Armor of God, Part 1: Shield of Faith
he Shield of Faith is the first line of defense we are going to discuss a little bit more in this series. You will find out throughout Jesus’ ministry that having faith is actually a big deal when it comes to spiritual warfare. As such, you will notice that we teach a great deal about faith in almost all our bible study segments.
So many preachers have taught about the Armor of God but have missed something special which we will reveal here because “these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).
To learn more about the Kingdom of God and faith click here. We will discuss faith in the context of the Armor of God. We’ll focus on how faith can save us, protect us, shield us from the attacks of the enemy using the story or David and Goliath.
What is Faith?
Let’s quickly look at the meaning of faith from a biblical perspective:
- “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
- “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
The type of faith we are talking about here is actually a gift granted to you:
- Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,
- Ephesians 2:8, which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast.”
When it comes to spiritual warfare, we have to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, trusting and believing in Him. When we pray and ask for protection, we are putting our trust in God that He will take care of us:
When we ask for protection, we are granted the Shield of Faith, through who? Through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Shield of Faith in Action
My personal favourite story about faith is David and Goliath. See David had absolute trust in God because he knew God had helped him before.
- God helped David by saving his sheep from a bear and a lion's mouth.
- David knew without a shadow of doubt that God would protect him from the giant Goliath. The absolute trust and belief in God was his shield.
According to Hebrews 11: To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see:
- It was faith that made Noah hear God's warnings about things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved.
- It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king's anger.
- It was faith that made the Israelites able to cross the Red Sea as if on dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do it, the water swallowed them up.
Protected by the Shield of Faith
The examples above show us that it is actually God that took care of David, Noah and his family, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and so many others because of faith!
Listen, when it comes to faith, you have to totally depend and trust in God, and believing He will protect us. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
For us living in the New Testament, we are saved and protected through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20).
Key Takeaways:
We now know there’s a special type of faith that is granted to you. The Shield of Faith is nothing physical but a spiritual gift from God granted to you through Jesus Christ. Without Jesus we cannot be saved. Let me put an emphasis on this: It’s all about Jesus Christ.
Your Shield of Faith and Jesus Christ should always be with you because the enemy is relentless in his mission to destroy. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8). Always keep praying, on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, as it is written (Ephesians 6:18).
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