The Art of War
Pt. 2 - Weapon Wisdom
I. Introduction
It was the autumn of 1944 and Germany had been beaten back behind its borders. The Nazi war machine was in tatters and repeated bombing raids by the Allies all but assured that Hitler’s forces would never rise again. Around the perimeter of Germany’s borders, the Allies spread a thin line of forces that one person observed was so scattered that a man could slip between its lines without being observed. All across Europe, there was celebration. Parties, dances, speeches all rejoicing in Germany’s defeat. The war was effectively over. The only problem was that somebody forgot to tell Germany. Even as his forces were being shattered and driven back, Hitler was devising a plan for one last onslaught. Underground factories churned out more weapons, armament and ammunition, more of Germany’s young and old men were conscripted and trained for war. As Europe rejoiced, Hitler planned. His goal was not to drive back the Allies, as much as it was to divide the British to the North and Americans to the South and so demoralize them that they would seek for peace on his terms. On Dec. 16, 1944 Hitler’s army began an offensive known as "The Battle of the Bulge." It was fought along an 85 mile front; when the fighting ended Jan. 25, 1945 out of the 610,000 American troops involved in the battle, 89,000 were casualties. Some sources report that up to 19,000 were killed, It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II. All because somebody forgot that the enemy still lived and that the war was NOT over.
We spend fortunes on protection. Car alarms. House alarms. Computer alarms. Perimeter fences. Prickly shrubs under the windows. Deadbolts. Door chains. Sirens. Motion detectors. Cameras to see who has been on our porch and for all this effort and expense given to protect and fortify our homes we seem to have forgotten that there is a war that is taking place in the unseen, unfilmable realm and we seem to give little to no effort to secure our hearts. Elaborate systems in place to lock up our car and our valuables but no thought given to locking down our spirit. We forget that the war is not over therefore we either lay our weapons down or we fail to use them properly. Remember what Paul says . . .
Ephesians 6:10-18 (Message)
And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.) Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Know your weapon!
Paul will take time to talk about armor - which we will talk about in detail over the next few weeks. However, I want you to realize that armor is not the same thing as weapons. Armor protects you and is absolutely essential because, as you know, if you are in this war long enough you will take a hit. You need protection. It is those who know about the armor that can say with assurance and confidence that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. But you can't live on the defensive all your little life. I am thankful for the defensive armor that God has given us, but just because the "the best offense is a good defense" is true in football that doesn't make it true in God's kingdom. He has commanded us to take territory, destroy strongholds, and extend His boundaries and you can't do that if you constantly and only play defense. So, we must recognize and know our weapon.
Notice if you will in the text the only offensive weapon that we are given is His Word. I almost hate saying it that way because without meaning to do so or intending to do so it almost diminishes or degrades the potency of that weapon. In fact, I submit to you that we have downplayed the Word so much that we miss this truth. (SLIDE 16) We are only given one weapon because it was the only weapon we would need! We fail to grasp the power of this weapon of mass destruction that we have been handed simply because we have failed to learn how to handle what we have been given!
I take you back to Luke 4 when the enemy goes on the offensive against Jesus. He sees what he thinks is a weak moment. Jesus has been fasting and is tired, hungry and perhaps weak in the physical. So, the enemy does what the enemy does he attacks perceived weakness. Jesus apparently didn't think that the best offense is a good defense because He whips out the Word and goes on the offensive. Notice this though. Jesus had all kinds of options. He could have called fire from heaven. He could have picked up a stone and turned it to bread without the devil's help. He could have summoned an entire army of angels to tend to His every whim and need. However, when the enemy attacks, Jesus uses one weapon. He unsheathes one weapon. He swings one weapon. He completely annihilates the enemy with one weapon. He sends the devil limping away with his tail between his legs with one weapon. It amazes me that we, as Christians, keep trying to find other weapons to turn to. We want tongues so that we can pray without the devil knowing what we are saying. We want secret sauce and hidden recipes and will spend thousands of dollars chasing those who claim to have them. And all the time if we would just utilize the weapon we have we would destroy the enemy. Quit worrying about praying in some language the devil can't understand and start praying the Word! Start with that weapon and then finish him off with tongues. Talk to the enemy with a language that he understands and better yet He can't handle that language! Quit chasing secret sauces if you won't open the can of . . . that you already have access to! It never fails when either me or other preachers talk about the need to know, memorize, read, and handle the Word I see eyes glaze over and yawns.
I want to drop some weapon wisdom on you today that I think will help you in this fight!
1. The only Word that is a weapon for us is the Word that is in us.
That means it requires us to know the Word. We have become lazy. We want the pastor or Sunday School teacher to know the Word but we have let ourselves become lazy and we don't interact with or sharpen our sword and then when the enemy attacks we are either unarmed or we bring a dagger to a sword fight. Have you ever noticed the enemy doesn't give you time to search for verses when he attacks!
Jesus was so familiar with the Word - children in Israel memorize the Torah while our kids become proficient in Halo or Guitar Hero - that when attacked He was armed and ready.
How often do you practice with your Sword between Sundays? You aren't just reading a book you are literally handling a weapon! We need to handle the Word as if it is loaded because it is!
We must handle the Word enough that the Word gets in us so that when we are attacked the Word can come out of us!
Two groups are impacted by the Word that comes out of us. Our enemy. The enemy can't refute, deflect, stand up to, or challenge the Word. The devil and his demons tremble at the Word!
The second group impacted by the Word is angels! Angels respond to the Word. When they hear the Word they go into action. The Luke account about Jesus' standoff with the devil is also described in Matthew 4 but Matthew gives us one more little insight. After Jesus quotes the Word to the enemy and he flees Matthew says angels come and attend to Jesus. Maybe the reason you don't have any angels attending to your needs is because they don't hear any Word coming out of you during an attack! They hear anger. They hear cursing. They hear complaining. They hear whining. They hear crying. But do they hear any Word? Angels move at the speed of Word. So we must know our weapon! We must get it in us! I can always get amens when I say know the Word, however, what practical steps are you wiling to take to get to know the Word better? Bibleminded, Remember me, Scripture Typer)
2. You don't need a bigger weapon you need a bigger target!
We waste our weapon on the wrong enemy! I remind you again we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Who are you fighting? Too many of us are using spiritual weaponry against earthly targets. I bring that up in regards to our weapon because often times we quote Scripture in situations and the weapon seems ineffective and we see no results. I submit to you that you don't need a bigger weapon you need a bigger target. A BB gun seems to have no impact on elephant but will kill a squirrel. Same weapon different target. Nothing changed but the target. Too many of us are using the right weapon but we are aimed at the wrong target. We are going after gnats with a bazooka.
We are trying to use what was intended to destroy demons to try to destroy people. We have been armed with weapons of mass destruction and yet we get distracted by petty offenses and crazy looks. We are armed for elephant and yet we keep trying to drop bombs on mosquitoes.
That is why Jesus dealt with target! You remember His disciples were unsuccessful in dealing with a little boy who was possessed by demons. When they brought him to Jesus and Jesus deals with target first ... these kind come out only by ... these kinds - target identification. You have to know your target or you get no results. Some of you fail to identify the target and you end up missing or worse yet you fail to take out the target because you didn't use enough fire power for that target.
Recently the United States dropped the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb - Mother of All Bombs - in Afghanistan - when criticized about the use of the largest nonnuclear weapon in our arsenal this was the response by Gen. John Nicholson, commander for US forces in Afghanistan, "This was the right weapon against the right target, it was the right time to use it tactically against the right target on the battlefield."
Jesus says that He has given us "all authority!" That means that we are armed to take major territory. Because we underestimate the power of the Word we fail to fight big enough battles! Aquire the right target. You weren't armed to fight battles over who sits where, who looked at who funny, whether the paint should be white or grey, whether the music is too loud or if there is too much smoke. We are called to shake loose addictions, break the chains of cancer, bring hope to the hopeless and love to the loveless. Get a bigger target. We aren't armed just to have good services. We are armed to impact this community. We are armed to drive out hunger. We are armed to rescue the trafficked. We are armed to bring heaven to earth! Are your angels bored? Until we understand the size of weapon we have in our mouth/heart we will aim too small! That means as a church family we will fail to have the wide spread impact we are called to make because we will shrink back and settle for only taking care of those in the aquarium, existing buildings, pet programs. When God is desiring to unleash the Word we get in us and expand into untapped areas, bring light into the darkest places, try things un imagined by others! All from an understanding that we are armed for huge battles not just enough to get you out of bed and simply survive.
Is your target big enough? If you target is I hope to survive work all week so I can hopefully have a fun weekend and maybe make it to church then you are probably not going to see any results. You have the wrong target!
