E24 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - Shield of Faith - Faith is not Agreement Only
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #24
Title: Shield of Faith – Faith is not Agreement Only
Date: October 18, 2021
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s): Ephesians 6:16 – ‘above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.’
Have you ever read through Ephesians 6:11-17? In this passage, Paul is urging Christians to stand against the evil coming against them, and us, from the spiritual domain. He names spiritual armor and says something noteworthy in vs 16 when he says ‘above all, taking the shield of faith.’
Above all, meaning the shield of faith is all-important if we are to not only stand strong against evil but also to advance against evil.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus tells Peter, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (Hell) shall not prevail against it.”
Now, gates are stationary therefore Jesus didn’t say the gates of Hell will come against the church, and by the church it means (I’m paraphrasing here) called out ones, that’s us, a Christian community, an assembly and that Christians may go against the gates of Hell and prevail.
This begs the question: What do the gates of hell look like?
Let me list a few examples:
· Homelessness
· Hunger
· Unrelieved sickness (meaning medical care is available but unaffordable)
· Human trafficking
· Abortion
· You name a few
So how do we go against these and any others? We start by prayer.
The list of armor in Ephesians 6 ends with the admonition to pray:
Ephesians 6:18 – ‘praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—‘
Intro: Taken from: Hebrews 11:1 & 6
Hebrews 11:1 – ‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’
Faith in this verse means persuasion, being persuaded, the moral conviction of religious truth.
Substance is setting something under as support. Think of a foundation. It is concretely essence, assurance, and confidence, confident.
Hebrews 11:6 – ‘But 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 diligently seek Him.’
Believe is to have faith in that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ): - commit (to trust), put in trust with.
As seen in the key verses faith in something we cannot see is essential to a life lived before GOD. It is necessary to have faith in, to trust GOD before we can walk with GOD in a way that is pleasing to GOD and rewarding to us.
Now pay close attention to this: Biblical faith only comes from GOD the Holy Spirit. Listen to Ephesians 2:8 & 9:
Ephesians 2:8 – ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:9 – ‘not of works, lest anyone should boast.’
Even faith to believe must first come from GOD.
Devotion focus: Faith is more than mere belief
Biblical faith is an action word. English language majors may argue the word faith is not a verb, but action is an implied outcome of placing faith in GOD’s word.
Listen to 1Pe’ter 1:6 & 7: 1Peter 1:6 - In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
1Peter 1:7 – ‘that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,’
Peter likens faith to gold, though more precious. Think about this: gold has value, no doubt. But if all one does is keep the gold locked away and never uses its value when needed, what is the point of having gold.
If you were hungry, out of food, but refused to spend your gold to buy food… see my point?
In a similar way, we can have faith, and not use it. When we don’t go out to meet any needs, relieve any hunger, or pain because we won’t use our faith.
There are several reasons for this. Fear is one of these. Sometimes when we obey in faith it can bring trouble. James addressed the issue:
James 1:2 - My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
James 1:3 - knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
James is telling us here that our faith, what we claim to believe, will be tested by GOD so we may know whether our claim is backed up by acts of love.
Summary: There is much in our world that denies any world beyond what we see. The belief in another world, an eternal dimension with life beyond the death of our bodies takes not only faith to make the claim but acts borne of love to prove what we claim is real to us.
Only then will the claims of the Bible become real to those who perish without GOD’s saving grace
Action to consider: Write down a commitment, if you choose, to find a ministry and get involved somehow, either by direct work, or support.
Then write to them with encouragement, asking what more you can do.
Here are 2 suggestions: kupendwaministies.org / hisappointedtime.com
I have visited both ministries and found them legitimate. Please contact me at info@hopesharbor.net for more information.
Next week’s devotion: Defeat Fear – With Faith