Tonight, we continue our consideration of the full armor of God. Boys and girls, we consider that piece that is familiar, I think, to all of you, the shield. The shield that the soldier carries out in front of him. We consider, first of all, Psalm 91 for our background reading. Psalm 91, our text being Ephesians 6, verse 16. Psalm 91, hear now the Word of the Lord. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the Lord, who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you. No disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against the stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra. You will trample the great lion and the serpent. Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. In our text, Ephesians 6, verse 16, where Paul continues, in addition to all this, after he has said to stand firm with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the feet covered, the feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, in addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. the congregation graciously called to be soldiers in the army of Christ as he paints that picture of the Christian soldier clothed with the full armor of God, Paul now makes somewhat of a transition. He moves from describing the pieces of the Roman soldier's armor that are fixed to the body in a special way, boys and girls kind of like clothing, those that are fixed in place and are not removed, And he now moves to describe those pieces that are not strictly attached, but are taken up when needed, when the time is right. Remember again, Paul had said, Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In other words, Paul is saying that even before you stand for battle, these things must have been done. Those pieces of armor that are attached to the body in that way must have already been put on firmly in place. But now as the soldier takes his stand with the other pieces in place, he is to take up the shield of faith and take the helmet and put it on his head and take the sword in his hand. Beloved, the belt and breastplate and the shoes or sandals make one ready for action, but the shield, the helmet, and the sword point then to the actual action taking place. So therefore, as we consider the shield of faith tonight, Paul is saying that as the heavy artillery is coming, your shield must be in place. I preach to you tonight this Word of God, the call to stand firm with the shield of faith firmly in hand. I want to consider these two things. The shield's description and the shield's duty. Now once again, the imagery that Paul uses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that of a Roman soldier, gives us a beautiful picture of the protection of the Lord's armor. Comprehensive protection. Now there were two different types of shields that were used in combat. One was a small round shield that was easily to hold in front of the chest. When I was a kid, we had those metal trash cans with those lids with a nice handle, and we would hold those lids and use them for shields against each other. But the other shield was a larger shield, about four foot tall, about two and a half foot wide, three inches thick, and it went from around the knees up to the level of the eyes. Apparently, it was a shield that was made of wood and had some sort of a fireproof metal lining. So it was wood lined with metal. And this shield is described by many commentators and Bible historians as a door-like shield. As I think of that, I think of a riot situation. If you've ever seen pictures on the news or in the paper of a riot taking place, and the police are dressed in their riot gear. They might stand in a line with these shields in front of them, next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, and those shields literally make a wall of defense for the police against the rioting crowd. The Roman soldier's shield, the one that we're talking about, not only provided protection for the soldier, but in a sense it also protected his belt and his breastplate from being hit and damaged so that maybe they wouldn't be usable. Without the shield, you see, it was still possible that an arrow could find even a small opening in the armor and wound the soldier. But the shield, in a sense, provided double protection, keeping the artillery from striking the armor on the body and the body itself. This large shield, beloved, again, was literally a door or a wall of defense that separated the soldier from the enemy. And here then, Paul is saying that faith, true faith in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, is such a shield for the Christian soldier in that spiritual conflict. Faith is a general covering, a comprehensive piece of protection for the believer. How is that so? Because of what faith is. In Hebrews 11, verse 1, we read, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Being sure and being certain. And the Catechism helps us to understand this in Answer 21 when it says, True faith is not only a sure knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word, but also a firm confidence which the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the Gospel, that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. Again, a sure confidence, a sure knowledge, and a firm confidence. And Answer 61 of the Catechism also says, I can receive the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ and make it my own in no other way than by faith only. And what this means, congregation, is that faith is the instrument or the conduit or as I've said a number of times, that umbilical cord, if you will, by which the Holy Spirit pours the gracious, saving benefits of Jesus Christ, His very life, into me. Now, one thing that we must notice is that in the Old Testament, in Psalm 91, verse 4, it says that God's faithfulness is man's shield. God's faithfulness is the covering of protection for the believer. God's faithfulness seen in salvation. And now in the New Testament, Paul is teaching believers that the believer's faith is that necessary instrument which embraces God's faithfulness. God's faithfulness is that shield, that unfailing shield that protects us and we make His faithfulness our own by faith. What this means, congregation? Through faith, I believe that the belt of the truth of God is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That through faith, I have the assurance that God now looks at me as not guilty because Christ's perfect righteousness is my breastplate. And through faith, the Holy Spirit gives me the confidence that I am at peace with God. I am reconciled to God and He has placed me on His side so that I can say in confidence with the believer that I dwell in the shelter of the Most High, that I rest in the shadow of the Almighty, that He is my refuge and my fortress. The believer's shield of faith is that saving faith by which divine forgiveness and the power of new life become the believers through the operation of the Holy Spirit. True faith is that shield which again is that comprehensive covering over the Christian by which God applies the conviction of the truth and righteousness and peace to the believer. You see, apart from faith, none of the previous three pieces of armor will really be in place. Apart from faith, none of them will really be effective. Again, we can also consider faith as being that door or that wall that separates the Christian from the evil one. You see, faith is to keep our eyes away from evil and instead keep our focus on God. Boys and girls, faith means to look to. We can consider faith that way as to look to. Faith always looks to the object of faith, the one that faith is in. And the object of true faith is God Himself. True faith keeps us face to face with the living God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You remember that when the Israelites went through one of their fits of self-pity in the wilderness, that the Lord sent fiery serpents and many of them die. And God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it high on a pole. And when the people were bit, they were to take their focus off of themselves and off of their troubles and focus on the bronze serpent. And what did the Lord say? In Numbers 21, He says, And it shall be that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it shall live. Now boys and girls, I trust you know that the bronze serpent pointed to Christ. Jesus Himself said that in John chapter 3. But notice the difference. Notice what Jesus said. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. We know He was lifted on the cross. That whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. And our Lord was lifted up from this earth as He reigns in heaven for His people even today. But do you see the power of that faith which Paul says is also God's gift to His people? Eternal life. Through faith, the believer receives the gift of God through Jesus Christ's eternal life. Beloved, true faith always, always points away from self and points toward faith's object, which again is God. Abraham, we know, wondered how he could have a child in his old age. Yet as Romans 4 tells us, his faith pointed to God. It says, He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God and being fully convinced that what He had promised, He was also able to perform. In Hebrews chapter 11, we have that beautiful chapter of the heroes of faith all from the Old Testament. And we are told that they believed God. And we read there that they accounted God able to do that which He promised. Faith points to the promises of God and only when you know His promises, and where do we know them from? Only from His Word. When you know His promises, only then can you hold up the shield of faith. And when by the grace of God, your faith is in God, then He is your strength. Again, as Psalm 91 makes clear. And Psalm 46 says, God is our refuge and strength of very present help in trouble. And Psalm 84 says, For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The shield of faith points the Christian to the power of God. That power of God is Jesus Christ. With the eye of faith, we see Jesus Christ in all of His glory. With His saving sacrifice, through which we receive and possess vast divine benefits. And only when your focus is completely on the Lord Jesus Christ, can you then stand firm with the shield of faith in your hand and then will it perform its duty? Paul's command, again, as the text says, is in addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Now, this is language that would not have been a surprise to the Ephesian church. Again, Paul is using a very real illustration to drive home a spiritual point. You see, flaming arrows were real weapons of war. They were deadly weapons. These flaming arrows, or missiles, or darts as they are also called, were made of either wood or metal. They had a very, very sharp point, and around that point was wound very tightly materials that had been soaked in flammable or combustible substances. And when one was ready to shoot that arrow, obviously he would light the point on fire, it would burst into flame, and then he would shoot it at his victim, at his enemy. And if that arrow should happen to penetrate the soldier's armor, it would burst into flame even more, and the soldier was sure to be burned to the point where he could no longer fight. He was taken out of the army. As well as we can imagine, those flaming arrows would set everything around the soldiers on fire. And it is believed that these flaming arrows were used to prepare the way for a mass attack on the opponent. Many flaming arrows would be shot one after the other after the other. Many, many at one time would be shot at the opponent. And when the opponent was completely confused and caught off guard because it seemed that arrows were coming from every direction, when they let their guard down, then those who were shooting would advance for the kill. Beloved, among Satan's arsenal of weapons are flaming arrows, fiery darts, that in a sense burst into flame and cause much destruction. We must know and understand that when Paul talks about the evil one, he's talking about the one whose very character is only evil, undiluted evil, not watered down evil. He is the one who is always actively, viciously wicked in hostility toward God and His people. You see, the purpose of Satan's attack is so that believers won't stand. But that's what we're called to do, isn't it? Paul says, stand firm then. Put on the full armor of God so that when all is said and done, you may stand firm. But Satan doesn't want us to stand. His goal is to make our knees weak. His goal is to make us turn and run away and stumble and to turn and run especially from our confidence in God. His flaming arrows are aimed at the souls of the people of God. The devil's quiver is full of flaming arrows. As Paul gives us a taste when he says he speaks of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, as well as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries. And through all of these and even more, Satan works to set the mind on fire with lies and suggestions of evil. With uncountable impulses to doubt or blaspheme the truth of God and even to doubt one's own Christianity. when Satan's fire does get in when his temptation is given into in any way his fire turns everything to ruin and ashes and beloved those who are living the lives of Satan who have been burned by his flaming missiles are living lives of destruction with nothing more than smoldering ashes and of course we could spend a lot of time talking about some of the different flaming arrows of Satan and what they are but satan attacks different people in different ways he attacks children children he does attack you he attacks children in a different way than he attacks parents he attacks men in different way than he attacks women and so forth his quiver of different flaming arrows is proof of that yet yet all of his different flaming schemes have one thing in common. They all seek to distract the believer. Boys and girls, remember, faith, true faith, has one's eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. But Satan seeks to distract us. All of his schemes seek to remove the believer's eyes away from Christ and cause you and me to focus on ourselves or on something else. And let's be honest, we all know what happens when you let your guard down. The flaming arrow that Satan shot at Eve made her focus on the tree and where she wanted to be. The flaming arrow that Satan shot at Peter causing him to deny his Lord three times took Peter's focus off of the Eternal and placed his focus onto his own physical, selfish well-being. And even when Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, his flaming arrows attempted to make Jesus focus on His own divinity and test that divinity in a selfish way. You see, if Satan can distract our focus, then he knows that he has weakened that door of faith. He knows that our shield is not fully and firmly in place. Again, his goal is to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ and who we are in Christ and instead to focus on ourselves apart from Christ. And beloved, that's a scary picture. To focus on ourselves apart from Christ. His flaming arrows attack our thoughts, our imaginations, our fears, and our desires. Sometimes when his arrow strikes, the flame burns wildly and causes us to worry and doubt before we can remember who is really in control. But sometimes His flame burns subtly. For example, there can be so many things that distract us from our daily devotions. Oh, I slept in an extra 15 minutes this morning and now I'm out of time to spend with God and therefore I've got to get ready for work. Or He gets you started on something else first thing in the morning and before you know it, the day is half gone along with your time, your devotion time with God. Or if your devotion time is normally at night before you go to bed, ah, He strikes you with sleepiness. If you do sit down to spend time with the Lord, have you ever noticed Satan's flaming arrows flying at you one right after the other after the other? For example, when we pray, he fires arrows at our thoughts that take our mind off of prayer or again, sleepiness sets in or distractions about the activities of the day or maybe the children begin to fight and that pulls us away. Or His flaming arrows spark evil and dishonest thoughts and ideas all the while trying to keep you and me from concentrating on God, on worship, on prayer, and on adoration. Have you ever noticed that? Has Satan been successful in distracting you? And you know he does the same thing with Bible reading. It's interesting that so many can read a newspaper or a sports magazine or a novel and concentrate fully and even recall what they read to the point of being able to retell it almost word for word. But the moment you sit down to read your Bible, have you ever noticed it's a lot more work? It's harder to concentrate. Your thoughts wander off. There are many distractions, maybe not necessarily outside of you, but inside your own mind. Beloved, Satan's flaming arrows of distraction, they're countless, they are endless, but they will not eternally harm the child of God. Because the duty of the shield of faith is to extinguish them, as Paul says. The picture is that the arrows hit the shield. Their points are blunted and the fire is extinguished as they fall to the ground. And that's a beautiful picture of how God's gift of the faith shield works. When Satan causes us to question our peace with God, the peace which is fitted over our feet, or our righteousness from Christ which fits as a breastplate, or the truth of God which is our belt, then the Holy Spirit equips us to hold that shield of faith firm in our hand. And these questions are deflected. When someone does you wrong and the devil shoots that flaming arrow of revenge at you, then the shield of faith stands strong by which you say, I believe the Word of God which tells me that vengeance belongs only to the Lord and I am to love my enemy. When Satan shoots the flaming arrows of persecution or distress or sickness at you which would cause you to feel sorry for yourself, the shield of faith says, the Word of God says, all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. When Satan shoots that flaming arrow of greed at you that says, you deserve to have a higher paying job, you deserve more vacation or more toys and more money, the shield of faith is held firm with the message, I have learned to be content in whatever state I am. And when Satan shoots that flaming arrow of anxiousness at you that would cause you to worry and doubt, the shield of faith sings loudly, be anxious for nothing because in doubt and temptation, I rest, Lord, in Thee. Young people, when Satan shoots that flaming arrow of temptation for you to date an unbeliever, even though the flesh is willing and weak, the Holy Spirit reminds us that we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. That as Paul says, light and dark have nothing in common. Amos in Amos 3 says, can two walk together unless they are agreed? And the answer is no, they can't. And therefore, as Paul says, come out from among them and be ye separate. And even boys and girls, you younger boys and girls, believe me, Satan tries to shoot arrows. He does shoot arrows at you. A very simple illustration. If your mom or dad says, no, you may not have a snack because it's almost dinner time, but Satan says, go ahead, it's not going to hurt you. It's not going to do any damage. You say, no. The Bible says I am to honor my father and my mother. People of God, only when the shield of faith is held firmly by God's grace will the Christian overcome. John says in 1 John 5, verses 4 and 5, For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. In the introductory sermon to this series, we said that the armor of the Lord is tested and tried armor. It is armor that has been proven to be effective, proven to be victorious, because Jesus Christ is the one who makes it victorious. He is the one who makes it impenetrable. John also says in verse 18 of that chapter, we know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin. The one who was born of God keeps him safe and the evil one cannot harm him. Now, as we consider this morning, we know that God's people do sin daily and sometimes, sometimes fall into grievous and serious sin. Sometimes we do find that we have laid down that shield of faith. God hasn't left us, but we have turned from Him. How then are we spared? How then are we protected? Think again of Psalm 91, verse 4. God's faithfulness is a covering of protection over His people. God's faithfulness restores faith to His fallen people. And beloved, Christ's love for us in the past and that He gave Himself for us proves His interest for us today. Paul says in Romans 8, Who is He who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or soren? You see, the shield of faith says, Christ has proved His love for me by dying for me and rising again and reigning today. Therefore, nothing shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord. Jesus Christ lives even today at this moment to make intercession for His people with His saving sacrifice in His hand, presented to the Father. As He says, I died for them. I paid for their sins. Beloved, in the heat of the battle, when Satan's flaming arrows are flying wildly as it seems from every direction, then the shield of faith keeps our eyes focused on the race that the writer of Hebrews talks about, that we might run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The shield of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit keeps the believer from looking to the right or to the left or being distracted. And it returns the believer's focus to God. That faith, beloved, links the believer to Him who will enable the believer to be more than a conqueror. People of God, in faith we must confess as we sang, I need thee every hour. Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. And we must also confess, I need Thy presence every passing hour, what but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power. We need to remain in prayer and in fellowship with our God through His Word. As Satan continues to shoot his flaming arrows and life sometimes looks unbearable, the shield of faith reminds us that the Lord says, My grace is sufficient for you. And therefore, in confidence, we can sing, I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless. Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness. Where is death stained? Where grave thy victory? I triumph still if thou abide with me. Beloved, are your eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ? Is He the center of your focus by grace through faith? God's blessings and grace are received only through faith. If that's not yours, then Satan's arrows will burn you eternally. Without God's blessing, you will only have the curse of God's wrath. But His call is still sure. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. You shall be clothed. You shall stand firm in Him. Dear soldiers of the cross, the Almighty God is our very present help in trouble. And as the Word of God says, let us therefore come with boldness to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, again we thank You at the close of this day for the beauty of Your Word which is truth. We pray that we might be further equipped in this evening hour to go forward into the world outside of these four walls. That we might be further equipped to stand firm, clothed with the armor of God, knowing that You are our protection. You are our safety. You are the one who covers Your people with Your faithfulness. Heavenly Father, we confess that so often we are unfaithful, but You continue to remain faithful. And we thank You and praise You for Jesus' sake. Amen. Thank you.