Revelation 12:7-8 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
Do you know how angels fight each other? We often picture them fighting with swords in their hands. But I’m sure their fights are not like this. It is not like physical fighting. You know, angels are spiritual beings (Heb. 1:4), and spiritual beings cannot die nor can be injured. Therefore, their fights are not like physical fights that in order to defeat them or kill them, you need to injure their bodies.
So how do angels fight each other? We can actually get a clue through the verses above. After Michael and his angels won the fight, Satan and his angels lost their place in heaven. They can’t access heaven anymore. The losers were taken access by the winners. So the spiritual warfare of Angels is limiting the capacity or authority of each other. The losers will be subdued or prevented by the winners.
Below are other examples of spiritual warfare.
AN ANGEL DETAINED BY SATAN
Another example is what happened in Daniel 10:12-13:
“Then said he unto me, ‘Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
Here, an Angel sent by the Lord to give instructions to Daniel was detained by Satan (prince of Persia) for twenty-one days. He cannot go to Daniel and give the instructions. He was only freed from the hold of Satan when Michael helped him. This is an example where Satan’s power is greater than this Angel that he was subdued by Satan.
In Matthew 8:28-32, the demons in Jesus’ day recognized His authority over them and were afraid to be sent by the Lord to the abyss.
SATAN TRYING TO SUBDUE THE LORD
Another example of spiritual warfare is in Matthew 4:8-10, where Satan is trying to subdue the Lord Jesus by offering Him the Kingdoms of this world in exchange for Satan’s authority over the Lord. But the Lord said in Matthew 4:10:
“Then saith Jesus unto him, ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Here, Satan’s power is trying to subdue our Lord so that our Lord cannot start His ministry. But our Lord here uses the Word of God which is sharper than any double-edged sword (Heb 4:12) that can break any chain from Satan that would like to hold Him. Though Satan has tried, still he cannot subdue our Lord and prevent Him from doing His Father’s business.
SATAN TRYING TO SUBDUE JOB
One best example of spiritual warfare between man and demonic beings is the story of Job. In Job 1:8, God described Job as “a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil.” For God to consider Job as this, means that Job fully fulfills the will of God in His life. The Lord can use Him in whatever God would want Job to do for Him. In short, Job is a great asset of the Lord.
But then Satan tried to disprove this by telling God that the reason why Job perfectly fulfills the will of God in his life is that God blesses him and protected him. Then Satan tried to challenge the Lord by telling Him to removed His hand from Job (Job 1:11). And we know the story that follows. This is what our spiritual warfare is. Just like in the story of Job, Satan wanted to subdue us in order to prevent us from serving the Lord and prevent us from doing the will of God in our lives. It is up to us if we will let Satan subdue us.
SATAN AND HIS DEMONS TRYING TO SUBDUE US
Just like in the story of Job, there are still many instances in the Bible where Satan and his demons are trying to subdue the people of God to prevent them from doing God’s will for them. Example of these is Pharaoh of Egypt preventing the Israelite from returning to the Promised Land, Saul persecuting David not to become King and the many nations that captured and enslaved Israel. These are only some examples of how Satan prevents us from fulfilling the will of God in our lives by subduing us.
This is what our spiritual warfare is. This is what our spiritual battle looks like.
This is why according to Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The words “principalities, powers, rulers and spiritual wickedness in high places” here all speak of the same thing – authority or dominion. Paul is telling us that our spiritual battles are battles against authority or dominion that wanted to subdue us and prevent us from doing the will of God. This is how Satan and his demons are fighting us. They are doing all they can to subdue us. Our battles are not battles against flesh and blood that you can wound or kill, but against authorities, dominion and power of the devils in high places that prevent us to soar high and do the will of God for us.
WE HAVE AUTHORITY OVER SATAN AND HIS DEMONS
Although only few Christians know this, WE HAVE ACTUALLY AUTHORITY OVER SATAN AND HIS DEMONS. Matthew 28:18 says:
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.”
There is no higher authority in heaven and on earth than the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 1:21). He “is the head of all rule and authority” (Col 2:10). All is under Him. Since He is the owner of all authorities, He has also the power to grant these authorities to whom He wanted them to be granted. And our Lord has given us (His disciples) authority to teach the Gospel and baptized all nations; authority over all devils and to cure diseases; authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and authority over all devils and the power of the enemy. We can read these in the following verses:
Matt. 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen”
Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Luke 9:1 “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.”
It is clear through the verses above that we are given these authorities of the Lord, especially the authority over all devils and power of the enemy. The question is: So why are we often defeated by the enemy in our spiritual warfare? The obvious answer is: BECAUSE WE ARE NOT FREE.
YOU NEED TO BE FREE
One primary reason why we are often defeated in our spiritual battle is that we still let ourselves be entangled with the authorities of the devils by letting them trap us in their schemes. We still let them have authority over us. WE ARE NOT TOTALLY FREE FROM THEIR AUTHORITY. This is why freedom from their schemes is very important in order for us to exercise our authority over them. This is what is being emphasized by Paul in Galatian 5:1:
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
We need to protect our freedom. The Lord has given His own life for us to possess His Spirit and for us to be truly free (2 Cor. 3:17). He redeemed us in order for us not to be slaves anymore. That’s why we need to hold fast to our freedom. We must make sure not to entangle ourselves again in those schemes of the devil who yoke us in bondage.
In order for the Flying Eagle anointing in us to soar high spiritually, in order for us to be efficiently used by our Lord for His plan, WE NEED TO BE FREE. Freedom is a primary requirement in serving the Lord. If you wanted the Lord to use you in everything that He intends you to do, then you need to be free first. Freedom is also a prerequisite for Grace. Without freedom, Grace is useless. This is why our Lord needs to die first for us to be free and for Grace to set in. For the Grace of the Lord to effectively work in us, freedom is a primary requirement.
When I say freedom, I do not say that we can now do everything we want and we can now indulge in sin or submit to the desires of our flesh. This is the freedom defined by the world. But this is NOT the freedom given to us by our Lord. You know, if you indulge in the desires of the flesh, you are not actually free. You are a prisoner of the flesh. But the Lord has given us complete freedom even from the authorities of our flesh by giving us His spirit. It is the kind of freedom where you can serve our Lord freely. Where His Spirit can effectively work through you. This is why we must not be deceived by the world’s definition of “freedom.” This is what the apostle Paul told us in Galatians 5:13:
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
Also, by Peter in 1 Peter 2:16:
“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.”
You are called to be free. Be free then!
YOKES OF BONDAGE THAT TAKES AWAY OUR FREEDOM
I hope by now, you have already realized the importance of being free in serving the Lord. We will now go to the things that take away our freedom.
There are many schemes of the devils that take away our freedom and put us in a yoke of bondage. But here are some of the examples of the authorities, powers, and principalities that try to hold the Bride of Christ today and prevent them from soaring high in the Lord. These four examples below are the common strategies used by Satan today to entangle us and take away the freedom given by our Lord to us:
1. TRADITIONS OF MEN, FALSE TEACHINGS AND DOCTRINES
Remember, it is only the truth that can make us free:
John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
You need to know the truth first, and it is the truth that will set you free. Our freedom is actually directly proportional to our possession of Truth. THE MORE YOU POSSESS THE TRUTH, THE MORE YOU ARE FREE. How can we know the truth THEN? It is only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit/Word (John 6:63) – the Spirit of Truth. For it is written:
John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
2 Cor. 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
The Spirit and the Truth are one. That’s why the Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. Those that have the Spirit of God love the Truth (John 18:37c). If you wanted to be free, you need to know the Truth.
But before we know the Truth, we are born in a world full of lies, where false doctrines and church traditions that are actually not of the Truth are rampant. These are the primary tools used by Satan to tie us in bondage. We need to know the truth, so that we can be free from all of these. All kinds of lies (opposite of Truth), will bind anyone.
2. CHURCH GROUPS/DENOMINATIONALISM
May these be denominational groups, sectoral groups or our own church organizations that prevent us in serving our Lord freely. This tool of Satan is very common among the Endtime Message churches today. Pastors create groups by organizing ministerial meetings, then other pastors join these meetings and become members of these groups. They will then select a head among them by appointing a “Senior Pastor” or an “Elder Pastor.” Next, they will agree on their set of doctrines. Agreeing on doctrines is very important because this is what maintains the group. This is where they spent most of their meetings. But of course, the one that has the final say whenever there are disagreements among them is theer Elder Pastor.
Although these Pastors will not admit it, these groups and these organized fellowships are the exact definitions of Denominationalism. Based on the definition, a Denomination is a united group of local congregations under a common faith and organized by ministers under a single administrative hierarchy where all congregations submit under the same authority. Examples are the Roman Catholic Church is a denomination made up of those churches that submit to the pope in Rome, the Eastern Orthodox Church which is made up of those churches that submit to the patriarch of Constantinople, the Anglican Church of England which is made up of those churches that submit to the archbishop of Canterbury. And now, the Endtime Message Church which is made up of local fellowship churches that submit to an Elder or Senior Pastor of their group. The sad thing is, those Endtime Message believers under these groups are not even aware that they are actually members of a denomination.
The conflict starts when the Lord will reveal His truth to you which disagrees with the doctrines that they have set in the group. Now, you need to remember that agreeing to their set of doctrines is very important because this is what maintains the group. So if you insist that the revelation you received from God is the truth, then it will be detrimental to the unity of the group. You will be disfellowshipped. This is why truth and revelation from the Lord cannot prevail and are not lifted in these church groups. This yoke of bondage from Satan is very effective among the churches today with Nicolaitan ministers and those who love organized groups.
But this yoke of bondage cannot prevail to those who are free. To those who stand fast in their liberty (Gal. 5:1). Satan cannot use this authority over you if you are not under any group’s authority or church organizations. That’s why do not yoke yourself to this scheme of Satan. By the way, the early Church do not form groups like the churches today.
3. NICOLAITAN PASTORS
Another yoke of bondage being effectively used by Satan today to bind the believers are the Nicolaitan Pastors among churches (Rev. 2:6,15). They are the so-called “ministers” who became “Pastors” in the local churches not because they have the gift of being a Pastor, but because they have been voted and appointed to be Pastors. And because they don’t have the gift of a Pastor and they are only appointed; they don’t have genuine care and love for the flock. These Nicolaitan Pastors will then demand authority over the flock. He will see to it that he will be the final say in the church. He will claim that the church is his and he is the final authority. Go against his authority and he will ex-communicate you or disfellowship you in that local church.
Their authority is the exact opposite of what the Lord Jesus is telling us here in Mark 10:42-45
“But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. BUT SO SHALL IT NOT BE AMONG YOU: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
YOU SHOULD NOT EXERCISE AUTHORITY OVER THE FLOCK. Clear as crystal! But Nicolaitan Pastors cannot accept this. That’s why it will be so hard for those believers who are under these Nicolaitan Pastors to follow the leading of the Spirit in them. If you want to follow and serve the Lord, then you need to be free from this kind of dominion by Satan. You should only be a prisoner of Christ (Eph. 3:1, Phil. 1:1), NOT A PRISONER OF YOUR PASTOR.
Therefore, in reference to this, the teaching that the Pastor is the final authority in a local church is actually a false teaching. You cannot find it in the Bible. But the opposite is true: Anyone who wanted to be great, must be less (minister) than the believers. The ministers should serve the believers, not have authority over them.
This is the same with the teaching that every local church should have only one minister who has the final authority, this is also unbiblical teaching. You cannot find this in the Bible and this is not practiced by the early Church. Instead, the Lord has given us the 5-fold ministers to work for the Body and to edify the Church (Eph. 4:11-14) and that we should submit one to another (Eph. 5:21), NOT JUST TO A SINGLE MAN. If the Lord will raise up ministers to a local church whom He can use to oversee, who are we to set rules that only a single Pastor has the final authority? We should leave all these unbiblical teachings that are not found in the Bible. These are the reasons why the Spirit of the Lord cannot freely work in us.
4. THE BRANHAMITES, JACKSONITES AND GANITES
Other authorities that should be utterly destroyed among us today are the spirit of Branhamism, Jacksonism and Ganism. These are the stronghold built by those fanatics of Bro. William Branham, Bro. Raymond Jackson and Bro. Richard Gan that prevented the Church from completely claiming the Promised Land (Word) and for the Lord to use us freely.
These three ministers are true ministers of God who never pointed us to themselves to be followed but to the Lord. Their teachings are the opposite of what their fanatics today are telling the Church. They wanted us to follow these men of God instead of Christ. They are pointing us to these ministers instead of Christ. These authorities and dominions among churches today are the ones caging the believers again. One of the reasons why the Bride cannot completely possess the Promised Land today and why they cannot go on and follow the leading of the Lord is because of these squatters who are only pointing them to these ministers. They are the modern-day Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and the Jebusites who are the stumbling blocks for the Bride to completely possess the Promised land.
But we have now the Joshuanic ministry through the true 5-fold ministers of God that were tasked to drive out these squatters. The Ministry of Moses is already finished which is the Shout ministry. We are now in the ministry of Joshua which is the Voice of the Archangel ministry (1 Thes. 4:16). This Ministry’s task is to drive out the squatters in the Promised land and to rightly divide the land among Spiritual Israelites. One cannot rightly divide the land as long as these squatters are still present. There shall be no true peace and no true unity among the Body of Christ if these squatters are not driven out. This is why the task of Joshua is to drive them out of the Promised Land and to war with them if they don’t want to (Deu. 7:1-2).
The question is: Is there anyone today who is willing to be used by the Lord to make war with these authorities squatting in the Promised Land? Of course, this is not a literal war but a spiritual one. Is there anyone strong and courageous enough who is not afraid to go to war with Joshua? Because as you can see in the Bible, THE MINISTRY OF JOSHUA IS A WAR MINISTRY. Almost all the events recorded in the book of Joshua are about war. It is not a time of peace and unity. It is a time of being stressed out by taking down strongholds and authorities that have camped in the Promised Land. So is there anyone who is willing to be stressed for the Lord just to fulfill His will? Or are you the one who does not want to be stressed and instead, wanted peace and unity with the enemy? You better know what the Lord wants for His ministers today.
There are still many yokes of bondage that are used by Satan against us today to take away the freedom given to us by our Lord. Some to mention are also very common today like church programs, bringing the believers back to the Law, being materialistic, love of money, gambling, vices, and many others. But the point is, we need to protect our freedom that was paid by our Lord Jesus Christ with His own life for this is the primary requirement so that He can effectively use us. If you want to serve the Lord effectively, you need to be free.
YOU ARE COMMITTED TO CHRIST ALONE
Another important reminder:
With regards to the above, we can only be truly free if we are only committed to our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone should be our master. Whatever His will for us, that should be our command. You are committed to Him for all that to which He is committed in you also exclusively! You are not committed to a church, nor to a pastor, nor to the believers, nor to a denomination, nor to an organization. YOU ARE COMMITTED TO CHIRST ALONE! The same as Christ is committed in you, and again I say - exclusively!
During the ministry of our Lord Jesus, He was not committed to any political inclination that day, nor in the Jewish nation being in the Roman yoke! He was not committed to the pressing social problems of His time, nor to what will the Rabis of His day will say to Him. Christ was not even committed to the will of the people. He was neither unmindful nor unmoved by all these other issues, but as a Minister, HE WAS COMMITTED TO THE WILL OF HIS FATHER ALONE, and for that only to which His Father was committed in Him also exclusively!
I hope, we too, will always remember that we are only committed to the will of our Lord alone and not to anyone else. Anything less than this will make us not truly free and will make us not worthy to reign with our Lord. YOU GIVE JESUS CHRIST AS GOD, THE RIGHT TO BECOME GOD IN YOU WITHOUT RESERVE.
THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
Once you have freed yourself from the bondage of authorities of the devils, it is now time for you to be used by God to battle authorities and to free your brothers and sisters from these bondages. Remember, we are in the Joshuanic Ministry. Just like Joshua, we are called to make war with authorities, dominions, principalities, powers and rulers who are squatting on the Promised Land and are caging the Church today so that the spirit of God cannot work through the Church (Eph. 6:12). To do this, you need to put on the complete Armor of God.
The whole armor of God was specially designed to utterly destroy authorities and dominions which are trying to subjugate the Church (Eph. 6:12-18). Those who know how to use and maximized these in the battle will truly be victorious. But the sad thing is, not all are fully aware of how to use it. Just like in the days of Joshua, not all are equipped to be soldiers of God. We must know how to use this armor because as we free others from bondage, we are also attacked by the enemy. We will now tackle how to use this armor to its full potential:
Eph. 6:13 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
“Put on” – you need to use them. It is not enough that you only know the Truth. You need to use them also especially on evil days and to free your brothers and sisters. They should not be kept away in your drawer. You need to put them on.
“The Full Armor” – The enemy is wise enough to look for missing parts or weak points and strike there. You need to put the whole armor to be fully protected.
“Armor of God” – It is the armor of God, not ours. Therefore, it is durable, perfect and an ideal weapon for every battle. And as we go on, we will see that this armor is actually connected to Him that’s why it is strong and perfect.
“The day of evil comes” – yes, evil days will come. The enemy will come like a flood, but through you, God will raise up standard (Isa. 59:19). That’s why we need to put them on.
“You may be able to stand your ground” – The word stands here came from the Greek word “antistēnai” meaning “to stand against, oppose, resist.” This armor will keep us from the bondage of the enemy.
1. THE BELT OF TRUTH
Eph. 6:14 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…”
A belt isn’t actually an armor or a weapon. But there is a good reason why the belt of truth is mentioned first. You know, without this belt, you cannot have the rest of the armor, for the belt held the armor together! Without the Truth, the rest is meaningless. If you lost the belt, you lost everything. If you lost the Truth, you lost everything. All parts of the armor will fly away and your pants will fall down. I know a story about a battle in the past that was won by a clever general who told his men to cut the belts of their enemy while they were sleeping. They then surprised attack the enemy the next morning. They were so busy holding up their trousers that they weren’t able to weld their swords effectively, therefore, they lost the battle.
Truth holds everything together. Share the truth to others so that they will be girded by It.
2. BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Eph 6:14 “Stand firm then… with the breastplate of righteousness in place”
This breastplate of righteousness is a strong breastplate because it is made of a strong material. It is no other than our Lord Himself. He is our righteousness (JEHOVAH TSIDKENU, Jer. 23:6). This righteousness is not our own act of righteousness but the Lord’s. Those who possess this breastplate of righteousness, are only those who possess the Lord. We only became righteous if the Lord is with us Who is the only righteous. Our own acts of righteousness are just filthy rags (Isa. 64:6) and cannot protect us from the devils.
The breastplate protects our heart. If there’s one part of the body that is often aimed at and attacked by Satan among the soldiers of God, it is no other than our heart. Our heart is prone to pride, self-exaltation and self-righteousness. This is why it is important to put on the breastplate of righteousness in serving the Lord, to remind you that it is not your own works that made you righteous, but God’s alone and He alone is your righteousness.
3. SANDALS OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
Eph 6:15 “Stand firm then with your feet shod with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
It is important to have the right footing and a firm standing during the battle. Once you lost your balance, you have already lost the battle. That’s why a sandal that is highly durable, robust and useful for both mobility and stability, is very necessary. And this is what the Gospel of Peace does to every soldier of God. It gives balance and the right footing in every battle.
When you have the Gospel of peace, first, it will remind you that no matter what, God is with you even if others will not accept you. This will give you firm standing. This will give you peace. Second, the Gospel of peace will remind you that you are not battling against flesh and blood, but against authorities (Eph. 6:12). The people are not your enemy. They are only being blinded and tied by the enemy. This will give you balance every time you are tempted to personally attack the person. The gospel of peace will remind you that even if you are in a war, you should not condemn people. When I say we should not condemn people, I am not saying that you will condone their ways in sinning. We must know the difference. Speak the Truth, but never be tempted to condemn or disfellowship people. As we can read in Philippians 4:7:
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
4. THE SHIELD OF FAITH
Eph 6:16 “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Against the flaming arrows of the enemy, Faith is our ultimate shield and defense. You need to hold on to your faith no matter what. Do not put it down. Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). So if you have already seen the evidence, you need to hold on to it and live by it. Do not be like Peter in Matthew 14:28-31 who after seeing the strong wind and the big waves (flaming arrows), put down his faith and therefore, he began to sink. No matter how big and strong are the waves, remember that they are only there to scare you. You have been given faith already. You just have to hold on to it.
When the flaming arrows of the enemy are attacking you, do not attempt to run and abandon your faith (things that have been revealed to you). It will make you vulnerable. Instead, hold on to your shield of faith for it is the only one that can shield you. Remember also that shields are stronger when held together. If soldiers of God will gather together and held their shields, they will create an impenetrable defense where no gaps can be seen and are knitted together. This is why gathering in fellowships with your brethren will strengthen not only you but also them.
5. THE HELMET OF SALVATION
Eph 6:17 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
If there is one most important part of our body, it is no other than our head. If our head is hit, then the whole body is dead. This is why it needs a protection that no matter what the enemy will do, it cannot be penetrated by its weapon. And that protection is the Helmet of Salvation. No matter what the enemy will do, our salvation cannot be taken away from us. No sins of us nor works of us can ever take it away from us. And that’s because, we were not saved by our own works, but we are saved by the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9).
We should always remember this helmet of salvation. It should give us the assurance that no matter what the enemy will do, we are already been saved. Especially since our enemy always goes for a headshot. They always aim for our minds. Protect it with the helmet of salvation.
6. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, THE WORD OF GOD
Eph 6:17 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Spirit and the Word are one (John 6:63). Among the mentioned armor of God, the sword of the Spirit is our offense. This is what you should use to free you brothers and sisters from the chains of Satan. The Word is so sharp that it can destroy any kind of authority and bondage (Heb 4:12). This is the reason why we should make the Word of God as our Absolute. Authorities can only prevail over people whose Absolute is not the Word of God.
The Sword of the Word is what the Lord Jesus had used against Satan when Satan tempted Him (Mat. 4:1-11). In order to use this sword, you should know how to weld the Word. That’s why the Apostle Paul advises us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
You need to read the Bible. You need to study how to use it so that during the battle, you will be able to know what verse or what Word you will weld at the enemy to destroy him. Goliath has thrown may fearful words at David, but David had the Word direct from the Spirit of God. Goliath may have had a large sword and a spear, but David had a spiritual double-edged sword and the power of the Spirit that Goliath knew nothing about.
PRAYER – AN ALL-POWERFUL WEAPON
Eph 6:18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
The armor of God will not be complete without prayer. Prayer is the 7th component to complete the Armor. Therefore, prayer perfects the whole armor of God (seven means Spiritual Perfection). Without prayer, the warriors of God cannot have a perfect offense and defense.
As you can see, unlike the six components of the armor of God that were first mentioned by Paul in verses 14 to 17 which have specific roles as either offense or defense, prayer, on the other hand, has both the offensive and the defensive roles. You can use it as defense and at the same time for the offense. This is why it is a complete and perfect armor and weapon. Among the seven, the one that a warrior should never ever neglect is prayer. If you have prayer, then you have both the offensive and the defensive advantage in this warfare. You have the all-powerful weapon.
Again, prayer is not your plan B, it should always be your plan A. Just like what 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says:
“Pray without ceasing.”
CONCLUSION
You need to be free. This is the key so that our Lord can truly use you. Liberty is a primary requirement for grace to work in us today. Once you are free, put on the whole armor of God so that you can also free your brothers and sisters.
It is actually my dream, to see every child of God free. When we are free, it is only then that Grace can fully operate. When we are free, it is only then that the Spirit of the Lord can fully use us. When we are free, it is only then that we can soar high like an Eagle.
God bless you in your battle soldier of God! Equip yourself. Free your brothers and sisters. And remember that your Captain Who is the Lord of host is always with you (Jos. 5:14).
Be free!
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