larshaukeland

Part 1: The battle and the victory

If you knew that a thief was planning to break into your home, what would you do? Would you go to bed and turn out your lights? Surely not. You would wait up with your lights on. If you lived in the USA, you would probably have a shotgun resting on your knees.

In this study, I will address spiritual warfare. It would be good if you have prepared yourself by reading “Supernatural reality” on my blog.

Many believe that evil spirits are only existing in more primitive countries. That’s where we hear about demon possession and black magic. The truth is that the devil and his fallen angels are alive and well everywhere on this planet. People play with the occult, not knowing that by opening the door to the occult, you enter a place where the door might slam shut behind you. Even Christians do not take precautions against evil and seem to be ready to attack hell with a squirt gun. This is a foolish thing to do. Yes, Jesus has won over the wicked one, but He is much stronger than us. Even if a Christian can not be possessed, he can be greatly influenced by evil forces.

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THE REALITY OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE

We are as Christans at different places in our Christian lives and our individual development. Your true belief is revealed by what you do under pressure. Most of us, under time of pressure, will not consider the possibility that a spiritual battle may be under way in our lives.

But we are often in a fierce battle with the enemy of our souls. Spiritual warfare ia a biblical reality. The question is not whether we wrestle demonic spirits, but who’s on top? Do the spirits have us pinned?

Demonic forces are attacking families left and right, especially Christians. The problem is that we as a whole do not take our enemy serious enough. We have the resources for  victory, but we don’t recognize his attacks or try to resist him. The apostle Paul warned the Corinthian churc about Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11), but the church of today is woefully ignorant of the way our enemy works.

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A daily battle

When I talk about spiritual warfare, some think of possessed people, poltergeists, huntings and things that go bump in the night. This is also part of it, but for the average Christian, it is the battle of every day when we battle against “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Many have let themselves be trapped in bondage to sin so that the enemy has an enormous influence on their lives. Because we often don’t know how Satan works, we have to pay an enormous price for this neglect and ignorance. Spiritual warfare is indeed real, and we are all in a battle.

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Giving ground to the devil

When demonic powers fight i.e. a young Christian man, and that man does not make a stand against sin, he gives more and more ground to the devil. He is more easily tempted by the wicked one, and if that young Christian man is married, that can easily break his marriage. Often, that couple will need Christian counseling to overcome this threat. Many couples have found themselves in this situation.

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WELCOME TO THE WAR

It was several years ago that I met people that were involved in serious spiritual warfare. I have also met possessed people. Unfurtunately, the first ones I met, I was unable to help that much. Please note that there are Christian counselors who are able to help in these situations. There are several books that are written on the subject of spiritual warfare, and many pastors might be able to help. Please try to get help from someone who has knowledge about spiritual warfare, either from life experience or other aquired knowledge.

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A doubter

Many people will tell you that if you are a Christian, demons can not possess you. This is true, but that does not mean that evil spirits can not influence you. I found it strange when a person came to my house after being attacked by demons for about 15 years. That was in itself not strange, but the man claimed to be a Christian, and I could find nothing wrong with his testimony. I listened attentively to the man for three hours as he told me how he had been attacked by demons.

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Becoming a believer

After studying this topic for some time, I know that Christians can be deceived by evil spirits and then put into bondage. Many people are not outwardly wicked, but something seems to be out of whack. Even missionaries can be influenced in this manner. Often iniquities are passed on generationally, and that gives the enemy an advantage in bringing destructive attacks on the family (Exodus 20:5). People undergoing demon attacks can often lose their sanity, often become hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals, or, in severe cases, even die.

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UNDERSTANDING THE BATTLE

Any person, any Christian, a missionary or a pastor, can be open to satanic influences. Christians of all ages and from all walks of life have been thrown in the ditch spiritually by demon attacks because they did not understand the vital truths about our enemy, our identity and our armour.

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Our enemy

1. The enemy is strong.

“Your adersary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”

(1 Peter 5:8)

Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. Unlike the good news og God’s love, Satan’s plan is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

First, he wants to steal the eternal significance of your life. He wants you to get so wrapped up in your problems and circumstances that you never reach out to others. That way, you are no threat to him at all. Satan wants to steal the fruit of the Spirit in your life.

Second, he disires to kill you. But he can’t do that without Gods’s permission, so he’ll tell you to do it for him. Many people think of suicide, because it’s the only way out that they can see.

Third, the enemy seeks to destroy our relionships. Churches and pastors are being shredded by the enemy’s work in tearing apart relationships.

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Our identity

2. Our spiritual identity as children of God gives us the authority and power to repel enemy attacks.

We are to be “more than conquerorsthrough Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). Later on we’ll see who we are in Christ, primarily from the book of Ephesians.

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Our armour

3. God gives us a mighty armour to resist the enemy’sattacks

We need to “put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11) to resist Satan successfully.

Not only is every child of God a target for Satan’s attacks, but I have also found that the armour of God is sufficient for every person’s battle. The armour, consisting of truth, righteousness and much more (Ephesians 6:10-18), is the only way to resist Satan’s attacks. And it is, thank God, the effective way.

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WAGING SUCCESSFUL WARFARE

The good news is that not all believers fall prey to these attacks. There are believers, young and old, all around the world who have been trained and equipped from Scripture to deal successfully with this area of the Christian life. And many of these believers are helping other believers who have fallen victim to the enemy and are being held in various degrees of bondage.

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Being aware

It is my hope that this study will be a help to you on several levels.

First, I want you to be aware of the spiritual battle going on around you and equip you to wage it successfully.

Every believeSatan’s schemes. But if you don’t know the source of the thoughts and temptations that you encounter daily, you can be tripped up and eventually wiped ut. What would happen if you thought that every single wrong thought which enters your mind originated from you? What if you believed that because it was your thought, you had to welcome it, entertain it, and act on it? You say “That’s ridiculous! I know that I don’t have to accept and act out every thought that enters my head.” You are right, but that’s exactly what the enemy has convinced some Christians to believe and to do, and it’s destroying them.

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Being equipped

Second, I want to help you equip yourselfto fight the good fight, to stand in the victory that God has provided.

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Helping others

Third, I want to help you deal with someone else who is coming under demon attack.

The methods and Scriptures I use here – which, by the way, is a week-long process – are neither mysterious or magical. Thousands of pastors, missionaries, and lay people have been trained to recognize the signs of demonic involvement and lead someone to freedom in Christ.

God has equipped every believer with every spiritual weapon necessary to fight a winning battle.

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