"John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station."
-Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18.
John Paton and his wife knew that the real struggle was spiritual, not physical. So they got to work praying and praying that fateful night. God answered those prayers, and he sent his angels to protect them.
We too must remember that our struggle is not physical, but spiritual. We must fight our battle in the spiritual realm, which is real, even more real than the physical world.
We’re going to be addressing the topic of spiritual warfare. We’re going to particularly look at how to fight the internal battle within our own heart, and how to find victory there.
What is spiritual warfare exactly? Spiritual warfare is the battle we fight in everyday as Christian soldiers, to improve this world, improve ourselves, defeat demonic forces, support angelic forces, and spread the gospel to the whole world.
If we as Christians know our authority in Christ then we’ll be successful. If we as Christians don’t know our authority or how to fight the enemy, we will fail, and be confused, frightened and live defeated lives.
God is building everyday as believers. But, the enemy will try to come against us, and cause division, confusion, sin, and loss.
The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy. The enemy is a murderer, even from the beginning. So we as Christians must know who we are, what we’re called to do, and how live it.
The book of Ephesians deals a great deal with spiritual warfare. Ephesians 1:3-14 is the foundation scripture for this intro to spiritual warfare.
It begins this way: “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” -Ephesians 1:3
Where does our power and authority as Christians come from? It comes from the heavenly realms. It comes from God, to us.
First thing to remember today, is we can do nothing without God. We need Christ’s power to fill us and empower us. But in Christ, we can fight and win the spiritual battle in front of us.
Declare it over your life out loud: I have the power of heaven within me. (From God)
Verse 4, “4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
God chose you to be made holy and blameless in His sight. That means your life matters. You have value. You aren’t just another number, another statistic, you are a child of the most high God. You are made in God’s image. You have a purpose. You matter.
Declare it over your life: I am chosen.
Do you believe it today? We access the promises of God through faith. Through trust. We trust in our heart that what God is saying is true. That’s how we open the doorway in front of us.
Inside that door we find a victorious mindset. If we refuse to open the door, through distrust, we will continue to live defeated.
Next, verses 5-6: “In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
During our lives on the fallen Earth we face battles, struggles, and problems. Yet we know that God loves us. And he has adopted us as his children, through Jesus.
Not everyone is a child of God. Not everyone follows Jesus. Our adoption occurs when we believe in God’s son Jesus Christ, ask Him to be our savior, and trust that he really did die for us on the cross. Then we are adopted.
Through this we’ve received God’s glorious grace. Beautiful grace. What is grace? It’s forgiveness of all the bad things we’ve done, but it’s more, he doesn’t just forgive us, he adopts us. We become his kids, his children. Like a child who was an orphan, who is now brought into a family.
It reminds me of a clip on YouTube, showing a young boy who was with a family opening gifts, he was being temporarily watched by the family, he was an orphan. But, in the last gift, was a note which the child read, in it the family asked him to become a permanent member of their family. And he broke down in tears. He had found a home.
With God, we find a home too. We are adopted by Him. And now we’re never alone. I remember before I became a Christian, I would look up to God and pray and feel only emptiness. Why? Because I was still an enemy of God. I had never asked Jesus Christ to be my savior, so God would not hear my prayers. I was an orphan. But when I asked Jesus to save me, he really did, and I became adopted. Now I am never alone.
Say it with Me: I am adopted.
These are all your identity. If you know your identity, you will be strong in the world. You will walk around at school or at work or at home, or on the street, and you’ll know in your heart: I’m adopted. I belong to God. Even if I die, I’ll just go to heaven.
That’s power. And Jesus came to give us power.
Next, verses 7-8: “7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,”
When you start feeling low, when you started feeling down, when you are feeling empty and upset, you’ve got to recite the truths of God to yourself. I do this every morning.
I am chosen. I am adopted. I am a child of the most high God. I am redeemed by Jesus blood. My sins are forgiven.
But notice what else God gives us in Christ, it says we receive all wisdom and understanding.
It takes a great deal of wisdom and understanding to live this life successfully. Every decision we make we’re basing on wisdom and knowledge and understanding, those are three different things by the way.
In spiritual warfare, when you are facing demonic attacks, when are facing a difficult situation, you must always to remember to stop and pray. This sounds so simple, but it’s very profound.
We often have something crazy happen, and we go into a panic and we try calling people, doing things, running around like mad, but in all of it we forget to pray. And that’s our mistake. Stop and pray.
I have to force myself to because once I get going I don’t want to stop. I almost get too annoyed to stop and pray. So I have to force myself! If I don’t pray I’m not going to know the right decisions to make. Always stop and pray.
I know for me I start feeling very depressed, or upset about something, why can’t I feel good in the mornings, I feel so down in the morning and I get upset and start feeling hopeless and I tell myself well it’s just hopeless you’re always going to feel that way.
Stop, and pray. "Lord, I’m telling you that I feel down in the mornings, and I’m asking for you to help me and deliver me from that."
Stop and pray. I will pray when I need guidance.
Confess it with me: I invite God into every situation.
Next, verses 9-10: “ 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Something God does for us Christians is, he makes known to us his mysteries. Things he doesn’t tell anyone else. Things no one else understands he will reveal to you.
The mysteries of the universe, from black holes to angels and demons to the rise and fall of nations, seek God and he will make his mysteries known to you.
Yet the greatest mystery of all is the future. We see we have a bright future, a future beyond anything we could imagine. That sounds glib but it's a deep and profound truth. God is going to redeem this fallen world, and bring everything under the authority of Jesus.
Everything on the Earth will be brought under the authority of Christ, who will be seated on a throne in Jerusalem, which will function as the capital of the Earth. One day, during the millennial reign, we will go up and visit the king in Jerusalem, when he is seated in authority over all the Earth. Isn’t that amazing?
And there will be a seat of authority there for you too.
Confess and believe it: I have a place in God’s future Kingdom.
Next, verses 11-12: 11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
You are a heir of his kingdom, which means you will inherit his kingdom. No theologian understands what that really means. But it's amazing beyond words.
Where does our power and authority as Christians come from? It comes from the heavenly realms. It comes from God, to us.
First thing to remember today, is we can do nothing without God. We need Christ’s power to fill us and empower us. But in Christ, we can fight and win the spiritual battle in front of us.
Declare it over your life out loud: I have the power of heaven within me. (From God)
Verse 4, “4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
God chose you to be made holy and blameless in His sight. That means your life matters. You have value. You aren’t just another number, another statistic, you are a child of the most high God. You are made in God’s image. You have a purpose. You matter.
Declare it over your life: I am chosen.
Do you believe it today? We access the promises of God through faith. Through trust. We trust in our heart that what God is saying is true. That’s how we open the doorway in front of us.
Inside that door we find a victorious mindset. If we refuse to open the door, through distrust, we will continue to live defeated.
Next, verses 5-6: “In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
During our lives on the fallen Earth we face battles, struggles, and problems. Yet we know that God loves us. And he has adopted us as his children, through Jesus.
Not everyone is a child of God. Not everyone follows Jesus. Our adoption occurs when we believe in God’s son Jesus Christ, ask Him to be our savior, and trust that he really did die for us on the cross. Then we are adopted.
Through this we’ve received God’s glorious grace. Beautiful grace. What is grace? It’s forgiveness of all the bad things we’ve done, but it’s more, he doesn’t just forgive us, he adopts us. We become his kids, his children. Like a child who was an orphan, who is now brought into a family.
It reminds me of a clip on YouTube, showing a young boy who was with a family opening gifts, he was being temporarily watched by the family, he was an orphan. But, in the last gift, was a note which the child read, in it the family asked him to become a permanent member of their family. And he broke down in tears. He had found a home.
With God, we find a home too. We are adopted by Him. And now we’re never alone. I remember before I became a Christian, I would look up to God and pray and feel only emptiness. Why? Because I was still an enemy of God. I had never asked Jesus Christ to be my savior, so God would not hear my prayers. I was an orphan. But when I asked Jesus to save me, he really did, and I became adopted. Now I am never alone.
Say it with Me: I am adopted.
These are all your identity. If you know your identity, you will be strong in the world. You will walk around at school or at work or at home, or on the street, and you’ll know in your heart: I’m adopted. I belong to God. Even if I die, I’ll just go to heaven.
That’s power. And Jesus came to give us power.
Next, verses 7-8: “7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,”
When you start feeling low, when you started feeling down, when you are feeling empty and upset, you’ve got to recite the truths of God to yourself. I do this every morning.
I am chosen. I am adopted. I am a child of the most high God. I am redeemed by Jesus blood. My sins are forgiven.
But notice what else God gives us in Christ, it says we receive all wisdom and understanding.
It takes a great deal of wisdom and understanding to live this life successfully. Every decision we make we’re basing on wisdom and knowledge and understanding, those are three different things by the way.
In spiritual warfare, when you are facing demonic attacks, when are facing a difficult situation, you must always to remember to stop and pray. This sounds so simple, but it’s very profound.
We often have something crazy happen, and we go into a panic and we try calling people, doing things, running around like mad, but in all of it we forget to pray. And that’s our mistake. Stop and pray.
I have to force myself to because once I get going I don’t want to stop. I almost get too annoyed to stop and pray. So I have to force myself! If I don’t pray I’m not going to know the right decisions to make. Always stop and pray.
I know for me I start feeling very depressed, or upset about something, why can’t I feel good in the mornings, I feel so down in the morning and I get upset and start feeling hopeless and I tell myself well it’s just hopeless you’re always going to feel that way.
Stop, and pray. "Lord, I’m telling you that I feel down in the mornings, and I’m asking for you to help me and deliver me from that."
Stop and pray. I will pray when I need guidance.
Confess it with me: I invite God into every situation.
Next, verses 9-10: “ 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Something God does for us Christians is, he makes known to us his mysteries. Things he doesn’t tell anyone else. Things no one else understands he will reveal to you.
The mysteries of the universe, from black holes to angels and demons to the rise and fall of nations, seek God and he will make his mysteries known to you.
Yet the greatest mystery of all is the future. We see we have a bright future, a future beyond anything we could imagine. That sounds glib but it's a deep and profound truth. God is going to redeem this fallen world, and bring everything under the authority of Jesus.
Everything on the Earth will be brought under the authority of Christ, who will be seated on a throne in Jerusalem, which will function as the capital of the Earth. One day, during the millennial reign, we will go up and visit the king in Jerusalem, when he is seated in authority over all the Earth. Isn’t that amazing?
And there will be a seat of authority there for you too.
Confess and believe it: I have a place in God’s future Kingdom.
Next, verses 11-12: 11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
You are a heir of his kingdom, which means you will inherit his kingdom. No theologian understands what that really means. But it's amazing beyond words.
That is your future, that is your destiny if you know Jesus as Lord and savior. But the enemy is trying to steal that from you. Don’t allow the enemy to steal, kill and destroy what you have in Jesus.
Yes, we can give it up. We can forfeit our salvation. We can allow sin to harden our hearts, and this can cause us to backslide, and even fall away.
The battles occur in our mind and our heart. Our mind has the information that we need to believe about Jesus and the Bible. Our heart receives the information and embraces it in our emotions. As we feed ourselves God's word, fellowship, worship, and prayer we grow stronger in the faith.
But, the enemy will work on us, and try to get us to question who God says he is. We will question things in the Bible. And we begin to change our mind and heart, and we slowly begin to turn away from God. And the enemy plants lies in our mind. And if we aren’t careful we start to believe those lies.
But, the enemy will work on us, and try to get us to question who God says he is. We will question things in the Bible. And we begin to change our mind and heart, and we slowly begin to turn away from God. And the enemy plants lies in our mind. And if we aren’t careful we start to believe those lies.
Don’t let the enemy steal your joy. Don’t let the enemy steal your inheritance. Don’t doubt God’s word, believe it.
The enemy is always trying to confuse and disturb your faith.
He does it with lies. The best way to counter lies is by believing the truth. The truth is a stronghold against lies.
If you can recognize this battle as it takes place, you'll begin to identify spiritual warfare, and fight back in the battle.
Another way the enemy attempts to thwart us is through sin. Just once won’t hurt. It’s ok to do that, the Bible doesn’t specifically mention it. No one will notice. I deserve to be happy. Nobody’s perfect. God knows my heart.
And we use all these excuses to allow sin in the door. And once we open that door, sin comes in and takes over. And soon we realize, I’m back in chains again, and I can’t get out. If that’s you today, come and meet with me and we will pray together. When another Christian prays for you, it’s very powerful, they can help bring something called “deliverance” from sins.
That’s how God set it up, we need each other. We have to pray for each other. Praying by yourself isn’t enough, have someone else pray for you. It’s hugely important.
Another way the enemy attempts to thwart us is through sin. Just once won’t hurt. It’s ok to do that, the Bible doesn’t specifically mention it. No one will notice. I deserve to be happy. Nobody’s perfect. God knows my heart.
And we use all these excuses to allow sin in the door. And once we open that door, sin comes in and takes over. And soon we realize, I’m back in chains again, and I can’t get out. If that’s you today, come and meet with me and we will pray together. When another Christian prays for you, it’s very powerful, they can help bring something called “deliverance” from sins.
That’s how God set it up, we need each other. We have to pray for each other. Praying by yourself isn’t enough, have someone else pray for you. It’s hugely important.
But even if you’ve opened the door to sin, you can close it again. Ask Jesus to help you, ask Him to forgive you, confess what you’ve done honestly, and say Lord I repent, I turn away from that sin and I turn toward you. Set me free Jesus, I slam the door on that sin.
The enemy will also try to disrupt your belief in Jesus Christ as the only savior. He’ll start whispering to you: What about the tribal person in the jungles who never heard about Christ? What about the mentally ill who can’t understand? What about other world religions? What about other philosophies? What about other planets and galaxies? What about aliens? What about dinosaurs?
If the enemy can’t get you to subtract Jesus, he will try to get you to add other things into the mix, new age spirituality, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, post-modernism, feminism, progressivism, etc, etc, etc.
Remember when God spoke to the Israelites, he told them, you shall have no other gods before me. That’s in the ten commandments. No other gods.
Remember king Solomon, he married women who followed other religions, and he began to sacrifice to those false gods, and it led his heart away from the Lord.
I’ve seen people get very involved in politics and it starts to lead them away from the Lord, their passion is no longer for God, but for politics and political causes.
So many times I had a new person join a church and they are doing great, growing, but then they get a new job and they have to work on Sundays and suddenly they are gone.
I see someone doing well, getting clean and sober, they are attending church, growing in their faith, and then bam, the enemy sends an old friend with a bottle or a joint and they disappear once again.
Understand you are in a spiritual conflict everyday. You can have joy and peace in it. You can be calm and at ease. Yet you should also keep your guard up and understand, the enemy is trying to harm you.
Know who you are in Christ, and identify threats to your salvation, and block them. A few times I see a friend request on Facebook, an old friend from my using days, or a fake profile of some pretty woman, and I say not today devil, delete and block.
Do that in your life too. Recite the truth to yourself and identify and block threats.
The last two verses today say this: 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
We do not have to win all these battles and figure out all these enemy schemes ourselves. I’m thankful for that.
We have the Holy Spirit living within us. And the Holy Spirit is always convicting us of dangers. You will sense it within you, the Holy Spirit will whisper to you, this is a dangerous situation, don’t go there.
But you still have a choice to make. The Holy Spirit will not force you to do anything. He will encourage you at times. He will convict you at times.
I’ll give you an example, small example, I went to a lunch at the training college, not my favorite thing but my wife wanted me to go, so I went and talked with people, and then we left. Small thing right, but as we left I felt the encouragement of the Holy Spirit saying to me that was a right what you just did.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit will convict us, and say, go do X. There was a man in our facility being helped in the caseworker office. And the Holy Spirit said go talk to him. Lord, I’m too busy. And the Holy Spirit repeats things. Go talk to him. And finally I did, and it was a blessed encounter.
But sometimes I have said no and the Holy Spirit will say after: You did wrong. And I’ll have to ask God’s forgiveness.
You have the helper with you. In spiritual warfare you are not alone. You have a helper who is always guiding you. Praise the Lord.
Final declaration: I name the Holy Spirit as the leader of my life.
In conclusion, can you see how it all fits together? Each day you remind yourself that you belong to God. You declare the truths of scripture over your life. This slowly reshapes your heart, and protects you against the lies of the enemy. As you believe and trust, it becomes part of your heart. That’s hugely important, a word declaration is one thing, a heart declaration is powerfully different.
Then, as you face problems, you constantly pray and invite God into the situations. When the future looks uncertain you remind yourself of God’s coming kingdom.
All of this for the intro to spiritual warfare is about taking the scriptural truths, like a paint can, and dipping your brush into it and painting the truths onto your own heart. As you do, you will believe the truth more and more deeply and you’ll naturally reject the lies of the enemy.
All this makes it easier and easier to hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding your life. Then you will be a victorious Christian.
Declare these Truths Over your Life:
1. I have the power of heaven behind me (I can do nothing without God’s help)
2. I am chosen by God (God chose me to receive forgiveness for my sins)
3. I am adopted by God (God makes me part of his family)
4. I invite God into every situation I face (I stop and pray quickly)
5. There is a place for me in God’s future kingdom (I belong to Him)
6. I reject the lies of the enemy, I embrace the truth (I love the truth)
7. The Holy Spirit is my guide in spiritual warfare (I am lovingly protected)
The enemy will also try to disrupt your belief in Jesus Christ as the only savior. He’ll start whispering to you: What about the tribal person in the jungles who never heard about Christ? What about the mentally ill who can’t understand? What about other world religions? What about other philosophies? What about other planets and galaxies? What about aliens? What about dinosaurs?
If the enemy can’t get you to subtract Jesus, he will try to get you to add other things into the mix, new age spirituality, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, post-modernism, feminism, progressivism, etc, etc, etc.
Remember when God spoke to the Israelites, he told them, you shall have no other gods before me. That’s in the ten commandments. No other gods.
Remember king Solomon, he married women who followed other religions, and he began to sacrifice to those false gods, and it led his heart away from the Lord.
I’ve seen people get very involved in politics and it starts to lead them away from the Lord, their passion is no longer for God, but for politics and political causes.
So many times I had a new person join a church and they are doing great, growing, but then they get a new job and they have to work on Sundays and suddenly they are gone.
I see someone doing well, getting clean and sober, they are attending church, growing in their faith, and then bam, the enemy sends an old friend with a bottle or a joint and they disappear once again.
Understand you are in a spiritual conflict everyday. You can have joy and peace in it. You can be calm and at ease. Yet you should also keep your guard up and understand, the enemy is trying to harm you.
Know who you are in Christ, and identify threats to your salvation, and block them. A few times I see a friend request on Facebook, an old friend from my using days, or a fake profile of some pretty woman, and I say not today devil, delete and block.
Do that in your life too. Recite the truth to yourself and identify and block threats.
The last two verses today say this: 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
We do not have to win all these battles and figure out all these enemy schemes ourselves. I’m thankful for that.
We have the Holy Spirit living within us. And the Holy Spirit is always convicting us of dangers. You will sense it within you, the Holy Spirit will whisper to you, this is a dangerous situation, don’t go there.
But you still have a choice to make. The Holy Spirit will not force you to do anything. He will encourage you at times. He will convict you at times.
I’ll give you an example, small example, I went to a lunch at the training college, not my favorite thing but my wife wanted me to go, so I went and talked with people, and then we left. Small thing right, but as we left I felt the encouragement of the Holy Spirit saying to me that was a right what you just did.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit will convict us, and say, go do X. There was a man in our facility being helped in the caseworker office. And the Holy Spirit said go talk to him. Lord, I’m too busy. And the Holy Spirit repeats things. Go talk to him. And finally I did, and it was a blessed encounter.
But sometimes I have said no and the Holy Spirit will say after: You did wrong. And I’ll have to ask God’s forgiveness.
You have the helper with you. In spiritual warfare you are not alone. You have a helper who is always guiding you. Praise the Lord.
Final declaration: I name the Holy Spirit as the leader of my life.
In conclusion, can you see how it all fits together? Each day you remind yourself that you belong to God. You declare the truths of scripture over your life. This slowly reshapes your heart, and protects you against the lies of the enemy. As you believe and trust, it becomes part of your heart. That’s hugely important, a word declaration is one thing, a heart declaration is powerfully different.
Then, as you face problems, you constantly pray and invite God into the situations. When the future looks uncertain you remind yourself of God’s coming kingdom.
All of this for the intro to spiritual warfare is about taking the scriptural truths, like a paint can, and dipping your brush into it and painting the truths onto your own heart. As you do, you will believe the truth more and more deeply and you’ll naturally reject the lies of the enemy.
All this makes it easier and easier to hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding your life. Then you will be a victorious Christian.
Declare these Truths Over your Life:
1. I have the power of heaven behind me (I can do nothing without God’s help)
2. I am chosen by God (God chose me to receive forgiveness for my sins)
3. I am adopted by God (God makes me part of his family)
4. I invite God into every situation I face (I stop and pray quickly)
5. There is a place for me in God’s future kingdom (I belong to Him)
6. I reject the lies of the enemy, I embrace the truth (I love the truth)
7. The Holy Spirit is my guide in spiritual warfare (I am lovingly protected)
