Focus: The Shield of Faith (Pt.2)

Text: Eph.6:16

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

Peter tells us that our faith is precious. Indeed it is a priceless treasure. It's not something that money can buy.

We are told in the Scripture that Solomon made shields of gold. One shield was worth three pound of gold. The shield of faith is very costly. Human shields are bought with money, but the divine shield of faith is beyond monetary value. God is the producer of the shield of faith through His word of truth.

When Shishak the king of Egypt took away treasures from the Lord's house, Rehoboam chose to replace the shields of gold with shields of bronze, thereby lowering the standard. Bronze is inferior to gold. Our faith is superior to gold. Peter says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1Pet.1:7). You can see that your faith is gold of the highest quality. It is pure and solid. The fires of affliction enhances its beauty and glory rather than dim or destroy it. Our faith is a shield of gold from heaven.

You cannot win with inferior faith. You cannot win with a weak faith. You cannot win with little faith - unstable or momentary faith.

Be conscious of the fact that your faith is most holy. It feeds from the presence of the Lord. The Scripture says, "And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD" (2Kgs.11:10). It is from the presence of the Lord that you take up your shield of faith. David had his shields kept in the Lord's temple. The holiness of faith is derived from the presence of the holy God.

Learn to soak your shield of faith in the presence of the Lord. Bear in mind that the weapons of our warfare are "MIGHTY THROUGH GOD to the pulling down of strongholds." That word 'through' can also be translated as 'before.' The weapons are mighty before God, not away from God. The presence of God makes the weapons efficacious. That is why Jude calls on us to "build up our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit." 

We must be believers in Christ who practice the presence of God. We must take God along with us everywhere we go. We must take God into our battlefields. God alone makes the weapons mighty and effective. Your faith is your shield.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter