How to use the Word of God as a Weapon
Welcome back, Bezzies!
I started this series to flesh out the hidden treasures of fasting and prayer. These are ancient practices of antiquity, but not even this generation with its complicated technologies has been able to displace or dilute the potency and the efficacy of these weapons.
In my previous blogs in this series, I discussed the discipline of fasting, types of fasting, whether or not Christian couples can have sex while fasting, how fasting affects prayer, what it means to pray in the name of Jesus, and lastly what makes the blood of Jesus powerful.
I continue in this blog by touching on how to use the word of God as a weapon. My decision to shed more light on these spiritual areas stems from the fact that many Christians are oblivious of the power and the imports of these spiritual arsenals.
Much as the Name of God is a powerful and a strong tower which the righteous runs to and is saved [1], He has lifted His word above His name [2]. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here too, Heaven is opened and the gates of hell disclosed [3].
What makes the Word of God efficacious?
The bible says in John 1:1-5, 14 (KJV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the Word of God that was with God in the beginning, nothing was made without Him then, and yet now, nothing is made without Him. It is the Word of God that determines our ultimate worth in life. The revelation of the Word of God is what will reposition the Church in her rightful place here on earth as the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and as a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden[4].
Whenever you speak the Word of God over a situation, you are invoking the very presence of Jesus on the scene. The Word of God is what ensures our complete victory. Jesus said,
It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life [5].
Jesus was essentially saying that “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life”, and are designed for your supernatural quickening; they bring back to life everything that is dying or is already dead [6]. The Word of God is a great frustration to the devil. When a believer deploys the weapon of the Word against any dead situation, that situation jerks back to life. This acts as a direct opposition to the enemy in actualising his manifesto. John 10:10 reads,
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Also, in the gospel of Luke 4:1-13, Satan engaged Jesus in what we term as “the temptations of Jesus“. Three times, the enemy engaged the Lord to try to thwart God’s redemption plan for humanity. And all three times, Jesus deployed the Word of God to counter what the enemy threw at Him. If Jesus couldn’t win without the Word, we can’t either.
It is worth mentioning that the enemy doesn’t often retreat easily. In the case of Jesus, he desperately pushed Jesus on three different occasions, but Jesus stood His ground and stuck to the Word of God, and that brought about His complete victory. When it comes to using the Word of God as a weapon, consistency is key. Like Jesus, we have to be resilient and know that God always honours His Word.
The devil’s schemes
Tragically, many Christians are not aware of the schemes of the devil. They are simply ignorant of the devices of the crafty devil, hence the enemy gains advantage over them [7]. During the temptation of Jesus, the enemy did not appear in bodily form as it is often depicted in movies. He engaged the mind of Jesus. And like he dealt with Jesus, he keeps on engaging our minds with demonic thoughts and oppressive imaginations. We, therefore, need to stand upon the Word of God in dealing with this ancient foe. The Bible says,
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ [8].
It is said, “you cannot stop the birds from flying over you, but you can stop them from making their nets on your head.” All truths are parallel. You cannot stop the enemy from injecting your mind with depressive thoughts and demonic images, but you can definitely stop playing along by imagining and getting depressed.
The only way to deal with such demonic thoughts is by overriding them with a counter Word of God. To every demonic scheme, there is a counter word of God that can override it. The Bible says,
When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him [9].
God lifts a lofty standard against the devil by his Word. No devil has been able to stand against the power of the Word.
Notice here that, the Bible says “when” and not “if”. This stands to reason that it is not a matter of a condition, but time. He doesn’t come to tempt you because of what you did or did not do, he comes because he just can’t help it. That is who he is!
How to identify demonic presence
The strength of the enemy lies in his ability to conceal himself [10]. The enemy conceals himself in darkness and lingers around us to perpetrate evil. The first stage of dealing with any demonic situation is being able to attribute that situation to its rightful perpetrator. For example, most of the sicknesses we deal with have demonic backings. Most of the times Jesus healed in the Bible, He first cast out the demon behind the sickness.
If we are able to identify the spirit behind our plight, we can deploy the necessary arsenals to overcome them. The Church should therefore stop fighting itself while the enemy stands by and laughs us to scorn.
Satan is not omnipresent
We need to understand, first and foremost, that Satan is not omnipresent. That is to say, if he is in Ghana, he can’t be in France at the same time, unlike God. Satan, however, has a system of hierarchy, where issues are reported until it gets to him. Any time an evil thought crosses your mind, it has its source from a demon. But because demons are not omnipresent, they would have to be close to a person to project those thoughts into their minds.
Simply put, whichever demonic spirit that projected the thought to your mind must be nearby. Therefore, like Archangel Michael, we need to use the name of the Lord to rebuke it [12].
Weapons in the Word
Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
– Jeremiah 23:29
Every truth you discover in the Word of God is a spiritual hammer. So, when you say, “It is written…”, you are throwing a spiritual sledgehammer at the obstacle on your way which will break into pieces. Also, the Word of God is a fire that devours every stubble. The word is not just fire, but consuming fire [13].
When the three Hebrew boys were cast into the fire, king Nebuchadnezzar testified of seeing “a fourth person” whose form looked like a son of a god [14]. The fiery furnace could not consume them, because the fire that consumes fire stepped in. Likewise, when you lay hold on the fire of the Word of God, it will devour every stubble that is responsible for the troubles of your life [15].
Rock of offence
I would like to conclude by saying that, God’s Word is also a rock of offence. When you come against the Word, you are broken into pieces, and when He comes against you, you are grounded into powder. When you lay hold of the stone of the Word, you will become an impossible case for the devil [16].
Important Notice!!!
This blog ends this series on fasting and prayer. I begin another series on “Dreams”. Remember to subscribe to my newsletter from below, so as to get notified of new posts. You may also drop a comment or question in the comment section below.
References
[1] Proverbs 18:10
[2] Psalm 138:2
[3] The Gideon International, “An Inspiring Introduction To The Holy Book”, link: http://blog.gideons.org/2010/12/the-bible-contains-the-mind-of-god/
[4] David O. Oyedepo, Signs & Wonders Today: A Catalogue of the Amazing Acts of God, (Canaan Land, Ota: Dominion Publishing House, 2008), 22
[5] John 6:63
[6] David, Signs & Wonders Today: A Catalogue of the Amazing Acts of God, 24
[7] 2 Corinthians 2:11
[8] 2 Corinthians 10:5
[10] Isaiah 59:19
[11] A statement often made by Reverend Gideon Danso
[12] Jude 1:9
[13] David, Signs & Wonders Today: A Catalogue of the Amazing Acts of God, 34
[14] Daniel 3:16-28
[15] David, Signs & Wonders Today: A Catalogue of the Amazing Acts of God, 34
[16] David, Signs & Wonders Today: A Catalogue of the Amazing Acts of God, 34
Comments:
Nhyira king
Powerful. God bless you
Awura
Am blessed.
A Very good one.
Waiting for Dreams!!