of the battlefield is the Christian. He stares across the field at all the “giants” in the land, at all the hoards of demon dogs assembled against him. On his end of the field he stands alone, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel against the 850 false prophets of Ahab and Jezebel.
Fortunate it is for this solitary Christian that the Lord is on his side. He need not fear. What can man—or demonic hosts—do to him? He looks up to see countless flames of fire zooming through the sky, making a beeline for his vital parts. There are countless different fires involved. Let’s enumerate some of them, shall we?
1. he had a wrong thought
2. he was less than enthused in serving his Lord
3. he failed to obey one of his Lord’s orders
4. he did something his Lord forbade him to do
5. he lied
6. he cursed
7. he lusted
Well, we could go on interminably, but seven is a good number for Bible purposes. So let us cease at seven types of flaming arrows which the evil one enjoys shooting at soldiers in the Lord’s army.
Not only will we cease at seven flaming arrows, but we will cease this study. The night is coming on. The shadows are lengthening. We must needs pitch our tents and have our quiet time with the Lord, before it gets any later. We will finish this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
So there were the English foot soldiers on one end of the battlefield, and the Scots on the other. The calvary flanked the English foot soldiers, while the archers gathered behind them. Suddenly the flaming arrows were released from the bowstrings and the sky took on the appearance of huge fire flies in the night.
Without hesitation the Scots raised their shields above their heads, forming a solid canopy to shield the soldiers from the arrows. The assault of the English archers had been repelled by the shields of war in the hands of the Scot soldiers.
So is it with the Christian in repelling Satan’s assaults. We have this fine piece of armor given us by our Lord. It is called “the shield of faith”, and it functions in a most simplistic manner.
“Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (cf., Romans 10:17). Faith is defined as taking the Lord at His Word and conducting ourselves accordingly. God speaks to the Christian by means of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit interprets it to him.
The Christian receives his marching orders and does what again? Maybe he goes to the movies and ignores his marching orders? Uh, I hope not! Oh, then perhaps he goes to prayer and argues with the Lord about it? That would be a “No!” The child of God responds to his marching orders by OBEYING his marching orders! That is known as faith in marching boots.
Let’s envision this battlefield where the Christian conducts spiritual warfare. On one end is Satan and his minions, on the other the Christian under the banner of the mighty Shekinah cloud of glory.
Satan’s archers are assembled behind his foot soldiers. Satan gives the order to draw the bowstrings. Every dirty demon with a bow responds in unison. Moments pass and Satan shouts, “Shoot!” Again each and every dirty demon lets go of his bowstring, and the flaming arrows fill the sky.
On the other end of the battlefield is the Christian. He stares across the field at all the “giants” in the land, at all the hoards of demon dogs assembled against him. On his end of the field he stands alone, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel against the 850 false prophets of Ahab and Jezebel.
Fortunate it is for this solitary Christian that the Lord is on his side. He need not fear. What can man—or demonic hosts—do to him? He looks up to see countless flames of fire zooming through the sky, making a beeline for his vital parts. There are countless different fires involved. Let’s enumerate some of them, shall we?
1. he had a wrong thought
2. he was less than enthused in serving his Lord
3. he failed to obey one of his Lord’s orders
4. he did something his Lord forbade him to do
5. he lied
6. he cursed
7. he lusted
Well, we could go on interminably, but seven is a good number for Bible purposes. So let us cease at seven types of flaming arrows which the evil one enjoys shooting at soldiers in the Lord’s army.
Not only will we cease at seven flaming arrows, but we will cease this study. The night is coming on. The shadows are lengthening. We must needs pitch our tents and have our quiet time with the Lord, before it gets any later. We will finish this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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