Stand Strong.
With Stand.
Take up the Sword of the Lord
Why has God given us the Sword of the Lord?
The enemy of our souls has launched an attack on Mankind. Satan is not content to just pick at us...he is going for blood (spiritual). Satan is going for death (ours), and the sooner we realize that, the closer we can be to understanding the gravity of the situation. “Quit ye like men, be strong”
The Word of God is alive, it is Spirit breathed, it is full of enlightenment, it is a revelation of who God is. The Word of God is able to divide out the darkness in our soul and produce life where there was none. The God of Creation (which is the only God there is) has the power to speak and produce results. Genesis 1 displays the reality of the power of God through the work of Creation. God has given mankind the power to choose whether they want to obey Him or not but all other venues must immediately spring into action at His voice.
As Christians, when we are under attack from Satan (at least as far as an attack on our minds); when we speak the Words of God, Satan has no choice but to leave the threshold of our minds. The folly of the battle is, we often try to battle Satan in our own strength, which really only amounts to reformation without change of heart, and without a change of heart we are only trying to gain a personal advantage or physical advantage over Satan. The idea that we can gain an advantage over Satan through our own strength is one of Satan’s tricks that he uses to gain an even stronger hold on our lives. This can be broken by the Word of God.
Standing on the rock of our Salvation through faith in our Savior and Lord, we take up the Sword of the Lord and brandish it toward the foe of darkness. The Sword of Enlightenment (Truth, and Light) will dispel the the enveloping darkness in which Satan tries to envelope us. God has seen to it that we are properly equipped to fight, not just to protect ourselves but to counter-attack. The Sword of the Lord is light for our feet, Truth to stand on, and Life to live on. You can not truly drive the devil away without using the Sword of the Lord. Satan will not be driven back unless we resist him and to do that we must get aggressive using the Word of God as a Sword to divide the Light from the darkness, Truth from a lie, and Victory from defeat.
When was the last time you studied the Word of God with the thought in mind that you were studying for a clearer battle plan? We cannot just be familiar with the Word of God (our sword) just because we heard someone else talk about it, but we must be familiar with it because we have practiced with it, studied it and know full well how to use it. A man or woman who is not used to his/her sword will end up hurting himself/herself with it. Being in tune with God will allow you to fight the devil using His equipment and His Strength. The Sword of the Lord is also to be used in any battle described as “in service of the King”. This may indicate that we are not necessarily protecting ourselves with it but maybe a fellow brother or sister.
Quite possibly, we may need to stand in for a new convert. Satan, having lost a subject, will not give up without a fight, and as a new convert; he/she may not have mastered the art of wielding the Sword of the Lord. I propose that we as fellow Christians stand in for them, seeing to the strength of their armor and ability to fight Satan, thus protecting them from spiritual ruin before they get established.
We need to become experts at handling the Word of God, being able to divide/interpret it bringing it into relevancy for our everyday lives. The idea is not to become superheroes (they rely on their strength), but Godly men/women who know how to use what God has given them in Spiritual Warfare.
Do not feel as if you are alone, Satan has gone for every person on the planet trying to destroy eternally the soul that our Creator made in His image. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was also a target of Satanic temptation; and Jesus, though He is God and had all weapons at His disposal, chose to use the Word of God (the revelation of Himself to mankind) which really is the most effective weapon anyway. This using of the Word of God is so effective, pricks so thoroughly, that Satan will often use it in rebuttal to an attack; hoping to align truth with a lie so as to cause us to become sleepy and therefore no threat to his dominion.
The declaration of Jesus to His disciples was that He would send a Comforter, or one to stand beside them; and this would be the Holy Spirit which would declare to all disciples the things that Jesus had taught them while He was yet here.
The Holy Spirit is seen as Spirit with seven facets and when He works as such, there will be a change. These various aspects of the Holy Spirit are: Creator, Sustainer, Comforter, Warrior, Compeller, Protector, and Instructor. The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives compels us to be more like Himself changing our humanity into a holy, godlike image which is seen as in the mirror of The Word of God. This does not mean, however, that we will become a ‘god’, but that we will exhibit His Character.
We need to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the lives of others. Judges 7:14 Gideon had been called by God to lead the fight against a wicked nation who was gathered against the Children of Israel. As a means of verifying the call, Gideon snuck down to the camp of the opposing warriors and spied on them when he heard the discourse between two enemy soldiers that gave him the courage to fight. When Gideon addressed his men later on, he gave recognition to the Holy Spirit in the battle. Though this piece of history occurs in the Bible, it is found in the Old Testament. The New Testament Teaches, however, that Christians, God’s people of the new covenant live peaceful lives, by not seeking to take another human being’s life. Every time another person is formed, he/she is created in God’s image with an eternal soul, and all recognition should be given to the life of God within that person.
There are times that Satan attacks us through other people. Satan will use friends, relatives, pastors, or whoever he can get his hands on to destroy them and you. This does not mean that they intended to be a part of hurting you, but because of who Satan is, and their lack of spiritual discipline, they have become an attacking machine for Satan. Many times these people mean well and do not realize the damage their words carry. Cases like these, often become a battle in our mind, while Satan plays out his treacherous intentions in our mind. Satan will subtly give birth to the idea in your mind that you are no good, not worth anything, nobody likes you; but these are all lies and need to be fended off with Truth (the Word of God).
God has declared; you are precious, you are loved, and I have given my life for you!
Something we need to think about is; we need to recognize what we are compare ourselves with. The Bible refers to itself as a mirror and says that man will look into it to see his reflection and then when he walks away will immediately forget what the mirror showed about himself. It seems as though Satan has great ability to pull a veil over our eyes.
The Sword of the Lord is really our only hope for victory over Satan. Our armor will only do so much if we cannot fight, and God has designed the sword to be double edged (full of truth and light). The enemy will try to knock the truth out of our grasp so we will not realize when he gives us a half-truth. We need to be like the man in the bible who fought so hard that his hands cramped around his sword and could not be gotten loose.