GROW AND GO B5. SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Study passages: - chiefly Matthew, Mark Luke and Acts complete,
but especially:
Luke 10:17-20 & 11:15-26 also Job Chs 1 & 2
Ephesians 6:10-20 1 John 3:8
Revelation 12:10-11

This is not a study of demonology because scripture says very little about that subject. We are not encouraged to learn about the enemy, only about how to overcome the enemy. Speculation about what demons are, how they are organised, their names, titles, locations etc. will not help us overcome. It is far more relevant to understand how our own side works. Furthermore, “Spiritual Warfare” is much wider than dealing with evil spirits, it is taking good news to a needy world, showing the love of Christ and His power to save. That power to save includes power to halt, reverse and undo the work of the enemy (1 John 3:8)

WE ARE AT PEACE.
Spiritual warfare is waged by people who are at peace.

We are called to be:
At peace with God
At peace with ourselves
At peace with one another
At peace (so far as it depends on us) with our neighbours.
and
At war with the kingdom of Satan.

The enemy strategy is to disrupt our peace in any of these four areas because our effectiveness in spiritual warfare depends upon them.

THE CONFLICT IS ALL ABOUT AUTHORITY - NOT STRENGTH.
God is stronger than Satan; but Satan is the accuser and tries to claim “rights.” He accused Job and he accuses us and our fellow Christians. He accuses us before God and in our hearts and in the words of others. (If we accuse other Christians we are co-operating with him.)

The accusation is answered by the Cross. Whether true or false, Satan’s accusations are none of his business, they concern God and ourselves.

The grounds of our peace with God is that Christ has died for us and this puts God and us together on the same side against Satan’s kingdom; so God’s power is released into action. This is why, “They overcame him with the blood of the Lamb.” - Revelation 12:10-11. The blood of Christ symbolises His death for us - presented in Heaven and fully satisfying the claims of justice against us.

OUR SECRET WEAPON.
The Lord Jesus told us to pray to our Father in secret. Something the same is found in the symbolism of the Holy of Holies, the quiet, peaceful inner sanctuary where the High Priest used to go once a year.

There is an inner Holy of Holies in the human spirit which can be permanently linked to the Holy of Holies in highest Heaven. Jesus is called the great High Priest who passed “through the heavenly realms” to appear for us in the presence of God (Hebrews 4:14). That is the place where sin is dealt with.

Jesus has also come into our hearts. To do that He Has passed through our bodies, mind, and emotions, right into the centre. So He has established the link line through all the war zones.

Whatever conflicts go on inside us, around us on earth or in the heavenly realms, the link between our innermost spirit and the presence of God in highest Heaven remains secure and carries communication the enemy cannot touch.

Our “inner resources” of peace and purity come straight to us from the Heart of God in His throne room. Live, then, tuned in to Heaven.

GOD’S FIGHTING UNITS.
Soldiers do not go into battle alone, they are organised into units and taught to defend each other, stay together under pressure and regroup quickly if scattered.

Spiritual warfare is done in units.
Prayer groups for power.
Teams for tasks.
Churches and families for stability.

Enemy strategy is always to shatter the groups by creating division etc. Then loners can be picked off one by one.

ENGAGING THE ENEMY IS PART OF A LARGER PACKAGE.
We are involved in loving, caring, helping, and bringing Christ into people’s lives. He is our Saviour and we want Him to be theirs. People are hurting, they need Christ as Saviour, God as Father, The Holy Spirit in residence. They need Christians as brothers and sisters, the Word of God to feed on, teaching, shepherding - and they need all these things even more if they have had to be released from evil spirit power.

Spiritual warfare is not a cure-all. Rather it removes an obstacle to cure. I have seen a Pastor cast a demon out of a man and then give instructions immediately for a Christian man to go to his home and read the Bible to him every day until he began to gain strength in his new relationship with Christ. Driving out a demon is no substitute for loving care.

WEAPONS.
The authority of the name of The Lord Jesus Christ - asserted.
Prayer especially in groups.
The Word of God - spoken.
Christlikeness in action - purity, love, truth.

The clash between the two kingdoms is purity against dirt; light against darkness; reality against fantasy; straightforwardness against deceit or trickery or manipulation; beauty against ugliness. The most common term for demons in the Gospels is “unclean spirits” - so never imagine them as grand or grotesque, they are just filthy, petty, squalid and nasty.

PRAYER.
Note the difference between everyday child-to-Father prayers, by which we talk things over with our Heavenly Father and the kind of prayer in which we act under His command to carry out His purpose. This is the kind of prayer which can move mountains, not at our whim by by His orders. This is the fighting prayer of spiritual warfare.

Groups when praying this kind of fighting prayer should:
Stick to the one subject. All pray for it.
Do not move on till it is finished.
Not chatter (until afterwards.)
Possibly fast.
Be willing to come back to it, possibly involving others, even whole churches, but keep publicity to a minimum. Prayer is never a stunt. Warn immature Christians that although they may be part of this large prayer battle in which all are defending each other, they should not go it alone. Spiritual warfare is not for fun, it is dangerous.

DEFENCE
Soldiers must never go into attack unless ordered, but they have to defend themselves if attacked. So let us understand our weapons.

If I am, or may be, on the receiving end of any kind of demonic activity, I must assert Christ’s authority against it, seek prayer support from others, and submit myself wholly to Christ’s authority.

Any wilful sin or disobedience makes us vulnerable because we are effectively rejecting the authority that protects us.

We need to defend our families and groups and teams and churches by prayer, noting the vulnerable places. If we see a vulnerable point, (eg a quarrel in the team) first pray against the enemy but eventually there must be reconciliation or the vulnerable spot will need to be defended again and again.

ATTACK.
If we are called to go into action, for example to cast out a demon from a person or a haunted house, or, more frequently, to put a stop to demonic interference with God’s work, keep to the following principles:

Pray quietly first and be tuned in to what God is saying.
Pray and act together if possible.
Firmly assert Christ’s authority.
Tell demons to be quiet and go. That is all.
Hold no dialogue with them.
Do not attempt to release a person who does not want to be released, who refuses to receive Christ or to turn from deliberate sin. Demons will only come back (Luke 11:24-26).

If a person cannot pray or come to the point of decision, use silent prayer to hold back the enemy - this will not give a permanent release unless the person then uses the opportunity to turn to the Lord, after which you may give more permanent eviction orders to the enemy.

Frequently all that is needed to end a demonic domination is simple repentance and turning to Christ, ultimately what matters is Christ coming in, not demons going out.

Work from low-key unobtrusive action first, quiet prayer etc. to a more outspoken approach if necessary.

It is hardly ever right to tell a person, “You are demon possessed.” If they say it themselves that is different. You may, however, tell someone that they need to renounce occult practices if they have been engaged in them and offer to pray for their release from their effects - but always in the context of receiving Christ Himself as Saviour.

Note that the term “demon possessed” is a translation of one word “demonised” and means that demons have become involved in a life to a greater or lesser degree. Even “Legion” in Mark 5 had enough free will to come to Jesus. The person’s own will is always involved. We do not need to know the secrets of demon activities. The one secret we know is of Christ’s authority, by which we drive demons out of people or of situations.

COUNTER ATTACK.
Always when involved in spiritual warfare, join others to pray against counter attack, especially on family members.

People whose family are particularly vulnerable, should normally avoid deliberate encounters with the enemy. Call for help.

Sin makes us vulnerable to counter attack. So does immaturity; so it is best for new Christians to grow up a bit before getting involved.

THE COST.
Generally the Lord does not intend us to suffer the effect of counter attacks and we should seek to defend ourselves by prayer, joint prayer with others, asserting Christ’s authority and living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s purity.

But there are times when we have to pay a price ourselves. “They loved not their lives unto death” (Revelation 12:11). We who follow Christ have taken up our cross and are as good as dead anyway; so if the Lord allows us to suffer, as He did Job, to defeat the enemy, that is a privilege.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether we, or others, are suffering because of a needed sacrifice or a failed defence, but either way let us not dwell on or be ashamed of war wounds, pick ourselves and each other up and go on. Never, never discourage a comrade who is suffering the after-effects of spiritual warfare. They may need a whole great lot of gentleness to get over the hurts, as I know from my own painful experience.

See also SEED OF THE WOMAN, SON OF MAN in A1.4 CHRIST THE CENTRE

and ANCIENT SYMBOLISM, BLOOD ON GOLD in A3.4 THE COMPLETED RESCUE