February 26th, 2023
ANOINT THE SHIELD
ANOINT THE SHIELD- Part 2
Two passages of Scripture:
1. Ephesians 6:1-17
11- Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12- For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13- Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14- Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15- And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16- Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17- And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
2. Isaiah 21: 5– “Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.”
For the soldier to really experience the victory that has been provided for him, he must appropriate the whole armor of God. The armor has to be used in every battle, every day.
RECAP WEEK 1:
David, a man after God’s own heart, cursed A mountain years before.
2 Samuel 1: 21 (NKJV) — “O mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Nor fields of offerings. For the shield of the mighty is cast away there! The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.”
2 Samuel 1: 21 (NIV) — “For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul — no longer rubbed with oil.”
THOUGHT: With anointing the shield, we can command a blessing
TODAY: ANOINT THE SHIELD 2
EXAMPLE: Jehoshaphat’s army fought against a confederation of his enemies. God’s promise came to them:
2 CHRONICLES 20:1-25
2 Chronicles 20: 17 — “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.”
God told Jehoshaphat:
- You won’t fight today.”
- The army set themselves.
- They stood still and waited.
- In the early morning hours they positioned themselves.
- Could it be that when the sun rose with healing in its wings for the righteous, it rose with blinding power?
- As God’s army lifted their shields, they caught the light of another world?
- And the glistening shields blinded the enemy?
Psalm 133:2 — “It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
• This speaks of an anointing that went from top to bottom.
• The Roman soldier would make sure that every inch of his shield was covered in oil!
• An Anointed Faith Can Blind The Adversary.
• Anointed shields also had a much bigger purpose.
- They were used to blind the enemy.
- An anointing causes people to see beyond momentary difficulties.
Anointed faith mystifies the wicked. It always has; it always will.
• Darius didn’t understand that, but Daniel did.
• Nebuchadnezzar didn’t understand it, but the three Hebrew children did.
• Herod didn’t understand it, but Simon Peter did.
When God’s presence illuminates, those with anointed shields will shine like the noonday sun.
Keep anointing my faith!
Keep praying in the Spirit!
Keep lifting up my hands.
Victory is certain!
THE SHIELD OF FAITH:
The shield of faith is the steadfast application of what we believe about God in relation to the things that we face in life.
Genesis 15:1 — “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
2 Corinthians 1: 24 — “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.”
Proverbs 30: 5 — “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”
Psalm 12: 6 — “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”
Psalm 18: 30 — “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.”
I John 5: 4 — “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
Psalm 47: 9 — “The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.”
Psalm 84: 9 — “Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.”
Psalm 84: 11 — “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
2 Shields used in the Roman times:
1. One was a shield for beauty-
2. One was a shield for warfare-
• The Greek word to name this shield is THYREON. It originates from the root word, THURA, which is “door.”
Example: Jesus used this during his temptation (Matthew 4: 4-10).
• Satan would attack
• Jesus would raise his faith
• Then use the sword of the Spirit against him
There are five levels of faith spoken of in the scriptures:
An anointed faith can quench the fiery darts of the wicked one.
a. There is no faith (Mark 4: 40)
b. There is little faith (Matthew 8: 26)
c. There is weak faith (Romans 4: 19)
d. There is strong faith (Romans 4: 20)
e. There is great faith (Matthew 8: 10)
Sixteen Deadly “Darts” of the Devil
1. Disappointment —Romans 8:28-29
2. Discouragement — l Sam. 30:6
3. Doubt — 2 Corinthians 4:8
4. Disbelief — Gen. 3: 1; l Tim. 2:8
5. Distraction — Gen. 3:4-5
6. Despair — Matt. 14:30
7. Double-mindedness — Matt. 6:24; Eph. 4:14; l John 2:15-17; James 1:8
8. Dishonesty — 2 Cor. 4:2
9. Deceit — 2 Thess. 2:8-12; II Cor. 2:17; 4:1-2
10. Dullness — Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Cor. 3:1-3
11. Deadness — Eph. 2:1-5; Romans 6:1-2; 6:11; James 2:17
12. Decay — Heb. 4:7-8; James 4:13-15
13. Discord — Proverbs 6:16-19
14. Defilement — l Cor. 3:16-17
15. Defame — Heb. 6: 10; Matt. 10: 41-42
16. Disobedience — l Sam. 15: 22-23; Acts 26: 12-19; Romans 6: 14
The purpose of the fire was to ignite the shield.
a. The arrow would stick into the shield.
b. The arrow would burn as the battle was on
c. The arrow would distract the soldier.
The spiritual meaning of the arrows:
a. Plain arrows (tests that are common to all men) — 1 Corinthians 10: 13
b. Tar dipped arrows (unclean thoughts) — 2 Corinthians 6: 17 Tar is a nasty, unclean, filthy, sticky substance… hard to wash off tar.
c. Fire tipped arrows (thoughts that set your emotions on fire) —
1 Corinthians 7: 9
The fiery darts of the enemy are the mental attacks
These attacks cause the mind to burn like a fire:
- The mental attack of fear- 2 Tim.1: 7
- The mental attack of lust of the flesh (1 John 2: 16)
- The mental attack of anger- Matthew 5: 22
- The mental attack of oppression- Acts 10: 38
- The mental attack of condemnation- 1 John 3: 20-22
Note: It is a dart when you can’t get it out of your head!
2 Corinthians 10: 4, 5 — (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
• The root word for “imagination” is image.
• The devil will place an image in your mind and if you don’t guard yourself and pull out that dart it becomes an imagination!
• The shield had to be prepared to “quench” the fiery darts.
The care for the shield
• One of the most important things to remember about the construction of the ancient shields that Paul was alluding to when connecting it to the shield of faith was that they were made of two layers of wood and covered with six layers of animal hide.
• It was so vital to the soldier that the leather layers of his shield had to be kept supple.
• It could not be allowed to become dry.
• A dry shield produces cracks and Darts of fire can set dry shields on fire.
• So the way the solder kept his shield soft, slick, oily and supple was he would dip the shield in water before battle… and then he would spend much time rubbing his shield with oil. He would rub that oil into the shield, taking the time to make sure each layer was properly oiled and ready for battle.
• Every soldier carried oil to keep the shield supple.
• They would rub the shield every morning.
• They had to keep the shield oiled.
• Oil came from the olive trees.
Psalm 92:10– “But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
Matthew 25: 3-8 — They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
The OIL is a type of the Holy Ghost!
• You cannot afford to go long seasons without an anointing of the Holy Ghost!
• Your shield will become dry! You cannot fight the battle with a dry shield!
• You must not let your faith become dry!
• You must have an anointing of the Holy Ghost! Dry churches produce dry faith!
• Dry saints are unanointed!
• We’re talking about your shield of faith.
• The answer is found in Jude.
Jude 20 — “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost…”
The secret to quenching the darts is to anoint the shield. Faith without an anointing is a killer!
As oil is to a leather shield, so staying full of the Spirit is to our faith.
ARISE, ANOINT THE SHIELD
1. Take Time Aside with God:
- Oiling a shield was done aside, away from the battlefront.
- It was done in the place of preparation.
- Preparation means separation.
- Hear Jesus say, ‘Come away with Me!’
- It’s time to come aside to spend time in the secret place, with God and His Word.
- There is greater value in this, and more at stake, than you have been aware of.
The Greek word translated anointed, ‘chrio’, means to rub or smear with oil (Strongs G5548). The word’s imagery speaks of the physical act of anointing.
In Acts, the religious leaders were amazed by the faith and courage displayed by the Apostles. We read: ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.’
When we take time to be with Jesus, then His faith, His Spirit will be imparted to us. What is on Him will ‘rub off’ onto us. Our faith will be anointed.
2. Meditate on The Power of Jesus’ Shed Blood
“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”- Psalm 5:12
- God has a shield of protection for us that completely surrounds us!
- It is the favor of God.
- Favor and faith go together.
- But we will never experience this grace as long as we are trying to earn it.
- We must simply receive it.
Rev. 12:11- “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
- When you confess and declare what the blood of Jesus has done for you, your faith is anointed. It becomes unshakeable.
- You grow bold in faith, because you realize that your right-standing with God is not as a result of anything you have done or deserve.
3. Be Intentional About Strengthening Your Faith
Eph. 6:16- “…above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
- The Roman soldiers of Paul’s time knew how to care for their shields.
- They knew how to look after them, how to bear their weight, and how to hold them for maximum protection.
- Paul reminds us that faith has to be ‘taken’ in order to be used.
The Greek word is analambano (Strongs G353) and means to take up, to raise up in order to use. Receive a fresh anointing as you declare today:
4. Make Your Prophetic Declaration:
- Shield’s are symbolic of spoken declarations of our faith, prophesying the enemy’s downfall.
- I was reminded of the story of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17).
~Fear is when we listen to the enemy’s intended outcome for us
~Faith is when we declare to the enemy God’s intended outcome for him!
Your Faith is About to Knock the Enemy Back
- When David stepped forward to fight the giant Goliath, the only shield he had was the shield of faith.
- In stark contrast, Goliath had a massive shield, carried before him by an armor bearer (1 Sam 17:7)
- When David stepped out onto the battlefield, Goliath mocked and cursed him. But David was undaunted. He didn’t believe Goliath for a moment.
- Instead, he declared God’s outcome for that battle.
- That young shepherd boy prophesied Goliath’s downfall.
- And then, he unleashed his slingshot and cast that stone. Too quick for the enemy’s shield-bearer, David’s stone found its mark.