The 3 Spiritual Weapons—obedience, Prayer, and Complete Trust

I would now like to invite a friend of mine, a pastor here in Boston who was here preaching with us on Father’s Day, a month ago.

He is Dominican; if I am a confused gringo, he is a somewhat confused Dominican because—come on up, Claudio—he spent nine years in Central America. I do not know whether there are any Central Americans here, but he spent time in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Yet he is still Dominican to the bone, so he has both things. He has this multicultural experience, and he pastors a church here in Boston and is visiting us today. So I am going to translate for you because we have a large group of English speakers. I will try to translate into English and see whether I remember a little English today.

I believe it is a privilege that God gives each person to worship Him. On this occasion, I want to speak to you about spiritual weapons that believers must use for a victorious life over the enemy.

The story of the nation of Israel coming out of Egypt can be approached in different ways. But the life of Moses impresses upon me three truths that I want to share with you this morning. The first truth is obedience to the Word of God. The second truth that the life of Moses teaches me is intercessory prayer. The third truth that I learn about Moses is complete trust in the mighty hand of God.

Those three truths teach us how to have a victorious life over the enemy. Egypt represented oppression for the people of Israel and also for Moses. And not only physical oppression, but Egypt also represented spiritual oppression. That is why Moses’ attitude teaches me those three spiritual truths, so that you and I, as believers, may have victory over the enemy.

Although Egypt represented oppression for Israel, today the world represents oppression for many, because today’s Pharaoh is called Satan, and he keeps many people oppressed in slavery, sin, addictions, and wickedness—from the highest levels of government in all the countries represented among us down to the lowest level.

How can you and I be instruments used by God for the deliverance of those people? We need those three spiritual weapons. We want to look at the life of obedience. Brothers and sisters, I invite you to Exodus, chapter 7. We are also going to touch on some verses from chapter 8, chapter 10, and chapter 13.

Very well, verse 1 says—look at verse 1 with me: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall say everything that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh so that he will let the children of Israel go out of his land....’”

Look at verse 5 with me: “...and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring the children of Israel out from among them....”

Dear brothers and sisters, this passage teaches us that a life of obedience to God is very important for gaining victory over the enemy.

Look with me at Exodus 7, verse 6: “...and Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them....”

Look with me at verse 8: “...the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying...,” and verse 10 says, “...so Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded them....”

Look with me at verse 14: “...then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he goes out to the river, and say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, Let My people go so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, until now you have refused to listen....’

Verse 17: “...Thus says the Lord: By this you shall know that I am the Lord....”

That is the message God commanded them to give Pharaoh.

Look with me at verse 20 of chapter 7: “...and Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them....”

Brothers and sisters, that is why a life of obedience to God is important; it is the key to a victorious life over the enemy. As I told you at the beginning, Egypt today is the world, and the oppressor is Satan and his demons.

When you and I live a life of obedience to God, that is the key to victory and enables us to rescue—to be instruments used by God to rescue—those who are under the oppression of darkness. For you and me, as Christians, to have spiritual victory over the enemy’s forces, and for God to use us to bring salvation and deliverance to people enslaved by Satan, we need a life of obedience. Amen.

Obedience to the Word of God makes it possible for believers to defeat the forces of darkness in the work of setting souls free.

Look with me at verse 11 of Exodus chapter 7: “...then Pharaoh also called his wise men and sorcerers, and they also did the same. The sorcerers of Egypt, with their enchantments—for each one cast down his staff, and they became snakes. What is the difference? But Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs. Amen.”

The nation of Israel was not only physically enslaved; there was spiritual bondage as well. When God called Moses, he had to confront two realities: the physical reality of slavery, but he also had to confront the sorcerers of Egypt. The nation of Egypt was polytheistic; they worshiped many gods. It was a thoroughly idolatrous nation, and generally, along with idolatry, there is also sorcery, witchcraft, enchantment, reading cards, laying out cards, reading coffee cups, and a host of weapons Satan uses to keep souls confused.

Moses had to confront all those spiritual realities, but do you know what the key was to his victory over Satan and the sorcerers? A life of obedience to God.

In chapter 8, verses 18 to 19, God calls Moses to bring the plague of lice so that Pharaoh will let the people go. Do you know what happened? The sorcerers also tried to bring forth lice with their enchantments, but they could not. Praise God.

And do you know what the sorcerers of Egypt acknowledged?

Verse 19: “...Then the sorcerers said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God....’” In other words, we cannot stand against this God, because there is a man who is obedient to the Word of God, and we cannot compete with him. The sorcerers were saying to Pharaoh, “Do not put us in any more trouble, because we cannot do it.”

And I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, if you and I obey God today, Satan’s throne will fall. Even if there are satanic churches in Massachusetts, it will fall. Even though every witches’ day on October 31, the satanists are praying for believers to fall, for leaders to fall, and for churches to be destroyed, greater is He who is with us than he who is with the world. Amen.

Believers who obey the voice of God—the second principle I see here—make it possible for unbelievers to recognize that God is the true God. And Pharaoh was one of them, along with his armies.

Chapter 7, verse 5 tells us: “...and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord....”

Why did they need to know that God was the true God? Because there was religious syncretism and confusion about worship. They worshiped everything in the universe that they knew, and amid that confusion, God sent Moses to demonstrate, through his life of obedience to God, that God was the true God.

Today, there are many who are confused by Satan in different ways. Paul says in the New Testament that the god of this age blinded their understanding so that the light of the truth would not shine upon them and they would not be saved. How will they know about the true God whom you and I worship? It is through simple obedience. You and I need to be sensitive to the voice of God; that is the first weapon for a victorious life over Satan.

And the Word says in chapter 8, verse 10: “...and he said, ‘Tomorrow.’ And Moses answered, ‘Let it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God....’”

Verse 22: “...and on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, to the end that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth....”

Chapter 9, verse 14—the Word of God says: “...for at this time I will send all My plagues upon your heart, upon your servants, and upon your people, so that you may understand that there is no one like Me in all the earth....”

Verse 16: “...indeed, I have raised you up to show My power in you, and so that My name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth....”

My dear brothers and sisters, when we see people oppressed by the enemy, and when the people—our relatives for whom we are praying—are hardened and do not want to repent, let us not lose heart, brothers and sisters. God will show His power if we continue obeying His Word, praying for them, interceding for them, and speaking on their behalf. God will rescue them.

Moses’ life of obedience to the voice of God also teaches us that this unleashes God’s miraculous power to deliver people from slavery so that they may serve God.

Look with me at chapter 8: “...then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go into Pharaoh’s presence and say to him, Thus says the Lord: Let My people go so that they may serve Me....’”

The reason God wants you and me, brothers and sisters, to live in obedience to Him is that He wants more servants. Just as Israel was enslaved in Egypt, serving Pharaoh, God wanted to rescue them so that they would serve Him. For that reason, my brothers and sisters, I see that obedience is very important. And I also want to tell you that a life of obedience—look with me at verse 20:

“...brings the sinner to serve God, rescuing him from slavery to serve God, as He did with the nation of Israel.” God Himself repeats it again in verse 20: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Behold, he goes out to the river, and say to him, Thus says the Lord: Let My people go so that they may serve Me....’”

Chapter 9, verse 1, says the same thing at the end of the verse: “...let My people go so that they may serve Me....”

Oh, you know, for that reason Moses was obedient to the voice of God. Not only did he want to serve God, but he also wanted all his people to serve God. He does not only want you to serve Him, brother; He wants every one of your compatriots living here in the United States to serve God. Obedience is very important.

You know, Satan has an army of demons that keeps people oppressed through different spiritual distractions. I want to tell you that when I came here to Boston, got on the trains, and began to hear Spanish everywhere, I said, “Wow, Lord, what a seedbed of souls there is here!” And we began to pray with Pastor José Reyes in Lawrence about where He wanted me to serve Him. We went to Lawrence to see whether I wanted to begin a ministry there, but one night, as I was praying to the Lord, God said to me, “Look, life in Boston is expensive; the situation is extremely costly, but I want you here in Boston.” And I began sharing with Hispanics. Some received me very kindly, listened to me, and accepted the tracts, but according to my expectations, they were going to come to church, and to this day they are still absent. And I began to discover that they had other gods, that they had other bonds.

First, they have to pay the coyote who brought them here; they have to work full-time, part-time, and after-hours, in addition to supporting their family here. And I said, “Lord, I thought it was as easy as they told me.” “I do not have time to go to church; I have other things to do.” Those are bonds. The task is not easy, but if you and I are faithful to God in obedience to Him and tell people that God wants them to follow Him, even if they grow weary, even if they do not want to listen, God will bring them deliverance.

The second truth I want to share with you is intercessory prayer. When God began to use Moses in that spiritual battle to convince Pharaoh that God was the true God, there came a time when God began to soften the heart of that man, that king.

In verse 8 of chapter 8: “...then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘Pray to the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people....’”

Brothers and sisters, we are seeing a miracle here. At the beginning, whom did Pharaoh call? The sorcerers of Egypt. Now he is asking them to call upon God: “Pray for me so that God will remove this plague from me.”

The first sign of victory over the enemy is when your unbelieving relative, your friends, and your neighbors begin asking you to pray for them. Amen. It is the first step toward deliverance from the enemy.

Look with me at chapter 10, verse 18: “...and Moses went out from Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to the Lord....”

Do you know why he went out and prayed to the Lord? It is because verse 16 says: “...then Pharaoh hurriedly called Moses and Aaron and said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, I beg you, forgive my sin only this once, and pray to the Lord your God that He may at least take this deadly plague away from me....’”

And what does Moses do? He intercedes on Pharaoh’s behalf. Brothers and sisters, intercessory prayer is the second spiritual weapon for victory over the enemy. We must pray for witches; we must pray for sorcerers; we must pray for satanic churches. And I challenge you today to leave it behind and for all of us to be on our knees praying that Satan’s throne will fall, just as David prayed on one occasion that God would confound his enemies when someone had given sound counsel for David’s death. And David’s prayer was, “Lord, confound this man.”

Brothers and sisters, when you and I pray against the kingdom of darkness, we must say, “Lord, throw Satan’s throne into confusion so that your name may be glorified, so that the whole earth may recognize that you are God.” Intercessory prayer is very important so that the enemy may recognize that God is a God without equal, so that the enemy may recognize that there is no one else like him here on earth.

And by this point God has silenced the voice of the sorcerers, and he can do it today. Do you believe it, brother? Amen.

The third weapon: complete trust in the mighty hand of God. Exodus, chapter 13, verse 3:

“... And Moses said to the people, remember this day, on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for the LORD brought you out of here with a strong hand....”

Verse 14: “... and when your son asks you tomorrow, saying, ‘What is this?’ you shall tell him, ‘The LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of every bondage, with a strong hand....’”

Verse 24—look with me at verses 24 and 25 of chapter 14: “... And it came to pass in the morning watch that the LORD looked down upon the camp of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the camp of the Egyptians into confusion, and took off the wheels of their chariots and severely hindered them. Then the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians....’”

Verse 30: “... Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. And Israel saw that great deed which the LORD carried out against the Egyptians. The people feared the LORD and believed the LORD and Moses, his servant....”

Dear brothers and sisters, spiritually speaking, we have a great battle to fight in the setting where God is allowing us to live here. The key to victory over the enemy is a life of obedience, intercessory prayer, and complete trust in the mighty hand of God.

If you and I do that, let us not lose heart; God will give us the victory. The Lion of Judah Church will become even greater, and the new work I am beginning will be great because I trust in the power of God.

I invite you to pray with me, bowing your head and closing your eyes. There may be some who are being oppressed by the enemy. Perhaps your bondage is not physical, as it was with the Egyptians, with the nation of Israel, but perhaps Satan is enslaving you spiritually, or perhaps you have not yet come to know that almighty God. At this time, I invite you to surrender your life to him. Stop worshiping Satan; surrender your life to Jesus Christ.

Whether you are young, an adolescent, an adult, or elderly, there is no power other than the power of God. Do not go after witchcraft; do not fear sorcerers, because God is almighty. If you cling to him and trust in him, there is no addiction you cannot give up. No matter what bondage the enemy has you in, the power of God is greater. He can bring deliverance to your life and also to your family. Why not pray with me on this occasion:

Lord, help me, deliver me, save me so that I may serve you. And if you are already saved, say: Lord, I want to be used by you to deliver many people here in this society so that they may serve you. Oh Father, we thank you because you are almighty. Just as you delivered Israel, you have delivered me, and you will also deliver those who are still enslaved. Make me your instrument, like your servant Moses, obedient to your word. Help me intercede for those who do not know you, and help me trust in your mighty hand, knowing that you will do the work for the glory of your name, in the name of Jesus. Amen.