The Weapons of Our Warfare

2Corinthians 10: 3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

It seems to have always been in vogue to compare Christianity and the cause of Christ with war. I cringe whenever I hear the near glorification of the wars of men wrapped up in the cause of Christ. The truth is there is not one pro-war verse in the entire New Testament. The world superpowers have always based their might upon their ability to inflict death and suffering. Arms races litter the pages of history as one nation bullies another; time and again. The world measures warfare in terms of might and power but God is different:

So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4: 6

And God expects us to be different as well. Our might and power reside in Christ alone. Our key verses spell out very clearly for us that our weapons are not the weapons of this world. We do not wage war as this world wages war. Does this mean God leaves us defenseless? Hardly. It means that we need to redefine war in our finite minds. We have to redefine the battle in our minds:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

The battle is in the heavenlies beloved. Remember that as believers, this world is but a vapor. This lifetime is but a season. Today's conquering tyrant is tomorrow's footnote in history. All will bow before a God that sees all and holds all time within the palms of His hands. THAT is the God we serve. Our transformation begins with renewing our mind. The ways we are used to thinking must cease. We must seek out the mind of Christ. His ways are not of this world. Neither are the weapons He has given us.

The wars rage in the heavenly realms. Eternal destinations of untold millions of people hang in the balance. How we live our life and the victory we walk in hangs in the balance. God has armed us; but with His weapons. With weapons that rely upon Him and Him alone as our source, our portion, our everything. They have divine power as the key verses illustrates. The weapons God gives us tears down the strongholds the enemy sets up in our lives and minds.

Prayer is our direct lifeline to God. It is our basis for communication with God. It is the primary way we develop a relationship with God. God desires relationship, not just religion. Through the development of this relationship a deeper trust is found in God. A deeper peace is discovered. How important is prayer?

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16   There is power in our prayers. They are effective. We know that God hears and answers all prayers. We know from our key verses that prayer is so powerful that it can tear down the strongholds of the enemy.   Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7

 

Prayer is the key to peace in our lives. God delivers peace through faith. The world delivers anxiety through doubt. These verses from Philippians remind us that to avoid being anxious about anything, we need to present to God everything. The result is that the peace of God, which is beyond our mortal understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!

Because it is in our hearts and minds that the enemy works. He works tirelessly to get us to simply doubt. Doubt the power of God, the goodness or God, the faithfulness of God and the promises of God. It usually will start off slow as the enemy is seeking a foothold in our hearts or minds. Soon however, that foothold becomes a stronghold. An area in our thinking or feeling that is not obedient to Christ. The devil sets up shop there and continues to whisper the lies of this world into what we feel and think. Soon, if we are not vigilant, what we feel or think becomes bigger than what we believe. What we doubt becomes bigger than what we know. It all starts with that foothold the Bible warns us against:

And do not give the devil a foothold Ephesians 4:27

But prayer moves the heart of God. And God answers:

In my distress I called out to the Lord; I called out to my God. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears. 2Samuel 22: 7

Whatever spiritual battle you find yourself in today, God is still in His temple and is still hearing your cries. Call out to Him in prayer develop a more intimate relationship with Him today. It is our lifeline to God. Prayer comforts us, guides us, grounds us, and connects us to God almighty!

The second half of our key verses reveal a fact that we may tend to overlook. This world is constantly bombarding us with arguments and pretensions that are contrary to the knowledge of God. Not only contrary but the Word says that they are set specifically against God. We see Christians every day falling for the logic and solutions the world has to offer. The Word somehow becomes secondary. Faith starts to erode. The stronghold is being built.

But note the power our weapons possess! We demolish strongholds and demolish worldly arguments and pretensions. The dictionary defines demolish as:

To lay waste to; to utterly ruin

What God is saying is that there is no room for negotiating with the world and the arguments it makes to us. He is not saying that we can come against our strongholds, attack our strongholds, or assault them. We are to demolish them. We are to utterly ruin the pretensions the world sells us. In the Old Testament King Jehoshaphat was facing a bad report from the world. Forces from three different nations were marching against him. He was outnumbered. The worldly argument was that there was no hope in the situation. Jehoshaphat did not rely upon the weapons of this world he relied upon the divine ones he knew God provided for him. He called for a fast throughout Judah and went to God in prayer. And God answered:

He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. 2Chronicles 20: 15

And that is what God is saying to us today as well. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the battle is not ours but the Lord's. God delivered Judah that day and He will deliver us as well if we wield the weapons He has given us. Prayer is the first line of defense we have in the wars that rage against us in the heavenlies. The first line of offense is the Word of God.

Equally important to prayer, we have been given a slice of who God is. His Word provides us with the power to cut through the attacks the enemy comes against us with:

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

God's Word is living and active beloved. It is described as an offensive weapon, a sword. The wars that rage within us are a battle between the flesh and the Spirit; the soul and the Spirit. What we feel is in our soul but what we believe is in our Spirit. What causes fear in our lives is in our soul but what we know is in our Spirit. When we have allowed a stronghold to develop in a particular area of our life, we have allowed our soul to be bigger than our Spirit in that area. What we feel or what we see becomes bigger than what we know and believe. But the Bible tells us how we are to live:

We live by faith, not by sight. 2Corinthians 5:7

If we live by sight then we trust what we see and hear instead of what we believe. We can start to believe the lies of enemy and of this world and soon, the mountain we face is bigger than our God. The Psalmist reminds us of the power of God though and the mountains we face:

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. Psalm 97:5

But the Word is only active if we activate it. If we wield it. A sword left lying on the coffee table will rust with time. It will become duller with each passing day. Then when the enemy comes seeking a foothold we cannot fight because we have not picked up our weapon in so long. Throughout the Bible God exhorts His people to stay in His Word. From Joshua to Jesus:

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1: 8-9

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7: 24-27

There are more spiritual weapons given to us by the Lord. Praise ushers in the very presence of God and fasting draws us closer to God through a disciplined life. But prayer and the Word are crucial to war against the schemes and wiles of the enemy and this world. When we pray; we have relationship with God our Father. When we read His Word we are equipped with power. The closing line in the key verses explain how we are to literally fight. The foothold the enemy seeks to develop a stronghold from, starts small beloved. It starts as a thought, a feeling, or a combination. Those thoughts are simply, not of God. If we entertain the thought, we allow the foothold and the progression can begin. One thought leads to another. One feeling feeds off another. Soon the foothold is a stronghold and the enemy seeks to distance us from God and ultimately, doubt Him. The way we fight these attacks is by taking those initial thoughts and feelings and making them obedient to Christ. They are trying to set themselves up in opposition to what we already know and believe. They are trying to set themselves up in opposition to God. There is nothing to be gained by entertaining that which we ought to demolish.

Through prayer and staying in His Word, we strengthen the Spirit within us. Then when the enemy comes in and says we should fear this or that, we know and believe that God did not give us a spirit of fear and that perfect love casts out all fear. When the enemy whispers that God has abandoned us, we know and believe that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that He sticks closer than a brother. When the enemy whispers that you will never amount to anything, we know and believe that we are more than a conqueror. We take the thought that is set up in opposition and make it obedient to what we know and believe. Depressed? We know that in the Lord is fullness of joy. Confused and unsure? We know that His Word is a lamp unto our feet and He will make our paths known before us.

For whatever the world sets up against you beloved, God has already provided you with the answers. Take the lies captive and make them obedient to Christ. Go to God in prayer regularly the Word says without ceasing! Study His Word; engrave it in your hearts as God has engraved you on His palms. These are the last days and so many Christians are held in deep bondage. Break the bonds today with the weapons God has provided us with. There is always freedom in Christ.

Reverend Anthony Wade October 27, 2009