As we continue our study of the full armor of God, the second half of Ephesians 6:17 states that we must also take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The sword is part of the armor that is used for protection, but it is also the only offensive weapon that we have been given. First let us consider how it is used defensively.
I have a friend, Dr. John Chacha, who grew up in one of the poorest villages in Africa. When he went to school his teachers used to tell him that it was useless for him to seek an education, because he was doomed to a life of poverty from which he could never escape. He continued going to school even though he believed his teachers as they were the primary authority figures in his life. Then he became a Christian and started reading the Bible. He read that if he had faith in God he could do anything. He determined to believe the Word of God over what he had been told his whole life. He even started believing that he could go to America and start a successful ministry.
When a way was provided for him to go to America, he did not hesitate. He arrived with $85 in his pocket and rejoiced that he had so much to sow as seed for his new ministry, and he gave it all away. In a short time Dr. Chacha had a thriving ministry in America, but his heart burned to help the multitudes in Africa to break free from the devil’s curse over them that had tried to doom his own life. He started going back to Africa where he helped to start nearly five hundred Bible schools. Already thousands have been released into ministry all over the continent, who are carrying the Word of God to some of the world’s poorest people, who are being set free.
As a defensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit is especially used to block the sword of the devil, which of course is the word of the devil. The devil repeatedly prophesied over Dr. Chacha that he could never escape the poverty of his little village in Africa. As soon as the sword of the Spirit was put in his hand, he used it to block those negative prophecies by simply determining to believe the Word of God above anything else. Dr. Chacha continues to see many miracles in his life and ministry because he simply believes the Word of God over anything else that he hears.
The sword of the Spirit can block any word that the devil sends at us. All we have to do is use it. Is that not what Jesus did when the devil tempted Him? Repeatedly He said, “It is written!” If the Word Himself would so use the written Word, how much more should we? What negative words have been spoken over you? Words like: “You’ll never be a success. Your marriage will fail. You’re going to die of cancer like your parent,” etc. You need to immediately take up the sword of the Spirit against these swords of the devil and drive them back. They will only be true prophecies if you do not resist them.
Now let’s talk about how we use the sword of the Spirit offensively. II Corinthians 10:4-5 says:
destruction of fortresses.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the
knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of
Christ,
The devil erects fortresses of deception that keep people in bondage with his negative words. He uses fear to bind people the way the Lord uses faith to set us free. Words are without question the most powerful force in the world. The Word of God has the power of God behind it. This is why statements that were spoken under the anointing of the Spirit have changed history more than armies ever could.
Leo Tolstoy, possibly the greatest novelist of all time, once said, “Prophecy is like a fire that is lit in a dry wood. It will burn and burn and burn until all of the wood, hay, and stubble is consumed.” Tolstoy used the destruction of slavery as an example of this. When righteous men and women spoke under the anointing that slavery was wrong, a fire began to burn all over the world. Within decades an institution that had existed all over the world since the beginning of recorded history, ceased to exist on the earth except in a few scattered, remote places.
When during the Civil War Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, who had written the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, he said to her, “So you’re the little lady who started this great war!” Words, spoken or written under the anointing of God, have a power like no other power on earth. We have been entrusted with this power and must learn to use it until every evil stronghold has been destroyed.
Of course the ultimate stronghold of the devil over the earth will be broken by the sword that comes from the Lord’s own mouth when He returns. However, we are not supposed to wait until then to use what He has entrusted to us. What are the evil strongholds in your family? Ask the Lord to give you the anointed words to speak over your family. Find the Scriptures that address the problem and begin to speak them, pray them, and believe them.
Are there evil strongholds at the office or warehouse where you work? Is there slander, backbiting, bitterness, or stealing? As Christians we should take it as a personal insult from the devil when he does this kind of thing in our spiritual domain, and we should go on the offensive against him. Start speaking the Word of God over your fellow employees.
When you do this, you do not even have to tell others what you’re doing. If there is stealing going on, determine first that this evil will not conquer you, and resolve to always walk in the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Determine that walking in truth and the honor that is befitting of a child of the King is more important than any promotion or advantage that a little deception may give you. When you see others being taken over by this spirit of cheating or stealing, ask the Lord to give you words to speak over them about how they are going to be standards of integrity and honor, etc. You will see changes. Sometimes it takes a while to tear down especially thick strongholds, but they will come down.
These are just a couple of brief examples of how we must learn to use the sword of the Spirit. Two of my most recent books, Breaking the Power of Evil, and Overcoming Evil in the Last Days address this subject in a lot more depth and scope. I have received many responses from people who think that these are the two most powerful books that I have yet written. I appreciate the encouragement, but what encourages me even more is to hear of the strongholds that the devil has had in people’s lives being destroyed. We must get free. We must set all of our brothers and sisters in Christ free, and then we must go after every evil stronghold that the devil has erected to keep mankind in bondage. Let us be found so doing when the Lord returns. It is time to start using the sword that has been given to us!
