In the world we live in today, one side is growing darker than ever before. Newspapers are about 70-80% bad news. Television is at a point where just about anything goes. Drugs and guns are in the hands of our twelve to fifteen year old children. Occult-centered music pounding in the ears of all who will listen. But there is a side that is getting brighter in this dark world. That is IF you are a born-again Christian.
I believe that Jesus Christ will return soon -- we don't know the month, day or hour as some who claim to be predicting the end of the world. But I believe that it will be in my generation. The earth and all who live on it are crying out ... "How much worse will things get!" Just as it says in the Bible, in the last days there will be perilous times (see II Timothy 3:1). Doesn't this sound like the days we are living in?
The Devil (Satan) knows the end is soon approaching and he and all his kingdom is hard at work to attack every Christian he can to stop the advancement of God's Kingdom here on earth. Saints that have been godly servants, pure in heart for many years are suddenly hit with all Satan has. Unexpected temptations and seemingly mysterious, awful troubles are bombarding them. Some of their trials are so deep, they have no idea where they came from.
Christian marriages have been attacked like never before. Couples grow more discouraged. Tempted and in despair, Christian couples in love with each other for years, are finding themselves struggling to stay together ... with no answers in sight.
Parents have lost control of their children, as if the children are the parents and the parents are the children. It is high time we stand up and unmask Satan and his Kingdom for who they really are.
We see throughout the Bible a battle between right and wrong, good and evil from the fall of Adam to our present day. It is sad to see many churches haven't been teaching much on Spiritual Warfare. But thanks be to God, He is awakening the church (the Body of Christ) more and more. I believe we are in the last days, and God is preparing His Church with widsom about Spiritual Warfare -- for self, family, government and the Church as a whole.
There are three major keys to victory in Spiritual Warfare:
1. To never lose site of what and where you were without Christ (I Col. 1:21).
2. To know our position in Christ (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6-3:20).
3. To know all we can about our enemies: Satan (Ephesians 4:27; II Corinthians 2:11); The Flesh (Romans 8;12-13; Galatians 5:16-17); and the World (James 4:4; I John 2:15-17).
Let's begin our study:
The best place to start is with God, for He is the creator (Isaiah 40:28) and we were created by Him for His glory and His pleasure (Genesis 1:26). It is God's will that must be done in Heaven and on earth, not our will. Let's look at the five "I Will's" of Satan's (Lucifer's) fall, and let's learn from this example so we don't get caught in the snare of pride (Proverbs 8;13; Proverbs 16:18).
"I will ascend to Heaven"
"I will raise my throne above the stars of God"
"I will sit on the Mount of Assembly in the receses of the North"
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds"
"I will be like the Most High"
So now there is one question we must truly ask ourselves ... what motivates us? And also, what are our ambitions?
1. Are they self-promoting?
2. Do you have a need to be in control?
3. Do you have a hunger for power?
4. Are you constantly looking for recognition?
Read Philippians 2:5-11.
How often do we say "I will" instead of "If the Lord wills"? Read James 4:13-17.
As we can see, "self" (self-exaultation) is the root of sin. Positive thinking and self-potential which lies within (thinking "my way is best for me") is the best example of self-exaultation. So who's running your life, you or God? And are we guilty of thinking ourselves to be God?
Test yourself to some of these:
1. Do you feel you must be the most successful?
2. Do you try to impress yourself and others with prestige, numbers, size, opulence, money? Read Psalms 127:1 and Psalms 75:6-7. Saint of God, we are to say as the twenty-four elders before the throne of God, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things; and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11).
All sin (disobedience) shown to us from God's Word stems from pride. For we see in I Corinthians 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive". Then in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new".
If you are born again, God gave you a new Spirit, His nature. We are reconciled back to God in fellowship with Him and we are redeemed. But we are still in our flesh, our bodies have not been changed. We don't have a glorified body yet. So we are told in Galatians 5:24, "And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts". And Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit".
We cannot in our own power and strength stop sinning, even as Christians, without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, who teaches and guides us to daily victory.
I must at this point state my personal belief on eternal security. I believe that no one (Satan, demons, people, etc.) can take you out of the Father's hand when you are truly born-again. John 10:28-29 says: "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand". But it does not say that it is impossible for the individual born-again Christian to walk away from Christ ("He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out His name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels", Rev. 3:5; "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matt. 24:13). "And ye shall be hated of all men for My Names sake; but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Mark 13:13).
Whatever your position on eternal security, my Brother and Sister, let's stay as close to Christ as we can. Listen, learn and obey Him, and He will draw close to us (James 4:8 ... "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded")
If the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin in some area of your life, don't hesitate -- confess it to God and then move on.
Everyone may not believe as I do, but it does not change my love and feelings to those who share a different belief. The Devil has caused too much division on the matter, but we should rise above his ways, not causing strife between brothers and sisters.
The battlefield for the Christian is in the mind. Paul, in II Corinthians 10:3-6, writes: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not canal, 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".
First, we see Paul definitely confirms that we are in a war! And that the weapons we have at our disposal are not physical ones, such as guns, knives or physical actions, but spiritual weapons. What are these weapons?
Spiritual weapons, which are mighty, when used right insures our victory by God for the purpose of pulling down of strongholds, which is any area of your life where Satan has lied, deceived, threatened you, and you bought into it. If unchecked, this can become a very large stronghold that might result in terrible consequences ... divorce, suicide, etc. Putting on the armor of God is not passive. Putting on the armor is not something that is done automatically when you accept Christ. We are given the armor of God because of what Christ has done for us, but He gives us the command to put it on. But we are told to put on specific pieces which cover or protect us in the areas where our enemy attacks.
As Paul discusses the pieces of armor, he tells us to stand firm, having "girded" our loins with truth. We are to put on truth, and then we are to stand firm. Before salvation, we believed a lie. We were used by Satan to perpetuate his lies. And we believed his lies. We even told lies. Then by the grace of God our eyes were opened and we saw the truth. And the truth sets us free! Jesus is the Truth, and His Word is Truth. It is the truth that sanctifies us and sets us apart unto God and continues to sanctify us.
"I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is Truth" (John 17:14-17).
In I Peter 1:13, Peter urges us, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ".
In I Peter 5:9, Peter warns us that our adversary goes about as a roaring lion, and we must resist him, firming your faith. To be firm in your faith is to be convinced of the truthfulness, the veracity, of God's Word.
It is imperative that you have settled conviction, that the Word of God is just that, the God-given, God-breathed preserved Word of God without error.
Paul speaks of "casting down imaginations" -- casting down every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, whether it is our own thoughts, thoughts from other people, or thoughts that come from Satan or demons. If it doesn't line up with the Word of God, cast that thought down -- don't entertain it. We are being warned here to watch out for self-exaltation and spiritual pride. We must bring every thought (not just some, but all thoughts) and put them under the microscope of God's Word, with the help of the Holy Spirit which guides us into all truth, ready to except or reject those thoughts as He directs on a daily basis.
Look up these verses in regard to the mind (or heart), which will help you understand Satan's primary target better:
Ungodly thoughts unchecked can become an action; repeated enough it becomes a habit or a stronghold.
Satan also targets our dream-world, not just our thoughts. I remember as a new babe in Christ, I was sleeping one night, to be awakened (I thought) by someone or something smothering me with a pillow. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get loose. I knew some of the Word of God concerning Spiritual Warfare, but hadn't been grounded deep enough into my spirit yet. I couldn't even speak! But suddenly a few words leaped out not from my lips but from my spirit, and I just kept saying, "Satan, leave me! In the Name of Jesus". I must have said it ten times. Suddenly Satan (or a demon) left, and I woke up instantly to realize what had just happened to me. I was truly out of breath. But the Holy Spirit quickly gave me the peace to go back to sleep. Praise the Lord! Even as a babe in Christ, there is power in the name of Jesus. So put on the helmet of salvation in prayer when ungodly thoughts arise against God's Truth.
We also have the "breastplate of righteousness". The breastplate (righteousness) is a gift given to every child of God. Without the Holy Spirit, you could never be righteous, let alone walk in righteousness. Look up II Corinthians 5:21 and learn about sin and righteousness from this verse.
When you were nothing but a sinner -- helpless, ungodly and without hope -- God justified you. Even though you were His enemy, when you repented and believed that Jesus Christ was God and that He died for your sin, God immediately transferred you from Satan's kingdom of darkness and brought you into God's Kingdom. At that point, we were forgiven and declared righteous in His eyes. From that point, Satan no longer had the power of death over you. Satan tries to keep our sins before us and will remind us of those sins that we've already confessed before God. But God has taken our sins and thrown them into the Sea of Forgetfulness -- and He's posted a sign that reads: "NO FISHING ALLOWED!" If Satan tries to accuse you of sins from your past, read these combat scriptures: Romans 8:1-2, Romans 8:31-39.
So stand with the breastplate of righteousness on and remember: God no longer condemns you! For God's righteous has been put to your account through His death and imparted to your life through His Spirit.
In Ephesians 4:27, it says sin in the life a Christian gives Satan a place of occupation. An opportunity which he will use to gain more and more ground. So quickly confess to God any litle (or big) sins that creep into your life!
The next piece of the armor are feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. We see our spiritual shoes and the way we should walk in Ephesians 5:8. And in Matthew 5:44, 46-48 -- "...Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good tothem that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ... For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the pubicans the same? And if ye salute your brothren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." Read Matthew 18:21-35 and note what happens to those who don't forgive.
Above all, your armor should include the Shield of Faith! Taking up the Shield of Faith is a defensive action which uses specific truths from God's Word to counteract the Devil's lies and accusations. When the enemy attacks, the shield puts out the firey darts (lies, accusations or anything he can use to keep you from God) with the truth and promises of God's Word. Shields are the source of water that can extinguish the fires of Satan, but shields can dry out -- that's why it's VITAL that we stay in the Word of God every day!!
And lastly, a complete armor contains the mighty Sword of the Spirit, which by definition from God's Word, has two meanings:
1. Sword of Spirit -- son of God, Word of God, the whole Bible
2. Sword of the Spirit -- Individual Scripture in which the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need as we engage in a hand-to-hand combat with our spiritual enemies.
It's critical that we're skilled (prepared) in the Word of God. Too often Christians find themselves in the heat of the battle without ever graduating from boot-camp (preparing their hearts and their lives with the reinforcement of the knowledge of God's Word, or without being prayed up, or without listening to the guiding advice of the Holy Spirit).
Look up the following verses to learn of the authority God has given you in this battle:
Authority goes hand-in-hand with Power. Together, they are unbeatable. There is no authority or power that can take over your authority and power, and certainly none that can defeat God's authority and power! Remember what we're told in Isaiah 54:17 ... "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper ...." Read Psalms 91 to learn more about Divine Protection!
We are here to carry on the Lord's work. In order to accomplish this, God has given us His authority and His power. But we don't know enough about it, or else we feel that it's "something for the Bible days, but not for today". We faith is too small. But Jesus told us that "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus gave us the command to carry on His work. It's a command, not an option. It's non-negotiable. So put on your armor, take up your sword, and GO -- for the Word tells us in Matthew 16:18 that "even the gates of hell shall not prevail against you"!
