[SIZE=12pt]Eph. 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The first and most important step in waging our spiritual warfare is to know your enemy! The second important step is to know yourself which I‘ll touch on here briefly. You need to know what your spiritual strengths are and be aware of and admit to those areas in which you are easily tempted. Your weaknesses are your vulnerabilities and the devil is aware of them and will attack you in the areas where he has been able to bring defeat into your life in the past. We have a tendency towards self-deception and a lack of honest self-evaluation. We need to take extra care that we are viewing ourselves according to the Word of God and not “thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.“ [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Spiritual warfare, as in the physical, means protecting our “territory” from outside invaders. Our territory is our spirit, mind and body. The bible says that “the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy”. As someone has pointed out; “Satan wants to steal our innocence, kill our obedience and destroy our willingness to serve God.” This section focuses on knowing the enemy.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Let’s take a closer look at our enemy. Is.14:12-14 - “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] I will [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]make myself like the Most High." [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt](NIV)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]These are known as the five “I wills” of Satan. This a record of the first attempt of a created being to usurp their will over the will of the creator. Satan and those angels who followed him were cast out of heaven and have become the demons and spirits that plague the world to this day. You need to be aware of the fact that Lucifer knows history and he knows his fiery end but he has taken it upon himself to bring as many of God’s human creation down to destruction with him as he can. He has been at this since the Garden of Eden when, in the guise of a serpent, he tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden tree. It tells us in Gen 3:15 - “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers“(NIV) that this enmity between Satan and humanity will continue until the world’s end. He will constantly be a thorn in the side to all believers. Christ overcame death at the cross and in most aspects our victory was assured on that day. Satan has lost and Christ has won, and while we can attest to our ultimate victory there are still daily battles to be waged as the devil tries to wreak as much havoc upon the world and especially the church as the time of the end nears. Now that we know the name and beginning of our enemy, let’s see what else the bible has to say about him.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Satan wants to undo God’s work, Mark 4:15 - Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. (NIV) Job teaches us that he wants to make men turn away from God, John 13:2 shows us that he is an instigator of evil and his most insidious end time plan concerning Israel is to receive for himself the worship and adoration that is reserved for God and God alone. 2 Thess 2:4 - He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (NIV)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The bible also characterizes him as a deceiver - Rev 12:9...and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:…(KJV), Jesus tells us that he is a murderer and the father of lies - John 8:44 - “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (KJV)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Lies are perhaps his most important weapon. The lies he sows in our hearts about ourselves, God, our loved ones - when believed by us - tear apart our relational and spiritual foundations. Knowing and recognizing when the devil is tempting you via these lies are of paramount importance to the believer. The bible also calls him our adversary (enemy) 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (KJV) I have heard some teachers refer to this aspect of Satan as being a “toothless and clawless lion” who can’t harm anyone. This is a dangerous and untruthful teaching. While he may have ultimately been defeated, anyone who has ever felt sadness, depression, loneliness, unloved, physical and emotional pain, rejection by others, etc. knows how painful these things can be and that indeed the claws and teeth of this particular lion can hurt to an unsuspecting degree. As I will point out later though, the depth and degree of his attacks can be lessened and totally overcome by spiritual warfare.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Learning the methodology and types of satanic attacks as well as the devil’s theories behind them is also an important part of “knowing your enemy”. Since earthly war is one of the devil’s pastimes, we as Christians can learn a lot about how he wages spiritual warfare by understanding the methods he has given to those who heed his advice on earthly warfare. Much of the rest of this chapter will be immensely paraphrased and a spiritually adapted form of Sun Tsu’s, “The Art of War”. A book that is considered by many to be the penultimate book on the ways and means of earthly warfare.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]If you are confused as to the purpose of spiritual warfare you can’t properly respond to the enemy’s attack. You need to know the best time to fight (when you are the most spiritually prepared). You should not undertake spiritual warfare unless you believe by faith, that victory is assured. Spiritual warfare is of vital importance to the church. It will decide whether you live a victorious life or a defeated one. The strongest method of spiritual warfare is to be so much in the obedience and will of the Lord so that it becomes second nature to the spiritual warrior. Very few of us, however, reach this plateau of spiritual maturity and if we do then it becomes our responsibility to help our weaker brethren in their struggles.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]A victorious war depends on the total unity of the combatants. It has been said that, “the outcome of battle doesn’t depend on the number of warriors, but upon the united hearts of those who fight.” This is especially true in the spirit realm. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Spiritual disciplines are an important quality of spiritual warfare. “Invincibility lies in the defense, victory is in the attack.” When you are feeling spiritually weak and inadequate to fight then you should rest upon the promises of God. When you feel a strong spiritual vigor then you should attack. In the earthly realm the strength of a general lies in his troops, however, in the spirit realm, the strength of God’s troops lies in our General, The Lord Jesus Christ, King of all Heaven and Earth.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Satan has had millennia to practice his war craft and he has gotten pretty good at it, but his excellence in spiritual warfare is no match to the properly trained Christian who has Christ on their side. Here are some strategies that the devil uses to try and wear us down or out.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]He tries to frustrate our plans and break up our alliances (relationships). He creates division between clergy and laymen, husband and wife, parents and children, friends and family. His demons and evil spirits are like spies or secret agents. They are always on the watch for areas of weakness and ways they can tempt us to cause us to fail thus becoming ineffective in our Christian walk. Remember you are always being watched by satanic forces waiting for an opportunity to strike. If you open a door for doubt and temptation, the demons will attack quickly. Most spiritual warfare is based on deception and our battles must be swift and decisive. Prolonged battles only weaken us spiritually. We must not become double-minded, impulsive or arrogant. Satan attacks when we are at our most vulnerable. The successful warrior prays and asks for spiritual discernment to properly evaluate the situation. He doesn’t blunder aimlessly into situations that create temptations. Spiritual warfare should be proactive. It should be fought on our terms not as a reaction to circumstances that catches us unaware. Satan always tempts us in the areas he knows our resistance is the weakest. He is a master of deception and will tempt you with an obvious temptation and your resistance to the obvious leads you into a trapping temptation you are unprepared to resist. The enemy likes to attack on all four quarters. He will alarm you head-on, surprise you to the rear, create confusion to the left and blindside you on the right. This is why Christ is always warning us to be alert, sober-minded and watchful at all times.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]There can be six categories of attack against God‘s church:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 1. Fame - Satan attacks the big names and when successful in one blow he strikes against the world’s perception of the church as hypocrites and insincere. The defense against this is maintaining a humble spirit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 2. The Rising Stars - Satan attacks these so there won’t be anyone to fill the aforementioned shoes when and if they fall. The defense against this is a humble and meek spirit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 3. Jealousy - When ministries get jealous of each others success, they fail to unify in faith thus eventually becoming divisive or stagnate when, if combined, the opportunity for the advancement of the kingdom of God is great. The best defense against this occurring is keeping a meek and humble spirit and a servant’s heart.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]4. Division in the Local Church - When the devil can successfully divide a church, unity is dissolved and thus the church becomes stagnate. This can be overcome by decisive spirit-filled leadership.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 5. Spiritual Dryness - If Satan’s efforts can deafen the church to the voice of the Holy Spirit then it becomes spiritually dead which is the devil’s favorite kind of church. They become filled with a spirit of religiosity and lean on their methodology rather than the Savior. They are closed to new people and new experiences. The only defense for a church in this state is repentance and a willingness of the leadership to change and again restore Christ as the authoritative Head of the church.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 6. Spiritual Compromise - This is probably Satan’s most devious attack. By compromising our beliefs to the world’s attitudes we weaken ourselves to the point of accepting that some sin in our lives is okay. We deceive ourselves into believing things like: sex outside of marriage is normal (fornication), everyone desires what they can’t have (coveting), at tax time, Uncle Sam has plenty of money and I need it more (stealing). These are only a few areas in which we sometimes compromise our beliefs. Some churches have compromised to the point that they allow homosexuals as pastors and will marry gay partners and believe they are acting as representatives of God’s value system. Some of this compromise has so subtly entered the universal church that we aren’t even aware which areas are being compromised [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]We need to learn a lesson from the sons of Sceva (Acts 19). It’s not the words we speak but the life we live that determines our success at spiritual warfare. David du Plessis has given us a good warning, “Don’t go around looking for demons, but if you find them, tread on them!” Effective warriors must learn how to best utilize their armor and weapons of war to accomplish that purpose.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The first and most important step in waging our spiritual warfare is to know your enemy! The second important step is to know yourself which I‘ll touch on here briefly. You need to know what your spiritual strengths are and be aware of and admit to those areas in which you are easily tempted. Your weaknesses are your vulnerabilities and the devil is aware of them and will attack you in the areas where he has been able to bring defeat into your life in the past. We have a tendency towards self-deception and a lack of honest self-evaluation. We need to take extra care that we are viewing ourselves according to the Word of God and not “thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.“ [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Spiritual warfare, as in the physical, means protecting our “territory” from outside invaders. Our territory is our spirit, mind and body. The bible says that “the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy”. As someone has pointed out; “Satan wants to steal our innocence, kill our obedience and destroy our willingness to serve God.” This section focuses on knowing the enemy.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Let’s take a closer look at our enemy. Is.14:12-14 - “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] I will [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]make myself like the Most High." [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt](NIV)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]These are known as the five “I wills” of Satan. This a record of the first attempt of a created being to usurp their will over the will of the creator. Satan and those angels who followed him were cast out of heaven and have become the demons and spirits that plague the world to this day. You need to be aware of the fact that Lucifer knows history and he knows his fiery end but he has taken it upon himself to bring as many of God’s human creation down to destruction with him as he can. He has been at this since the Garden of Eden when, in the guise of a serpent, he tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden tree. It tells us in Gen 3:15 - “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers“(NIV) that this enmity between Satan and humanity will continue until the world’s end. He will constantly be a thorn in the side to all believers. Christ overcame death at the cross and in most aspects our victory was assured on that day. Satan has lost and Christ has won, and while we can attest to our ultimate victory there are still daily battles to be waged as the devil tries to wreak as much havoc upon the world and especially the church as the time of the end nears. Now that we know the name and beginning of our enemy, let’s see what else the bible has to say about him.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Satan wants to undo God’s work, Mark 4:15 - Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. (NIV) Job teaches us that he wants to make men turn away from God, John 13:2 shows us that he is an instigator of evil and his most insidious end time plan concerning Israel is to receive for himself the worship and adoration that is reserved for God and God alone. 2 Thess 2:4 - He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (NIV)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The bible also characterizes him as a deceiver - Rev 12:9...and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:…(KJV), Jesus tells us that he is a murderer and the father of lies - John 8:44 - “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (KJV)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Lies are perhaps his most important weapon. The lies he sows in our hearts about ourselves, God, our loved ones - when believed by us - tear apart our relational and spiritual foundations. Knowing and recognizing when the devil is tempting you via these lies are of paramount importance to the believer. The bible also calls him our adversary (enemy) 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (KJV) I have heard some teachers refer to this aspect of Satan as being a “toothless and clawless lion” who can’t harm anyone. This is a dangerous and untruthful teaching. While he may have ultimately been defeated, anyone who has ever felt sadness, depression, loneliness, unloved, physical and emotional pain, rejection by others, etc. knows how painful these things can be and that indeed the claws and teeth of this particular lion can hurt to an unsuspecting degree. As I will point out later though, the depth and degree of his attacks can be lessened and totally overcome by spiritual warfare.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Learning the methodology and types of satanic attacks as well as the devil’s theories behind them is also an important part of “knowing your enemy”. Since earthly war is one of the devil’s pastimes, we as Christians can learn a lot about how he wages spiritual warfare by understanding the methods he has given to those who heed his advice on earthly warfare. Much of the rest of this chapter will be immensely paraphrased and a spiritually adapted form of Sun Tsu’s, “The Art of War”. A book that is considered by many to be the penultimate book on the ways and means of earthly warfare.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]If you are confused as to the purpose of spiritual warfare you can’t properly respond to the enemy’s attack. You need to know the best time to fight (when you are the most spiritually prepared). You should not undertake spiritual warfare unless you believe by faith, that victory is assured. Spiritual warfare is of vital importance to the church. It will decide whether you live a victorious life or a defeated one. The strongest method of spiritual warfare is to be so much in the obedience and will of the Lord so that it becomes second nature to the spiritual warrior. Very few of us, however, reach this plateau of spiritual maturity and if we do then it becomes our responsibility to help our weaker brethren in their struggles.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]A victorious war depends on the total unity of the combatants. It has been said that, “the outcome of battle doesn’t depend on the number of warriors, but upon the united hearts of those who fight.” This is especially true in the spirit realm. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Spiritual disciplines are an important quality of spiritual warfare. “Invincibility lies in the defense, victory is in the attack.” When you are feeling spiritually weak and inadequate to fight then you should rest upon the promises of God. When you feel a strong spiritual vigor then you should attack. In the earthly realm the strength of a general lies in his troops, however, in the spirit realm, the strength of God’s troops lies in our General, The Lord Jesus Christ, King of all Heaven and Earth.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Satan has had millennia to practice his war craft and he has gotten pretty good at it, but his excellence in spiritual warfare is no match to the properly trained Christian who has Christ on their side. Here are some strategies that the devil uses to try and wear us down or out.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]He tries to frustrate our plans and break up our alliances (relationships). He creates division between clergy and laymen, husband and wife, parents and children, friends and family. His demons and evil spirits are like spies or secret agents. They are always on the watch for areas of weakness and ways they can tempt us to cause us to fail thus becoming ineffective in our Christian walk. Remember you are always being watched by satanic forces waiting for an opportunity to strike. If you open a door for doubt and temptation, the demons will attack quickly. Most spiritual warfare is based on deception and our battles must be swift and decisive. Prolonged battles only weaken us spiritually. We must not become double-minded, impulsive or arrogant. Satan attacks when we are at our most vulnerable. The successful warrior prays and asks for spiritual discernment to properly evaluate the situation. He doesn’t blunder aimlessly into situations that create temptations. Spiritual warfare should be proactive. It should be fought on our terms not as a reaction to circumstances that catches us unaware. Satan always tempts us in the areas he knows our resistance is the weakest. He is a master of deception and will tempt you with an obvious temptation and your resistance to the obvious leads you into a trapping temptation you are unprepared to resist. The enemy likes to attack on all four quarters. He will alarm you head-on, surprise you to the rear, create confusion to the left and blindside you on the right. This is why Christ is always warning us to be alert, sober-minded and watchful at all times.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]There can be six categories of attack against God‘s church:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 1. Fame - Satan attacks the big names and when successful in one blow he strikes against the world’s perception of the church as hypocrites and insincere. The defense against this is maintaining a humble spirit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 2. The Rising Stars - Satan attacks these so there won’t be anyone to fill the aforementioned shoes when and if they fall. The defense against this is a humble and meek spirit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 3. Jealousy - When ministries get jealous of each others success, they fail to unify in faith thus eventually becoming divisive or stagnate when, if combined, the opportunity for the advancement of the kingdom of God is great. The best defense against this occurring is keeping a meek and humble spirit and a servant’s heart.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]4. Division in the Local Church - When the devil can successfully divide a church, unity is dissolved and thus the church becomes stagnate. This can be overcome by decisive spirit-filled leadership.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 5. Spiritual Dryness - If Satan’s efforts can deafen the church to the voice of the Holy Spirit then it becomes spiritually dead which is the devil’s favorite kind of church. They become filled with a spirit of religiosity and lean on their methodology rather than the Savior. They are closed to new people and new experiences. The only defense for a church in this state is repentance and a willingness of the leadership to change and again restore Christ as the authoritative Head of the church.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] 6. Spiritual Compromise - This is probably Satan’s most devious attack. By compromising our beliefs to the world’s attitudes we weaken ourselves to the point of accepting that some sin in our lives is okay. We deceive ourselves into believing things like: sex outside of marriage is normal (fornication), everyone desires what they can’t have (coveting), at tax time, Uncle Sam has plenty of money and I need it more (stealing). These are only a few areas in which we sometimes compromise our beliefs. Some churches have compromised to the point that they allow homosexuals as pastors and will marry gay partners and believe they are acting as representatives of God’s value system. Some of this compromise has so subtly entered the universal church that we aren’t even aware which areas are being compromised [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]We need to learn a lesson from the sons of Sceva (Acts 19). It’s not the words we speak but the life we live that determines our success at spiritual warfare. David du Plessis has given us a good warning, “Don’t go around looking for demons, but if you find them, tread on them!” Effective warriors must learn how to best utilize their armor and weapons of war to accomplish that purpose.[/SIZE]
