Welcome back to the Armor of God blog series.  In this session, we are going to “take the helmet of salvation” as Paul states in Ephesians 6:17a KJV.  Why do you think Paul chose to associate salvation with a helmet?  To understand this, let’s take a closer look at the example of the Roman soldier’s helmet.

The Roman soldier’s helmet reminds me of a football helmet.  It’s basically a skull cap but instead of being made from hard plastic, it is made out of iron then typically covered in bronze.  The helmet not only covered the head but was designed to come down in the back to protect the neck as well as have extended cheek guards to protect the face.  When the helmet was in place, very little of the soldier’s face was exposed except for eyes, nose and mouth.  Can you imagine going into battle without a helmet?  It would be like a football player going into a game without a helmet or a motorcyclist on an interstate without a helmet.  The helmet is designed to protect one of the most important organs to a human, the brain.

So, let’s think about the human brain.  The human brain controls everything of the human body.  All the nerve endings and impulses are centered in the brain and controls every movement and every thought.  Here’s another way to look at it…what the brain is to the body, the mind is to the soul.  One of the easiest places for the enemy to attack is in our thinking.  I’m sure I’m not the only one that has had my mind fill up with negative thoughts or insecure feelings of inadequacies.  Those thoughts don’t come from our loving, heavenly Father.  Those are from the enemy and he is strategically seeking those he can destroy.  The Bible tells us that, “The thief cometh not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,” John 10:10a KJV.  Paul also reminds us in 2 Corinthians 10:5b of “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

I think this is why Paul used the analogy of the bronze-clad iron skullcap of the Roman soldier so that with this helmet of salvation on, we can deflect the arrows of the enemy targeting our minds and filling us with those negative thoughts and feelings.  If we go back to the beginning of Ephesians, Paul is writing to the church of Ephesus to remind them of who they are in Christ and the price of their salvation (Eph. 1:4-14 and Eph. 2:1-10).  We, also, in today’s present world, need to be remind ourselves of who we are in Christ and to know the price of our salvation.  Once we start replacing those negative thoughts with the true thoughts of who we are in Christ, we defeat the enemy for our minds.

My friends, we are the battlefield.  And, the battle is for our minds.  The enemy knows that when we don’t have on our helmet of salvation, he will take advantage of that opportunity to fill our minds with lies that are aimed to destroy us.  When our helmet of salvation is securely in place, we can then take those thoughts captive and that means that we control our thoughts instead of letting our thoughts control us.  Replacing those negative thoughts with true thoughts of how the Lord sees us is how we defeat the enemy.  This will not happen overnight, and sometimes, it might even take years.  But, as we do this repeatedly, and even if we have to shout it out loud, the enemy has to flee.  “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”, states James 4:7b KJV.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ~ Philippians 4:8 KJV

The Shield Of Faith

“Faith is acting like it is so, even when it is not so, so that it might be so, simply because God said so.” ~ Dr. Tony Evans

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted by the sea; and it should obey you.” Luke 17:5-6 (KJV)

Welcome back to the Armor of God blog series.  The next piece of armor that Paul talks about in Ephesians 6 is the shield of faith, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”, Ephesians 6:16 KJV.

The Greek word for faith that Paul references here is Pistis.  Pistis is translated as conviction, commitment, and faithfulness (being full of faith).  Simply put, faith is acting like God is telling the truth.  This act of faith is what becomes the shield of protection to guard against the enemy’s attack.

“Faith is not hoping that God can.  It is knowing that He will.” ~ Toby Mac #speaklife

Let’s talk about the enemy’s attack.  The enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy.  However, we are children of the King and the enemy knows that he can’t destroy us because we are eternally secure in Jesus.  However, we have learned that the enemy is really good at distraction and can sidetrack me and you and turn our focus and attention away from Jesus.  Those are the fiery darts of the wicked that Paul was referring to in this passage.  Do any of these tactics sound familiar:  insecurity, fear, doubt, temptation, anxiety, worry, discouragement, questioning your ability, guilt, hopelessness, etc?  These are what the enemy will use to distract you and keep you unfocused so you won’t notice him sneaking up on you.

Here’s the good news, with the shield of faith, we can quench all of those fiery darts that the enemy tries to throw at us.  In the analogy of the Roman soldier, part of their battle armor was a shield.  This wasn’t part of their daily uniform; this was something they would take up when they were preparing for battle.  These shields weren’t some round metal shields from Medieval times.  These were shields were made from wood with a metal frame around them and be the size of doors that would entirely cover the soldier in a kneeling position.  The shields were also dipped in water to create a damp, dense barrier of protection.  Once those flaming darts hit the water-soaked shields, they would penetrate enough to be quickly extinguished.  Just like the wet shields, our faith causes the fiery arrows of the enemy to fizzle out.

“Your shield of faith works because it is directly connected to the faithfulness of your God.” ~ Priscilla Shirer

Far too many times, we are swayed by our feelings and this is how the enemy likes it.  We become so focused on our insecurities, inabilities and being afraid instead of following the truth of God’s Word.  “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”, 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV.  When we have those thoughts come upon us, we can be sure that the enemy is at work hoping to distract us from obtaining all of what God has already intended for to do for us and through us.  

So, I encourage you to be bold and courageous and to step out in faith.  Faith reveals a reliance on God.  The “faith place” is stepping into a situation or circumstance where we put ourself into a position for God to have to come through.  Remember, if God has called us to it, He will see us through it and will equip us to see victory in quenching every fiery dart from the enemy.

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:20 KJV 

The Shoes Of Peace

“Whenever you feel an overriding sense of unrest inside or overwhelming distress in your relationships, the enemy is somewhere in the middle, stirring it up.  Anywhere peace is lacking, you can be sure the enemy’s at work”. ~ Priscilla Shirer