Spiritual War

May 8th

SPIRITUAL WAR

You might wonder why I write about this in a book on spirit, soul and body. It is because we live in a daily war. I constantly meet defeated Christians. They live in defeat since they lack knowledge about the enemy, how to protect themselves and how to win victory.

I am not writing about warfare over cities and countries, but how we can live a victorious life.

THE ENEMY

We have two enemies in our own lives, and that is not your neighbor nor your mother-in-law. We are never having a war against people. We read in Eph.6:12 that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness tin the heavenly places.

Your first enemy is called the devil or Satan. The other one is yourself. I described the flesh earlier and said that the flesh is our sinful and selfish nature. Gal.5:17 writes that the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These two are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. We can win over the flesh by the Spirit. If we live by the Spirit, we set our minds on the things of the Spirit. This is a daily fight and we might have to choose between the Spirit and the flesh many times a day.

SATAN

The devil was once in Heaven, but he rebelled against God and he and one-third of the angels were thrown down to earth. We have twice as many angels as there are demons.

In John 10:10 Jesus says that He came to give life, but the devil is here to steal, kill and destroy. If we move two chapters back to John 8:44, we see that Jesus calls the devil a murderer and the father of lies. There is no truth in the devil and it is no use to converse with him. Jesus did it once, but He could disclose the lie.

In Rev.12:10 the devil is called the accuser. He accused the brethren day and night. I am convinced that he accuses the sisters too. He is using people that are willing to take upon themselves such a task. The Holy Spirit is supposed to convict us of sins, but God does not accuse. He forgives and comes with grace and mercy.

We read in Matt.4:3 that the devil came to tempt Jesus. He came when Jesus was very hungry after a long fast. The devil will always come when we are weak and lack resistance.

In 1.Pet.5:8 it says that the devil can come as a roaring lion and he is seeking whom he can devour. It is easier to see the devil when he comes as a roaring lion than when he comes as the Angel of light. (“.Cor.11:14). There are many false teachers to-day. They are subtracting and adding. Be careful and do as they did in Berea. They went home and searched the Scriptures to find out if the teaching was correct.

The devil comes as the healer, but he wants to have the honor and what he does is not based on the Cross.

Satan has many names. He is called the dragon, the snake, the Lord of the flies and the beast. I am sure that you have heard other names too. A snake is sly and flies are irritating. They stay where there is much dirt.

Satan took with him many fallen angels and these have many different names. The Bible mentions a faint-hearted spirit, a spirit of fear, a spirit of infirmity and the spirit of bondage.

In Matt.12:22 we read about a man who was possessed. He was mute and blind. I could mention the names of many more demons.

A person can have many demons. Jesus cast out a whole legion of a man and Mary Magdalene had seven demons.

As I mentioned before, a Christian cannot have a demon in his spirit. When we read about causes for wounds and demonic activities, we see that the devil has many entrances to our soul and body. I often see a demon in a wound. Only negative things attract the devil. He keeps far away when we worship God and fill ourselves with everything that belongs to His Kingdom.

HOW TO FIGHT THE ENEMY.

We start by reading James 4:7: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Our position must be right. We do not fight the devil with our own weapons. In Zech.4:6 we read: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit; Says the Lord of hosts.”

Both God and the devil know you and they both know if you are in the right position or not.

What does Jesus do when He is attacked by the devil? He said: “It is written.” Jesus referred to the Word of God. This is one of the strongest weapon we have and is one of many reasons why we need to know the Word. The devil knows the Bible much better than you and me. He knows what is written and he knows the power of the Word. That is like a sword.

We read that Jesus disarmed principalities and powers and He made a public spectacle of them, and He was triumphing over them. (Col.2:15) Jesus has won a permanent victory over the evil.

In Luk.10:19 Jesus says to Hid disciples: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” We are His disciples to-day and he gives us the same authority.

Jesus has given us His name. We read in Acts 16:18 that Paul commanded a demon to come out of a woman. He said: “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”

The demon left her at once. The demons were with Jesus in heaven and they know Jesus. I can never cast out a demon in my name, but when I use the name of Jesus I have the same authority as Jesus himself.

In Matt.16:19 Jesus says that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven. Do you rally know your authority in Jesus? I pray that this will be revealed to you.

In Rev.12:11 we read that we can overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sin, all sicknesses, all injustice and evil. We are winning because of His blood.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (1.Joh.5:4)

The devil will run when he hears praise and worship. He hates when Jesus is worshipped and adored. This is therefore a good weapon against him.

THE DEVIL IS CONQUERED, RESIST HIM AND STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH!!!!!

Mother Else