The Word is a powerful weapon and should never be used to make believers or others feel condemned, but it should be actively deployed to rebuke the enemy of our souls.

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will be still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."

-Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT

Our enemy, as warriors in the Spirit, is the highest principalities and authorities in the heavenly realm.

In order to be effective warriors we need to understand the weapons the Lord has given to us and how to use them.

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable." -Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT

This verse speaks about how the Word is a two-edged sword. It comes out of His mouth and then our mouths. It becomes even sharper when we speak it in agreement with Him!

"The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." -Proverbs 18:21 NLT

It penetrates our being to where soul, spirit, and body meet- when we allow the Sword Word of the Lord to wound us, it heals us.

We begin to live with our inner realms in harmony when we allow His Word to slice away the things that disagree with Him.

I had a dream the other night that it was New Years Eve and Noah (my husband) was showing me the stars. “Zoe” was written in them and I also saw a crown.

“Zoe” is the Greek word for life in its most profound, holistic, and spiritual sense, rather than mere biological existence. It signifies the divine, eternal, and abundant life of God, encompassing vitality, soul, and spiritual energy. -Google

As I prayed this out I kept coming back to Hebrews 4:12 and found that the word for “living” here is the verb form of Zoe.

The Word corrects us into His Glorious Sons and Daughters - Romans 8. As His glorious sons and daughters we are equipped and crowned with HIS authority represented by the crown in my dream.

“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

‭‭-2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭AMP‬‬

If you could close your eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you look like as His glorious son or daughter in the Spirit, I’m sure it would look very different from your current physical form. Our spirits are absolutely perfect when we accept Jesus. It's our soul and body that have to be continually cleansed and renewed.

It’s important that we surrender to His Spirit so we can surrender to our own spirit and become the most effective warriors.

God's promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news-that God has prepared this rest-has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, "In my anger I took an oath: 'They will never enter my place of rest,'" even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready becuase of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: "On the seventh day God rested from all his work." But in the other passage God said, "They will never enter my place of rest." So God's rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: "Today when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts." Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharpter than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is hte one to whom we are accountable. So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same tstings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

-Hebrews 4:1-16 NLT

Sabbath rest or perpetual sabbath is a promise available to us as believers. We just read that the Israelites didn’t join their faith with the Word to receive the promise of faith’s rest.

The word for Sabbath here is sabbatismos-“from creation to consummation as both a present privilege and future inheritance.” -Google

We don’t have to wait to enter into perpetual Sabbath rest.

Rituals ≠ Rest

Obedience = Rest

Obedience is what proves our faith.

The Word requires our faith to be an effective weapon. The ONLY thing God needs from us is for us to believe Him.

Our faith activates the promise! God has ordained a day for us to enter into called “TODAY.”

“Today” can = the realm of faith’s rest, the realm of victory

OR

“Today” can = the realm of doubt and unbelief, the realm of defeat

His works have been completed from the foundation of the world! (4:3-4) He is resting in His finished work. We are invited to rest in His finished work too!

We can rest in it because He has given us the authority to rule, to reign, and to take dominion to enforce the work He finished.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

-Romans 8:18-25 NLT

God, by His authority, has ordained this realm for us. Understanding authority allows us to enter into true rest-perpetual Sabbath.

The Centurion in Luke chapter 7 understood the power of authority and the spoken word.

We have recently been studying storms and the centurion gives a beautiful example to follow. He knew where the authority was to command the storm.

Jesus gave that authority to us…

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

-Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

Hebrews 4 goes on to speak about our King-Priest, Jesus.

He invites us to draw near to Him and receive the grace we need to strengthen us in our times of weakness.

The word used here for strengthen is the Greek word- “boetheia”- it means urgent help usually in reference to reinforcing a ship in a storm. -Google

We cling in faith to what we know to be true (Hebrews 4:14) so we can enter into the promise of the realm of victory, so we can wield the Word with precision, and so we can be strengthened as we enforce His Word through our delegated authority.

Shifting our prayers from asking Him for what He’s already done to opening our mouths and declaring what He has already said.

Hebrews 4 is the permission and commission to go all in.