Stand Taking The Sword Of The Spirit

The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Ephesus about the spiritual battle they are in. He urges them to be strong in the Lord and put on the whole armor of God. Satan wants to deceive and take away the blessings God has given us, but he cannot steal them. We must stand firm in truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace. We also need the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, to protect us in the battle against the enemy. Anyone would be able to fully exhaust everything that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus that is here. But in this final section, the Apostle Paul writes, beginning in verse 10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the walls of the devil. 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. And if you haven't realized it by now, hopefully today you will realize that we are in a battle. We are definitely in a war. It's not a physical battle. It's not a physical war, but it is a spiritual battle. And it is a spiritual battle that is being fought against powers of darkness, against an attitude of wickedness that is filtering through our nation, through our homes, through our churches. Even today it is a battle that is very much alive and very much that is real. And so Paul goes on and he says in verse 13, Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Wherefore, we are to take the whole armor of God in order that we might be able to stand or even withstand during the evil days. We are living in the evil days. We are living in the day and time that I believe is getting very close to the return of Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews told us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but even much more as we see the day approaching because we need to realize that everything we have is in Christ alone. And Satan is clever. Satan is smart. And he wants to do anything and everything that he can to try to deceive us and to take us away from relying and trusting on Christ alone. And as we look at this word, stand, that keeps coming up over and over and over in this passage, what we find is that this stand has the idea of holding a critical position against the attacks of the enemy. And when we look at society today, as I've already mentioned, there are so many churches, there are so many Christians, there are so many pastors that are getting away from Christ alone. That Christ is sufficient for anything and everything that we need. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And so we need to understand and we need to realize this morning that we have this sufficiency in Jesus Christ. You go all the way back to Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3, and Paul said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Where? In Christ. In Christ. We have the truth. In Christ we have the truth about how Jesus Christ loves us, how Jesus Christ cares for us. We have His church. We have His Word. We have the Holy Spirit that He has left for us. We have His grace. We have His salvation. We have His blessings. And we could go on and on and on of all of the spiritual things that God has given us. But Satan, that old wily devil, that trickster, the author of confusion and chaos, does not want us to have everything that we've been given in Jesus Christ. And so he sets out in this world today and he attempts every trick and he sets every trap in order to diminish the influence of those blessings upon our lives. See, he comes to rob, to steal, and to kill. Jesus Christ came to give life and life more abundantly. But I want you to understand this morning, and if you don't get anything else out of the armor of God, understand that Satan cannot steal the blessings that God has given you. Satan can't do it. He can, however, nullify those blessings in our life. He can remove the joy and the peace and the comfort that we have in Jesus Christ, but he cannot steal the blessings. Unfortunately, we have many today that are just giving their blessings away to Him instead of hanging on. And it's very important that we stand and don't give up the ground that Jesus Christ has given us. And so Paul, once again in verse 14, says, Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having the breastplate of righteousness. Because Satan is so good at what he does, because he wants so much to rob us of the blessings that God has given us, Paul again reminds us to stand. Don't give up that critical ground that we have gained. And he says that we need to put on the whole armor of God. And he begins to break down this armor. And notice he uses the word for the first three pieces, having. Having, and every one of these three things we have, they've already been given to us in Jesus Christ. We just have to put them on. And we just have to wear them. And we have to focus in Christ alone. And so he says, having the belt of truth. It speaks of a life that is built upon the faithfulness of the Word of God. It speaks of a life that is built upon the God of His Word. The belt of truth is what gives us stability and preparation for the battle. And it's the Word of God, the belt of truth, that secures us and helps us. It's where the other things like the sword of the Spirit that we're going to talk about today would hang and be attached. It was the core of everything about our preparation and our confidence in what Jesus Christ is going to do. And then he mentions the breastplate of righteousness. It speaks of that holiness, that living in the conformity to the Word of God. If we trust Jesus Christ, if we have accepted Jesus Christ, then it only stands natural that we should live for Jesus Christ. If Christ can save us from our sins, then Christ can also give us the power over our sins. He gives us the power and the ability to live for Him. And when we allow Him to come into our lives, then what happens is most of the time we end up getting away from Christ and we allow sin to come into our life and sin to take over our life. And what we do is we give Satan the opening and the opportunity to attack us and to exploit us, thereby rendering our testimony and the glory of God, what He can do in an individual that is completely sold out to Him. It's totally ruined and taken away from us. Paul reminded us in chapter 4 of Ephesians verse 27. He says, neither give place to the devil. Don't give the devil a foothold into your life. And so how do we do that? We do that by putting on Christ, by accepting Christ, the truth of Christ, the holiness of Christ. And then he says, lastly, having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Our shoes that we wear are shoes of peace. It speaks of the foundation in Jesus Christ. The fact that we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. And we stand firm in that knowledge. I did not do anything for my salvation and I cannot do anything to lose my salvation. I am at peace with God because I've accepted His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Satan cannot bring about doubt in our lives, helping us to stand sure and steadfast in our salvation. And the shoes of the gospel of peace give us confidence in what the Lord has done for us, given us the witness of the power of Jesus Christ. It's not by my will, but it's through Christ that lives within me. And then he goes on to the next three items and he reminds us, and within three items of the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of peace, folks, we have everything that we need to confront Satan, to live for Jesus Christ in this wicked and perverse world. But Paul goes on and he says, here's a few other things. He says, you have these things and you can trust these things and they're good enough. However, he says, guess what? Here's some items that when it really gets tough, when the battle really gets hard, when the traps and the trickery of Satan really gets taken advantage of us, here's three items that we can take for just that little extra boost. Not that Christ needs, but that we need. And notice what he says. He says, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. The shield of faith speaks to us about the simple faith in God that allows us to trust Him at all times in all situations. When Satan tries to make us doubt, when Satan tries to discourage us, it is our faith that we hold up, that we can crouch behind. It is our faith that we can get behind and not one single one of his errors or temptations would be able to pierce our heart or our mind. As a matter of fact, Paul wrote to the church at Rome in chapter 1, verse 17. He says, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. From faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. And sometimes, man, when the battle gets heated and the doubt and the deception begins to come upon us, sometimes all we have that we can rely on is our faith. We can't walk by sight. We can't walk by hearing. We just have to rely on what Jesus Christ has promised us. But our faith should be sufficient. And then he goes on and he says, and also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. When we think about the helmet of salvation, it speaks of having that full assurance in our salvation that protects us from doubt and discouragement. We cannot be insecure in our relationship with Jesus Christ and be effective in the Bible. And unfortunately, there are so many Christians today that are confused and not sure of their salvation. They're confused and they're not sure about their relationship with Jesus Christ. Are they at peace? Are they at war? Is Jesus Christ for us or is Jesus Christ against us? And we need to get that settled in our mind. And so we take the helmet of salvation. Confidence. Confidence in the work of Jesus Christ and Christ alone gives us the ability to stand for Him, even when Satan and his kingdom attacks us. And today, we come to the last piece of armor. The last thing that Paul says we are to have is the sword of the Spirit. Now when Paul mentions this sword of the Spirit, he immediately defines it for us, which is the Word of God. So he takes out all speculation and everything else. But I want us to understand a description of this sword because I believe it helps us to understand precisely what Paul is trying to get across when he takes a physical armor that represents a spiritual armor. Something that Jesus Christ has given for us and provided for us. And there's two major words that are used for a sword in the Bible, in the Greek New Testament. One is called the rampha. I've been practicing this all week and I knew I would still blow it. And that's why I don't like to use Greek words very much. But anyway, you know this word starts with an R. Ramphapham. And it's a long, broad sword. It is the double-edged sword. It is the sword that is swung that many of them use when riding horses. Because it would reach longer. It was more devastating. And the other is the word makare. And makare is a Greek word that describes a knife, and more specifically, a short sword that was carried by a Roman soldier for hand-to-hand combat. This short sword was actually between 6 inches to 18 inches. It was never more than 18 inches. And most of the time was between 12 inches and 18 inches. But it could go down as small as 6 inches. This is the sword that the apostle Paul in the Greek word that he uses here for the sword of the Spirit. And it is a blade that is carried in a scabbard that is attached to the soldier's belt in order for it to be always available and ready for use. Therefore, the short sword was an indispensable component to the Roman soldier's armor. Not only did it provide protection for him when he was in hand-to-hand combat, but it was very helpful in accomplishing many of the tasks when they were out in the field, when they were out camping, when they were living their day-to-day life around the camp. They would oftentimes reach in and use that short sword for different various things. And so that's the sword that we're talking about. Why does it matter? Why does it matter? Because I believe it matters in the interpretation of what we are meaning and what Paul is meaning by this sword of the Spirit. And so notice the depiction of the sword that Paul gives. He said it is the sword of the Spirit. It is the sword of the Spirit. Now if that makes us focus, it's not necessarily about the physical sword. What Paul is trying to give us is a spiritual meaning, a spiritual understanding to what he is talking about. And he identifies this sword as the sword of the Spirit. And then if we don't understand that enough, then you notice the commas there is a parenthetical where he describes this spiritual sword. He said, which is the Word of God. Therefore, we don't need to go off and try to figure out what this Spirit is or anything else. Paul is very blunt. Paul is very much to the point. And notice the origin of this sword. It is from the Spirit. And when we think about the Word of God being from the Spirit, a weapon that we can use to defend ourselves, to fight amongst the enemies that is there, this Bible that we hold in our hand is a spiritual book. We know that the Bible came from the Spirit of God. Matter of fact, Peter explains it to us in chapter 1, verse 2 of his second letter. He said, For prophecy came not in old time by the will of men. Men didn't just sit down and write and figure out what they wanted to write and give it to us, no. Look at what God said. God said, But holy men of God spake, as they were what? Moved by the Holy Ghost. In other words, that moved is a word of energizing. It is a word that comes upon us. It's the same exact word that the Greeks would use of a mother hen. When her baby chicks would be cold or the temperature changed, how that they would come up under her and through her body she would begin to shiver and she would energize her body to produce the heat in order for the baby chicks to be warmed up under her wings. And guess what? Holy men of God were energized by the Holy Spirit of God in order that they might write this Bible for us. Matter of fact, Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Not only is it that they were moved by the Holy Spirit, energized by the Holy Spirit, but this Scripture tells us that it was literally the breath of God coming through that Holy Spirit, coming down to the pages that we have before us today. And he says that all of the Scripture, everything from Genesis 1-1 to Revelation 22-21 is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness in order that we might, as the man of God, as the children of God, may be perfect, thoroughly furnished, equipped for all good works. See, the Word of God is given to us. It is the last item, and we are to take the Word of God in order that we might go before this world, but we might confront Satan and all of his wickedness. Listen to me very, very carefully this morning. You need to be able to trust your sword. You need to be able to trust your sword. It's your last piece of defense. It is your last and only object of offense in order to push back the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. If you question the accuracy of the Scripture, if you question the clarity of Scripture, if you question the integrity of Scripture, you are going to be very reluctant when it comes to the battle to use it, if you're not sure. You know, it's amazing today at how many individuals own guns and weapons, right? But how many of them are actually equipped when it comes down to it to use that weapon? Because we haven't practiced. We haven't got familiar with it. I know one of the things, talking to guys that were in the military, was the hours that they would spend even in the dark being able to break down their weapon and reassemble it without even being able to look. They were so familiar with it. Why? Because when you get into the battle and you have a problem, you can't say, hey, time out, I've got to fix my gun, right? You've got to be ready. You've got to be prepared. And folks, we have to have a high view of the Scripture. And we see Satan working today. And what does he do? And above all, he is destroying the Scripture. He has so much uncertainty over the Scripture. He has got people within his churches today, good Christian people, followers of Jesus Christ, who are arguing over which version can we trust, which Bible can we understand, and what has he done? He has completely demolished all trust that we have in the Word of God. We don't have a high view of Scripture if you're not ready to take it and use it in every occasion, you're going to find yourself in trouble when it comes to the battle. Listen to me very, very carefully this morning. The Bible that you have in your hand this morning is not just an ordinary book. It's not like a novel that you check out at the library or anywhere else. The Bible that you have, the book that you hold in your hand this morning, is the Word of God. It is inspired and breathed by God. Do you understand that this book that you hold in your hand is infallible? Now that's a big, old-timey King James word that literally means absolutely trustworthy. As a matter of fact, Solomon in Proverbs 30, verses 5 through 6, says every Word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust into Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. How many people today are being proven over and over and over to be liars because they add to or they take away from the Word of God. We see it from evolution. We see it from gender identity. We see it from critical race theory. We see all of these problems and this wickedness that we have in the world today because why? We think we cannot absolutely trust the Word of God. The psalmist wrote in Psalms 12, 6, the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times. Do you know what that means by purified seven times? That means that the refiner has taken the silver and here is what he has done. He has heated it up to the point that that metal breaks down and comes to a liquid form and begins to boil. And then what he does is he stops. He takes all of the impurities off of the top and he takes and lets it cool down. As it cools down, guess what? All of the impurities rise to the outside. And then what does he do? That was one time. He heats it up and melts it again. And if there's any more impurities... And look at what he says. He says the Word of God is pure. The silver has been tried in the furnace and purified seven times. There is no more impurity that is there. You know, one of the reasons that I preach from the King James, one of the reasons that I use the King James is because for over 200 years it has been tried. It has been tested. It has been done. And guess what? It has always stood every problem and every encounter that it's ever had. There are no contradictions. We can trust the Word of God. Are there some things that man has translated that could be done differently or better? Yes, they can. But God didn't say He would preserve His translation. He said He would preserve His Word. And we have had that, and we can trust that today. And so notice what else He has in these pages. It gives us the truth of who God is. In these pages we find the truth of who we are. Not only who God is, holy, but who we are as sinners. It gives us the identity of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It gives us the way of salvation, the source of all faith. It gives us help for every single battle. Hope for every road that we travel. Peace for every time of turmoil in our life. It gives us joy to sustain in times of sorrow. It gives us wisdom for all of the questions of life. It gives us guidance and direction for all the paths we walk. See, the Bible is a book to be read. The Bible is to be a book that is believed. The Bible is a book to be enjoyed and trusted because it is the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. As a matter of fact, in Luke 11 and verse 28, He said, "...For they who read are blessed, or they that hear the word of God and keep it." See, the Word of God is good enough that we should obey it. It's trustworthy enough that we should live by it. Peter said that we should also allow the Scripture to be a source of growth. He says, "...As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby." It produces growth within our life, but it also gives us confidence in the Word of God. Paul was so confident in the Word of God that he said, "...I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it..." Not the preacher. Not the message. Not the Sunday school teacher. But the Word of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes it. To the Jew first. And also to the Greek. Scripture is our source of guidance. The psalmist wrote in Psalms 119, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Scripture is our source of comfort. When times are tough, Paul said, "...For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." You know, we live in a wicked world. We live in a bad world. But understand, we have hope because of the Word of God. I have read the end of the book. I have read in Revelation 20 where devil who is so wily, who is so cunning, who is so trickful, guess what? He is going to be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. There will be no return. Amen? We can trust that. No matter what happens today. No matter the battles that we win or the battles that we lose, Christ has already won the war. Therefore, Paul tells us to comfort one another with the Word of God. Notice lastly the deployment of the sword. How do we use this sword? Yes, we understand that the sword is a spirit that gives us the Word of God. But how do we use it? And I want you to understand, this is where that short sword becomes very much essential to the work of the Roman soldier. That is not this broad sword. When we are in a battle and we are fighting against Satan, it is essential to us as the Christian soldier to make sure that we use the Word of God defensively. Now one of the things with the big old broad sword, if you've ever held one or looked at one, they are very heavy and awkward. And listen to me very, very carefully this morning. Paul, as he writes this passage, specifically uses the Word in here for this short sword. There's also many words in the Bible that mean the Bible, the Scripture. As a matter of fact, one of the words that we probably hear the most that even my Bible software program that I use almost every single day took on the name of the Greek word logos. Logos. It's actually the same exact word that we find in John 1 and verse 1 where it says, in the beginning was the Word, logos. And the Word, logos, was with God. And the Word, logos, was God. And that word logos, as we think about it, it talks about and refers to the entirety of the Word of God. But it also refers to the nature of Jesus Christ and how that Christ is the Word and that Word of God, that breath of God, that inspiration of God became flesh and dwelt among us. You see, the Bible is a whole entire story about Jesus Christ. And not only is it a story, it's not something that we have to wonder about, but Jesus Christ came and lived before us and proved what the Bible said down to the very exact details that was there. He didn't use that word logos here. No, He also didn't use the word graphe. Graphe is a Greek word that we hear a lot of times that is translated Scripture. And it's used for the totality of the Bible. As a matter of fact, we used the word while ago in 2 Timothy 3.16. All Scripture is given by inspiration. That is that word graphe. And what it means is everything from Genesis 1-1 to Revelation 22-21, the entire Scripture was given to us by inspiration of God. When Paul says, take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, he didn't use graphe either. He didn't say the whole Bible, but here's what he did say. He used the word rhema. The word rhema. And the word rhema is a fascinating word because it literally means a brief statement or a verbal command that requires action. Thereby referring to a smaller section of individual words. You see, it's not this big, broad sword. When Satan comes to confront us, we don't defend ourselves with the entire Scripture. No, the defense comes through portions of the Scripture by knowing the minute details, the things that are specifically going to deflect the deadly blow of a parae that we have between Satan and ourselves and that the sword was used more often than not to parae this deadly blow than it was to inflict the blow. It was there for their quick protection. That's the word that Paul uses here. Not only was this sword used defensively, but it was also used offensively. In other words, just as that short sword was essential to the work of the Roman soldier, the Word of God is essential to the Christian soldier. You see, it is to be used as a weapon, as an offensive weapon. As a matter of fact, 2 Corinthians 10 3, the Apostle Paul really explains this to us and gives us a full understanding of what he is talking about in the letter to the church at Ephesus. And he says, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. Now I want you to understand that we walk in the flesh. Now I know a lot of times when we use the word flesh, we are referring to that sinful nature, right? That we are fleshly. We are carnal. We are sinful. But he's not talking about walking in sinfulness here. No, he's talking about walking in a human body. He's simply just talking about you and I are flesh and bone. We are a physical body. And a physical body cannot engage in a spiritual war with physical weapons. It just will not work. You cannot do it. It will not suffice. And therefore, if we are not of the flesh, then we have to be of the Spirit. That's why Jesus Christ said, worship Me in spirit and in truth. Do we worship Jesus Christ physically? Yes. But guess what? He is now seated at the right hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for us. In order to come to the throne of God, we have to come in the Spirit. I can't sit down and just talk with Jesus Christ in the flesh like the apostles could. And so we protect ourselves with the spiritual armor, but we make more with spiritual weapons. And so what is this spiritual weapon that he is talking about? He goes on in verse 4, and he says, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're not physical weapons. But they're mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. In other words, the weapons that we use to fight against the walls of Satan to be able to stand and not give up the ground and the blessings that we have already acquired, this is talking about a divinely powerful and mighty weapon. A weapon that was given to us by God Himself. This weapon is a whole lot more than just a little bitty small sword or a dagger. This weapon is powerful enough that Paul says right here that it is able to pull down strongholds. That word strongholds literally means a mighty fortress. A mighty fortress. Now how many of you honestly really do believe that you can take a little bitty dagger, a little bitty short sword, and go tear down an entire mighty fortress? How many of us are trying to fight a spiritual war with physical short swords? He says, man, we have to fight with spiritual stuff. Things that God has given us. What kind of fortress do we attack? What kind of fortress is there that we can bring down with this powerful weapon of God? Look at verse 5. He says, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. You ought to write this Scripture down. You ought to go back and read it every single day. We have this mighty weapon to do what? To cast down imaginations. To cast down every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God in order that we might what? Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Jesus Christ. We have so many imaginations out there. We have so many speculations. So many ideas. So many theories. So many viewpoints. So many lies. Anything that is anti-God and against the concept or ideas or theories or viewpoints. Religion. Philosophy. That is raised up against the knowledge of God. We see it everywhere today. We see people confused. Romans 1 says, when they knew that there was a God, they chose not to worship Him as God. And therefore, He turned them over. Look at what Paul says. Paul says that God has given us a wonderful weapon to fight against all of these lies. And see, the problem is the church has set back. And what has happened? We've got quiet. We've got quiet. We don't preach the Word of God. We don't share the Word of God. We just come and assemble ourselves together and we think, man, we stand behind the Word of God and God says at the end, He's going to win. But guess what? He has left us here to fight amongst these spiritual forces that are doing evil and wickedness in our world. All you need. You don't need to condemn somebody to hell. That's not what God told us to do. He told us to preach the Word. He told us to share the Word of God. Just to use what God has given us. So see, in a sense, what we are seeing is this offensive power of spiritual truth. When we use the Word of God defensively, when we use it to defend against all of the wiles and the tricks and the temptation of Satan, do you realize that that weapon of defense automatically, without you having to do anything else, turns into a weapon of offense? See, we hear this so many times and so many people have messed up this armor of God and I hope that I've learned things and I hope that you've learned things as we've gone through this of what Paul is actually talking about, but so many people have talked about this is our weapon of offense. God has given us one weapon of offense. No, these are all weapons of defense. First, because we're fighting against spiritual forces. But guess what? The Word of God is so powerful and so mighty that as we use it to defend, it all of a sudden becomes a weapon of offense against all of these deceptions and ideologies, these anti-God concepts that bring about every thought of ours. God wants us to take the Word of God and to bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ. You can trust God. And if you trust God, then doesn't it make sense that we should obey God? If His Word is true, doesn't it make sense that we should obey it? But let me give you an example of how it's used effectively. Since it is a mainly defensive weapon that turns offense, let me give you a very effective example of how we are to use the Word of God specifically and precisely in order to defend against the attacks of the devil. If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew 4. Matthew 4. It's an illustration that all of you are going to be familiar with when you get there because it is the temptation of Jesus Christ. And it is an illustration of Jesus Christ going against Satan and deploying the sword of the Spirit when Satan begins to fill Him and fight Him with temptations. When Paul uses the word word here. As I mentioned, it's that word rhema. When Jesus says every word of God, He is not referring to the entire Bible. What He is referring to is the very specific individual sections of the Bible. And it is very amazing to me today to find out that so many Christians, including myself, have been wrong and have said this, that the Old Testament was for the Jews, right? We now live under the New Testament, but guess what Jesus Christ used when He went to confront Satan. When Satan attacks us with temptations, it is impossible and impractical to try to use the entire Word of God to fight Him. Guess what? I have forgot in the last few years more of the Bible than I remember. Right? It's amazing. I'm always... People, you come up to me all the time and say, Brother Donnie, where does it say this? I've got to look it up. If I am going to use the entire Bible to fight Satan, I'm going to have to stop the battle. I'm going to have to call a time out and give me time to try to figure all of this out. He's not talking about using the entire Word of God. But what He's talking about is we need very specific portions for individual circumstances. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ did. Three times He was attacked by the enemy. Three times Jesus Christ stepped into the Word of God and He selected a very specific weapon in order to defend the attack of Satan that needed to be encountered. Look at the story in verse 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit. Do you realize that the Spirit will sometimes lead you into battle with Satan? He did Jesus Christ. See, the Bible tells us that God is going to test us. God is going to try us to see if we really trust Him, if we really obey Him. It was by faith that Abraham proved that what? He killed his son Isaac that God would raise in love. God said, kill him. Do you trust Me that I'll give you another one? Do you trust that he's really the promised seed? See, God led Jesus Christ up to a battle with Satan. He said it's the spirit of wilderness to be what? Specifically tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward hungry. Right? Forty days and 40 nights. I had breakfast two hours ago and I'm already hungry, right? That's not really much of a temptation or a battle, is it? I know I'm going to be able to eat here in just a little bit. But he went 40 days and 40 nights. This is real hunger. This is really wanting and needing to eat. And it says in verse 3, when the tempter, Satan, the devil, came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But then notice what happened. But he answered and said, it is written. I've got just the exact sword to confront what you just said. I'm not going to make up anything. I'm not going to share anything. Let's go back to what has been written. What's in black and white? Since you're so good with the Word of God, because that's what he's doing, he said if you be the Son of God, command these stones to be turned to bread. Can God make stones into bread? Yes, He can. He tells us in His Word that He can do that because He is God. There's nothing that God can't do. And so he's testing them. But Jesus Christ answered him and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by what? Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Where does Jesus get this? He goes all the way back to the Old Testament to Deuteronomy 8 and verse 3. And He uses this one specific verse to confront turning the stones into bread. And this is what it says in Deuteronomy 8. And He humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger. God humbled you. He caused you to be hungry. And then what did He do? He fed them with manna. He fed them with manna. Which thou knewest not. They had never seen manna. They had never experienced manna. They didn't know where to go get manna. Where did manna come from? It came from the sky. God, when they were hungry, He just every single morning He gave them manna. He said, neither did your fathers know. They had never seen manna, tasted manna, heard anything about manna. That He might make thee know that what? Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord does man live. You see what Jesus Christ did? Jesus Christ said, God took you and Moses out of Egypt and led you out there in that wilderness and made you get hungry. Because why? It wasn't about eating. What was their goal? What was their purpose? God was giving them a land that was flowing with milk and honey more than what they could ever consume. God had a place prepared for them. And where were they supposed to be focusing? On the land that God was going to give them. But where were they focusing? On their stomach. But God knows people, right? And He said, there's no way I can get you to the promised land, to the land flowing with milk and honey if you starve to death out here in this wilderness. And so He said, I've provided something that you have never seen or never tasted. And so Jesus Christ pulled a very specific Scripture and He said, you know what, Satan? I don't need these rocks to turn to bread because my Father has a purpose for me and I'm going to die on the cross of Calvary. I'm not going to die out here in this wilderness. And if I go another 40 days, God's going to provide something even bigger. You see how He specifically used the question? Now let's go to the second one. Look at verse 5. Then the devil taketh him up into a holy city and setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple right there in downtown Jerusalem at the very top, the peak of the temple. And he saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written... He goes and he quotes the Bible out of Psalms. 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. And Jesus said unto him, It is written again. Let's go back to the great book of Deuteronomy. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. He goes to Deuteronomy 6 and verse 16 where it says, You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted him in Massae. So Satan comes to him again. And then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve. Notice what he says now. He quotes from Deuteronomy 6.13, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name. Jesus was so familiar with the Word of God that He was able to select the proper rhema in every single one of these attacks. You see what Jesus Christ taught us here? And what did it say there in verse 11? Let's not stop. Let's read the last verse of this idea, this story. It says, Then the devil slew with him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Three times Satan came. Three times Jesus Christ pulled out exactly defensively. He didn't attach Satan, did He? He didn't rebuke Satan, did He? No, not until the third time when He said, get thee hence. And what did He do? He didn't tell him to go and rebuke him because he was evil and because he was wicked. He said, here, this is it. And what did He do? He took the Word of God and He turned it from a defensive weapon to an offense. And when Satan looked at Jesus Christ because He said, it is written, three times Satan says, you know what? I'm not going to win this battle. And so Satan walks away and leaves Him. Listen to me very, very carefully. I want you to understand, if we are going to stand in this war, we have to use the Bible, first of all, defensively. And then by its very nature, as we use it defensively, it will be offensive. One of the things that I have tried in my ministry is I have never used the Bible as a weapon. I could have. There's a lot of times that I could have said, thus saith the Lord, right? And I could have done that. But no, what have I always tried to do? I've always been ready to give an answer of the hope that is in me. Jesus Christ, I defend His Word. I defend His calling upon my life. And guess what? God turns it into the weapon. Hebrews 4 tells us in verse 12, For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit and of the joints and mar and is the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. That's why James says in chapter 4 and verse 7, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. When the Word of God is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, it transforms lost sinners. It invades their darkness and drags them into the light. It enters their depravity and their deadness and breathes life into their spirit. For us as believers, the living Word of God changes sadness to joy, despair to hope, immaturity to maturity, failures into success. Our problem in churches in America today and all around the world is that we are not familiar with what God has said in His Word. We have a society that is trying to rebuke Satan and using other useless means and tactics if we knew the Word of God and we knew the locations of the various weapons and where they're located, we would not be so helpless nor would we be so often defeated. Folks, we desperately need Christians to pick up their Bible, to open its pages, to read its Word, to memorize its Word, and to share it and to use it. How well do you know your sword? How well do you know your sword? It's the final piece of armor that you can take and use when the battle is very, very tense. See, I submit to you that the reason that a lot of us don't know our sword very well is because, honestly, deep down we don't trust the Word of God. We really don't believe that it's completely true. We don't really believe what it says. And therefore what? We're happy and satisfied to come on Sunday morning and listen to the preacher read a portion of Scripture and to share that portion of Scripture and then we're very comfortable with taking our weapon. And man, he gave me a good sermon this week. He gave me a good illustration. And we just take our weapon and we just set it over on the side or the back window of our car or wherever until we come back next week to hear another little old portion. And we're watching our families being destroyed. We're watching, brother Moore, shared statistics in our world today. Do you realize that less than 50% of Americans believe that we ought to even be a Christian nation? Only 46% of Christians say they trust their pastor. And half of you. I wouldn't trust me either. And so what are you commanded to do? You're commanded to search the Scriptures. And the more you search the Scriptures, and I'm following the Scriptures, and I believe the Scriptures, then guess what? It ought to build a trust. Because I'm not telling you what I think or what my ideas are or what comes to my mind or what I thought about this week or what I heard on TV. But what we're doing is sharing the Word of God because I can trust it. I can rely on it. And so I trust it. Do you trust it? It is amazing how many people have never fully read the Word of God. But you know what's almost as ridiculous as that? How many people that go and buy the last five or ten books have never shot them more than two or three times? Have never brushed up. Oh, I've got a gun to protect me, right? And you end up like these nuts that are on TV now that have shot and hurt people and murdered people and wounded people and everything because they don't know what. How to use the weapon that they have. It's better not to even have it than to have it familiar to use it. And unfortunately, that's where we are. And Paul says we need to stand. Stand. Quit giving up the ground and the blessings that God has given us. Do you trust the Bible? Do you trust it? It's the only defensive weapon that automatically turns to an offensive weapon. And when you use the Word of God, Satan has to leave. He has to leave because he knows he cannot win against the Word. He can win against my thoughts. Satan can whoop me when he deals with my reasoning. I'm not a very smart guy, right? But he can't win against the Word of God. It is written, Thus saith the Lord thy God. As we stand and have a verse of invitation. Take the sword of the Spirit. It is the Word of God. As we sing. Page 269.