Can you hear the sizzle? (Part 2 of 3)

Part Two:
Substance of pieces of the ‘shield of belief’

Remember from last week, the enemy lies… always. You must have a shield which extinguishes those lies. A shield of faith/belief…with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. You want to hear the sizzle of an arrow flaming out? You can. What causes the arrows to be extinguished? ‘How does faith extinguish them? You must start with, ‘I believe…’ (pisteuo = faith is the noun version of that word and belief is the verb version).

So, your shield could be better named ‘the shield of ‘believe’ or ‘trust’. Your shield is made up of what you ‘believe’. What you know to be true about Who you believe in will protect you. And what you don’t know will not protect you. You are to hold up the shield of faith/belief. It is a noun when describing it, but a verb when you use it. But we all have holes in our shields. Missing parts. Where we don’t know who God is. You choose to believe and trust God in what He says. The more you know His truth, Him, the bigger your shield becomes. You don’t just ‘know truth’, you ‘know Jesus’. He IS truth’. You know what GOD says – not just what God SAYS. We must KNOW Him on a moment by moment increasing basis. Jesus held up what He believed to be true (and it was) when satan shot un-truth at Him while He was finishing 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. The enemy comes sometimes when he thinks there is a weak time in our lives.

The following is a metaphor, so don’t take it too far. Imagine holding a large three-by-three foot shield to protect yourself. Imagine this large shield is made up of inch square pieces. Each piece represents a truth you have faith in and believe with all your heart. That’s 1,296 truth pieces. Now, name 1,296 truths you ‘believe’ with all your heart.

Imagine waking in the morning and there are arrows incoming. Lots of lying thoughts, and ‘what if’s’, and negative things, and tough stuff about your day ahead…quick, hold up your shield!! There are holes in it where your belief is missing. Arrows sneak through.

Right about now you are being lied to by the enemy, and some flaming arrows have been incoming. He is telling you it is impossible to know that many truths of our Father, Christ and the Spirit. But that is a lie, and is not the point. The Trinity, all three of them, and all truth are inter-connected. Because truth is a Person, and He/They are available to know. This person, our Father, and Jesus, and His Spirit will help you build your shield. Also, you have brothers and sisters in Christ who are standing next to you with their shields. We are not alone. But you must build your own shield. The great thing about that is –

the available knowledge we can have of our Father through a deepening relationship with Him is so vast in comparison to the arrows, there is no metaphor to explain it. Truth of Him is infinite!

Let’s take one lie the enemy, Satan, perpetrates on many people. He will say, ‘You are not really Gods child, you are not going to heaven when you die, and this life is all there is.’ Now, if you are a follower of Christ you KNOW that John 3:16 is true, and you believe in who Christ is and what He has done, and you have placed your faith in Him. And because you know Ephesians 4:30, you KNOW that you are sealed for the day of redemption by Him, and that when you die, you will go to be with Him. That is great knowledge. Great truth! You are certain of whose you are, and where you will spend eternity. Those two truths you believe in make up two pieces in your shield. They are the starter kit for your shield. But, if those are the only two squares you have in your shield, only two arrows will be extinguished. Many other arrows just fly right past and imbed themselves in your soul.

You have Christ as your savior, and, are headed to Heaven – but you have tiny armor.

Add more knowledge of Him to your current knowledge of Him! He is available!

Next week, we continue the assembly of your shield. Keep holding up what you believe. He has you!

From God’s Word:

• John 3:16
• Ephesians 4:30