• What is the shield of faith?
• How does it help us successfully serve God?

Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  

Yesterday, Julie Dale, Jes Greene & Sharon were collaborating on canning green beans in our kitchen.  They were discussing that I had been working all week including much of yesterday and had not had much time to prepare my message until Sat. afternoon.  Since Jack Evans, Steven Estabrook, Brandon Gregory and I were tearing drywall off the ceiling and walls, Jes quipped, “I bet his message will be about tearing down walls!”  When Julie told this, I smiled and indicated that there was some truth to that.  I was planning on speaking about spiritual warfare, pulling down strongholds and quenching the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  

• Fiery Darts: Bryan Hupperts of SheepTrax Ministries says, The fiery darts alluded to here were flaming arrows that ancient armies would shoot at each other. Curiously, soldiers didn't especially care if these arrows pierced each other or not. If they hit and stuck, then fine. They served a much greater purpose that merely killing an enemy. These arrows were shot to incite terror and fear. The idea was to get your enemy cowering before you and to lose courage on the field of battle. A soldier without courage runs away or stands bound in fear and is easily defeated.

• Faith and fear stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Though teaching on faith has been much abused in some Christian camps, and much maligned as a backlash against those excesses by other camps, faith is a needed component to serve God. And how necessary is faith?  It is in the Bible, after all.

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  

The picture presented here shows that we either operate in fear or in faith. Fear is the enemy's ground. Think of it as negative faith.  When you have faith, you believe in something you cannot necessarily see but you trust the character of the One who promised. It is the same with fear. You are still believing in something you cannot see and are still trusting in the character of the one who promised. The difference is that fear brings dread and death, while faith yields life and peace. Even as God is pleased by faith, so the enemy, the devil, delights in fear. God despises fear in his people as much as the devil cowers before even the weakest saint on his knees who will stand and believe the promises of His God.[1]

Bryan Hupperts suggests a few fiery darts, in the enemy's arsenal of discouragement and unbelief:

• Examples of Fiery Darts:

1. You're a failure
2. It's always been this way
3. God will bless the devil before He'd bless you
4. But the Doctor said.
5. It's over. Quit while you're behind
6. God does love the world, just not you
7. Your family has always been this way. You can't change genetics
8. Failure! Loser!

Brian says, Does any of this sound familiar? Those thoughts that seem to burn into your head are in fact fiery darts, collections of discouraging thoughts, aimed at your weak, exposed places. And when you have an exposed place in battle, what do you need? A shield!

The shield of faith comes into operation by speaking those things which God has said and believe not only in the character of God to perform them, but believing that he will do them on your behalf![2]

Kris Vallotton is a prophet and a part of the Bethel Church Team with Bill Johnson.  Recently I was listening to a podcast where Kris was sharing a spiritual dream he had.  He saw the church, the people of God, being surrounded by military vehicles that where firing at them.  Everyone was taking cover and scrambling around. Kris said to his son in the dream, “We need to equip the Body of Christ to know how to fight in spiritual warfare.”  He with the help of others used a “fire hose” to spray water on the enemy which froze on their windshields so they couldn’t see.  They were still shooting but couldn’t see what they were trying to hit.  Kris again said to his son, “Where is my attack rifle?”  His son said, “It is between your teeth!”  He then woke up from the dream.  He was thinking about 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NKJV) This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,  

I don’t believe we are to spend a lot of time seeking out the enemy to do “spiritual warfare” against him.  Most often when our enemy attacks us, we do as Queen Ester and come before our loving King and in wisdom, trust our King to cover us so we have favorable circumstances to fight our adversaries and win.  But when we are being attacked by the enemy with his fiery darts, we need to know how to use our “shield of faith” to extinguish them. 

Kris spoke a prophetic message that we need to take what 1 Tim 1:18-19 says and take the prophecies which were previously spoken over us even 10 or more years ago and use them in faith to quench the enemy’s lies.  He gave a little of his testimony of a mental breakdown with many problems and panic attacks before God raised him up and called him to ministry.  He went to a men’s retreat up in the mountains with a prophet as the speaker.  He didn’t go out in public much in those days and that day he was praying that God wouldn’t let him be called out.  He was afraid of what sins would be exposed.  But the man hardly began speaking before calling out 5 or 6 people and he was the first one called.  But the word spoke of him traveling all over the world and ministering to people  and blessing them by the power of God.  He kept that word written down and read it over and over.  When he would start to feel a “panic attack” coming on, he would take out that word and declare it.  In this way, he overcame his depression, metal problems and is now a recognized prophetic voice traveling and speaking all over the planet. 

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the  (rhema) word of God.  

 When we hear God’s quickened Word, it causes faith to arise in our hearts.  When our heart is filled with God’s word, our thoughts are in agreement and our mouth speaks in declaration, this shuts down the temptation of the enemy.  It quenches the demon’s spirit and it executes the things written in the Scripture. 

As I stood on my step ladder trimming my dentist’s office eaves or overhang, I began to recall various prophetic words and began to declare them over my life. 

1. Bob Ewert:  Well, Johnny, earlier on I saw that God was about to get ready to expand your ministry.  I saw that this church is a huge sail boat with huge sails, one of these 3-masted schooners.  There was a huge gust of wind coming that was going to give a major push to this boat which represents this church, your ministry and everything you lead.  Everything you are involved with is going to come to a new level, a new level of growth.  I see that God is promoting you, increasing your authority and influence.  God wants you to have confidence of His call on your life and the anointing of God on your life.

2. George Barrett:  John, because I have found you a man that I can trust.  I have found you a man, I have trusted you and I have sifted you, you've gone  through  the  toils of the ministry, now the  time  of  the unveiling  is  coming and I am going to give you many  sons.   So prepare your heart because it is going to be a  lot  of  work. Because  sons are going to rebel and kick against the  discipline and  they are not going to do it the way you want to do  it,  but these sons are going to be a great blessing to you, you are going to raise them up and you are going to send them forth.  In  fact, a  number  of  son are going to come and they  are  going  to  be trained  in  the Word of God and these men are  going  to  become great  apostles in the earth.  This church is going to become an apostolic church.

• What has God spoken over you?  Is that what you confess? Or do you say what the enemy has put into your mind?  We are not ignorant of the devil’s devices.  We know how he works and we also know how God’s Word works.  We can also say what the Scripture says about us and it will quicken or activate our faith. 

• Patience:  Hebrews 6:12 (NKJV) that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  

Faith and patience are linked.  We activate our faith by trusting God over time to fulfill what He has promised.  Some of our prophecies were not for next week or next year but for 10 or 20 years later.  Do not give up because the fulfillment hasn’t come to pass yet.  Wait for it, it will surely come as we continue to declare what God has said.

Because there will be fiery darts, use your shield of faith.  Rehearse what God says in Scripture about you, fight with the prophetic words He has spoken over you.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the (rhema) Word of God.  Meditate on His promises and cast down doubt and unbelief and speak, declare what God says over you!

Prophetic Application:  I want to speak out that some of you are going to see soon fulfillment of some things that were spoken to you previously, even 10 or more years ago.  Dig out those old prophecies and say what God has said to you.  Use them to overcome panic attacks or sinking back into defeat.  What God intends and we contend for shall come to pass!