Warfare Spirituality part 7

Warfare Spirituality: Warfare with the Devil and His Angels

 

The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.  If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,  in order that Satan might not outwit us.

For we are not unaware of his schemes.

·        2 Corinthians 2:9-11

Consider what God has to say in His Word about the Unseen War.

His Program Against Humanity

·         He opposes the person and program of God. It is his desire to make himself "like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). Thus, he seeks the worship and service that God alone deserves.

·         He conceals his identity by disguising himself as an angel of light and counterfeiting the truth (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). He offers good things but through the wrong means and for the wrong reasons (Matthew 4:3-10).

·         He deceives the nations (Revelation 20:3) and influences governments to hinder the spread of the gospel.

·         He works against the unsaved by taking away the word from their hearts (Luke 8:12) and blinding their minds to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

·         He inspires spiritual counterfeits-false religions and false prophets (1 John 2:18,22; 4:3).

·         He promotes the pursuit of the occult for hidden knowledge and power (Deuteronomy 18:9-13).

·         He implants wicked thoughts and plans into people's minds (Jn 13:2; Acts 5:3).

·         He can inflict disease and death (Job 2:1-7; Acts 10:38; Hebrews 2:14).

His Program Against Believers

·         He seeks to destroy the reputations and ministries of believers (Luke 22:31; 1 Timothy 3:7). If he cannot directly defeat a Christian's ministry, he may seek to do it indirectly by attacking a loved one.

·         He incites the persecution of the saints (Revelation 2:10).

·         He hinders the plans of believers (1 Thessalonians 2:18).

·         He attempts to make Christians doubt God's love; He seeks to slander God and cause people to question His goodness (Genesis 3:1-5).

·         He accuses believers before God (Revelation 12:10).

·         He heaps guilt and self-condemnation upon Christians because of their sins and makes them believe the lie that they must pay for them.

·         He promotes a neglect of confession of sin (Ephesians 4:26-27) and defeats Christians by making them feel that God would not forgive them because they have committed the same sin so many times before.

·         He encourages believers to rely on their own strength by making plans and acting independently of God (2 Chronicles 16:7-10).

·         He tempts Christians on several fronts: lying (Acts 5:3), sexual sins (1 Corinthians 7:5), unforgiveness (2 Corinthians 2:10-11), pride and self-exaltation (1 Timothy 3:6), discouragement (1 Peter 5:6-10), and worldly preoccupation (1 John 2:15-17; 5:19).

By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Battle For Life

By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Battle For Life

You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is your life. When He appears, then you, too, will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:3,4)

We are very often inclined to think that the Life of the Lord in us needs in some way to be improved, to be added to, when really what is required is that we should discover what we have, and, discovering it by experience, live according to it. This Life is not something apart from the Lord Jesus, and we can never think of His standing in need of some improvement, nor of the possibility of something being added to Him to make Him complete, or more complete. We would never think like that. And this Life is one with Himself. As the Apostle says, it is Christ who is our Life, and our need is to discover what Christ is in us, and to live accordingly. So in a very real sense it is a matter of the Life getting more of us, rather than of our getting more of the Life. That, at any rate, is the way of its working.

This, in the ordering of God, has to be done in a world where death still rules and works; for in this world the destruction of death has not yet been made manifest. Death, like the devil, goes on, although Calvary still remains full victory. We are left in this world, and it is in this world where death reigns and works as a great energy that we, by this sovereign ordering of God, have to come to prove the values of the Life which has been deposited in us, and to discover its potentialities. This is an experimental discovery. It therefore resolves itself into battle between that which is in this world and the Life which is in the believer. It is the battle for Life, not as to the forfeiture of that Life – not as to whether death can take eternal Life away from us, for that is not the question at issue – but as to the triumphant expression and the full manifestation of the power of that Life. That is the issue.

Warfare Spirituality part 6

Warfare Spirituality part 6

Warfare Spirituality: After discussing the 1^st two battlefronts, we will now consider what the Scriptures teach concerning the Enemy of our soul, Satan and his demons (fallen angels)

Warfare with the Devil and His Angels

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

1. The Nature and Work of Satan

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" Zechariah 3:1-2
 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
 So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here.
 For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1-13
 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. Isaiah 14:12-13
 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3
 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Jude 1:9

 

·        Names That Reveal His Position and Power

ü  The ruler of this world (John 12:31; 16:11)-He is the prince of the world system.

ü  The prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)-His forces surround the earth.

ü  The god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4)-He influences the changing philosophies and politics of this planet.

ü  The ruler of the demons (Matthew 12:24; Luke 11:15)-He leads a host of demonic forces.

ü  Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:14)-He was a light bearer in his original state, and since his fall, he disguises himself as an angel of light.

ü  The serpent of old (Revelation 12:9)-He has been at work since the beginning of human history.

ü  The great dragon (Revelation 12:3-4,7,9)-He is a fierce and destructive enemy.

·        Names That Reveal His Practices

ü  Satan, or adversary (Zechariah 3:1; Luke 22:3; 1 Peter 5:8)-He is a relentless opponent of believers.

ü  Devil, or slanderer (Luke 4:2; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9)-He works to defame God and His children.

ü  The evil one (John 17:15; 1 John 5:18)-He is completely corrupt.

ü  The destroyer (Revelation 9:11)-He seeks to destroy physical and spiritual life.

ü  The tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5)-He entices people to do evil.

ü  The accuser (Revelation 12:10)-He accuses us before God and works to make us condemn ourselves.

ü  The deceiver (Revelation 12:9; 20:3)-He promotes false philosophies and spiritual counterfeits.

ü  A murderer (John 8:44)-He seeks the death of his victims.

ü  A liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44)-His promises and enticements are false.

Claiming All That Is Ours in Christ by AW Tozer

Claiming All That Is Ours in Christ by AW Tozer

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3
Those spiritual blessings in heavenly places which are ours in Christ may be divided into three classes: The first is those which come to us immediately upon our believing unto salvation, such as forgiveness, justification, regeneration, sonship to God and baptism into the Body of Christ. In Christ we possess these even before we know that they are ours, such knowledge coming to us later through the study of the Holy Scriptures. The second class is those riches which are ours by inheritance but which we cannot enjoy in actuality until our Lord returns. These include ultimate mental and moral perfection, the glorification of our bodies, the completion of the restoration of the divine image in our redeemed personalities and the admission into the very presence of God to experience forever the Beatific Vision. These treasures are as surely ours as if we possessed them now, but it would be useless for us to pray for them while we journey here below. God has made it very clear that they are reserved for the time of the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:18-25). The third class of blessing consists of spiritual treasures which are ours by blood atonement but which will not come to us unless we make a determined effort to possess them. These are deliverance from the sins of the flesh, victory over self, the constant flow of the Holy Spirit through our personalities, fruitfulness in Christian service, awareness of the presence of God, growth in grace, an increasing consciousness of union with God and an unbroken spirit of worship. These do not come to us automatically nor must we wait to claim them at the day of Christ's coming. They are to us what the Promised Land was to Israel, to be entered into as our faith and courage mount.

What immense spiritual wealth is ours in Christ! Some to experience today and some tomorrow. Some which is ours because of spiritual birth as a child of God. Some to be experienced only by deliberate faith appropriation.