|
Unveiling God's Mighty Weapons
Victoria Boyson
www.victoriaboyson.com
"We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly
weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey
Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NLT.
If we truly believe there is a great war in the supernatural realm waged on our behalf, we would indeed want to help heaven in the fight. I am sure you agree, but how do we
help? If "we don't wage war as humans do," how do we wage war? If the weapons of our warfare are not of this world, what are they - what do they look like?
Releasing Captives
Years ago when
my husband and I were youth pastors, one of the parents of our teens was really upset with us. She cornered me at a meeting and was letting me know what she thought of us, but not much of what she said made any sense to me.
I couldn't argue with things that were just not true if she did not believe what I said in our defense. She was livid and raging at me.
So, in the midst of her yelling, Holy Spirit interjected in my spirit,
"Tell her you love her." "Okay," I thought. So, I did. The moment I told her I loved her, she stopped cold. Something inside her snapped and she melted. She began to cry and she was, indeed, filled with
love for me and for herself.
Love in our society has been much maligned, but is the most powerful weapon God has given us. Love makes no sense to the enemy. He cannot fight against it because he simply does not
understand it. He cannot in anyway understand God's love for mankind nor can he fathom God's love flowing through us to one another. He can't comprehend unconditional love and has no come back for it - so he
runs.
Fast forwarding about ten years, we were working at another church and Holy Spirit brought another situation to my attention. A friend of mine was, for some reason, very angry with me and spreading slander.
Mutual friends would suddenly stop talking to me and literally turn away from me when I'd say "Hello" to them.
My husband and I started praying about the situation and this time Holy Spirit told him to
ask me to give the woman a bouquet of flowers. Hmmmmm.... I prayed about it for a while, hoping I would hear differently. Logically (or carnally) I thought, "I haven't done anything wrong, why should I be the one
to reach out?"
God's weapons don't make sense to the carnal mind, but are incredibly powerful in the supernatural realm. We may never understand or realize the impact we have in His realm. That's
why we just simply obey Him.
We drove to the woman's house, I went up to the door and rang the doorbell. She was, at first, shocked to see me and was then even more so when I handed her a bouquet of flowers.
Well, I didn't understand it and she didn't either, but regardless of understanding, the effect was nothing short of miraculous. She was speechless and sheepishly told me, "Thank you," as I left.
Her heart was melted by a simple bouquet of flowers and the kingdom of God released its form of violence for a treasured soul - she became a friend again.
Forgiveness is a side of love that, again,
challenges the enemy's capacity to understand - he cannot comprehend it. You see, I couldn't very well go to the woman and tell her, "I forgive you for slandering me," could I? So, to demonstrate God's
mighty weapon of unconditional love and the power of His forgiveness, He had me bring her flowers.
Just a side note: At the time, I didn't fully agree with the idea of giving her flowers. I did not think it
would do any good. But I love God and did what He asked. I thought I would at least demonstrate my love for Him by obeying even when I didn't understand.
Destroying False Arguments
Moving ahead
another ten years, and much more recently, I was in the midst of a conversation with a gentleman who was wounded, hurt and upset. Again, I couldn't seem to reason with him. I did not understand what thoughts were
compelling him to he react the way he was. I was literally at a loss for words to make him see the false arguments he was believing.
So, I asked Holy Spirit, "What's going on with him?" Suddenly, I saw a shadow of a demonic creature on his shoulder the size of a large spider. "Oh," I thought, "Why didn't I think of that?!" I knew then what was going on, and under my breath I rebuked the creature. It left and the man was much different. He was then able to receive the ministry I had for him.
The enemy only has an upper hand if we are ignorant of what he is doing. Once we know what game he's playing, we win. Because, in God, we are much stronger than he is. Truly.
The devil wants to keep us playing his game his way. And so often we fall for it. We try everything in the carnal, natural realm we know to try in fighting a war that's being fought in another realm altogether. If we fight this way, we don't stand a chance and the devil knows that - so, he tries hard to keep us fighting in the natural.
He only wins if this strategies works. The minute we become wise to his tactics and embrace God's mighty weapons, Satan loses and we see results in this realm. Strongholds and false arguments melt in the face of weapons they cannot comprehend.
You Are Stronger
Just the other day, my husband was getting ready for the day and walked out stiffly from the other room. He had that look on his face so I asked, "What's the matter?" "A pinched
nerve..." he answered. Suddenly, I knew it was the enemy and could see a tiny shadow of something unearthly trying to hurt him. I knew I had to first deal with the enemy, rebuking it and commanding it to leave him. I
could then go after the pain it had caused. Together, we asked for God's healing power and Steve continued to fight for it. Minutes later, the pinch was gone and the pain soon subsided.
You are stronger than the
devil. You are! You just have to fight with the right weapons.
In Luke 11:21, Jesus says "For when a strongman like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe - until someone even
stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings." Satan is safe as long as you are ignorant of your true strength, as long as you fight his way, and with the weapons of
this world.
Imagine a bank full of treasure safely kept behind lock and key. Suddenly, the doors burst open and two little grandmas come marching in. Now, in the natural, little grandmas are not very threatening,
but when these two little grandmas are holding AK47s, they become a little more intimidating. Suddenly, the bank is at their disposal and they are the ones in charge of its treasure.
Having the right weapon
transforms you and makes you unstoppable. So it is in the realm of the spirit. If we fight with human weapons, we get human results - results worthy of the power we have in ourselves in the natural. We've got to stop
doing this! We've got to stop thinking that our complaining and manipulating will get us anything and start fighting as if we actually do want to win.
Jesus continues in Luke 11:23, "...anyone who
isn't working with me is actually working against me." We become a hindrance to the kingdom of heaven when we give in to using carnal weapons. Well, I can tell you I don't want to be a hindrance to my Father's kingdom - NO WAY! So, I'm going to learn how to help Him.
I'm going to learn His ways and gain confidence in using His mighty weapons. I want to love unconditionally, obey without debating and use the authority He has given me! I want to let my light shine and become an effective warrior for His kingdom, because I love Him so much.
We are incredibly blessed to be living in the days we are in. The kingdom of heaven is awakening the earth to the awareness of its reality. As we embrace our Father and His power, we are revived and suddenly alerted to see situations through His eyes. Battles we've fought for years are suddenly won in moments. Through our God, we will see accelerated deliverance, exponential growth and supernatural favor.
This is what the LORD says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'" Isaiah 49:8-9.
Through God's help, may you embrace the days of His favor on the earth with His weapons of righteousness in your right hand and your left (2 Corinthians 6:7) and as "the night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light" (Romans 13:12).
|
|
NEW Book by Victoria Boyson