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.)
aa Here is the Church on the offensive tearing down the gates of the kingdom of darkness setting the captives free!
bb This is a picture of a militant Christ and a militant Bride. (Matt. 11.12)
3 We are in an invisible war with a sinister foe yet we are not unarmed.
a We have the weapons of winners yet many believers live with depression, oppression, fear, habits, family curses, personality changes, addictions, and unexplained illnesses.
b Where’s the victory promised us?
4 2 Cor. 10.3-4, Paul speaks of our warfare and satanic attacks on believers. Strongholds!
a In the original language it means fortress.
b Derived from a word that means “able, hold, possessed with disease, lack, and need.”
c Strongholds are how the enemy gains access and control in our lives.
E A stronghold is a fortress of wrong thinking that can harbor a demonic spirit.
1 From that fortress that our wrong thinking has constructed, the enemy launches attacks.
a It’s the equivalent of putting a gun in the enemy’s hand for him to shoot us.
b Many times habits/addictions are simply demonically infested strongholds.
aa This isn’t demonic possession but demonic infestation.
bb Christians can oppressed, depressed, tempted, harassed, and buffeted . . . but they cannot be possessed.
2 The believer cannot be totally overtaken by Satan but many of us are constantly harassed by wicked forces.
a The point of attack usually occurs whenever & wherever we are controlled by the flesh in our lives.
b This spot is often times an unconfessed sin, an unbroken bad habit (obsession), or a wrong attitude. (Simply stated, we have bought into the devil’s lies.)
c 2 Cor. 10.5
aa The battle rages in the thinking process of a believer; these wrong ideas, bad attitudes, false assumptions, wrong traditions, and lies can become a doorway for demons into our lives.
bb These are what makes for strongholds that provide hiding places for harboring demons in our lives.
F There are 12 root strongholds that we need to be aware of:
1 The Spirit of Infirmity (Affected a believing woman in the NT) Luke 13.11
a Woman was a faithful synagogue attender, daughter of Abraham, yet demons affected her health.
b Some of the manifestations this spirit takes range from disorders of the body, attacks on male/female identity, to allergies and strange syndromes.
2 The Spirit of Fear (2 Tim. 1.7)
a The examples of this spirit can be fright, torment, inferiority, inadequacy, worry, critical spirit, tension, performance, and fear of anything.
b Maybe a root cause of various kinds of phobias.
3 The spirit of python (AKA spirit of divination) Acts 16.16-18
a This spirit manifests as rebellion, witchcraft, occult practices, and black arts.
b Curses follow involvement with these practices.
4 The spirit of sexual immorality (Called harlotry or whoredoms) Hosea 4.12
a Lust, adultery, pornography, rape, incest, pride and love of the world are characteristics of this demon.
b Sexual addiction is also a result of this perverted spirit.
5 An enslaving spirit (which usually accompanies the spirit of fear) Rom 8.15
a Addictions, bulimia, anorexia, wrong relationships, codependency.
b OCD is often worsened by this demon.
6 The spirit of pride (is normally accompanied by rebellion) Prov. 16.18-19
a Pride, scorn, mockery, lewdness, egotism, prejudice, arrogance, gossip and criticism are manifest from this wicked spirit.
b Very common in the Church. (What’s mine is mine and I’ll keep it.)
7 The spirit of perversion (Is. 19.14)
a Homosexuality, sexual perversion are typically incited by this spirit.
8 The spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4.3)
a This demon seeks to take glory away from Christ.
b Denies the supernatural gifts of God and attributes them to Satan.
c It opposes, harasses, persecutes and divides true ministries & ministers.
9 The spirit of depression (or heaviness) Isa. 61.3
a Depression, abnormal grief, despair, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts flow from this malevolent demon.
10 The lying spirit (One of the devils personal favorites) 1 John 4.6
a Unbelief, deception, compromise, intellectualism, cults, flattery and legalism flow from this divisive spirit.
b Makes people believe there is no God, their good enough to go to heaven, bank on religion instead of relationship.
11 The spirit of Jealousy (a relationship destroying spirit) Num. 5.14
a Jealousy, anger, rage, cruelty, suspicion, unnatural competition, insecurity, divorce and division are the results of allowing this spirit to operate.
12 The spirit of stupor (or slumber) Rom. 11.8
a Constant fatigue, passivity, feeling like a wallflower, and self-pity describe this demon.
b When allowed to run/control, this spirit blocks success and brings weariness to life.
G How do we take these strongholds down?
REV. 12.11.
1 The blood cancels Satan’s right to oppress you (Authority)
2 The word of your testimony (Speak it, release it from you mouth!)
3 A surrendered life to Jesus.
H 8 steps to breaking strongholds.
1 Be sure you have confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior.
2 Realize only God can remove strongholds.
3 Identify the stronghold
4 Confess all sins related to strongholds
5 Thank God for forgiveness
6 Visualize the destruction
7 Ask God to free you from the negative demonic force associated with strongholds.
8 Make restitution.
2 Cor. 10.6
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