| Spiritual Warfare - The Panel Q & A |
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Wisdom from The BenchSpiritual Warfare Sunday, 15th June 2008 Table of Contents Abstract On the 15th June, 2008 Kingsway Community Church facilitated a teaching and panel discussion on Spiritual Warfare. Senior Pastor, Brett White, led the teaching which included invited guests to share their experiences from the “The Bench”. Diana Catts (Elder and former missionary) and Pedro Harris brought their collective wisdom to share and discuss their experiences in relation to Spiritual Warfare. The following transcript provides only summary extracts of some of the questions and answers gleaned from the morning and evening services. Many people asked us for DVD copies of the Services but unfortunately we did not make any recordings. This transcript was written to fill that void. Our hope is that we have recounted precisely the questions and answers and that is teaching will bear much fruit. Brett, Diana & Pedro.
The thought, “I cannot have a demon because I am a Christian” is untrue. A demon cannot have such a person in a permanent, possessive sense, but can exert some influence in an area that is not in submission to God or unregenerate. For instance, a person may have stronghold of fear, which is a belief system erected in their mind, and which can attract a spirit of fear (demon spirit of fear). The issue here is that the spirit of fear only has access through some legal right made possible through the stronghold (belief) or sin that is in conflict with God’s word. Strongholds are belief systems and are not cast out like demons, strongholds are renounced. Demons, being evil spirits, are dealt with by being rebuked and cast out in Jesus name (Matt 16 vs 17). Example: Father God, in the name of Jesus, I renounce all agreements associated with fear. I declare that fear has no place in me, for I confess my mind to be subject to Christ, and I bind His mind to mine (Phil 2:5). I call in all negative words and debilitating thoughts into subjection of the knowledge of Christ. For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. What is the difference between a stronghold and a demon? Initially, strongholds are thought systems we establish for our protection but ultimately become our prison. For instance, as a child we make an agreement (mental agreement) that we will not trust anyone again because of a hurt they experienced. Say for instance being abandoned by a parent or authority figure. Initially, this thought was set up for their protection but later in life they find difficulty trusting their partner, God etc. So to deal with this, the agreement would need to be broken, pulled down and renounced: Example: Father God, in the name of Jesus, I renounce the agreement I made that I will not trust anyone. Jesus, you say we are to trust in you with all our heart. I choose, to submit wholly to you, for you are trustworthy. I forgive those who have betrayed my trust and ask you to bless them. I choose to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and his word and understanding, and I acknowledge his will in all my decisions and relationships (adapted Proverbs 3:5-6). Job said, “though he slay me, yet will I trust him” and despite my experiences I say, “yet will I trust”. Demons are evil spirits, which are dealt with by being rebuked and cast out in Jesus name. Demons are spiritual bodies, fallen angels, who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode through rebellion. They have since been kicked out of heaven and been kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgement of the great day. Jude vs 6, Rev 12:9, Matt 25:41. The devil, and his fallen angels with him, have been relegated to live in darkness, which means moral darkness rather than the absence of light. He is the ruler of darkness or spiritual place of moral depravity. Any area in rebellion to God’s word and plan is under the influence of darkness and as a consequence demon have legal right to traffic there. Jesus warned, “Take heed, that the light which is in you be not in darkness” Luke 11:35. When we harbour sin, Satan has legal right to that moral darkness, it is his domain. The devil can traffic in any area of darkness, even the darkness that still exists in a Christian’s heart. See Luke 22:31-32 where Satan asked for permissions sift Peter because of pride. Similarly, Job was sifted because of fear, “what I fear befalls me” Job 3:25. Any believer can cast out a demon and you don’t need a special deliverance licence Matt 16:17.
Psalm 91 vs 5, speak of the “terrors of the night” and “arrows that fly by day”. Sometimes God wants to speak to us in our dreams. God speaks in a dream (Job 33:15); your old men will dream dreams (Joel 2:28). The enemy tries to bombard us with thoughts, hoping that his broadcasts will be acted upon. Having peaceful thoughts and sleep is a blessing. Sometimes, the enemy does not want us to be quiet to hear the voice of God and hence there seems to be more activity at night time. But, we can call into captivity, every thought, 2 Cor 10 vs 5. Prayer for peace: Father God, I ask that no weapon or strategy formed against me will prosper and every tongue that rises in judgement against me I will show to be in the wrong. Keep me from the terrors of the night and assign angels for my protection. Speak to me in dreams, protect my mind from foreign and unwanted messages, and help my thoughts to meditate and be fixed on you (Isa 54:17; Ps 91:5). Does the enemy have free will access to target us or does he need permission? The devil, and his fallen angels with him, has been relegated to live in darkness, which means moral darkness rather than the absence of light. He is the ruler of darkness or spiritual place of moral depravity. Any area in rebellion to God’s word and plan is under the influence of darkness and as a consequence demon have legal right to traffic there. Jesus warned, “Take heed, that the light which is in you be not in darkness” Luke 11:35. When we harbour sin, Satan has legal right to that moral darkness, it is his domain. The devil can traffic in any area of darkness, even the darkness that still exists in a Christian’s heart. See Luke 22:31-32 where Satan asked for permissions sift Peter because of pride. Similarly, Job was sifted because of fear, “what I fear befalls me” Job 3:25. The devil does not need permission, per se, for the things he already has legal rights for. Any area under his influence and domain he has access to. In the example with Job, fear had given the devil access into his life and Peter’s was pride. Sometimes, God places a hedge of protection around us so that the enemy’s eyes are blinded (temporarily) to the legal foothold. Eventually, he will assert his legal right either explicitly or implicitly by attempting a technical manoeuvre to gain permission in order to glean some information from God. The story of Job provides a good account of this activity. Satan will never be given permission to destroy the saints. Rather, he is limited to sifting them the purpose being to cleanse the soul. Matthew 10:16 Be wise as serpents and yet innocent and harmless (gentle)) as doves. This is one of the key methods you can use to stop the devil in his tracks. That is to operate in divine wisdom, follow God’s way and not the fleshly carnal ways of soul and through the attack allow Christ to perfect in you his character. Say the enemy was coming against you in an area where you have a weakness, allow God to turn that weakness to a strength by becoming more Christlike in that area. You can be guaranteed that the devil will stop his attack immediately because his actions are causing you to become more like Christ’s nature and not his. Be proactive through prayer and study. Be aggressive only when the Holy Spirit gives you the green light. Don’t misinterpret the following scripture, “The kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by storm”. Operate out of wisdom always, be bold but not brash.
There are other strategies that he uses which has a unique effect on us. For instance, generational agreements and curses which can be passed on to the third and forth generation from our grand and great-grand parents. Hardly fair you may argue but it still does not stop it, only through prayer is this broken. After some time a Christian may face a period when their zeal has waned: youthful dreams dimmed because of relentless attack. They become frustrated and compromise their stance which leads on to being discouraged, depressed and perhaps even disillusioned. Why does this happen? Because, they met with treachery and their walk in God was stymied. They failed to discern the attack that was coming. But God always has a way out for us if we confess our failings, repent and humble ourselves before him 1 Cor 10:13.
Everyone should operate out of wisdom and use discernment which is similar to understanding. Knowledge is knowing what to do, wisdom is doing it (applying knowledge) and understanding is knowing the difference. Discernment asks the question: “what is going on”, being aware and being watchful. Not every Christian has the gift of discerning of spirits but can ask God for it. With this spiritual gift it is possible to identify, that is to discern the type of demon spirit that may be active in a person’s life. The gift also works with discerning Angels and not only demons. This gift was been used mainly in deliverance prayer but is also very effective in edifying and building up. Sometimes God sends ministering Angels which have different manifestations such as virtue, joy, happiness, delight etc. They have been known to sprinkle gold dust on people. When the gift is used in a balanced way there will be both discerning of demons and Angels. Why is the enemy so angry and intense about us?
God, also can speak to us in dreams Joel 2:28. When God gives us dreams it means that he is sending us a warning message and giving us grace to deal with it. Demonic dreams such as nightmares do not have a righteous outworking. God inspired dreams have meaning such as Joseph who dreamt of famine, Peter of salvation to Gentiles and Jacob wrestled with an Angel in his sleep. Psalm 119 says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against you”. By having the word of God in your heart gives you basis to line up your thoughts, consciously or sub-consciously.
We are drawn to sin by the lust that may exist within us. We will always be exposed in an area where we were once vulnerable or had a prior weakness. The key area to guard against is presumption. In Eph 6:10-15, Paul gives us areas of our anatomy that should be protected: In Isaiah 54:17 we see that even if weapons are formed and turned against us we can be assured victory: “No weapon formed against us will prosper; and every tongue which rises against you in judgement, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. Why do we have to put on the armour of God every morning?
So when we pray we ask in the Name of Jesus, we cover ourselves with His Blood, we place the Cross between us and sin and between us and the enemy, we Speak the Word of God and we Act in Faith according to the word that lives and operates in us. Jesus always addressed the Father in prayer, “Our Father…”. It does not matter how mature we are as Christians or how long we have been a Christian, it is always good to remember that the enemy is older and an ancient foe. We should always operate out of divine wisdom and in accord with God’s word. Jesus said, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God had come upon you” Matt 12:28 Reflections On Wisdom Weapons of our warfare Scars of Warfare |
