Ephesians 6:10 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Faith is a strong belief it gives me comfort when I'm full of grief Paul defines faith as as shield it gives me strength when I want to yield I have faith and therefore I can defend My faith I know shall carry me through the end When the enemy hurls a fiery dart My faith sustains me to stand and not lose heart Faith is a part of the whole armor of God a defense against the enemy when he stands his rod I know my faith will save me even though I am struggling so Faith sustains the defensive end when offense shouts go No matter what comes my way faith leads me all the way there is not much the enemy can do when I allow my faith to hold true When Satan tempted Eve, all she needed was a little faith to keep her strong and run her race
But Satan was able to ease in without a doubt Even put down her faith and in turn picked up doubt She did not maintain her fight, but gave in to Satan's please She should have brought in Adam or better yet bowed down her knees the gift of faith God has given us power we have from above to fight this fight and defeat this battle becuase of His faithful, abiding, enduring love Ephesians 6 in the Scriptures is a beautiful chapter. It describes faith as a shield and suffices as a defense mechanism to quench the fiery darts rendered from the opponent. In battle, the shield is very important to keep the soldier safe. Without the shiled, the soldier would be left unprotected and could be dfeated easily in the line of fire in battle. Amoung the other components of battle armor the shield led the way in the defensive fight. Bro Rhodes allowed us to take a look at the fiery darts which could consist of a host of offensive tactics to destroy us as soldiers, such as temptation, and times of struggling. We are reminded in Bro Rhodes' lesson about the conversations with Satan by Eve compared to Jesus. Eve did fall whereby Jesus was strong in battle and held up his shield of faith. His full arsenry to the enemy was "it is written". All we need in combat is God's Word and to keep standing on the promises of what "is written". "It is written" is the defense we need to cause our enemy to flee and to be victorious in battle. Bro Roscoe Rhodes, church of Christ at Forest Hill, Forest Hill, TX, 02.27.2022, Faith a Defensive Weapon [start video 14:21]