Spiritual Weapons

Beloved, the thrust of our message today is that our weapons of warfare are not carnal, and fights with our adversaries are never in the physical but in a realm that is invisible to the naked eye. Therefore I implore you to open up your spirit as you read through this message. It should be known that the first qualification for anybody at all who wants to fight spiritual battles successfully is that he must be born again. Now we are talking of being genuinely born again, often times the thing people call new birth is actually not new birth, as contained in the scriptures. The stand of the Bible is very clear on this issue: “If any man be in Christ, he becomes a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). And 2 Corinthians 2:17 says, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”

So, the truly born again are people who have rejected their old forms of life, and have left the world of sin alone only to live in this world as sojourners, visitor, and strangers with the strong conviction that there is a better place already prepared for them by their Creator. These are people who love God more than any other thing. These are the qualifications as far as the Bible is concerned. Anybody who is not born again is not a Christian for all Christians are meant to be born again. Being born-again is not church membership, nor water baptism, nor the signing of baptismal card; neither is it bathing at the Bar beach or the hanging of a very big cross on your neck. New birth is a spiritual thing and those that are born again are the true children of God. They no longer have the urge for things of this world. Vices like drinking, smoking, telling lies, womanizing, anger and the likes are no longer part of their lives. These are the truly born again.

A long time ago I lived close to a place where people were being screened for admission into the police force. There, I saw a friend of mine who could not pass his first and second term examinations trying to enlist in the force. He did not also qualify because he did not meet the required criteria of good height and broad chest. So it is in the spiritual. You must be born again to qualify to use spiritual weapons. I tell you one secret; the reason the enemy is driving many people from pillar to post is because he can find something in their lives which he is using against them. God, too, allows the devil and his evil spirits to be pursuing them. That thing is acting as a magnet, drawing evil into such lives.

2 Corinthians 10:3 - 4 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” The Bible says our weapons are not physical but are spiritual. Some cigarette smokers give dubious reasons like nervousness as being responsible for their indulging in such dangerous act. This is a lie because it amounts to using physical means to solve a spiritual problem. It is not possible at all. For this same reason you cannot use candle and incense to drive away evil spirits. It is not possible! You cannot use a physical material to solve a spiritual problem. It is only a spiritual approach that will solve a spiritual problem.

I was told a story about two boys who went on a journey to a village. They bought certain things and on their way back home, some people met them on the way, beat them up and took away all they had. When they got home they reported to their father who promised to assist them to prevent a future occurrence. So, during their next trip to that village, their daddy gave them a small ring and instructed them to use it on anybody who harassed them. He assured them that the ring carried enough power that if they slap their victim with it, he will fall down and begin to urinate. During the journey, they had the ring on but on the way nobody harassed them. But they themselves now started to look for trouble. They deliberately provoked other people so that they could use the ring on them. They really trusted in the ring. They decided to fight one man but something happened; mistakenly the ring dropped on the floor and they could not pick it. Sensing danger, the man struggled with them and picked the ring, then trouble started.