Weapons of War - Part I
Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author
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"Weapons of War" will reveal the weapons that Satan uses to defeat us. Before we start, make sure you are ready for this study. For some, this will seem as if we are revisiting old territory; for others, it will offensive. This is an uphill battle for me to get these people to see the truth. For the rest of you, it will be a real revelation. {Even if you feel that you have read all this before, do not skip of this study} A person once became angry with me because they did not understand something I was teaching. The problem - they had seen much of what seemed scripture and a study they knew; so, they skipped over some parts. Guess what? The parts they skipped over were the areas that would have helped them understand the crucial points of the study. They said they felt like there was at least a dozen eggs on their face, once they realized I had taught it; and they had skipped over it. You never know what you may learn. Although you may think you know something, it may be presented in a new way to you. I have experienced many uphill battles in this ministry. Many have argued with me; some have called me a liar, heretic, even satanic. No matter, I am still here. The truth is I only want to bless people; but not to the point of compromising the word of God. If you learn nothing else other than what is in this study, you will be on the right path. Moreover, if you continue on the same path, you will come to a point where you can grow in ways you never dreamed you could. Before you go on, ask yourself:
It any of your answers to the above questions is "NO", then I must warn you to stop now. This study is too much for anyone to read, who is not ready for it. This also requires at least 10 minutes in prayer and meditation to be as free of the world as you can be.
I suggest you do the following before continuing, ask yourself these three questions:
If you are not able to answer "Yes" to both sets of questions, then put this study off to later. Do not allow Satan to keep you from it too long; and he will. He will try to keep you from this study; because he knows through this study, you can be victorious over him.
2 Corinthians 10
4. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Hosea 4 (KJV)
6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Paul said in best above, casting down imaginations. So what does he mean?
There is no such thing as an original thought. If you are very honest with yourself, you will realize it. Every thought you have had or will have has already been thought before you were born; and they will be thought again. So, what is the big deal and what does it have to do with what Paul said? We get our thoughts from one of two sources only:
- One is forced on us all the time
- One we must seek.
The source of forced thoughts is Satan. That is right; Satan is forcing thoughts on us 24/7. Have you ever had a thought or said something, only to wonder, "Where did that come from." That thought was one Satan was pushing on you; he was trying to get you to blow it. There is only one way to get the thoughts of God over those of Satan; and that is to seek them.
Before I share how and why that is, we should delve further into what Paul said.
In 2 Corinthians 10:4, he said our warfare is not carnal, not of the flesh. The actual word in the Greek is "sMarkikos":
Strong's Ref. # 4559
Romanized sMarkikos
Pronounced sar-kee-kos'
from GSN4561; pertaining to flesh, i.e. (by extension) bodily, temporal, or (by implication) animal, unregenerate:
KJV--carnal, fleshly.
Since our warfare is not of the flesh, that only leaves the soul and the spirit. God would not allow it to be something we are not of yet. Therefore, that leaves the soul (your soul is your mind, will, and emotions). Do not confuse the "brain" with the "mind". The brain stores data; the mind is where it is actually used.
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God," For Paul to say casting down imaginations, would mean that we have imaginations we do not need, Not only do we cast down these imaginations, but we are to take every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. Then, bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So there are imaginations that are not of God; and that only leaves Satan.
For those who do not know it, imaginations include thoughts. Paul used imaginations because they include thoughts; the other way around would not include imaginations. We are to take each thought, imagination into captivity that is not of the knowledge of God. This sounds like a full time job, does it not? At first, it is not easy; but in time it does get easier and takes less and less time.
Matthew 17 (KJV)
18. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
John 14 (KJV)
12. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
James 4 (KJV)
7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The idea is - on your own, you cannot do this but with God's help, you can.
Understand all sin, all wickedness, all things we do, we wish, or things we did not do, first started as a thought. All thought we can either cast down or dwell on; and make it ours. Once we adopt that thought, it will then come out of our mouths and eventually manifest as an action.
{Remember what will judge us in the end}
Matthew 12 (KJV)
36. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
{Where do all words come from? All words start as a thought.}
Your mind feeds your emotions and will. If your will is strong, it is because you have chosen the right thoughts that strengthened your will. With a strong will, your mind will become even stronger. Then the day will come when you will even rule over your body.
We all have heard people say, "we are saint and sinner, and we cannot live without sinning". That, however, is not what Jesus said.
John 5 (KJV)
14. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
All sin comes from a thought. If you control your thoughts, in time you control you sinning.
{There is no wonder that Satan did not want us to realize this. For with this knowledge, we can be victorious over Satan.}
Hosea 4 (KJV)
6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Before you think "oh well the above does not refer to me, because I am not a priest" think again; you are.
Revelation 1 (KJV)
6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
{We are destroyed due to a lack of knowledge. The only true knowledge comes from God. Think about this; we are to seek His thoughts.}
John 8 (KJV)
28. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
Remember Jesus said we would do all He did and more. That even means hear from the Father.
Why can't some people get it? What father does not want his children to listen to him? How much more would our heavenly Father want the same?
Matthew 7 (KJV)
9. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10. Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Satan will use all his abilities to keep us from God; and, if possible, get us for himself. One of Satan's methods is getting us to judge. Because once we start to judge, unforgiveness is not far behind.
Matthew 7 (KJV)
1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
John 3 (KJV)
17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
The word condemn also means judge.
When we step over into unforgiveness then we are lost to God.
Mark 11 (KJV)
25. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
How can we keep from judging and always forgive? This is another reason why it is so important for us to control our thoughts. Judging and unforgiveness are both rooted from a thought.
Consider the following questions and responses:
This man raped and killed my child, how can I ever forgive him?
Your child is in heaven with God. Would you really want to spend eternity apart from your child just to have a few years of hate here and now? Anyway, what good would that do? Even if the courts turned him over to you, and you tortured and killed him; it would not bring your child back. No matter what you think, it will only make matters worse for you. For deep within you would become either very hateful or eaten up with what you did.
Why does God allow this to happen?
He does, not we do. When we learn how to outwit Satan, he will get away with less and less.
Why doesn't God tell us how or just make it easy for us?
He is trying to tell us, and He wants to make it as easy as He can. However, we must first listen.
Think of how many people have gone through life having never known what you now know about the thoughts and where they come from. How many have believed they had come up with these thoughts on their own; when they actually did not. All they did was take something placed by Satan, and made it theirs. Satan has hidden many things from us by confusing us with lies and deceptions in our own thoughts.
To better help you with this we need to understand the spiritual side of the word of God. Many want you to believe that the Bible is the end all; it is not. It is the breathed word of God, but it is not His voice. Everyone knows the physical side of worship, the word, prayer, etc.; but most do not know that is only half of it.
John 4 (KJV)
24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
{How can you worship in the Spirit if everyone says it is not possible; or that the spirit ended in the first century?}
Hebrews 13 (KJV)
8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Christ is a Greek word, which means "anoint". In Luke 4:18 Jesus said He was anointed with the Spirit of God. Therefore, if He is the Christ, then to be of Christ is to be of the spirit of God. God is a Spirit; so to be of the Spirit is to be of God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, faith and the spirit did not end in the first century.
Why do people say it did? Mostly because they seek the spirit once or for a while and nothing happens; so they feel it must be because it ended in the first century. It cannot be because of them, so they think. Faith and the Spirit are not like a shirt you try on for awhile to see if it works for you. Faith and the Spirit are a way of life. We all know there are those who just have to find the short cut. Then there are those who are just too lazy or do not want to have put in the effort.
Romans 8 (KJV)
16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Romans 10 (KJV)
17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Both of the above verses speak of hearing not reading. Some want us to believe (that the Bible is the end all) the Bible is the beginning not the end. In Romans 10:17 it says hearing by the word of God.
John 1 (KJV)
14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Word became flesh (Jesus); but when Jesus left, He said He would send the Holy Spirit.
John 14 (KJV)
26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Sometimes I believe the church has overdone it on separating the trinity. It is to the point people have a hard time thinking of the trinity as one.
1 John 2 (KJV)
27. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
This does not say, "taught of man", but by the anointing. Remember, Jesus said He was anointed with the Spirit of God; it means of God. To better understand anointing, think of a sponge dripping water; the sponge is anointed with water.
1 John 4 (KJV)
1. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
If we could not hear from God, why would John tell us to (ask a question) verify it is God we are hearing from; not Satan? It is because Satan can never admit Jesus came in the flesh. To do so he would have to admit he has lost.
Let me ask one question at this point, what do I have to gain teaching people to listen to God and not me?
There are two reasons we are divided:
For John 14:26 to be of any effect in your life, you have to be listening to God. In Romans 8:16, it states "For the Spirit itself testified to my spirit that I am a child of God". Then you hear that you have heard from God. Satan will do all he can to keep us in the dark, and one way is to keep us disconnected from the Spirit. What better way than by planting thoughts and having us think they are ours.
So here are a few things you need to do:
If you follow these seven steps, step 8 is easy…the next life. There is a next life, and it is as real as this one is. Imagining a baby in the womb ready to come out to it this life is as unreal as the next is to us.
Think of this:
Just remember, the thoughts you have now will make your tomorrows awesome, good, bad, or awful; you are in control.
There are over 450 Bible studies at "godsgifttoyou.com" dealing with everything from "Salvation" to the "Body of Christ". If you have questions, you can seek answers there until you get in touch with God.
2-25-04 H.O.M.E.