Arming For Victory Pt. 3 Series

Jan 22nd 2012 Ephesians 6.17-18

A This far, all of the weapons we have been given are defensive in nature.

1 With these weapons we can fend off the attacks of the enemy when he comes at us.

a Belt & breastplate we have integrity and identity in Christ. (Satan doesn’t have the authority to attack our character)

b Shoes & shield we have balance & belief. (Satan cannot penetrate our commitment)

c Helmet we have assurance & anticipation of the good things of God. (Satan cannot destroy our confidence)

2 James 4.7, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

a Defensive weapons can hold Satan off, but only offensive weapons can cause him to flee!

b God has given us that weapon in the sword of the Spirit.

3 The sword Paul is describing is a two-edged sword, one used in hand-to-hand combat.

a The soldier would train for several hours a day to wield it effectively, efficiently, skillfully to perfect its use in battle.

b Having the sword is not enough!

aa You must know how to use it.

bb The sword did no good if it stayed in its sheath.

B The Sword is the Soldiers.

1 “Take . . . the sword.”

a Take is in the aorist imperative. (Once-and-for-all command for the soldier/saint to take what God has made available.)

b What He has made available to the soldier/saint is His Word & that for attacking our enemy, Satan.

2 The sword we have is not made with human hands but was forged by divine decree.

a Breathed by the very breath of God . . . every last word!

b Not hardened in the flames of a blacksmith hearth but in the fierce, furious, fiery Presence of the all consuming Living God of Israel.

aa The hammer of heavenly inspiration shaped the sword that fits firmly in the hand of every believer.

bb It is not a “one size fits all” but rather “all sizes fit one.”

3 Hebrews 4.12-13: The Word of God is a living sword.

a It is penetrating, powerful: It slices and exposes evil in all of its forms.

b The sword in the hands of our High Priest is not unlike a surgeons scalpel.

aa It cuts into our lives and discerns our thoughts & intentions.

bb After He uses the sword on us, He places the same sword in our hand.

4 Growing up I loved the story of King Arthur’s fighting sword, Excalibur.

a Excalibur endowed an ordinary warrior with extraordinary power!

b So it is with the believer and the Word of God!

C The sword is of the Spirit.

1 “Take . . . the sword of the Spirit.”

a Having/owning a Bible is not the same as having the sword of the Spirit.

aa Because the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible (2 Pet. 1.21) only the Holy Spirit can teach you the Bible (John 14.26, NIV)

bb John 16.13 says of the Spirit, “He will guide you into all truth.”

b 1 Cor. 2.14, W/o the Holy Spirit the truths of the Bible cannot be understood.

aa The more the Holy Spirit has of us the more we understand the Word.

bb He directs the use of the Word in our lives.

2 We can use the sword as an instrument of praise (Ps. 149.6).

a Praise becomes a sword!

b Everyone of us needs the sword of the Spirit.

c His Word must be loved, learned, and lived out in order for it to be a sword.

3 2 Samuel 23.10 we are told about Eleazar, one of David’s mighty men, who fought the enemy of God’s people with such fervorentcy that the sword stuck to his hand.

a May the Word of God be that and more to all who would be good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

b I believe everyone of us should be wielding the sword with one hand and slamming doors in the enemy’s face with the other!

D Heb. 2.10 calls Jesus “the captain of our salvation” and one of His stated purposes was to set those free who were captive of Satan.

1 Acts 10.28, Jesus came to heal all those who were oppressed by the devil.

a This is the purpose of His church.

b Matt. 16.18, is the first mention of the church in Scripture: Spiritual warfare is mentioned at the first citing of the Church!

2 “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (the Church)”

a We picture that the poor pitiful church is locked behind the gates of hell, fighting to get out, struggling to be set free. Look again!

b The text indicates that we are attacking the gates of hell. (Gates do not attack, they get attacked.)