Spiritual Warfare Chapter 1
Victory in physical warfare as well as
in the spiritual warfare is to
clearly identify the enemy
and to understand his
methods and charator.
Our enemy is
satan and his host of
fallen angels
Our opposition and
the things we struggle against are
unseen forces
Isaiah 14:12-14
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the
mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare
the angels who sinned,
but cast them down to hell
and delivered them
into chains of darkness,
to be reserved for judgment;
Jude 1:6
And the angels who did not keep
their proper domain,
but left their own abode,
He has reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness for
the judgment of the great day;
Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness
of this age,
against spiritual hosts
of wickedness
in the heavenly places.
The Dictionary defines
an enemy as a hostile force
or power that has
destructive effects.
In the Hebrew it means
observer or one who is
critically watching
adversary or accuser.
some have said
his cleverest trick
is to convince you he dosent exist.
our objective is to be clear
about the concept of who satan is
and his place in this world.
we succumb to our human
reasoning and feelings
believing some person
is our enemy, when really
the real enemy is satan who
wrecks havoc in
marriages, relationships,
families, churchs, communities
and our nation.
another way to see the truth
lets surpose an enemy is riding
towards you on a horse
as a solder we have to understand
we are not fighting the horse.
but the rider on the horse
our objective is to gain the horse
by stopping the enemy riding the horse.
so it is with the sinner
we dont fight against the sinner
but satan who is riding the sinner.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal
but mighty in God
for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments
and every high thing
that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ,
and being ready to punish
all disobedience
when your obedience is fulfilled.
One of satans faults was
that his beauty filled him
with pride to the extent
that he wanted to be worshiped
above God's worship
He didnt recognize the
authority of God who made him
and was cast out.
Isaiah 14:12-14
How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the
mount of the congregation
On the farthest
sides of the north;
I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High
Ezekiel 28:14-16
You were the anointed
cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the
holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth
in the midst of fiery stones.
You were perfect in your ways
from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
“By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you,
O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
after this we next see him
turn up in the Garden of Eden
ready to deceive man
causing him to rebel against God
this drew the battle line
between the two kingdoms.
light and darkness.
let us consider him
he is a creature not a creator.
he is powerfull but not omnipotent.
he can hinder but not prevent
his deception towards us
is that our prayers have not
reached the throne of God.
our strength is to remember
satan is a defeated antagonist.
to think any other way
is to allow him supremacy over us.
which is a lie.
he has no claims or right on us.
we cannot avoid battle with him
we are continuously in warfare with him.
as we draw near to God resisting him.
standing our ground
he will flee like a coward.
many of his names reveal
his charactor, but also suggest
his tactics in warfare against
the body of Christ
Matthew 4:5
(devil)
Then the devil
took Him up into the holy city,
set Him on the pinnacle
of the temple,
John 8:44
(Father of lies)
You are of your father the devil,
and the desires of your
father you want to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie,
he speaks from his own resources,
for he is a liar and the father of it.
2 Corinthians 4:4
(god of this evil world)
whose minds the god
of this age has blinded,
who do not believe,
lest the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God,
should shine on them.
2 Corinthians 6:15
(Unbeliever)
And what accord has
Christ with Belial?
Or what part has a believer
with an unbeliever?
Revelation 9:11
(prince of the bottomless pit)
(angel of the abyss (destroyer))
The angel of the bottomless pit
was king over them,
and his name in Hebrew is Destruction
and in Greek Destroyer.
2 Corinthians 11:14
(Angel of light)
And no wonder!
For Satan himself transforms
himself into an angel of light.
Isaiah 14:12
(star of the morning)
(son of the dawn)
How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
Psalm 8:2
(the enemy or the avenger)
Out of the mouth of babes
and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence
the enemy and the avenger.
Matthew 6:13
(Evil one)
And do not lead us
into temptation,
But deliver us
from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:8
(Adversary)
Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary
the devil walks about
like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.
Matthew 12:24
(ruler of demons)
(Beelzebub)
Now when the Pharisees
heard it they said,
“This fellow does
not cast out demons
except by Beelzebub,
the ruler of the demons.”
Job 15:21
(The destroyer)
Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity
the destroyer comes upon him.
Revelation 12:10
(The accuser)
Then I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven,
“Now salvation, and strength,
and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of
His Christ have come,
for the accuser of our brethren,
who accused them before our God
day and night,
has been cast down.
1 Thessalonians 3:5
(The tempter)
For this reason,
when I could no longer endure it,
I sent to know your faith,
lest by some means the tempter
had tempted you,
and our labor
might be in vain.
Revelation 20:2
(The dragon)
He laid hold of the dragon,
that serpent of old,
who is the Devil and Satan,
and bound him
for a thousand years;
Revelation 12:9
(The serpent)
So the great dragon
was cast out,
that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world;
he was cast to the earth,
and his angels
were cast out with him.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
(The deceiver)
Let no one deceive you
by any means;
for that Day will not come
unless the falling away comes first,
and the man of sin is revealed,
the son of perdition,
Now we know
who the enemy is
lets go on to his tactics
What are his tactics?
To convince the world that
he does not exist.
To blame men and circumstances
instead of himself.
To lay claim to the principlities
2 Corinthinans 4:4
for their minds have been blinded
by the god of this age,
leaving them in unbelief.
Their blindness keeps them from
seeing the dayspring light
of the wonderful news
of the glory of Jesus Christ,
who is the divine image of God.
To use his rule
(which is limited)
To this time, not the hereafter.
The world, not heaven.
The people in darkness,
not the children of light.
To preserve spiritual sin,
making use of clever
and indirect methods to achieve it.
To fight not for trival things,
but for heaven itself.
.
Lets go a bit deeper
How does he really fight
In our minds satan uses
them to accuse us and judge us.
Then he sets about
guarding you keeping you
in that focus and position.
He will bring doubt
with suggestions:
Your not born again?
Your not a christian?
look at what you did yesturday?
Your not saved?
you cant give the exact date
that you accepted Him
into your life?
Look at your past?
He creates fear:
Everything is hopeless in this world.
Look at the news, everything is going bad.
What if you have cancer?
He steals from your finance.
Car problems.
All mamner of things break
as he highlights them to us.
You loose your job.
He will also use your fear of man.
look, their laughing at you.
If you do that,
what will they think of you.
When we become a God pleaser,
one of our biggest battles is won.
One of the biggest things he
dose not want you to do is
Colossians 3:14-17
But above all these things
put on love,
which is the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of God
rule in your hearts,
to which also you were
called in one body;
and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all
wisdom, teaching
and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace
in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatever you do
in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God
the Father through Him
So, what is our strategy:
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal
but mighty in God
for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments
and every high thing that
exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
and being ready to punish
all disobedience
when your obedience
is fulfilled.
Let me read this in the passion translation
Although we live
in the natural realm,
we don’t wage a military campaign
employing human weapons,
using manipulation to achieve our aims.
Instead, our spiritual weapons are
energized with divine power
to effectively dismantle
the defenses behind which people hide.
We can demolish every
deceptive fantasy that opposes
God and break through
every arrogant attitude
that is raised up in defiance
of the true knowledge of God.
We capture,
like prisoners of war,
every thought
and insist that it bow
in obedience to the Anointed One.
Since we are armed
with such dynamic weaponry,
we stand ready to punish
any trace of rebellion,
as soon as you choose
complete obedience.
First of all,
recognise that to fight
we must fight in the realm of the spirit
spiritual things are discerned spiritually.
not our human reasoning.
not against flesh and blood,
not in the physical.
we are fighting the powers
of darkness in the spiritual realm.
As any good commander
in an army would teach.
Look out for patterns in attacks.
be alert for different cycles
from the enemy.
we must establish in our faith
a belief of NO FEAR.
we have all authority and power
in the name of Jesus.
Jesus has won the battle
and we reinforce that victory
by the blood of the Lamb
with our bodies, souls and spirits.
Here is the battle ground.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace
Himself sanctify you completely;
and may your whole
spirit, soul, and body
be preserved blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our God of
peace and harmony
sets us apart,
making us completely holy.
And our entire being
spirit, soul, and body
is kept completely flawless
in the appearing of Our Lord Jesus,
the Anointed One.
The most common ground
that battle will occur
will be the mind.
Our very choice is created here
governed by our
intellect, emotions and will.
in these we will stear
our entire being even
our eternal destiny.
Our foundation in this
must be the Word of God.
As we meditate on the very
words of God and they
in turn begin to come alive to us
by the power of the Holy spirit
then we will turn towards God.
He will turn towards us.
Its then that we perceive
through Christ the revelations
and deep understandings
of the spiritual mystery
that satan has blinded us to.
Lets look and compare
two scriptures.
Ephisians 1:17-21
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
may give to you
the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened;
that you may know
what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches
of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints,
and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of
His mighty power
which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead
and seated Him at His right hand
in the heavenly places,
far above all principality
and power and might and dominion,
and every name that is named,
not only in this age
but also in that which is to come.
and
Ephesians 4:17-18
This I say,
therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that you should no longer walk
as the rest of the Gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind,
having their understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart;
the truth that defeats satan
then is
satan is stripped of his power
and he now exists under Christ feet
so from this we see
the enemies primary attack
is against our minds and heart.
He wants us to doubt
what God has said
and His faithfulness,
raising questions to
lead us away from God.
"surely God didnt mean that?"
he did it after forty days
in the wilderness to Jesus.
He did it to Eve in Edan.
At any one time there
can be three voices
in our minds to listen to.
God's voice,
the enemies voice
and our own voice.
The more time we spend
in God's Word, the more
we will recognise His voice.
God is consistant with His charator.
as revealed in His Word.
The Holy Spirit brings
encouragement, comfort, direction
revelation, assurance of God's love.
correction even conviction.
The enemy will bring
doubt, guilt, fear, jealousy
hatred, self condemnation
even self righteousness.
Our thoughts are based
on our will.
ussaully human logic and
reasoning, even selfish desires.
Our battle plan is to take
authority over the voice
of the enemy and
forbid him to speak.
we must discern each voice
by the power of the Holy Spirit
James 4:7,8 PT
So then, surrender to God.
Stand up to the devil
and resist him
and he will turn
and run away from you.
Move your heart closer
and closer to God,
and he will come even closer to you.
But make sure you
cleanse your life, you sinners,
and keep your heart pure
and stop doubting.
There is a point here where
we must bind our own voice
of human reasoning and desire.
then open our minds and spirits
to receive the
voice of the Holy Spirit.
this may not always sound
logical to us even in our prayer
but as we become obedient
and push through for effectivness.
spiritual things are
discerned spiritually and are not always
of a logical minds thought.
Therefore we need to be open to
the Holy Spirits lead.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
But the natural man
does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him;
nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
But he who is spiritual
judges all things,
yet he himself is
rightly judged by no one.
For “who has known
the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct Him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
A key to recognise is this,
we dont fight flesh and blood.
our fight is with the
powers of darkness and
satans spiritual rulers
of this age or world
here the battle is between
satanic forces and mankind.
Dont fight people no matter how
agressive they are. We fight what
is riding them in the spiritual realm.
taking our eyes off the physical
is one of our first learning curves.
The enemy may harass us
by stirring up strife in the lives
of those that we live around.
Those who are close to us.
his objective.
disrupt our prayer and intercession.
draw our focus to the physical.
always remember
the real battle is in the spiritual plan.
satan attaks against our
spirit, soul and body
to draw us away.
If satan can keep us oppressed
with anything physical
he can keep us
from growing spiritually,
and being effective intercessors.
to take authority over
the enemy and make the right choice
according to the writen Word of God
will bring victory and increased growth.
recognise any attack that brings
physical sickness, emotional problems
and stunted growth.
Our work is to combat
the enemy in the spiritual realm
(not the physical realm)
using spiritual weapons
(not carnal weapons)
As the Holy Spirit leads us
He will reveal strategies for warfare
through guidence and revelations.
a key
Discernment, an element
and vital quality to process.
we must seperate or distingish
based on God's word the battle.
Jeremiah 15:19
Therefore thus says the Lord:
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
The conflict is real
God's battle lines are drawn
we can not faulter
as we press in.
Lets not shrink back when
satan reveals himself.
he never fights fair so we
need to keep the prayer up.
if he cant stop us from praying
he will throw doubt and dispair at us.
fear if the physical looks impossible.
his deception will cause us to feel
even if we are being objective
and getting the lay of the land.
take your eyes of what you see
and listen to what the Holy Spirit
is saying about the circumstances.
In reality his objective is to
sideline us.
instal an attitude of hopelessness
or even passivity.
lets take a look at our stance.
A will to win.
we must be one with Christ
in Him we are victorious.
we have a cause worth dying for.
Galations 2:20 PT
My old identity has been
co-crucified with Messiah
and no longer lives;
for the nails of his cross
crucified me with him.
And now the essence of this new life
is no longer mine,
for the Anointed One lives
his life through me
we live in union as one!
My new life is empowered
by the faith of the Son of God
who loves me so much
that he gave himself for me,
and dispenses his life into mine.
Strength
Adequatly trained and well equiped.
Adequate source of supply
life lines must be kept open
Knowledge of our enemy
More knowledge, more victory
Jesus has won the victory
we occupy that victory
Nehemiah had the same battles
as he went to rebuild the
walls and gates of his city
he attacked him by
moking his reputation in
Nehemiah 4:3
Now Tobiah the Ammonite
was beside him, and he said,
“Whatever they build,
if even a fox goes up on it,
he will break down their stone wall.”
This was an attack of
fear and hoplessness
next
he tried to get Nehemiah to negoitiate
this is a major tactic of satans.
Nehemiah 6:2
that Sanballat and Geshem
sent to me, saying,
“Come, let us meet together
among the villages in the plain of Ono.”
But they thought to do me harm.
Nehemiah refused to negotiate
five times on the enemies territory
Nehemiah prayed for
God's prospective,
not listening to the physical
circumstances.
God had told him to build the wall
and that was his intention
regardless, he was fearless
we are defeated
as soon as we come down
to the enemies level.
we will see circumstances
being manipulated and even people
just for the purpose of carring out
satans plans and tactics.
If we stand firm and stand
resisting, God will move closer
and satan will run away.
We have the power and authority
to to squash or crush his plans
curses and assignments.
we can also turn those
curses and plans back on them
doing more damage to his ranks.
Acts 13:6-12
Now when they had gone through
the island to Paphos,
they found a certain sorcerer
a false prophet,
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,
who was with the proconsul,
Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man.
This man called for Barnabas and Saul
and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer
(for so his name is translated)
withstood them,
seeking to turn the proconsul
away from the faith.
Then Saul, who also is called Paul,
filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked intently at him and said,
“O full of all deceit and all fraud,
you son of the devil,
you enemy of all righteousness,
will you not cease perverting
the straight ways of the Lord?
And now, indeed,
the hand of the Lord is upon you,
and you shall be blind,
not seeing the sun for a time.”
And immediately a dark mist fell on him,
and he went around seeking
someone to lead him by the hand.
Then the proconsul believed,
when he saw what had been done,
being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
We can see through scripture
that satan has placed spiritual ruler
geographical locations
keeping in mind that the warfare
takes place in the heavenlies
but the effects of that warfare
are seen on the earth
Daniel 10:12,13
Then he said to me,
“Do not fear, Daniel,
for from the first day
that you set your heart
to understand,
and to humble yourself before your God,
your words were heard;
and I have come because of your words.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia
withstood me twenty-one days;
and behold, Michael,
one of the chief princes,
came to help me,
for I had been left alone
there with the kings of Persia.
As intercessors we have the right to
bind the forces of darkness
in areas or even nations.
and we can pray in the gospel
in different places as well.
as Daniel prayed
additional forces from God
were put into play and
the angel that was first sent
to give Daniel a message
was able to reach him.
Daniel influenced the entire
nation of Isreal with
persistant prayer aand fasting.
Its important to ask the Lord
for revelation and discernments,
a leading from the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 62:6
I have set watchmen on your walls,
O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace
day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord,
do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest
till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem
a praise in the earth.
Directing our prayers to the front line
is as important
but let us take a step back for a moment
defence is as important as offence.
since we are to engage in spiritual warfare,
battles of all kinds, it important
that we take a look at
our spiritual armour
our spiritual
bulletprof vest so to speak.
its important for us to be fully aquanted
with our spiritual armour
which God has given us.
Ephesians 6:1-20 PT
Now my beloved ones,
I have saved these
most important truths for last:
Be supernaturally infused
with strength through your
life-union with the Lord Jesus.
Stand victorious with the force
of his explosive power flowing
in and through you.
Put on God’s complete set of armor
provided for us,
so that you will be protected
as you fight against the
evil strategies of the accuser!
Your hand-to-hand combat
is not with human beings,
but with the highest principalities
and authorities operating in rebellion
under the heavenly realms.
For they are a powerful class
of demon-gods and evil spirits
that hold this dark world in bondage.
Because of this,
you must wear all the armor
that God provides so you’re
protected as you confront the slanderer,
for you are destined for all things
and will rise victorious.
Put on truth as a belt to strengthen you
to stand in triumph.
Put on holiness as the protective armor
that covers your heart.
Stand on your feet alert,
then you’ll always be ready
to share the blessings of peace.
In every battle,
take faith as your wrap-around shield,
for it is able to extinguish
the blazing arrows coming at you
from the Evil One!
Embrace the power
of salvation’s full deliverance,
like a helmet to protect
your thoughts from lies.
And take the mighty
razor-sharp Spirit-sword
of the spoken Word of God.
Pray passionately in the Spirit,
as you constantly intercede
with every form of prayer at all times.
Pray the blessings of God
upon all his believers.
And pray also that God’s revelation
would be released through me
every time I preach the wonderful mystery
of the hope-filled gospel.
Yes, pray that I may preach
the wonderful news of God’s kingdom
with bold freedom at every opportunity.
Even though I am chained as a prisoner,
I am his ambassador.
A common fault is a
lack of discipline and exercise
this will leave us open to assult
we must be diligent as solders
of God's army
alway ready for battle
with our armour on at all times.
Romans 13:12-14
The night is far spent,
the day is at hand.
Therefore let us cast off
the works of darkness,
and let us put on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly,
as in the day,
not in revelry and drunkenness,
not in lewdness and lust,
not in strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh,
to fulfill its lusts.
2 Timothy 2:4
No one engaged in warfare
entangles himself with
the affairs of this life,
that he may please him
who enlisted him as a soldier.
our armour is in reality
The Lord Jesus Christ
He will be our defence
we are clothed in Him
The Blood of Jesus Protects
and covers us.
We should never lay it down.
It helps us to stand
against the schemes of the devil
It keep us strong in the Lord
In the power of His might
It enables us to resist in the evil day
of the enemies attack
It secures our safty
and repels the enemy
It accomplishes the Fathers will
Chapter 2
