Spiritual Warfare
Have you ever
noticed the
glassy-eyed look
you get from
some people when
you mention
spiritual
warfare? It is
especially
alarming when
talking to
another person
who claims to be
a Christian, and
they look at you
like you came
from another
planet and need
to be locked up
for your own
good. It is
alarming because
it corroborates
the immaturity
of a fellow
Christian.
Satan uses a
double barrel
method of attack
against us
humans. With
some he shows
himself as evil
and draws those
(non-Christians)
in to worship
him. With most
of us however,
Christians and
non-Christians
alike, he works
at making us
believe that he
really doesn’t
exist.
I firmly believe
that far more
people than we
even realize are
possessed to one
degree or
another by
Satan’s demons.
At the very
least, many,
many more are
strongly
influenced by
Satanic forces,
and don’t even
realize it.
The one thing
that needs to be
made clear is
that Satan is
not omnipresent;
he can only be
in one place at
a time. He is
not God, who is
omnipresent.
However, he has
an untold host
of fallen
angelic beings
in his camp. We
know he seduced
one third of the
angels to follow
him, but one
third of what?
We don’t know.
Satan and all of
his army of
fallen angels,
or evil spirits,
are hard at
work.
One of the many
times the
Apostle Paul was
attacked by
Satanic forces
is told us in
the following
passage.
“16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed
with a spirit of
divination met
us, which
brought her
masters much
gain by
soothsaying:
17The
same followed
Paul and us, and
cried, saying,
These men are
the servants of
the most high
God, which shew
unto us the way
of salvation.
18And
this did she
many days. But
Paul, being
grieved, turned
and said to the
spirit, I
command thee in
the name of
Jesus Christ to
come out of her.
And he came out
the same hour.”
(Acts 16:16-18)
We know that the
damsel, a young
girl or young
woman, did not
come in a
friendly manner
to meet with
Paul, simply by
taking a closer
look at the
Greek word in
verse sixteen
that is
translated as
“met” in our
English. The
Greek word means
“to meet in a
hostile
fashion.” Also,
the verse
clearly says
that she was
possessed by a
“spirit of
divination.”
People today do
not realize just
how dangerous it
is to play
around with
weegie boards,
tarot cards,
séances, etc.
You are entering
an area you know
nothing about
and the only
thing on the
other side is
evil. We call
this evil Satan,
and he is very
real.
The Lord tells
us by the pen of
Paul to:
“11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the
devil. 12For
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
6:11-12)
A Christian
cannot be
indwelt by an
evil spirit.
Why, you ask?
The Holy Spirit
resides within
the Christian
and will not
allow it.
However, that
does not mean
that Satan, via
his demonic
army, will not
attack us in
some way. He
will try to trip
us. He will try
to influence us
by any means
possible. We are
his enemy, and
this is not a
game. It is war.
There are three
groups of people
that Satan
attacks, and I
believe he does
so by the
following
methods.
Non-Christians
Left to our
basic nature or
instincts,
without laws,
human beings
would be like a
pack of wild
rabid dogs,
attacking others
and even those
within the pack.
God had to give
us a set of laws
to obey in order
to protect
society. He
provided them by
a fellow named
Moses. Consider
what happened to
Noah’s
generation. They
were so defiled,
God had to
destroy them
all, except Noah
and his family.
It is my
opinion, but I
believe a
correct opinion,
that many today
would do things
that would shock
even the person
doing them, if
it were not for
the law of the
land. As we well
know and
observe, many do
them anyway. How
many more
murders,
robberies,
rapes, etc.
would there be,
if there were no
law?
Satan knows
man’s nature,
and he uses it
for his benefit.
If you don’t
agree, consider
the following
verses.
“9What
then? are we
better than
they? No, in no
wise: for we
have before
proved both Jews
and Gentiles,
that they are
all under sin;
10As
it is written,
There is none
righteous, no,
not one: 11There
is none that
understandeth,
there is none
that seeketh
after God.
12They are
all gone out of
the way, they
are together
become
unprofitable;
there is none
that doeth good,
no, not one.
13Their
throat is an
open sepulchre;
with their
tongues they
have used
deceit; the
poison of asps
is under their
lips: 14Whose
mouth is full of
cursing and
bitterness:
15Their
feet are swift
to shed blood:
16Destruction
and misery are
in their ways:
17And
the way of peace
have they not
known: 18There
is no fear of
God before their
eyes.”
(Romans 3:9-18)
Weak Christians
This group of
people would
include those
who have not
been saved very
long, and those
who have, but
are just too
lazy to put on
the whole armor
of God. Read
Ephesians 6:10
through the end
of the chapter.
One way Satan
will attack
these Christians
is by loading
down their time
with other
activities.
He will try to
make them
dependent on
others to spoon
feed them on the
Word. There are
a bunch of these
folks walking
around.
He will provide
them with
excuses to avoid
their prayer
life and time in
the Word.
He will tempt
them with the
“goodies” that
the world has to
offer.
Maturing
Christians
Christians, who
are students of
the Word and try
to live for the
Lord on a daily
basis, will most
definitely be
attacked in some
way by Satan,
because they are
a menace to him.
Their intent is
to glorify the
Lord Jesus
Christ in their
lives by how
they live, what
they do, and
what they say.
They speak out
for Jesus.
They love His
Word. They won’t
bend by going
against what the
Word says.
When they sin,
and they will,
they are on
their knees in
repentance, not
to get saved
again, but to
restore the
fellowship that
they broke
between
themselves and
their Heavenly
Father. They are
always His
child.
The more wicked
the world
becomes, and
it’s getting
quite vile,
Satan induces
others to hate
and mock them.
Hopefully with
pressure from
their peers,
they will
crumble under
temptation.
As I write this
article, I have
been tempted
throughout to do
something else
and come back to
it, but I am
determined to
stay the course.
Satan does not
want me to write
this article.
Any pastor who
has preached
very many
sermons will
tell you that it
never failed
when the reality
of Satan and his
forces was the
subject matter,
a negative force
was present.
Conclusion
As I look
through the
window of
politics, I see
Satan hard at
work. In this
country alone,
the political
field is bleak,
to say the
least. There are
some, and I
emphasize
“some,” men and
women in the
political arena
who are desirous
of following our
Constitution and
actually serving
the citizens in
the manner
designed by the
Constitution.
Most however are
servants of
greed and other
satanic forces.
These servants
of Satan have
the populace so
blinded, they
continue to
retain their
offices election
after election,
and therefore
continue to
dismantle the
greatest nation
ever assembled
by God-fearing
patriots.
As I peer
through the
window of
Hollywood, Satan
is pulling out
all the stops to
reveal just how
disgusting he
is. Again, there
are a
few even
within the
Hollywood scene
who have
character. For
the most part
the lifestyle of
Hollywood would
be like
comparing pigs
wallowing in
slop while
wearing
expensive
jewelry and
tuxedoes (or
evening gowns).
Could there be a
more corrupt
people all
gathered in one
place? There is
a possibility of
close ties with
our nation’s
capital, each
with an
equivalent
lifestyle, but
generating a
different type
of filth and
garbage upon the
common folk.
As I gaze
through the
stained glass
windows of the
churches, Satan
is sitting on
the front row,
cheering on his
puppets. All
that glitters is
not gold. Many
so-called
shepherds of the
flocks are
actually
hirelings. Their
master is not
the one and only
true God, but
one who wants to
be God. His name
is Satan. Jesus
said to the
Pharisees,
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the
lusts of your
father ye will
do. He was a
murderer from
the beginning,
and abode not in
the truth,
because there is
no truth in him.
When he speaketh
a lie, he
speaketh of his
own: for he is a
liar, and the
father of it.”
(John 8:44)
Satan is real.
He took with him
an army of
fallen angels
from Heaven, and
is always in
combat fatigues.
It makes no
difference if we
accept this as
fact or not. It
remains true. We
are at war. It
is a spiritual
war, but it is
war no less.
One last time, I
observe through
another window,
the window of
the family, the
first
institution
established by
God at the
creation. Within
the first family
of Adam and Eve,
Satan
interjected
jealousy, greed,
and murder. It
has gone
downhill since.
Today, the
family, as God
meant it to be,
is in the
minority. If
someone attacked
your family,
would you fight
for them? Of
course you
would. Would you
lay down your
life for them?
Of course you
would. Satan is
attacking your
family, and he
wants their
soul. What are
you going to do
about it?
We are supposed
to be living in
the age of
knowledge. We
say we are more
civilized than
any generation
before us. Is
that so? In
reality, we have
become as they
were in the days
of Noah and in
the days of Lot.
Does that ring a
bell? Consider
the following
verses.
"26And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of
the Son of Man:
27They
ate, they drank,
they married
wives, they were
given in
marriage, until
the day that
Noah entered the
ark, and the
flood came and
destroyed them
all. 28Likewise
as it was also
in the days of
Lot: They ate,
they drank, they
bought, they
sold, they
planted, they
built; 29but
on the day that
Lot went out of
Sodom it rained
fire and
brimstone from
heaven and
destroyed them
all. 30Even
so will it be in
the day when the
Son of Man is
revealed.”
(Luke 17:26-30
NKVJ)
Just prior to
this day spoken
of in the above
verses,
approximately
seven years,
Jesus Christ
will remove His
bride, the true
Church, from
this earth. Are
you ready? Satan
is pulling out
all the stops.
Are you being
blinded by his
lies, or are you
heeding the
Truth? Do you
scoff at the
mention of a
spiritual
warfare? Are you
one of those who
roll your eyes
and under your
breath says
something like,
“Oh, here we go
again?”
Jesus warns us
through the pen
of the Apostle
Paul.
“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 6:12)
The war will
soon be over.
Whose side will
you be on when
the dust clears?
By Grant Phillips (http://raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips178.html)
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