The Believer’s Ultimate Weapon
For though we walk in the flesh,we do not warafter the flesh: 2Cor. 10:3
For the weapons of our warfareare not carnal, but through God to the pulling downof strong holds 2Cor. 10:4
Casting) imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every to the obedience of Christ; 2Cor. 10:5
Proper equipment to accomplish a purpose is especially important. Every athlete needs the proper equipment if he is going to be a champion. Football players. Golfers. Baseball players. Those who play tennis. Runners. Basketball players. Those who play soccer. Boxers and weight-lifters. Every athlete who wins must have good, functioning, and efficient equipment to do so.
God has equipped every Believer with adequate and efficient resources to overcome the devil and live in absolute victory; to live and not die.
If you are saved you have this equipment.
If you are walking in the Spirit, you are aware of this equipment.
If you are Baptized in the Holy Ghost, you should know how to use this equipment.
This specialized spiritual equipment is, in fact, powerful weapons that are “mighty through God” to the “pulling down” of “strongholds.” If you are born again, you have these weapons. They all are adequate and they are all efficient; they are all good and they all work. Here are some of them:
- Faith.
- The Word.
- The Gospel.
- Prayer.
- Speaking in Tongues.
- Singing in the Spirit.
- Praying in the Spirit.
- Worshipping
- Fasting.
- Love.
- Forgiveness.
However, there is an “ultimate weapon” in the arsenal God has given us. It is a weapon of mass destruction (as far as the devil is concerned). It is this subject that we want to explore as we continue our study of how to live and not die.
This ultimate weapon is a secret weapon. It is an advantage that every born again believer has and can use that will put the enemy to flight and cause his defeat every time. It always works. It never fails.
Let’s discover what it by examining a passage of Scripture in the Old Testament and discovering the miracle victory that it wrought in the face of an impossible situation.
It came to pass after this…
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2Chr. 20:1
Notice that this impossible came to pass “after this..” What is the “after this”? If you will note, Jehoshaphat, one of the few Godly kings in the history of the Kingdom of Judah, had launched a campaign to destroy the “groves” which were, altars to false gods, and had determined to seek God with all his heart.
Every major attack begins and intensifies after some great spiritual victory. When we win, we must not relax. In the time of victory, we cannot afford to ease up on our faith. The most critical time to pray and seek God and hold steady is when all is going well.
Others beside the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat…
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron 20: 1 ¶
Who are the children of Moab, Ammon and the “others” that came with them to fight against Jehoshaphat? Jehoshaphat was king of Judah for 25 years and was one of the best, most pious, and prosperous kings. The “others” were enemies of God that had been spared by Judah’s disobedience and had now united in a massive effort to destroy everything and all things that represented God.
Every sin that is not confessed and every act of disobedience will unite one day and rise up in defiance of the God Who lives in us. They will surround our faith and plan attacks on our Christian commitment. These “little foxes” (Song 2:15) that spoil the vines will grow in number until they become a life-threat to us, our seed, and our need.
When God commands us to destroy the enemy, we had best destroy the enemy. When God says for us to do that thing that seems so “hard” He is doing it so that we will be protected in the days ahead. The enemies that seem to surround us could very well be sins and carnal situations that we have not dealt with and forsaken.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitudeagainst thee from beyond the sea… 2Chr. 20:2
Some came and told Jesohaphat the bad news. They were bearers of bad news. Seems like there are always messengers who are anxious to bring bad news. Bad news travels faster than good news. Unspiritual individuals had rather convey bad news than good news. Times have not changed all that much, have they? The ones who bring the distressing news usually do nothing to help ease the pain. They will more than likely embellish the bad news and make it worse than it actually is. They will make the bad worse. They will exaggerate the negative and minimize the positive. “Some came and told…”
Our test is how we react to the bad news that is told us. Our response to those “things which come against us” will reveal our level of faith and trust in God.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 2Chr. 20:3
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 2Chr. 20:4
The king did some right things and he did some wrong things. He probably did more that was right than we would do under similar circumstances.
First, he feared. If this “fear” is considered “reverence” then it’s OK. But if it is the “afraid” and “terrified” kind of fear then it is bad. If “reverential” fear can make us seek the face of God, then that will cancel the devil’s intention to destroy us.
Second, the devil lost because the king not only set himself to seek the face of God, but he also proclaimed a fast throughout the entire nation. He was motivated to seek God and to seek God before all else. The whole nation of Judah came together to seek God. Can you see just how the strategy of the devil backfired on him? Satan came to destroy but instead, every city in the entire nation began to seek God. The devil is really a dummy.
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 2Chr. 20:5
The King was not ashamed. He knew he needed God and he was not too timid to tell the whole world. He swallowed his kingly pride. He understood that if God did not intervene, then, all would be lost. He stood in the presence of the entire nation and prayed a prayer seeking God’s help.
If only our leaders of this hour would do this! If national leaders of today would do what Jehoshaphat did, we would see Great Awakenings all over the earth. It may well be that some desperate catastrophic condition could develop on a global scale. We need to pray that if that might happen, our leaders will seek God, repent, and turn again to the moral and spiritual standard of the Word of God.
Listen to the king’s prayer:
And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? 2Chr. 20:6
The king acknowledges the sovereignty of God. Jesus prayed this way and He told us to pray this way as well. “Our Father, Who art in heaven…” Respect for and reverence of Jehovah God is the hallmark of a righteous nation. Ps 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. The result of “forgetting God” on a national level is that the forgetful nation will be turned into hell (a place of exile).
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? 2Chr. 20:7
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 2Chr. 20:8
If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. 2Chr. 20:9
The King reminded God of His help in the past of His commitment of promised deliverance whenever the need arose. In the presence of God, when people who are afflicted cry out, He will hear and help.
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; 2Chr. 20:10
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 2Chr. 20:11
The time has come! It has arrived! It is time for God to come on the scene and fulfill His Word. The enemy comes to “reward” with death, destruction, and captivity. This is certainly not the inheritance of the saints. Our inheritance is life, protection, and deliverance.
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 2Chr. 20:12
“God will you keep Your Word? God will you honor Your Name? God will you defend the helpless and judge the ungodly? We have no help but You. You are our Defense. You are our Salvation. You are our Deliverer. We do not really know what to do, but our eyes are upon You and we are seeking Your face.” Folks, this is the kind of praying that gets results!
In the time of seeking God, the Spirit of the Lord “Came Upon” one of the preachers and he began to prophecy.
And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 2Chr. 20:13
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; 2Chr. 20:14
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2Chr. 20:15
The Word of the Lord which came to Jahaziel was a word of great encouragement. And this is generally what any “word” that comes from God is… it is encouraging and edifying. The people were told:
1. Be not afraid.
2. Be not dismayed (discouraged).
3. Do not let this reason (great multitude) distress you.
4. The Battle is not yours, but the Lord’s.
Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 2Chr. 20:16
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 2Chr. 20:17
The best defense in our spiritual warfare is a good offense. Our aggressiveness will send shock waves through hell and startle and strike fear in the heart of our enemy. Judah was told to “Go down against them” even though they were greatly outnumbered and out equipped. To attack when the “odds” are stacked against us is a demonstration of Great Faith. Such raw and radical faith will assure us that we won’t even have to fight. God will do the fighting for us. The battle will be His and the victory will be ours. Hallelujah!
Judah was again assured: “stand still and you will see the Salvation of the Lord.”
1. Do not be afraid
2. Do not be dismayed (discouraged).
3. The Lord will be with you.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 2Chr. 20:18
True Worship is a type of warfare. Jesus called those who worship in spirit and in truth True Worshippers.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Joh 4:23
The devil cannot stand against true worshippers and true worship. If we really want put Satan on the run, we just need to begin worshipping God in spirit and in truth. As we sincerely turn our attention to God in adoration and true worship, we can’t help but focus on His ability and not ours.
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.2Chr. 20:19
Genuine Praise is a type of warfare. Praise is the “exciting” side of true worship. As we “noise abroad” our exuberance and joy and thanks to God, the depression, fear, and anxiety of the pressing situation diminishes. When the enemy “comes in” just have a personal “praise service” with God. Put on some lively praise music… sing some praise choruses… rehearse some praise psalms…. Praise pays by scattering our enemy and putting him to flight.
…Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.2Chron 20:20
Believing in the Lord is faith. It is trusting God in the face of failure and defeat. It is standing on the Word when all else has failed. It is the one thing we can do that is guaranteed to “please God” because the Word declares that “without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Heb 11:6)
Our faith causes us to be “established.” The word used here is associated with being “parented” much like the experience of a tiny baby being nursed by its mother. There can be no place more confident and safe than that of an infant being held in its mother’s arms and being given nourishment and strength at her breast. This is what faith does for us when we face impossible situations and formidable conflicts.
Not only does our faith establish us but when we believe the prophets God sends into our lives, we are guaranteed prosperity. We cannot lose for winning. Every spiritual battle is a win-win situation when we trust and rely on God.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD;for his mercy endureth for ever. 2Chr. 20:21
The Believer’s Ultimate Weapon is Praise
It is a weapon of mass destruction. It is invincible and fail-safe. It is more powerful than armies. Praise precedes the sword. Praise is more powerful than the sword. Praise goes before the army. Praise prepares the way for victory.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushmentsagainst the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 2Chr. 20:22
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them:and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 2Chr. 20:23
Praise causes the enemy to self-destruct. In the fierceness of the fight, praise will make Satan turn on himself. It confuses the devil. It confounds demons. It startles the powers of darkness. It reveals just how dumb and stupid and weak the devil is.
And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. 2Chr. 20:24
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. Psa 91:7
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Psa 91:8
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.2Chr. 20:25
The spoils of a successful spiritual victory are always superabundant.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Eph 3:20
In Jehoshaphat’s case, they reaped riches in such abundance it took them three whole days to haul all the stuff away.
This account of supernatural victory is just an example of what can be accomplished when we turn in total abandonment to God and the promises of His Word. All seemed lost in Jehoshaphat’s day. But the darkest day of satanic threat was turned into one of the brightest days of victory for the God-fearing king of Judah.
And the neat thing about all of this is that what God did for this helpless leader of Judah He will do for you and me. God is no respecter of persons and what He does for one trusting individual, He will do for any trusting individual.
Let’s activate our Ultimate Spiritual Weapon. Let’s go before the fighters and the warriors singing and shouting and dancing and rejoicing. Let’s praise the Lord. Let’s “stand still” and “see” what God will do when we Praise in times of great trial. This Ultimate Weapon will, when used, guarantee that we will live and not die. Hallelujah.
dickbraswell 
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