Ephesians 6:10-17

"Wielding the Sword"

"Holding and Using the
Sword"
(PRAY)
Samurai warriors were the elite of
four classes of Japanese feudal
society (1185-1868)
The term, Samurai, is a derivative of
the Japanese verb for
service, saburau (SA-BOO-RAOH). Samurai literally means one
who serves, and that is how they

began, SERVING AND

PROTECTING the imperial family.
Samurai were inspired
by Bushido Military Ways. It was
an unwritten code of moral
principles which the Samurai were
required or instructed to observe.
Bushido made the sword its
emblem of power and spirit. The
very possession of such a valuable
instrument imparts to him a feeling
and an air of self-respect and
responsibility. What he carries in
his belt is a symbol of what he
carries in his mind and heart
loyalty and honour.

The term Shido means The

Way of the Samurai. The ultimate
warriors code of honor, the Way of
the Samurai is to protect your
truth. Never betray yourself. A
Samurai would choose death over
living with an untrue heart.
A true Samurai was never loud,
boastful or a braggart. A Samurai
was modest, independent and
appreciated the beauty of life. A
quiet character perhaps; certainly
one with a silent intensity unlike any
other.

Their sword embodied such

commitment, a legacy, a vessel for
their enduring soul.
Perhaps most significantly, the
Samurai lived for the day, for this
very moment.
As Tokugawa Ieyasu (founder and
first shogun of the Tokugawa
shogunate of Japan in the early 17th
century) famously said, The Sword
is the Soul of the Samurai.
The Japanese sword has a
history of over 1,500
years. Severing with a single
stroke, the Japanese sword
has an exceptionally keen

edge. unbreakable,
unbending, and razor
sharp. For centuries,the
sword has been considered
the soul of the samurai. Of all
the weapons that man has
developed, few evoke such
fascination as the samurai
sword of Japan. Truly, to the
samurai, nothing embodied
his warrior's code of Bushido
more than his sword,
considered inseparable from
his soul. Indeed, a sword was
considered such a crucial part
of a samurai's life that when a
young samurai was about to
be born, a sword was brought
into the bedchamber during
the delivery. When the time

came for an old samurai to die

his honored sword was placed
by his side. So vital to the
samurai spirit was the genesis
(creation) of such a
magnificent weapon that
Shinto priests would be called
in to bless the beginning of
the process, and the
swordsmith often underwent
a spiritual purification before
he began his work. In his book
"Bushido: The Warrior's
Code", Inazo Nitobe stated:
'The swordsmith was not a
mere artisan but an inspired
artist and his workshop a
sanctuary. Daily, he
commenced his craft with
prayer and purification, or, as

the phrase was, 'he

committed his soul and spirit
into the forging and
tempering of the steel."
When examining a Japanese
sword, you start by looking at
in its entirety:
(hold out sword and look over
entirety)
When we begin to examine
and study the sword of the
Spirit, the Word of God, we
take in the whole of scripture.
The Bible is unified, and its
central focus is Jesus Christ.
Although different passages
may express different points
of view, we should see the

different statements as
making the others better and
agreeing at a deeper level of
understanding. While various
authors exhibited different
views and attentions, there is
an underlying unity. Thus we
should seek to understand the
overriding themes of
Scripture rather than merely
the details.
The sixty books of the Bible
exhibit a remarkable unity
amid diversity. The human
authors, about forty in
number, wrote over about
1500 years. in their ranks we
have kings, herdsmen,
soldiers, legislators,
fishermen, statesmen, priests,

and prophets, a tentmaking

rabbi, and a Gentile physician.
For all that, there is a unity
which binds the whole
together.
A study of the Bible reveals
that its unifying theme is
God's plan of salvation for the
human race through Jesus
Christ. Jesus is the focal point
of all scripture, and ultimately
we must interpret all of
Scripture in light of God's
manifestation in the flesh as
Jesus and His atoning sacrifice
on the cross. We see this
truth from the first promise of
the Savior in Genesis 3:15 all
the way to the last appeal to

come to Jesus and receive His

grace in Revelation 22:16-21.
So when studying a Japanese
sword, you look at all of it,
when studying the word of
God we keep in mind what the
whole is all about then you
check the balance of the
sword:
(pull out sword and feel if it is
balanced)
The whole Bible is the context
for understanding the
meaning of a passage. Clear
verses help us to understand
more difficult ones. Taken as a
whole, the Bible's message is
truth, but a person who

selects only part of the truth

on a given subject and
ignores the rest can quickly
fall into error. By selective
interpretation, someone can
use the Bible to justify almost
anything.
Many people take the verse
that says Jesus turned water
into wine to justify or say it is
ok to drink alcohol. That verse
taken by itself may seem to
ok drinking alcohol but the
rest of the Bible must be
taken into account. Other
verses must be put with it
like:
1Corinthians 6:10

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor

drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God.
There must be balance when
using the sword of the Spirit
or your ability to wield it will
be in error.
The principle of scripture
being its own interpreter is
evident from the very nature
of truth. Since the Bible is
truth, it is to be taken as a
whole. The total content of
scripture is both necessary
and sufficient for our
instruction. We need all of it.

If you could take off the

handle from a sword you
would see that the blade
actually runs the entire length
of the sword. If the blade
stopped at the guard, then
the sword would be top heavy
and probably would break at
the handle when heavy
stresses are placed on it.
Another important reason for
the blade going all the way is
for balance in the hands of
the samurai. Too much handle
and not enough cutting
surface, too much blade and
not enough control when
swinging and returning the
sword. It would be tough to
try to fight with an

unbalanced sword. Reading

only the Old Testament, you
miss fulfillment of those
scriptures in the New
Testament. Reading only the
New Testament, you miss the
foundation of the scriptures
that are quoted by the
apostles and even Jesus
Himself. There is a need for
balance when handling the
sword of the Spirit which is
the Word of God.
After studying the whole of the
sword, then the balance of the word
of God, lastly you move onto
studying the details of the sword:
(look closely at details of the sword)

(single verses and their immediate

contexts)
(acts 2:38 for example, who,
what, when, where)
The Japanese katana consists
of:

a) the cutting edge

(show edge of sword)
(cutting a 9mm bullet)
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick,
and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the
heart.
A Japanese sword may be
sharp enough to cut a bullet
but it can never cut down to
the soul of a man, it can never

draw a man to repentance and

sorrow for what hes done
against The Lord.
Jesus knows every thought
you have. You are an open
book to be read, there is
nothing hidden to His sight.
The Word of God can cut down
to the soul of a man, when the
Word of God is preached it is
a mighty weapon
b) the back
(show curvature of back)
The curvature of the back of
the katana gives it its
strength to be able to cut
through thick armor and not

break. It gives it the ability to

make a continuous slashing
motion because of it was
straight then the sword would
stop when making contact but
curve allows the motion to be
fluid.
Ephesians 2:20
And are built upon the
foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner
stone;
In Ephesians 2, the church is
compared to city. A city that
has its strength in the
apostles, has its strength in
the eyewitness of the
apostles to the life of Jesus

and the doctrine He entrusted

to them to preach, a city built
on the New Testament.
In Ephesians 2, the church is
compared to a city. A city that
has its strength in the
prophets, has its strength in
the doctrine taught to the
prophets including Moses who
was instructed on the exact
way to build the tabernacle
which was all a type of the
redemptive work of Jesus, a
city built on the Old
Testament.
In Ephesians 2, the church is
compared to a city. A city that
has its strength in Jesus
Christ who us the chief corner

stone. In biblical times, a

cornerstone was used as the
foundation and standard upon
which a building was
constructed. Once in place,
the rest of the building would
conform to the angles and
size of the cornerstone. In
addition, if removed, the
entire structure could
collapse.
Hitting a baseball is arguably
(as Ted Williams was known to
say) the most difficult thing to
do in sports. Youre dealing
with baseballs thrown at
different speeds, in different
locations, and moving

different directions. This is a

challenge to say the least.
That is why one minor flaw,
loss of rhythm, or the
slightest timing issue will
throw off your swing and
make hitting even more
difficult.
The baseball swing may seem
simple to an outsider, but the
baseball players know the
truth. There are hundreds of
different nuances to the swing
that can work either for you
or against you. This
means hundreds of variables
for every at-bat. So how can
you isolate and improve upon
the particular element of your
swing thats causing the

trouble? In my opinion, its

this very reason that hitting
drills are so essential.
(hardest skill in sports)
(how can it be done, by
repetitive practice)
(samurai were not born
automatically knowing how to
use sword)
(Jesus tempted and drives
back satan with the word,
how much should we do the
same)
(Everyone called to be samurai,
warriors in God's army)

How you can expect to be able

to wield the sword, how can
you think you can hold and
use the sword of the Spirit
with deadly precision and
efficiency without ever
practicing. The sword is
useless if the one using it
doesn't know how to use it.
(times we are living in)