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*SPIRITUAL WARFARE: PART 2: ARMOR: PART 2*
 
In the first message, we looked at Ephesians as an orientation about the Christian life as to why spiritual warfare is essential.
We discussed three areas that provide a background for our topic: a) the city of Ephesians and its involvement in worshipping false gods; b) that Christ is exalted and we are able to have conquest over the enemy; c) the character, or nature of spiritual warfare.
In the last message, we saw that God gives us weapons in which we may obtain victory over our enemy and live a victorious Christian life.
Those weapons we looked at were:
 
1.)   *Belt of Truth*: Christians need to have candor, sincerity, truthfulness.
2.)   *Breastplate of righteousness*: Righteousness will produce spiritual fruit and draw us close to God.
 
3.) *The Shoes Of the Preparation of the Gospel*: A Christian's life must be properly protected and equipped.
Furthermore, we must speak the good news that speaks peace to a sinful heart, for the Lord Jesus made peace by the blood of His Cross.
We are to be mobile and to share this peace - Gospel with others.
Today, I want to look further at our passage in Ephesians and our offensive weapons.
Let's look at the at: the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit.
*Read Ephesians 6:16-17: "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  *
* *
*The 4th Weapon:  The Shield of Faith*
* *
In the Greek of the New Testament, there are two different words for “shield.”
One is a small, circular shield, shaped more or less like a large, round flat wicker basket.
The other one /(thureon) /is a long rectangular shield and is taken from the word for a door because it is shaped somewhat like a door.
Usually, it was four by two and one half feet, sometimes curved on the inner side.
This is the kind of shield Paul speaks of when he says “the shield of faith.”
A properly trained Roman soldier could use that shield so that no part of his body could be reached by the missiles of the enemy.
It protected him completely.
This shield which the Christian soldier uses is faith, a present faith in the Lord Jesus for victory over sin and the hosts of the devil.
It is a faith to share the Gospel message with others.
When we go out against Satan, if we begin to cause him any trouble, you can be sure he will counterattack.
These are his flaming arrows, or "fiery darts."
The fiery darts refer to arrows tipped with tow, pitch, or such material, set on fire before they were fired.
Satan, who is not content to perish in his own destruction, but seeks to drag everyone else down with him to the utter ruin that will be his in the future eternity.
The fiery arrows represent the temptations with which he assails the saints.
Satan counter-attacks in many ways: our minds, our hearts, our bodies, or our finances … so we need to have a shield that covers us.
He will attack any area he can reach.
If he cannot attack us, he may attack those closest to us.
If you are a married man, the first thing that Satan may attack is your wife.
That is one way he can get back at you, so beware!
Therefore, you must have a shield big enough to protect everything for which God has made you responsible, including yourself, your family, and everything God has committed to you.
*Illustration:  Lung Can: Dream to worship Satan -- Didn't  put on the shield of faith*
 
Faith is mentioned twice in this list of the armor.
The breastplate is faith and love and the shield is the shield of faith.
Each use of “faith” must be understood slightly differently.
The breastplate is faith for our own personal righteousness, but the shield is faith for protection and provision for ourselves and all whom God has committed to us.
It is that which covers everything.
*Illustration:* *Namli* = Anamai didn't want us in village: threatened Christians & missionaries (damaged truck).
God protected us & many of the people came to the Lord.
* *
*The 5th Item of Equipment:  The Helmet of Salvation*
 
When we look on conflicts on our lives, we are reminded of the words of Paul in Romans 8:37: "/No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us/."
What does it mean to be more than conquerors?
It means we not only win the battle but actually come out of it with more than we had when we went into it.
In dealing with the breastplate, we saw that the breastplate protects the heart.
Now that we are looking at the helmet, we can see that it protects the head and that the head represents the mind.
In effect, we are talking about a helmet which protects our minds.
We saw previously that the battlefield on which this entire spiritual war is being fought is the mind of humanity.
Because the mind is the battlefield, it is obvious that we need to be particularly careful to protect our own minds.
*Illustration: *In the natural, a person wounded in the head can no longer make effective use of the rest of his equipment.
He may be a very brave and efficient soldier and have excellent equipment, but when he is wounded in the head, it becomes very difficult for him to make effective use of his ability and his equipment.
In the spiritual, this is true of many Christian workers.
Some Christian workers are dedicated, qualified men and women of God, with great ability and a real calling.
Many times, however, they allowed themselves to be wounded in the head.
By this I mean that they allowed themselves to become prey to depression or to mistrust other Christian workers.
This problem in their minds prevented them from being the kind of effective workers, missionaries, and servants of God that they could have been.
Being wounded in the head, they could not use the rest of their equipment.
Other Christians may have a tremendous personal struggle with depression for many years.
It may be like a dark gray cloud or mist that settled down over the person, shutting the person in, shut them off, and making it difficult for them to communicate with others.
It gives a person sense of hopelessness and, one might get the impression, “Others can, but you can’t.
You’ll never make it.
You’re going to have to give up."
The person may  pray, fasted, read the Bible, etc.
 
 
Isaiah 61:3 can be helpful in a time of depression: "/and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor/."
Perhaps you may feel that you have a "spirit of despair" or "heaviness."
Offer a simple prayer of faith, and trust that God will supernaturally delivered you for depression, or despair.
This doesn't always happen, but often we need to trust God and cast our burdens on Him, and He will deliver us.
When God delivers us, we need some special protection for our minds.
It is important to see that the protection for the mind is hope (salvation), but the protection for the heart is faith.
We often get these mixed up.
Biblical faith is in the heart: “With the heart, man believes unto righteousness” (Rom.
10:10).
Biblical faith is the breastplate that protects the heart.
But the protection of the mind is hope.
We need to see the connection between faith and hope.
It is stated clearly in Hebrews 11:1: "/Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see/."
Faith is the underlying basic reality on which hope is built.
When we have valid faith, then we have valid hope.
When we do not have valid faith, we may not have valid hope either.
Hope may be mere wishful thinking.
But when we have a real foundation of faith, we can build a valid hope which is the protection of our mind.
What is hope (according to Scripture)?
 
Hope is a quiet, steady expectation of good based on the promises of God’s Word.
Hope is an optimistic attitude that always chooses to see the best and will not give way to depression, doubt, and self-pity.
That is the protection of the mind.
There is one sufficient basis for hope in the Word of God in Romans 8:28: "/And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose/."
If we really know that everything that happens in our lives is being worked together by God for our good, then there never is a reason for pessimism.
Every situation is always a reason for optimism.
The hope of salvation -- a healthy optimism is the helmet.
While we keep it on, our minds are protected against all Satan’s subtle attacks of doubt, discouragement, self-pity, mistrust, and so on.
A number of passages in the New Testament all dealing with hope.
Let me share just a few of them.
Romans 8:24a reads: "/For in this hope we are saved/."
What does that mean?
No hope, no salvation.
Hope is an essential part of our salvation experience.
Contrast the condition of the unsaved in Ephesians 2:12: "/Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world/."
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