Ok…so in talking about how to hold our peace we have mentioned that Satan (whom the scripture says is presently roaming the earth like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8; Job 1:7 )) will often make attempts to steal our peace. In the last post I mentioned that the number one way to fight the devil and defeat his attempts is to follow Christ’s example. In Matthew 4:1-11 we see Christ being tempted by Satan in the desert. And we see Him cast down the devil by using the Word of God (scripture).
So these three things jump out at me: 1. He fought with the Word. 2. He used scripture He had obviously memorized. 3. He spoke these things out loud.
We are told that the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two edged sword, and that it never returns void. (Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 55:11) So obviously scripture is the most powerful weapon we can use.
Also notice that Christ did not have time to run and get His scrolls to look up a scripture that He knew was in there somewhere! No, here we have a very powerful example of why we should work to memorize scripture…to hide His word in our hearts. (Psalm 119:11) We must be prepared. We simply cannot wait until the heat of battle to start scrounging up weapons. We must work daily to fill our arsenal (spending time with the Lord, in His word and in prayer…talking to Him) so that when the time comes we are ready. This is being on the offense rather than constantly being on the defense. Joyce Meyer once said, “You wouldn’t constantly feel under attack if you would stay on the attack!”
And finally we see that Christ spoke out loud. Proverbs 18:21 is just one of the many places where the Bible tells us that our words have power. We should keep the Word of God on our lips, speaking truth and power to and in our situation.
“For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
