In God We Trust?

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afghani christians, as for me and my house, End Times, Ephesians 6, faith, fiery trial, In God We Trust, Jesus Is Coming, Jesus' Return, Last Days, shield of faith, The Bride of Christ, The Return of the Lord, the Shield of Faith, when the son of man cometh will he find faith

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There are two very important questions to be asked at this time in history as the world goes mad and all “heck” breaks loose. When Jesus returns will He find faith in the earth? And, in whom do we really trust?

I have been reflecting on the situation in Afghanistan, and that led me to further reflect on other persecuted Christians around the world, and Americans who may lose their jobs due to the vaccine mandates and on American Christians who have actually taken the jab. Who are we trusting?

It seems that now is a crisis of faith moment, a testing of our faith, a trying in the fire of affliction. This is when we find out not just what we are made of, but what we really believe and who really has our trust.

On our U.S. money is the statement, “In God We Trust.” But is it? Or have we trusted in money? Have we trusted in our job? Has money and our job been our security? Oh, we talk a good game, saying our faith is in God who provides for us. But, so often we have deceived ourselves into believing that our faith is in God when really it is in America, the Constitution, the rule of law, our political leaders, our doctors, our surgeons, our medications, our job, our bank account, our military, our family and on and on. Is it any wonder that we crumble? Is it any wonder that so many succumb to fear? Is it any wonder that some would rather take the jab than lose their job or their special privileges or their insurance money or their ability to go to the doctor or get surgery?

Were the Alfghans trusting in American troops or God for their needs, their protection, their hope? And what of poor, sick Chinese Christians who had been receiving money from the government only to have it cut off unless they would worship the president of China? Are the Chinese Christians going to surrender Jesus for insulin or food? Are the Alfghan Christians going to crumble because the U.S. military is gone, or are they going to remain steadfast knowing that their protector and provider is and always has been God? How about American Christians facing vaccine mandates?

It’s time to stop playing games with God. It’s time to mean what we say. It is time to really surrender all: all our money, all our time, all our hopes, all our confidence, all our bodies, all of our job, all of our education. It’s time to place it on the altar. After all, it’s not really ours. We are simply the stewards of God’s money, God’s time, God’s gifts, etc. We must quit clinging to the things of Earth – for the Earth is passing away. It is time to let the Spirit of God search our hearts and know what lurks in the deep corners of its chambers. In the words of David in Psalm 139, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Let us not be found to be trusting in chariots or horses like the Israelites, but instead be trusting in our God. As David also says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God,” (Psalm 20:7). Really if we trust in anything above God, it is idolatry. Plain and simple.

There is so much more coming to us in here in America, so much more. Should the Lord tarry, more baffling events are about to unfold before our very eyes. Let’s get our hearts right now. Let’s get our eyes on Jesus now. Let’s not be shaken now. Let’s choose to trust in God and in Him alone NOW.

In the Roman army their shields had to be oiled or else they would crack. And a Roman soldier did not want a cracked shield or else they would be a dead soldier. Secondly, they would saturate their shield with water before battle. Why? Because the enemy often lit their arrows on fire. Thus, a dry cracked shield would ignite in flames. However, a well oiled, watered shield would not.

Our shield as Christians is that of faith (Ephesians 6). But, our shields are on the verge of cracking unless we oil them by being filled afresh with the Holy Spirit and water them with the Spirit inspired word of the living God. Without this, our faith is cracked and ready to catch fire with the fiery darts of the enemy who is out to steal, kill and destroy us. For more on the shield of faith please refer to this link: https://holylight4u.wordpress.com/2018/10/01/we-are-at-war-the-shield-of-faith/

I want to remind us of Matthew 6. Mr. Tony Koretz of A Minute To Midnite quoted this passage from Matthew tonight, and I felt it quite fitting. It’s actually what spurred me on to publish this brief message tonight. “24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for 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 than raiment?26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,” Matthew 6:24-34.

So, in what or who is our faith? Jesus after telling the story of a poor widow who persistently presented her case before an unjust judge, asked the poignant question, “when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

Like a book that’s hard to put it down even when it’s over, it is difficult to shake the dust of this Earth off us. But, we must in order to pick up the sequel which is far better than the first, for it’s all about a conquering, eternal King of a majestic Kingdom that will never pass away and a Bride of resplendent beauty who will reign with Him forever.

Jesus is coming soon. Let’s be found with hearts like Job who declared upon losing everything but his wife and his life, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…” (Job 13:15). After all, “the trying of your faith worketh patience.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3-4). And let us also say with the three Hebrews who were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace, “…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” And as Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). May Jesus find this kind of trust in us. May He find faith in us.

Scrub out those spots, Bride of Christ! Iron out those wrinkles. Shake out that dress. Fix up you hair. Get on your jewels. Our Beloved is coming! Let’s be ready!!!!

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We Are At War: The Shield of Faith

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A Measure of Faith, Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 6:16, Fiery darts, Rick Renner, Roman Military Shield, Roman scutum, Roman Shield, Romans 10:17, Romans 12:3, Scutum, Spiritual Warfare, taking up the shield of faith, the Shield of Faith, what is faith

Here are some things we have learned so far about Ephesians 6.

*We are war.

*The combat is up close and personal and very real.

-The battle is unseen

-The battle is spiritual

-The battle is mostly in the mind

*God has equipped us.

-A showy, impenetrable helmet

-An ornate, indispensable belt

-A small but deadly sword

Ephesians 6:16

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

The Make of the Roman Shield

The ancient Roman shield of Jesus’ day was called a scutum (plural scuti). A scutum was a semi-cylindrical, rectangular shape, was four feet tall, two and half feet wide, and weighed around twenty pounds. The Roman shield was made of several components including wood, several woven together layers of leather that became so strong it was nearly like steal (Rick Renner, “Spiritual Warfare: Understanding Your Shield of Faith” https://renner.org/spiritual-warfare-understanding-your-shield-of-faith/), canvas, iron edging, and a central feature or “boss” was made of iron, bronze or brass, (“Roman Gladius and Scutum: Carving Out An Empire” http://www.historynet.com/roman-gladius-and-scutum-carving-out-an-empire.htm). Interestingly enough, the scutum covered most of the soldier’s body. Furthermore, “The word “shield” is the Greek word thureos, which was used by the Greeks and Romans to depict an oblong door that was wide in width and long in length. The reason Roman soldiers used this word to describe their battle shields was that their shields were actually door-shaped! They were wide in width and long in length, just like the door of a house,” (Rick Renner, “Spiritual Warfare: Understanding Your Shield of Faith” https://renner.org/spiritual-warfare-understanding-your-shield-of-faith/).

The Use of the Roman Shield

The scutum was not wielded like any other shield, for it was too large to be maneuvered quickly. Most importantly, it was not merely defensive, but was first and foremost, used offensively. The Roman soldier did not wait for the enemy on the field to advance to him. After getting close to the enemy, volleys of pila were thrust at them. Pila were javelins that would stick in an opponent’s shield rendering it difficult to wield (“The Shield: An Abridged History of It’s Use and Development” http://myarmoury.com/feature_shield.html). It was then that the Roman soldier would charge forward with shield stretched out directly in front of him, his left arm straight and set. With the shield he would ram his enemy, knocking him off guard and possibly off of his feet. After doing this, the Roman soldier would could use the metal edges of his shield to hack at his opponent. If hacking was not an option for whatever reason, the Roman soldier would thrust his shield into the ground and fight from behind it, either in a crouching or kneeling position.

The Preparation of the Shield

Because the shield to the Roman soldier was of utmost importance offensively and defensively, he daily set aside time to oil its leather. After all, if leather gets dry, it cracks, and one does not want a faulty shield, especially when your life is at stake.

On top of this, before a battle, they would saturate their shield with water. This of course would make it heavier. So, why would they do this?

The opponents often had arrows they would shoot in the direction of the Roman advancement. Sometimes they were just ordinary arrows, and therefore, harmless so long as one held up their shield. Other times the ends of the arrows were set on fire so that when they hit their mark a fire would kindle. And then there were the insidious arrows which only appeared to be ordinary arrows but were filled with explosive material that would explode into fire as soon as the target was met (https://renner.org/take-up-your-shield-of-faith/). However, when any type of arrow (ordinary, fiery, or deceptively explosive) met the Roman’s saturated shield, the arrow fizzled and could not do the damage it was intended to do.

For this reason, it was imperative that the Roman soldier prepare his shield daily with oil, and with water before battle.

The Verse: Why “Above All”?

Now, to the Christian, the shield that we wield is that of faith. And according to the Apostle Paul Christians are to “Above all,” take it up. “Above all” however, does not mean that it is more important than the rest of the armor nor that it should be held onto more than the others nor to be chosen above the others. “The phrase “above all” is taken from the Greek phrase epi pasin. The word epi means over. The word pasin means all or everything. So rather than stating that the shield of faith is more important than the other pieces of armor, the phrase epi pasin describes the position faith should have over the other pieces of armor. It could be better translated, “Out in front of all….” or “Covering all….”” (Rick Renner, “Take Up Your Shield of Faith” https://renner.org/take-up-your-shield-of-faith/). In other words, the shield is not to be at our side or on the ground or in a closet or in another state. The shield is to be directly in front of us, covering all of us as well as covering most of the other armor that we are wearing. It is to cover all.

The Verse: What Does “Taking” Mean?

When Paul says, ““…Taking the shield of faith….” the word “taking” is from the word analambano, which is a compound of the Greek words ana and lambano. The word ana means up, back, or again; the word lambano means to take up or to take in hand. When compounded together, it means to take something up in hand or to pick something back up again. This plainly means your shield of faith can be either picked up or laid down. It places the responsibility on you as to whether you will use your shield of faith or allow yourself to go through life unprotected,” (Rick Renner, “Take Up Your Shield of Faith” ).

The Rest of the Verse

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

When it says Christians “shall be able” this is not just an ordinary word. It sounds rather stale or limp actually, “shall be able”. But, incredibly it comes from the word dunamis. You all know what dynamite is. Dynamite is an explosive, and explosive dynamite gets its name from this word dunamis. Perhaps a better way to translate what Paul said is ““Above all, taking the shield of faith, by which you will be dynamically empowered.…” (“Here’s How to Extinguish the Fiery Darts” https://renner.org/heres-how-to-extinguish-the-fiery-darts-of-the-wicke/).

Think about that! Christians are explosively, dynamically empowered by this shield of faith.

Practical Application

So…what does this mean for us as Christians? What does God want us to learn from this information? And how do we apply it?

To begin with, the Lord has given us a unique, body sized, door shaped shield. It is large enough to completely cover us if it is held directly in front. It is not just a defensive weapon, but is really our first line of offense. But, in order for it to work for us, we must take care of it. First of all we must oil our faith daily. How do we do that? In the Bible oil is most often associated with the Holy Spirit, and it says in Ephesians 5:18 that we are to be freshly filled with the Holy Spirit over and over and over again. It says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit…” In the Greek this being filled is a continuous, ongoing thing. So we need our faith to be oiled by the continuous filling of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, we must saturate our faith. But what are we to saturate it with? Questions? Fears? Doubts? In Ephesians 5:25-27 the Apostle Paul has already given us the answer to this question by saying, “…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Thus, we see that the way we get a saturated faith is through the “washing of water by the word.” Indeed, we can’t even really have faith without the word. As Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So we need our faith to be saturated with the word of God.

Remember, if our shield of faith is not oiled, it will crack and ultimately bring about certain death. We are in a very real battle with an enemy who is out to “steal, kill, and destroy” us. This is not a game. Furthermore, our shield of faith must be saturated with the word of God or else the deceptive fiery darts of the enemy will hit us and set us on fire. Without the water of God’s word we cannot “quench” those deadly darts.

And finally, we as Christians must daily choose to take up the shield of faith and charge into battle. Remember, the Roman soldier did not saunter; he did not casually walk into battle. He charged. He meant business. The well-oiled, water saturated shield is our first offensive weapon. It knocks our enemy off guard; it gives us a foothold on the battlefield. And it covers us completely. Not one of us is lacking in faith. Not one of us has too little faith or needs to increase in faith, for according to Romans 12:3 God has given each of us a measure of faith. And that measure is perfectly proportioned to each of us, and covers us exactly where each of us needs it. All we need do is take it up and use it.

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Here is a list of other links from the series, “We Are At War”:

We Are At War: The Renewing of the Mind

We Are At War: Shoes of Peace

We Are At War: The Breastplate of Righteousness

We Are At War: The Belt of Truth

We Are At War: Helmet of Salvation

We Are At War: The Sword of the Spirit

Sources:

“Spiritual Warfare: Understanding Your Shield of Faith”

https://renner.org/spiritual-warfare-understanding-your-shield-of-faith/

“Take Up Your Shield of Faith”

https://renner.org/take-up-your-shield-of-faith/

“Here’s How to Extinguish the Fiery Darts”

https://renner.org/heres-how-to-extinguish-the-fiery-darts-of-the-wicke/

“Three Kinds of Ancient Roman Shields”

http://madefrom.com/history/antiquity/kinds-of-ancient-roman-shields/

“Armor”

https://romanmilitary.net/tools/armor/

“The Shield: An Abridged History of It’s Use and Development”

http://myarmoury.com/feature_shield.html

“Shields: Terminology and History”

http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/Kent/shieweap/shgenex3.html

“Roman Gladius and Scutum: Carving Out An Empire”

http://www.historynet.com/roman-gladius-and-scutum-carving-out-an-empire.htm