The Weapons of God

Text: Joshua 6:1-5 and 1 Timothy 1:18

War is a culture all its own. If you have ever studied war in general or even a particular war, you no doubt found it to be fascinating. There are some definite keys to winning war - you must have the right weapons and overwhelming power.

The Christian is involved in a spiritual war. To forget this or to choose not to engage the enemy will be lethal. If we choose to engage the enemy, we must use the right weapons. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds."

So, the question that comes to mind is: "What are the weapons of God?"

We can learn of 4 powerful weapons from the story of The Battle of Jericho mentioned in Joshua 6.

Weapon #1: Our Identity in God

Who we belong to brings fear to the enemy. "Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel" we are told in Joshua 6:1. Truth is, it was not because of the children of Israel themselves, but because of their God. For the Christian, Satan wants to introduce doubt into our concept of who we are.

Let me ask you another question, "Who are you?" No, not "What is your name?" but more specifically, "Who do you belong to?" If you and I belong to Christ, we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. (Romans 8:37)

Weapon #2: God's Perspective

In Joshua 6:2 God told Joshua, "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor." God wanted Joshua to see something from His perspective. God saw the victory at Jericho as something that was as real as if it had already happened. In fact, to God it already had! When we learn to see things through God's eyes, we wield a powerful weapon against our enemy.

Weapon #3: A Walk With God

God told the men of war to march around the city. Read that statement again. Did you catch that? Men of war walking around in circles. Sounds a little odd, don't you think? One of the most powerful weapons we have is just to walk with God daily. Just be faithful, even when it seems like you are just going in circles. Satan failed the "faithfulness test" and his desire is for you and I to do the same. If we will just get good at being faithful...we will deal a fatal blow to our enemy.

Genesis 5:24: "Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him."

God rewarded Enoch's faithful walk. He will reward ours too. Just get up every day and walk with God. When I was a teenager I was guilty of jumping with God. I would jump from emotional high to emotional high. In between the highs, I had not learned to walk with God, so the gaps between the highs were filled with doubt and defeat. When I learned to daily walk with God, I learned to enjoy the emotional highs, but to be steady in my walk.

Weapon #4: Faith Praise

Praising God in faith for what you believe will happen is another weapon we see in Joshua 6. In verse 5 God told all the people to "shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat." Notice the shout came BEFORE the walls fell. Yes, BEFORE. If we will learn praise in advance, God will bring the victory to us in His timing.

Remember whose you are as you endeavor to see things from God's perspective and walk with God daily in an attitude of praise as you thank Him in advance for what He is doing.

Points to Ponder

1. Think of specific times in your life when you let the enemy cause you to forget you identity in Christ. What can you do to fight against this tendency? How will you put this into action?

2. God's Word is powerful in helping us see things from His perspective. Make a list of Scriptures that you feel God wants you to remember so you can "see more clearly."

3. What impresses you about faithful people? What one thing can you do to walk more faithfully?

4. There are several instances in Scripture where people praised God in advance. Make a list and plan to read these stories over the next few days or weeks. If you have trouble thinking of any, ask a friend to help.