The Gun of the Lord
*This was originally sent out to the mailing list on 10/15/07*
I hesitated to share this one for a bit, but decided it was too good to keep back. Obviously from the title, it has a pretty modern tone. I just kept thinking of how the Sword of the Spirit, (from biblical times), so closely resembles our more modern weapon - the gun.
So there you have it: the Gun of the Lord, which is the Word of God…
The Gun of the Lord
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: ” -Ephesians 6:16-17
See here, I have given you a weapon, and it is a weapon indeed. A weapon gives power. Shall an unarmed man go against a man with a gun - and succeed? If the one who is armed is at all skillful, there shall not be able to stand before him even a man of the strongest of might.
In the game Paper-Rock-Scissors, the paper beats the rock, the rock beats the scissors, and scissors beats the paper. Yet My Word always wins - I am the fourth choice. Beloved, think not that I am contained to your earthly limitations. I beat the paper, I beat the rock, and I beat the scissors. I am the trump card. No one bests Me. No one can beat Me. They are as hands before bullets.
Yet beloved, could not a weapon also be used to deter the enemy? Would not its mere presence many times be enough to stop Satan? A weapon is offensive, though it may be used defensively. It is meant to do damage.
The shield of faith is defensive, and it is used only defensively. If the enemy attacks, and is thwarted by this shield, what does it matter to him? He has invested no part of himself in the attack, except a fiery dart from afar. You were protected, but he can most easily try again.
Yet if he attacks, and you are armed with the Word of God, an offensive weapon, he will be slain if he attacks you directly. The enemy cannot stand before this power. If he tries, he will lose every time. But will a shield stop a lion? When the enemy advances with his own self, it is there that the greatest victory may be won. It is the difference between mere survival, and triumphant victory.
Where the word of a King is, there is power. Trust in My words. Take them, shallow them and eat them, and make them your own. Trust in My power. Confide in Me. Lean on me. Trust in the authority of My words; one day the world shall be overcome by them. They are heavy ballistics, and the enemy does not take them lightly.
“And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Revelation 19:13-15
What did the serpent do with Eve’s weapon? What immediately did he do? “[H]e said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ” (Genesis 3:1). He said, “drop your weapon, and we can talk.” The enemy cannot operate comfortably when there is such power present. It is only once you have abandoned My provision that he begins to work. He cannot negotiate with an armed soldier. Beloved, you are not to negotiate with the enemy on any terms.
Child, you need the protection of My Word: it is your only weapon to launch an offensive, but it is also your best defensive deterrent. I can speak swords and spit bullets, why would you use your hands? The enemy can crush your hands. He is strong, but not armed.
Do not wander from My will. Where My will is, there is My grace also to sustain you. My will is where My words go, and where My Spirit leads. If you do not walk in My words, you walk unarmed; you walk without the fullness of My grace. Without the fullness of My grace is frustration, and danger; with it is peace and safety.
