Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to express my deepest appreciation and love to my wife, Lillian, for her unfailing support, love and encouragement, and to my precious daughters, Charity and Angel.
To my ministry partners, family, and friends for your support and prayers.
To the Unity Church family, thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and untiring support.
We are a church of faith, hope, and love endeavoring to fulfill our God-given purpose with integrity.
Introduction
Over the years I have heard, seen and taught many on the subject about spiritual warfare. Through my encounters, I have seen people, to include pastors and spiritual leaders, struggle and toil nearly to exhaustion in spiritual warfare. While I have also seen other pastors and spiritual leaders who walked victoriously and effortlessly defeat demonic power and cast out demons. It puzzled me at times as I observed, but as I matured spiritually, God revealed more to me—that there is a system to spiritual warfare. There is a reason why the sons of Sceva were defeated in Acts 19; there is a reason why Samson lost his power in Judges 16; there is a reason why Jesus told the disciples that they could not cast the demon out of a little boy in Mark 9. There was also a reason why Paul could cast the demon out of a woman in Acts 16 and why demons were subject to seventy-two disciples who were sent out in Luke 10. Finally, there is also a reason why Jesus was victorious in Matthew 4. When it comes to spiritual warfare, the reason for all these things is about understanding the system. There is a system that has to be understood by the Christian in order to be victorious in spiritual warfare. This system is defined as an organized set of doctrine and principles intended to explain the arrangement or working of a systematic whole, in this case, as it pertains to spiritual warfare. The many facets of that system are what will be discussed and given clarity in this book. This combination of divine wisdom and Christ-like innocence is the source of spiritual victory. We fight from a position of victory that Jesus Christ already won for us. Twenty-five percent of Jesus’ public ministry was dedicated to deliverance from evil spirits. However, we must learn the ways of God, which means we must have the mind of Christ, operate through the Holy Spirit and use godly wisdom from above. Additionally, we must be pure of heart, that we may see God and gain discernment. Let me be clear upfront, in no way is this book a comprehensive tutorial on spiritual warfare, but it does give some spiritual truths, insight, and nuggets to Christians to be victorious in spiritual warfare. As I share with you some things that I have encountered and learned through my own personal experiences with God over the years, my prayer is that you will gain the tools that you need to be victorious in your spiritual battles here on earth until Jesus Christ returns for us or until your life expires on earth.
Spiritual Warfare
In short, spiritual warfare can be defined as the conflict in the invisible realm that affects the visible realm. Amongst all the battles that have taken place in human history, none come close in comparison to the spiritual battle that all Christians are engaged in. Many are weary from job, marriage, family, life, and church. Everything that occurs in the visible physical world is directly connected to the battle being waged in the invisible spiritual world. The effects of the war going on in the unseen world reveal themselves in our strained and damaged relationships, emotional instability, mental fatigue, physical exhaustion and many other areas of life. Many of us feel boxed in by anger, unforgiveness, pride, comparisons, insecurity, discord, fear, and the list goes on. However, the overarching, primary nemesis behind all of these outcomes is Satan himself and his army. We are living in an evil day; we are in a day when wrong is called right and right is called wrong, but we have to stand firm on the Word of God. Furthermore, don’t imagine for a moment that you will be spared from fighting in the battle. There are no spectators in this battle. It is a battle that includes every man, woman, teenager, and child. The battle involves us all. There is no safe distance from which to watch. Satan was soundly and completely defeated at Calvary when Jesus Christ died on the cross. This event sealed Satan’s fate (Colossians 2:14–15; 1 John 3:5–10). Even though the victory has been won and death has been swallowed up, the enemy still prowls around like a sniper, setting his sights on the unaware. Satan still battles even though Jesus finished it on Good Friday, and victory was declared Easter morn.
What is alarming is that some Americans are forsaking their traditional faiths of Christianity in favor of witchcraft and other pagan or New Age practices …which makes Satan very happy. The enemy works through people. Here are five things people say who are being used by these evil spirits to stop you from questioning them:
- Don’t judge least you be judged.
- Let the one without sin throw the first stone.
- You are too spiritual.
- The measure you use to judge someone else will be measured back to you.
- Take the beam out of your eye first.
The list goes on and on. The devil will attempt to use the biblical scriptures to stop Bible believing people, as he did when he tempted Jesus. Yes, everyone should examine his or her own heart “first”, but spiritual discernment requires sound judgment. You have to make a judgement call in every day decisions. To judge simply means to make a judgment. Making a judgment “is not” being judgmental. When it comes to spiritual conflict, we may not realize the severity of the situation. However, today, God’s Word states that there is such a battle, and the fighting is fierce. It’s called “spiritual warfare.” The battle is against the devil and the untold number of demons at his command.
Some Christians tend to misplace the blame for the opposition that they face. They look to their boss, their job, their neighborhood, the social system, the church, the government, family and etc. Any or all of these may be sore spots in need of attention, but they are not the problem. The whole of the universe is divided into two rival kingdoms. The first is the kingdom of light or righteousness, ruled by God. The other is the kingdom of darkness or evil commanded by Satan. Satan is our enemy, our only enemy and our world is the battleground where his efforts to deceive many and compete with God are played out.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:10–12
Spiritual warfare comes in two ways: offensive and defensive. Offensive warfare is tearing down the strongholds that the enemy has formed in your mind and life through deception and accusations. Defensive warfare is guarding yourself against the tactics or schemes of the devil. Apostle John taught to try the spirits. He said, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). To “try the spirits” means to put them to the test in accordance to the Word of God.
We don’t battle against people—there is a spirit behind it. The flesh and blood are real, but the spirit behind it is the root. As already stated, spirits work through people. Recognize the reality of the spiritual world. Sadly, statistics during the publishing of this book state that ~40% of Christians say that Satan is not a living being just a symbol of evil. Satan is mentioned 29 times in the Gospels, and 25 of those references are from Jesus. Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament and in every New Testament book. The physical world is not as real as the spiritual. All that you experience with your five senses will pass away one day. Elements of the spiritual world will last forever. There is more to this than meets the eye.
While our enemy is powerful, the only power he has over you is the power that you give him. Satan and his demons operate by consent and cooperation. We must not think of him as the equal and opposite of God. God is omnipotent. That is, He is all-powerful. The devil is not. God is able to do whatever He wishes. The devil is able to do only what God per...
