"For
though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to
revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." II Corinthians 10:3-6
I. BATTLE
A. Self-inflicted or self perpetuated problems
These problems are brought on by our own
negligence or indifference (i.e.—not paying your bills; not taking care of your
health; not doing proper maintenance on your auto or home.)
B. Satanic-inflicted or satanic- perpetuated problems and battles
The devil will use anything or anyone he
can to do spiritual battle with you. He will use people, such as family,
friends, neighbors, co-workers, even strangers. He will use things, such as a job,
car, mechanical devices, weather, music, books, TV, etc.
Though Satan uses people and things, our
enemy is not the specific person or the things being used the enemy is the
devil.
C. The devil is already a
defeated foe! Jesus took care of him for us. But we do need to appropriate the
works of Calvary in our daily lives. If we can
ever master the flesh and its desires, the conquest of the devil is a snap! He
is, and knows that he is, no match for the saint of God who has conquered their
self-life and knows their God! Jesus said in Luke 10:19 "…..Behold, I give you power
(exousia/authority)……over ALL power (dunamis/miraculous ability) of
the enemy……"
1.
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.
2. Wiles - Methodeias
(Greek) meaning methods, the various means, plans and schemes used by the
devil.
3. Wrestle - Pale (Greek) meaning
to strike, thrust, throw with violence and intensity. It refers to the warfare
in general between the saints and evil spirits out to destroy us.
4. So, we see that our
battle is not with flesh and blood (persons or things) but a spiritual battle
with the enemy of our soul.
II. FOUR TERMS
TO DESCRIBE THE SPIRITS WE BATTLE: Ephesians
6:12
A. Paul uses four
descriptive words to make us understand exactly what and who we are fighting
with. As you can see, there are four levels of spiritual warfare.
1.
PRINCIPALITIES: These are the Chief rulers or beings of
the highest rank and order in the satanic kingdom. Every single nation in the
world has a principality over it.
2. POWERS: These are those who derive their power from and who execute the
will of the chief rulers (principalities) Supernatural influences in
government.
3. RULERS OF
THE DARKNESS: These are
the spirit-world rulers, or lords of the age. Such as lust, depression, fear,
perversion, etc. that may plague a person personally. (Ephesians 2:2)
4. SPIRITUAL
WICKEDNESS: These are
the wicked spirits sent by Satan.
B. The devil is, according
to Ephesians 2:2 "…the prince and power of the air…” The Satan
cannot set up a kingdom over an area unless man has first mapped it out and
given it a name. (Once again we can clearly see by this, man’s dominion over
the devil, IF he will exercise it.) For example: the Prince of Persia in Daniel
10:13, the Prince of Greece in Daniel 10:20, and Paul’s beasts at Ephesus
C. In Revelation 2:12-13
"…Satan’s seat…..where Satan dwelleth…." reveals to us that satanic
influence and control ONLY resides where men have given him their will and
authority to exercise. Satan did not do away with the angelic order of
authority, but kept it and uses it where men give him control. In this manner
he has gained some measure of control of many world systems and governments.
Remember this; the enemy’s domain is only territorial. He is not the ruler and
controller of the world! The Bible says in Psalms 24:1 "….The earth is
the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof."
III. SATAN’S LIMITATIONS
Satan has many limitations. He is not as
powerful as many proclaim him to be. He is not who many think he is.
A. HE IS NOT
EQUAL WITH GOD:
Satan was cast out of heaven for
declaring himself equal with God. It was the original sin in heaven. Lucifer
dared to exalt himself to be like God when he clearly was not.
B. HE IS A FALLEN ANGEL:
He
is subject to the limitations of an angel. He is equivalent to an angel.
C. HE IS NOT OMNIPOTENT (all powerful):
Only God has all power. Satan’s power is
limited by what God allows him to do in the earth. He can do no more or no less
(I John 4:4).
D. HE IS NOT OMNISCIENT (all knowing):
Though he does not have the "all
knowing" power of God, he does have more knowledge than mere humanity. He
has been studying humanity’s habits for 6,000 years. He is more aware of the
end of time than we are. He knows that his time is short.
E. HE IS NOT OMNIPRESENT (all places at once):
God fills the universe. Because Satan is
a fallen angel he is limited to one place at a time. He can go from place to
place as swiftly as an angel, but he cannot be in two places at once. This is
where satanic command comes into play. He orders spirits to go to and fro doing
his will.
F. HE CANNOT KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS OR READ YOUR
MIND:
You can pray in your mind (silently), or
in the spirit (in tongues), and he cannot know what you are asking God or
rebuking in your mind.
He doesn’t even know if the temptations
he drops in your mind are working unless you manifest them outwardly or dwell
on them. When you are tempted, start thinking good thoughts, pray, think of a
worship chorus, etc. The evil thoughts will flee and Satan’s strategy is
defeated.
IV. WE’RE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES (II Corinthians 2:11 )
A. Satan is a liar and the
father of all liars. All lies come from him. His biggest lie is that he has
power over you, your life, your family, your job, etc. This is not true! As we
understand his lies, we become more powerful in our fight against evil.
B.
He cannot get an
advantage over us if we know his tricks. How do we learn his tricks? Reading in
the scripture where he tried to trip up other men and women of God. He still
uses the same tactics today.
V. THE
WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE - What
weapons of warfare are at the disposal of the child of God?
A. HIS NAME:
At the sound of the name of Jesus the
devil trembles. We have power of attorney. We have been given the right to use
His name because we are his children and have been baptized in His name (Mark
16:17 ; Luke 10:17 )
B. HIS POWER (Holy Ghost) AND AUTHORITY IN US:
Luke 10:19
"…..Behold, I give you power (exousia/authority)………over all
power (dunamis/miraculous ability) of the enemy……"
The word “power” comes from the Greek
word dunamis (Acts 1:8). From that
Greek word we get the word “dynamite”.
Matthew 10:1 “And when he had called unto
him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”
C. PRAYER AND FASTING: (Matthew
17:21 )
Where there is much prayer, there is much
power; where there is little
prayer, there is little power;
where there is no prayer, there
is no power at all. The devil
can’t handle a child of God who prays and fasts.
D. THE ANGELS OF THE LORD: (Jude 1:9, Hebrews 12:22 ,
Revelation 20:1-3)
E. THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB: Revelation
12:11
F. OUR TESTIMONY: Revelation 12:11
G. THE WORD OF GOD: Hebrews
4:12
VI. YOU ARE PART OF A POWERFUL CHURCH (II Corinthians 10:4-6)
A.
DESTRUCTION OF STRONGHOLDS:
We stand against the philosophies of the
day which are competing for a stronghold in society. This includes such things
as Humanism, evolution, abortion, New Age, immoral value systems, etc. We stand
against the dogma and tradition of man made religion.
We stand against the thinking and
attitudes of Godless people who intend to change the laws of our nation to
anti-God laws and standards.
B. CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS:
We defy and intend to destroy, through
prayer, all theory, reasoning, religion, mythology, metaphysics, sublime
doctrines, or philosophy set forth to divide or defy the knowledge of God.
C. BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY:
We take every thought prisoner and lead
it into captivity to obey Christ. Lascivious, vain and evil thoughts of all kinds
are brought down and made obedient to the law of God. This includes all
thinking which is contrary to virtue, purity and righteousness.
D. HAVING A READINESS:
We
stand at all times ready to purge anything opposing the Word of God.
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