Weapons of our Warfare
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By Dr.Johnson
The apostle Paul writes,
“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 & we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 10 : 4,5 ).
In the spiritual warfare that every christian believer is involved, several invaluable weapons can be effectively used by him or her to destroy the enemy, however great or powerful the enemy be.
Worship, ( praise & thanksgiving with psalms, hymns & spiritual songs and with other tongues), the Blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the Word of God ( Sword of the Spirit), prayers & fasting are the main weapons that every believer can use against the enemy. Faith is one important factor that is significant in the usage of the weapons for without faith one cannot please God according to Hebrews 11:6.
“ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”.
Holiness, Obedience to God, Seperation and Consecration to God, all matter in the effectivity of the weapons. In fact, holiness itself is a weapon that can destroy the enemy. With it, Jesus won a great victory on the cross over the powers of darkness. The enemy cannot stand holines for that is the true nature of God. Being holy brings power ( the light of God) in to our life that can counter the darkness that the enemy brings.
(A) Worship
The authenticity of Worship can be discerned if we really knew whatwas happening in the spiritual realm while we worship. At a certain point in our life, amidst great persecution from the enemy, as we worshipped the Lord with songs of praise and thanksgiving, my wife saw very few angels appearing on the scene after the worship and often the presence of the enemy rather than Jesus. This confused and perplexed us. We asked Jesus why this was so and the Holy Spirit pointed out that the quality of the worship determines the outcome and results. In Family worship, often children are distracted by the enemy and they do not take part in the worship which dullens the quality of the worship. The tactics of the enemy are very subtle and their aim is to make the worship powerless. They may irritate infants/babies making then cry excessively and spoil the effect iveness of the worship. Spirits of laziness, irritation, anger, lethargy and others may try to dullen the worship. Not only family worship. Church worship loses its effectiveness because of the nonparticipation of certain members. Nonparticipation does not necessarily mean they do not sing/pray. They may do all that but their mind is some where else. Like a few days back in our church worship, things did not seem to be flowing smoothly though we were praising with songs. On enquiring of the Lord He showed my wife through a vision that all but one of the church members were sitting around a table enjoying a banquet in the presence of Jesus. One sat aloof ( not with us) eating his own food. Unless the mind of each member is on Christ during worship, the effectiveness and eventually the outcome suffers.
When the Holy Spirit taught us these things, we put a renewed effort in our family worship and the results were really breathtaking. As soon as we worshipped the Lord with all our body, mind, spirit, soul and strength and concentrated on Jesus in worship, the presence of the angels of God just increased by leaps and bounds. The whole house was filled with angels and the presence of Jesus was instantaneous. An enemy approached but could not get through anywhere near us for such was the enormous presence of the angels of God.
True worship really makes the enemy go crazy. “A pest of a spirit” once troubled us for many days. It had a sidekick or an assistant who had a head like a coconut. We called it “ coconut head”. It used to spy on on us for its master. Coming in and going out as it desired. This was before the Holy Spirit instructed and corrected our worship. When our worship gained a new dimension, this spirit tried to come in as usual but seemed to go crazy hearing us sing and praise the Lord with a whole heart. It started shaking its head, holding its head in its hands not able to stand the worship. This made it’s master angry who chided it, but eventually both boss and sidekick learnt that they won’t be able to stand the continual torment of worship and vanished, never to return again.
Yes ! Worship through prose, praise and songs ushers in the presence of the Lord Almigthy and His hosts and makes the enemy recede into its shell. If we sift out the unwanted elements/faults in worship we have victory in our hands every day. Praise the Lord.
Worship in tongues is also a great weapon for the christian soldier. Earlier in our adventures of the spiritual world, while worshipping in tongues, when my wife saw the enemy, she would inform me of it and I would speak the Word of God with faith and the angels would bind the enemy and cast them away in to the pit. But now (after the Lord granted her more faith) as she sees the enemy she just continues worshipping in tongues and the angels do the same work as when the Word is spoken. I guess that’s good news for you worshippers in tongues, for many a spiritual battle may be being won by you with such worship; so do not be discourged by people who chide you for doing so. Some who do not worship thus do not even realize all the battles they are losing. You go ahead and win all your battles dear friend and let the Lord take care of the chiders.
(B) The Blood of Jesus
The Bible says in Ravelation 12:11,
“They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony”
The Blood of Jesus is another powerful weapon in the armamentarium of the believer. For with it Jesus destroyed the whole satanic host on the cross.
As the apostle Paul writes to the Colossians,
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ( Colossians 2:15).
The Blood of Jesus is the agent of cleansing, sanctification, protection, healing and deliverance all combined. The cleansing of the believer is an ongoing process everyday of our lives. As we read in 1 John 1:9.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.
Cleansing continues lifelong till we step into eternity with the Lord. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life soils the believer’s spirit and soul. But the Lord is faithful and as we confess our sins to the Father daily, He cleanses us with the blood of His Son.
After an evil spiritual attack on the believer, when deliverence is effected, cleansing and sanctification are achieved by the blood of the Lamb. This was new to us in the beginning. My wife used to watch satanic forces being bound by the angels of God and cast into the pit. The next step invariably was the santification by the blood of Jesus which the angels used on the person or place involved. She saw the angels dousing the person or place involved by copious amounts of a liquid. Initially we did not understand what this liquid was but the Holy spirit one day revealed that it was the Blood of Jesus.
We often wondered why this was needed. The Holy spirit explained that the evil spiritual forces though bound and cast in to the pit leave their aura/darkness behind which has to be washed away and only the Blood of Jesus can do it. Like for instance, once in a spiritual attack, an evil snake bound itself on my abdomen. This resulted in abdominal cramps and tenesmus. The evil spirit was bound and thrown away into the pit by the angels when rebuked and attacked with the Word of God. Due to some urgent errand my wife stopped worshipping and forgot the spiritual sanctification part. This resulted in the lingering effect of the evil attack with intermittent cramps. When the sickness persisted we asked the Holy Spirit why this was so and the Holy spirit pointed out that the sanctification was not done. The snake had left its mark on my abdomen at the place where it had coiled around. A sanctification then with the Blood of Jesus on worshipping solved my problem.
Sometimes when ministers conduct deliverence sessions, there may be no full effect seen even when the evil forces that had oppressed the person have left. This may be because total spiritual sanctification with the Blood of Jesus has not been achieved, Symptoms may regress gradually as the sanctification becomes complete. Gradual regression is not the rule though. Immediate regression follows proper warfare and santification as seen in many cases of demonic oppression.
Sometimes Jesus shows us the spiritual body of persons in demonic bondage. They may be believers too. There may be many evil spirit s lodged in different sites of the body and some of these may have been there for years. How the evil spirits shrink themselves to occupy certain parts of the body has not been yet explained to us but often a single spirit may take several forms. When we worship for such a person and pray for God to deliver that person, the angels do their work of binding the evil spirit and casting them into the pit. A void is seen in the space earlier occupied by the evil spirit . The Holy spirit then asks us to pray to Jesus tocleanse that area with His blood and then fill that are with the Holy spirit. When this is done, that part becomes whole once again.
The blood net is ideal for protection from attack by evil forces. But the effect of the blood net depends on how much a person is living a holy life and a life of seperation. There are many who keep chanting “The Blood of Jesus”, “The Blood of jesus” without living a holy life. This has little or no effect when it proceeds from their mouths because the evil spirit s know our spiritual state by looking at us. Our spirit is the lamp of God which shines either brightly or dimly according to our closeness to the Lord and the enemy can detect it as it approaches us.
A believer walking with God has divine protection with the Blood of Jesus on asking the Father for it. Typically one may ask for coverage with the blood for one’s own self, family, house, workplace, property, vehicle, and church and whatever right fully belongs to us. As each day is new, everyday one has to renew the protection pact with the Father for the Blood of Jesus to cover onself. As we ask the Father, the blood net is lowered on one’s lives from heaven. This makes it difficult for the enemy to sneak through and attack us as we go about our daily chores. Sin coming into our lives leaves the blood net broken and the enemy gains easy access to attack us.
The blood barrier also becomes less effective when the believer is not living a proper life of separation from unbelievers wherein traditional spirits take advantage of the situation and continually pester the believer.
The Blood of Jesus has great power in defeating the enemy when a person living a holy life utters it with faith against the enemy.
How true the song writer when he writes,
“There is power, power, wonder working power, in the blood of the Lamb.......”
Yes, wondrous things can be achieved by faith in the Blood of the Lamb.
Once our 1 yr. old child stood close to the wall and by accident a little dot of paint fell in to her right eye landing on the cornea. I don’t have to tell you I guess, how difficult it is to take something out of a 1yr.old childs eye. Still I tried my best by splashing some water drops and then with a wisp of cotton to remove the paint while she slept. But the paint wouldn’t budge. It was as if glued to the corneal surface. It was our time of evening worship and we prayed to God that the paint may not leave any mark on the cornea leading to a scare and asked Him fervently to help us one more time. The Holy Spirit showed a vision of blood raining from heaven upon her eye and after our worship as she slept, I again tried to remove the dot of paint a wisp of cotton. Miracle once again. The paint just dislodged and I removed it easily. God did not let any harm come to her eye. Praise God for this miracle; especially for the precious Blood of Jesus.
(C) The name of Jesus
“What’s in a name that smells like a rose’? someone asked. The answer is “Jesus”- The Rose of Sharon. As
Paul the apostle writes, we who have become ambassadors for Christ are the fragrance of Christ “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those whos are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:15).
In this sin stricken world, this is the only name that brings salvation, peace, healing and deliverence to all who seek.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” ( Acts 4:12).
The Jews- “the people o f God” praised their God, Jehovah by calling Him differently on different occassions.
Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide ( Genenis 22:14)
Jehovah Nissi ,, is my banner ( Exodus 17:15)
Jehovah Shalom ,, is peace ( Judges 6:24)
Jehovah Ropheka ,, our healer ( Exodus 15 :26)
Jehovah Tsidkeenu - the Lord our righteousress ( Jeremiah 23:6)
Jehovah Mekaddishkem - ,, who makes holy ( Leviticus 20:8)
Jehovah Rohi - ,, my shepherd ( Psalm 23 :1)
Jehovah Shammah - ,, Lord is there ( Ezekiel 48:35)
Jehovah Elohim, Adonai Jehovah, Jehovah Saboath,
Jehovah Hoseenu, Jeshovah Eloheenu, Jehovah Eloheka.
Jehovah Elohay are the others.
This was to show their love for God.
How can a name be a weapon?
Once when involved with the enemy in a spiritual conflict, both of us were very weary. It was late at night; around 1 or 2 a.m and being at it for quite sometime and sleepy, the Holy Spirit adviced us to keep taking the name of Jesus. As we kept saying “ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.................., the powers of darkness were kept at bay and as if glued to the ground not able to move.
As we read in Proverbs 18: 10,
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe”
There is real power in the name of Jesus. The Bible says,
“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ( Phillipians 2: 9- 11).
In Acts chapter 3 we read about the 4 0 yr. old crppled beggar being healed by the name of Jesus. verse 6 says,. “Then Peter said, “ Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk?” Later on Peter again asserts, It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him ( v 16)
In Luke 10: 17, we read about the disciples telling Jesus excitedly “ Lord even the demons submit to us in your name”
Not only to the disciples, but also to evey believer whom Jesus has given the authority, “And these signs will accompany those who believe.
In my name they will drive out demons...................” ( Mark 16: 17)
O what a Wonderful name !
O what a Powerful name !
Praise the Lord for “Jesus” the name!
(D) The Word of god
“The sword of the Spirit” as t he Word of God is called, is another great weapon which can be used by the beliver to destroy the enemy provided he/she has faith in the power of the Word and provided he/she fulfills John 15 : 7.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you ask whatever you wish it will be given you.”
The first time the Holyspirit lead us into warfare of this kind, He showed an image of a tap with water running forcefully from it. . This was an indication from the Holy Spirit to bombard the enemy witht the Word of God. All scripture beneficial when used with faith and it thwarts the enemy attacks. But the enemy has an idea of sorts whether the person using it has faith/not.
Once when we cofronted an evil spirit, it stood it s ground just to check whether I really meant the Word that I was speaking, but disapperaed when it knew that it was spoken with faith.
Some evil spirits get irritated when the word hits them. As the writer of Hebrews says, “For 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; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4: 12)
In Jeremiah 23:29 we read,
“Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, “ and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces”
So we have a weapon which is a sword, a fire and a hammer. What more can we ask for?
During evil spiritual attacks powerpacked verses from the Word destroys the enemy forces. A few such verses are Luke 10:19, Mathew 18:18, I John 2:9, Psalm 2,3,91, 121, 124, Job 20: 5.6. Deuteronomy 28:7.
True events from the Word recounted to the enemy about how God saved His people the Isrelites from their enemies and praising God that He will do the same for us, has an equal effect. A few such incidents are: Abraham rescuing Lot, God delivering the Israelites from Pharoah and the Egyptians, the rod of God swall-owing the rods of the magicians Joshua gaining victory at Jericho, David’s victory over Goliath the bear & the loin, the victories god wrought for Aza and Jehoshphat and so on and so forth. The list is inexhaustive.
Praising God with Psalms spontaneous is equally effective. Psalms 8, 23, 24, 29, 45, 67, 76, 87, 91, 93, 95, 100, 103, 114, 117, 120-130, 145-150, have helped me a lot in warfare when I have used it with faith and spontaneously. Learning the Word by heart can thus aid one tremendously in warfare.
One morning, the Holy Spirit showed a lion like evil spirit raging against our elder daughter and even planning to pin her down & cause harm but as my wife worshipped in tongues, the angels caught hold of it & speared it. It retreated with a dirty and retaliating look on its face. The Holy spirit warned us that it would be back that day for revenge, so were on the alert We kept praising God as a family that morning and later as we were travelling to drop our danghter at school, she (my wife) saw the evil wounded lion like spirit returning with a vengence.
Soon the Holy Spirit reminded me of Davids encounter with the lion and how he gave testimony to Saul about that. The effect was instantaneous as she worshipped in tongues and I hit the enemy with the Word praising God that as He helped David, He would help us too. This time the evil one was thoroughly & completely defeated and cast into the pit by the angels. Praise God for His word and His faithfulness to keep His Word to win every battle against the enemy for us.
“He sent forth His word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave” (Psalm 107:20)
(E) Prayer and Fasting
Putting this last among the weapons list, does not make it the least; in fact this should be top priority for every believer to live a fruitful and blessed life. Most victories against the enemy are won on one’s knees. Not all may have gifts described in this book, but one doesn’t need a gift to involve oneself in prayer.
You may still not have entered the phase of speaking in tongres. God willing you will. But don’t waste time, grumbling about it. Pray with the intelligence that God has granted you. If you can’t get victory with prayer alone, fast and pray.
If prayers can be compared to arrows used to fight the enemy, praying and fasting are arrows with poison at their tips that demolish the enemy. When viewed in the spiritual realm, the importance of fasting gained great significance in our lives. Because she can see the enemy, Jesus initially told us that we may encunter more attacks than other believers because the enemy wants to remain hidden and doesn’t like its presence to be noticed or known.
Usually without fasting, the enemy may gain access now & then & we rekuke and the angels cast them away. A question many arise how the enemy gains access with the blood net, the wall of fire and so on.
We once enquired of this from Jesus and the Holy spirit said, “They (spirits) are there everywhere. The harm that they can cause is limited because of divine protection.
As I said they make their appearance now and then at random but fasting is a weapon that can and will ever limit their coming near us. This I observed once in a 7 day fast ( having 1 meal/ day). The enemy did not approach us for a full 2 weeks. Fasting has to be regular for every believer. According to the grace that he/she has received and his/her bodily status, fasting once or twice a week missing one; two or all meals are all pleasing to Jesus. Taking longer fasts 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days or more require the consent of the Holy spirit for provision of protection from the enemy against attacks to the body.
Recently Jesus impressed upon us the greater effectiveness of a fast when ever liquids are forsaken. The prayers prayed then ( when the body is afflicted greatly) swiftly finds favour with God. Remember Esther, Mordecai and the Jews fasting for 3 days without food and water and the great deliverance that they got.
A vegetarian fast for non vegetarians also has importance in the sight of God as once told by the Holy Spirit to us. Not eating meat, fish, eggs for a week or so also is a type of fast.
However long/short a fast be it has to be according to the guidelines prescribed in Isaiah 58 for that is a fast truly pleasing to God. Points to note from there are:
1. On day of fasting, do what pleases God.
2. Do not exploit your workers
3. Let there be no quarreling and strife; no fights
4. Loose chairs of injustice
5. Untie cords of yoke
6. Set the oppressed free
7. Share food with the hungry
8. Provide the anderer shelter
9. Clothe the naked
10. Not to turn away from your own flesh & blood.
Then, the Bible says, in Isaiah 58:8,9
“Your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear, then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard,. Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and He will say. Here am I.”
We cannot but end this chapter without a word regarding the anointing
Ethan the Ezrahite speaks in Psalm 89 about the anointing that God gave David and its effects upon his life “ I have found David my servant, with my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him, surely my arm will strengthen him. No enemy will subject him to tribute, no wicked man will oppress him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries”.
Beause of the great anointing of Holy spirit upon David’s life none of his foes could stand against him. Goliath, Saul, Absalom, the Philistines all were defeated one by one.
The Psalmist writes in Psalm 92:10
“You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me” Nothing or no one I guess can stop a wild ox pounding through the jungle. It just crushes everything in its path.
In John 3:34, we read that Jesus had the Holy Spirit in Him without measure. Thus the forces of darkness could never stand against Him with any sort of arguments.
Our authority over the enemy grows as the anointing increases, because the effectivity of the weapons depend on the measure of anointing a person has.
Long back, while I was in Medical college, I visited the Bandipur tiger sanctuary. We were in the forest early one morning. The sun was begining to shine through the trees. The birds were chattering away. All of a sudden a magnificient sight enraptured us. A wild ox galloping through the forest; its horns and hooves destroying everything in its path; it’s hide shimmering in the early sunlight. What a sight it was. Imagine yourself as a wild ox charging through in the enemy ranks destroying all in the path.
“ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you “ ( Luke 10:19)
So wake up Solider of christ and fight. Put on the armour; pick up the weapons and get going.
“The battle is the Lord’s and the victory is ours; Hosanna, Hosanna”.
