WEAPONS OF GOD

[Peace Baptist Church]

The apostle Paul here states that we are engaged in a warfare, and that we have weapons with which we must fight. As Paul states in Ephesians 6:12, our fight is not with flesh and blood, with people, but
with the host of demons that work to defile, destroy, harrass, tempt and
enslave mankind. Part of the good news in Christ is that now, not only
can we resist the devil's influence in our own lives, but we can destroy
his influence in the lives of others. God has given us mighty weapons
to counter satanic influence and activity. But in order to be effective
in our warfare, we must know what these weapons are, and how to use them
effectively.

Paul in this passage doesn't state what the weapons of our warfare are, but he does state what they do. They pull down strongholds. They cast down arguments (also translated imaginations) which come from
Satan. They cast down every proud and high thing that seeks to stop us
and others from knowing God. They bring every thought into captivity to
the obedience of Christ. They also give us power to punish disobedience
when we are obeying God (vs 6). Each of these results in worth
considering in detail.

What are the Weapons of Our Warfare?

To discover the answer to this question, we need to search through the Bible and see how it is that God's men and women of faith overcame the enemy. There is no one word that gives the answer to this question,
but if there was it would be "obedience" - obedience to God. It is not a
mindless, heartless obedience that gains the victory however. God does
not want us to be ignorant. We need to have a growing understanding of
the nature of the conflict we are in. Otherwise we will not be able to
determine the source of the suggestions within us. In warfare, soldiers
must learn to obey the orders of their commanding officers. A major part
of our challenge is firstly to know who is talking, which spirit is
motivating us to behave or act in a certain way, and to respond
intelligently in the light of what God reveals. We must develop
spiritual discernment. One of Satan's major strategies is to keep us
from really perceiving with our hearts who God truly is. That is why
Paul said our weapons cast down every high thing which exalts itself
against the knowledge of God.

First Weapon - PRAISE

So what are the weapons of our warfare? Well, without a doubt, PRAISE is a major weapon against Satan. Satan and demons just HATE hearing people praise God, especially when they do so from a pure heart. Praise
releases the presence of God in a way that Satan cannot resist. If we
would praise God more, we would have far less interference from demonic
powers in our lives.

Praise Silences the Enemy

"Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of your enemies, that you may silence the enemy and the avenger." (Psalm 8:2).

And Jesus said to them, "Yes, have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise.'" (Matthew 21:16)

The strength which God has ordained for us is perfect praise. Perfect praise SILENCES the enemy and the avenger. Many of our problems would be solved if we could only get Satan and his demons to SHUT UP. They
operate by injecting suggestions into our minds which seem plausible,
but are rooted in unbelief and rebellion towards God. The suggestions
come as if they were our own thoughts, when they are not at all! We lose
battles when we believe and trust these demonic suggestions. These
suggestions, thoughts and imaginations work to sow discouragement,
confusion, fear, doubt and unbelief in our minds. PRAISE - be it spoken
or sung to music, however, works to SILENCE the enemy. Perfect praise
led by God's Holy Spirit will completely silence the enemy. Here is one
reason why we should consider how we might praise God better. There are
many biblical ways whereby the people of God are exhorted to praise God.
We can find these in the psalms. Shouting, dancing, singing, rejoicing,
making music are all valid biblical ways to express praise to God.

God dwells manifestly by His Spirit in the PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE. "But You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel". (Psalm 22:3). The Kingdom of God will manifest through the presence of the King, which
comes when we praise Him. The manifest presence of God drives demons
OUT of the places near us where they can seek to gain influence over us.
Let us therefore praise the Lord more than ever before!

On one occasion, Jehoshophat, the King of Israel, came against a vast opposing army of many nations bent on Israel's destruction (2 Chronicles 20). The King put at the front lines of the army people who
PRAISED the LORD with singing saying, "Praise the LORD, for His mercy
endures forever".

It is no accident that David, perhaps the mightiest warrior for God in Old Testament times, was a man of praise. His strength was rooted in the joy he gave God through praising and worshiping God. How much more
in these New Testament times, we, who are commanded to "continually
offer up to God the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips which confess
His Name" (Hebrews 13:15), are called to overcome the devil and his
demons, and all their works, using PRAISE as a mighty God ordained
weapon for the destruction of their plans and works.

Second Weapon - the Word of God

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan (see Luke 4:1-13), He overcame the devil using the one weapon of THE WORD OF GOD. Rather than arguing directly with Satan's suggestions, as many Christians try
to do, Jesus simply quoted the Word of God as it applied to the
suggestion. When Satan tried to suggest a course of action for Jesus to
prove his divinity and simultaneously satisfy his hunger, Jesus
answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word of God.'" (Luke 4:4). This silenced the enemy and ended the
discussion on that point. Jesus used the Word of God once for each of
the three main temptations which every son of man must face. These are:
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Once
we have overcome these fully, we have overcome Satan.
The apostle John wrote, "I have written to you, young men, because you
are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the
wicked one." (1 John 2:14).

We see then that we are called to grow up to the stage of being "young men", in whom the Word of God abides, and "no longer children, tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14).

It is when, through much study and meditation on the Word of God, that word comes to live in us, and consume our thoughts, that we will be strong in the Lord. Jesus promised that if we abide in Him, and His
Word abides in us, we will ask what we desire, and it will be done for
us (John 15:7). This will include victory over Satan.

For more information on the Bible, the Word of God, read here. For examples of how we may confess the Word of God so as to overcome the devil, read here.

Much more can be written on the power of the Word of God to overcome the devil. Make sure you get into the Word of God for yourself.

Third Weapon - the Blood of Jesus

One of Satan's chief tactics is accusation. He is called "the Accuser of the brethren". When we sin we give Satan opportunity to accuse us, both directly and through others.

The reality is, we have all sinned. I'm still looking for a Christian on the earth who never sins. I'd love to learn from someone who no longer falls short of the glory of God. Sin is costing us too much. When
to our sin, Satan adds his accusations, we can become condemned and
discouraged if we are ignorant of the power of the blood of Jesus as it
may be applied to this issue.

Praise God, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses us from all sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).

We must believe that no matter what sin we may commit, the blood of Jesus is there to cleanse us. We can be restored by this blood to a place of acceptance with God and peace with ourselves. It is because
Jesus paid the price for our sins, and took the punishment we deserve,
that we can be forgiven and go on after temporary defeats. Praise God
for the blood!

Much can be written on this subject. Remember to confess what the blood of Jesus does for you. "They overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their
own lives unto death" (Revelation 12:13).

Fourth Weapon - Prayer

Prayer is not preparation for the battle. Prayer is the battle. We are commanded to pray without ceasing, so we should at least aim for it. God has made so many promises regarding prayer and we need to fill our
hearts and minds with these promises. Since much of this has been
covered elsewhere on this site, for now I will just refer you to my
existing teaching on prayer on this site. Of course, volumes could be
written on prayer and have been in various places. Learn to pray with
power. When we prevail in prayer, Satan is defeated, miracles happen and
people turn from the power of Satan to the power of God, their eyes
having been opened.

Prayer is quite simply the key to revival. YOU MUST PRAY. To not pray is to surrender to Satan.

Fifth Weapon - the Power of Your Testimony

One reason I publish testimonies on my site is that they are an effective weapon against Satan. Tell other people what Christ has done for you. This will promote faith. Tell yourself - you need to encourage
yourself in the Lord - "forget not all His benefits". Tell God - praise
and thank Him for it. Paul used his testimony in confronting King
Agrippa and the Roman Governor Festus when called to account for his
activities and the reasons for which he was accused by the Jews (see
Acts 26 - also Acts 22).

They overcame came him [the devil] ... by the word of their testimony.

Everyone who is truly born again has a testimony. Everyone who has received an answer to prayer has a testimony. Please take time to write YOUR testimony on your computer and then send it to me. It could go to
work witnessing for you every day, without you doing another thing. It
might be the most effective use of an hour of your whole life.
also help me to get more traffic to this site, the purpose of which is
to glorify God, encourage people and lead people to faith in Christ.

When writing your testimony, or presenting it, spend about 33% on what you were like and what you did before you came to Christ, 34% on how you came to Christ and were converted, and the rest on the changes
that occurred in your life as a result.

Fifth Weapon - the Power of the Holy Spirit expressed through the Gifts of the Spirit

We are commanded to "be continually filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). Just keeping this one command of the Lord is a major part of our spiritual warfare, and we will need all the other weapons in
order to stay in this place.

A person who is "filled with the Spirit" and has learned to be "led by the Spirit" can also receive and use the "gifts of the Holy Spirit". These are outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. Most of them are expressed
through our mouths. They all operate through divine initiative.

These specialised weapons of the gifts of the Holy Spirit all work along with the other weapons of God to build up God's people, win people for Christ and to destroy the works of the devil. They all operate
through faith. God does not want us to be ignorant of the mighty gifts
of the Holy Spirit. Satan has used theologians in times past to cast
doubt on the availability of these gifts, but praise God, we are
learning to pick them up again and use them. Books have been written on
the subject of these gifts. I will mention what they are just briefly.

Gift of Discernment of Spirits - this gift gives the user, usually through a vision of some sort, the knowledge of what kind of spirit is motivating a person's thoughts, attitudes, words or
actions. It also can reveal the predominant stronghold (read accepted
lie) of Satan in a particular area, so that intecessors and prayer
warriors can deal with it. It is a useful gift also when casting out
demons.

Gift of Word of Knowledge - this gift imparts a small fragment of God's knowledge to a person concerning some detail of a present reality. It can be used to pick people out of a crowd who have a
particular disease, or to just "know" what a person's problem is. It
can also be used in the deliverance ministry. It is very powerful when
used in evangelism.

Gift of Word of Wisdom - gives knowledge of the future and wisdom from God concerning what a person should do.

Gift of Faith - gives a supernaturally strong and bold faith for a particular work God wants to do. This faith is far beyond the normal faith level of that person.

Gift of Miracles - can manifest as instantaneous healings, creative miracles, or in any kind of miraculous activity such as did or did not occur in the Bible, according to the desire of God.
God is the initiator of true miracles. Casting out demons is considered
to be a "miracle" on the basis of Mark 9:38-39, where Jesus calls
casting out demons "a miracle in my name". This is the most common and
necessary form of miracle for our age.

Gifts of Healings - the divine ability to heal diseases through the power of the Holy Spirit, usually with the laying on of hands. This is done in Jesus' name. The gift of healing doesn't depend too much on the
faith of the receiver, but on the accurate leading of the one using the
gift. The normal way for people to receive healing is through faith, but
sometimes God uses people with the gift of healing to get the healing
through to people in spite of their doubts. It is a tool of evangelism
and may or may not manifest immediately. Divine Healing can come in
other biblical ways apart from the gift of healing - e.g. anointing with
oil by elders, intecessory prayer, confessing and declaring the
promises of God, and more.

Gift of Tongues, Interpretation and Prophecy - these utterance gifts all work to get an inspired utterance to the person who needs to hear and understand it. It works for building up faith, encouragement,
exhortation and comfort. Tongues and interpretation are equivalent to
prophecy in function, although sometimes the interpretation comes
through a different person than the one who gives the message in
tongues. This gift of tongues happens only as God initiates, and is for
communication from God to men. It is not to be confused with praying to
God in an unknown tongue - otherwise known as praying with the spirit (1
Corinthians 14:15). Everyone baptised in the Holy Spirit can pray to
God in tongues whenever they so choose.

Whether or not tongues can be used by itself in an aggressive fashion to somehow address demons directly and pull down demonic strongholds is a subject which is unclear. It is theoretically possible, and perhaps
some have been led by God to do it. Normally howver, tongues are for
speaking to God or to men, not to the devil. We would be on safer ground
if we stuck to using the weapons which are clearly endorsed in the
Scripture. They are adequate for our total victory.

Sixth Weapon - The Name of Jesus

This is not a magic formula, only something to be tacked onto the end of a prayer for effect. Of course we SHOULD pronounce the name of Jesus when we minister in God's name. The NAME OF JESUS is the AUTHORITY we
have as we submit to Jesus Christ. We need to do what we are doing for
the cause of Christ. There is no neutrality. All must be done for Jesus,
in Jesus, with Jesus.

Submitting to God (Jesus) we can resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7).

When we fully submit to Jesus Christ and obey the Holy Spirit, God will back us up. We become the physical body of Christ for the situation. Demons will be forced to leave, even violently at names, as
we have faith in the name of Jesus. Jesus is there with us to back us up
and make it happen.

Seventh Weapon - Fasting

Fasting in normal language means going without food (but usually not to go without water). We are always called to say 'No' to sin, but not always to 'food'. Fasting not only detoxifies the body - it also humbles
the soul, humbles the flesh, and when done for God brings us into line
with God's will. Fasting precipitates a showdown with demonic power.
Jesus fasted in the wilderness (in those days he ate nothing), and Satan
came at the end of it to test Him. By speaking the Word in the face of
great pressure Jesus defeated Satan and was qualified to move in the
power of the Holy Spirit as a MAN. In this way He was our perfect
example in all things.

Much has been written about fasting - on this site also, and I thank the reader who commented that really it should be included as one of the weapons of our warfare.

[Peace Baptist Church]

THANK YOU JESUS CHRIST . . . . . . . AMEN !