SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Author: Pr. kalungi Denis March 4, 2021 3047 views 5 comments
Fig: A picture representing SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUAL WARFARE BY PR. KALUNGI DENIS

KIREKA CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP          

Spiritual warfare is making ourselves more attentive to what God is doing and remembering to stand firm in spirit and let Him fight our fiercest battles. There’s power through His Spirit, His Word, and in prayer, and we can be confident that He is always with us, leading our way and covering us from behind.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places {Ephesians 6:12}

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ {2 Corinthians 10:3-5} Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. {Ephesians 6:11}

 I believe there are several important principles to remember as we engage in spiritual warfare.

Principle # 1 acknowledge the adversary or knowledge of the enemy. {Satan is real 1 Peter 5:8-9.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to me, and you have forgotten the law of your god. I will also forget your children {Hosea 4:6} When you are being attacked, welcome to the club. It’s proof that you’re a believer. The fact is, the more you make an impact for God, and the more the devil is going to fight you. You never outgrow it. It just gets more intense.

If there were no devil, why would God send His Son to fight what does not exist?

The Bible says God sent Jesus Christ to defeat the works of Satan. The Bible says that Satan is the prince of this world. Jesus said so. He never disputed Satan’s right to work all across the world. The Bible says read {1 John 3:8}, "The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil's work" 

Jesus pointed out that, although he came that we “might have life, and have it to the full,” there was also the “thief” who comes to “kill, steal and destroy” {John 10:10}. Revelation 12 similarly presents the enemy as a devourer, accuser, and deceiver. Jesus’ unexpected rebuke of Satan working through Peter {Matt. 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33} is an illustration of how subtle spiritual warfare can become. Paul pointed out that forgiveness must be dealt with in the body of Christ “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes” {2 Cor. 2:11}. Jesus gives us knowledge of the enemy and his schemes for our protection.

Believers under the control of the Holy Spirit cannot be “possessed” by the enemy. However, Paul warns that without renewal in our minds and an active, daily “putting off” of the old nature and “putting on” of the nature of Christ, we can give the devil a “foothold” {Eph. 4:20-27} or way of influencing our lives.

“Footholds” can exist in the lives of disciples even though ownership of the house belongs to Jesus. Demonic footholds can be distinguished from periodic sin {everyday house dirt}. Footholds are established when we are unable to stop repetitive willful sin through simple confession. We are instructed in situations like that to “confess our sins to each other and pray for each other that you might be healed” {James. 5:16}.

Jesus said, when you sweep a house clean and put it in order, it is important that the house is then filled {Luke 11:24-26}. The lies of the enemy must be replaced with the light of God’s truth. Jesus’ warning that demons return seven-fold to retake space they have lost has been documented in countless counseling relationships {Mathew 12:45}. 

Our enemy is not each other. It’s not “flesh and blood”. Our enemy is the devil. His motive is to deceive us. To steal from us. To kill us. {John 10:10). When you’re being attacked, it’s proof that you’re a believer. The more you make an impact for God, the more the Devil is going to fight you. You never outgrow it; it just gets more intense.

Principle #2 – Acknowledge the battle is won. 

We stand against the schemes of the devil. We battle from the platform of victory. We don’t battle for victory.  Jesus Christ has already won the victory. He has already taken all the ground. We stand on his victory. We stand on his accomplishments {Revelation 12:10-12}. {Romans 16:20}

Principle #3 – Exercise your faith.

We are to put on the whole armor of God.  To put on is an act of faith. It’s obedience. As we put on this armor, we are actually rehearsing the Gospel in our minds. As the hymn says, “put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer” {Stand up, Stand up for Jesus}.  Often times I will pray, “Lord, I put on your helmet of salvation. Protect my mind from thoughts that the Devil would want me to dwell on. Sift my thoughts by the blood of Jesus.”  That kind of faith works.

Principle #4 – Claim your victory.

If God’s word says we are able to stand, then we are able to stand. Your victory in spiritual warfare must rest on the reality that God has given you everything that you need to live in light of the truth of His victory in order to experience and become all that God has created you to be. But God will not dress you in the weapons of warfare. You are going to have to put on the Armor of God yourself – every day – in order to experience the victory that is yours.

Principle #5 accept God-given authority.

Most believers are very ignorant about the authority they have for use against the devil. {Matthew 28:18-19} says we have all authority in heaven and earth. Then Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples” He transfers the authority to you and me. He does that because He’s given us a specific mission {2 Corinthians 5:20}. When you send an ambassador to another country, the ambassador has the full authority to represent that country. The Bible says that you as a believer in ministry are Christ’s ambassador.

Principle #6 understand that you are the weapon for warfare.

Not only do we have some armor, but also we have some weapons to use when we are involved in ministry. Remember we are not fighting against physical people. We are fighting against spiritual forces.

The battlefield for spiritual warfare is primarily in the thought life, in your mind {2 Corinthians 10:4-5}. Notice what Paul says the weapons do: They demolish arguments that’s the way people think. They pull down pretension that is the way people think. We take every thought captive.

In this battle for thoughts, you have four weapons

1, Humility

2, Faith

3, Truth and praise. I use them every day, but especially as I’m preparing to teach God’s Word.

Principle #7 Knowledge of the Father

Jesus points out to his disciples that a relationship with the Father is hidden to the “wise and learned” but “revealed to little children” {Luke 10:21}. The disciples were to rejoice, not that the spirits submit to them, but that “your names are written in heaven” {Luke 10:20}. Spiritual pride blocks us from understanding the value of our relationship with the Father, but it can also open the door to a captivation with spiritual warfare. In particular, there can be a dependence upon technique and strategy rather than upon the Father. Biblical knowledge is always tied to obedience and not merely to intellectual assent. To know the Father is to obey him. Jesus reminds us that “apart from me you can do nothing” {John 15:5}.

There is nothing the enemy wants to block or disrupt more in the life of Christ’s disciples than our daily communication and love relationship with the Father through Jesus. A knowledge of spiritual warfare technique is dangerous without a growing knowledge of the Father expressed in daily dependence and obedience.

Principle #8 Knowledge of our Identity and Authority in Christ

The knowledge of our authority and power in the spiritual realm flows out of our knowledge of the Father. We have been called heirs of God and are part of his family. He protects us by the power of his name {John 17:11}. “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” {Eph. 2:6}

Through this revelation of our position in Christ we know the “hope to which he has called” us, the “riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” {our value to God}, and “his incomparably great power for us who believe” {Eph. 1:18-19} Spiritual authority has been given to the believer through the finished work of Christ on the cross {Matt. 28:18-19, Col. 2:13-15, Eph. 6:10-11, Mathew 15:13, Luke 10:19, Jeremiah 1:10}. Believers are called to apply this authority that Christ won for them through actively resisting harmful thoughts and the enemy’s attacks {Col. 3:5-11, 1 Pet. 5:8-9, James. 4:7}.

Principle #9 knowledge of our Hearts

With the often-used picture of our hearts being a home in which Christ comes to take up residence, we are invited to surrender daily every area of our lives to his control. Renovation and ongoing surrender under the leading of God’s Spirit are evidence we know Jesus is the new owner of the house.

Humility leads us to acknowledge that our hearts are “deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” {Jer. 17:9}. The disciple prays with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way within me, and lead me in the way everlasting” {Ps. 139:23-24}.

Responsibility must be taken personally for our sin issues. As David did we must declare, “I have sinned” {2 Sam. 12:13}. We cannot blame the enemy for our own willful transgressions:

1, Bitterness

2, Anger

3, Pride

Fear and lust, all involve the choice of our will. Repentance involves confession {Acknowledge sin against others and god}, turning from sin {our will is engaged} and choosing God's way. Jesus linked our forgiveness of others to our reception/response of forgiveness{Mathew 18:35} in many cases a person's freedom is linked to their willingness to forgive someone who has hurt him or she involve.

Principle #10 Keep on praying

You cannot let down your guard. Remember what Jesus told His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” {Matt. 26:41}. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” {1 Pet. 5:7-8} and, seek the prayer of others on your behalf.  “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” {Eph. 6:18}

Principle #11 never distance from the Word of God.

Anything you do must always line up with and be filtered through the grid of God’s Word. Think about when the devil came to tempt Jesus. Each time, Jesus used the Word as His sword “It is written” {Matt. 4:1-11}. The defensive weapon listed in the armor of God that we are to take up and use is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Eph. 6:17 Moses reminds Joshua to always meditate on it day and night {Joshua 1:8}

Keep going back to the cross and the shed blood of Jesus as your source of victory.

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” {1 Cor. 15:57} At the cross Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil. Satan will not admit defeat but will one day meet his final judgment. Though this evil one may seem to win some skirmishes, He will not win the war. Jesus is our reigning conqueror. His death on the cross secured the victory!

Rest in God’s grace and the promise of His restoration even when you don’t see an end in sight.

The Apostle Paul described a battle he faced having been “given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” {2 Cor. 12:7}. Though He prayed, it did not go away. He took solace/relief in what the Lord told Him — “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” and was then able to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” {2 Cor. 12:9} “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” {1 Pet. 5:10-11}

What are the laws of spiritual warfare?

The first law in spiritual warfare is faith, faith demonstrates itself through action. God has given us practices that build our faith and continually align us with him to experience his protection, provision, and power. 

Biblically faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see read {Hebrews 11:1} it’s not in our daily experience to see spiritual forces some people can have spiritual eyes to see them but major we have to have faith during spiritual warfare.

Get this from me the angels are ministering spirits who ministers to us through protection, fighting our spiritual warfare, and so on read {Hebrews 1:14} but God gave them a command that to fight for us we have to have faith first read {psalms 91:8-11} If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Highest your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

The second law, are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? But to involve them in our matters we have to call them first because if they were interfering anyhow they would help Eva when she was tempted by Lucifer but Eva did not ask for help. This explains why, “God said, call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know {Jeremiah 33:3}.

Third law listening to God’s instructions, Noah was saved from the destruction of the flood because of listening to God’s instructions {Genesis 6:14-16, 18} the psalmist says read {Psalms 81:13} If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hands against their foes! Listen to God’s instruction no matter what because every God’s promise comes with a huddle you must first overcome before the answer. Read {Genesis 37:5-12}

Fourth law never to be fearful, remember what you feared is what comes to you {Job3; 25} and cautions us {Deuteronomy 20:1-4} When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord, your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Fifth law, you must leave and lead a holy life read {Deuteronomy 23:9} when you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure. By doing this God reminds you to keep your heart pure without any unrighteousness like:

1, Anger

2, Envy

3, Bitterness

4, Wrath and thoughts of fornication

Remember what God tells you, read {Proverbs 4:23} Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. We can also read {Deuteronomy 23:14} For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. this may mean things like stealing at job, selling stolen stuff in your business, you know whenever you do things like such you covenant with Satan and Satan knows God, he knows that God does not lie nor does He change his word, this is how he grieved Joshua in {Zachariah 3:1-4}

Read {Joshua 7:11-12} 

Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. 

Me I caution all warriors to have the full armor always with them! 

I always hear warriors saying put on God’s armor we are going to war, this is not addressing that you have a second to wear, this is the full armor their it is up to your if you think you can have it in a second.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. {Ephesians 6:14-18}

For more information all people need to put on the full armor, “this means to have them all the time” the moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior you signed a war with Satan like it or not you have a war at hand. Pastors, Apostles, Evangelists, Teachers, prophets, and people around you that is to say:

1, Wife

2, Children

3, Cousins are hunted most so stay informed, putting on God'sthe  Full Armour because any time the enemy may attack.

Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Recognize Him through praise and worship, Make His name to reign, Welcome His kingdom to take over, Let Him take the authority even on the earth, Make your request Known to Him, Ask for forgiveness and forgive others at His mercy, Ask Him to protect you from temptations and evil ones.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE PART ONE…

5 comments

Patrick samuel saidu    -   

March 23, 2021
Very motivating keep sending it by the special

Pr. Denis kalungi   -   

March 24, 2021
@Patrick samuel saidu glory is to God.

Mark Grifith   -   

December 15, 2021
well done people have to know the whole truth and tactics of fighting the enemy

God bless you pastor Dennis   -   

January 7, 2022
Am so blessed with your message may the almighty God bless you and continue guiding us

Hope   -   

January 8, 2022
So very powerful message and timely...God bless you

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