GOD'S VOICE 8: THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE

Your Spiritual armor is primarily for defensive purposes, however you do have offensive weapons which you can use to strike the enemy with. Spiritual weapons fall into two categories: Warheads and rockets.


As the names imply spiritual warheads are the explosives that do the damage and spiritual rockets are the mode of transport.

SPIRITUAL WARHEADS

A spiritual warhead is responsible for creating the damage on the works of the enemy. There are three different warheads that you can use during spiritual warfare.

I. The name of Jesus.

Philippians 2:10 says "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." The primary purpose of using the name of Jesus in spiritual warfare is to bring deliverance from the power of the enemy. Satan cannot resist the name of Jesus in anyway, he has to submit to it. You can experience total deliverance and freedom in Christ by speaking out the name of "Jesus".

2. The blood of Jesus.

Revelation 12:11 says "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." The primary purpose of using the blood of Jesus in spiritual warfare is to bring protection from the power of the enemy. The blood of Jesus forms a barrier of protection which  demonic forces cannot penetrate. You can prevent the enemy harming or touching someone by praying for the protection of the blood of Jesus over them.

3. The word of God.

Ephesians 6:17 says "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The primary purpose of using the word of God in spiritual warfare is to expose the enemy's lies. The devil has no answer to the word of God. You can reveal the enemy's lies and deceit by speaking out scripture.

SPIRITUAL ROCKETS

A spiritual rocket is responsible for moving or carrying the warheads to their destination. There are four different types of rockets which you can use:

I. Prayer

Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Prayer is communicating with God and is a means of engaging in spiritual warfare. During prayer you can target the enemy and cast him down. Here are some guidelines for engaging in battle in prayer.

Pray in tongues.

Begin by praying in tongues. This will help you to focus your mind onto God. When you pray in tongues you will build up and strengthen your spirit to get the job done.

Pray in line with God's will.

Find out what outcome the Lord wants and pray for that to come to pass. One of the keys to answered prayer is to spend time listening to God first to find out what he is saying.

Be specific.

When you enter into warfare through prayer be specific about what you are asking for. Don't be vague in your requests to God and don't waffle! God does not hear us for our many words.

2. Preaching 

2 Timothy 4:2 says "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season." You and I must be ready to preach at all times. Preaching is essentially communicating God's word to others. This may involve standing up in front of an audience and telling them the message which God has given you or it may be on a one to one basis. The main thing in every day life as well as public speaking is to be right with God. If you are in close communion with the Holy Spirit and submitted to God, you will hear from him what he wants you to say each step of the way. Here are some guidelines for preaching when it is in front of an audience and you have time to prepare.

Prepare your message.

Preparation is vital for a dynamic message. Spend time researching your subject. Use a concordance to find out all the relevant scriptures then construct your mess age in a clear orderly way. This will help you remember the key points. Keep it simple and don't use jargon and words that people don't understand.

Rehearse your message.

Practice makes perfect. Every time you preach it will be different but there is nothing wrong in practicing what you want to say.

Live your message.

Be sure to know that if you don't live out what you preach the people will not listen to you. Living what you preach will add power to your message.

Be yourself and don't give up

When preaching don't try to imitate the evangelist you've seen on Christian TV. More people will listen to what you have to say if you just be yourself. Use every preach as a stepping stone to the next. Don't give up if you make a mistake, learn from it and put it right the next time.

3. Testimony. 

Revelation 12:11 says "They overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony". A testimony is a personal account of what you have seen, heard or experienced. Sharing your testimony simply involves telling someone else about what you have seen God doing in either your own or someone else's life. Here are some guidelines for giving a testimony.

Don't exaggerate.

You don't have to add to your testimony to make it more powerful. Just tell how it is.

Don't dwell on the past.

If you have been save from a 'bad background' you don't have to go into all the details. Too many people end up just talking to about what they have done or what they used to be. All you have to do is give a brief summary and description, the most important bit is what God has done since then.

Be bold.

Sharing a testimony with non-Christians can be intimidating and takes courage. Like other things the first time is always the most difficult. You will find more courage to testify the more you do it.

Give God the glory.

A well presented testimony will always magnify Jesus. Again too many people concentrate on 'me', 'myself' and 'I'. Concentrate on Jesus and what he has done instead.

4. Praise and worship

2 Chronicles 20:22 says "As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. " When you enter into a time of praise and worship God sends out his angels to fight on your behalf. They will set traps and ambushes for the enemy so that you will be protected from them. Here are some guidelines for praise and worship.

Focus on Jesus. 

When you begin to sing to God close you eyes and concentrate on him. This will prevent you from being distracted by what to others are doing around you.

Don't be ashamed.

People admire honesty. It something has impressed you or excited you admit it. There is nothing to be embarrassed about singing out loud God.

Sing with all your heart. 

Praise and worship will be more effective when you sing with all of your heart. Don't be half hearted, sing 'loud and proud'.

CONCLUSION

By combining spiritual warheads with the spiritual rockets you can create powerful, mighty weapons that will tear down and destroy all the works of the enemy.

PRAY

"Lord Jesus, teach me how to use my spiritual weapons"

END