To Be Lethal or Lethargic Armed and Dangerous or Consumer Couch Potato

“Know your sword” Musashi, Greatest of the Samurai

We men are all born as males but becoming a man is a process. Someone has said that you can determine your maleness by looking down below your waist but to determine your manliness you must look inward at your heart. I think most men can readily understand this analogy. The manliness I am referring to though is becoming conformed to the likeness of Christ and I call this becoming Jesusesque.

Jesus is the consummate example for all human conduct but for this discussion we shall focus on that of warrior. After all, our Father God is also a warrior, Exodus 15:3. Becoming a warrior is essentially a two step process. First a man must have a passionate desire in his heart to prepare and perfect himself for the stance against evil in the service of others. It is really difficult to fake this. Secondly he must devote himself to a life of preparation and perfection of those skills required of this calling, and all the while submitted to a higher authority. This is exactly what Jesus did! You really cannot fake this part.

Throughout history a universal requirement for warriors has been to become at “one” with their weapon. This process requires discipline and much training and practice. The Japanese Samurai warrior and sword is a classic example of man and weapon merging to form a warrior. This integration of warrior and weapon brings life to the weapon and renders the warrior an asset to his authority.

The weapon then becomes an extension of the warrior’s hands, the warrior’s eyes, the warrior’s heart, and of the authority he represents. The warrior then becomes a threat, a danger, to any force opposed to the authority that the warrior represents. Jesus gives us the perfect demonstration of this principle in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 when he battles with the devil as he comes out of a 40 day fast in the wilderness. Jesus masterfully wielded the sword, The Word, when He said, “It is written”. These words came across like the slash of a great sword and the devil was summarily dispatched.

In days of old, as a young squire would complete the rites of passage to become a knight, a special sword was being crafted for him. However, before he could receive this sword and knighthood he must prove that he could master himself. This was necessary before the king could trust him to master an enemy.

At a solemn ceremony, knights of the realm would gather around and individually challenge and encourage him in his calling. A priest would come forth with a prayer for this specially crafted sword and it was then presented to the new knight. One of the prayers offered was this: ‘Bless this sword, so that it may be a defense for churches, widows, and orphans and for all servants of God against the fury of the heathen’.

Then would come the colle’e or the dubbing…a blow to the shoulders, not a light tap you may have seen in movies. This dubbing was to remind the candidate that he was to be “under the sword” and that he had surrendered his life to a noble cause. He is to be a knight: chosen, destined, anointed by his God for sacred service. The candidate also received a strong slap to the face with this admonishment: “this is the last time you are to receive a blow without responding.”

I believe that God would have a special spiritual sword made for each of His spiritual warriors. Psalm 149:6 speaks of this sword. This special sword will of course be the Word of God. It will be that “weighty” Word that reminds you that you are under the sword, and it must be that Word with which you have come into oneness with. It will be that part of the Word with which you, “mighty warrior” will represent your King in the defense of widows and orphans and quell the fury of hell.

Gentlemen, we are not a convenient religious club or civic service club but we are part of a Holy Order charged with sacred duties… words that seem to have lost their meaning in our modern life. Satan has not changed and God has not changed---neither of them are Americans. The requirement to make disciples and to live sacrificial lives of service, though not prominent American religious training, has not been changed by technology.

Warriors intuitively know that the use of their weapon is a perishable skill…that lethargy can be lethal. We must be prepared to confront Satanic forces, as men of the Cross, with confident authority in the Word and with skill and understanding of how to use it. We must walk worthy of our calling. YES! And we desperately need each other---who has your back? Do you have a wingman? Do you have a leader? Who are you following? Is the passion of your life for sacrificial service for others or endless self consumption?

In closing, let’s look at these scriptures from 1 Corinthians 16:13, Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (NIV), Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (NASB), and 1 Peter 5:8-9b, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith…(NKJV)

And from one of history’s greatest natural warriors; “The art of war teaches us to not rely on the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking but on the fact that we have made our position unassailable”. Sun Tzu (544-496 BC)

Developed by: John R. “Barney” Barnes, Warrior Spirit Ministries, 3-25-18