Four Common Weapons
What would you say is the most powerful spiritual weapon to remove the authority and influence of the adversary from your home and your life? If I asked a group of Spirit-filled believers that question, most would offer these four answers:
1) Quoting Scripture.
2) Experiencing the anointing.
3) Rebuking the devil.
4) Having strong faith.
Each of these is an important and invaluable weapon in the family fight against Satan. Every believer should carry the sword of the Spirit and be dedicated to knowing God’s Word. But even Satan knows the Bible well enough to quote from it (Matt. 4:1-10), and he’s assigned his own false prophets to use the Scriptures for their own deceptive, false teaching. So is this spiritual weapon enough to defeat the enemy when even he uses it from time to time?
Some Pentecostals or charismatics believe that a powerful anointing is the main weapon that will defeat the enemy. I once heard a noted TV minister make a statement that sent shivers down my spine. He screamed over a microphone, “I’m so anointed that the devil can’t touch me!” A few weeks later, he began encountering a series of attacks against his ministry that were almost unbearable.
The anointing is a great gift that accompanies a Spirit-filled life. However, King David made an interesting observation when he said, “I am weak today, though anointed king” (2 Sam. 3:39). When Christ was baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon Him and led Him into the wilderness where He was tested by the devil (Matt. 4:1). The anointing does not exempt you from attack but, in fact, can actually attract attack.
After all, Satan was originally the anointed cherub. He certainly understands the power of the anointing. It takes the anointing to break the yokes of sin (Is. 10:27); however, the anointing is not a barrier to prevent attacks.
So what about rebuking the enemy? Will that defeat the devil in our homes? Jesus rebuked the storm (Matt. 8:26), demons (Matt. 17:18) and sickness (Luke 4:39). His disciples followed His example by rebuking Satan, as seen when they attempted to rebuke the spirits in an epileptic child (Mark 9:17-19). But even they learned later that some spirits respond only to fasting and prayer (Matt. 17:21). The hindrance with the epileptic child had been the disciples’ own unbelief.
Fasting and prayer would have increased their faith and authority level over the powers of the enemy. I must confess that there have been times when I have rebuked the enemy, and at that particular moment I didn’t see any direct response. Perhaps it was weak faith or a weak confession (Heb. 10:23).
So, then, does that mean faith is the greatest weapon against the enemy? In the ’80s there was a strong Word of Faith movement in which ministers taught and emphasized the message of faith and personal confession. The emphasis on the faith message was either received or criticized as extreme by many Christians in North America. Those who became engulfed in the message often taught that any sickness, financial difficulty or problem was a result of a lack of faith.
While studying this subject, I read James 2:19: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” Suddenly I realized that demons have more faith than some alleged Christians. Demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God, yet some religious folks don’t (Luke 4:41). Demons know Christ can heal, yet many preachers preach that miracles have ceased. The kingdom of darkness believes in the abyss, and demons know they’re going there, but many Christians deny the existence of hell (Luke 8:31). It is a sad commentary when fallen spirits, which are doomed for eternity to perdition, have more faith in God, Christ and the power of God than some theologically lame unbelieving believers.
