He tells us in this passage of scripture how we can DEFEND OURSELVES and how we can DEFEAT SATAN.
One of the obvious problems it seems among Christians today is that they are not aware they are at war with Satan.
Illus: A lady was talking with another lady on her job about attending church with her. The lady told her that she attended one of the big churches downtown, and said she likeed attending there for social reasons.
This Christian lady said, “Since when has the church been established for social reasons?”
She is absolutely correct! God never established the church for SOCIAL REASONS! Many Christians are in the midst of the greatest war that has ever taken place and they are not even aware of it.
Paul, in this passage of Scripture that deals with the ARMOR OF GOD, tries to make us aware of that. But Paul is not the only New Testament writer to warn us, so does Peter.
Look at 1 Peter 4:12, he says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”
Peter tries to warn us to expect these rough times in this life, nevertheless many Christians seem shocked that these hard times can come into our life.
WHY DO CHRISTIANS THINK WE LIVE IN PEACE TIME INSTEAD OF WAR TIME? Because of three reasons:
1. WE THINK LIFE ON EARTH IS SUPPOSED TO BE HEAVEN
Every day when we wake up, we need to tell ourselves, “THIS IS NOT HEAVEN!” Heaven is going to be free from the sorrows and heartaches of this life, but as long as we live on this earth, Job said in Job 14:1, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
Many feel they are being cheated of happiness because they keep thinking that THEIR EARTHLY LIFE IS THEIR HEAVENLY LIFE!
2. ALL ACTORS WE MEET DO NOT LIVE IN HOLLYWOOD
We are surrounded by actors and actresses who live among us that live as if they do not have a problem in this world.
WHY DO THEY DO THIS? Because they want us to envy them!
But if you follow these people around you will find out they have as many problems as you have, if not more. The only difference between them and you, is that they are great at acting like they have the perfect life that is free of problems, and you are not as good at acting as they are.
But many live their lives feeling like they are being cheated, and if they only had the life that So and So had they would have it made.
3. EACH DAY WE ARE EXPOSED TO BRAINWASHING ADVERTISEMENTS
Every day, through billboard ads, newspaper ads, magazine ads, radio ads, and television ads, we are being brainwashed to believe if we want the BEST OF LIFE we have to buy all these things that are placed before us, and we cannot live without these things if we want to enjoy life.
Some of these advertisements make us laugh at them because of what they are implying. But listen, the advertising world knows if they can keep these things before the public, they will soon be brainwashed to believe they must have these things if they are going to have the perfect life here on earth.
It is time for God’s people to get their eyes off people and advertisements, and get their eyes on God’s Word. This life on earth is not heaven. The Bible makes it clear this is A SPIRITUAL WAR ZONE THAT WE LIVE IN EACH DAY.
It is important for Christians to remember that every Christian is in a spiritual battle, and that every believer must equip himself with the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD.
• Every day of our life, we are a potential target for Satan and the forces of darkness
• The Christian life is not a PLAYGROUND but a BATTLEGROUND.
God has provided us this armor so that we might live in victory. Thus, we can surmise that when we as believers are defeated in our lives, it is because we have not appropriated some or all of the armor of God.
Though each piece of the armor is equally important in its respective responsibility, the sword is the first offensive weapon mentioned in the armor of the believer.
We do not have to sit there like a billy goat in a hail storm and take it, we can dish it back faster than Satan can dish it to us.
We are indeed thankful that God has given us DEFENSIVE armor so that we can protect ourselves, but also we are thankful indeed for this OFFENSIVE weapon He has given us so we can use it to drive off the attacks the devil. Let’s look at-
I. OUR SPIRITUAL SWORD
IT IS REFERRED TO AS A SPIRITUAL SWORD because the war we fight is not against flesh and blood.
Look at Eph. 6:12, we read, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Illus: Sometimes we hear of a professing Christian who blows up an abortion clinic. They actually do these kinds of things thinking they are fighting for the cause of God. But what they fail to realize is that our battle is not against “flesh and blood”. Our battle is against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We must never forget that a saint of God, standing on the Word of God, can do more to stop the forces of evil than a man with a machine gun. Never underestimate the power of the SPIRITUAL SWORD OF GOD’S WORD. Never!
We have looked at OUR SPIRITUAL SWORD, but also let’s look at …
II. OUR SCRIPTURAL SWORD
Look at Heb. 4:12, we read, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The Sword that God has given to us to drive back the forces of evil is the WORD OF GOD.
Look at three ways the Scripture reveals the Sword of God’s Word is used.
A. IT IS USED BY CHRISTIAN MINISTERS
We have preachers today that are preaching:
• Emotionalism
• Motivation
• Psychology
And they might be drawing large crowds because this is what draws people these days.
But the ministers that the devil fears the most are those who are preaching the WORD OF GOD week after week, because they are chopping the devil to pieces.
Every Bible-preaching minister of the gospel recognizes that we are in a spiritual war, and the weapon God has given him to defeat the enemy is the WORD OF GOD.
Illus: Everett L. Wilson, in Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 3, had these interesting things to say about the Word of God. He said, “Preaching is the most undemocratic of routines in a free society. Week in, week out, people come and:
• Listen for a half-hour at a time to someone like themselves
• They do not interrupt; they do not walk out
• They can't switch channels
• Sometimes the speaker scolds them, and they sit still for it
• They are not students in a university, intimidated by a professor's power over their marks and futures
• They are not employees dependent upon the speaker's power over their income
• Many of them, in fact, are giving sacrificially to keep the speaker's family fed, clothed, housed, and educated
Those of us who have assumed such an undemocratic prerogative had better believe we are engaged in the ministry of the Word of God; otherwise there is no hope for us!”
Illus: Ed Towne said it this way, “O God, let me preach with enthusiasm because of what Christ did, not because of what the crowds think ... because of the salvation we have, not the size of the group we have. Use me, O God, not because its the hour for the message, but because you've given me a message for the hour.” (Ed Towne. Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 1.)
IT IS USED BY CHRISTIAN MINISTERS and …
B. IT IS USED BY CHRISTIANS
Illus: Martin Luther said, “A simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a cardinal without it.” ( Martin Luther, "Martin Luther--The Early Years," Christian History, no. 34.)
WHY DON’T SOME CHRISTIANS USE THE POWERFUL WEAPON OF THE WORD OF GOD? Many of them do not know how to use it.
Illus: If you are going to be a good sword fighter, you have to train yourself in the use of the sword. If a fellow was going to be in a sword fight tomorrow, you know he would spend some time training in how to use a sword today.
We Christians will be in a battle tomorrow, and we had better learn how to use THE SWORD OF GOD’S WORD if we want to defeat the enemy.
The Roman soldiers were usually equipped with four weapons: (1) The bow
(2) The spear
(3) The battle axe
(4) The sword
The word for "sword" is the Greek word machaira, (makh' ahee rah) and it refers to a sword, or dirk.
Illus: Though many ancient armies favored a single edged sword with one sharp edge, the Roman "Machaira" was twenty four inches long, and was sharpened on both edges. We are told that a dirk was a weapon which was often used to finish off an enemy.
That is the Roman soldier would use his other weapon to injure the enemy, but once he was ready to finish him off, he would pull out that sword and drive it through him.
The key to effectively using the Machaira was training and practice.
The Roman soldiers had to do one thing that we Christians do not have to do. They had to often SHARPEN THEIR SWORDS. Why? Because as they fought with their swords they would often become dull and need sharpening. But the precious Word of God is our two-edged sword and it never needs sharpening. It is as sharp today as it was two thousand years ago.
IT IS USED BY CHRISTIAN MINISTERS, IT IS USED BY CHRISTIANS, and …
C. IT WAS USED BY CHRIST
Notice, it is not only the offensive weapon for ministers of the gospel and for Christians, it is the same weapon that Christ used to defeat Satan with.
Look how the Lord used the Sword of God’s Word on Satan in the wilderness. He struck three times at Satan in the wilderness.
• Look at Matthew 4:2-4, we read, “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
• Look at Matthew 4:5-7, we read, “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
• Look at Matthew 4:8-10, we read, “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
As we fight this battle each day, we need to use the Word of God against Satan.
• This is why you should attend a Sunday school class that teaches the Word of God
• This is why you should attend a church that preaches the Word of God.
• This is why you should make time each day to study the Word of God
You need to learn as much about this Bible as you can learn, because the more you know about it the more deadly the blows you can strike at Satan.
Conclusion:
The Bible says we are to “Take…the Sword of the Spirit” which is the Word of God and attack Satan. I am no match for Satan, nor are you. But Satan is no match for the WORD OF GOD.
The word "take" means to receive or accept. It is an active word which implies a choice of the will. Thus each believer should accept the Bible as the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God, and become a Swordsman by taking the Sword of the Spirit and becoming skilled in the Scriptures.
Illus: In 2 Samuel 23:9-10, one of the most amazing illustrations of using the sword is found among the mighty men of David. Eleazar, one of the mighty men of David, defied the enemies of Israel, and the Scripture reveals "his hand clave unto the sword" and the result was "the LORD wrought a great victory."
We too must take the Word of God into our hands if we are to be effective in the battle that is ahead. We must learn how to handle it, and become skillful in our knowledge and use of the Scriptures.
Many Christians today do not place the value they should place on the studying of God’s Word. That is, a preacher could get up and preach out of a Sear’s and Roebuck catalog and that would not disturb them in the slightest. THEY WOULD NEVER OPEN THEIR MOUTHS!
But there was a time in some of the churches that if a preacher got up and preached some of the things that are being preached today they would have run him out of town.
We need to store God’s Word in our minds and our hearts for those times when we are in the heat of the battle.
When we hide God’s Word in our hearts, the Holy Spirit uses the truth of the Bible as a resource to keep us from sin.
Look at Ps. 119:11, we read, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door, And heard the anvil ring loud and clear;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor Old hammers, worn with beating with years of time. I then asked, "How many anvils have you had, to wear and batter all those hammers so?”
The blacksmith said, "To wear and batter all these hammers so?" With a twinkling in his eye, he said, "The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."
And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word, For ages skeptic blows have beat upon; Yes, though the noise of falling blows was heard, The anvil is unharmed the hammers have gone.
I. OUR SPIRITUAL SWORD
II. OUR SCRIPTURAL SWORD
