Daily Diary April 25th, 2016

Stand And Attack!

We talked about the shield of faith last week and God brought me a new revelation about the shield and the sword that I want to share.

Full Scripture: Ephesians 6:14-20 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 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— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

In verse 16 it says; “above all” take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

I gained a revelation from this “above all”.  This is clearly claiming the shield as above the other pieces of armor.  It is the shield of “Faith” and therefore it is “Faith” that protects us from the enemy.  Faith is our Shield!

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.

In thinking about physical warfare, we need a shield to protect ourselves so we can efficiently fight back.  If we go into battle unprotected from the darts (or call these the “arrows” of the enemy) how can we put our “Sword” to use?

Our Sword is the Word of God!  This is made clear in verse 17.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When we gain the “faith” to put the word of God to use "as our Sword", we become dangerous to the enemy. We are strong in Jesus, who is the Word of God that became flesh.

I believe that our shield becomes bigger and stronger based on our level of “Faith”. As our faith grows, our shield is able to protect us from a more violent attack.  We need our shield to be all it can be, which is also true about our faith!

Christians often run into battle without the faith necessary to fight off the attack first.  Their shield of faith cannot handle the situations that come their way and they are unprotected.  They may pull their sword out, which is the Word of God, but they lack the faith or “shield” to withstand the attack.

I gained a vision of our ability to fight back once our faith (SHIELD) is strong.  We are now protected and are able to draw our sword, which is the word of God. 

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

I saw a warrior in the spirit that was able to block and attack, block and attack.  This warrior was taking ground back from the enemy who was beginning to retreat!

Summary:  When we have faith, and our shield is strong, we are able to go on the offensive and fight the battle with our sword, which is the Word of God! We will be fully equipped to “STAND” and face the enemy and fight back with the Word of God.

Father God, we seek you and increase our faith today.  It is our shield and we are protected by You.  We draw our sword, which is the Word of God and take back any ground the enemy has gained in our lives in Jesus Name! Amen.

Hebrews 11:1 [ By Faith We Understand ] Now faith ist he substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.