Project 2
Activating the Sword of the Spirit
Knowing how to identify the Sword of the Spirit was the first half of the battle. Now we are going to get some practice in activating the Sword of the Spirit. This is important because of what we are told in 2 Timothy 2:15.
Read 2 Timothy 2:15.
We are told to study and that we need to rightly divide (or handle) the word of truth which is the sword of the Spirit which is sharper than any two-edged sword.
I like how the English Standard Version reads for the above scripture. It says that we are to “do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth. So the first thing we need to do is to present ourselves to God. How and Why?
Read Romans 12:1-2
Fill in the blank:
We are told to offer ourselves, as a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable (pleasing) ________________________.
We need to do what God approves of and finds pleasing. We are told to not conform ourselves to the pattern of ___________________________. We are told that the way that we are transformed is to renew ________________________.
This is important so that we can test and approve what God’s will is. This is important if we are going to handle God’s Word (the truth) right. We need to be trained to handle what we cannot see that is sharper than any man-made two-edged sword. This is where Isaiah 49:2 comes into play.
Read Isaiah 49:2
To activate our sword of the Spirit, we must be hidden for a time in the shadow of His hand and in His quiver so that He can do the work in us that is necessary for us to be sharpened to be used by Him. Many times this is a place of loneliness, a place of being misunderstood, a place of being isolated away from everyone else, and/or a place of being made uncomfortable.
What part of us was made like a sharp sword?
Read Ephesians 5:26
Many times we feel as if we are out of the will of our Heavenly Father. Many times it feels as if things are falling apart when it is really falling together. Many times we find ourselves in prayer and fasting with strong outcries because we don’t always understand the process when it happens, so we will feel as if we have done something wrong when the truth of the matter is that we are right where Father needs us to be – a place of humility and brokenness where the oil can begin to flow.
Read James 1:2-4
Many times our experience of feeling broken comes along the back of our not knowing when, where, why, how, who, or what. Many times we are so used to doing, moving, and flowing, so when something happens that renders us powerless to the point that we don’t know what the outcome will be, it causes anxiety and worries in us.
Read James 1: 5-8.
When we do not know; when we lack knowledge, what does God tell us to do?
It is in the place of not knowing that we are supposed to turn to the One who does know. You see, we need to understand and remember that the power belongs to King Jesus. It is not ours.
Read Mark 16:20
Who does Jesus back up and how?
Read Hebrews 11:6.
List the two things that we need to do in order to please God well.
- ______________________________
- ______________________________
All we have to do is believe. We need to believe God’s Word in every area of our lives. There is nothing that we will face in our day-to-day lives that cannot be found in the Word of God. This is why we must hide God’s Word in the crevices of our hearts.
Read Psalm 119:11
It is during these times of isolation that we spend as much quality time as possible in the presence of the Lord listening to the voice of the Lord speak to us through His Written Word and in the quiet of prayer. It is during these times that we learn to make it a habit of getting into the presence of the Lord listening and paying attention, and not just speaking.
We must develop this habit of spending quality time in the presence of the Lord, for it is here where we are refilled and empowered to activate our swords. This way we do not become like those nine powerless disciples who could not heal the epileptic boy. Their swords were not activated because they relied on their own strength.
We are to imitate our Master (Lord) Jesus Christ. We are to follow in His footsteps closely. On many occasions, Jesus would steal away to have alone time with the Father before the others awakened. Many times, the disciples would awaken and have to go and find Jesus because he had left them so that He could be alone to pray.
Read Luke 5:15-16
The more popular Jesus became the more He withdrew to be alone.
Where did Jesus go and why?
Read Mark 6:45-46
Sometimes Jesus would send people away from him so that He could have some alone time.
Where did Jesus go and why?
Read Mark 1:35
When did Jesus take his quiet time?
Where did he go? Why?
Read Matthew 14:23
Did Jesus have a specific prayer time or did he take advantage to get away at different times during the day?
When on earth, Jesus received His power from the Father. He spent time with his FATHER regularly. He sent His disciples away so that he could get some time alone with the Father so that He could be refilled and refreshed Himself.
When Jesus fulfilled all that the Father sent Him to do, and He died and was raised from the dead on the third day, we are told that He got up with ALL power in his hands.
Read Mark 16:19-20
We are told that Jesus sits down, in Heaven, at the right hand of the FATHER who empowers Him, and from heaven, He backs up the believers on earth, working with them, and confirming “the word” through the accompanying signs. The Power belongs to the Word who is Jesus. The Word is the Sword of the Spirit.
When we were looking at identifying the Word of God which is the Sword of the Spirit we saw evidence that the Sword is in the Mouth of King Jesus who is the Word of God.
So catch this now, because we are walking in the footsteps of King Jesus, following in the footsteps of the master, the sword would then be God’s Word in our mouths. What activates that, if you look at verses 15-18 of Mark Chapter 16 is our belief.
This is what Jesus kept saying while He was on earth. Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well”.
Read Matthew 9: 20-22
Who was healed?
What was healed?
How long did they suffer before they were healed?
How did the healing happen?
Read Mark 10: 46-52
Who was healed?
What was healed?
How did the healing happen?
Read Luke 7:44-50
Who was healed?
What was said to heal them?
Read Luke 17:11-19
What needed to be healed?
How many needed to be healed?
What did Jesus say healed the one?
Now, from His position in heaven, He continues to work with us “confirming the Word through the accompanying signs.” (Mark 16:20)
So, when we ask Father for something in the name of Jesus and it comes to pass, Jesus did it. When we speak something and it comes to pass, Jesus did it. It is not us. The power is not ours. The power belongs to Jesus. Jesus gives us the authority to ask for anything “in his name”.
We stand as representatives of Him, and He “confirms us with accompanying signs”. It’s like when you go to do something here on earth and someone has to call and check your credentials, and when they make the phone call they are told, “Yes, I sent him. Yes, I sent her.” That is what Jesus does. He backs us up. He tells us that “whatever we ask for, in His name, is yes and amen.”
Read John 14:12-14
So by our starting our day in His presence, we position ourselves to be filled with everything that we need for the day. When we empty ourselves in service, but we do not go before the Lord to be filled again and given our walking papers, our assignments for the day that we are in, then, in effect, we are operating out of our own strength.
This is why so many are finding themselves beaten and worn out on the battlefield. We need to draw our strength from the Lord by sitting quietly in the presence of the Lord.
When the batteries on our cell phones get low, we grab our chargers and recharge them so that we can continue to use them. We do the same thing for our laptops. When the gas hand in our vehicles gets low we go to a gas station to refill it so that we can continue to use it. Well, this is the same thing that we need to do for the vehicles we live in called our bodies. Our strength, our endurance, our ability, ALL wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from the Lord. We are told that if we lack wisdom we are to call out to God. If we are calling out to one another we will not be filled. The power comes from God and not from our brothers and sisters.
So, for our Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God in our mouths to be activated, we must DAILY spend time in the presence of the Lord. Let’s look at how the Lord confirms all of this in his word. Soak in this blessing as we consider Isaiah 59:20-60:3; and Isaiah 61.
Read Isaiah 59:20-60:3
One of the things that we learned in our study of the other pieces of our armor is that we must have the key to understanding to help us to understand what we are reading. So here is a key for these verses:
Looking at the key, where Jerusalem represents the church – the place where God has placed his name, and Zion represents Heavenly Jerusalem (also known as Jerusalem above) which is those who are the church (free) as opposed to those who go to church.
There is definitely a difference and to understand this difference I encourage you to receive the key to understanding from Revelation 3:14-22.
This is the letter that Jesus had John the Apostle write to the Laodicean church who was found guilty of being lukewarm. Jesus said to them that He wished that they were either hot or cold but because they were lukewarm they would be spewed out of His mouth. (Being hot references the close walk in the Spirit of some of the followers of Jesus. Being cold references those who are non-responsive and therefore spiritually dead.)
So, in Isaiah 59:20, we see Jesus coming to those who are hot and on fire for the Lord and to those who have repented of their sins turning from them “in Jacob”. The fact that it says “in Jacob” means that these are those who are beginning to come out of the world – the Babies in Christ. But notice that there is no mention of those who are going thru the motion of worship – those who claim to serve Jesus but whose lifestyle proves them to be lukewarm. This would be those who go to church but who still live according to the world.
In Isaiah 59:21, the Redeemer, who is the Word of God which is the Sword of the Spirit, makes a covenant with those mentioned in verse 20. Not only does He cover them with His Spirit (the Holy Spirit), but He also puts His Word in their mouth.
So now you can see that these ones have been equipped with their Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and it is not in their hands. Instead, it is in their mouths. The covenant promise that God has given them is that the Word will be not only in their mouths but also in the mouths of their children and grandchildren. This has to happen first for the next part to take place – the activating of the Sword of the Spirit.
In Isaiah 60:1-3 you now see the Swords of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, has now been turned on for those who have received it in Isaiah 59:20-21. They are now told to rise up and shine. They are to be the light in this dark world.
So now that we have been activated in Chapter 60 of Isaiah, it is in Isaiah Chapter 61 that you see what we are to do with our swords of the Spirit which has now been activated by Jesus Christ. We don’t just stand around holding them. We also do not go out wounding the wounded with our swords which are sharper than a two-edged sword. How we are supposed to use our swords is seen in Isaiah Chapter 61.
I am now confident that you not only know what the sword is and where it is, but also that you know how to activate it and use it. , So with that being said, as a recap, let’s review this information by watching the video link that reminds us about how to identify and activate the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
Video: Identifying and Activating the Sword of the Spirit
Please Proceed to Module 7 PHA Physical Health Assessment
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