DEFEAT THE ENEMY WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
From The HeartPublish date: 03/08/2004
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do. 14 Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him]. 15 For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but one Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. 16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Hebrews 4:12-16 AMP
God’s Word is alive and full of power. It is active, operative, energizing, and effective. That means it works! God’s Word works when you work it. God’s Word works when you speak it and when you act on it. If you come into God’s presence in the boldness of the righteousness purchased for you at
So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 AMP
God’s Word is powerful and accomplishes His purposes. That means that His Word always works for Him and produces the results He planned them to. God’s Word will work for you if you speak it with conviction – if you believe that it is true and that He says what He means and He means what He says. If you don’t actually believe God’s Word, you can speak it until you are blue in the face and nothing will happen.
Then Jesus was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil. 2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God's Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread. 4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary. 6 And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God. 8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. 9 And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. 10 Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. 11 Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:1-11 AMP
The devil came to tempt Jesus and to try to get Him to yield to him in His weakened state after His forty-day fast. The devil is basically a coward – he waits until you are vulnerable and then he goes in for the kill. However, even though Jesus was physically weak, which made Him mentally more vulnerable than normal, His Spirit was strong. He had just spent forty days intensely fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit after spending thirty years meditating in the Word. He allowed the Word to rise up on the inside of Him and He spoke it out, “It is written!” and shut the devil up. Jesus did not defeat the devil on the basis of who He was – the Son of God – He defeated him with the Word!
If you are going to have any hope of defeating the devil and overcoming all the challenges that life throws your way, you will have to do it with the Word of God deposited and abiding firmly in your heart and coming out of your mouth with faith and boldness!