As with all the sermons I put online, no sermon is original, yet I believe that material gathered is unique.
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Eph 6:10-21 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. (21) But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;
Spiritual Warfare
Against where we came from
Against the Flesh-most fought in the mind
Against the Devil – temptation but also territories
Introduction
So many Christians have become passive and fearful. Some are satisfied just to believe the right things and attend church services and activities each week. This type of lifestyle is quite different from that which Jesus had called believers. Like the apostles (Lk 9:1-2) Luk 9:1-2 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. (2) He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. and the seventy (Lk 10) who were told by Jesus to go out and preach and teach about the kingdom of God, and he also said they were to heal the sick and set the captives free. In Matt. 28:18-20, Jesus commissioned the disciples.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
John 14: 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
The new converts were to be discipled and taught that God wanted them to be doing the things that Christ’s disciples had been doing. And Jesus would be with His people to the end of the age, doing His works through them as they were yielded to Him in faith.
It has become common to attribute a natural or human explanation to most problems and leave it at that. The one who has a spiritual warfare perspective will be inclined to test the situation to ascertain whether or not there is something more than natural influences involved. For instance, when my daughter started having a series of painful bone cysts develop at the base of her spine, we challenged them with prayer and spiritual authority and they disappeared. When people enter our office for ministry, they often develop headaches or experience overwhelming fear. A command of spiritual authority immediately brings relief.
A spiritual warrior has an alertness to the activity of the enemy. This alertness is by no means fear or paranoia. He does not go around crediting Satan and his hosts for everything wrong under the sun. The Apostle Paul was a good example of a spiritual warrior. He didn’t go out of his way to look for demonic activity, but when he encountered it, he quickly recognized it and then he confronted it with spiritual authority victoriously.
A spiritual warrior knows he must bring discipline to his thought life and to his actions. If he allows these areas to be compromised, he will not be effective in resisting the enemy. He takes sin very seriously, because he knows that sin always gives the adversary an advantage. He must always be on guard against comparing himself with others and being entrapped by the subtlety of religious pride. The true warrior knows that he can do nothing that is affective in his own strength. His strength, authority, wisdom and discernment are dependent upon his close walk with his Lord. He should always remain focused and guard himself against distraction caused by problems and troubles that appear. These are designed to get his eyes off the Lord and lure him into working in the flesh.
Demons in the Old Testament
Adam and Eve – tempted by the serphent
Job – tested by the devil
Saul The Old Testament records for us that Saul was tormented by an evil spirit sent from God (1 Samuel 16:14, 23, 18:10, 19:9).
Fall of Satan
Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-19
Confirmed by Jesus Lu 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Daniel
Daniel 10 Daniel’s prayer is delayed for 21 days because the delivering angel was fighting with the prince of Persia. The territorial demon.
Demonic Activity in Jesus Day
Jesus Temptation – Luke 4 Satanic Temptation
Notes:
1. He comes consistently
2. He many times will quote the word (
A survey of the New Testament reveals a total of 14 places where demonic possession (demonic activity) is discussed. These 14 passages can be further subdivided into two categories: 1) 10 individual instances of demon possession and 2) 4 group mentions of demon possession.
From these 14 cases we can assess the results of demon possession. According to the New Testament, demon possession can result in one or both of two states.
There are 4 instances of demon possession resulting in chronic (prolonged or sustained) physical sickness, disease, or disability of the human host.
1) A demon of dumbness - Matthew 9:32, Luke 11:14
2) A demon of blindness and dumbness - Matthew 12:22
3) A demon possessed son (with epilepsy) - Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:17-25, Luke 39-42
4) A woman with a spirit of infirmity (bent forward) - Luke 13:11
There are 9 instances where the demon spirit actually supplants the human spirit as the operator of the body.
1) The man* at the tombs - Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:2-16, Luke 8:27-38
2) A demon possessed son (after the transfiguration) - Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:17-25, Luke 39-42
3) A demon possessed man in the synagogue (Capernaum) - Mark 1:23-27, Luke 4:33-36
4) Demons cast out of many - Mark 1:34
5) Unclean spirits fall down before Jesus - Mark 3:11
6) Demons came out of many - Luke 4:40-41
7) Many with unclean spirits - Acts 8:7
8) A slave girl with a spirit of divination - Acts 16:16-18
9) The sons of Sceva, Jewish exorcists and a demon possessed man - Acts 19:13-16
(NOTE: This totals 13 instances, the case of the Canaanite woman’s daughter has been left out since it cannot be clearly identified as to which category it belongs - Matthew 15:22 and Mark 7:25-30.)
In Acts
Demon cast out of girl
Acts 16
Hindrance of the Ministry
Zec 3:1 ¶ And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
1Th 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
Demonic Activity Today
Foreign Countries
America – Western
Conclusion
To summarize what I have been talking about, a commitment to spiritual warfare means:
1. A New Attitude - You begin to think like an overcomer with a victorious attitude. You walk according to your inheritance of grace in Christ. You no longer have an attitude of playing it safe or seeking not to rock the boat. You realize you want to be on the front lines for God, not trying to live the comfortable life with as few problems as possible.
2. A Greater Focus - You carefully guard against the attempts to distract you or to push your buttons. You recognize that the enemy likes to entangle God’s people in the cares of this world or provoke us to react in the flesh. You understand the importance of keeping your eyes on the Lord and standing in faith upon God’s character, not in your abilities.
3. A Necessary Discipline - You have begun to discipline yourself on all levels. You are setting more time aside for study and prayer. You are spending more time being alert and obedient to the leading of the Spirit.
4. A More Balanced Biblical World View - You take very seriously the Biblical warnings to God’s people about an enemy that is real.
