SPIRITUAL WARFARE

II Corinthians 10:3-6

BATTLE FRONTS (There are two battlefronts for every Christian)

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 armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.

2. Wiles - Methodius (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.

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. These 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 of the power of the air…”

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."

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.

 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.

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 BLOOD OF THE LAMB (Revelation 12:11)

E. OUR TESTIMONY (Revelation 12:11)

G. THE WORD OF GOD (Hebrews 4:12)

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 manmade 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.