10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:10-18
It will be helpful for us to consider these matters a little further, both in relation to the preaching of the gospel and also the specific word given by God for specific need. If the preached word is committed to the Church as a sword with which to fight the battles of the Lord, what are we to say about the attitude of a congregation whose minister is seeking under God to fulfil a biblical, expository ministry among them, who say, in criticism of his preaching 'This expository ministry was all right in the fifties and sixties, but we are beyond that now and want something different'? What does this say about people who neglect and lightly esteem the main weapon of the Christian armoury? If this is the general thinking throughout the Church, is it surprising that the Church is suffering decline? Are people not interested, then, in fighting the battles of the Lord? Are they even aware that there is a battle of the Lord to be fought? What images are conjured up in their minds when they sing 'Soldiers of Christ arise, and put your armour on'? If they have any faint conception of what these words are supposed to mean, how can they be careless and indifferent about the armour that God Himself provides?
As to the other aspect, that of the specific word given for specific need, one of the things this can mean is that here is a weapon given us by the Spirit in His function and office to bring to our remembrance what we have read and stored up in our hearts, as He takes of the things that are Christ's and shows them to us. It is important for us to realise that the specific words 'given us' are not 'out of the blue', but called forth from the store of our sanctified memories, and brought to our remembrance at the critical moment. It is from hearts filled with the word of God that the Spirit of God calls forth from our remembrance things learned and stored up against a day of need. This is one of the priceless values of expository ministry: it stocks us up, so to speak, against the evil day. This is why, when a particular exposition may not seem to have anything specific to say to our present need, it is still valuable for us in terms of receiving it and storing it up, and remembering it with care, against the day when our need will suddenly become very critical, when it will be met by something stored up. It may be a long while back, and brought to remembrance by the Spirit at the right moment.