Ephesians 6:16-In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Dear Church, In Sunday’s message I spoke about three darts that the devil shoots at us in an attempt to steal from us and to destroy our effectiveness and lives in Christ.
The Dart of Difficulty-Jesus never promised that we would be exempt from the trials of life either. In fact, He was just up front and told His followers that “in this world they would have trouble.” (John 16:33) There is no “bait and switch” in our relationship with Jesus. He told us up front that life as a Christ-follower would be tough.
The truth is, life is tough whether we follow Jesus or not. What happens when we follow Him, however, is that the end of our story, the end of our trial is guaranteed to be different! The beauty of our difficulties as Christians is that they are tied to the victory of Jesus Christ. In John 16:33 when Jesus told the disciples they would have trials, He also said, but don’t worry because “I have overcome the world.” During times of difficulty stay focused on Christ’s victory!
The Dart of Division-In John 17:22 Jesus prayed that we would be one. Satan’s motto is “Divide and conquer.” He is at work not only in churches to try to create friction and disagreement and division, but he is also at work in families, in workplaces, and in friendships. Satan wants to stir up drama in your life. He wants to cut you off from people who can encourage, empower, and support you. Don’t let Satan throw the darts of division your way without putting your Shield of Faith up to defeat him.
The Dart of Deceitful Teaching-Please know that if the devil is talking he is lying. (John 8:44) He lies in overt and outlandish ways and he lies in subtle ways. The trouble with the devil’s lies is that he works them into so many facets of life from education and politics to fashion and family life that when you hear the lies repeated so often in so many different ways it is easy to start to believe them.
Satan wants us to believe that God’s greatest desire for us is to be happy, and therefore we should do what makes us happy. That is crazy, flawed logic. As a parent it would be ludicrous for me to tell my kids to just do what makes them happy. What makes them happy could be something that feels good in the moment but that has tragic, life-altering consequences when the moment is over. That would be reckless and abusive parenting for me to tell my kids to just do what makes them happy. God’s concern is first and foremost for our holiness, not our happiness, but let me tell you the way to true happiness, lasting happiness, is the way of holiness. But holiness isn’t on the devil’s mind and he doesn’t want it on yours either.
Remember, the Roman shields were so big that a person’s whole body could be hidden behind one of them. You and I can be completely covered, completely protected, if we will stay behind the Lord. He is a shield for us. When we step out from His protective covering through sinful behavior we are vulnerable to the fiery darts of the enemy. In order to fight fire with faith, we need to be behind the Author and Perfector of our Faith, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2). We need to remain in Him. We need Him to lead us into every battle. He is our defender and protector. When there is difficulty run to Jesus and stay focused on the victory. When there is division run to Jesus and ask Him to lead the way for healing and reconciliation. Ask Jesus to expose deceptive teaching and to help you walk in truth. Hold up the Shield of Faith as you hold onto God Himself who is your Shield.
Praying that your faith will increase!
Pastor Melissa
Teays Valley Church of God
6979 Teays Valley Rd, Scott Depot, WV 25560
Melissa@tvcog.org
304-757-9222
www.tvcog.org
