The Word is Given to us as a Weapon and it Works WHEN we Use it! by Dan Spitz
This is in response to Linda’s Seeds Of Faith post, Remain in Christ. Remaining in Christ defeats any attempt by Satan to “win” us over. We can drive Satan away at every encounter just by doing what Jesus did and speaking the Word; “It is written…” and then He quoted the scripture!! Just as Ephesians 6:11-12 says, our battle is not with flesh and blood. The Word is given to us as a weapon, but it only works if we choose to use it.
Ephesians 6:11-12 (NIV) – Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
When we drink the milk and eat the meat of the Word, and spend time with the Lord, we begin to cultivate the right relationship with Christ that enables us to remain in Him at all times.
1 Peter 2:2-3 (NIV) – Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Isaiah 55:2-3 (NIV) – Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
Psalm 34:8 (NLT) – Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Even Satan knows the power of God’s Word, because he used the scripture when trying to tempt Jesus. When he couldn’t get Him to break His fast and Jesus spoke the Word to him, he responded by quoting scripture back to Jesus. He actually tried to use the Word in Psalm 91:11-12 (NLT) to tempt Jesus, which says For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. So Satan obviously knew the power of using the scriptures in spiritual warfare. He also knew the scriptures well enough to stop at verse 12 instead of continuing with verse 13, because that says You will tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. Satan will always take advantage of our lack of knowledge of the Word, so we must continue to study, meditate and be ready to apply God’s Word in all situations and circumstances.
We must also be careful not to water down the Word by twisting it to justify and rationalize our actions, which is what happens when we take it out of context. And we can be sure that Satan rejoices when we do that. I love the way Bayless Conley put it when he said “we must take the Word like it is, refusing to dilute it, to dissect it, or dismiss it.” Bayless also shared his thoughts on divorce by saying “people twist every kind of scripture you can imagine in order to justify divorce. You know, in reality they are just tired of the old model and wanting a new one. There is no scriptural grounds for their divorce, but they think ‘I am going to come up with something.’” So that is just a temptation the devil uses to try to seduce people who actually know the truth – the Word. Another powerful statement from Bayless Conley is “Listen; the gospel is not politically correct. It is just the truth.” And that sure does step on a lot of toes!! So we have to be careful and remain in the Lord.
Psalm 56:5 (NLT) – They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me.
2 Corinthians 2:17 (NLT) – You see, we are not like the many hucksters[a] who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.
Revelation 11:15 (NLT) – The Seventh Trumpet Brings the Third Terror 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:
“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So let’s stay true to the Word whether it fits what we are doing or not, whether it is politically correct or not. Let’s accept and embrace its demands as well as its promises and not twist it and try to bend it and shape it to fit our wants. Let’s do it God’s way!