Weapons Of Spiritual Warfare

Intro: God didn’t place us in this world to live lives of constant defeat and discouragement. Even though life is a war, God has given us weapons to win the battles of life. It isn’t that the weapons aren’t there, it is that many people live their lives not knowing how to use these weapons for victory. Today, I will give you these weapons of spiritual warfare.

Weapons of Spiritual Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

background: in spiritual battles you cannot use physical weapons. You won’t succeed in the battles of this life by talent, ability, intelligence, finance or social skills, in spiritual battles you must know how to use spiritual weapons. God has not given us the Spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. God has given us weapons to win, and you can live in spiritual victory by using them.

I. The Name of Jesus—Proverbs 18:10—the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and they are safe. The first weapon that we have is the name of the Lord.

a. the devil hates that name—the disciples came back rejoicing that they had power over the devil through the name of Jesus.

b. When Jesus would show up, the demons would say, we know you Jesus of Nazareth, have you come to torment us before the time.

c. Strong tower—the devil cannot penetrate past the name of Jesus. When you feel a spiritual attack in your life, use the name of Jesus. There is something about that name.

II. The Blood of Jesus—overcame by the blood and the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11

a. the blood of Jesus is a covering over your mind, your spirit, or anything in your life, you can place a blood covering over it, and the Devil cannot cross the blood line.

b. When Jesus shed His blood, it conquered sin, death, disease and every other thing. You need to plead the blood of Jesus over your life, your family, your future.

c. There is power in the blood of Jesus—when we take communion, it is symbolic of taking into our lives the very power of the blood of Christ.

III. The Word of God—Ephesians 6:17—the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. You have a powerful weapon in the Word of God, because the devil cannot make the Word which is truth, fail.

a. when you claim the promises of God in your life, they are yes and amen.

b. The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword—when you use the word of God against the devil, you will get immediate results.

c. Faith in God’s Word will move any mountain, will slay any giant, will defeat every enemy. No weapon formed against you will prosper.

IV. Prayer and Fasting—Matthew 17:21—in this story the disciples couldn’t cast out the devil, so Jesus cast out the devil. When asked why they had failed, Jesus said, in some cases, there are strong spirits that you will face, so spiritual prayer and fasting will be needed to win the victory.

a. you need to stay prayed up---if you let your guard down, the enemy will win over you.

b. Sometimes you must die to the flesh to strengthen the spirit.

c. The weaker you are in the flesh, the stronger you will be in the Spirit.

V. Holy Spirit—Luke 24:49 endued with power from on high. Jesus told the disciples to tarry and wait for the promise of the Father. He knew that for the disciples and the early church to walk in victory, they would need the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives.

a. know ye not that ye are temples of the Holy Spirit—many people do not realize that the Holy Spirit is the active force of God in their lives to help them overcome the devil, the flesh and the world.

b. Ye shall receive power—God never placed us here to walk in limited power, but in unlimited power. Dunamis—dynamite

c. He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire—John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the one who would baptize people in the Holy Spirit. John knew that people needed more than a dunk into the water, they needed a filling of the fire. Today, if you want joy and zeal and power in your life, you need the Holy Spirit working in you.

Close: our weapons are the name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, the Word of God, prayer and fasting, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing wrong with the weapons, you just need to know how to use them to be successful in spiritual battle.

Ill) years ago I took a job at a parts store as a delivery driver, the man asked me if I knew how to drive a standard shift, I said, sure I do. I figured it couldn’t be that hard so I took the job. They sent me into downtown Montgomery with their delivery truck, and here’s the rest of the story. After grinding the gears a few times I finally got going pretty good until I went up a hill, the truck started shaking, up a little, back a little, grinding here, grinding there, people blowing horns, teaching me new words, etc. I got stuck on the side of the hill and called the parts house, they had to send a guy to get the truck back, employment two hours.