NO WEAPON SHALL PROSPER!
STUDY TEXT: ISAIAH 54:17
INTRODUCTION:
- Supernatural protection is one of the several blessings every child of God should enjoy. David said in the famous Psalm 23:4-5: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…”
- As a child of God, you are protected from all evil and harm; He wants you to know that your safety and security are not in the hands of any man, but in Christ Jesus.
- The Bible tells us how the king of Syria sent his troops and completely surrounded the city where the prophet Elisha was (2 King 6).
- The prophet’s servant was terrified when he saw all the troops. “Alas, my master! How shall we do?” he cried out to Elisha. Unruffled, the man of God replied, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Hallelujah! There was something that Elisha knew that his servant didn’t know about – Supernatural protection!
- The Bible says that “The LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” The prophet knew that God was his security.
- If God cared about Elisha, then He cares about you! He’s given you the Holy Ghost to walk through life with you, as well as many angels to be with you (Hebrews 1:14). Walk through life with confidence and refuse to fear!
- No matter what you face and no matter who chooses to plot against you, know that you’re divinely protected! Even when it seems like you’re all alone, remember that “…..Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
- ‘This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord’ – A heritage is something given as a birthright, meaning that you did not obtain it by anything you did, but just by who gave birth to you. As long as you were born in Jesus, then our heritage is from Him, and we will receive all of the promises and blessings of that birthright.
- There are three things that are obvious from this scripture:
1. Weapons need to be formed before they come to you, 2 Cor 2:11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices..”
2. Weapons can be fashioned, that is, they are being deployed against Christians. Psa 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
- You are not attacked by the devil because you’re sinful, wicked or ungodly but because weapons are constantly fashioned.
3. Weapons are being fashioned. The devil takes sufficient time to fashion weapon.
- We shall discuss the topic under three sub-headings:
1. Unfolding the Saint’s Enemies.
2. Uncovering Satanic Strategies.
3. Understanding the Saints’ Victory.
1. Unfolding the Saints’ Enemies
- Believers fight against at least 3 separate enemies.
1. The Flesh:
- Romans 7:18-25; - If left to myself, I will be overcome by the power of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:25;
- You will defeat this enemy by: Walking in the Spirit and Following the Spirit. You must quit excusing sin… You must obey the Spirit.
2. The World; John 15:18-19; 1 John 3:13; 1 John 5:19; John 16:33;
- So how do you win? You will defeat this enemy by:
i. Your Faith; 1 John 5:4-5; Ephesians 6:12;
ii. Your Choices Psalm 101:3;
3. The Devil; 1 Peter 5:8
- The Devil, and his Demons want you to fail… Ephesians 6:11-18.
- He will attack your health, your finances, your faith in God and your contentment in what God has provided. You will defeat this enemy by:
i. “Submitting To God”… James 4:7; Ephesians 4:26-27;
ii. ”Resisting His Temptations”…..James 4:7;
iii. “The Blood of the Lamb and the Word of Your Testimony”... Rev. 12:11,
iv. “The Word of God”… Ephesians 6:17; Jesus used the Word of God in His battle against The Devil… You will need God’s Word for your battle too.
2. Uncovering Satanic Strategies: 2 Corinthians 2:11, "We Are Not Ignorant Of His Devices."
1. To Disarm You – To Strip You of Your Power. 1 Samuel 13:19-22;
- The Philistines had disarmed the people of God. They had stripped Israel of her weapons and denied her an effective fighting force.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4; When Jesus Christ organized His Church, He equipped her for battle. But many of us today have allowed the Devil to strip us of our weapons.
2. To Distract You – To Keep You From Your Purpose.
- He wants you to lose your focus. Do not become distracted from your purpose and your destiny. Be consistent and stay with God’s plan for your life. Jer. 29:11.
3. To Disable You – To Cripple You So You Cannot Be Effective In Your Purpose.
- He wants to diminish your ability and nullify your outreach and to impair your productivity.
- He will deliberately send temptations meant to cripple you in your Christian walk through Sins of Neglect… Sinful Habits… Sinful Attitudes.
4. To Completely Destroy You. – To Neutralize Your Potential.
3. Understanding the Saints’ Victory
- The Saints are victorious through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit Zechariah 4: 6. Therefore, we must be willing and ready to walk in the Spirit at all times. Walking In the Spirit Means:
i. You Must Quit Excusing Sin
- When the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, you must quit making excuses for what you’re doing. Stop blaming God and others for your sin.
ii. To Obey the Spirit
- How can we follow the Spirit if we will not obey Him? Walking in the Spirit means that we do what He tells us.
- When we know His will, we do it… And we do it immediately! James 1:22, “But Be Doers of the Word, And Not Hearers Only, Deceiving Yourselves.” The Key Is Obedience… You defeat the flesh by obeying the Holy Spirit.
- When Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, and rose from the dead with all power in His hands, He made us victorious over every circumstance.
- You are a victorious warrior because you are a child of God and Joint Heir with Jesus. The following are reasons why weapons will not prosper against you:
1. Because God say so. It does not matter when and how it was crafted, it will not prosper says the Lord.
2. Because Christ already defeated it before it was fashioned.
3. Because it is inferior to what we have, that is, The Word of God.
4. Because it was made to fail. The power of Satan is doomed to fail.
5. Because God is on your side. Col 1:13 “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”
- For you to possess your victory over the enemy and enjoy it as a child of God, you must hold on to the following:
1. Fear not. Fear attracts demons and oppression. The way to deal with fear and dissipate it is to tell it to someone who can help. Our God is described as a very present help in times of need.
2. Be bold and courageous. Develop boldness through the word of God. If God shows you a dream it’s what is happening in the realm of the spirit. Celebrate it if it’s good and cancel it if it’s negative. Don’t expect evil after a terrible dream or prophesy.
3. Stand in your place as a child of God. Stand in righteousness. You must be convinced by the word of God beyond reasonable doubt before the devil can be convinced of your knowledge of victory over him.
Conclusion:
- Jesus came to make us totally free! Freedom from demons, sin, fear and death; so, we can have nothing to fear about.
- We are literally surrounded by spiritual enemies. Jesus came to deliver us totally from them all.
- There’s a war in the spirit. There’s never peace in the spirit realm. Know that there’s warfare over your life. But you need to be aware of this fact that they shall never prosper over you. Hallelujah!
- Our warfare is sometimes financial, mental, marital and medical; the truth is that provision has been divinely made for them all.
