The Fiery Darts Of The Evil One

I want you to turn in your Bibles with me to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6. We're going to read from verse 10 to about verse 17 here this morning. And especially, I'll just say this for those who are online, they'll need an explanation of just all that's around us. With us having our kids club here, having castles, all of this paraphernalia in and around, it just set a tone for us calling these children to the warfare, a real warfare.

And so for three days they've been dealing with this Ephesians 6, the full armor of God, about the enemy, the fight, and real things that go on. And I believe it is very timely in this church that we're dealing with Ephesians 6 and this spiritual warfare. Here this morning, I've got a message for you called the fiery darts of the evil one.

The Lord really laid this strongly in my heart on Monday, and it's just rolled and rolled and got deeper. Now since yesterday, it's forming into a whole series of messages, and I'm just feeling my way on the direction with this. But I just want to set the tone here this morning for a mini series called the fiery darts of the evil one.

I'm not dealing with the armor of God, though that will come into it. It's vital to this. But I'm specifically dealing with the fiery darts of the evil one.

I believe it's important, because if you don't realize this, you don't see the urgency for the armor. Why preach on the armor? Why teach on the armor if you don't see the danger of not having armor? When you begin to realize how dangerous this warfare is and what the Bible says about it, that armor becomes your life. It's essential in this battle.

Let's read from Ephesians chapter 6 from verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

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. Wherefore, take on to the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

And notice this, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And at some point in the message, I'm going to ask for Izzy's help because I'm going to steal her shield. Is that okay, Izzy? So, I'll call on you at some point.

I'm going to borrow your shield just for this message. I'm not being silly, but we're learning something. And scripture uses symbols, pictures.

We have a kid with a shield. They're making these shields, having these shields, taking them home, not playing games. They're actually being used for a spiritual reason, just like in the Bible.

We're not reading nice stories about the shield of faith. It is a picture, not given to entertain, but to illustrate, to help you grasp the reality of this. So, I'll steal Izzy's shield in just a little while.

Our message here, the fiery darts of the evil one. Let me read that scripture again, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 11. Put on the whole armor of God.

Then it gives the reason. See, what use is armor if you don't need it? Why have armor if you're not in the battle, if you don't march to war, if there's no enemy, if the enemy isn't close by? Why put on the armor? Why take it to you? There's only one reason, and this is that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And I want you to underline that in your mind.

It's very important, our message here this morning. Wiles of the devil. Why do you need armor? Because of the wiles of the devil.

Then verse 16, it says, above all, take in the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. So again, in verse 16, it says the same thing. Why take the shield of faith? Why are you taking the armor? So that you can extinguish or put out the fiery darts of the wicked.

If there's no fiery darts, if no arrows are being fired at you, you don't need a shield of faith. You only need a shield of faith because there's an enemy who fires fiery darts at you. That's why you need a shield of faith.

If there was no battle, if there was no enemy, if there was no devil, if there was no danger, you would not need your shield of faith. You wouldn't need it at all. But do you know why? And kids, listen to me, because I'm about to start with a testimony as we go into this.

And it's especially for you kids. Especially for you kids. If you're under eight or over eight, this, what I'm about to tell you is for you.

And it's for the parents and for every member of this church, what I'm about to say here. Because we're going to deal with here this morning, the fiery darts of the evil one. And I want to do some messages.

I don't know how far this goes. I don't know what all I'm going to cover, but I'm going to be seeking the Lord and you're going to be seeking the Lord because I believe we're going deal with individual fiery darts that get fired. Not at the church generally, but at you and this church.

Darts that have been fired this year. These two years that are being fired now. And our battle, this is real.

We're not preaching about something way out there or in the past or in the future. We're facing a battle now. You must understand about the armor of God, but I'm not going to teach you on the armor of God these weeks.

I'm going to alert you to the danger. And as I do that, you are going to naturally lay hold of the armor of God. It's going to become precious to you.

The helmet, the shield, the sword, the belt, the breastplate, the shoes, all of these become very, very essential because you're becoming aware of the danger, the daily danger, the hourly danger, the weekly danger of the warfare that you have been caught up in. And so these two verses, verse 11, we read the statement about the wilds of the devil. And verse 16, we read this statement about the fiery darts of the wicked.

And you're going to find out now that they're the same. It's speaking about the same thing. The wilds of the devil or the fiery darts of the wicked one.

When I was eight years old, a fiery dart was fired at me. Eight years old. I'm a child in church going to Sunday school.

I'm small. I don't speak much. Hard to believe.

Very quiet, very timid. But I thought a lot. I had a lot going on in this heart.

I was saved at four and a half years old. So I was saved less than four years, three and a half years. And I knew my Savior.

I knew my Jesus. I knew what being born again was in a very childlike, simple way. But I knew what faith in Christ was.

At eight years old, suddenly, unknown to me, I didn't realize it until much later, a fiery dart of the evil one was fired against me. And it hit hard. A thought came into my mind.

And it was, I don't want to go to heaven. Jesus, I know. Jesus, I love.

Jesus, I enjoy. He's my friend. He walks with me.

He lives in my heart. But to go to heaven when you die, that's cold. There's an eight-year-old.

The devil is attacking an eight-year-old. The devil doesn't wait till you're old. Children, the devil does not wait until you're 15 or 20 or 25 or 50.

He'll fire arrows at you, you children. And you know what they are? They're just thoughts, just simple thoughts, or desires for sin, or maybe a friend tempting you to go out into the world. They're real arrows that get fired at you.

And you know what I started to think? I don't want to go to heaven. It's cold. God the Father, I didn't understand.

Do you see how the devil starts messing with teachings and ideologies? And then when I knew Jesus, but I don't want to go to heaven, but you have to go to heaven. If you're born again, you have to go to heaven. So I made a conscious decision in my mind and heart.

And I went, you know what? I don't want to go to heaven. You have to go there. You have to go there when you die, if you're born again.

So I made a conscious decision not to go to heaven. And I said, I'm not born again anymore. I make a decision.

And I went, mommy doesn't know. Daddy doesn't know. No one in church knows.

And I can remember my mom holding my hand, walking down to Sunday school on a Sunday morning and rolling in my mind. I was all pride. I didn't realize that I was actually pregnant.

Nobody knows. No one at church knows. And I look the same and I act the same and I seem the same and they can't see what's in my heart.

And here I am all puffed up. I don't realize a fiery dart of the evil one has been fired against me. And that fiery dart is a method.

It's a while of the devil. That's what the fiery dart is. The devil approaches a eight-year-old child unknown to anybody.

Or is it unknown to anybody? Do you know that I was like that for three months? I'm like this, going in and out of church, still attending church, still giving my pounds on Sunday morning in the tithes, still going along. I was a very good kid. But I'd made a decision.

Three months later, I'm in bed at night and I have a dream. And in that dream, the Lord Jesus comes to me. It's a dream.

I don't see his face. And Jesus came to me in this dream and he reached out his hand. He said, come and I will show you the father.

So I didn't know what was happening. All this is way beyond me. There is a warfare for my little soul at eight years old between the devil and the Lord Jesus Christ.

But Jesus comes with the answer. I could not have worked this out. And Jesus comes, holds his hand out, says, come, I will show you the father.

But we didn't go anywhere. You know, he spoke to me in the dream and he says, if you've seen me, you've seen the father. And what I am, the father is.

You want to know who the father is? He's like me. And if you enjoy being with me and you enjoy me, you will love the father. And I went, oh, I didn't know that.

Why didn't you tell me? Since that fiery dark that night in the middle of the night in a dream after three months was utterly extinguished that night in the middle of the night. And I come out of that loving the Lord Jesus Christ. I never had a problem with the Trinity from that day to this.

I assure you, the Lord Jesus Christ can teach you, preserve you, protect you. And you know what? This battle is going on beyond us. We may not even be conscious of it, but Jesus is looking after your soul.

Children, God loves you. Jesus died for you and he fights for your very soul. I've got three points here this morning.

First of all, the methods of the devil. Look again at Ephesians chapter six, verse 11. It says, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

I want you to notice this first point, the methods of the devil. The devil has methods or wiles, wiles of the devil. The word wiles there that Paul uses is the Greek word methodia.

Methodia, I should say. Methodia. Listen to what it means.

Secretive schemes, cleverly crafted plans, tricky strategies. Now listen, you put on the armor of God. Why? So that you can stand, that you'll have the ability to stand against the wiles of the devil, his tricky strategies.

Let me just define this Greek word because I believe it's very powerful and very important that you understand that we are in a spiritual warfare and it's not just the devil haphazardly coming and attacking us. He doesn't do that. It's not just that he attacks us generally.

He doesn't do that. It's not just that he attacks the church generally. He doesn't do that.

He attacks a specific church in a deliberate specific way. Do you realize that the devil has a methodology for LCC that he doesn't use with the church down the road or in the next city? Many of his things are normal and common but he has a very specific method. Let me go further.

He is a very specific method for your life because you're not like me and you didn't have that happen to you at eight years old. I assure you because we're all unique and the methodology of satan is unique for every single individual in this room. With one he uses discouragement, with another he uses lust, with another he uses unforgiveness.

They are all strategies and we're going to look into this a bit. Let me define this word methodia. It means a cunningly hatched method of guile.

Cleverness in using the mind. This is what the word means. Cleverness.

This is the devil using his mind. Thinking. Using his mind to bring forth clever plans.

We call them schemes. We call it the art. That's why witchcraft is called the art or the craft.

Do you know why? Because it's myth. Mythology. That's why witchcraft is not a haphazard thing.

It is the craft. The ancient craft of the evil one. This word means well thought out or tailor-made plans.

Organized, orderly plans. They are logical. They are specific.

They are actually, if you knew your bible, they are predictable. They are pre-set. They are pre-thought.

They are pre-planned before the arrow ever gets fired at your life. It's all organized. It's all pre-planned.

It's not accidental. The darts or arrows that get fired at you. They are very carefully thought out.

Guess what? The devil watches your life. There's only one devil. He's not omnipresent.

When we say the devil, we're talking about the whole kingdom of Satan. A organized worldwide kingdom of demonic power. Spirits of darkness.

Of wickedness. Of unclean spirits. There is an entire army.

All structured. Remember the legion? We are a legion. They're organized.

They all work in order. They have rank structure. They listen to orders.

They follow commands. All are not the same. But at their head is Lucifer, the devil.

And you know what? Each stratagem is thought out before an arrow is fired. These arrows are not fired haphazardly, generally, out across the body of Christ. Oh, no.

These fiery darts are pre-planned and specifically organized. This word methodia, it means specifically chosen. Selected for a task or for a certain end.

It's not haphazard. Do you know how he uses it? Sometimes he appraises you and it's the devil in praise. He's using praise from somebody to do something in your life.

And then suddenly it changes to rejection. Both from Satan. Both opposite things.

Rejection can wound you. So could praise wound you. And yet you've got a smile on your face when you're being praised.

You're being damaged. Rejection can drive you into the ground. Do you see how dangerous these things are that we actually face? Other times he uses force against you.

Overwhelming opposition and force. Then other times he comes speaking smooth, kind, careful words. Same devil, but they're stratagems.

It's methodology. They're carefully planned out. This word means to methodology.

Remember there's a method in something. Remember the old Methodists, the Methodist movement? Why were they called Methodists? It was a nickname, a name of derision to mock them. Look at the Methodists.

You know why they're called the Methodists? Because they had a time to rise in the morning. Certain days to fast. Ways to read your Bible.

How to pray. Certain hours of meeting the Lord. How to discipline yourself.

How to crucify the flesh. And they were so ordered and organized. They had a answer, a way of doing everything.

It was all pre-planned. You just didn't go and live your Christian life. Well, just go out and live for Jesus.

Oh no. There was a methodology. We're going to sit in pre-planned.

We're going to organize. We're going to have a way to do this. Then you go out and live your Christian life.

That was what a Methodist actually was. And you know what this word means regularly? Talking about a pathway you walk, how you live, or how you function, or how something's done. So it's the wiles of the devil.

It means they are regular. They are well used. They are systematic.

It's talking about a pathway regularly used. In other words, the arrows of the devil are not new. Not one new arrow in his quiver.

If you study the Bible, you'll find every single arrow. You'll find the damage it does. You'll find how to overcome it.

You'll find how to extinguish it. It's all there. But the devil uses systematic, very useful, very successful things.

He's been here 6,000 years. He's the one that tempted Eve. He also allured David to number Israel.

He also come against Moses to provoke him. He's also been on the heels of the apostle Paul. He actually approached Judas to deny Jesus Christ.

And he made an attempt on Peter's life to sift him, to destroy his faith in Christ. We're dealing with the devil here. You see, there's a pathway the devil walks time and time again.

This word means to investigate, means to inquire, both before and after. Before the arrow gets fired, he investigates you. He watches you.

He plans. He chooses his arrow. That's why from the age of 16 to 50, I never got tempted once with alcohol.

Why do you think that was? Why do you think in all that time, not once in all those years, when at 16, I'd been nigh on an alcoholic, but yet not once tempted by alcohol? Why do you think that is? It wouldn't have had an effect. It wouldn't have tempted me. See, there's certain wiles the devil has not fired against me in my lifetime.

You know why? He watches me. He knows me. He understands me.

And he says, why waste arrows? I carefully choose my arrows and then I fire them because I know you. I know your weak points, your vulnerable points. And he knows my vulnerable points.

He knows that when I lose my wife, fire that arrow to go get a bottle, a drink. Now's the time. Very strategic saints.

This is called the Methodia or the wiles of the devil. He investigates you. The word means to travel all over or to search after or traverse or to follow up on you.

The devil keeps a file on you. He knows there's a discouragement that plunges you into defeat. Is it arrogance or pride? Someone mentioned your gift.

You get all arrogant about it. Is it ministry you're after? Is it a woman you're after? What is it you're after? You're seeking acceptance. The devil will use that.

He'll come in on all your traits. He has watched you and investigated you. He knows how to hurt you.

Listen again. This word Methodia or wiles is only used twice in the New Testament. And before Paul used it, it was never used in ancient Greek writings, only afterwards.

Only twice, this specific word Methodo-odia. The second time it's used is also in Ephesians chapter 4, 14. And says that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness.

And listen, he's about to use the word whereby they lie and wait to deceive. The term they lie and wait is the same word. They lie in ambush.

They are prepared. They have made a plan. No, it's not the devil.

It's men in the church. And it's saying, you and the church, you're knocked all over the place by every wind of doctrine, every new teaching that comes through the church. It's by men.

Now the men who are Satan's vessels in the church are being used with all manners of teaching in the church to actually strategize to deceive you. So I believe there's a lot of men in the body of Christ who deliberately know that they are deceiving. They are liars.

They are manipulators. They are immoral and they stand in pulpits and preach. It's not accidental.

Do you realize that they are caught up? They become vessels of the wiles of the devil to release on the body of Christ. And so it shows here that every wind of doctrine actually becomes within this realm of wiles of the devil. You can't believe a false doctrine without it being a while.

Every false teaching, every new gimmick, every new stratagem coming through the body of Christ, it is a part of this. And so we ought to study doctrine. We ought to search these things out.

And notice it says by the sleight of men. That's tricks played in a gambling game. You ever been tricked as a kid? You know, you've got the three cups and the dices under it and said, where's the dice? Oh, it's definitely there.

No, it's not there. And he moves it around. That's sleight of hand.

So you think, you know, I can see, I can follow the cup with the dice. No, you can't. Everything is set to deceive you.

You think you're smart. You think you're bright. You play with doctrines.

I know my doctrine. Do you? Do you? You better be careful. I want to tell you.

And it says the lie in cunning craftiness, cunning workings. This is in the church, not in the world. Not talking about sinners.

We're talking about men in the church. Listen again, second Corinthians chapter two, 10, 11. To whom you forgive anything.

What's he talking about? Forgiveness in the church. To other people in the church. To whom you forgive anything.

I forgive also. For if I forgave anything to whom I forgave, but for your sakes, for it forgave. I yet in the person of Christ, then less than the next phrase last or in case last Satan should get advantage of us.

So I have to forgive or Satan will get an advantage. He's going to get a handle on that. Do you think you can have unforgiveness in this church and the devil not be there? Oh, but I'm saved.

I'm once saved, always saved. Devil can't touch it. Are you kidding? Paul didn't say that.

He's talking to real believers in a real church. And he's saying, I am going to forgive. I'm going to make sure I'm walking in forgiveness.

You know why? I don't want the devil to gain advantage of me or of you or anybody in this church. We need to stop playing games. We need to go to war.

We need to realize what the Bible says. Last Satan should get advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices. Listen, not again.

The Bible says we Christians are not ignorant of Satan's devices. The word devices used there is a different Greek word. It's the word Noma.

It means an intellectually purpose plan or someone who's exercised their mind to bring forth a plan. It is the final sum of someone's thinking. They've thought long and deep and hard.

And now this is their final thought. This is their agenda. This is their plan.

They go, haha, I've got it. So we're not ignorant of Satan's devices. We're not ignorant of his ultimate final plan.

We're not ignorant or without knowledge. We know his thoughts. We know his goal.

We know his aims. We know his plans. See, the devil is devised to accomplish a plan.

He sat down and thought on it long and hard. He has an end goal. He's trying to bring about something by attacking your life.

He doesn't just attack you generally to tempt you to defeat you. Oh no, he's got a goal. He's got a plan in attacking your life.

He has a step-by-step plan to get you somewhere. He knows where he wants to get you. In a pit of discouragement, in a bed of sin, in a point of division, in isolation.

There's a thousand arrows he can fire from his quiver. But listen, it says we are not ignorant of his devices. It's almost a similar word.

We are not ignorant. We're not on thinking. We actually match him.

Does he sit down and plan your defeat? Can I ask you, do you sit down and plan your victory? Do you hear me? We are not ignorant of his devices, of his master plans. He's thinking on you. How do I destroy them? How do I stop them getting saved? How do I stop these children getting saved? How do I stop you? How do I separate you from the brethren? How do I stop your sanctification? How do I stunt you? How do I wound you in a way that you'll never get over that wound from a Christian? Saints, we're in a serious warfare, but you need to see who's behind it.

You need to know who's firing the arrows. You're not dealing with men. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers of darkness.

And you know what? The Bible commands you, we are not ignorant. Ignorance is in bliss. Oh, ignorance is bliss.

We shouldn't study the devil. Who told you that? The Bible says we are not ignorant of his devices, of his well-thought-out plans, of his agenda. Do you know his plans for your life? Are you aware of what his arrows are? Have you studied yourself, your past, your Christian life? Saints, can I commission you? Can I exhort you? Maybe we need to do this on a Sunday afternoon where I lock you in here so you don't go away and get distracted and forget by Sunday night what you hear preacher go, oh, we'll be back on next Sunday again.

We'll be back on Wednesday. Maybe I need to lock you in for a bit of time and I need to make you study and think back over your life. What are the arrows that have been fired? How did they hit me? What has the enemy been doing? You need to plan a strategy.

Where are your weak points? Where's your vulnerable point? Where is the devil hitting you? You know what? He alerts you to your weak points, your vulnerable points. You ought to go, thank you, Mr. Devil. Now I know where I need strengthen.

Do you know as well where you think you're strong? You need to be careful. Peter went, I'll never deny you. Okay, we'll see.

A lot of pride can come in. I know what I'm doing. I know I'm stronger than the Lord.

I know I can't be tempted. I know I'll never fall. I know I'll never do that.

You better be careful. It's faith. Be careful in thinking you're standing lest you fall.

Be very careful. So that's my first point here is the method of the devil or the methodology of the devil. Notice it says of the devil very specifically, it uses a certain name of the devil.

The word devil there is the word diabolos, the Greek word diabolos used 35 times in our Bible. You know what it means? False accuser, slander, one who separates from another with words or slander or false accusation. In other words, the one who's bringing these plans against your life, he wants to separate you, wants to separate you from God, wants to separate you from your brothers and sisters, wants to separate you from the word of God, wants to separate you from communion and fellowship and prayer to the only person that matters.

And so he comes as the devil, the accuser, the one that is hurling arrows at you. Point two. So we've got point one, the methods of the devil.

Point two, the fiery darts of the wicked one. See here, Paul gives us a picture. He's given you the truth, the methods of the devil.

It's a doctrine. It's a teaching. It's factual.

It's happening. Then he gives you a picture to help you understand this, to help you understand how dangerous these methodologies are to your own walk. What does he do? The fiery darts of the wicked one.

The fiery darts are the methodologies, the methods that Satan conjures up, cunningly devises, who plans, he chooses them, and then he attacks your life, and then he walks around you going, no, no, no, ah, this is it. Let's hammer this one point. He studied you.

He knows you. That's why he doesn't tempt me from 16 to 50 with alcohol. But as soon as I'm vulnerable and weak, and my mind is in such a state that I wish I could just stop my mind for a night, just one night, if I could stop the pain, if I could just stop the turmoil in my mind, just one night, I'll help you.

Just go down to Palace Green, little village, tiny village, not many around. No one will know you as a Christian. None of your brothers or sisters are around.

Just go down, get a bottle, get the bottle, come back. You won't harm anyone. See, instantly I knew whose voice that is.

It's only a thought. But why haven't I had it since 16 years old? Why does it come right now? Why is it so dangerous? You know what it's done? It scared the living daylights out of me, because I know who is on my heels. I know who is walking around me, probing me, going, I've got a while.

If he just takes one glass, one beer, one bottle, he's got me. I'll never, ever be able to stand up, pulp it again, and preach. I don't touch that alcohol, and I've never failed God in that point.

I'll never be able to do that again. This second point, the fiery darts of the wicked one. That word darts is the word bellos.

It means arrows, spears, or projectiles. So look what the methods are symbolized as arrows. In the Bible, arrows, these are spiritual.

They're not literal arrows. They're not real physical arrows. They're spiritual arrows.

They're symbolic of a real dangerous thing. Let me prove it in the Bible that arrows are used in a spiritual sense. Listen to this prophecy in Genesis 49 verse 22, a prophecy given to Joseph by his father when all of the 12 sons are being prophesied over.

In the prophecy, it's a spiritual picture. Listen to it. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.

What a beautiful picture of Joseph. Joseph, you are this tree planted by rivers of living water. You abide in the word of God.

You meditate in the word of God. You just live and soak yourself day by day by day in the word of God. That's who Joseph is.

You want to know why Joseph was successful? He was like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Well, listen to what it says in the very next verse after a beautiful picture of him. The archers have sorely grieved him.

Who are the archers? Did you know Joseph in the Old Testament had archers with arrows, firing arrows at him, spiritual arrows? It didn't happen physically, never. It happened spiritually. Who are the archers? Is it the devil? No.

Is it demons? No. Yeah, in behind, maybe. But listen, the archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him.

Who were the archers? His brothers, 10 in number. They hated him. They conspired against him.

They were jealous. You know what they are? They're arrows. You better be careful of jealousy.

You could be firing an arrow at someone. You better be careful of hatred. You could be firing an arrow at a brother.

They were angry with him. They had murder in their hearts towards him. They sold him as a slave and he was carried on.

Then they lied about him to his father and broke his father's heart. You know who they were? These are 10 brothers in the house of God and they are archers. They're in the house of God.

But now they're doing the work of the devil. And you know what? Joseph is protected from all this, but he gets hurt. I want to tell you.

Gets confused as these arrows come flying and hitting in around him. He realizes he's in a dangerous position. Listen to this.

1 Samuel 31 verse 3. And the battle went sore or bad against King Saul. Remember King Saul who backslid from the Lord was far from the Lord yet in ministry in a position anointed by God and the archers hit him. You can always tell someone hit by an arrow.

You hear about it. You see it in the body of Christ. I can tell when someone's been hit by an arrow.

I see the effect. King Saul was hit by the archers and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then it says in 2 Samuel chapter 121, the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away.

Notice that it's a shield. He's being hit by archers. The shield of King Saul was vilely cast away.

Was it represent faith in God? His shield was cast away. The shield of Saul, his faith was cast away. Why did the archers kill him? No shield.

He cast his shield away. I'm a great general. I'm a king.

I'm anointed. I lead the armies. Where's your shield? You can never fight this battle any.

Oh, but look at all my trained soldiers. Look at my great armor. You don't have a shield.

And it says as though we had not been anointed with oil. Do you know some people who are big names, popular, influential, when they die, it'll seem like they've never been anointed of God. They've destroyed themselves.

The archer got them. Are you getting the picture here about arrows? 2 Chronicles chapter 18 verse 1. Now Jehoshaphat who was the king of Judah, the small kingdom of Judah in the south, two tribes. Jehoshaphat had riches and honor and abundance and he joined affinity with Ahab.

Ahab was the wicked king of Israel in the north, 10 tribes. So Ahab's the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat's the king of Judah, 10 tribes, two tribes.

Jehoshaphat was a godly man, a good man, a good king. Ahab was one of the most vile, wicked kings of Israel. What does Jehoshaphat do? He joins with them in affinity, makes a covenant, a peace treaty.

Let's work together. Hey, we've got more in common than we do separating us. Hey, we're against abortion, aren't we? Let's unify around that.

We've got lots in common. Yeah, but you're evil. You're vile.

You're not the same as us. Listen what it says. And certain men in the battle, they go out to war together.

They're in the battle together. You cannot go out to battle on the same side with men who do not have the shield of faith. You can't do that.

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture at a distance and smote the king of Israel, Ahab, between the joints of his harness. Therefore he said to his chariot man, turn thine hand that thou mayest carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day.

Howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in the chariot against the Assyrians until the evening. And about that time, the sun going down, he died. Let me give you one more scripture about arrows.

But the word arrow isn't written there, but you're going to see it. In John chapter 13, verse 2 in the New Testament and supper being ended. It's the last supper.

Supper being ended. They're just about to break bread, but they've had the Passover. Judas didn't break bread.

He was at the Passover. He wasn't there for the breaking of bread. He was there for getting his feet washed, but he left before they broke bread and doneness and remembrance.

This is my blood. Judas wasn't there. He had already left.

And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him. The word put into is the word ballow. It's very similar to ballos, the word for fiery darts, the word for darts, the projectile.

We get it from the same root meaning. So to put into the heart, the devil had put into the heart of Judas. It means ballo.

He had thrown a projectile. He had fired an arrow. Judas just got hit with an arrow.

Why? He had no faith. Oh, he believed in God. Yes, so did the demons.

He was a hypocrite. He was a liar. He was a deceiver.

He was playing a game, saying all the right things. This could have been sold for so much pence and given out of power. Yeah, you're right, Judas.

You're really spiritual. That awful lady wasting God's money. You don't know what you're dealing with.

Do you see how a fiery dart was fired? What was the dart? What was it? Betrayal. Do you think it come from his own mind? I'm going to betray Jesus. It came from somewhere.

A thought comes into his mind. You know what? I can make 30 bits of silver, enough money for my little retirement cottage. Because I tell you what, if this guy keeps going the way he is, we're going to lose everything.

We're going to be financially bankrupt. Those days when 10,000 at our conferences. Now everyone's wanting to crucify him.

They're wanting to kill him. It's getting hot in here. He's going to destroy my financial future.

30 bits of silver. Judas, what about your future? What about your money? What about that little plot of ground you've had your eyes on? 30 bits of silver. You don't need a minute.

You don't actually have to betray him, because you don't want to hurt him. But just get the 30 bits of silver. And the devil fires an arrow at you, and it goes right into your heart.

And now betrayal is in there. That's before the devil entered him. He's an apostle.

Seen all the miracles. I've got some interesting things to say on this. I'm going to keep it for next week, because I don't want to rush over it.

I haven't dealt with the fiery part. I'm going to keep it for next week. An arrow's bad enough, but setting fire is really bad.

Third and finally, Izzy, I need you. I need my shield. Izzy's going to help me here.

I need her shield. Her shield's excellent. I like her shield.

Can I keep it? Can I keep your shield? Yeah? Oh, no, I wouldn't keep your shield. Thank you so much. You can go and sit down.

This is a wonderful shield. You know, breakfast this morning, she had her shield, and I went, I need that shield. I need that shield.

It's a beautiful shield. You know, all these kids have been getting shields, and helmets, and what else have you got? Belts, whatever. Do you know, it's all just to remind them they're in a spiritual warfare.

We're teaching them about the spiritual. We're not playing games. See, eight years old, the devil made a bid for my soul.

This ain't a game. Children, you're in a spiritual warfare. You need faith in God.

Let me finish my message here. Third and finally, the shield of faith. It says in Ephesians 6.16, above all, take in the shield of faith.

Take in it. Above all, above all others, take in the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. Do you realize this shield of faith could have extinguished that fiery dart of betrayal? Because there was no shield of faith, it went straight into his heart, and it destroyed his soul eternally.

No shield of faith. Do you realize it was this shield of faith protected Joseph when the arrows of rejection, of hatred, of bitterness, of murder came from his brethren, and he survived the journey, and he was raised up of God to save his brothers? Do you realize this shield of faith? I can trace it all through the Bible. Oh, it doesn't always say a shield.

It talks about your faith in God. And listen to what it says. Above all, it means first of all, in time.

It can mean in time, first of all, or in place, or in order. It means to hold in front of you. First of all, right at the front, before anything else, as soon as you're in this battle, your faith needs to be at the forefront of this.

It says take in the shield of faith. The word taken means to take up, take onto you, or raise up in front of you. Have you raised your shield up today, saints of God? Is your shield of faith? Is your faith there? Are you like this going, the arrows are flying, and you're going, Lord, help me.

Lift your shield. Lift your shield. Lord, I'm being attacked.

Lift your shield. Put it in front of you. Saul cast his aside, and he died on the battlefield.

Imagine being chosen of God, anointed of God, famous as the king of Israel, the first king of Israel. You're not going to be in heaven. You know what it says in Chronicles? Some people died.

They've argued with me and said, oh no, Saul was saved. No, he wasn't. Do you know what it says in Chronicles? David praying to the Lord, and he says, do not take away your mercy from my son, who was Solomon, like you took it away from Saul.

Remember David said, remember when he sinned? He said, don't take your Holy Spirit away from me. He saw Saul. Lord, I've sinned against you.

Please forgive me. Don't take your Holy Spirit away from me. So there's something about faith, something very real.

Take in, take in, take up, raise up, put in front of you, hold at the front of you. Make sure your faith is out there. Faith in God is a very strong and dynamic thing.

It will extinguish every single dart, all the darts. What's the arrow being fired at you? Lust, covetousness, anger, jealousy, bitterness, envy. What is the arrow? I want to go buy a beer.

I want a drug. I want a woman. I want a guy.

I want to steal my friend's sweeties. What is it? Do you know what? Faith will deal with that, all the fiery darts. I've got an answer for you.

Faith in God. Oh, that's too simple. Give me a stratagem.

Faith in God. Take in the shield of faith. Or in verse 11, put on the whole armor of God.

Or verse 13, take on to you all the armor of God. There's no room for passivity. Oh, I don't need to worry about the battle.

God will do it all. You better lift up your shield. You better stand.

Why do you think commands are given? Oh, it doesn't matter if I do that or not. Are you kidding me? You're going to fall in the battle. You're going to have an arrow pierce your skin.

See, I believe in the power of God. Faith. What is it? It's a firm persuasion, a strong conviction, a confidence that what God said he will do.

That's what faith is. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and 5 that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. That's where my faith is.

God's power. You know what it says? Take the shield of faith wherewith ye, you, God put the fiery darts out. He isn't going to do it.

He's giving you a command. You take the shield of faith. You put out the fiery darts.

Listen again. It's with the shield of faith wherewith ye, you, shall be able to quench all the fiery darts. You will be able.

The word able there is the word dunamai. Similar to dunamis in Acts chapter 1 where you shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come on you. You know the word dunamis and dunamai here, it means the ability of God.

It means supernatural power, not of you. See, if you take the shield of faith to you and hold up in front of you, you will have supernatural ability to extinguish every fiery dart. By faith you can overcome the lies of the devil.

By faith you can overcome strongholds. By faith you can conquer thoughts that are being dropped into your mind. You're hopeless.

No, I'm not. Well, I am. I'm hopeless.

I'm really hopeless. But God loves me. He loved a hopeless guy like me.

I sinned and failed. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin. See, if you let that thought go, it'll destroy you.

I sinned. I failed him. Who hasn't in here? I wish I hadn't.

Get up. Get your shield of faith up again. No, I'm hopeless.

I'll throw my shield away. Then you're finished. You'll be like Saul and Judas and the rest.

It's as if you'd never been touched of God. You'll have ability to quench, extinguish, put out the fiery darts of the evil one. Saints, my message, the fiery darts of the evil one.

And we're going to look at the fiery darts. We're going to come back to this and I'll tell you next week about the fiery dart, not just the darts, the arrows, but the fiery darts of what the devil does with us. Because I believe we're in a battle.

We have been in a battle. We are in a battle. This church matters.

This church being here matters. Fighting for these children matters. I believe the lives of these children are very important.

We're going to raise up soldiers in the kingdom of God. Not just save children, but children who are going to understand the battle. They're going to wage a warfare.

They're going to lift up their shield of faith. They're going to put out fiery darts. They're going to have ideologies come to their minds and their hearts and they're going to stand and extinguish them with simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Will you stand with me here this morning? Hallelujah. Oh, thank you, Lord Jesus. We worship you.

We bless you. We're going to have a bit of a different altar call here. I'm going to ask just after I pray, I'm going to ask all the children to come stand here.

All the adults, especially those that have been teaching, leading all this week. I want you to come and lay hands on children. Pray for them individually, specifically.

All you kids in a moment, I'm going to ask you to come up and stand on this altar. We're going to pray together. We're going to pray for you because we realize the battle.

You've been taught good things this week. We've had good fun this week. We've had a blessed time with these children, but you know what? We're going to pray for you in this battle because we know all hell is after your lives.

The devil wants you. He is very sneaky. He'll come offering you things that you think are innocent, but it's to destroy your soul eternally, to draw you away from God.

And we're serious about this battle. We pray for you. We want to fight for you.

We want to stand for you. And so adults, I'm going to ask you pray in the Holy Ghost. You pray in the Spirit and pray for guidance before you even pray for them.

Begin to seek that that river of God flows in you and through you, that you might be led of the Spirit of God and pray with them in faith, believing. Lay hands specifically. If you can go one adult and one child, brilliant.

If not, then grab two and pray for them by name because we're going to war. Amen. Let's pray.

Father, we pray right now for these children. Father, even as we prepare to bring these kids to lay hands on them, nor God to pray in the warfare, nor God like fiery arrows were fired at me at eight years old, we realize that us adults aren't something special, that we are caught up in a warfare, that even our children, the evil one, the devil, the liar, the deceiver would come in desiring to sneak them, oh God. And we're asking of you, Father, that a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is birthed in them by your grace and your mercy, that you're going to save them in the days ahead, that they'll repent of their sin.

They'll put faith in the blood, that they'll have their own shield of faith to fight the evil one. And Lord God, like you gave me victory when I was eight years old. I pray that you're going to raise up real testimonies amongst the children of the fiery darts that have been fired against them, being utterly extinguished.

We have seen even children in this church taken aside because they had no shield of faith. And Lord God, we pray for your power right now. We pray for the ability of God right now to fall in this place in Jesus' mighty name.

And Father, over these coming weeks, we pray that you prepare us as a church that you'd speak to us. Lord God, I don't tell you what to preach or what I'm to preach. I constantly come before you seeking, listening, waiting, studying, just looking to how you lead me.

And I'm asking of you, will you lead us very specifically concerning these fiery arrows, these darts of the evil one that have been fired against this church, that we might begin to rouse ourselves and realize the victory that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen.