Spiritual Warfare

M2 Week 9: Spiritual Warfare

There are two Kingdoms:

• Kingdom of God

• Kingdom of Satan

Satan by Jackson Pollack

Matthew 12:25-26

*25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. **26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? *

Who is Satan?

Ezekiel 28:15-17

You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
¹⁶ Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
    from among the fiery stones.
¹⁷ Your heart became proud
    on account of your beauty,

and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.

Who is Satan?

• Father of Sin (Ezekiel 28:15)

• Father of Lies (John 8:44)

• Father of Pride (Ezekiel 28:17)

• Prince of Darkness (Acts 26:18)

• The imitator of God

• The destroyer (1 Peter 5:8)

• The thief (John 10:10)

• The divider (he divided the angels) (Revelation 12:4)

• Murderer (John 8:44)

• Great Accuser (Job 1:6)

• Prince of the power of the Air (Ephesians 2:2)

• The god of this Present Age (2 Corinthians 4:4)

• Ruler of this present world (John 12:31)

• Crafty (Genesis 3:1-5)

• Has the power of death (Hebrews 2:14)

• Not even angels bring accusations against him. (Jude 6-9)

Since God created Satan, did God create evil and sin?

James 1:13

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

1 John 1:5

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Satan Has a Plan

2 Corinthians 2:11

in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Satan hates you because he hates God and God loves you. You are made in God’s image and you are children of God. When you got saved, you became a part of God’s Kingdom. A citizen. Yet, you probably weren’t aware that the Kingdom of God is at war with the Kingdom of Satan. That war has been waging for thousands of years and now, you are part of it. Now that you have chosen this day, whom you will serve, then you should be about the business of training for this war! The future of your children, the future of our nation and the future of the Kingdom of God depends on you and your contribution.

Satan also hates you because he knows you are powerful. He knows that he needs to destroy you before you wake up and destroy him! So, now is the time to wake up and fight! Now is the time to engage in this epic battle that Jesus has already won!

We may not study him, but he studies you, carefully. He can read your emails, your facial expressions and knows where your eyes wander. He lays plans, he has schemes... he is methodical. He is patient. He wants to make you feel guilty for past sin. He wants to cause you to stumble. He wants to distract you. He wants you B.U.S.Y. (Being under Satan’s yoke.) If he can keep you exhausted, if he can mess with your sleep, then he knows he can attack you because he attacks when you are at your weakest. He is an opportunist. Acknowledge your weakness: Lord, help me with my unbelief.

Satan’s Common Schemes:

• Fear. Fear is expecting the circumstance to move whereas faith is expecting God to move.

• Shame. Satan wants you to believe God is upset with you. Many people don't pray or ask because they don't feel worthy.

  • For Men… Shame in our finances

  • Shame through our lusts

• Weariness. Satan attacked when Jesus was weary and hungry.

• Alone. Satan attacks when we are alone.

What is Satan’s destiny?

Revelation 20:10

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

What is Spiritual Warfare?

Ephesians 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.

First, let me say what Spiritual Warfare is not: It is not seances, chants, holy water, crucifixes or anything that you’ve seen in the movies.

Spiritual Warfare is:

1. Understanding that your battle is not against your wife, your boss, your finances, your circumstance, your health or your fears. It is against the enemy of your soul who has been scheming, planning and waiting for the right moment and permission to attack.

   1. We give permission through sin. We eventually reap what we sow.

2. Canceling the attack of the enemy through:

   1. Prayer

   2. Faith

   3. Blood of the Lamb

   4. Power of our Testimony

   5. Fasting

   6. The powerful name of Jesus

Warning! Proceed with Caution!

Ezekiel 14:3

“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?

Ezekiel 14:7-8

7“For anyone of the house of Israel or of the immigrants who stay in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I the LORD will be brought to answer him in My own person. 8“I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am the LORD.

Signs of Judgment in Our Lives (Not always… But if present, inquire of the Lord)

• Supply of bread is lost (lost job or income)

• Famine

• Depression

• Restlessness

• Fear of Impending Doom

Ezekial 14:12-14

 12Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 13“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, 14even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares the Lord GOD.

What is an idol?

• Anything person or thing that you rely on other than God

  • Spouse

  • Job

• Anything you use as an identity or tie to your self-worth

  • Status

  • Sports

  • Talents and Abilities

• Anything we worship

  • Worship is aligning ourselves with a person or entity for our identity and our strength.

God knows that if we worship small things that we will be heartbroken. God wants our worship for our own good. He will not disappoint you. He is the Most High. He is the God of all things.

Psalm 51:10-11

*10Create in me a clean heart, O God, *

and renew a right spirit within me.

*11Cast me not away from Your presence; *

take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

When Does Satan Attack?

Satan attacks at our weakest moment. He tempted Jesus when He was hungry and had been alone after fasting in the desert for 40 days. Beware of times when you are tired, alone, hungry and feel weak. That’s when you need a brother to help lift you up and fight your battles for you. That’s when you text someone and say, “Pray for me.”

• Tired

• Hungry

• Weak

• Sad/Mourning

• Alone

How does Satan Attack?

In Luke Chapter 4, we see the Temptation of Jesus. The enemy tempted Jesus in 3 different areas:

1. Temptation of the Flesh. Jesus was hungry and Satan tempted him with food.

2. Temptation of the Soul. (The longing for greatness.) Luke 4:6 “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.”

3. Temptation of the Spirit. Luke 4:9-11 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you  to guard you carefully;¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[d]” We all need to feel accepted by our Father and Jesus was no different. I believe that’s why God spoke the Words to Him as Jesus was being baptized, “This is my beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.”

This progression of temptation also indicates that Satan will progressively make his attacks on us more complex. When we no longer war with our flesh (which is why we fast) then, Satan will attack us with our mind, will and emotions and if that doesn’t work, he will attack us with our desire to be loved and accepted by God. That’s why he immediately attacked Eve with her desire to be more like God because he knew that she walked with him daily and had no other needs. James 4:7 says to resist the devil and he will flee. But he will be back. Luke 4:13 states, “¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.”

Areas of Warfare:

1. Demonic Attacks (Temptation, etc…)

2. Health or Body (Sickness and Disease)

3. Famine/Pestilence (Attacking our source of provision)

4. Our desire for Love and Acceptance

5. Our Desire for Godliness (Spirits of Religion)

Demonic Influence

Luke 4:31-36

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit

³¹ Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people.³² They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.

³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴ “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶ All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Read the Story of Legion in Luke 8:28-39

Points to Consider:

• The man with the impure spirit was in the synagogue.

• Jesus spoke directly to the spirit. He didn’t pray.

• Jesus spoke sternly to the spirit.

• Jesus didn’t rebuke or condemn the man with the spirit.

• The spirit knew that Jesus could destroy it.

• Legion lived alone and isolated, among the tombs. (Fixation on death)

• Legion’s spirits knew that Jesus could torture them and send them to the Abyss.

• Jesus asked for the name of the demon(s)

• They had to have permission to go into the pigs.

• The town where the deliverance occurred, asked Jesus to leave.

The Warfare of Healing

Our Power

Mark 16:16-17

¹⁷ And these signs will follow those who ^[a]believe :In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they^[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Luke 4:39

³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Jesus rebuked the fever. He didn’t pray about it, he laid hands on the girl and rebuked THE FEVER. I believe that this is the model of how we are to approach healing.

Derek Prince Video

Matthew 12:24

Jesus just healed a man that was deaf and dumb...

You’ve Already Got it!

Exodus 14:15-16

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷

When Moses was at the Red Sea with the Sea before him and the Armies of Egypt behind him, he cried out to God and what did God say?

What's in your hand? You see, He has given you everything you need to defeat Satan but you cannot defeat anyone while in chains and bandage. So, first, get free of your own bondage. Cast off the sin that restrains and strain forward for the prize.

As Pastor Chris says, “We need to stop telling our God about our problems and start telling our problems about our God!”

Matthew 11:23

“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

1 John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

You are not of this world. This world is not your home. Remember, that the spiritual world is more real than the one we can see. Often times, what is present in the physical is a representative of what is in the spiritual. If something in your life is off, ask God to reveal to you the true source of the problem.

Sowing and Reaping

2 Corinthians 9:6, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Galatians 6:7-8

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Proverbs 11:25

A generous person will prosper;
    whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Often, we think of generosity in material terms, but you can be generous with other things like your time. Can we be generous of the spiritual gifts? Yes, absolutely and we will reap a harvest of what we sow. That’s God’s promise, in fact, it’s God’s law of reaping and sowing. Use your spiritual gifts to advance the Kingdom. That is also warfare.

• We reap more than we sow

• We reap what we sow

• There is a season of reaping

• There is a season of sowing

Sow. Sow to the spirit. A man that stores up earthly treasure is as foolish as the one who spends it all on his next meal, not caring about what happens after that for there are many more days in eternity, and we will need to eat then too.

If how you invest your time was laid out before the world, what would the world see? What fruit can you expect by how you invest your time? How much time you spend working, investing in relationships, in prayer and seeking God? Would we be convicted by an analysis of your time?

The Armor of God (Ephesians 6)

1. The Belt of Truth

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness

3. The Helmet of Salvation (Protecting your mind)

4. The Shield of Faith

5. Feet Fitted with the Readiness of the Gospel

6. The Sword of Truth

7. Prayer

• Only one of these is a weapon. The rest are defensive.

• Ephesians 6 is a command, “So that you may resist the devil.”

Jesus endured hardness of the cross so that he could make a public spectacle of Satan.

Colossians 2:15

 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.^[a]

Aren’t we supposed to take up our cross, daily?

Luke 9:23

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

You cannot believe in the Redemption of the cross and not believe in the purpose of the cross and that was to destroy the works of a very real devil whose objective is to destroy you.

Satan hates you because you're God's child and he hates everything of God. Satan hates you because you're the light of the world and he is the prince of darkness. Satan hates you because you're made in His image, and you have the power and authority over him. You are a mighty man. If you could see these demons, you would be amazed at what you have authority over. And the more faith you have the more power you have. Faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, so we need to increase our faith.

Remember… Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Satan is cast down by the power of the Word and the word of our testimonies.

You've heard of eat, pray, love.

Fast

Pray

Worship

Expect the Victory

This is about your sons and daughters. Our children need our spiritual covering.

This is about the future of this nation.

Stop allowing Satan to attack your health, by His stripes we are healed

Stop allowing Satan to rob you of peace, for He is the prince of peace

Stop allowing Satan to wreck your finances for God said He will rebuke the devourer for your sake, he will replace it sevenfold.

Malachi 3:11 1*I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.*

Stop allowing Satan to rob you of your joy, for in His presence is the fullness of joy.

Do you want it, then fight for it!

You don't have to do this on your own.

You don't have to perform an exorcism.

Use the mighty name of Jesus

Quote scripture.

Pray.

Expect to win. I'd you don't, then you won't receive because you're double-minded.

Expect the victory.

Expect it over your health, your family, your finances, your vocation, your relationships, your influence. Expect the victory because He has already paid the price!

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, who can stand against us?

When David walked into the Valley of Elah, he knew the outcome. He said, I am going to kill you, Goliath! David was a man after God's own heart. He didn’t live in fear. He understood that God could and would fight his battle for him because David’s will was intertwined with God’s will, at that moment.

Practical Steps for Spiritual Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:4
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

1. Get Free. John 8:36. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Don’t expect to fight in handcuffs.

2. Get Clean. (Ruth 3:3) Ask God to wash you clean so that you can be used by Him.

3. Have Faith. Romans 10:17. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

4. The Authority of Jesus’s Name. Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name… There is no greater name. His name rules the Universe and everything in it. When you say, “In Jesus’s name” you are saying that your will and His will are intertwined and that you are acting on His authority.

5. The Blood of Jesus. Mark 14:22-25. We take the blood of Jesus when we take the Lord’s Supper. This is another way we can defeat the enemy.

6. Fasting. This one comes out through prayer and fasting. Fast. It will break strongholds in your life. Daniel set aside 3 weeks of special time and prayer for God. He did the Daniel fast. After 3 weeks, an Angel appeared to Daniel. Read Daniel 10: It took the angel 3 weeks for Michael to break through the power of the demonic realm. He had to force his way between God’s throne and earth. Somewhere between the throne of God and the earth is the Satanic Kingdom. That may be why Paul said he was caught up to the 3^rd heaven. Daniel was one man that changed the whole course of his nation through fasting.

7. Prayer. Sow greatly into the spiritual world and reap greatly. Do not sow sparingly into that which is dying, rusting and withering away. Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. The victory is ours through Christ the Lord. God has given you authority. If you say you want to live victoriously and abundantly and don't pray, then I don't believe you.

8. The Word. Jesus used the Word of God to fight off the enemy.

9. The Power of our Testimony. Testimonies help increase faith. They are important as it says in Revelation 12:11, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

10. Worship. It was worship that broke down the walls of Jericho. Paul and Silas were worshipping when their chains fell off in the jail. Worship is powerful. The enemy hates it. Therefore, do it as often as you can!