Tuesday, April 24, 2018
War word
2 Corinthians 10:4,5
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God
Back in the day, I don’t want to sound old, but back in the day, young people in Sunday School and Youth Meetings regularly participated in a vigorous, competitive and fun activity called – Sword Drill. We had Sword Drills sometimes just for fun, and at other time it was intense competition between Sunday School classes, youth groups, churches, or districts.
The primary goal of Sword Drill was not to entertain, it was to ensure that the young Christian had a familiarity with what I call the geography of the Bible and that they could get to any particular place in it rather quickly. To aid in our drills we learned different techniques like knowing that the Psalms are in the centre of the Bible, and had a good sense of what came before the Psalms and what came after.
Drills are intended to build discipline, organisation, and teamwork. And to ensure that those soldiers being drilled would respond to commands in synchronised fashion. Our Bibles were considered to be swords based, in part, on the Apostle Paul’s description in Ephesians 6:17, calling it “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Although we sang songs, then, with war themes like – I’m in the Lord’s army – we never really considered ourselves to be in any battle or theatre of war. And although we referred to our Bibles as swords we never thought of them as weapons or contemplated getting into fights with them.
However, in that passage where the Apostle Paul introduces warfare, Ephesians 6:10-20, he describes an armour which is, for all intents and purposes, a set of defensive gear – belt, breastplate, shoes, shield and helmet. At the end of the list, he includes a weapon, the sword.
The writer to the Hebrews advances the idea of the Word of God, as a dangerous and effective weapon. It says in Hebrews 4:12, “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 scripture, the word of God, is weaponised when it is spoken. In writing to the Romans church, the Apostle Paul quoted Moses saying, “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach), Romans 10:8.
If we go back to when Joshua received his commission after the death of Moses, we see that the word of God was critical to Joshua’s preparation and success. Joshua was given a military command. Joshua was crossing over Jordan to take possession of Canaan, he was going into a theatre of war. Here is what he was told, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8.
Early in the letter to the Hebrews, the writer laid out the real power of the spoken word of God. “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” Hebrews 2:2-4.
The spoken word of God is a potent weapon in every situation or circumstance in which we find ourselves. The Prophet Isaiah had long before captured the potency of the spoken word of God, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
Often, the challenge in our time is to see that the word of God that we read, that we are taught, that is preached is weaponised as it is spoken and therefore, in warfare situations, we should be prepared to speak an appropriate word.
The bigger challenge of our time though is that the familiarity with the word that came from turning the pages and marking them and being drilled in them is no longer practised. Technology has made the Bible more available, more portable, and ubiquitous. However, it seems that the easier it is for us the less we are drilled, disciplined and familiar.
Sword Drill is dead. With all the youth packing an Apple or Andriod device there is no point in trying to get people to race to the passage. I am conscious these days, when I am preaching or teaching, that when I say go to Obadiah 15, almost everyone would find the verse. Some will turn the pages and may struggle, but most will swipe, or tap, or click or shake, or speak and their device will bring up this previously unread verse.
With such quick electronic access, undrilled soldiers are in the theatre of war with modern weapons that cannot be fired for a lack of training and drills. I can hardly remember a phone number these days because they are all stored on the phone, and many Christian cannot find or remember any scripture because it is on the same phone. But even in modern warfare the weapons still have to be fired.
Think on these things:
- How familiar are you with the structure of the Bible and the arrangement of its contents?
- When last did you memorise a new scripture verse or passage?
- Have you ever been in a situation where the word of God available at the time, made a difference to the outcome?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would continue to hide the word of God in our hearts, technology notwithstanding.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
