Valley Grove Assembly of God
May 5, 2012
The Weapons of our Warfare
Scripture: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. II Cor. 10:4
INTRODUCTION: There is not a day that goes by that we don’t hear the word weapons on the news. We hear about assault weapons, weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons. On and on it goes. We live in a very dangerous world surrounded by people who want to injure and kill people for most any reason. Sometimes there is no explanation for it. They do it just because they can do it. There is no way to know where these people might set up their destructiveness at a moment’s notice. We know that Satan infiltrates our world using all kinds of things to destroy people. Scripture tell us that “the thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
We could spend a lot of time trying to figure out why all of these evil things are happening in our world; but we are also told in I Peter 4:12, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to test you as though some strange thing happened to you.” We have been given hope to overcome these things in spite of what Satan tries to do against us. In John 16:33NIV, Jesus told his disciples, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” It is our job as Christians to not dwell on the whys so much but prepare ourselves to deal with how to handle things as they come our way. Jesus gives us the hope to believe that He has overcome the world in spite of what our situation looks like. Satan’s destructiveness comes in many different forms. Not only does he come in the form of terrorists throughout the world, he also attacks us in our minds causing us to doubt God. I hear Christians say, “I know God can do it, but I don’t know if He will do it for me.” Satan, more than ever, is attacking people through sickness and disease. Before Jesus went back to heaven after the resurrection He told his disciples, “I will not leave you comfortless.” I am not going to abandon you and leave you to fend for yourself. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18.) Some people will say, “the Holy Spirit is just a force, but that is not scriptural.” We know that on the day of Pentecost the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, came to guide us and direct us in our daily lives. John 16:13 says, when HE, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE will guide you into all truth.” Too often we let the things slip that we have heard and read in scripture that will help us in our warfare. Hebrews 2:1 tells us “therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”
Romans 10:8 tells us that the “word is near thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart…” God has given us the tools to work with if we will be diligent about learning to use these weapons of our warfare effectively. Ordinary tools won’t do the job.
1. What are these tools? What are these weapons?”
There are some tools that are better known than others. For example FAITH is one we think of most often. We are reminded of a verse in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is the CASH in hand when we go to prayer about something. Sometimes we say, “I don’t have enough faith or my faith is weak.” But our faith can work even if it is a very small amount of faith. I remember when I went to the Holy Land, we were given some mustard seeds. I had always visualized mustard seeds encased in those little plastic necklaces. How many of you had one of those? The actual mustard seeds were not as big as the one in the necklace. The actual seed was as big as a speck of black pepper. I will always remember how amazed I was to think that our faith is compared to something so small but something so effective. I put these seeds in a baggie and still have them today. We need to remember that God has given to each person “the measure of faith” for what we need to believe for. (Romans 12:3). It is not a measure but the measure. Over time our faith can grow. God doesn’t expect us to stay at the same level as we have at our starting point. Our faith grows as we use our other tool—the Word of God. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). If we hear what God has done in the past, hear the promises to us today, and agree that He wants to do it for us, our faith will grow. The measure of faith we have been given is a weapon that will work against the things the devil uses to try to tear us down. The word of God is different from any other book. There are many scriptures that assure us that it will work in our behalf. I like this one in Hebrews 4:12 NIV that says, “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” Take the Words and say them aloud. There is something about taking just one verse and applying it that will cause us to believe it. Take it and say it.
I remember that there was a scripture that came to me last year when I was told that I had colon cancer that I claimed and said over and over when fear came to me. This verse had power to calm my fears. “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17). One verse can change our outlook on the day. A lot of people will say, “Oh, I don’t believe that.” When we don’t believe, we do without. There is a saying, “Believe it and receive or doubt and do without.” It is within our power to make that choice. Will we believe or refuse to believe?
When I was thinking about weapons that will work against the things that Satan hits us with, I wondered just what are these weapons. As I began jotting down things that came to my mind, I came up with 13 different things that we can skillfully learn to use. There are probably more. I have mentioned Faith and the Word of God. I want to give you the others and you can check them out later.
3. agreement – Matthew 18:19
4. the blood of Jesus—Rev. 12:11
5. prayer—Matt. 21:22
6. speak to the problem—Mark 11:23,24
7. curse at the root—Mark 11:21
8. bind and rebuke—Matt. 18:18
9. taking authority over—Luke 9:1
10. the Name of Jesus—John 16:24
11. praise—Psalm 22:3
12. the Holy Spirit—Romans 8:26
13. anoint with oil—James 5:14
2.How do we learn to use them effectively? We learn to use our weapons effectively by USING them. When we have a situation that needs more than ordinary tools, we have to bring God into that situation. Knowing the Word or reading it is not enough. We have to activate it. Taking it and saying it—this activates our faith. The words of scripture have to become our words. For example, “I am the Lord that healeth thee…that means you. “By his stripes [ye] are healed…” that means YOU are healed. Personalize the scripture as it relates to your need.
3. How do we know that they will work in our daily situation? That is where we have to have confidence in Him. I John 5:14 says “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us, and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
A person might say, “I don’t know how to pray. I don’t know what to say. How do I know it is God’s will or not?” When we don’t know what direction to take or how to pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede for us by our praying in the Spirit. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts know the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will”(Romans 8:26 NIV). The Holy Spirit will direct us how to pray in the will of God. If our prayer is off track, he will help us to reframe it so that it is in the will of God.
When the devil comes and tells you that God is not going to answer, that you are not healed or any number of other things, it may be taken as good evidence that you are.
CONCLUSION: Smith Wigglesworth once said, “Faith is just the open door through which the Lord comes.” We can have the God kind of faith to see things happen when we know the Word of God and begin to speak it out in our individual situation. That activates it for us and we know that He hears us and will answer. Incorporating the other weapons into our situation will make us skillful in demolishing Satan’s attacks against us. We know that ordinary tools are not going to effectively do the job. Let us not be overcome with evil but know that with Jesus in our life, we can handle all things. Remember, Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulations, BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.” John 16:33
