Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 1

Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 1

Subject – How to be Effective Against the Enemy

By Rick Welborne

Ephesians 6:10-13 (NKJV)
¹⁰  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
¹¹  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹²  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.
¹³  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

--Tonight, we will start a new series on Biblical Spiritual Warfare…obviously, we will look at what the Bible has to say about the subject and how that applies to us as believers.

--We will look at many aspects of spiritual warfare and how many of the modern day conceptions are based on people’s experiences not on the Word of God.

--Also, we will lead into putting on the full armor of God. Sister Browne challenged us to put the armor of God on…I have done that every day for several years. Tonight this is an introduction.

1. Spiritual warfare re-cycles through the Church every few years.

--There are times that certain things come and go in the Body of Christ and spiritual warfare is definitely one of them. It has been around a long time.

--The emphasis on spiritual warfare is good in the sense that it causes us to become familiar that we do have an adversary, the devil and how he operates.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--This is why Paul told the Corinthians what he did while dealing with church discipline.

 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV) ¹¹  …for we are not ignorant of his devices. 

--On the other hand, when we overemphasize spiritual warfare it can have a bad effect on the church. If it is not taught biblically it has a unique way of captivating people’s attention…it is all they think about.

--What can happen is that believers begin to attribute to the devil more power than he has and to a greater degree than he deserves. The devil loves this because it is an open door for him.

Ephesians 4:27 (NIV) ²⁷  and do not give the devil a foothold.

--I heard one of the proponents of spiritual warfare to a destructive degree say…There is not a demon behind every bush, there are at least seven. It can get kooky! Deliverance seminar – Cocoa Puffs.

--When we go to an extreme (all extremes are dysfunctional) with spiritual warfare and step out into the non-

Biblical areas, the enemy has neutralized you for God’s Kingdom. The world thinks it is crazy! Masterpiece.

--Do not misunderstand me…I am not saying spiritual warfare is not real and I am definitely not against us preparing ourselves for the battle…the scriptures give us certain instructions:

Mark 16:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NKJV)
³  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
⁴  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

--We have had to deal with those who have been bound by evil spirits here at Life Church (girl in youth) and I have seen times where the spiritual oppression was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

2. We have to agree that they are many who are being held hostage by the enemy.

--People have been held so captive especially in their minds to the enemy. In this point I want us to establish that Jesus came to deal with the devil’s influence.

1 John 3:7-8 (NIV)
⁷  Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
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. 

--The word “destroy” is taken from the Greek word luo, and it refers to the act of untying or unloosing something. It is the same word we would choose in someone untying their shoes. Matt.3:11 Not worthy…

--Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus came into the world to untie or unloose Satan’s binding power over us. At the cross, Jesus did away with Satan’s powers over us and we were liberated completely by His sacrifice.

Acts 10:38 (NIV)
³⁸  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. 

--Since Jesus made it a big part of His ministry to set people free from the powers of darkness, we should be willing to do the same. 

Rick Renner: In order to free people from demonic oppression, we must learn how to recognize the work of the enemy and how to overcome his attacks against the mind, for the mind is the primary area he seeks to attack. Satan’s goal is to plant a stronghold of deception in some area of an individual’s mind. If he is successful, he can then begin to control and manipulate the person from that lofty position.

--As we seek to engage in spiritual warfare, we must be very careful to walk in balance. We must realize we are dealing with more than just the devil. 

--We must give Holy Spirit the control of our own minds and be willing to crucify our flesh. The truth is the devil’s attacks against our lives would not work if our flesh and mind did not cooperate.

Romans 6:2 (NKJV) ²  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

--Remember this: Dead men are incapable of responding to anything…this is how we walk out the crucified life. Hear this: Living the crucified life is a critical part of spiritual warfare.

--Let me explain, you can scream at, command, demand, cast out, tell him (I mean the devil) to come out or to stop his activity but if you have not submitted your life fully to the Lord it will be of no avail.

--If you are going to engage in spiritual warfare it is imperative that you make sure you are filled with Holy Spirit power and living a life that shows you have died to yourself.

--The point is this: if you go into spiritual warfare only thinking of taking authority over the enemy and you do not even have the spirit of self-control yourself…you could potentially be opening yourself up to danger.

3. We must understand that the real battle was won at the Cross and at the Resurrection of Christ.

--This same victorious power dwells inside of us and this is why the Apostle John tells that greater is He that dwells in us than he who dwells in the world.

Romans 8:10-14 (NKJV)
¹⁰  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
¹¹  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
¹²  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
¹³  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
¹⁴  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 

--Our view of spiritual warfare must begin with a basic understanding of what Jesus has already accomplished over Satan. If we start with any other premise we will end with messed up conclusions.

--Hear me, since the victory has already been won; there is nothing we can add to the destructive work Jesus did to Satan’s domain when He was raised from the dead. The victory has been won!

Colossians 2:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

--Another translation of this verse: He completely stripped principalities and powers and left them utterly naked, with nothing left at their disposal to retaliate.

--Though the battle is real, we must be careful to rely totally on the Word of God for our weaponry and Holy Spirit for our power in this fight.                                 

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
¹²  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.

--I encourage you from the very beginning of this teaching to go to Eph. 6 and read it and re-read it until you get it in your spirit…declare God’s weaponry (His armor) over you.

Ephesians 6:10-20 (NKJV) ¹⁰  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

¹¹  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹²  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.
¹³  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
¹⁶  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
¹⁷  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
¹⁸  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
¹⁹  and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰  for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.