Recently, the Lord took me back to an encounter I had with Him a few years back where He said, “Take My fire and My sword and give it to My people.” This time He kept highlighting the sword. I could see a beautiful sword shining so brightly. It was as if there was a bright light shining behind it as it made the metal glisten intensely.
As I prayed and pondered upon what He was showing me, I knew exactly what He was saying and it stopped me right in my tracks. He was revealing to me that I had given a lot of attention to His fire, but it was time to shift and focus on His sword. His sword symbolizes His word. This is our number one weapon against the enemy, the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
The Holy Spirit reminded me that we must equip others for battle. How did Jesus respond to the devil in the wilderness? It is written!!! If the people of God do not know the word of God, how are they to fight and come out victoriously? Don’t take me wrong. I am not coming against the fire of God in anyway. God did say, “Take My fire and My sword.” We need them both.
We need the fire of God to be victorious and to be effective witnesses for Christ. John the Baptist said that there was One mightier than him that was coming after him who would baptize in the Holy Ghost AND fire (Matthew 3:11). Jesus said in Acts 1, that in not many days they would be baptized in the Holy Ghost and they would receive power to be witnesses unto men. So the baptism of fire is desperately needed today to enable us to carry His fire and His word to a lost and dying people. Without the fire of God, people lose their drive and passion to carry His word and His love to others.
However, we must have balance. We must have a balanced gospel. We must teach people the truths of God’s word. How will they ever know if we do not teach them?
Now, as I am thinking and praying, all I can do is think about the power in His word. There is power to save, to deliver, to heal. Whatever we have need of is in His word. No matter what the need is the answer can be found in His word. He said that He sent His word and healed them (Psalm 107:20). He said that His word would not return unto Him void (Isaiah 55:11). Do you get how powerful that is? He goes on to say that it will accomplish that for which He sent it to do.
One of my absolute favorite scriptures about the word of God is that His word is like a fire and like a hammer (Jeremiah 23:29). To me the fire instantly consumes a thing. A hammer may be able to crush a thing, but many times a hammer is used repeatedly to chip away at something or to nail something in. I believe this is a perfect picture of the word of God. Sometimes the word works instantly and consumes the thing we are dealing with and we get an instant miracle; however, that does not always happen. This is when we have to use the word like a hammer and keep hitting that thing we are facing with the word of God over and over.
Whatever you are facing, get in the word of God, see what His word says about your situation and stand on it, use it, don’t let up. No matter how the situation looks keeps using His word for it is alive and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).
Although this blog has focused mostly on the word of God, I want to remind you that the word without the Spirit can be dangerous. It can be a sword used against other people and even ourselves rather than against the enemy it was intended to be used against which is Satan, if not absorbed and utilized through and by the Spirit of God. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life” (Romans 8:6). Even how we absorb and receive the word of God matters. If we look at it through a carnal mind, it can bring forth death through creating religion and condemnation, but when the Spirit of God is involved it brings forth life, not only to us but to others as well.
Lord help us all to remember that the word without the Spirit kills and forms dead, dry religion “for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). We must always have the Spirit and the truth for Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The Spirit and the word, the fire and the sword, we must have balance.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:12
Amanda Sexton