20260408 Ephesians 6 Shield of Faith Wednesday Bible Study Tim Dickmann

Alright, so Ephesians chapter 6, and we'll just

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

read these first few verses here beginning in

10 Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength

of his might put on the full armor of God so

that you will be able to stand firm Against the

schemes of the devil 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 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 stand firm Therefore

having girded your loins with truth and having

put on the breastplate of righteousness and having

shied your feet with the preparation of the gospel

of peace 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 and take

the helmet of salvation and the sword of the

Spirit, which is the word of God. All right,

so tonight we'll talk here about the shield of

faith that Paul mentions. Now, we've already

talked about faith. We've mentioned faith multiple

times, and so... All of these things that Paul's

talking about it's not as though they're you

know It's just this one shield of faith and that's

it you know, but no faith Faith is involved in

all these other things just as we've mentioned

before But what is What is Paul saying here,

what does he want us to what does he want us

to To think about to bring home to us here. He

says I guess first of all here he says above

all I think is the King James says above all

the new American standard says in addition to

the idea there is not that the shield of faith

is superior than all these other things that

we have listed here it's just another another

one that we are to to to use here. Another way

that it could be translated is furthermore. So

it's not as though the shield of faith is the

most important part of the armor that we're going

to put on here. So let me just start with that

then. But then what is this shield of faith?

Well, what was the shield for back in the day?

If we're thinking of our Roman soldier here,

what was the shield for? Okay, it protected his

body. What was it made of? Okay. So some wood,

so most say it was made of wood, but that it

had a cover on it. So some say leather, a leather,

wrapped in leather, and some say it was wrapped

in some sort of a metal, that wood. Again prevent

anything from really catching fire The flaming

arrows of the enemy and so on it was a big shield

that is That everybody I've read it always says

it was a big shield four feet four feet tall

and two two and a half feet wide and so it was

if you've seen some of the old movies like the

gladiator and Think a good one too would be the

hobbit there Maybe when they are all in battle

if you if you locked all these shields together,

you know Stood together as it was a wall and

it was a great Defense against the enemy and

so that's what we're talking about here. We're

talking about a great Tool To protect yourself

to protect your whole body If you duck behind

it you could you could shield your whole self

So that's what Paul is mentioning here when he

talks about this shield of faith this thing that

will protect us Against all of the flaming arrows

and all of the attacks of the enemy So what is

faith? Anybody Okay, so Hebrews 11 1 there that's

that's one definition of faith Okay, what's another

way we could describe faith? Okay, so we could

say faith is active faith is believing truths

and putting those truths into practice Using

using those those facts that we say that we believe

all right Anything any other descriptions of

faith Okay, again an active faith is active Okay,

so What I what I put down here is faith is only

as strong or faith is only as good as the thing

that your faith is in Okay, so if your faith

is in some rickety bridge that it's gonna get

you across this cavern But it really isn't strong

enough to get you across there What good is the

faith you're gonna walk on out across that bridge

thinking it's gonna get me there And then in

the middle of it it collapses it falls. What

good was your faith? Worthless, right? You're

dead. And so our faith is only as strong, is

only as sure as the thing in which we're placing

our faith. So our faith must be in something

solid, something sure. And of course, who or

what is that? Okay, Jesus, God. Okay, our faith

is in God. What is... What is the very first

thing that we mentioned here when we began this

discussion a number of weeks back on these verses?

Be strong in the Lord. He is our strength. So

we're looking to Him in faith. And I think we

said that. As I said, these things overlap. They

all go together. So our faith is only as good

as what we're placing our faith in. And so our

faith is in God. Our faith is in His word, what

He has told us. Okay? So, faith, only as good

as what we're putting it in. Alright. What else

can we say about faith? Faith in the Christian.

Faith grows through exercising our faith. Does

everybody have this faith? That's a Christian,

right? So yes, everybody doesn't in that everybody

in the world. But only Christians have this faith.

But we're speaking of Christians, so does everybody

have this faith? Yes. Everybody has this faith.

That's something to really consider. We look

across history. We look at scripture. We look

at the men of faith there in Hebrews. And we

may think that, oh, that was such great faith.

Did they all have such great faith? What we would

think of as great faith? Who's in the Hall of

Faith there? We just got done studying a number

of them. Does anybody remember? Samson's in there,

Gideon's in there. Well, that's enough that's

good enough how good was I shouldn't say how

good But how about Gideon how about his faith

right the Lord comes on to him and he says I'm

gonna use you to deliver my people He's got to

put out a fleece and so then you have this miraculous

fleece Experience here the ground was the ground

wet the fleece dry or vice versa And that wasn't

good enough. He's got to do it again. Now do

the opposite, Lord. So maybe that was just a

fluke. Maybe that was natural that that first

thing happened. And now we got to do the opposite

so that I know for sure. Samson. We see all sorts

of problems there with Samson. So this faith

that we're talking about, we all have a degree

of faith if we're in Christ. If we're Christians,

this faith has been given to us. So, in order

for us to use this faith, it doesn't have to

be this great amount of faith, so to speak. You

know, we look at men like George Mueller, and

we see here is, we would say, a man of faith.

Maybe he had the gift of faith, we could say,

and did great things there through trusting the

Lord, providing for how many thousands of children

just upon the Lord. Each day, looking to the

Lord, well, Lord, I need 300 pounds to pay my

bills and get food for everybody. And lo and

behold, 300 pounds shows up. That's amazing faith,

we would say. But we all have that same faith

to some degree. And our faith grows, as we already

said, as we exercise that faith, as we use that

faith. So it's imperative for us to understand

that, first of all, that we all have this faith.

We've been given this faith if we are the children

of God, if we are Christians. We all have this

faith. And it's not a matter of how much faith

we have, whether or not we are able to use this

shield. Okay? So we are all able to use this

shield, we're all able then to quench the fiery

darts of the evil one. That right there, I mean,

what is Paul saying there? With this shield of

faith, there's a good chance that you could be

successful. Is that what Paul says? That with

this shield, It might be enough to get you through.

I think that's how we often think, though. But

that's not what Paul says. That's not what the

Word says. That this shield of faith that we

should be carrying with us day in and day out,

we're able to withstand. We are able to shield

ourselves from. We are able to put these darts

out and to protect ourselves. from these things.

So that's again, that should be a great encouragement

to us. We're not talking here about pie in the

sky, wishful thinking, oh I hope, in the way

that the world uses hope. Paul's telling us we

are able, we are able. Again, it's just like

all of these other things that we've mentioned,

being strong in the Lord. I don't have my passage

anymore. Girding our loins with truth the breastplate

of righteousness the preparation of gospel is

peace the shield of faith all of these things

We've got to use them. We've got to put them

on We've got to put on the full armor so that's

key. That's That's key to us here if we are going

to Win the battle if we are going to extinguish

the fiery darts of the evil one we have got to

have this shield we've got to be exercising this

faith okay why don't we why don't we look at

a few verses here I've got a bunch of them written

down so should we start over here start on this

side of the room Hannah you want to read 1st

Peter 5 8 and 9 Jake Barry How about 1st John

5 -4? Other Jake? James 2 -17? And then Emma?

Romans 4, 18 -20? Okay, go ahead. Because your

adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring

lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him

steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same

sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood

in the world. Okay. Resist him steadfast in the

faith, and then knowing that... What? You're

alone in all of this. You're the only one who's

ever experienced this. No. Your brother's...

We have also experienced this, and also have

overcome, and also have resisted. So that should

be an encouragement to us. Go ahead, Jake. Again,

our faith, overcoming. Through faith we are able

to overcome. Go ahead, Jake. Thus also faith

by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

So that goes with what Becky said. Or was it

Brian? What Brian said and what Becky was saying

there. This faith is an act of faith. This faith

is something that we should be putting into practice.

This faith, if it's true faith, is doing something.

It's working. All of those things that God's

called us to do. and then Emma He grew strong

in His faith as He gave glory to God. Now we've

read this a few times, and it's a great example

of faith. But in that last verse there, Paul

says, He did not waver in unbelief, but grew

strong in faith, giving glory to God. How is

giving glory to God? Strengthening his faith.

How was his faith strengthened? How did he grow

in faith? By giving glory to God. Have you ever

thought of that? These aren't my own thoughts.

I just happened to be reading some Lloyd -Jones

on our little trip. And I wrote this down. But

how does that work? How is Abraham's faith growing?

being strengthened as he gives glory to God thinking

on what okay He's seeing God for who He is, right?

If we're gonna glorify God, what are we doing?

We're worshiping Him for who He is, for what

He has done. So Abraham here is seeing all that

God has said. He's seeing all that God is. He's

seeing the faithfulness of God. And so, as he

does all of these things, he's glorifying God.

His faith is growing. So, what are some things

here? I wrote down just a couple. God is omnipotent.

In other words, God is all -powerful. God's all

-knowing. He is holy. He's just. He's good. He's

faithful. He's unchanging. So these are just

a few of God's attributes. This is who God is.

As we contemplate who God is, As we see Him for

who He is, our faith should be strengthened.

As we glorify God, we grow in our faith. We meditate

upon these things. Our minds are renewed. We're

changed. What is another big thing? We're not

looking at ourselves anymore. We're looking at

God. That's... So often our problem, right? We're

looking at our circumstances. We're looking at

the situation that we find ourselves in. We're

looking at this world and all that's going on.

Is there any encouragement in that? No. But there

is encouragement when we see everything around

us and we look at God and we say, well, God is

sovereign. God has put me here for a reason.

God has given me a job and I may not like it.

It may not be the greatest thing. It may be hard

But he's given me this and so I'm gonna glorify

him as I work hard and as I endeavor to do what

I should do Now I'm not looking at my job that

I don't like I'm looking at God and I'm glorifying

God and my attitude and my actions and as we

do those things We grow in our faith because

God meets us there God encourages us, He helps

us, He strengthens us, and we press on in faith.

Our faith grows just as Abraham's did. So those

are a couple verses on faith. So this shield

of faith that we are to carry with us, what is

something else that we could call it? or what

is something else that we could think? If we

were going to say it, what does this shield of

faith do, or how do we use this shield of faith?

What does it look like in our daily lives? What

would that be? Okay Okay, those are all good

things absolutely that's not the one that's not

what I was thinking of But those are good, right?

I mean that's that's that's that's essential.

I mean that is essential to our Christian life

and our growth and faith Knowing the word reading

the word praying seeking God singing his praises

Absolutely. Okay, trusting. How about the promises

of God? That's what I'm thinking about. Okay,

the shield of faith. What are the attacks of

Satan? They're lies, right? They're the lies

of Satan, they're temptations, whatever that

may be. When those things come against us, how

do we battle those things? Well, if we're in

the Word and we're in prayer, we battle in that

way, absolutely. But we remind ourselves of all

those things we read in His Word, all the promises

of God, the doubts that Satan brings against

us. How do we combat those doubts? With truth.

Well, God said this, and I'm going to trust God.

I'm going to believe God rather than you or anybody

else. I'm going to believe God. We're going to

talk, I don't know if we'll get there tonight,

the helmet of salvation, the hope of glory that

we have. What does Satan say? There is no afterlife.

There is nothing after this. It's done. You die

and you turn into dirt and you're done. You're

living this way for no reason. You're sacrificing

and you're for what? You're not going to, there's

nothing there or you're never going to make it.

You're not good enough. You fail, you sin too

much. All of those lies, what do we combat that

with? The truth of the word. By faith, trusting,

believing. All of those things that come against

us, we extinguish those fiery darts with that

shield of faith, believing, trusting what God

has said. So we've got to know the promises of

God. We've got to know His Word. We've got to

know what's true. We've got to be girded with

truth. It all goes together. And in order to

be girded with truth, we've got to be in the

Word. We've got to know what the Word says. We

have to know what those promises are. The Pilgrim's

Progress. Is it Mr. Ray DeHalt on his crutches?

Is that who he was? Right? He's on his way, but

he's only getting there holding on to those promises,

limping through, clinging to the promises. Not

an easy way, but he's getting there. Well, that

should be us. Hopefully we're not like Mr. Ray

DeHalt, but hopefully we are in the sense that

we're leaning on the promises of God. Holding

firm to them. All right Well, I have a whole

list of verses here So if you want them, I'll

give them to you Sound 46 1 I guess we could

just read them. I guess it doesn't It doesn't

matter, right? We're not on a time crunch. Where

are we? You ready to read? Sound 46 -1. Mike.

Philippians 1 -6. Melissa. Matthew 6. 25 -34.

Brian, 1st Corinthians 10 13. Rebecca, Hebrews

13 5. Matt, 1st John 1 9. Marie, James 1 5. Chris,

Colossians 1 20 through 22. Ben. Romans 8 33

through 39 Josh Ezra 822 Amanda sound 512 Dad

sound 23 6 Mom sound 91 3 Eli you want to read?

Izzy? Julia? All right, Becky? Matthew 7 -7 I'll

get the last one So Hopefully I wrote them all

down right and we're not going to talk about

them so These are just promises or encouragements

in the Word over a broad range of things. So

just go ahead and give you your verse and go

ahead and read it. That he who has begun a good

work in you will complete it until the day of

Jesus Christ. Matthew 6, 25 -34 Therefore I say

unto you, take no thought of your life, what

ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor yet

for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the

life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?

Behold, the fowls of the air. for they sow not,

neither do they reek, nor gather in the farms,

yet your heavenly Father feed them. Are you not

much better than they? Which of you by taking

thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And

why take you thought for raiment? Consider the

lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil

not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto

you that even Solomon in all his glory was not

arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God

so closed the grass of the field, which today

is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall

he not much more clothe you? O ye of little faith!

Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall

we eat, or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal

shall we be clothed? For after all these things

do the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father

knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye from the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the moral, for

the moral shall take thought for the things of

itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

And God is faithful, who will not allow you to

be tempted beyond what you are able to, but with

the temptation will provide the way of escape

also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Hebrews 13 .5 Let your conduct be without covetousness.

Be content with such things as you have. For

he himself has said, I will never leave you nor

forsake you. So we may boldly say, The Lord is

my helper. I will not fear what can man do to

me? James James 1 5 if any of you lacks wisdom

let him ask God who gives generously to all Generously

to all without reproach reproach and it will

be given to him Caution one and through him to

reconcile to himself all things Whether on earth

or in heaven making peace by the blood of his

cross And you who once were alienated and hostile

in mind Doing evil deeds he has now reconciled

in his body of flesh by his death in order to

present you holy and blameless and above reproach

before For I was ashamed to request from the

king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help

us against the enemy on the road, because he

had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our

God is upon all those for good who seek him,

but his power and his wrath are against all those

who forsake him. So just real quick, that one

Ezra, Ezra's walking by faith because He trusted

God to get him from Babylon to Jerusalem even

though it was a treacherous road But he said

I'm not going to ask the king for a for a bodyguard

basically I'm going to trust the Lord because

I said I already said to the king my God is able

and So I'm trusting God and I'm not going to

ask the king this thing And we know that all

things work together for good to them that love

God, to them who are the called, according to

his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also

did predestinate to be conformed to the image

of his son, that he might be the firstborn among

many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,

then he also called. And whom he called, then

he also justified. And whom he justified, then

he also glorified. What shall we... then say

to these things if God be for us who can be against

us he that spared not his own son but delivered

him up for us all how shall he not with him also

freely give us all things who shall lay anything

to the charge of God's elect it is God that justify

it who is he that condemned it is Christ that

died yea rather that is risen again who is even

at the right hand of God who also maketh 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 sword?

As it is written, for thy sake we are killed

all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for

the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are

more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life

nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor

things present nor things to come nor height

nor depth nor any other creature shall be able

to separate us from the love of god which is

in christ jesus our lord all the days of my life

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 91 verse 3. Surely he shall deliver thee

Psalms 91:3

from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome

pestilence. Matthew 7 7 ask and it will be given

to you seek and you will find knock and it will

be open to you. And then Philippians 4. four

through seven rejoice in the Lord always again

I will say rejoice let your gentle spirit be

known to all men the Lord is near be anxious

for nothing button everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known

to God and the peace of God which surpasses all

comprehension will guard your hearts and your

minds in Christ Jesus I mean that was an array

You name it, right? We read it. Wisdom, forgiveness,

reconciliation, peace, eternal security, physical

provisions, spiritual provisions, resisting temptations,

overcoming sin. We read all of it there. I mean,

that should fuel us for the rest of the day.

And then tomorrow when you get up, you can read

them again. And if you just read those verses

that we read tonight, tomorrow morning and every

morning, you'll be encouraged to walk in faith.

You'll be encouraged to deny all those false

things that Satan will bring to us. All the sin

that would tempt us. The Word of God. It strengthens

us. It encourages us. It helps us. It speaks

truth to us daily as we're in it. I'm just going

to make another plug then for reading. Read the

Word. You can also read biographies. I can't

say that enough. It is such... I read another

biography basically over our vacation. Dad recommended

these letters to my grandson. It's just about

the life of Martin Lloyd -Jones. It's real small.

It's real short. But you just see in that the

faithfulness of God. You see a man who was faithful

to God and a God who was faithful to man. And

it's just encouraging. It's encouraging to think

about. It's convicting. I mean, you come away

thinking, I'm a failure. But at the same time

you come away encouraged to press on do better

So read biographies of the saints those who have

been faithful And if it's a good biography you'll

see in there that they weren't perfect You know

this guy points out some of Lloyd Jones's failures

So you see in their failures of men and yet the

faithfulness of God. So it's it's good. It's

helpful. Alright, any questions or comments?

So. Would you say like the opposite of? Thank

this here. Uh. Yeah, I don't know if I'd say

opposite. I mean, definitely. contrary faith

is definitely having confidence in what God has

said believing it and putting it into action

Getting ready to go to the cross. He told us

disciples like I will go before you to Galilee

like there was not Even though he was getting

ready to go through this very trying and hard

time. He did not waiver or have any doubt You

know like things that we struggle with So it

reminded me of when we were talking about faith.

When we were talking about when you had the bridge

thing and just the matters about the trustworthiness

of the object that a person's faith is in. to

the Wednesday that I missed and you were talking

about some house you were trying to build without

some piers or something. Without a sure foundation?

I guess I was wondering how that would be like.

Well I tempt it up and then I'm done. Somebody

else can take it out and let it fall.