THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, ESV).

I cannot remember all the good sermons I have heard on this subject. And there are scores of books and articles teaching us about the weapons of spiritual warfare available to all God’s people. Most of this emphasis happened fifteen or twenty years ago; it seems the church has been eerily quiet on the subject for the last decade.

If the church is truly armed with mighty, God-empowered weapons, why is it that the culture is overtaking the church more quickly than the church is overtaking the culture? Instead of the church defining the culture, as it has down through history, the intrusion of culture is now redefining the church. As this new church “emerges,” in some cases what is emerging is more defined by business models and surveys than it is by the Word of God or anything that resembles the power and presence of God. Church services sometimes look and sound more like the world at a “pop” concert or a motivational seminar than they do a meeting of God’s people!

What has happened here? Is it a lack of quality teachers and preachers? Is it a lack of finances? I don’t think so! So, if the church is as armed and ready as we have been told we are, why are we just marking time and not making real progress?

Perhaps this story will help us to understand. In his book Men Against Fire, S.L.A. Marshall, a military historian, writes that on D-Day (June 6, 1944), by the best estimate, only one man in five (twenty percent) of the combat troops that landed on Omaha Beach actually consistently fired his weapon at the enemy. Here is a quote from Marshall’s book:

“Only five infantry companies (on Omaha Beachhead, June 6, 1944) were tactically effective. In these companies, one-fifth of the men fired their weapons during the day-long advance from the water’s edge to the first row of villages—a total of not more than 450 men firing consistently.”

Marshall’s interviews with the soldiers, and insights he gleaned, helped the U.S. military change its training and by the time the Korean War broke out in 1950, fifty percent of combat troops were using their weapons in fighting situations. But to bring about the change, the military had to acknowledge that it had a problem and then adjust their training accordingly.

In Texas, where I live, it is entirely possible to carry a concealed handgun legally. With just a few hours’ training, you can get a concealed handgun permit and are thereby allowed to carry it on your person. It is one thing to have a handgun and a permit and something else to actually use it when needed. If there is no will to use the gun, then you might as well have a banana in your holster! An undrawn weapon is not a threat except in a Hollywood fantasy.

Is it possible that with all our excellent teaching about “spiritual weapons,” we have forgotten to teach people that you actually have to point and fire? Have we forgotten to tell people that in order for the power of prayer to actually be released, you must pray? Have we forgotten to tell people that fasting involves more than skipping that extra helping of cake? The power of God is resident in God’s people but unless we actually acquire a target, take aim, and pull the trigger, the power remains “holstered”!

We seem to have come to a time when large segments of the church in North America have embraced the teaching about “the weapons of our warfare” and about our authority that He has given us as His followers, but they lack the will to use them.

I am constantly surprised at how few people pray “in the name of Jesus.” Jesus said to His disciples, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16, NKJV). Why are we so reluctant to pull the trigger on this truth?

Jesus gave us the authority to use His name, meaning He would back us up when we did so (see Mark 16:17). He did not tell us to carry it around on a necklace and show it off like a piece of cheap jewelry, nor did He suggest that we form a church with this as a name. He gave us permission to use His name because we are His disciples and the use of His name is a key part of our “weaponry” — along with prayer, the Holy Spirit and His Word!

As the church, we have been told that we are “armed and dangerous.” In theory we are and in practice, we should be! However, it is one thing to be armed and another to actually be inflicting damage on the enemy. An undrawn, unfired weapon is not going to do any damage; no strongholds will be torn down, no evil displaced. Nothing is going to happen! 

So why are we so reluctant to actually employ the weapons He has provided for us? This is a question that every believer has to come to grips with. If you are not using the weapons of your warfare — why not? What holds you back? It’s time to deal with our reluctance, take up our weapons, acquire a target and pull the trigger!