Weapons of Our Warfare - The Word of God

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. JOSHUA 1:8

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
PSALM 119:11

And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. EZEKIEL 3:3

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
HEBREWS 4:12

WORD OF GOD
The word of God builds you up spiritually. It strengthens and nourishes you. For those of us who like to eat (I do!) it is food for our spirit man. Just like the physical man needs to eat, so the spirit man needs to eat. While the physical man would enjoy rice, beans, and pork chops or steak, the spirit man feasts on the word of God. Malnutrition of the spirit man results in death. If you starve your body you will become weak, sick, and depending on how long you’ve been malnourished, you will die. So it is with your spirit, if you don’t feed it by reading and studying the word of God daily, you will become weak spiritually, having no foundation, lacking knowledge and wisdom that comes from the word of God; eventually you will die spiritually. Look at what the Lord tells Ezekiel in chapter 3 verse 3. He tells him to feed his belly and fill his stomach with the scroll that he gave him! The scroll is His word, and He tells Ezekiel to feed his belly and Ezekiel ate and said it was sweet like honey in his mouth. The word of God is sweet like honey and we should feed our bellies with it. Then we will be nourished and strengthened in times of battle.

The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. Let’s look at how the Sword of the Spirit works offensively and defensively.

OFFENSE: the definition of offense is the act of attacking or assaulting. In sports it is the means or tactics used in attempting to score.

For the Christian the word of God is what we use to attack the enemy or take the aggressive stance against him. For those of you who teach the word, you are taking an aggressive stance and attacking the enemy when you train others on how to live God’s way and teach them to stand on His promises. Psalm 119:11 talks about keeping God’s word in our hearts so that we would not sin against Him. When we live a life that pleases the Lord it is most difficult for the enemy to penetrate our defenses. For those who are preaching the word you are also taking the aggressive stance and attacking the enemy when you bring the word to those who are being held captive and they are set free. When you choose to live according to the word of God, you are attacking the enemy because you refuse to live any other way than what God commands. To take the aggressive stance you MUST know the WORD. You cannot take the aggressive stance if you don’t know what you are standing for. In Joshua 1:8 the Lord told Joshua that the Book of the Law would not depart from his mouth but that he would meditate in it day and night so that he would observe what is written in it, live it, and keep it in his heart! Why? So that he would be successful and prosperous! Joshua was a warrior and a leader; he needed to successful in leading his people and in defeating his enemies on the battlefield. God was telling him that if he observed His law, he would defeat his foes and lead his people with justice. If we observe the law written in this book and meditate on it day and night, it will be in our hearts and minds and we will be mindful to live according to that Word! David said “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God’s word guides us, strengthens us, nourishes us, and helps us take the aggressive stance against the enemy to attack.

DEFENSE: That which defends or protects; anything employed to oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain security; a guard; a protection.

God is our protection. His word is our defensive weapon. When Jesus was tempted by Satan after His 40 day fast, Jesus countered every temptation with the word of God. So must we. To counter the enemy’s temptations in our lives we must apply God’s word to our situations, temptations, frustrations and anything else the devil throws at us. On the offensive we attacked using God’s word to live in a way pleasing to the Lord, teaching and preaching God’s word to others so they are set free and learn how to stand against the enemy’s wiles; however when the enemy attacks us we need to speak the word of God into our battle. Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is like a double edged sword – offensive/defensive – it is living and powerful. The word of God is alive, it brings life, it rejuvenates the mind, it has power when applied to our lives and spoken into our affairs. It is like honey to our mouths and refreshment to our weary souls. The word of God pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart! The word of God brings conviction to our lives and reflects what we really are apart from Christ – dust! Yet it also tells us who we are IN Christ – a Holy nation, a royal priesthood, coheirs with Christ, sons and daughters of the Most High God, friends of God!!!! I love the word of God. It is medicine to our bones, refreshment to our souls, food for our spirits, and a mighty weapon in our arsenal!! God bless you!