Spiritual Warfare

Let’s start by making note of the fact that love is the basis for our message as believers. Having recognized that, let’s move on to the fact that all believers have an enemy. His name is satan/lucifer/slanderer-liar. The Bible says that satan came to steal, kill and destroy. Sounds to me like a foe to reckon with. You would not want to be caught unawares and lose the battle without even knowing you were in a war.

Many Christians act as if there is no enemy and therefore, no need to war. Not true for Adam and Eve; they had been given the authority to rule and reign over God’s creation. Satan, known as the tempter, enticed them to sin. When they did, it gave satan legal right rule over God’s creation. The slanderer/liar’s (what the enemy was called in Hebrew/Aramaic) interference with God’s plan immediately separated God and His children.

After 40 days fasting in the wilderness. Jesus came face to face with satan. Read the story in Matthew 4: 1-11. It’s a picture of very high-level spiritual warfare. The enemy offered Jesus the kingdoms of this earth if only Jesus would worship him. Look at those verses carefully. Jesus did not say that satan did not have the right to offer the kingdoms of the earth to Him. Satan had the legal right. Jesus spoke The Word of God, and satan left the scene.

Speaking of war, look at these verses in Ephesians 5:10-13 –

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 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 firm.

That clearly describes a war zone that does not involve your wife or your boss or a politician but rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, supernatural forces. Are we armed with tools to fight this battle? Yes, the Bible talks about our weapons.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” – 2 Corinthians 10:4

What are strongholds? Ed Silvoso has an interesting definition for a stronghold.

A spiritual stronghold is a mind-set impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable, situations that we know are contrary to the will of God.

Strongholds are located in your mind. They are part of your inner belief system. You might even say that you believe otherwise, but deep in your mind, the lies are whispering that you could never give up your addiction or have peace in your family. That inner voice might be saying you will always be alone or you’ll never be good enough. It might tell you that depression is irreversible or that life is not worth living. All of these are battlefields of the mind where the enemy has been successful in taking ground by replacing truths with lies.

These are personal strongholds. There are also strongholds over churches and over cities and territories, over businesses and cultures. Wherever these strongholds exist, it is a demonically induced pattern of thinking. The enemy is at work, and the person or culture has bought into those lies. That’s a dangerous place to be.

Jesus said he was building an ekklesia against which the gates of hates would not prevail. He then proceeded to tell his disciples that he was giving them keys to bind and loose powers of darkness. Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God to fight the battle. Check Ephesians out. In fact, read it every day for a month. Let it seep into your spirit and bring down strongholds. The armor is a way of life that disarms the enemy. Salvation, truth, peace, the Word. Follow this path to victory and see strongholds crumble.

This is an enormous subject. Our point is that the battle is raging all around us. You are meant to be an overcomer, a conqueror, free from all deception. There are keys to walking in freedom in scripture. Repenting, knowing your authority, being obedient, taking thoughts captive. We know that when you are walking that way, the enemy will flee. He fears you will take up your tools and face him squarely with Truth, just as Jesus did.

Satan is darkness. Where a believer has darkness in his heart or mind, the enemy will attack and build a stronghold. Read Psalm 107 to see kinds of deliverance and descriptions of battle zones.

There are many good books out there to help you understand how to break the deception and come back to Truth. Consider a deliverance session where you systematically repent, forgive, spot lies and replace them with the truth. By all means, be aware! Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove. Know that Truth will set you free. It’s what Jesus died to give you.