Learning Spiritual Warfare Page 7

A helmet protects your head, your vision, your brain, your neck, and it is a vital part of any soldier’s armor and you will find that it will save your spiritual. The mind is the first battleground that we must conquer in this war, and we need the helmet of salvation to protect our very thoughts.

Literally, the helmet of salvation gives me the protection of my mind and my thoughts by the salvation of the Lord. Hebrews 5:9 “ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; “

Jesus Christ is your salvation, and He is your deliverer. When we obey Him, he is our salvation. When the enemy tries to steal your soul, then Jesus brings to you your salvation and gives you eternal, abundant life.

John 10:10 “ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly. “

And although the enemy tries to steal our peace, our righteousness and attack the very thoughts of our minds, Jesus is a helmet of salvation for my life.

Philippians 4:7 “ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. “

Quoting this scripture again, here you see that through Jesus Christ, the peace of God is a guard that will guard your very thoughts. The Greek word for keep means literally to guard. Jesus will guard your thoughts or minds and your feelings, or your hearts. Clothe your mind with Jesus.

Strongholds that Satan builds in our lives are literally strongholds of our minds. They are built from thoughts that we have. We will see this in more detail when we study strongholds, but until then look at this:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV) “ 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 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; “

Strongholds are places in our thinking that the forces of Satan use against us. They are fortified with wrong thoughts that are contrary to the truth of God and can lead us to sin, despair, depression, doubt, and ruin. Many times, demons manipulate us through these spiritual strongholds of the mind.

And these strongholds starts with “thoughts”. Thoughts are spiritual in nature. Your thought life is spiritual. This is why sin starts with the thought life. That is why a many fantasizing about adultery and feeding that kind of lustful thinking is the same as doing it in God’s eyes.

Jesus will protect your thought life if you will submit it unto Him. This does not mean that you will never have a temptation or a disturbing thought..... but you can submit your mind to Christ and He will take into captivity those thoughts that build strongholds against Him.

And one last verse. And although one translation of a sound mind means self-control, what it really says is a sound mind that gives us self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7 “ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. “

You can put on the helmet of salvation, and the enemy cannot overcome your mind.

The Sword of the Spirit, and here you see not a defensive weapon, but instead an offensive weapon. This is the one offensive weapon in our arsenal, but it is more than enough. This is one of the weapons that God gives us that tears down strongholds. The word of God cannot be overstated in giving it’s importance in our victories.

It is a sword of the spirit for the Holy Spirit is involved in this weapon. You see, you cannot fight a spiritual fight with fleshly or carnal weapons. And the Holy Spirit gives us weapons more powerful than any demon’s weapons. This sword is the one thing that the powers of Satan are afraid you might learn to use.

This sword is further qualified by the explanation, which is the Word of God. The word of God. There are two New Testament Greek words for ‘word’. One is Logos.... the perfect entire written word of God which is used in John 1:1..... Jesus Christ was the Logos of God. This is not the word used here.

Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) " For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. "

POINT TO PONDER: I recently discovered something in God's Word that astounded me! I found that the word for "Word" in Ephesians 6 when speaking of the sword of the Spirit is rhema, which is the spoken Word. I found that the Greek for the word, "WORD" in Hebrews when speaking of the sword of the Spirit is LOGOS, which is the written or perfect established Word. In the beginning was the logos or Word.

I have come to the understanding that in the battlefield of our own minds where the Word of God literally cuts out the ungodly thought patters and puts all our thoughts under the subjection of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5), and strongholds in our own mind are broken down by this sword... then this is the LOGOS of God. Jesus said that we would "KNOW THE TRUTH" and that the "TRUTH WOULD MAKE US FREE". When we get the logos of the Word in our minds, that sword of the Spirit cuts away the sin and carnality and reveals what is really there.

BUT, when we use that sword of the Spirit in others in this "good fight of faith", then we are using the RHEMA or SPOKEN WORD. We speak the Word in faith... praying and believing and speaking the Word of God. This tears down strongholds in other people's lives! The sword of the Spirit used here in Ephesians 6 is the Rhema or the spoken word, and it is a very powerful offensive weapons of the Spirit.

The word for ‘word’ here is Rhema {ray-ma}, which means the SPOKEN WORD OF GOD. It’s the proclaimed or spoken word, not the written word. There is a difference. It wields power against the Devil when you speak the word in faith.

Throwing a bible at a demon won’t scare him, but if you speak the word to him, it will cut him. The word will overcome the enemy... not yelling real loud, or even praying long... if we pray amiss. It is when we pray the word and speak the word that it will tear down strongholds.

Matthew 4:1-11 “ 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. {tempt: or, try, or, put to trial, or, proof} 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 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. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. “

The Devil will quote scripture, too. But watch out, he will either misquote it or use it out of context. Jesus used the word against even this wile of the Devil. The authority of the word will destroy the power of the devil.

The word of God is alive and powerful and when the Holy Spirit touches it, it becomes very powerful indeed. Jesus said this....

John 6:63 “ It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. “

The words of Jesus are alive and powerful and made alive by the Holy Spirit. You must have Spirit and Truth together to have real power or according to John 4, true worship. But when the Spirit makes the Word of God come alive, it becomes a powerful weapon.

Hebrews 4:12 “ For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. “

It will cut out the carnality and bring a balm to the spirit. It will make the Spirit healthy and destroy the power of the devil through our flesh. The enemy uses our flesh, and word of God destroys that power that he has. When we speak the word it is sharp enough to not only to remove our carnality, but to back the devil off of our lives.

We see this same symbolism in the book of Revelation coming from the mouth of Jesus:

Revelation 1:16 “ And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. “

Revelation 19:15-16 “ 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. “

When we speak the word of God, and we use the authority of the word and the Holy Spirit gives power to that word, we are using the sword of the Spirit. Now, how do you get the Spirit of God involved.... by praying and seeking God’s face and submitting yourselves to God first.

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2008 Study prepared for the Cawood Church of God at Cawood, Kentucky