A Measure of Faith
“With all of these, take the Shield of Faith, with which you will be
Able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Ephesians 6:16
Day One
Introduction
In Biblical times when Roman soldiers went into battle, the most important battle shield was a large, oblong variety called a Scutum. It was about four feet tall and about two-and-a-half feet wide – the size of a small door. The shield was made of wood, bound with iron, covered with animal hide and then soaked in water before battle. It was designed to stop enemy arrows, including arrows that had been dipped in pitch and ignited before being shot. The size of the shield allowed the soldier to stand fully behind it. Not only did the shield protect the individual soldier but the group as well. The Romans were known for making a “Turtle Formation” with their shields all connected together as they made a box facing outward with some holding their shields facing out on all sides and others above their heads making an impenetrable “turtle shell.” Just as the Roman soldiers fully trusted their shields to protect them in battle, especially against the fiery arrows of the enemy, when we are covered with our shield of faith, fully trusting who God is and what he has said, we are able to “quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Lesson
The Biblical definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” What this means is that faith is believing in God and in what Christ has done for us to make our salvation possible then committing ourselves to Him. Faith knows that no matter what the situation the Lord is working in it. Faith is believing that God can and will fulfill His promises. Faith is one of the most essential, and central, parts of our relationship with God.
The Greek New Testament word for faith is “pistis”, which means, “fidelity, faithfulness, conviction of the truth of anything, belief; belief with the predominate idea of trust or confidence in someone.” It comes from the root word “peitho”, which means “to believe, to trust, to have confidence, to be confident, to have faith in a thing.” As you can see, the idea of faith and faithfulness in something or someone is based on established trust.
So what is faith and how do we develop it?
- Faith is being certain that God is trustworthy, and everything he reveals is trustworthy, even when it does not make sense to our human reason or we can’t see what He is doing.
- Faith is remembering and relying on His faithfulness in the past to not only ourselves but to others.
- Faith is seeking understanding and is thus an ongoing process: the more we understand God, the deeper our faith will be.
- We are able to have faith because God first gives us the grace to believe in the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus. (See Ephesians 2:8-9)
- Through faith we deepen our relationship with God and are able to experience his joy and love, not only His love but also the love that comes from being part of a community of believers.
- Faith comes from a new heart, regenerated by God. With new hearts our eyes are opened and we see that He is our God and we need Him.
- We strengthen our faith by reading the Bible. The more we immerse ourselves in the truth of His Word, the more our faith grows. Having faith in the Bible means trusting that God’s Word is truth and His promises are real.
- Faith comes through prayer.
- Faith comes through hearing the message in church with other believers.
- Faith helps to combat unbelief.
- Faith motivates us to do what God desires us to do.
- Faith is the ability to believe God is who He says He is, trusting Him in all things for all things.
- Faith changes how we live our lives and motivates us to keep moving in life regardless of our circumstances, our doubts or our fears.
Conclusion
Even though we may not be able to see God’s plan, how He is working in our lives and our circumstances, or how things are going to work out, we can trust Him because He can see all and knows all and only wants what is best for us! Faith believes God and acts on it with the result being fully trusting and obeying God. The more we live in faith, the better able we are to trust in God and his ultimate plan.
“The God whom we worship is not a weak and incompetent God He is able to beat back gigantic waves of opposition and to bring low prodigious mountains of evil. The ringing testimony of the Christian faith is that God is able.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Application
- How do we hold up the shield of faith against the enemies fiery darts?
- Psalm 28:7 says, “The Lord is my strength and shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” What does this verse mean to you about holding up our shield of faith?
- Look up each verse below and explain why this verse mattes concerning the shield of faith?
- Hebrews 11:6
- Matthew 17:20
- 2 Corinthians 5:7
Day 2
Introduction
When you hear the word “faith” what do you think about? For some of us being faced with a trial that tests our faith may cause us to question our level of faith (to doubt God) even though, when we dig deep and think about it, we know that He has always shown himself faithful. Others are able to say, “I know God has always been faithful to me and now is no different so I’m just going to continue to trust (have faith) in Him because I know He has a plan.” Satan may use many flaming darts, but the biggest one, for most of us, that he uses is doubt and when doubt hits its target, it spreads like fire!
Lesson
Satan threw his first fiery arrow of doubt at Eve in the Garden of Eden: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’ (Genesis 3:1). That doubt burned in Eve and the result was that this doubt spread to Adam and led them both to not trust God and then disobey what he had told them to be true. If we take the time to truly examine where our doubts about God’s faithfulness come from we can always trace it back to our inclination to believe the lies of Satan over the truth of God’s Word. Remember, Satan is the father of all lies while God is the Father of all truth.
Here are five of the most common ways in Christians often doubt and the scriptures to help you see how these doubts are indeed from the fiery doubts of Satan and not of God.
- “Is God really with me?”
Yes! God is always with you. He never leaves you. I remember in college we had a sign hanging up in the Baptist Campus Ministry center that said, “If God feels far away, who moved?” Deuteronomy 31:6 answers this question best, “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” We also find His promise to never leave us in Psalm 145:18-20: “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” He is there all we have to do is call out to him and he not only hears us but he will save us.
- “Does God really have a plan for my life?”
Again, yes! The most commonly used verse to help us see this promise is Jeremiah 29:11-13: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” Not only does God have a plan for your life now, He has had a plan for your life before you were even born: “Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” (Psalm 139:16)
- “Does God really hear me when I pray?”
A resounding yes!! “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place” (II Chronicles 7:14-15). I John 5:14-15 goes on to reiterate this promise, “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.”
- “Will God really forgive me?”
Once again, yes!! “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
“Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19)
Not only will he forgive our sins, he also says, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12)
- “Does God really love me?”
To all those who find this the biggest doubt because you feel the life you have lived is both beyond forgiveness or the love of anyone, especially God, I say to you – YES!!!! Romans 5:8 says, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” If that doesn’t convince you of how great God’s love is for you then this should, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39)
No matter what doubts you may have, you can always find the truth in God’s Word.
Conclusion
We don’t need faith the size of a Roman soldiers shield. Matthew 17:19-20 says, “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you’” God does His part and calls us to do our part: believe (have faith), call on Him (pray to Him), love Him, seek Him with our whole heart, humble ourselves before Him, and turn from our wicked ways (repent; confess our sins). God sees our heart and knows the intent of our heart. Where we see nothing more than a mustard seed, he sees a faith that can move mountains.
The better we know God, through prayer, Bible Study, worship and fellowship with other Christians, the more we trust Him and our faith is strengthened and we are able to guard ourselves against Satan’s lies and seeds of doubt as we hold our shield of faith out in front of us and boldly carry on doubting less and trusting more.
Application
- Hebrews 11 is often called, “The Hall of Faith” as it contains reminders of the great faith of the men and women of the Bible. Read Hebrews 11 and list some of these people and how they showed their incredible faith in God.
- In Hebrews 12:2 Jesus is called “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,” what does this mean to you?
- What actions can you take today to rid yourself of any doubts in God’s faithfulness or to strengthen your faith today?