Sword of the Spirit - Riverside Community Church

Riverside May 4, 2025

Armour of God

Sword of the Spirit

Ephesians 6:12 AMP + GM paraphrase.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, we’re not contending or struggling with or waring with physical opponents, no, no, but the battle is against the rulers, against the powers, against the forces of darkness. Soldiers of Christ, we fight everyday against the spiritual forces of wickedness …

Dear Christian: In the spiritual fight, that we are in everyday, have you ever found yourself wounded, or beaten up, or injured or perhaps suffering from some wound in the field of spiritual battle?

Let me express this very personal question to you in a different way.

Are you weary and heavy laden, are you feeling hopeless or guilty or caught in some shame. Are you waiting in your sorrows for the brokenness to heal. Has some hurt, some bitterness, some pain, some regrets or some injury struck you down. Dear Christians, brothers and sisters, are you lying wounded on the spiritual battlefield of life?

Ephesians 6

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Put on the belt of truth -fight your fight with THE real truth, don’t be deceived or tricked by Satan schemes, lies and deceptive maneuvers to get you away from the truth.

Put on the breastplate of righteousness -guard your heart, guard every nook and cranny of your heart for out of your heart flows your life.

Put on your war shoes -gospel of peace is having sure footing in your salvation and knowing God will keep you to the very end.

Pick up your faith shield, the shield of faith plastered inside with God’s Word, so you can see the truth as the arrows fly towards you.

Put on your helmet of salvation -guard your mind, take captive every thought in your mind, don’t let the devil run amok in your mind, make your thoughts subject to God and His glory.

-have you put everything on? Is all your spiritual armour on right now? It may not be in your life and hence you lie wounded in the battlefield. You can change that in a moment, even right now. By committing to putting on the armour and fighting your spiritual fight God’s way.

-by committing yourself to putting on all the armour and picking up the shield of faith and grabbing hold of your spiritual sword, the Word of God, you will go from lying in the field of war to standing, standing firm.

-your circumstances may not change but your posture will and certainly the outcome will change.

-God wants you to go from fallen’ to ‘all in’, from wounded and down to armoured and up. You need, in fact it is imperative to have, all your armour on, your shield up and your sword at the ready. Leaving one, even just one, armour piece off or leaving your shield and sword aside will leave you wounded in the field of spiritual battle.

Wounded, broken, defeated be when one piece of armour neglected be.

Remember vs 12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

-are you ready to fight back?

17 Take the … sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

-now, take your sword, God’s Word out of it’s scabbard, unsheathe the sword that has been given you, and know this -it is your ONLY offensive weapon and you are to use this sword against the evil plotted against you.

-and know this

… the word of God is living and active and full of power, [it is an operative, energizing, and effective weapon]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, … (Hebrews 4:12)

Jesus said, “It is written (that’s the Bible): ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Mat. 4:4)

It is not your strength or your determination, or your experience that wins the battle, that keeps evil at bay, it is the Word of God and only God’s Word that wins the day. In your battlefield, what you are battling right now and, in the battles, ahead, you must utilize the sword, God’s word to win. IT IS THE ONLY WAY.

Zechariah 4:6 …‘Not by might (your determination) nor by power (your strength), but by my Spirit,’ (which is the word of God) says the Lord Almighty. (El Shaddai)

It is God who wins not you. It is His powerful Word that wins your victory not your might or your power. You receive the victory but it is God who wins it. God gives you the victory but you must fight for the victory God’s way, by faith (the Shield) and the Spirit’s powerful Sword -His Word.

*Please hear me carefully, as I have fought many battles and lost.

I fought battles with great determination and lost because it was self-determination.

I fought battles with all my strength and lost because I was relying on my own strength.

I fought battles thinking I was right and lost because my truth isn’t necessarily God’s truth.

I fought battles thinking it was a spiritual battle but it was me fighting myself and I always lost. Because I was stubborn, or bitter, or proud, or sinful, or lacked love, or I was self-righteous. It is hard to see oneself clearly at times. And all that self-defeat is discouraging.

I have fought many battles and God won the victory and gave it to me because I believed His Word, it was my sword and it is powerful.

As Paul sat in a prison chained to a Roman guard he writes his last letter to Timothy and declares in 2 Timothy 2:9 … God’s word is not chained.

Indeed, God’s Word is not chained, it is not fettered, it is not limited, it is powerful, it has absolute authority, it will be done on earth. God’s Word is a light on your path to show you the way, it will never fail, it is always true.

And God’s Word is your sword to chase away your enemies, your doubts, your sins, your temptations, and to handle your trials. You must utilize your sword, God’s Word, in your battles so God can win in you.

An aside: if you harbour known sin in your life and have not asked for forgiveness from God and His help to overcome that sin then you are lying wounded in the battlefield, holding up your shield and waving your sword around while lying down won’t work. To get back up, to stand up in the battle can only start with the root issue of known sin in your life being dealt with through repentance.

Go from fallen to all in through repentance today. Go ahead whisper your prayer to God right now. He will hear, help and stand you up. (repeat as often as necessary)

Listen again to what God says about His Word.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

-even your salvation is based on God’s enduring Word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped (ARMED FOR BATTLE) for every good work.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Romans 15:4 New International Version

4 For everything that was written in the past (the Bible) was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

So, how do I use the sword, what is the strategy for Using the Sword?

Remember, your spiritual sword is the word of God.

& Let**rsquo;s start with knowing the Word, you don’t have to know all the Word, but you have to know some of it. You don’t need complete knowledge but just be on the path of knowing God’s Word.

So, daily reading and meditation is essential and necessary.

Memorize it for readiness. Paste God’s Word on the inside of your shield where you can see it and claim it and use it in battle.

An aside: if your shield is labelled inside with your thoughts and not God’s Word then your shield is pierceable, the arrows will go through it and strike you. If, for example, you have your own thoughts labelled on the inside like I’m a failure, I’m going down, I’m offended, I’m so mad, I can’t take it anymore then these are your thoughts and not God’s. The arrows pierce and you are wounded because it was your shield and not the shield of faith in God and His Word.

Another aside: is that your shield must be up at all times not down by your side, we must all be at the ready with our shields up and our swords up ready to strike.

&the fiery arrow is inbound, it is coming in hard and fast and fiery. Then we must, in faith, believe the Word that**rsquo;s on our shield, we must speak the Word, declare the truth; to ourselves, to God and to the enemy assaulting us. That is the offence, that is the Sword striking back.

The fiery arrows of temptations, and trials, and doubts, and fears, and of worries are rendered extinguished against us when we hold our shield of faith up and strike the enemy with God’s Word, our sword.

-the arrow may still be there, although extinguished, but it does not pierce, wound or diminish our faith.

Jesus is our prime example of using God’s Word, the spiritual Sword.

Being in a physically weakened human state, Satan came to Jesus and shot fiery arrows at our Saviour in the 3 areas that we all are prone to attack in.

-the lust of the fleshare you hungry

-the lust of the eyesdo you want all these kingdoms now

-the pride of lifeprove who are, take your rightful place

To all of these, Jesus knowing God’s Word and believing them, replied with the Sword of God’s Word by quoting (striking back) with God’s Word from Deuteronomy.

-and then we read that the devil left Him. The devil was defeated, and Jesus was standing there with His sword still drawn.

-that’s what we need to do.

(Application – some examples)

*The fiery arrow comes -it’s anxiety -I’m anxious

I recognize the attack

I look to the inside of my shield of faith

I see God’s Word which I believe in faith is true

Phil. 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I speak, I declare to be true, this to myself, to God with thankfulness and to the enemy who flees.

*The fiery arrow comes -it’s anger -I’m angry

I recognize the attack

I look to the inside of my shield of faith

I see God’s Word which I believe in faith is true.

James 1:20 …human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Proverbs 30:33 …anger produces strife.”

Romans 12:19 … avenge not yourselves, but rather let God work when you angry: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

I speak, I declare to be true, this to myself, to God with thankfulness and to the enemy who flees. I submit and commit to God to take care of this situation as He sees right.

*The fiery arrow comes -it’s fear, or a temptation of pride, or a temptation of the eyes or my flesh, maybe the incoming arrow is self-pity or a trial of criticism, or worry, or anything seeking to diminish your faith or trust in God.

Recognize the attack

Look to the inside of my shield of faith

See God’s Word which I believe in faith is true.

Swing your sword and declare God’s Word.

-if you hear or see another believer struggling in their battle then share God’s Word with them, encourage one another with His Word.

Put on all the armour, put your shield of faith up and bare the sword of God’s Word in your struggle. God has told us what to do, and He has supplied all the armour we need, and now we must employ it.

Will you do so today, right now? -tell God and stand up, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Amen

At Riverside Community Church