Well, let's go to our God in prayer, shall we? And Father in heaven, as we even reflect for a moment on the Sunday school hour that the adults were privileged to have in looking at this video, it is quite apparent to many of us that you certainly have left your signature in your earth, which you have made, that would cause us to be able to go back to those early pages of Genesis and see All along, the Lord has been saying these things to us, that there has been a worldwide flood, there has been the devastation brought on as God was deeply regretting creating man because of our sinfulness. And yet the world goes by seemingly oblivious to the word of God, believing, preferring the doctrines of demons instead of your pure word. We grieve over this. We pray that in this hour that you would use the meditation on your word, dear God, to encourage our faith, and that we would stand strong against these schemes of the devil, that we would be able to take captive every thought to the Word of Christ. Help us, our Father. Help us, Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, we love you. We thank you for giving yourself on the cross for our sins. In your name we pray. Amen. So as we As we look, just by way of review, some familiar slides, we'll go back and reflect over, I think, 2 Corinthians 10 verses 4 and 5 is a good starting point for us, for the weapons, as Pastor Mitch had read this earlier. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have a divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. And so as we've previously considered this passage in Ephesians chapter 6, Paul has focused on the Roman foot soldiers' battle armor as a metaphor for the Christians' armor for protection and progress in our spiritual warfare. He exhorted the Ephesian believers to put on the full armor of God. and that they may win in the hand-to-hand onslaught of the spiritual forces in this unseen conflict. Previously, we've examined the Belt of Truth. And there we're reminded of the Christian's thorough embrace of a biblical worldview and his deepest organs gripped with the truth that is in Jesus that Paul mentions in chapter 3 verse 7. And then as the belt is the anchor point of the soldier's armor, so the truth of God anchors the Christian so that he may stand against the schemes of the devil. We all also focused on the breastplate of righteousness. As this piece of defensive armor protects the soldier's vital organs, so too Christ's righteousness secures the believer against fatal blows in spiritual combat. And then more recently, perhaps a month ago, we considered the gospel shoes of the Christian warrior, the church. And every believer are not only to take up this defensive posture, but to make a stand against the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. But also advance throughout the world with the message of peace with God found only through faith in Jesus Christ. And this advance takes into account our individual calling in this life. and among God's people. And so now our attention is going to turn to, as you can see on the screen behind me, the shield of faith, which Paul commands us to take up in verse 16. I want to recall for a few moments the Ephesian context, the reality of our spiritual warfare. We cannot forget that. In a previous study, we reviewed the occult practices which prevailed in Ephesus there from Acts chapter 19. beginning at verse 19 where we read, And a number of those who had been converted had practiced magic arts, brought their books together, and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to 50,000 pieces of silver. And so the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. And so as we look back to our Ephesian passage, beginning at verse 12, we're reminded that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against these unseen rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. And we can see Paul is addressing every rank and file believer there in Ephesus, but also us by extension. Every Christian has a deadly foe. Recall with me in that passage in Luke 21, beginning at verse 31, the occasion of Peter's boast of being ready to go to prison and even to death with the Lord Jesus. And our Lord Jesus responds in verse 31, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. And when you are turned again, strengthen your brothers." It's interesting in verse 31, both of the yous in verse 31 are actually in the plural. In essence, Satan demanded to sift all the disciples as wheat, it seems. but Jesus specifically addresses Peter in verse 32. Satan's desire is to separate and scatter Peter's body parts, not restricted to him only, but also to the apostles. And so his desire is to take each of us apart, is likely the same. So apart from Christ's intervention, all of us would likely pass through Satan's sieve. Consider with me an excerpt from Pilgrim's Progress, where Bunyan writes, and so Christian went on and Apollyon met him. The devil. That monster was hideous to look at. He was covered with scales like a fish. These are his pride. He had wings like a dragon and feet like a bear. And out of his belly came fire and smoke. And his mouth was as the mouth of a lion. And when he came up to Christian, he looked upon him with disdain and began to question him. Where did you come from? Asked Apollyon. And where are you going? Christian answered him, I have come from the city of destruction, which is the place of all evil, and I am going to the city of Zion. Apollyon responded, by this I perceive that you're one of my subjects, for all the country is mine, and I am the prince and God of it. How is it then that you've run away from your king? If it were not for my desire to have you serve me longer, I would now strike you down to the ground with one blow. True, Christian said, I was born in your empire, yet serving you was hard, and the wages you paid were such as a man couldn't live on them, for the wages of sin is death. And when I reached maturity, therefore, I did as other concerned people do. I searched for a way to renew myself. Apollyon then replied, there is no prince who will lose his subjects so lightly. And I don't intend to lose you. Well, from this excerpt, so take at least this much from Bunyan's allegory that Satan is not content to lose the service of any of his subjects. And because of his hatred for the Prince of Peace, he will do what he can. to take back whom he can into his service, though that humble Christian may be small in his own eyes. And therefore, each one of us must prepare to meet him while we are in the king's highway. And so the devil will come against the Christian at every kind of temptation to ungodly behavior, doubt, despair, and external assaults such as persecution or false teaching. as O'Brien would say, or Ferguson makes this comment, where he describes the spiritual attack as perhaps a sudden unexpected assault on the mind, thoughts, and the affections of the believer, which lead to shame and spiritual paralysis, and even terror. And so, like Peter, left to ourselves, we are no match for the spiritual forces aligned against us. And so let this also be a warning, particularly to the young people this morning, who have friends that dabble in the dark arts. Tarot cards, Ouija boards are not simply objects of harmless entertainment, but a door opening to the enemy of your souls. So many in our day, postmodern in their outlook, deny the Christian faith and quickly fall prey to every shade of the occult and superstition of crystals and amulets and rituals and astrology. These only make them more vulnerable to evil spirits. And you can even see the success of the Harry Potter books and movies alone attest to the heightened interest in the occult in the present day. Harmless entertainment for children, we are led to believe. And yet those who take that next step definitely know otherwise. Thousands have gathered on Halloween to practice the dark arts. Some, being converted out of witchcraft in our day, describe their experience as being delivered, having been possessed by a demon, some say. And yet only Christ's power can bring such a deliverance. Well, it's part of our old English heritage, like Stonehenge, some say. Well, according to some classical authors, Druids were the priestly, religious, and scholarly social class of the Celts. And the Celts are said to have performed human sacrifice as part of their religious rituals. Is your tendency to minimize all of these as harmless superstitions? Harmless, you say, and yet isn't there a tendency for some to be drawn toward the occult? White magic is harmless, they say. We only want to do good to others by our incantations. And then I'm reminded of the proverb that says, can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? But what did the scripture say of such practices? Well, let's look at part B of your outline. Let's take a brief Old Testament survey of prohibitions of occult practices from Deuteronomy chapter 18 beginning at verse 9. When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. Those shall not be found among you, anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes, or interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a necromancer, or one who inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God for these nations, which you are about to dispossess. Listen to fortune tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this. Recall with me as well that account in 1 Samuel 28, when Saul inquired of the witch at Endor, supposedly calling up the prophet Samuel from the dead. Now, commentators seem to be divided on whether the Lord permitted Samuel's appearance on this occasion, or if it was, in fact, a demon that impersonated him. Nevertheless, it did not go well for Saul the following day. After committing this sin, as you know, for the following day he fell in battle. For the Lord had departed from him because of his rebellion. Think as well with me of Isaiah 8 and verse 19. And when they say to you, inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter, Isaiah said, should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony, if they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn, no light in them. Now, I've left the, if you want to, young people, if you want to make a sketch of the shield on your note page, that's perfectly fine. I'll leave this up for a moment longer. Let's examine the meaning of this shield, the shield of faith. Let's consider Paul's imagery for a moment. The shield referred to here is a door-like shield. Actually, the Greek word is similar to the word for door. Two and a half feet wide, four and a half feet tall. It was a shield large enough that if a soldier were to fall in the field of battle, they could carry his body out on the shield. That's how large it was. had a wood frame that was wrapped with canvas, and then the front cover was leather, and it was decorative iron brackets that you can see there that strengthen the shield. And so the Roman soldier could crouch behind this shield and not be exposed to a barrage of arrows. As you can see in the photograph, a group of Roman soldiers could cover themselves with their shields, appearing like the top of a turtle shell, and then walk up, protected by their shields, to the enemy's defended wall, as you can see there. And so it was common for soldiers to cover their arrows or javelins with a tar-like substance and then light them before shooting at their enemies. So if fiery arrows were anticipated, they could take these shields and soak them in water and get the canvas and the leather shield wet to better extinguish these fiery arrows. Well, let's consider as well when we're looking at this There is actually an Old Testament connection to what we have before us here in part of your outline. And so as we saw with the belt and breastplate and shoes, there is a noticeable connection. Paul's thinking to the imagery here of the Old Testament. If you would consider with me Ephesians rather Genesis chapter 15 and verse 1. Where God spoke to Abraham after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Fear not Abram I am your shield your reward shall be very great. Or Deuteronomy 23, 29, happy are you, O Israel, who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, a shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph. Your enemies shall come fawning at you, and you shall tread upon their backs. Or just a couple samples from the book of Psalms. There are actually quite a few that I found. Psalm 18, beginning at verse 1, to the choir master. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said in verse one, I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. We could also consider Psalm 91, verses three and four. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, those feathers on the wing of the bird. And under his wings you shall find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and a buckler. We could turn to Proverbs 30 and verse 5. Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Commentator Duguid comments this. He says, God himself is our shield. He is our refuge. He is our hiding place in the day of difficulty. His faithfulness will keep us safe when we are shot at by arrows, flaming or otherwise. And so as we turn back to our Ephesians 6, verse 16 passage, Paul likens that shield, who is our God, to faith. Paul likens faith to a shield. And so let's consider this analogy. Faith is that which protects the whole man. Wherever Satan's fiery darts are directed, faith intervenes. But as we've learned from our Old Testament survey, faith is really a pointer to the God who protects us and preserves us from our deadly foe. So this faith is not merely an intellectual ascent which admits that there is a creator. This faith is not merely, it's certainly more than the faith that you would find the demons having that James mentions in his epistle chapter 219, which only has the power to cause the demons to tremble. No, this is a lively faith in not only the promises of God, but the God of the promises. Consider the focus of this faith is given as a gift as we do a brief survey of Ephesians chapter 1. What does Paul say about this faith? If you turn to Ephesians chapter 1 for a moment at verse 13. In the introduction to this epistle, Paul writes, in him, that is in Christ, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed by the Holy Spirit. If we turn to chapter two and verse eight, oh, I trust a well-known verse to us all, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your doing, it is the gift of God. we could turn over to chapter 3 and verse 12. Paul writes, in whom, that is in Christ, we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. And so this faith as well strengthens us. in the times of prayer that we have, in this same chapter, verse 17, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love. And so the passage goes on. It is a faith that focuses on the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he dwells in our hearts through faith. If I may ask you, my hearer, as Jesus did his disciples at one point, from Luke 9, where Jesus asked his disciples, well, who do the crowds say that I am? And he got a variety of responses. And then he followed up that question with another. Who do you say I am? Have you come to a settled conviction of heart and mind that this Jesus, of whom Paul wrote, is both Lord and Christ? That under Pontius Pilate, the Jews crucified, but God the Father raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples, who also viewed him physically ascend into heaven. You can see that in Acts chapter one and Luke 24. Is your heart drawn to love him? to honor and to obey him, and to love and serve his people. If this is your faith, then it is also a shield to you, as we'll see. In that heavenly warfare, where you have taken the field, having both friends and foes on that field, what is written, faith protects us. However, not so much because of any inherent power in it by itself, but because it brings us into touch with God and interposes him between the enemy and ourselves. It's a challenge for the spiritual battle, isn't it? It's not as though you have masses that are coming and gathering on your front lawn today when you're on your way to go out to church. Your driveway wasn't blocked by an M1 Abrams tank keeping you from leaving the property. No, these are unseen forces. And that's what makes it the more dangerous and the more insidious. Even in our day, we don't see, as in other countries, the very overt spiritism that takes place. And yet it is there. It is there in a much more overt form in our cities, even in America. But allow this extended quote because I think Spurgeon gives us a variety of ways in which we may be attacked and where this shield of faith can protect us. Spurgeon writes, faith protects the whole man. Let the assault of Satan be against the head. Let him try to deceive us with unsettled notions of theology. pardon me, let him tempt us to doubt those things which are verily received among us. A full faith in Christ preserves us against dangerous heresies and enables us to hold fast those things which we have received. which we have been taught and have learned and have made by our own experience. Unsettledness of convictions generally springs from a weakness of faith. A man that has strong faith in Christ has got a hand that gets such a grip on the doctrines of grace that he could not unclasp it, do what he could. He knows what he has believed. He understands what he has received. He could not and would not give up what he knows to be the truth of God, though all the schemes that men devise should assail him with their utmost treacherous art. While faith may guard the head, it will also guard the heart. When temptation to love the world comes in, then faith holds up thoughts of the future and confidence of the reward that awaits the people of God. and enables the Christian to esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. And so the heart is protected. And then when the enemy makes his cut at the sword arm of a Christian to disable him if possible from future service, faith protects the arm like a shield and he is able to do exploits for his master and go forth, still conquering and to conquer in the name of him who loved us. Suppose the arrow is aimed at his feet and the enemy attempts to make him trip up his daily life, endeavors to mislead him in the uprightness of his walk. Faith protects his feet. And he stands fast, even in slippery places. Neither does his foot slip, nor can the enemy triumph over him. Or suppose the arrow is aimed at the knee, and Satan seeks to make him weak in prayer, and tell him that God will shut out his cry. never listen to the voice of his supplication, and then faith protects him, and in the power of faith with confidence, he has access to God and draws near to his mercy seat. Or let the arrow be aimed at his conscience, and let it be winged with the remnants of some recent sin, and yet faith protects the conscience from for its full assurance of atonement quenches the fiery darts with that delightful text that the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. And so faith protects the whole man against Satan's attacks. It is a large shield, as we've seen. It guards the head against heresy, the heart against temptation, the arm against discouragement, the feet against sin, and the conscience against guilt. So let us each examine the character of our own shield as we review this text. Let's move on then in your outline to Roman numeral three. Let's take up the shield of faith. Take up the shield of faith. God, through his apostle, has issued us the command to be armed with spiritual weapons for his warfare. In our verse, we're commanded to take up the shield of faith. In all, Paul says, in the Greek, in all circumstances, in every situation. Don't put that shield down. Keep it ready at all times. And so let us briefly examine the character of this shield. And I've cobbled together what I think is, at least to some way, a description of this shield of faith. First, faith is truth-based, A, on your outline. We've already seen that it is like the belt of truth. The Bible is all about truth. Truth about God, about this world, and us as well. Referring to it in the Bible over 240 times. The Bible is committed to truth, as we can see as God has breathed it out. Let's quickly review that Paul has been saying here the truth about us. If you turn back to Ephesians 2, this is what the truth is about you and me in verse 1. and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, who me? The spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we also once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Not a very flattering picture, is it? Ever since our first parents rebelled against God in the garden, and yes, Adam and Eve were historical characters, historical people. But ever since, the human family has rebelled against God and his commands. The world tells us to follow our heart, and yet God says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it? How do we know that God really is on our side? Well, we must be renewed in our nature to be on his side. And that is really the root of our problem, isn't it? Paul doesn't stop there at verse three. Thankfully, look at verse four and following. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And look at verse seven, so that in the coming ages he might show us the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your doing, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Do you believe embrace what the Bible says about you as a rebel, hopefully a former rebel, a criminal in God's court in need of God's grace and forgiveness, which alone can save you from his wrath? Do you embrace Christ Jesus as God's answer for this dilemma in your heart of hearts? And so this faith that is a shield to us is truth-based. It is the truth about who God is. When you look at the whole first section of Calvin's Institutes, it's all dealing with our knowledge of God. And our knowledge of us follows immediately after that. Can you embrace what the Bible teaches about that? Let's move on then quickly to part B. Faith embraces the revealed character of God. And we'll just summarize a couple points from our Baptist Catechism. Question five, what is God? Well, it would be nice if you could all recite this together with me. I'll just read it for you. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. a quick summary of what the scriptures teach. We could certainly go on, couldn't we? The following question, number seven, how many persons are there in the Godhead? Well, there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. So these catechism questions summarize briefly who God is. And certainly, there are excellent books and sermons written on the person and attributes of God, which go and do a deep dive on these Bible topics that are too broad, obviously, to mention here. And yet, this is the shield of faith. It's composed of this kind of material. So faith is truth-based. and it focuses on the character, the revealed character of God. But it also, part C, it looks at the promises of God. The promises of God. The God of the Bible is not only a God who speaks into our lost world, but makes promises, which he, by the way, is fully capable of keeping. We learn from Hebrews 11 verse one, that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Consider our father Abraham, the father of faith is our example here, dropping down in chapter 11 to verse eight. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By fate, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. And after reviewing a number of Old Testament believers, you know in that hall of faith, that hall of fame of faith in chapter 11, this chapter ends in verse 39 and 40. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. since God had provided something better for us that apart from us they should not be made perfect. And then as we go on as he applies this Bible lesson to us in Hebrews chapter 12. which he directs you and I to this command here. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings to us so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And so as Abraham was promised that eternal city, so Jesus, its builder, will also fulfill that promise in bringing all of those who trust in him to that place. I'm reminded of John chapter 14 from that upper room discourse where Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled, Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you, and I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself. Where I am, you may be also. And so it is for faith to embrace this promise and all of God's promises. from 2 Peter 1. beginning at verse 3. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the power of him who called us by his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. And so this faith is also not something that we would keep to ourselves as well as Nicodemus did for a time there in John chapter 3. Faith is truth-based. Faith focuses upon the revealed character of God. Faith looks to the promises of God, but it's more. In Part D, faith has a voice. Faith has a voice, as we considered last Lord's Day in the evening, or in the afternoon. Psalm 107, verses 1 and 2. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. And he goes on, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. whom he has redeemed from trouble. And so if God has redeemed you, brought you back from so great a peril as eternal punishment, you have cause to praise him and to spread this good news abroad to your loved ones and to the people of God as well as we meet. But also remember the promise associated with as well from Romans 10 in verse 9. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. We also have a confident voice as we approach God in prayer. If we were to look back again to that passage in Ephesians 3, beginning at verse 11, where Paul says, that this was according to the eternal purpose which he realized in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. Faith grants us that confidence that as we come before the presence of God expressing our needs and desires to the advance of God's kingdom that he will hear us. And so let us lift up your voice If you've been redeemed by such a Savior as Jesus, this faith has a voice, but it not only has a voice, but also in part A, it produces good works. It produces good works. We saw previously that we are God's workmanship from Ephesians 2 verse 10, created in Christ Jesus for good works. This faith gets busy in doing God's will, caring for God's people and our neighbor. Paul can write in Galatians 5 6, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything but only faith working through love. That love reaches out beyond those that look, smell, and act like us. It is the eyes, it is the hands, it is the feet of Jesus sharing his love in numerous practical ways. It is a faith that works. And you know the passage in James chapter 2, where you can challenge people's thinking that can they only have faith. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. So we can see that faith not only has a voice, but it also has hands. It has good works. And then under part F of your outline, faith is also fully furnished. It is a fully furnished faith. I read from 2 Peter chapter 1, we'll continue on there in a moment. But consider what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1 verse 5. The aim of our charge is love which issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. It is a fully furnished faith as you can see. But let's go back to 2 Peter 1 for a moment as Peter continues at verse 5. 2 Peter 1 beginning at verse 5. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith Supplement my faith, what? He says, with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful, that shield going down, right? Or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. therefore brothers be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election for if you practice these qualities you will never fail. For in this way there will be a richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that really anticipates the next point in our outline part G. It looks to its ultimate reward. Faith looks to its ultimate reward. as we looked at in verse 11 of Peter's epistle. But also consider Hebrews 10 and 35. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward. As you know, the writer of Hebrews is written to people that were tempted to go back to Judaism, to give up following Christ. And he says, oh no, no, don't cast this away. This is the best part, which is your great reward. Paul can write at the end of his life, as you know, in the last epistle that he wrote to Timothy, in chapter four, beginning at verse seven, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to those who have loved his appearing. And as we turn to the very end of the Bible, in chapter 22 of Revelation, we find these words, the spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. And let the one who is thirsty, come. Let the one who desires to take the water of life without price. So faith looks to its ultimate reward. But also is along with that, the last one that you have in your outline, part H, faith triumphs over the world. The Apostle John can write in 1 John 5, verse 4. Faith triumphs over the world. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Spurgeon considers this. You know in the old Grecian contest the aim of the enemy wants to get near enough to push aside the shield and then the stab under the armor. And that is what Satan wants to do with you. He can knock aside that shield and get under it and then stab us mortally. Take care of your shield. Do not live in perpetual unbelief. Be not always cast down. Pray to your God until you can say, I know in whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him. Oh, the old saints were not always doubting. David said, say to my soul, I am your salvation. The Lord is my salvation. The Lord is my shepherd. Job 2 could say, I know my Redeemer lives. Paul could speak very confidently in many places. And why should we be content to say, I hope or I trust? When they said, they knew, they were persuaded. All was well between God and their souls. And so let it be so with us as well. Unbelief dishonors us, weakens us, destroys our comforts, prevents our usefulness. Faith will make us happy and make us useful, and what is best of all, it will enable us to honor God on earth and to enjoy His presence while yet we are in the lowlands of this present world. And so today, will you take up the shield of faith that Christ offers you? who is on the Lord's side, take up his armor, and I hope that you see its necessity at this point. And then you will be able to say with David from Psalm 18, verse two, the Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. And verse three, and I am saved from my enemies. Finally, there are those likely in this room today who have heard and given some intellectual assent to Jesus as an expert in spiritual matters, a great teacher perhaps. or even the very Son of God risen from the dead? How long will you stand between two opinions? Learn from Christ in His Word, and then you will find every proof there needed as to His true identity, and not only that, but a willing Savior who will have you if you will but trust Him. Doubt no more. Take up the shield of faith as your own shield of honor. His banner bearing the cross and the sword, sorry, bearing the cross and the crown. From Hebrews 7 25. He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. And remember Jesus' promise from John chapter 6. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Amen. Let's pray. Our God, we thank you for revealing yourself Not only in the world about us, we thank you for those that have taken the time to go through that Grand Canyon to gather up those samples, trusting that you have left a mark in this world to demonstrate to the truth of your word. And that was their starting point, your word. May that also be our starting point, dear Lord, from this point on, and to persevere in the faith that you have delivered once to the saints. Give us grace, we pray, to persevere and to protect us from the evil one we ask. In our Savior Jesus' name, amen.