The Shed
3.8.26 AM
- I Just Feel Like Something Good
- Let God Arise
- I am blessed
- my God's got an army
- went to the enemies camp
- A Few weeks ago, we began by taking a trek through the book of Ephesians, discovering what Paul reveals about the identity of the believer in Christ and Christ’s work in us.That identity and power are critical as we arrive at chapter 6 where the scripture begins to speak of setting in order the Christian life, ready for what lies ahead.Then in verse 10 we read…
Ephesians 6:10–13 NASB95 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.Paul makes this assumption, that once you realize who you are in Christ, the question is not whether you will enter the battlefield, but will you be prepared when you get there?How does he say to prepare?First is to recognize that the strength belongs to the Lord…Ephesians 6:10 NASB95 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.Be strong IN THE LORD and the strength of HIS MIGHT.That word strength there is the Greek is kratos which can be power or might, but most of the time it is translated DOMINION… because this strength is not just physical, it is influential…This victory isn’t resting on your strength! This victory is based in HIS dominion, rule, and reign…That is the strength of His might!So we do what the scripture calls us to…Ephesians 6:11–12 NASB95 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.God has given us the word that this is a year of harvest, and we have already seen the first fruits of that begin…And even since we have started this series, I have had call after call about attacks of the enemy because we have stirred something up in the spirit realm…The enemy was fine when we were sitting in here learning who we were going to be at The Shed…He was inattentive when we were developing our vision, mission, and core values…But the minute we shifted our focus out there… Now he’s mad… in fact he’s BIG MAD…THEREFORE. We prepare! Therefore, we get armored up…Therefore…Ephesians 6:13–14 NASB95 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,We talked about leading with truth and how truth ties all the armor together.It’s the first thing Paul mentions in the ensemble followed immediately by the breastplate of righteousness…The Breasplate of Righteousness that isn’t ours but His, given as a gift, just as the rest of the armor is a gift of light from the father of lights…Romans 13:12 NASB95 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.So it’s not our strength, it’s his. It’s not “our” truth, He is the truth, and it’s not our righteousness, it’s His Righteousness we wear as a breastplate.Last week we took a look at The Shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace…Ephesians 6:14–15 NASB95 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;So we prepare to go by putting on the shoes he already prepared for us ahead of time, the shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of Peace…God has prepared this for you!John 14:27 NASB95 27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.We are carriers of His peace!So we get ready to go, we put on what God has prepared for us beforehand, we take the good news, and we carry peace with us into the places of chaos, bringing peace to those places in the power of His might!Then we get to verse 16 where we find this week’s piece of armor:Ephesians 6:16 NASB95 16 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.It was common practice in the ancient near east for archers to light their arrows with fire when firing into the enemy camp…The image of this type of warfare is heightened with the mention of the flaming arrows, because we aren’t just talking about arrows intended to kill, but also to destroy…Flaming arrows would set fire to buildings and other structures, causing wide spread destruction in times of war…John 10:10 NASB95 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…The enemy doesn’t just want to maim you… He doesn’t just want to scare you…He wants to kill you and destroy everything around you…But we have been given an arsenal that can quench the flaming arrows he sends our way!Not least of which is the Shield of faith…Faith. Faith. Faith.What is faith?Faith is part belief, but not only belief…James 2:19 NASB95 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.So faith is not just belief, but also action, but not just any action because the demons also shudder from their belief, yet it is not considered faith…Faith is evidenced in the combination of belief and the action of obedience…James 2:20 NASB95 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?James is adamant! Faith is only complete when belief and obedience are paired together…So in the armor, the shield is only active when we do as the scripture says:Ephesians 6:16 NASB95 16 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.Faith must be in action, otherwise is is only passive belief not dissimilar to what the demons have.But the Shield of faith, when taken up, is more than armor, it is life!Hebrews 10:38–39 NASB95 38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.Faith isn’t something we have in private, it is something we live by…If we take up the shield of faith, we are no longer in a place of loose belief…This shield is what separates someone who “believes” from someone who lives by that belief.Faith is when a belief moves from being an internal idea to a driving force that dictates actions and decisions…The author of Hebrews goes on to say it this way:Hebrews 11:1 NASB95 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.That word assurance is the Greek “Hyp-o-sta-cees” which can mean several things:A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. ὑπόστασις① the essential or basic structure/nature of an entity, substantial nature, essence, actual being, reality
We see this same word in Heb. 1:3Hebrews 1:3 NASB95 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature…In other words, Faith is the REAL NATURE of things hoped for…Or.Faith is the Realization of what is hoped for…Another definition of hypostisis is…A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. ὑπόστασις④ guarantee of ownership/entitlement, title deed
Most of you know I’m also a realtor with Southern Oklahoma Realty. I deal with real estate on a regular basis…When we get ready to transfer ownership of real estate, the proof that the person owns the property is a title deed…If we send a property to closing, it’s the job of the closing office to trace the ownership and make sure no one else holds claim other than the person selling and when they are done they can transfer a clean title to the property…So if you own it, you will have a title deed…According to this definition faith is the title deed to what is hoped for…The flaming arrows shot by the enemy aren’t physical… They are spiritual…And they don’t just attack what you already have… They attack your hopes and dreams…The enemy will do his best to convince you that all you’ve hoped for is for naught…He will attempt to destroy your confidence in what you hope in…But the shield of faith extinguishes the flaming arrows, declaring, “I have the title deed to all I’ve hoped for!”It’s already mine!The promises of God are yes and amen!Paul told the church at Phillipi:Philippians 1:6 NASB95 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.David said it this way:Psalm 27:13 NIV 13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.This is the second part of Hebrews 11:1Hebrews 11:1 NASB95 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.It is the conviction…If you’re being convicted, it’s because there’s been enough proof presented to convict you…Faith is the evidence that is presented, the very nature of the thing that proves enough for the conviction of the unseen things…FAITH IS THE PROOF!Hebrews 11:2–4 NASB95 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.Hebrews 11:5 NASB95 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.Hebrews 11:6 NASB95 6 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 11:7–11 NASB95 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.Hebrews 11:17–34 NASB95 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.All of these acted BY FAITH looking forward to an even greater promise that was to come, the promise fulfilled in Jesus!Hebrews 11:40 NASB95 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.Hebrews 12:1–2 NASB95 1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…Romans says,Romans 3:27 NASB95 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.This is the shield we carry that no flaming arrow can overcome:That we have the faith which was authored by Jesus himself and is perfected through Him!This isn’t a question of whether or not you have enough faith…This is the question, “HAVE YOU TAKEN UP THE FAITH?”Ephesians 6:16 NASB95 16 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.Take it up! Put it on!Don’t leave yourself exposed!Believe and ACT!Faith is an action word…Take it up and move!Maybe the reason you keep getting the hope knocked out of you is because you’re not believing and acting!Faith is activated with action…James 2:17 NASB95 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.So this is our call: PUT SOME ACTION TO IT!TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH!James 1:22 NASB95 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.Will you put your faith into action today?Altar Call Ephesians 6:10–13NASB95
Ephesians 6:10NASB95
Ephesians 6:11–12NASB95
Ephesians 6:13–14NASB95
Romans 13:12NASB95
Ephesians 6:14–15NASB95
John 14:27NASB95
Ephesians 6:16NASB95
John 10:10NASB95
James 2:19NASB95
James 2:20NASB95
Ephesians 6:16NASB95
Hebrews 10:38–39NASB95
Hebrews 11:1NASB95
Hebrews 1:3NASB95
Philippians 1:6NASB95
Psalm 27:13NASB95
Hebrews 11:1NASB95
Hebrews 11:2–4NASB95
Hebrews 11:5NASB95
Hebrews 11:6NASB95
Hebrews 11:7–11NASB95
Hebrews 11:17–34NASB95
Hebrews 11:40NASB95
Hebrews 12:1–2NASB95
Romans 3:27NASB95
Ephesians 6:16NASB95
James 2:17NASB95
James 1:22NASB95
- God is not against me
- fight my battles
- outnumbered