SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN OUR WORLD TODAY
D.P. Weary
January 1, 2024
Introduction
There is a cosmic war being waged between
good and evil, between God and Satan. It is a clash between the Kingdom of God
and the Kingdom of Satan. It involves all the created universe and all of
mankind. It is a war over power,
authority, and control of the universe. It is a war over a throne and a
kingdom. This "warfare worldview" is the context in which the Bible
was written. From the moment God created the beings called the "sons of
God" or "gods" or angels (Gen. 6:2,4; Job 2:1, 418) and gave
them free will, there was the potential that some would choose against God and
rebel against His authority. Indeed, the Bible tells us that this did happen
and the cosmic war of the ages began.
The Bible tells us
that there was one of these created beings, an archangel created by God called
Lucifer who decided that he wanted to take God’s throne and to be like the most
high God (Is. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:13-19). For someone to have a kingdom and to
be king of that kingdom, there must be subjects and the subjects of that
kingdom must submit to and obey the king. Therefore, the battle for the throne
is a battle to capture the hearts, minds, and souls of mankind so that they
become subject to either God or Satan. So, from the day Lucifer rebelled
against God and was cast down from his high position at God’s side until this
day, Lucifer whose name was changed to Satan has been working to get mankind to
rebel against God and to obey, worship, and make him their king.
The first successful
attempt was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-24). From that
day until the day Jesus rose from the grave, Satan was king over the earth (Jn.
12:31). All of humanity became tainted by Adam and Eve’s rebellion and disobedience
and became legal subjects of Satan.
The Gospel story,
Jesus’ death and resurrection, His life given as payment for mankind’s
rebellion against God, was God’s sovereign act to legally break Satan’s hold on
mankind. From that day to today, the nature of the spiritual war has been one
of God, through His Holy Spirit and working through His people wooing others to
Himself and Satan trying to keep them in bondage to him. Today, even though the
decisive battle was won by Jesus on the tree of Calvary, the battles to free
those still under the enemy's now illegal control still rage on through the
church and will do so until that day, the awesome "day of the Lord"
when He returns to crush all of God enemies in the final battles.
An obvious question to
ask is why did God allow all this to
happen? I believe that at the heart of all of this is a love story. God is a relational
being. His very nature desires cloose companionship. God is seeking an eternal
companion. He is seeking someone of His kind or order; able to become one with
Him; able to rule and reign with Him; and able and willing to love Him as an
act of free will. God is seeking intimate relationships; relationships
like that of husband and wife in a perfected state. Love in its truest sense
requires a free will act of choosing one over an alternative. I believe Lucifer
was allowed to rebel, that evil and lawlessness are allowed, to provide a
choice for mankind. We can choose to serve Satan or choose to love and serve
God. He allows us this choice that true love can be. God is seeking a bride.
The Song of Solomon is a poetic discourse of
this “divine love affair.” There are
several references to “my sister, my bride or spouse” (Song of Solomon 4:8-12;
5:1). This I believe reflects our relationship with God as both His sons and
daughters and His bride or wife (spouse).
Jeremiah 3:8 - I gave
faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all
her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she
also went out and committed adultery. (NIV). God first raised Israel to be His “spouse”. Israel, however, failed God. Rejecting Him
for the false idols of their day thereby committing adultery. Israel was to be
the light that leads all nations to God. When they failed, God turned to all
who would come to Him through Jesus, the Church, to be His ambassadors on earth
thereby In a sense, divorcing Israel (Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:8; Hos. 2:2). But
according to Rom. 11:14, He turned to the gentiles “in the hope that I may
somehow arouse my people to envy and save some of them.” Further, according to Rom. 11:25-31, after
“the full number of the Gentiles has come in” God will fulfill His covenant
promises to them “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The
deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob”. Thus,
in the end, God will have His spouse, His Bride, the Church, a Bride from every
tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 7:9). A Bride where there is no Jew or gentile
(Rom. 10:12). This cosmic war is about the gathering and training of the Bride
of Christ. God is seeking and raising His Bride (Jer. 2:2; 3:14; Isa. 54:5;
62:4,5; Ps. 45:9; Hos. 2:19-20; Jn. 3:29; Matt. 25:10; Rev. 19:7; 21:2,9,10). Spiritual warfare is all about the Bride of
Christ, about intimacy with God.
Today we
are experiencing this warfare around the world in our everyday lives. The
battles are intense and Satan and his minions seem to getting the upper hand. Prue
evil is being manifested in our world; great hatred of Christians and Jews,
unreasonable lawlessness, inhumane behaviors, open occult practices, wars and
rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms,
famines, and pestilences, in various places. Corrupt, evil, governments,
courts, economic systems, and unbridled deceptions and lies are beyond being
explained in the natural. To deal with all of this in the natural will be
futile. We are in an ultimate spiritual battle between good and evil. For believers
in and followers of the Lord Jesus, these battles will be won, not by human
might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.
These battles on the earth are not
going to cease. They are going to get more intense. These times are described
in the Bible as ‘the last days,” “the Day of the Lord,” and “the days of the
wrath of the Lamb” (the wrath of God). It is the Lord Jesus who will
overcome all the evil in the world at His coming to execute righteous judgment.
He will also establish His Kingdom on the earth for 1000 years where once
again, as it was in the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the
physical universe of earth will be mingled with the spiritual universe of the
Kingdom of God. The prayer Jesus taught us to pray will be answered.
[Mat 6:10 KJV] Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
Evil in our World Today
But
for now, we are living in very evil days. These are days of unrest, anxiety,
distress, fear, and lawlessness. (Matt. 24, 2 Thes. 2-3, 2 Tim. 3, 2 Pet 2-3).
2 Tim. 3:1-8 (KJV) This know also,
that in the last days perilous times shall come. [2] For men shall be lovers of
their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, [3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, [4]
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; [5]
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
[7] Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now the
great question for true Christians is; How do we deal with all this evil in our
daily lives? First, we need to understand the evil we are seeing in our world
is Satanic, spiritual warfare. The “bad” things we see in our world are all
part of Satan’s strategies to establish his kingdom on Earth.
Satan’s vision is to take God’s
place as king of the universe. To take His Throne, and His Glory; Satan wants
to be God. His goal is to get mankind to submit to, be obedient to, worship him,
and reject God. His strategy is to deceive, trick, force, and do anything to
get mankind to disobey and reject God. He works at the individual level, one by
one. He works using fallen man’s natural inclinations for sin (lust, pride,
covetousness, self-centeredness, etc.). He is continually working to disrupt
and make not come to pass the prophecies and promises of the Word. He must, for
if he cannot, his fate is sure; it is the lake of fire. Satan is continually
and by all means defaming the name and character of God. He is continually
denying, distorting, and trying to destroy the truth of God’s incarnation in
Jesus and Jesus’ sacrificial death and His resurrection. Since Satan cannot
create anything, he must take the things of God, pervert and corrupt them, and
then use them for his purposes.
Satan’s strategies and tactics
a. Get the original man, Adam to disobey God and
break the intimate relationship between them. Get mankind to give him, Satan,
their delegated authority on earth so that he becomes sovereign of the earth.
b. Keep the people of earth ignorant or in the
dark about the righteousness of God. Keep them seeking to approach God by the
law and their works instead of through God’s righteousness and His free Grace.
Keep them seeking fulfillment and enlightenment through faith in man and his
works, faith in idols or nature (created things) rather than through faith in
God the creator (Is. 8:14; 28:16; Rom. 9:30; 10:4).
c. Disrupt God’s plan for Israel by getting them
into idolatry and getting them to seek human kings instead of letting God be
their king.
d. Disrupt God’s plan of salvation through Jesus
by attempting to kill those in Jesus’ genealogy; killing all male babies in
Israel at the time of Jesus' birth; and trying to get Jesus himself to sin and
worship Satan.
e. Destroy
the church through persecution and perversion
f. Pervert the Gospel and prevent it from being
spread.
g. Establish satanic strongholds in individuals,
families, cities, nations, and kingdoms.
h. Attack
and destroy the family as it is intended to be an earthly picture of the
relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:31-32).
i. Pervert sex and sexual relationships, as
these covenant relationships between man and wife are an earthly picture of our
intimate relationship with God as His Bride.
j. Create a universal religion that accepts
anything except the concept of God incarnate in Jesus the Messiah (Rev. 17).
k. Create a universal government and economic
system that is sold out to him and under his direct control (Rev. 18).
l. Create a man that is controlled by him and
fake his death and resurrection so that he can claim to be the messiah as he
seems to fulfill the prophecies about Jesus (the Antichrist or Beast) (Dan. 7;
8; 9; Rev. 13).
m. Create a false “trinity” (Satan, the Beast,
the False Prophet) (Rev. 13).
n. Establish a physical throne in Jerusalem,
take that throne and demand to be worshipped as God at the penalty of death
(Dan. 12; Matt. 24; Rev. 9).
o. Take the things of God in general and pervert
or twist them to serve his means and defame God or work against God’s purposes.
Tactics are the things you do to carry out a
strategy that will eventually get you to your goals and fulfill your vision. In
spiritual warfare, we need to know what specific tactics Satan is using against
us. Some of his key tactics include:
·
Disarm the power of the Cross through unbelief,
confusion, lawlessness, ignorance, fear, manipulation, deception, hate, and
condemnation.
·
Establish belief systems that “tickle men’s ears,”
giving them what they want to hear and denying who Jesus really is.
·
Establishing a universal religion that accepts whatever
you want to believe except that Jesus is the Son of God.
·
Establishing a government that has positive and
universal control of people, finances, and militaries.
·
The destruction of Israel and the Jewish race.
·
Breaking the chain of fulfilled prophecies of the
Bible.
·
Tell people what they want to hear, promise them whatever
they want, do whatever is necessary to get them to disobey God, operate outside
of His principles and commandments; get them to sin in any way and insure that
they do not repent and ask forgiveness.
Get them to give him, Satan, a right to control parts of their lives.
·
Make those serving God ineffective in their
assignments by doing nothing, or doing the wrong things and/or at the wrong
time.
·
Robbing people of hope and vision which brings
despair and/or inactivity.
·
Attacking finances especially where they are
feeding or intended to feed God’s work.
·
Working to minimize the power of the Holy Spirit
flowing through people through fear, unbelief, doubt, tradition, and pride.
·
Establishing and using covenants with individuals,
families, groups of people, cities, and nations to control them and keep them
in darkness.
·
Attacking the individual and corporate mind by
establishing strongholds set against the knowledge of God; blinding the mind to
truth, and setting the mind on what the sinful natural nature of man desires.
(Rom. 8:5-8; 2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Cor. 10:3-6; 2 Tim. 4:3)
·
Bruising the emotions of mankind through rejection
and bitterness. (Luke 4:18)
·
Causing or using rebellion, pride, and occult
involvement to get mankind to disobey God, and in any manner, getting mankind
to worship or subject himself to Satan.
·
Attacking the individual and corporate will to make
it passive, broken, or unyielded to God.
·
Bruising the emotions to cause bitterness,
rejection, isolation, and the inability to love or receive love.
·
Blind the minds of men with lies and deceptions to
keep them from the truth and love of God.
To implement these tactics Satan
has key spiritual minions overseeing various aspects of his activities. On
national levels, he has principalities (fallen angels) overseeing the work. The
Prince of Persia, and the Prince of Greece, are examples from the Book of
Daniel. Under these princes are other fallen angels and a host of disembodied
spirits we call demons.
[Eph 6:12 NKJV] For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of
wickedness in the heavenly [places].
Some of Satan’s key works or his
weapons of warfare are fear, compromise, illness, discouragement, deceptions, misdirection,
confusion, pride, presumptions, lies, death, disobedience, impurity, lust,
envy, jealousy, abusive and absolute power, hate, rage, rebellion, disobedience,
and miscommunication.
There are specific demonic spirits associated
with these works or weapons of the devil. These include:
Spirits of
divination (occult)
Divination is the practice of attempting to
foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge. It includes such things as
fortune-telling (Micah 5:12; Isa.
2:6); sorcerery (Ex. 22:18); reading
the stars or horoscopes (Isa. 47:13;
Lev. 19:26; Jer. 10:2); hypnotism or
enchanters (Deut. 18:11; Isa. 19:3); magic
and witchcraft (Ex. 7:11; 8:7; 9:11); and drugs or pharmakos (Greek) (Gal. 5:20; Rev. 9:21; 18:23; 21:8;
22:15). All these things open doors for Satan to
influence, guide, lead astray, deceive, and control.
There is an interesting ramification in this
area worthy of comment. 1 Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and
idolatry.
Familiar
spirits (Lev. 20:7, I Sam. 28:5-19, I Chron. 10:13-14)
are demons operating in people who claim to be necromancers, mediums,
clairvoyants, and spiritists. Sometimes they claim to be dead ancestors and are
found in cultures where ancestral worship is common. Often, they do know a lot
about dead people and past events because they were around when the person was
living and during the events. A lot of false prophecy comes by way of familiar
spirits. A passive mind is an open door for familiar spirits.
Occult
involvement gives Satan legal claims over an individual or group of individuals.
Spiritual gifts of the occult are passed on from generation to generation,
likewise the curse. Idolatry (the
worship of demons) and the occult are from the same root (Ps. 106:36; 1 Cor.
10:20). The occult is the manipulation of demon powers for selfish goals. The
benefits offered through the supernatural always become a curse to the
benefactor. Also, the curse for bowing before other gods or images made by man
goes to the third and fourth generations. Exodus 20:5 “You shall not bow down
to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing
the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of
those who hate me.”
Spirits of
jealousy
Jealousy and pride are probably the oldest
sins in the universe. They occurred before our earth, as we know it now was
created. These were Satan’s downfall
(Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-19). Associated with the spirit of jealousy (Nu. 5:14; Song of Sol. 8:6) are murder (Gen. 4:8); revenge-spite (Prov. 6:34; 14:16,17); anger-rage (Gen. 4:5,6; Prov. 6:34; 14:29; 22:24,25; 29:22,23); cruelty (Song of Sol. 8:6; Prov. 27:4);
hate (Gen. 37:3,4,8; 1 Thes. 4:8); division (Prov. 10:12); strife (Prov. 10:12); envy (Prov. 14:30); and contention (Prov. 13:10).
2 Chronicles 18:20-22 “Finally, a spirit came
forward, stood before the LORD and said, `I will entice him.' "`By what means?' the LORD asked.
"`I will go and be a lying spirit
in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. "`You will succeed in
enticing him,' said the LORD. `Go and do it.'
"So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these
prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."
The lying
spirit manifests itself in deceptions
(2 Thes. 2:9-13); flattery (Psalm
78:36; Prov. 20:19; 26:28; 29:5); superstitions
(1 Tim. 4:7); accusations (Rev.
12:10; Ps 31:18); false prophecy
(Jer. 23:17,17; 27:9,10; Matt. 7:15); religious
bondage (Gal. 5:1); slander
(Prov. 10:18); gossip (1 Tim. 6:20;
2 Tim. 2:16); false teachers (2
Pet.); and lies (2 Chron. 18:22;
Prov. 6:16-19).
Perverse
spirits
The perverse
spirit operates by turning things from what is good, right, and proper.
Works of a perverse spirit include the wounded
spirit (Prov. 15:4); evil actions
(Prov. 17:20,23); atheist beliefs
(Prov. 14:2; Rom. 1:30); foolishness
(Prov. 1:22; 19:1); doctrinal error
(Isa. 19:14; Rom. 1:22,23; 2 Tim. 3:7,8); abortion;
contentions (Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Tim.
6:4,5; Titus 3:10,11); filthy mind
(Prov. 2:12; 23:33); chronic worrier
(Prov. 19:3); sexual perversions
(Rom. 1:17-32; 2 Tim. 3:2); pornography;
twisting the Word (Acts 13:10; 2
Pet. 2:14); incest; and child abuse. Whenever you encounter
pornography, abortion, filthy media, homosexuals, lesbians, child abusers, sex
clubs, sexual perversions, filthy communication, false cults, and perverse
speech you can be assured a perverse strongman is in operation. Into these
situations, we loose God’s Spirit of grace and supplication (Zech. 12:10; Heb.
10:29). Warring against these things requires discovering just what has been
perverted and how. Then exposing the perversion and bringing correction or
redirection back towards what is good, right, and holy. Many times, in these areas we must be the
salt and light (Matt. 5:13) that exposes these satanic strongholds in the
natural and attacks and takes dominion over then in the spiritual arena.
Spirits of
haughtiness or pride
Proverbs 16:18 - “Pride goeth before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Where you find spirits of haughtiness or pride (Prov. 6:16,17; 16:18,19; 28:25;
Isa. 16:6) you find; abstinence
(Prov. 29:1; Dan. 5:20); idleness
(Ezek. 16:49,50); arrogance-smugness
(2 Sam. 22:29; Jer. 48:29; Isa. 2:11,17; 5:15); rebellion (1 Sam. 15:23; Prov. 29:1); contentiousness (Prov. 13:10); scornfulness
and mockery (Prov. 1:22; 3:34; 21:24; 29:8); strife (Prov. 28:24); self-righteousness
(Luke 18:11,12); self-deception
(Jer. 49:16; Obadiah 1:3); and rejection
of God (Ps 10:4; Jer. 43:2). People with what has been labeled a “religious spirit” are often under the
influence of the spirits of haughtiness or pride.
At the heart of wickedness and deception is pride. The root of every sin and evil
is pride. Pride has its roots within the spirit of this age; humility is the
essence of Jesus. Pride must be changed into humility. A fruit of pride is
perfectionism, which produces harsh attitudes toward others, a critical spirit,
unforgiveness, self-righteousness, and religious pride. Another fruit of pride
is competition. Competition produces enmity between men, constantly comparing oneself
to another, discontentment with life, jealousy, and envy. Pride also produces
unforgiveness. Unforgiveness produces guilt and condemnation, blindness and
deception, bitterness, and hatred. Pride also produces unbelief and
isolationism. Pride desires the glory of men. Faith desires the glory of God.
Pride seeks to possess itself of God’s blessings by striving with God, seeking
personal goals, and refusing to seek God’s will and pleasure in one’s life.
Humility, true humility, is the antidote for pride. Faith and humility are of
the same root. Faith does not grow from the root of pride.
Spirits of
heaviness
The symptoms of these strongmen or spirits of
heaviness include excessive mourning
(Isa. 6:13; Luke 4:18), sorrow and grief
(Neh. 2:2; Prov. 15:13), depression
(Isa. 61:3), despair, dejection, hopelessness (2 Cor. 1:8,9), heaviness
(Isa. 61:3), self-pity (Ps
69:20), loneliness, disappointment, insomnia (Neh. 2:2), inner
hurts and bruises (Luke 4:18; Prov. 18:14; 26:22), and suicidal tendencies (Mark 9).
The
spirits of whoredoms
There are spirits that attack us by causing
people to be unfaithful to God and pursue other gods. These are the spirits of
whoredoms.
Worldliness
(James
4:4), idolatry (Judges 2:17; Ezek.
16; Hosea 4:12), fornication (Hosea
4:13-19), love of money (Prov.
15:27; 1 Tim. 6:7-14), chronic
dissatisfaction (Ezek. 16:28), spirit,
soul, or body prostitution (Ezek. 16:15,28; Prov. 5:1-14), and unfaithfulness-adultery (Ezek.
16:15,28; Prov. 5:1-14) are some of the works of the spirits of whoredoms.
Idol worship in any form is one of the things
God hates most and is most destructive to people. It is an open invitation to
Satan to control those who do it. Loving something other than God so much that
it controls you is idolatry; adultery concerning God.
Spirits of
infirmity
Satan often uses diseases and illnesses of
many kinds to control, discourage, slow down, and kill those he is attacking.
There are Biblical references to crippling
diseases, blood disorders, vision problems, hearing problems, and sicknesses
unto death, all of which were healed by the touch of God (Luke 13:11; John
5:5; Acts 3:2; 4:9; 10:38). It is Jesus
who gave us power over our infirmities and
our sicknesses; with His stripes we
are healed (Matt. 8:17; Isa. 53:5; Acts 10:38).
Deaf and
mute spirits
Things the Bible associates with this spirit
are dumbness, seizures/epilepsy, ear
problems, blindness, and some forms of apparent mental illness (Mk.
9:17,18,20,22,25,26; Mat. 12:22). When Jesus dealt with this kind of spirit, He
simply cast him out the boy (Mk. 9:25). Jesus gave us this authority. Mark
16:17-18 “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name, they
will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes
with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at
all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get
well." It is also true that
sometimes dealing with these spirits requires prayer and fasting (Mk. 9:29).
Anything that binds us
so that we become involuntary slaves falls under the category of a spirit of
bondage. Fears (Rom. 8:15), addictions (Rom. 8:15, 2 Pet. 2:19), fear of death (Heb. 2:14,15), bondage to sin (2 Tim. 2:26), compulsive sin (Prov. 5:22; Jn. 8:34)
and corruption (Rom. 7:23; Luke
8:26-29; Acts 8:23; Jn. 8:34; Rom. 6:16) are just some of the manifestations of
the spirits of bondage.
The spirit
of fear
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.” Symptoms of
these spirits are fear and phobias
(Isa. 13:7,8; 2 Tim. 1:7), torment-horror
(Ps 55:5; 1 Jn. 4:18), heart attacks
(Ps 55:4; Luke 21:26; Jn. 14:1,27), nightmares-terrors
(Ps 91:5,6), fear of death (Ps 55:4;
Heb. 2:14,15), anxiety-stress (1
Pet. 5:7), untrusting-doubt (Mt.
8:26; Rev. 21:8) and the fear of man
(Prov. 29:25).
Deceiving
or seducing spirits
1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that
in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits (or seducing
spirits) and things taught by demons.”
Works of seducing or deceiving spirits include hypocritical lies (1 Tim. 4:1; Prov. 12:22), seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:1; James 1:14), deception (2 Tim. 3:13; 1 Jn. 2:18-26; Rom. 7:11; 2 Thes. 2:10),
attractions-fascination by false
prophets, false signs, and wonders, etc. (Mark 13:22), fascination to evil ways, objects, or persons (Prov. 12:26), seducers, enticers (1 Tim. 4:11; 2 Tim.
3:13; Prov. 1:10), and wander from truth
(2 Tim. 3:13; Deut. 13:6-8).
The spirit
of the antichrist
1 John 4:3 “but every spirit that does not
acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the
spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is
already in the world.” This spirit
attacks the foundations of Christianity.
It attacks the virgin birth of Jesus, His death and resurrection, and
His divinity, His claim to be God in the flesh.
This spirit works through those who teach that Jesus was just a fable or
at best just a good man or prophet and nothing more.
These spirits deny the deity of Christ (1 Jn. 4:3; 2 Jn. 7), deny the atonement (1 Jn. 4:3), are against Christ and His teachings (2 Thes. 2:4; 1 Jn. 4:3), promote humanism (2 Thes. 2;3,7), teach heresies (1 Jn. 2:18,19), are against and hate Christians (Rev.
13:7), are of worldly speech and actions
(1 Jn. 4:5), are deceivers (2 Thes.
2:4; 2 Jn. 7) and are lawlessness (2
Thes. 2:3-12). The spirit of antichrist is fought with the Spirit of Truth (1
Jn. 4:6). It is God’s people, filled with the Holy Spirit, giving testimony to
the Gospel through word and deed as to who Jesus is, what He is like, what He
has done for us and what He is now doing that defeats the spirit of
antichrist. We speak and do and the Holy
Spirit confirms with signs and wonders and by inner revelation to those
listening.
The spirit
of error
Works of the spirit of
error include basic error (Prov.
14:22; 1 Jn. 4:6; 2 Pet. 3:16,17), false
doctrines (1 Tim. 6:20,21; 2 Tim. 4:3; Titus 3:10; 1 Jn. 4:1-6), unsubmissiveness (Prov. 29:1; 1 Jn.
4:6), unteachableness (Prov. 10:17;
12:1; 13:18; 15:10,12,32; 2 Tim. 4:1-4; 1 Jn. 4:6), contentiousness (James 3:16), and cults and religious movements of many kinds like the new-age
movement (2 Thes. and 2 Pet. 2:10). We are to beware of these things least we
be lead away with the error of the wicked (2 Pet. 3:17).
The last enemy - The spirit of
death. 1 Corinthians 15:26 “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
Revelation 20:14 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The
lake of fire is the second death.” Revelation 9:11 “They had as king over them
the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon
(destroyer).” Exodus 12:23 “When the
LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood
on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he
will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”
Hebrews 2:14 “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their
humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death
-- that is, the devil --.”
Here is the bottom
line. Jesus has defeated the devil! Jesus has defeated death. By His mighty
power, He rose from the grave (1 Cor. 6:14).
And by His power He has raised us from the dead. Colossians 2:12 “Having
been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the
power of God, who raised him from the dead.”
Now we can proclaim; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 “Listen, I tell you a
mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the
dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable
must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When
the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has
been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
Because of Jesus, we cannot die. Our bodies may fall away someday like
an old garment that is no longer needed.
But we already have our real life hidden with God, imperishable, perfect,
and sinless. We are a new creation! Born not of flesh and blood but of the
Spirit of God. Death and he who has the power of death, that is the devil are
defeated foes. Death has been swallowed up in victory! We believe and proclaim
Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension; the work of the cross and the Blood of Christ to defeat death.
(Material from “Strongman’s His Name... What’s His Game” by Carol and
Jerry Robeson.)
Humanism and the
Greek gods. (Material from "Restoration, A Direction For Prayer" by
Kjell Sjoberg)
Humanism is clearly defined in the 1933 and
1973 Humanist Manifestos. These manifestos formed the foundation of Western
education. Precepts include: 1. "We begin with humans not God, nature
not deity...No deity will save us; we must save ourselves." 2.
"Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are
both illusory and harmful." 3. "The many varieties of sexual
exploration should not in themselves be considered evil." 4. The
recognition of an individual's right to die with dignity, euthanasia, and the
right to suicide... 5. The building of a world community with a
system of world law and a world order based upon transnational federal
government... Is this the "wisdom
of this age" Paul speaks about in 1 Cor. 2:6-8? If so, who are the
"rulers of this age"?
In Roman times, the Christians were forced to
worship Jupiter, the Greek god Zeus. This Greek god plays the role of father,
creator, and ruler of heaven and earth. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians had a
pantheon of gods in their mythologies that controlled every aspect of life and
death. These gods or demons are the powers and principalities that operated
under the Prince of Greece. In addition, Greek mythology has these gods having
intercourse with the daughters of man producing half gods, half men like Hercules,
to rule over the affairs of man. Hercules today represents the principality
that stands as protector and controller over Spain, Gaul, and Italy and is the
watchman guarding the gates of the Mediterranean marked by the Pillars of
Hercules at the Straits of Gibraltar. This reminds us of the scriptures that
speak of gods (demons) having intercourse with the daughters of man producing "giants"
in the land (Gen. 6:1-6). This process continues today as people following
Greek thinking seek to become a god by worshipping a particular god and so
"becoming one with him" as to become a god. This is at the heart of
the new age movement.
Greek thinking and influence have greatly affected
the church. It has cut it off from its Jewish roots. Through Constantine, it
blended Christianity with paganism. Great church building, statues of saints,
preaching like Greek oratory rather than Prophetic preaching, emphasis on
books, seminars, and information rather than revelation and prayer and
spiritual matters, titles such as bishop, priest, pastors, pulpits, and a
formal order of service, are all traditions arising from the Emperor
Constantine's time and Greek influence.
Greek influence is seen in the architecture
of buildings and cities. This has been greatly promoted by the Freemasons.
Cities like Nashville and Edinburgh are monuments and "temples" to
the Greek gods. These all become potential gates and or places of demonic
gatherings and influence.
Greek thinking has greatly influenced schools,
teaching, the media, and psychology, especially Jungian psychology. It has
influenced sociology, and theology as it spreads the notion that man has within
himself the resources to solve all his problems without the help of any
supernatural power or personality. Modernist theology has participated in the
original sin of the Enlightenment, the idolization of man's reason.
The bottom line of all of this is that Greek
thinking; humanism, materialism, the exaltation of man, his abilities, his
desires and wants, his rules, his ethics, is a wine that is poisoning mankind,
driving men away from God and driving them mad.
When you see these works of the
devil being manifested in and through people, you can bet that there are demons
hard at work.
Dealing with the devil
So, how do we
believers in Christ Jesus deal with these things as we see them being
manifested in and through people? First, we must recognize that we are in a
spiritual battle, not a carnal battle.
[2Co 10:3 ESV]
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
[2Co 10:5 ESV] We
destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God,
and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
[2Co 10:6 ESV]
being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Now we need to
consider what authority we must have to address these issues. And, what power
do we have to enforce that authority?
The Issue of Authority and
Power
The
Keys to the Kingdom Of Heaven
Revelation 3:7 "To the angel
of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of
David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. (NIV)
Matthew 16:19 I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (NIV)
Matthew 18:18-19 "I tell you
the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again, I tell you that if two
of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my
Father in heaven. (NIV)
The keys that unlock the prison
doors and set the captives free and that open the doors to the kingdom of
heaven are in the hands of Jesus. These keys are His authority, power, and
love. What the Lord has done is give us these keys, His authority, power, and
love. The result is that if two of us on earth agree about anything we ask for
in prayer (assuming we are asking according to His will and His heart), it will
be done for us by the Father. Prophetic intercession releases God to do what He
is longing to do. Using His name, the name of Jesus (i.e. appropriating His
authority, power, and love) we can bind (to bind, to tie, fasten with chains,
to forbid, prohibit, declare to be illicit) and loose (to loose any person tied
or fastened, to loose one bound, i.e. to unbind, release from bonds, set free,
to do away with, to deprive of authority, to declare unlawful, to break up,
demolish, destroy) things on the earth and they will be bound or loosed in
heaven. We have the authority to "bind the strongman" and plunder his
house (Matt. 12:29). We have the authority to bind people to the Lord. We have
the authority to loose people from the bondages of hell (1 John 3:8) and to loose
the love of God and the power of the cross into people and situations.
God
originally gave mankind the authority over all the earth. Genesis 1:28 God
blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature that moves on the ground." When mankind (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God and
obeyed the devil in the Garden of Eden they gave this authority away to Satan.
Obedience creates authority. It cost God His son's life to take this authority
back from the devil. This is the power of the cross; the power of the Blood of
God spilled at Calvary.
What happened to Satan at the
cross?
He was stripped of his authority
and disarmed - Col. 2:15.
His works were destroyed - 1 Jn.
3:8; Mk. 16:17-18.
So, the enemy’s weapons and
authority are gone, but he still deceives (he gets us to obey by deceptions and
lies -Gen. 3:13).
Revelation 20:3 He threw him into
the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the
nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set
free for a short time.
John 8:44 - You belong to your
father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a
murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the
father of lies.
What happened to us at the cross?
He delivered us from the kingdom of
darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of Light - Col. 1:13-14.
He gave us the power to live the
life He called us to live - 1 Jn. 4:4.
He gave us back authority to
exercise on the earth -Lk. 10:19.
We exercise our authority by
obedience. Legal authority must become exercised authority.
In the book of Acts, God gave us
the power to exercise our legal authority. We must activate our will and choose
to exercise our authority. We must
pursue the enemy, confront the enemy, and finally “arrest” the enemy. It is the
dunamis power of God that is within that is the power to enforce Jesus’ victory
on the cross.
Now all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
Jesus. He in turn now gives it to all those who are His disciples, His Bride,
the sons and daughters of God so that they can continue His work on earth;
making disciples of all nations and destroying the works of the enemy.
Matthew 28:18-19 Then Jesus came to
them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of
the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the
Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. (NIV)
God’s Weapons of Spiritual
Warfare
Prayer, gifts of the Holy Spirit, service,
worship, truth, praise, scripture, music, dance, the preaching of the cross
(the Blood of the Lamb), the names of God, prophetic acts, reconciliation,
fasting, spiritual mapping, and research, the word of our testimony, obedience,
devotion, loyalty unto death, holiness, purity, humility, meekness, love,
forgiveness, unity.
Prayer
God's mechanism for ruling Earth through mankind.
God delegated to man the responsibility and authority to rule over all the
earth, over the works of His hands (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:3-8). Mankind was to be
God's representative on earth. God chose to work on the earth through humans,
not independent of them. "Prayer is essentially a partnership of the
redeemed child of God working hand in hand with God toward the realization of
His redemptive purposes on earth." (Jack Hayford)
Intercession
From the dictionary definition of
intercession, it is basically meditating, going between, or pleading for
another.
“A prophetic intercessor reminds the Lord of
promises and appointments to be met and fulfilled (Isa. 62:6-7). In prophetic
intercession, the prophet and priest
unite (Jer. 27:18). Prophetic intercessors stand in the gap between God’s
righteous judgment and the need for mercy on the people’s behalf (Ezek.
22:30-31). They make up the hedge and build up the wall in a time of battle”
(Ezek. 13:4-5). (Dutch Sheets)
“Prophetic intercession paves the way for the
fulfillment of the prophetic promise. It is praying the requests that are on
the heart of God: praying to bring forth
His will on the earth as it is willed in heaven. It is the ability to receive
an immediate prayer request from God and pray about it in a divinely anointed
utterance” (Lk. 2:36-38). (Jim W. Goll)
Praying the scriptures
involves asking God for specific verses to be prayed in any given situation.
Proclamations, declarations,
and prophetic actions are prophetic words or actions that prepare a way for
God to work upon the earth. They release God to do something. God's creative
and effectual Work, His power, energy, and ability that come forth through His
words are released upon the earth through prophetic declaration.
Travail is prayer that
releases the power of the Holy Spirit to birth something. It is breathing God's
life into people, bringing physical and spiritual life.
Binding and loosing prayer.
These
prayers must be according to the will of God and His principles (His Word) to
be effective. Bind (deo) means
to bind, be in bonds, knit, fasten, tie, and wind. It is related to words
meaning to beg as in binding oneself to petition, beseech, make request, and
pray. The Hebrew word for bind is qashar, which means to tie, gird, and join
together, knit. This is the positive
side of binding. The word loose (luo) means to loosen, break up,
destroy, dissolve, unloose, melt, and put off. It is related to words that mean
break, wreck, crack, put asunder, shatter to fragments, disrupt, convulse,
burst, rend, and tear.
Using the name of Jesus (the names of God)
It was Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (the
spilled blood of God) that got us our authority. Learn and use His names.
Use the names and
titles of Jesus given in the section on knowing God. Using His names or titles injects
that part of His character into the situation being prayed about. It reminds
both us and the enemy of His ability to deal with any situation.
Use the names of God:
Jehovah Jireh - Provider
Jehovah Tsidkenu - Righteousness
Jehovah Rohe - Shepherd
Jehovah Rophe - Healer
Jehovah M’Kaddesh - Sanctifies
Jehovah Nissi - Banner
Jehovah Shalom - Peace
Jehovah Shamma - Who is there
We must know Him and be submitted to Him to be able
to use His name to exercise authority - Rom. 8:11.
God’s names remind us of who He is and His
authority, power, and character. God’s names also declare to the enemy who He
is and lets the enemy know that we know! When the enemy knows that we know who
we are in Christ, he will flee - James 4:7.
Using the Word of God
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and
active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of
the heart. (NIV) The Word of God is the “ultimate missile” in our hands. It is
truth to destroy lies and distortions. It is comfort to destroy pain and
despair. It is power to pull down strongholds. It is life to defeat death. It
shows us the way when we can see no way. It is the sword of the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God.
It is a sharp two-edged sword and has great effect
on the enemy.
Every verse must be backed up by faith - Rev. 1:16;
19:11-16.
Release of the spoken word out of your mouth; it
penetrates the enemy like an arrow - Ps. 45:5.
The
blood of the Lamb - Heb. 9:14 and Rev. 12:11.
The preaching and declaring of the
work of the cross, Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (the blood of the
Lamb), is our most effective weapon against the enemy. It is on this basis and
because of this alone that Satan is defeated and that we have the authority and
power to war successfully against him. When we “plead the blood” or spiritually
cover a person or situation “with the blood” we are appropriating the full
benefits and power of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Devils know and
tremble when they are reminded of the blood of God shed upon Calvary’s hill -
James 2:19.
The word
of our testimony - Rev. 12:11.
Satan is an accuser, liar, and
thief. We defeat him by declaring the acts and character of God. By declaring
the truth, we can defeat the lies. Our testimony is truth that cannot be denied
or argued with. It is our declaration of God’s character and His work in our
lives. It is our witness as to the effect of knowing God in our lives. It is
truth that defeats the lies of the enemy. If a life is changed because of
knowing God, who can argue with that?
Here in is the key to spiritual
warfare. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to be His witnesses
(Acts 1:8) and to defeat the enemy (Zech. 4:6). Attempting spiritual warfare
without the full empowering of the Holy Spirit is walking into a battle without
leadership and any weapons. It is folly at best, and spiritual suicide at
worst.
Legal authority is given when we
become Christians but like the early disciples we must wait until the dunamis
power of God comes to be able to carry out our assignments - Jn. 20:22; Acts
1:8. Even Jesus drove out demons by the Spirit of God - Matt. 12:28. Authority power means you are enabled to do
God’s will. This power may increase or decrease in one's life, not your legal authority
but the power to accomplish it.
In the book of John chapter 20,
verses 21, 22, and 23, Jesus was commissioning His disciples and sending them
forth. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” I believe that Jesus was giving them
authority to operate in His name and authority (vs. 23) at this time. It was if
you will, their being “born again” experience. It was the same experience that
we have when we accept Jesus as Lord and are born again and receive authority
to operate in His name. This however was not enough for them to successfully
carry out the tasks Jesus was commissioning them to do. He told them to go to
Jerusalem and wait for what the Father had promised (Acts 1:4-5), the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
It was in the upper room in
Jerusalem where the Holy Spirit came upon them and gave them the power,
ability, efficiency, and might, to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth
(Acts 1:8; 2:1-4). It was after this that the apostles had both the power and
the authority to use that power to do God’s works on earth. And this gifting
was not for just the first apostles but for all that the Lord bids come to
Him-self (Acts 2:38-39). Further, this empowering was not just a one-time
occurrence. In Acts 4:23-31 Peter and John and the other believers were
gathered and again they were filled with the Holy Spirit, with His power, to
enable them to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage.
This filling or empowering is a continuing process. A process of the Lord
continually filling us up with His power or grace, His Holy Spirit, that it
might flow out of us like rivers of living water (Jn. 7:38). The book of Acts
is full of stories of this empowering or filling with the Holy Spirit and the
effects thereof (Acts 1:4,5,8; 2:1-8, 11-18, 37-39; 4:31-33; 11:1, 15, 16,17).
Involved in this empowering or
filling with the Holy Spirit is the giving of spiritual gifts, (tools or
weapons), that we are to use as we serve God. 1 Cor. 12:1-10 defines these
gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They are:
The power to speak a message of
wisdom. Godly wisdom or being wise is having the power of discerning and
judging properly as to what is true or right. It is possessing discernment,
judgment, or discretion consistent with the mind of Christ, with God’s
character, His truth, understandings, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10).
The power to express a word of
knowledge and understanding according to the Holy Spirit. This is the Lord
through the Holy Spirit giving us information, knowledge, and understanding
that we could not know naturally.
The gift of faith or
wonder-working faith that goes beyond our normal level of faith. It is
faith that raises to do the extraordinary exploits that are sometimes required
in some assignments.
The power or gift of healing.
This again is a gift that goes beyond the normal level of authority and power
to prayer for healing that every believer has. In certain times, places, or
certain people God gives an unusual anointing for healing those who are sick or
oppressed by the devil.
The working of miracles. At
times, God gives the power to “call down fire from heaven,” raise the dead,
change the weather, pray for creative miracles and other exploits that would be
considered true, supernatural, miracles.
Prophetic insight. This is
the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose. It involves both the
present and the future. It is knowing
and proclaiming God’s plans and purposes both in the now and for the future.
The ability to discern and
distinguish between the utterances and actions of true spirits and false ones;
between Godly spirits and evil spirits.
The ability to speak in various
kinds of unknown tongues as a part of accomplishing God’s purposes and the
ability to interpret such tongues as required for the benefit of others.
Using the gift of tongues or
speaking in an unlearned and or unknown language is:
Communication directly with God.
Used primarily for devotional prayer, intercession, praise, worship, and
spiritual warfare - 1 Cor. 14:2,28.
It is perfect prayer; it is the
Holy Spirit interceding through your spirit - Rom. 8:26-28; 1 Cor. 14:14.
It has definite meaning - 1 Cor.
14:10.
It edifies the person praying - 1
Cor. 14:4; Jude 20.
It has the authority of heaven
behind it - Jam. 5:16; 1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 6:18.
There are diversities of tongues -
1 Cor. 12:1, 4-7, 27-28; Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-46; Mk. 16:17; 1 Cor. 127-10; Isa.
28:11; Jude 20; 1 Cor. 14:4,22; Rom. 8:26.
Tongues of war: The gift of tongues is effective in attacking
the powers of darkness, taking authority over the power of Satan, rebuking the enemy,
and rejecting his plans by the power of the Holy Spirit within. This is the
tongue of intercession engaged in warfare. Deliverance, healing, and liberty
can come through the power of warring tongues.
The
armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18)
Here in the sixth chapter of
Ephesians, God makes it clear that our battle or war is not against flesh and
blood but against the powers and principalities, the master demonic spirits who
are the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of
wickedness in the heavenly sphere (Eph. 6:12). It is here also that God gives
us our defensive weapons for battle. We are to put on God’s whole armor, the
armor of a heavily armed soldier, so that we may be able to stand up against
all the strategies and deceits of the devil. We are to:
Tighten the belt of truth
around our loins. Truth guards our bellies from the lies and deceits of the
devil (Jn. 8:44).
Put on the breastplate of
righteousness. The breastplate guards our hearts. It ensures that our
hearts maintain integrity and moral character and a right standing with God at
all times.
Shod our feet in preparation to
face the enemy with the Gospel of peace. Peace in the midst of battle
produces firm-footed stability and the promptness and readiness to face the
enemy with confidence, clear thinking, and quick and sure actions and
reactions.
Lift up the shield of faith. It is the
shield of faith that protects us from all the attacks, the flaming missiles of
the wicked one. Faith in our all-powerful God, in His ultimate victory over the
devil, faith in His unfailing love for us, and faith in His strategies and
tactics are the things that defeat every attack the enemy can throw at us.
Every time, God wins! Every time, because of Him, we win!
Put on the helmet of salvation.
The helmet covers our heads. Satan was to bruise God’s heal but God is to crush
his head (Gen. 3:15). Our head cannot be crushed because of the helmet of
salvation. We already have eternal life. We cannot die; our heads cannot be
crushed. The helmet guards our minds and the door to the heart is through the
mind (Prov. 23:7; Phil. 4:8; Ps. 19:14).
Take up the sword the Spirit
wields, which is the Word of God. It is the Word of God and the truth it
contains that is our “ultimate” weapon in spiritual warfare. Hebrews 4:12 - For
the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Finally, we are to pray at all
times, interceding on behalf of all the saints. Prayer is the starting
point for our battles, it sustains us in battle, and it is the thanksgiving to
God for the victory at the end of the battle. Ephesians 6:18 - 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 saints.
Worship
and praise in warfare
(Notes from Jeff Ling, Ellen Rode,
Gerrit Guffason, Jim Goll and James Gills)
Psalm 8:2 - “From the lips of
children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to
silence the foe and the avenger.”
Before anything else, we exist for
the praise and glory of the Father - Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:3-11. Worship is the act
and attitude of wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God, spirit, soul, and body.
It is an intelligent and loving response to the revelation of God. It is an
act, a responsibility, and an attitude of the heart expressed through the mind,
body, and emotions. Worship is “Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac.” It is laying everything on the altar,
especially the promises and the future. Gen. 22.
Ways
to praise God: Halal - to be clamorously, loudly foolish before the Lord (Ps.
22:22). Yadah - the throwing up of
hands (Ps. 111:11). Towdah - to
extend the hands in adoration (Ps. 100:4). Barak
- to kneel before the Lord (Ps. 103:1,2,20,21,22). Shabach - a loud shout of adoration, proclaiming with a
loud, unashamed voice (Ps. 47:1; 117:1). Zamar
- to sing or play on an instrument (Ps. 30:4). Tehillah - a hymn of praise, a song of His worthy deeds (Ps. 40:3).
We
praise God to: Glorify and enjoy Him - Ps. 50:23; Rev. 4:11; Is. 35:10; Ps. 16:11.
To plant and water the seed of God’s word in our minds - Col. 3:16; Ps 113:1-2.
To stir up the ministry of the word of God - 2 Kings 3:12-10; Hos. 10:11. To
stir up the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit - 1 Cor. 12:7-10. To celebrate
the work of Christ and our salvation history - Ex. 15; Rev. 15; Ps. 136. To
heighten our awareness of the outcome of history - Heb. 2:8-11; Heb. 2:12-13.
To flow together in unity - 2 Cor. 517-21; Jn. 13:35; 1 Cor. 12:23-26; Ps. 133;
Jer. 31:12; Matt. 5:23-24. To cultivate a heart for the nations - Acts 15; Ex.
7:16; 8:1,20; 9:1,13; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 14:6-7; 1 Cor. 14:24-25; Mt. 28:17-18;
Acts 2:11; Rom. 15:16; Is 6:1-9. To execute judgment against the enemy - Col.
1:13; Lk. 11:14-20; Is. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-17; 1 Jn. 3:8; Is. 55:11; Rev.
12:7-11; 20:7-10; Ezek. 28:19; Lk. 4:9-11; Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15; Ps. 149:1-9.
Every time we worship and praise the Lord
there is warfare and Satan’s sentence is enforced. As we allow God to
strategically link the intercessors with the worshippers, expect greater
manifestations of God’s amazing presence.
When Paul and Silas took up the harp (worship) and the bowl
(intercession) in prison in Philippi they experienced the “earthquake power” of
God. When we integrate intercession and worship in our lives, we also can
expect God to move in great power.
Using worship and
praise in warfare. (Notes from
teachings by Ellen Rode). Praise and worship are one of our strongest weapons
of war. Before entering any battle, we need to get God's strategy for that battle
(Judges 1:1-4). Praise is to lead us into war. Praise and worship build a
dwelling place for God where He can come and dwell with His people (Ps. 22:3).
Corporate worship, especially through music is a powerful vehicle for entering
God's manifest presence. In His presence, you have revelation and the release
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Simeon, meaning "a hearing ear", is
to accompany Judah or praise into battle. As we begin with praise and worship,
God will give us His strategy for the battle. We need to have ears to hear.
2 Chron. 20 - when the worshippers go into battle first, God fights the battle. In verses
3-13, Jehosophat is praying and worshipping God. In verses 14-17, God gives His
strategy for the battle. In verses 18-22, they worship following God's strategy
are gain victory. Ps. 22:3 - Demons flee from God’s presence. Worship and
praise “enthrone the Lord;” He dwells in the praises of His people. 1 Sam.
5:1-4; 6. 2 Chron. 5:13-14 - praise and
worship bring God’s presence in a very real way.
The power and the right to exercise that power, which is
authority, that has been released to the saints of God to use on earth is to be
used for specific things.
It is authority over evil spirits, demons,
and the power of the enemy: It is also
authority over sickness and the authority to heal diseases.
Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve
disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal
every disease and sickness.
Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the
Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and
to cure diseases,
Luke 10:19 I have given you
authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of
the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Mark 6:7 Calling the Twelve to
him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
Mark 16:17 And these signs will
accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will
speak in new tongues;
It is the authority to bind and to loose
things on earth.
Matthew 16:19 I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
It is the authority to encourage
and build up the saints of God on earth.
2 Corinthians 10:8 For even if I
boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up
rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it.
Titus 2:15 - These, then, are the
things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let
anyone despise you.
It is the power and authority to be
His witnesses in all the earth.
Acts 1:8 - But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth." (Matt. 28:18-19)
And to those who are overcomers and
do His will to the end, He will give power and authority over the nations.
Revelation 2:26 To him who
overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations
-- (NIV)
The Church, Jesus' bride, is to
rule and reign with Him as kings and priests. Lk. 12:32, Rev. 3:21, 1 Cor.
6:2-3, Jn. 17:22, Rom. 8:17, 1 Pet. 2:9.
Going into battle
Knowing
all these things, we are now prepared to go into the battles. Some battles are
personal, some corporate. Like a good soldier, we should have been schooled in
the nature of the warfare, the enemy’s strategies, tactics, and weapons. We
have been given weapons and should have been trained in how to use them. But,
before we enter the fight, we need specific orders. In our spiritual warfare,
as we encounter the enemy, we need to seek specific direction from the Lord as
to how to attack, what weapons to use, and when and where to attack. Our
spiritual warfare battles begin in prayer. Then comes obedience. Some battles
will be short and easy. Others are long, drawn out, and difficult. Some may
even end in what we perceive as defeat. It is in these difficult times and
battles that our faith in our Lord and his ways will ensure that in the end, it
will all turn out for our good.
[Rom 8:28 ESV] And we know that for
those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.
[Isa 55:8 ESV] For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
[Isa 55:9 ESV] For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts
than your thoughts.
And in the end, we need to remember:
[1Sa 17:47 ESV] and that all this
assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle
is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand."
[Zec 4:6 ESV] Then he said to me,
"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power,
but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
[Rom 8:31 ESV] What then shall we
say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
[Rom 8:37 ESV] No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
The Lord Jesus came to Earth to redeem mankind and
destroy the works of the devil.
[1Jo 3:8 ESV] Whoever makes a
practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the
beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of
the devil.
[Col 2:13 ESV] And you, who were
dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive
together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
[Col 2:14 ESV] by canceling the
record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside,
nailing it to the cross.
[Col 2:15 ESV] He disarmed the
rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in
him.
The devil, Satan, has been defeated. But he and his minions
are still allowed to operate on Earth for a season. The tasks of defeating the
devil, setting captives free, and destroying the works of the devil in people’s
lives, have been passed on to God’s children.
[Jhn 20:21 ESV] Jesus said to them
again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending
you."
The Father sent Jesus to proclaim good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, to set at
liberty those who are oppressed. And to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
[Luk 4:18 ESV] "The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
[Luk 4:19 ESV] to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor."
We as children of God, those who have made Jesus our Lord
and Savior are to seek and tell the lost the good news of the Gospel of Jesus.
We are to set captives free and destroy the works of the devil in people’s
lives. We are on a great search and rescue mission.
[Mat 28:18 ESV] And Jesus came and
said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[Mat 28:19 ESV] Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
[Mat 28:20 ESV] teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age."
The Spiritual warfare in our day is intense. The attack on
God’s people is relentless. Prue evil is being manifested in our world; great
hatred of Christians and Jews, unreasonable lawlessness, inhumane behaviors,
open occult practices, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations,
and kingdoms against kingdoms, famines, and pestilences, in various places.
Corrupt, evil, governments, courts, economic systems, and unbridled deceptions
and lies are beyond being explained in the natural. To deal with all of this in
the natural will be futile. We are in an ultimate spiritual battle between good
and evil. For believers in and followers of the Lord Jesus, the final battle
will be won, not by human might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.
The battles on the earth are not going to cease. They are
going to get more intense. These times are described in the Bible as ‘the last
days,’ ‘the Day of the Lord,’ and ‘the days of the wrath of the Lamb’ (the
wrath of God). It is the Lord Jesus who will overcome Satan and all the evil
in the world at His coming to execute righteous judgment. He will also
establish His Kingdom on the earth for 1000 years where once again, as it was
in the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the physical universe of
earth will be mingled with the spiritual universe of the Kingdom of God. The
prayer Jesus taught us to pray will be answered.
[Mat 6:10 KJV] Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
