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Dont Let the Devil Burn Your FaithDont Let the Devil Burn Your Faith
Christians face many issues in life that for some mean the difference between making it or failing. Sometimes the things that confront us are downright hard and bitter pills to swallow, but for most of us, those trials we face are small potatoes compared with the things some members of the church encounter, particularly the early church. Foxe's Book of the Martyrs graphically illustrates what they endured. Some stories then and now in certain places are horrific and I am glad I do not have to endure such things, aren't you?
Hebrews 11 is the Faith Chapter we read with gusto until we reach verse 39 but choke afterwards when the mood changes. I would not like to have been one of them, but according to Hebrews 11:39 & 40, they went through that stuff without receiving the promises they believed in and we possess, possibly take for granted.
We are recipients of amazing promises, but life is not always a dreamy bed of sweet smelling roses. Some rose bushes have thorns in them! The issue is not if we face situations and problems, but how we deal with them when they arrive.
Isaiah 43 in the Message version says the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: "Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end. Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. No matter what happens to us, God is there and he always triumphs! Hallelujah! We win!
A man of like passion: We tend to idolize people, including bible characters. Elijah is one. According to James, he was a man of like passions as we. Here is an ordinary human being who knew the word, knew the voice of God and did some stuff we sure need around today. If he did it, so can we. If Jesus did it, so can we. If Peter did it, so can we.
They were all just as human as you and me. He performed some miracles, but got scared off and abandoned his servant by a heathen woman having a blonde day.
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah declared drought on the basis of God's word (see Deuteronomy 11:16-17 and 28:15-24). He provided food supernaturally for a woman and her son. He raised a widow's son from the dead.
He called fire down from Heaven. He slew 450 false prophets of Baal.
He prayed for drought breaking rain which came. He outran a galloping horse and then...
A dumb idol worshipper shot her mouth off, someone (a gossip monger?) told him about her threats and he got scared and hid in a cave and The devil burned his faith! He gave place to words, allowed fear to come in and the devil got him! God asked him, What do you think you are doing here? He started having a pity party... because he took his eyes off God and the Word of God and got distracted by things and circumstances! it is not enough to merely read the bible- we must devour it... eat the thing and meditate on the word every day. Read Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2, 119:15, 23,48,78 and 148; 1 Timothy 4, particularly verse 15.
His problem was his tongue. An unbridled or uncontrolled tongue can cause a whole heap of problems. In Numbers21:6 onwards, people started shooting their mouths off and fiery serpents came. James 3 talks about how our uncontrolled language... an unbridled tongue will cause a tiny spark that can start a huge forest fire!
When David faced Goliath, everyone was talking! The Israelites were merely going through the motions, saying Look at him... he's huge! David knew God and he told everyone about his God. His conversation was Look at him... he is too big to miss. That is the difference.
By the way, Goliath was merely going through the motions too! David told everyone including the devil what was going to happen and it happened just as he said. David had rehearsed what God had done and he knew his covenant rights! This is why he was not afraid.
The devil's tactics are fear and uncertainty and lack of knowledge of God's covenant word to us. We must understand that Satan operates in the natural realm. He has no revelation and is a created being, whereas we are sons and daughters! He works by convincing us that the things we can see and hear are more real than the truth of God's word.
What can happen in our lives is a familiar story to that of Elijah. God does something and the devil immediately tries to retaliate. Jesus spoke about the sower of the seed, telling us that the devil comes immediately to steal, kill and destroy. He comes with the intention of burning that seed, but he cannot as long as we stay ahead of him. We can you know. God has given us some really great tools and some of those tools include the Armour of God.
The armour of God has been a political football in the church for generations, mostly preached because of lack of faith and lack of revelation. Traditional preaching has made it look as if we are always on the defensive, hiding behind a massive shield so the devil cannot get us. Whilst there is a defensive aspect, the reverse is the truth!
Paul opens chapter 6 with instructions that, if heeded, will extinguish any flames before they start. they are-
Children are to obey their parents in the Lord and to honor them. Fathers in the natural and in the spiritual are not to be so dogmatic, legalistic and overbearing that they incite wrath. Servants, or employees, do a good day's work and do it well. Follow instructions and whilst you are doing your tasks consider that you are doing them as unto the Lord. Those in leadership positions, such as employers, are to do the same. Treat your staff well and correctly in every respect.
All these summarized matters will avoid people taking offense, getting hurt or bewildered or... getting burned.
We WON!
And now to the subject matter. Paul tells us to put on the complete armour because we are in a wrestling match. The enemy we face is no motley bunch of bad guys, but a highly trained, organized and mobilized army, whose commander-in-chief is relentless in his pursuits. If he cannot sit on the throne of God, then he wants to make sure no one else will even get close. He knows that time is fast running out and is getting very angry, so he is deadly serious about taking out those of us who let him. Don't let the devil burn your faith!
If you think of the military, imagine a raw rookie starting on the first day. Each soldier in that army is given a specific task and objective and is trained for that task! For example, an evil spirit may be allocated the duty of inflicting cancers. He will come to the unwary and place that vile affliction on the person and having done that... move on to his next victim! He is deadly serious about that.
There is a definite hierarchical structure involved. The ranks descend from the C-in-C down to the rookie. That is what we face, but the outcome has already been determined, for we won... yes, won (2000 years ago) when Jesus cried triumphantly that he had achieved it
Once we know the truth (and Jesus said that when we know the truth, that applied knowledge, would be within us a powerful liberating force) we are not ignorant of the devil's devices.
Paul told us to wear the armour so that we could stand against (pros) the wiles or methodia... the strategies of the enemy. He has plans and strategies. His army has been dispatched to engage in face to face combat with you, whether you believe it or not. The words used are pros, such as the wrestlers previously described and they get in each other's faces... so close you can feel and smell their breath! Our struggles with flesh and blood are not pros, but esti... something different! All you need to do is be a believer of Jesus and they are against you and all you have to do is nothing and you have lost! If you do nothing he will burn you! If you do not fight the good fight of faith, he will burn you, but if you fight God's way, the devil is under your feet!
Such wrestling matches were gruesome, bloodthirsty and gory bouts in an arena where the two combatants fought to the death and there were no rules of combat, or time-outs. The winner was the one left alive afterwards!
Now I am not dwelling on the individual items in the armory, as I want to concentrate on the shield and although you may already know that there are many kinds of shields, I want you to look at them in what may be a different perspective.
The shield he described is thyreos, which is a door-shaped shield,or a portal, door or gate! Portals give entry and gain admission. we can shut the door in the devil's face, or give him an opportunity to gain an entry. Submit yourself to God and resist the devil and you can be assured that he will flee from you (James4:7). In fact, we are told many times to resist the devil, so it is a very real fact that you can stand up to him and he will back down!
Our shield is much more than a mere shelter behind which we can cower in fear. It is a very aggressive and powerful weapon. In some battles, a shield can not only parry the opponent's thrusts, it can be used as a weapon which can thrust against an opponent and knock him off balance or to the ground for a kill!
Many shields used in hand to hand combat were actually made of a wooden frame over which a hide was stretched. Metal ones may be stronger, but are also heavier and not as wieldy. The soldier could move much quicker and easier with lighter wooden framed shields, but the problem with them is that leather dries out and become brittle. Its suppleness, flexibilty or pliability were its success. To make sure it was effective, the soldier oiled it. He rubbed wax or oil into it, thus preserving it. A sword could break through a hard, unyielding cover, but bounce off easier when supple and anointed!
More than ever before, we need the Anointed one and his anointing!. Isaiah said something very interesting... Arise, you princes, and oil your shields [for your deadly foe is at the gates]! For thus has the Lord said to me: Go, set [yourself as] a watchman, let him declare what he sees.
Now when the enemy comes, those wearing the whole armour of God will be able to actively (and not passively) resist him. When he fires darts in your direction in order to burn your faith, you can do one of two things. You can hide behind a shield, or stick the fire extinguisher of faith on them and put them out!
When tuned in, alert, equipped and ready for anything by knowing the truth, righteous before God with our breastplate covering our heart, our mind renewed and covered with the helmet of salvation and our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace we can do anything!
Notice that it is not the gospel of peace, but the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Many people know what the Gospel is, but are not standing on it, or are not standing on the solid rock which is Christ Jesus and thus totally unprepared!
The helmet of salvation partners with the sword which the Spirit wields. This sword is not the bible! It is the two-edged sword; the Revealed Word of God that God said to the individual that the individual speaks back to God. When his angels hear that, they are moved into action. When God hears that, he is reminded of his covenant to you. You can be assured of victory then.
When the enemy shoots fiery darts in your direction, he is hoping to find the door opened enough for at least one of them to get through and stick into you.
It is not always a blazing flame, but generally a tiny spark, or a piece of kindling, that he hopes will land on a soft dry spot. In bushfire seasons, we take measures of protection, such as removing dead leaves from the guttering of our homes, removing dry inflammables from around the house and so on. If a spark or drifting ember comes, perhaps from miles away, it has nothing to land on and cause an outbreak. If something does start, it can be easier to extinguish before it develops into something serious than later.
Those fiery darts are pyroo, or to be more accurate, fire tipped darts, sometimes more like sharp needle pricks than massive spears or arrows, or, those niggling, trivial things that prick and goad us. There is a picture here of something used passively kindle a fire. The devil is looking for something that can be ignited or inflamed with anger, grief or lust etc. Keep the door shut! That will quench them.
When the enemy shoots his darts at you, stick that shield up and shove it right in his face! Push! Push! Push! Don't hide, hide hide! You have the anointing, he doesn't. You have the word of God. He doesn't. You have righteousness. He has nothing! With that shield, you can sbennymi, or actively go out to extinguish or quench the flames and that's different to hiding isn't it?
What are the things that can inflame? They can be just about anything, from attitudes, to mannerisms and speech, particularly speech. What is in the heart will come out verbally one day, so guard your tongue.
James says that a tiny little spark an cause a massive forest fire and used an unruly tongue as the illustration. Don't let the devil burn your faith by wrong confessions, doubt or negativity of any sort. PIck up that shield and ram it against your mouth if needs be, but whatever you do, say only what God says on the matter and you can't lose.
I know these messages help people. The feedback received is indication, but I also speak from experience. We receive a promise or a blessing or a word from God in some way, and immediately the birds of the air swoop down to steal them or burn them. Jesus said that would happen, but he also showed us that we can avoid getting burned by saying what God says and not quitting.
We Won, if we stay with it! Don't let the devil burn your faith.
Be blessed,
Robert
Bashan Ministries
The Herald © 2007 Bashan Ministries
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