Chapter 14.14
Weapons
of Warfare
Invisible War -
Armor of God – Defensive & Offensive Weapons
Weapons of Kick
Butt Destruction - Weapon of Obedience
Weapon of Praise
– The Law of Retribution
First
Word
Early warfare has always been
both Defensive
and Offensive;
where Defensive
weapons were held in the LEFT HAND to defend
yourself, and Offensive
weapons held in the RIGHT HAND to engage and
attack the enemy.[1] The shoes
were made with cleats of hobnails on the bottom to give a firm footing. The shield was made of wood covered with leather
to prevent the fiery
darts of the enemy from burning them.
I can just imagine reaching around and
pulling out a burning arrow that is stuck in my shield. Today both soldiers and
Law enforcement wear body armor to stop bullets
and shrapnel from disabling them.
Weapons usually included a dagger
and sword held securely about the waist with a leather girdle or belt which
also protected the loins; the private parts of the body. The leather
belt also held the tunic[2] which
was a garment that reached from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the
hips and ankles. Over that was a breastplate of body armor made of interwoven chains which covered the vital
organs. Our helmet
is our confidence of our salvation.[3]
It was the
strong leather belt that
held it all together.
In Christian
warfare, it is the belt of INTEGRITY
that holds
everything together.[4]
EVERY DAY we must put on
the WHOLE ARMOR of God WHICH HE HAS PROVIDED so we can stand
against the mighty powers of the unseen spiritual world, against Satan’s lies
and his TEMPTATIONS
that
undermine our faith. You can remember in
The Lord’s
Prayer that Jesus prayed we would not be led into TEMPTATION.[5]
Oddly enough, God does all the fighting
for us, all we do is just stand. There
is nothing covering our back side as that is where the God of Angel Armies stands; GOD HAS OUR BACK.
It’s
in the Book
Invisible
War
As spooky as it sounds, there is an UNSEEN INVISIBLE WAR GOING ON between the
forces of light and the forces of darkness, between good and evil. It’s not something spooky, it’s a REAL WAR going on
right NOW. In your unbelief you
will try to POOH
POOH this, but I am telling you that the Book says that we are NOT fighting against flesh-and-blood
enemies, but against spiritual evil rulers and authorities of the
unseen spiritual
world, against mighty spiritual powers
in this dark world, and against spiritual evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Since this is an unseen spiritual
war, our Defense and Offense
weapons must be and are also spiritual.[6] There are seven of
them. (Completeness)
DEFENSE weapons;
1)
Our BELT that holds everything together is truth; and
2)
Our BODY ARMOR is our integrity, purity and righteousness.
3)
Our SHOES is the READINESS and MOTIVATION to share the peace
and tranquility
that comes from knowing the Good News of the Gospel.
4)
Our SHIELD is our Faith
of certainty
in Jesus Christ knowing that He will stop Satan’s fiery arrows of TEMPTATION that can erode our faith.
5)
Our HELMET is our salvation
that gives us the Mind of Christ; our
sanity, an ALERTNESS that protects us
from DOUBT and will defeat Satan’s Lies, his web of
deception, his web of doubt and fear; Our Helmet is our confidence that we can know we already have
the ultimate victory.
OFFENCE weapons;
6)
Our SWORD is the Word
of God which is living and active, and changes us from victims to victors. It’s sharper than any two-edged sword,[7]
and piercing even to the dividing of SOUL and SPIRIT,
of both joints and marrow (BODY), and
quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. When Jesus was challenged by Satan, He just
quoted the
Word and said: “IT IS WRITTEN”. [8]
7)
Our PRAYER is second offence
weapon; our communications with the Commander and Chief of the angel armies. We pray in the Spirit at all times and on
every occasion; staying alert, persistent in prayers for all believers
everywhere. Prayer is warfare, put forth
while driving your car or making coffee. The Word of God and Prayer is the stockpile of AMMUNITION
to stand against the schemes of Satan.
I encourage you to get a copy of the book The Invisible War by Donald
Gray Barnhouse.
Ephesians
6:12-18 – Put on the Full Gospel Armor
12 For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against (SPIRITUAL) evil rulers and (SPIRITUAL) authorities of the unseen (SPIRITUAL) world, against mighty
(SPIRITUAL) powers in this dark
world, and against evil spirits in
the (SPIRITUAL) heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s (SPIRITUAL) armor so you will be
able to resist the (SPIRITUAL) enemy in the
time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be STANDING firm.
14 STAND your (SPIRITUAL) ground, putting
on the (SPIRITUAL) BELT of truth and the (SPIRITUAL) BODY ARMOR of God’s
righteousness.
15 For (SPIRITUAL) SHOES, put on the peace
that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
16 In addition to all of these,
hold up the (SPIRITUAL) SHIELD of faith
to stop the (SPIRITUAL) fiery arrows of
the devil.
17 Put on salvation
as your (SPIRITUAL) HELMET, and take the (SPIRITUAL) SWORD of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 PRAY in the Spirit at ALL times and on every occasion. Stay alert and
be persistent in
your prayers for all believers everywhere. (NLT)
Kick Butt Weapons
Sometimes God goes before us into the
battle
and we become a part of His plan.
§
Nature was used to
fight the battle by sending in HORNETS to drive out the
enemy.[9]
§
David used a SMOOTH
STONE from
the river to kill the giant Goliath.[10]
§
Sampson used a JAWBONE OF AN ASS to defeat the enemy.[11]
§
Priest blew RAMS’
HORNS to
knock the walls of Jericho down flat.[12]
§
Jael took a TENT
PEG and
ended the war.[13]
§
Woman used a MILLSTONE to do the
dastardly deed.[14]
You should not be surprised that God will
use the simplest of things to turn the battle in your favor, if He can use the
Jawbone of an ASS,
He can certainly use YOU.
Law of Retribution
Be careful of how you handle God’s Word; the law of
retribution is in effect; an Eye for an Eye.[15] (This law LIMITED
the extent of the retribution.) Sometimes God
takes the enemy’s plan and turns it against them, also known as “what goes around comes around.”
§
Pharaoh ordered all the Hebrew babies to be drowned
in the Nile.[16] Later it would be Pharaoh’s army that drowned in the sea.[17]
§
Haman made a gallows fifty cubits high to hang
Mordecai the Jew on,[18] instead, God
had Haman hanged on the same gallows that was constructed for Mordecai.[19]
§ Jezebel had Naboth killed so the king could have his garden[20]…
Jezebel dies and the dogs lick up her blood in
the same place that she had Naboth killed.[21]
§
Korah conspired with 250 other leaders
of the community OPENING A
CLEFT in the
congregation by inciting
a rebellion against Moses.[22] GOD MADE A
CLEFT in
the earth and
opened its mouth and swallowed the men,
along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they
owned. They all went down alive into the grave,
along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all
vanished from among the people of Israel.[23]
§
Paul also known as Saul approvingly held the
garments of those who were stoning Stephen to death and later Paul got to
feel what Stephen felt as he himself was stoned[24]
and God did not stop there, HE LET HIM
LIVE,[25] but he was in danger
from rivers, in danger
from robbers, in danger from his own people, in danger from Gentiles, in danger
in the city, in danger
in the wilderness, in danger at sea, in danger from false brothers; three
times Paul was beaten
with rods. Three times he was shipwrecked; a night and a day he was adrift at sea;
and on frequent journeys in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst,
often without food, in cold and exposure, then God let Satan plague him with a Thorn in the Flesh just to buffet him.[26]
Although God let Paul live it was not without a life of struggle.
God will amaze us with how He will
fight our battles. Since the world
began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like ours, who WORKS FOR THOSE who wait for Him.[27]
The
Take Away
When God created man and angels, he gave them
both FREE WILL to do the
greatest good or if they chose; to do the greatest evil. He made Angels
Immortal but made man Mortal, however He gave man something
that He did not give to Angels, He gave man a SOUL.[28] A sinful Angel cannot be redeemed, but a
sinful man can be if by FREE WILL he chooses.
God is LOVE
and made a creation that was capable of returning His love just because they wanted
to... because they CHOSE to, NOT because they were REQUIRED to. Picture returning home and your puppy greats
you with tail wagging, tongue licking with howls of delight… That’s the LOVE that God imparts to us because HE WANTS TO.
Adam and Eve were created
perfect and placed in a perfect Garden of peace, surrounded with the perfection of
nature. They
were created with a perfect mind with FREE WILL just like
His. They were created with the
possibility of
living forever just like the
Angels. He placed two trees in the
garden; the TREE OF
LIFE and
THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND
EVIL,
with only ONE COMMANDMENT; do not eat
from the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, if you do you will no longer
live forever, but will surely die.
The all-knowing God knew that man would sin and
would be SEPARATED from Him and the Tree of
Life, and already had the Plan of Salvation in
place for him to find THE WAY back to Him and
to the Tree
of Life if he chose to.[29]
What Adam and Eve did not know was that the
Angel Satan had been in this same garden eons before when he was the guardian
and protector of the earth and ruled from there. Back
then the garden was called the Garden of God.[30] NOTE: the original sin started with an
Immortal Angel named Lucifer, Satan, the Devil who rebelled against God usurping
God’s authority and stealing God’s worship... So God took away his authority and
removed him from the garden. He replaced
this fallen Angel, who could NOT be redeemed with a man who
could be redeemed. (If the man choose to).
An Invisible War began over Adam
and Eve and all of their generations; a spiritual war in
a dimension that we cannot see. Jesus
the creator and sinless Son of God, loved man, His greatest creation so much
that He chose to give up His throne in Heaven surrounded with deity and royalty
to come to earth to show man “THE WAY” back to the TREE
OF LIFE.[31]
ü
We as humans don’t wage war as humans do.
ü
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons,
to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
ü
We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.
ü
We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. [32]
God gave us the SPIRITUAL weapons of warfare for this battle, the weapons
that we need to resist the lies and TEMPTATION from Satan; but
to win we must put on the Full Gospel Armor EVERY DAY.
LISTEN; Satan’s bag of
tricks is TEMPTATION and all you have to do to overcome this is
to every day PUT ON THE FULL
ARMOR AND YOU WILL WIN; you might even
be given the opportunity to grab up your trumpet,
your slingshot, a tent peg, or the jawbone of an Ass and take the lead.
The Make Believer will talk about it,
but the Believer
will do it.
If one word could describe our weapons of
warfare it would be OBEDIENCE. Study, meditate and Quote the Word of God; “IT IS WRITTEN” - The Weapon that silences the enemy’s TEMPTATIONS is PRAISE.[33]
Rejoice in it,
Hum it,
Sing in the
Spirit,
Sing in the
Understanding,
Shout it,
Cut Loose and Dance it,
Make Music,
Make a joyful
Noise; [34]
God inhabits the
praises of His people and THE ENEMY IS SILENCED.
LIFE IS CHOICE DRIVEN
It’s
in the Book
[1] 2 Corinthians 6:7 – Right hand to attack; left hand to defend
[2] Isaiah 59:17 – Robe of Vengeance, Cloak of divine passion; He put on righteousness as his BODY
ARMOR
[3] 1 Thessalonians 5:8 – Armor of faith and love; Helmet of confidence of our salvation
[4] Isaiah 11:5 – Integrity and Righteousness is our Belt
[5] Luke 11:4 – Don’t let us be led into temptation
[6] 1 Samuel 4:4 – GOD is the
God-of-the-angel-armies
[7] Hebrews 4:12 – Word of God is sharper than a two edge sword dividing
of SOUL and SPIRIT,
of both joints and marrow (BODY),
[8] Luke 4:1-13 - It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.” - It is written “You shall
worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” - It is written, ‘You shall
not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
[9] Exodus 23:23-28 – God used Hornets
to drive out the Hivites -- Joshua
24:12-14 – God used Hornets to drive out
the Amorites.
[10] 1 Samuel 17:40-49 – David took FIVE SMOOTH
STONES
[11] Amorites Judges
15:15 – Sampson used the JAWBONE OF AN ASS
[12] Joshua 6:5-20 – The Priest used RAMS’
HORNS to collapse the walls of Jericho
[13] Judges 4:18-21 – A woman drove a TENT
PEG in the temple of Sisera; and
then the war was over -- Judges 5:24-27
– Jael struck Sisera; she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple
[14] 2 Samuel 11:18-21 - A woman cast an upper MILLSTONE on Abimelech from the
wall, so that he die -- Judges 9:50-53 – Woman used a Millstone to crush the skull of Abimelech
[15] Exodus 21:23-25 – The Law of Retribution;
an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a
burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise...
(This law LIMITED the
extent of the retribution)
[16] Exodus 1:22 – Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew
baby boys drowned
[17] Isaiah 10:26 - God drowned Pharaoh’s
army in the sea
[18] Esther 5:14 – Haman makes a gallows to
hang Mordechai
[19] Esther 7:10 – Haman was hanged on the
gallows built for Mordechai
[20] 1 Kings 21:7-10 – Jezebel killed Naboth
just to get his garden
[21] 1 Kings 21:19 – Jezebel dies and the
dogs lick up her blood same place she killed Naboth
[22] Numbers 16:1-2 – Korah makes a cleft, a
division in the congregation of Israel
[23] Numbers 16:32-33 God opens cleft in the earth and swallows those that
rebelled in Korah’ family. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished
[24] Acts 7:58-59 - Saul/Paul approved of the
stoning of Stephen
[25] Acts 14:19 – Paul dragged out
of the city; stoned and left to die
[26] 2 Corinthians 11:25-27 – Paul beaten with
rods stoned, shipwrecked, adrift at sea, toil,
sleepless night, hunger, thirst, cold, exposure
and all kinds of danger
[27] Isaiah 64:4 – Since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen what
God will do for you
[28] Genesis 2:7 – God’s breath made man a living soul
[29] 1 John 5:4-5 – Only those that believe in Jesus as the Son of God can win
the battle -- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 – God picked man to participate in the plan
of salvation
[30] Ezekiel 31:9 – Garden of God and the Garden of Eden; I made it beautiful with
the multitude of its branches, and all the trees of Eden, which were in the Garden of God -- Revelation 22:14 – The tree of life is now in heaven
[31] John 14:6 - I
am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the father except through me -- 2 Chronicles 20:21-22 – Their praises to God won the war at the very moment they began to sing and give praise
[32] 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – We use god’s mighty weapons, not worldly
weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human
reasoning and to destroy false arguments
… destroy every proud obstacle … and capture their rebellious thoughts
[33] Psalm 8:2 – Praise silences the enemy -- Hebrews 13:15 – Let us therefore
offer sacrifices of praise to God -- 2 Chronicles 20:21-22 – Their praises to God
won the war at the very moment they began to
sing and give praise
[34] Psalm 95:1-2 - Make a joyful noise with thanksgiving unto Jehovah
the rock of our salvation
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