Ephesians 6:16 - "All the Fiery Darts of the Wicked One"

Todaywe’re continuing to look at Ephesians 6:16. This verse is so important that weneed to spend a little more time on it. We’re talking about: “Above all,above all, take up the shield of faith with which we will be able to quench allthe fiery darts of the wicked one.” We need to remember, as we’ve saidalready, that the shield of faith is that connection you and I have with theWord of God. I’llnever forget back in 1985 or ’86, I took the time to memorize Psalm 119. It’s along psalm—about 176 verses. I remember verses like, “Thy word have I hid inmine heart that I might not sin against You” (v. 11). “Thy word is a lamp to myfeet and a light to my path” (v. 105). His Word is our shield of protection.Todaywe’re talking about those fiery darts of the wicked one. Paul says that thisshield enables us to quench those darts—all of them, every one of them. InPaul’s day, the soldiers would dip arrows in pitch, set them on fire, and shootthem into the enemy. These arrows did not just pierce; they burned. They couldignite clothing, spread fire, and create chaos. Satan still uses his fierydarts today. He shoots darts into our minds and into our hearts. I’m convincedthat the fiery darts of the evil one are thoughts that he is able to shoot intoour minds—into our thought life. ·        Thesefiery darts are lies—lies from the evil one. Remember, he is a liar. He is thefather of lies. He wants you to believe his lies. He has come to kill, tosteal, and to destroy. He does it with deceitful lies.·        Theyare doubts. He causes us to doubt the truth and goodness of God. ·        Hegives us blasphemous thoughts. He wants us to think terrible things. They justfly into your mind. They come out of nowhere. You wonder, “Where did that comefrom?”·        Fearand despair are a major fiery dart of the evil one. He throws fear into yourheart. He makes you look at things in fear instead of looking at them withfaith. Then he causes you to doubt.·        Hesends hatred and bitterness, and thoughts like, “I’m going to get even. Thatshouldn’t have happened to me. That’s not fair.” Thoughts of hatred come intoyour mind: “I hate that person. They have hurt me. They’ve given me greatpain.”·        Oneof the great fiery darts of the evil one is pride and envy. It makes us thinkwe deserve more: “I’m better than everyone else. I want what everyone else has.I’m entitled.” Boy, how we have that problem today.·        Thenthere are the burning temptations of sin: “If you’ll do this, this will makeyou feel so good. If you have that money, I know you’ll have to cheat a littlebit. You’ll have to lie on your income tax return, but you can get a little bitmore.” He wants you to be tempted to sin—to have more, to have pleasure. Thosetemptations are the thoughts he puts in your mind. Someone said,  “You can’t help when a bird flies over yourhead, but you can do something about it when it begins to build a nest in yourhair.” You can’t help these temptations. They are the darts of the evil one. Ifthese darts are not quenched, they’ll light a fire within us until we begin tojustify sin, believe a lie, or doubt the goodness of God. That’s why Paul sayswe must take up the shield of faith. Today I’m simply taking time to remind usthat the shield of faith will quench all the fiery darts. Those fiery dartscome in a whole lot of ways—from the evil one himself and from the temptationsin the world around us. They are thoughts that, if we do not deal with them andquench them, will leave us burning with sin, and we will be sorry later. MayGod help us to pay attention, making sure that we are connected to God’s holyWord. Take time to memorize a lot of verses. Put one on your schedule each daythat you will put in your mind instead of the lies and doubts and fears ofSatan he shoots at you with his fiery darts.