SPIRITUAL WARFAREBy
Pastor W. Reynold Storr
5/29/2002 Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in
the power of his might. Put
on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the
devil For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 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; INTRODUCTION
It is imperative for every believer to know and understand that we are in a spiritual warfare, we are not on an excursion we are fighting a spiritual battle. We have an enemy whose primary effort is to defeat the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Satan. From the very beginning, his target has been God’s highest creation, man. The conflict was set in place when Satan rebelled against God. (Isaiah14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:11-12.). From his first assault on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he has been ruthless in his effort to devour those who become followers of Jesus. (1st Peter 5:8). To accomplish his goal, Satan has (stratagems wiles= battle plans) to defeat us. (Ephesians 6:11) It is necessary for believers to know his approaches and not be ignorant of his devices (2nd Corinthians 2:11) in order to be prepared. In addition, we need to understand the provisions God has made for us. Above all, we must develop a mindset that we are going to follow fully the directions laid out in the word of God for our defense and our protection. We must will to do his will. To do less is to become a failure.
Every believer should master John 13-17
which records the final instructions Jesus gave to his disciples just
hours before he left them for the cross. He dealt with two subjects
vitally important to those with whom he was entrusting His word of
redemption-the Holy Spirit and Prayer. He wanted them to know that what
was facing them would be difficult and demanding. He wanted them to know
that they would not be alone (they would not be orphans John 14:18),
but the PARACLETE (The HELPER the HOLY SPITIT) would live in them to
provide the power they need (John 14:16-17). The Holy
Spirit would teach them the things they need to know (John 16:13-14).
ACTION NEEDED
Many Christians loose the battle before it really begins simply because they have made no previous preparations. God has given us a 100% full proof way to defeat the devil and put him to flight. We are to use the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17). The sword of the Spirit is not the Logos (the word as a whole) but the Rhema (the appropriate SAYING found in an individual text that is applicable in any situation and satanic attack). Hebrews 4:12. This technique was demonstrated by Jesus himself as he defeated Satan merely by citing appropriate scriptures. The result was dramatic. (Matthew 4:4,7,10-11). It is interesting to note that God did not say he would put the armor on us, rather he says, “ you put on the armor” Ephesians 6:11,13. And James 4:7. “ Submit yourselves therefore to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you” we are to use the will power God has given to us to fight against this ruler of the powers of darkness who is dedicated to our destruction. And there is a promise that the resistance will result in the devil fleeing from us.
UNDERSTANDING SATANThe word devil is from the Greek word diabolos, which means to slander, accuse. Satan is an accuser (Revelation 12:10). He has access to heaven (Job 1: 6-8) He is the god of this age (2nd Corinthians 4:4). The whole world is under the control of Satan (1st John 5:19).
UNDERSTANDING THE WARFARE
Satan is not omnipotent, or omnipresent. This means that he does not know everything, does not have all power, and is not present everywhere at one time: rather, he is already perfectly defeated. His defeat was affected through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He does not have a place to stand unless we Christians give him a place. The extent of his organization is identified when a Satanic hierarchy of organization is laid out in Ephesians 6:12 There are four levels of organizations which might be understood by looking at any military hierarchy of organization. (1) We might think of a Commander in Chief (Satan himself) (2) the generals and chief officers (3) the staff officers such as lieutenants, captains, finally, the lowest level is the foot soldiers who are the demons and one third of the fallen angels which fell from heaven when Satan did (Revelation 12:4 ) A glimpse of how the organization operates is provided in Daniel 10. When Daniel prayed, God sent the answer immediately, but the answer did not get to Daniel for twenty-one days, which is an amazing phenomenon within itself, but one that provides amazing insight into the workings of Satan. Why did the answer did not get to Daniel for twenty-one days? Because it was hindered by the Prince of Persia. Daniel was carried into captivity by the Babylonians, why is the reference not the Prince of Babylon? Simply, Persia had conquered mighty Babylon Daniel 5 (the hand writing on the wall). Over every geographical area including where you live, Satan have a mighty prince assigned to direct the warfare in that area – not flesh and blood, but a spiritual being. The warfare is spiritual in nature. Although Satan is already perfectly defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection, he is organized and still does damage. UNDERSTANDING THE FOCUS OF SATAN’S ATTACKWhen Satan led Adam and Eve into sin, he started by attacking
the mind 2nd Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity or pure devotion that is in Christ.” Through learning and experience, we filled up our minds as we grow and develop from infancy to adulthood. Like a computer, our minds can store facts and impressions and recall them years later. Once something is in our minds, it is filed away for future use. Behavior is a function of what is in our minds. |
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