The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie    http://www.harvest.org/devotional

“Homily Grits Devotional”  http://www.homilygrits.com/

Written by Pastor Rob Barkman

for “Settled In Heaven Ministries” @

http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/

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<http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/sihs-think-on-these-things-

ephesians-616/> ‘s Think On These Things: Ephesians 6:16

by Rob  <http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/author/settledinheaven/&gt;

Barkman

“Reflections Of His Grace”

 “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his

grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

The Grace Of Preparedness (6:10-20)

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the

wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against

principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this

world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you

the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,

and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the

breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the

gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall

be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of

salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying

always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching

thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth

boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an

ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

This devotional, continues to look at the second main division of the book

of Ephesians. Previously, we have looked at “Reflections Of His Grace

Revealed” (chaps 1-3). It that section, Paul revealed to us the gracious

works of the Lord in the lives of His chosen people.

In this new section “Reflections Of His Grace Applied” (chaps 4-6) Paul will

be explaining to us the practical effects of God’s grace in the lives of His

people.

1.        The Grace Of Unity (4:1-6)

2.        The Grace Of Maturity (4:7-16)

3.        The Grace Of Renewal (4:17-32)

4.        The Grace Of Imitation (5:1-14)

5.        The Grace Of Wisdom (5:15-21)

6.        The Grace Of Relationships (5:22-33)

7.        The Grace Of Authority/Submission (6:1-9)

8.        The Grace Of Preparedness (6:10-20)

The next effect of God’s grace we will be looking at is the grace of

PREPAREDNESS (6:1-10-20)…

One of the greatest needs for Christians is to prepare beforehand for the

spiritual warfare in which they face. The Bible clearly speaks of the need

to recognize our enemy, the devil, and properly prepare for his attacks upon

us …

1Pe 5:8-9 KJV – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as

a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:   Whom resist

stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in

your brethren that are in the world.”

Keeping all this in mind, let’s turn our attention to this is a very basic

outline of this section of Scripture:

I.        The Need For The Armour Of God (vs 10-13)

II.        The Identity Of The Armour Of God (vs 14-17)

III.        The Empowerment Of The Armour Of God (vs 18)

IV.        The Ministry Enabled By The Armour Of God (vs 19-20)

EXPOSITION:

Previously, we have seen 3 pieces of God’s armour: the Girdle of Truth, the

Breastplate of Righteousness, The Shoes Of The Gospel Of Peace. Now, Paul

continues to give us a description of this armour. In this devotional we

will be looking at …

 (Eph 6:16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be

able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Above all, taking the shield of faith,

The Shield Of Faith:

1. It is called the “Shield Of Faith” – What is “faith”? This idea is

expressed Biblically with several different terms: belief, trust, assurance

and fidelity. Put very simply faith describes reliance, conviction or trust.

Biblically, faith is to be exercised in Christ in several aspects. Four of

the main areas of faith in Christ for the spiritual warrior are….

a. We are to have faith in Christ as our Savior – relying upon Him to pay

our sin debt and grant us deliverance from our sin through His work on the

cross.

b. We are to have faith in Christ as our Leader/Lord – willfully following

His teachings and example without hesitation.

c. We are to have faith in Christ as our Protector – trusting in Him to only

allow what is beneficial into our lives, while keeping away from us all that

is detrimental.

d. We are to have faith in Christ as our Enabler – trusting Him to supply

all that is necessary to serve Him in any ministry to which we are called.

All of these aspects of faith in Him are necessary as we enter spiritual

warfare for Him.

During times of warfare,…

a. we can find encouragement and peace knowing our sins have been paid for

and forgiven through Christ.

b. we can look to Him for leadership and guidance

c. we can know that He will be our protector during this war, controlling

all aspects of it and using it for His glory

d. we can rely upon Him to supply our every need and enable us to fight “the

good fight” and be victorious.

“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the

living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”

(1 Timothy 4:10)

 “But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their

strength in the time of trouble.And the LORD shall help them, and deliver

them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they

trust in him.” (Psalms 37:39-40)

2. It covers all areas of the body – the shield was a door sized shield that

allowed the warrior to hide his entire body behind it. This helps us to

understand that our reliance upon the Lord should be exercised in EVERY area

of our life.  Every area is touched by sin, unable to serve the Lord, and

rendered useless in this battle. Apart from the enabling grace of the Lord,

we would be totally open to attack and destined for great defeat.

Because of this inherent disability, we must be constantly trusting in

Christ for every spiritual battle that we face. It is only through the eyes

of faith and the enabling of Christ given to us through the Holy Spirit,

that we can find strength, ability and peace as we war against Satan and the

darkness of this world.

“Blessed [be] the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

The LORD [is] my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am

helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise

him.The LORD [is] their strength, and he [is] the saving strength of his

anointed.” (Psalms 28:6-8)

3. It is a defensive piece of spiritual armour – When we fight in this

battle, we are to trust in Christ alone as our enabler and defender. We are

not to trust in other men, for they will fail; nor are we to trust in

ourselves for we are impotent and defenseless apart from Him.

“If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.”   (John 9:33)

 “I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

(John 15:5)

wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

How is this shield to be used? It is designed to “quench all the fiery

darts” that proceed from Satan and his minions. The idea of “quenching”

involves extinguishing, or putting out a fire.

“Fiery darts” back then were used as weapons of warfare to send flames into

combustible areas of the opposing army.  Satan does the same in our lives.

He sees openings and vulnerabilities and aims directly at those areas of our

lives that are the weakest and most susceptible to temptation.

However, through Christ’s intervention in our lives, as we place our faith

in Him, He will supply all the protection that we need. He does this by

“putting out” the fiery darts that are being sent to harm and destroy us.

This protection can only be had by placing our reliance upon Him to deliver

us.

Divine intervention in spiritual battle based upon the faith of His people

is perfectly pictured in the physical war of the Israelites as they defeated

of the Hagarites…

 “The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of

valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and

skilful in war, [were] four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore,

that went out to the war.And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur,

and Nephish, and Nodab.

And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into

their hand, and all that [were] with them: for they cried to God in the

battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in

him.And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of

sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men

an hundred thousand.

For there fell down many slain, because the war [was] of God. And they dwelt

in their steads until the captivity.”   (1 Chronicles 5:18-22)

APPLICATION:

May we always enter into spiritual battle placing our trust in Christ as our

Savior, Lord, Protector and Enabler. It is just as Paul told the church at

Corinth….

“…for by faith ye stand”.(2 Corinthians 1:24)

May we all get a clearer picture of our Lord and Savior, and the great grace

He has shown to us. Let us be always watchful to keep His great acts of

grace on our behalf in the center of our attention… In doing so, may we be

motivated to LOVE Him more, APPRECIATE Him more and SERVE Him more!

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