“Wield Your Sword!” Sunday, 10 July 2022 10:00 a.m.
We are continuing with our series entitled: “The Armour of God”. We have spoken about defending ourselves with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace; the shield of faith and the “helmet of salvation.” Now we move to a more offensive piece of equipment.
Ephesians 6:17 And take…. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
God's word is described as a spiritual sword. For the soldier in ancient times the sword was the primary offensive weapon….especially in hand-to-hand combat. Should you forget your sword at home you're just in self defense mode, using your shield; your breastplate and the other pieces of the armor. But when you have your sword, the Word of God, and are wielding it, you can effectively defeat the enemy.
The writer of Hebrews describes the Word like this: Heb 4: 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word of God cuts deep. It's alive, it's powerful and it's very sharp, Sharper than any dagger that might have an edge on either side of it. It's active, it moves within me. It convicts; it penetrates.
It's able to cut away the undesirable soulish nature of man; separate it away from the spiritual. There is a part of us that is soulish, our thought life, our emotional life, we feel the tug of the body to be gratified; our soul wants to take us there. But on the other hand, we feel the woo of the Holy Spirit, and we desire to please God. And so, we need to apply the word of God. We need the word of God to give us discernment and direction for our lives.
Jesus, the Son of God, knew how to use the sword, the Word of God. He was a master Swordsman. The devil came to attack Him at the beginning of His ministry….He started it with a 40-day fast. He needed spiritual strength and there's no better way to get it than to spend time fasting and praying.
But the devil also used the opportunity to tempt and to test Him. His attack was to tempt the Son of God with the “world” ... into being unholy, ungodly and unrighteous. If he could do that, then he would destroy His identity as the sinless Son of God; and also, His purpose/calling and His destiny. So, the devil's target was the heart of Christ; to tempt him with the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
And in every instance, Jesus responded with the Word of God; He modeled for us what it means to divide between the soulish nature and the spiritual; to ignore the appetites of the flesh and to choose that which is profitable and lasting. And we need to do the same.
Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “Wield Your Sword! ”
Blessings,
Kevin