The Shield of Faith: Charles H. Spurgeon

"Above all, taking the Shield of Faith,
which is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked..." (Ephesians 6:16)

Like the Spartans, every Christian is born a warrior. It is his destiny to be assaulted, his duty to attack. Part of his life will be occupied with defensive warfare. He will have to defend the Faith once delivered to the saints. He will have to resist the devil. He will have to Stand against all the devil's wiles, and having done all, still to stand. He will, however, be an ineffective Christian, if he acts only on the defensive. He must be one who goes against his foes, as well as [one who] stands still to receive their advance. He must be able to say with David, "I come to thee in the Name of The LORD of Hosts, The God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied." (1 Sam. 17:45)

He must wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. He must have weapons for his warfare - not carnal - but "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." (2 Cor. 10:4) He must not be content to live in the stronghold, though he is well guarded, and munitions of stupendous strength are at his disposal; but he must go forth to attack the castles of the enemy, pull them down, and drive the Canaanites out of the land.

There are many ways in which the Christian may, to a great degree, forget his military character. And alas, there are many who know very little of that daily warfare to which the Captain of our Salvation calls His disciples! King David's truest soldiers were willing not only to be with David when he was in Saul's court, with his fingers amid the strings of the harp, going in and out before the people so that "all Israel and Judah loved David (1 Sam. 18:16); but also to go with David into the Cave of Adullam, when he was outlawed, when his character had become a stench in the nostrils of every proud hypocrite, and when Saul the King hunted David to seek his life. Those who are willing to follow Christ in the midst of an ungodly and perverse generation must be like the men of Naphtali, who hazarded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

You will remember that Jonathan, one of the sweetest characters in the Word of God, is one of whom, after all, there is little to be said. Jonathan's life was inglorious from the very time he forsook David, and his death was among the slain of the Philistines upon the dewless mountains of Gilboa. Alas, poor Jonathan, he could give David his bow, but he could not draw the bow for David; he could give David his garments, even his armor, but he could not put on the armor of David. The attraction of his father's court was too much for him, and there he stayed. In that Book of Chronicles, where the Holy Ghost has recorded the names of the mighty men who were with David in Adullam, we find not the name of Jonathan.

There are Christians of that kind today. They have a soft religion which shuns opposition, a reedlike religion that bows before every blast, unlike that Cedar of Godliness that stands aloft in the midst of the storm and claps its boughs in the hurricane, for the very joy of triumph. Such men, like those who shunned David in Adullam, lack the faith that shares the glory. Though saved - yet their names shall not be found written among the mighty men who, for our Great Commander's sake, are willing to suffer the loss of all things and go forth without the camp bearing His reproach [Heb._13:13].

Those Christians, too, who have separated from the world and are diligently engaged in building up the church will have to fight more than others who are rather buiilt-up than builders. You remember, in Nehemiah's day, how the Jews accomplished their work when they built the walls of Jerusalem. With one hand they held the trowel, and in the other they held a weapon. "The builders every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded (Neh. 4:18).

Moreover, there were master masons along the wall, and the laborers all actually engaged, yet here and there you might see a sentinel ready to sound the trumpet so that the workmen might prove warrriors, rush to the battle, and drive away their foes. If you are diligent in your service to the church of Christ, you shall soon have reason to defend your cause. The Lord's blessing will entail Satan's curse; the smile of God will necessarily incur the frown of man. According to your nonconformity to the world, your daring to be singular -- when to be singular is to be right -- according to your diligence in building up the walls of Jerusalem, you shall be compelled to recognize your soldierly character. To you the text shall come with great emphasis,


"Above all,
take the shield of faith
which is abble
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

'This is Sparta.'Lessons in spiritual warfare from the 300.

What a film 300 is. It appeals to all that is good and noble in a man: touching to the very depths of his soul. A true macho film indeed, exalting bravery, love,war,heroism. In 300 the heroes fight against incredible odds in order to defeat tyranny. I suspect that those who regard this film as sick because of the gore don't really understand it. There is romance it it, as well as honour to woman. There is also love of a father for his son, the love between a man and his friends and the love of a commander for his men.Greater love has no man than this that he lays down his life for his friends. In 300 they are all prepared to die for one another.In one scene Xerxessays says : It isn't wise to stand against me, Leonidas. Imagine what horrible fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory to which King Leonidas replies: And I would die for any one of mine.



When King Leonidas declares to the Persian messenger:'THIS IS SPARTA', it makes me think that when Satan or his minions come to the Church or to an individual Christian in order to seduce, to cause them to surrender we should be no less uncompromising and declare: 'THIS IS THE NEW ISRAEL' or 'THIS IS THE LORD'S'-then send them packing! But we live in an age of compromise, we don't like to fight even though the Bible tells us again and again that we are in a battle. True enough we wrestle not against flesh and blood but we do or at least should wrestle against principalities and powers, against a spiritual host of wickedness.We need to watch each others backs, stand up and be strong allowing no room for petty jealousies or rivalries.We have a common enemy and we must live and fight for our Commander in Chief who laid down his life for us. We need to pray the way Wesley exhorts us:

From strength to strength go on, wrestle and fight and pray,
Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well fought day.
Still let the Spirit cry in all His soldiers, 'Come!'
Till Christ the Lord descends from high and takes the conquerors home

The danger for Christians even though they may have discovered the reality of spiritual warfare is to resist and fight Satan in their own strength. As another great hymn puts it:

'Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in his strength alone.
The arm of flesh will fail you, you dare not trust your own,
put on the gospel armour each piece put on with prayer,
when duty calls or danger be never wanting there'.

We must continually be filled with the Spirit and rely on his power as well as the finished work of Christ.Another thing,there may be a time when the Christian must retreat for strategic reasons. This is when we feel overwelmed by the force of evil though attacks of depression or temptation. However we don't run back to the world or find refuge in the world,instead we must run into Christ. As David, himself a great warrior declared so often-'the Lord is my rock and salvation I will not fear' and again in a prayer:'have mercy on me, have mercy me for in Thee my soul takes refuge, in the shadow of Thy wing my soul takes refuge, till the storm of destruction passes by.'Yet again we find exhortation in Proverbs when the writer declares : The name of the Lord is a strong tower,the righteous run into it and are safe(Prov. 18.10) We of course have our spiritual armour as decribed by Paul in Ephesians 6 included the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. He has provided our weapons and armour it is therefore up to us to use it in battle.In the midst of battle we should have our eyes on our Captain and have confidence that in Him the victory is secure.

Interestingly the first time I heard about the Spartans was when I was a boy of eleven at the Scripture Union Inter Schools Camp at Carrickfin in Co. Donegal. The leaders of the Camps taught us there that Christians had to be tough if we were going to make it in the Christian life-there was a cost involved in following Jesus.Those boys who were designated Spartans by the leaders at the end of the week were those who got up every day (rain ,hail or snow)15 minutes before the rest in order to run down to the beach for a swim, making sure they got our heads under the water (Muscular Christianity!). Happy days they were and the leaders formed many a young boy into a faithful soldier of Christ. One of my heroes at that time was a school teacher called Billy Burnison, who now in his 70's is still serving his Commader-in-Chief.Thanks Billy for being such a good example.



QUOTES FROM THE FILM
Xerxes: But I am a generous god. I can make you rich beyond all measure. I will make you warlord of all Greece. You will carry my battle standard to the heart of Europa. Your Athenian rivals will kneel at your feet if you will but kneel at mine.
King Leonidas: You are generous as you are divine, O king of kings. Such an offer only a madman would refuse. But the, uh, the idea of kneeling, it's- You see, slaughtering all those men of yours has, uh, well it's left a nasty cramp in my leg, so kneeling will be hard for me.

Xerxes: It isn't wise to stand against me, Leonidas. Imagine what horrible fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory.
King Leonidas: And I would die for any one of mine.

Queen Gorgo: There's only one woman's words that should affect the mood of my husband. Those are mine.

QUOTES FROM THE OLD WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK

Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son
Strong in the Lord of hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.
Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye may o'ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

Stand then against your foes, in close and firm array;
Legions of wily fiends oppose throughout the evil day;
But meet the sons of night, and mock their vain design,
Armed in the arms of heavenly light, of righteousness divine.
Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul,
Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole;
Indissolubly joined, to battle all proceed;
But arm yourselves with all the mind that was in Christ, your Head.

But, above all, lay hold on faith's victorious shield;
Armed with that adamant and gold, be sure to win the field:
If faith surround your heart, Satan shall be subdued,
Repelled his every fiery dart, and quenched with Jesu's blood.
Jesus hath died for you! What can His love withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who shall pluck you from His hand?
Believe that Jesus reigns; all power to Him is giv'n:
Believe, till freed from sin's remains; believe yourselves to Heav'n.

To keep your armor bright, attend with constant care,
Still walking in your Captain's sight, and watching unto prayer.
Ready for all alarms, steadfastly set your face,
And always exercise your arms, and use your every grace.
Pray without ceasing, pray, your Captain gives the word;
His summons cheerfully obey and call upon the Lord;
To God your every want in instant prayer display,
Pray always; pray and never faint; pray, without ceasing, pray!

In fellowship alone, to God with faith draw near;
Approach His courts, besiege His throne with all the powers of prayer:
Go to His temple, go, nor from His altar move;
Let every house His worship know, and every heart His love.
To God your spirits dart, your souls in words declare,
Or groan, to Him Who reads the heart, the unutterable prayer:
His mercy now implore, and now show forth His praise,
In shouts, or silent awe, adore His miracles of grace.

Pour out your souls to God, and bow them with your knees,
And spread your hearts and hands abroad, and pray for Zion's peace;
Your guides and brethren bear for ever on your mind;
Extend the arms of mighty prayer, ingrasping all mankind.
From strength to strength go on, wrestle and fight and pray,
Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well fought day.
Still let the Spirit cry in all His soldiers, 'Come!'
'Til Christ the Lord descends from high and takes the conquerors home

Moving Video of an Iraqi Christian Pastor which challenges our Christian way of life in the West.

Ghassan from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

The video above of the brave Iraqi Pastor from Baghdad again reminds us of how easy we have it as Christians in both the UK and the USA.This story should not only inspire us to help them in whatever way can, but also to use the freedom we have to spread the Good News in our own country, in a winsome manner- and while we have yet time! Especially, but not exclusively,those called or gifted in evangelism should be praying and looking continally for open doors to go through in order to spread the Word.God has called us to be a blessing to the world,not for us to grow rich 'spiritually' and financially while we take our ease in Zion (i.e. in our holy huddle).But as the great preacher John Wesley declared in his day so I encourage each of us :“You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only to those that need you, but to those that need you most…It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance.”

Funeral of Professor Alan Ervine

The last few weeks have been a very sad time for my family due to the death after a short illness of my brother-in-law and friend Alan Ervine. I had known Alan for over 25 years(my wife much longer)and always appreciated his friendship. He was brought up in a Christian home and had once told me that he was named after the famous preacher Alan Redpath. During the funeral his brother Ian shared the story that in their bedroom they had a picture of a boy at his studying at his desk and underneath it was the verse:'Trust in the the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.This was to become an inspiration for their lifestyles as both choose to work hard at study as well as to develop a strong faith in God.Apart from UNiversity life Alan was very involved in both church and charity work. The last year saw him involved in water projects with Tear Fund were he offered his expertise and raised funds for various projects. At the end Alan suffered alot and on his final day had asked the Lord to take him him.During his final trial Alan was beset at times by doubts and fears though he never once lost his faith. Like Christ in the garden of Gethsemane he ultimately surrendered his will to God's.He was always able to confess like Job:'I know that my Redeemer lives'.At the bottom of this post you will find one of Alan's inspiring posts soon after he discovered he had cancer.

''Alan's funeral was held on Wednesday in the Chapel of Glasgow University, a truly beautiful setting on a wonderful sunny and warm day.
Alan's brother Ian spoke about their lives together as children in Ireland being brought up in a loving Christian family. His colleague Bill spoke about their friendship formed over many years of working together and supporting he same football team. Davy Robertson spoke eloquently on behalf of Alan's friends about what Alan was like as a friend, as a gentle, smiling person who enriched all our lives. David McCarthy told of Alan's great faith in God and how he was encouraged by Alan to be a better person and a better pastor. All of them mentioned Alan's ability to throw in the odd wee grenade to liven things up and make them more interesting. His brother, Clive, read from Revelation 21: 1-4, 22: 1-5.
His long and loving marriage to Liz and his love for and pride in his son were spoken about too.
We sang good old, well known and well loved hymns:- "Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder, Guide me O thou Great Jehovah and Thine be the glory"
The organist said later it was the best singing by a congregation he had ever heard.
The previous evening there had been a short service in St Silas where Alan's coffin was brought in to rest overnight. We prayed and had our own thoughts.
We all then proceeded to the cemetery where Alan was laid to rest in a lovely shaded spot.
The day went on from there. We joined Liz and Paul for lunch in a local restaurant and spent much of the afternoon chatting with friends, old and new.
It was a very good day for a very sad reason.
Alan is now with God. We are left to remember.
Tricia and Gordon Henderson

A post from Alan's blog 28th June

Is it possible to surrender your will to God?

May seem like a strange question coming from a Christian, but thought I would ask this today, and see where the discussion goes. All through the Bible and in Christian literature, we are encouraged to surrender every ounce of our being, our will, our personalities into his hand; it appears like a non-question. I have heard people speak in glowing terms how they have surrendered their lives and their will to God. Is this a case of self-deception? (As an aside, I came across a case of self- deception yesterday following the England debacle in the World Cup playing Germany. England had just been outclassed in every part of the field; and in fact looked more like an episode of the Keystone Cops. An interview with a few English players following the game painted a different picture of something more akin to an evenly balanced match that the Germans edged in the end. I wondered what game these players had witnessed- and reminded myself again of our great capacity towards self-deception)

My answer to the question posed in the title is yes, and I take my inspiration from Andrew Murray’s book, “Absolute Surrender”, first published in 1895 and recently up-dated in 1999.I will briefly share Murray’s argument with you for I believe “absolute surrender” has the potential to transform lives positively more than almost anything else. Murray’s basic premise is that God requires Christian followers to surrender their lives, lock, stock and barrel into his hands. This is a condition of God blessing you completely and fully and a condition for the Holy Spirit to flow through you as freely as He had intended. God expects your surrender, not in a half-hearted way as in my case, many or most Christians, for He cannot work effectively through half surrendered lives. A pen with two hands guiding it will never be able produce effective writing. Murray argues that we cannot achieve this degree of surrender on our own steam and can only reach such levels through the power of the Holy Spirit. I agree with this premise having tried on my own and failed and only making a little progress through being open to ask the Spirit for help. In other words, God accomplishes the surrender for you as long as you are willing to go through the process. I hope you will be blessed from exposure to his work and be encouraged to read it for yourself. Easy to get these old published works on Amazon- if you are so inclined.

I feel in some ways it may need a crisis or a period of discomfort or distress for us ever to get round to taking the question seriously. It shouldn’t do, but human nature being what it is, prefers sailing along in comfort and non-surrender and involved in projects, until an event or a happening intervenes that forces a re-think, a look at truly surrendering to God, and indeed a giant step towards life indeed

Hebrews 12 (The Message)

Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.

God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!

Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.