Spiritual Warfare
A Personal Testimony
Spiritual Warfare
A Working Definition
Spiritual warfare is an awareness of
the spiritual dynamics taking place
around us in order to engage in
spiritual conflict using our God given
resources.
A Biblical Paradigm
Luke 13: 10-17
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one
of the synagogues, and a woman was
there who had been crippled by a spirit for
eighteen years. She was bent over and
could not straighten up at all.
A Biblical Paradigm
When Jesus saw her, he called her
forward and said to her, "Woman, you are
set free from your infirmity.” Then he put
his hands on her, and immediately she
straightened up and praised God.
A Biblical Paradigm
Indignant because Jesus had healed on
the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to
the people, "There are six days for work.
So come and be healed on those days, not
on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him,
"You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on
the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from
the stall and lead it out to give it water?
A Biblical Paradigm
Then should not this woman, a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound
for eighteen long years, be set free on the
Sabbath day from what bound her?”
When he said this, all his opponents were
humiliated, but the people were delighted
with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Foundational Principles
• The battle embraces both doctrine and
experience
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of
the eternal life to which you were called when
you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses.
(1 Timothy 6:12)
Some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons
(1 Timothy 4:1)
Foundational Principles
• The battle embraces both defensive and
offensive
Resist the devil and he will flee from you
(James 4:7)
The devil prowl around like a roaring lion…
resist him. (1 Peter 5:7)
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully
advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
(Matthew 11:11-12)
Foundational Principles
• The battle entails both power and truth
You are of your father the devil… When he lies
he speaks his native language, for he is a liar
and the father of lies (John 8:44
“God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and
power… he went around doing good and
healing all who were under the power of the
devil because God was with him (Acts 10:38
The battle escalates through three levels
Personal
Ministry
Territorial
Preliminary Cautions
• We may foster a fascination with evil
“Be wise about what is good and innocent
about what is evil” (Romans 16:19)
“Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to
you but rejoice that your names are written
in heaven” (Luke 10:20)
Preliminary Cautions
• We may foster a fascination with evil
• We may give the devil more than his due
Preliminary Cautions
• We may foster a fascination with evil
• We may give the devil more than his due
• We may encourage irresponsibility
Preliminary Cautions
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We may foster a fascination with evil
We may give the devil more than his due
We may encourage irresponsibility
We may incur casualties
Preliminary Cautions
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We may foster a fascination with evil
We may give the devil more than his due
We may encourage irresponsibility
We may incur casualties
We may substitute magic for the
miraculous
Preliminary Cautions
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We may foster a fascination with evil
We may give the devil more than his due
We may encourage irresponsibility
We may incur casualties
Old Testament Background
• A basic motif - the divine warrior
He is my God and I will praise him,
my father’s God and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name. (Exodus 15:3)
“The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle”
(Psalm 24:8)
Old Testament Background
• A basic motif - the divine warrior
The battle is cosmic in scope
The enemies of God are clearly defined
Old Testament Background
• Prohibited practices
Let no one be found among you who
sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire,
who practices divination or sorcery,
interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or
casts spells or is a medium or spiritist or
who consults the dead.
(Deuteronomy. 18:10-11)
Old Testament Background
• Prohibited practices
They made him jealous with their foreign gods
and angered him with their detestable idols.
They sacrificed to demons which are not God
(Deut 32:16-17)
Old Testament Background
• A basic motif - the divine warrior
• Prohibited practices
• A test case - the story of Saul
1 Samuel 16
1Samuel 28
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The synagogue
(Mark 1:21-28)
• The Cemetery
(Mark 5:1-20)
• Deliverance at a distance
(Mark 7:24-29)
• The foot of the mountain
(Mark 9:14-29)
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The synagogue (Mark 1:21-28)
–the emphasis on teaching
–the issue of authority
–the interchange with the demon world
–the manifestations
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The synagogue (Mark 1:21-28)
• The Cemetery (Mark 5:1-20)
– presenting symptoms
– the significance of the name
– the request of the spirits
“Hell’s Mouth” in the painting The Last
Judgement” by Michelangelo c1541
Sistene Chapel
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The synagogue (Mark 1:21-28)
• The Cemetery (Mark 5:1-20)
• Deliverance at a distance
“Hell’s Mouth” in the painting The Last
Judgement” by Michelangelo c1541
Sistene Chapel
(Mark 7:24-29)
– it involves a child
– the child is not present
– a caution expressed
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The synagogue (Mark 1:21-28)
• The Cemetery (Mark 5:1-20)
• Deliverance at a distance
(Mark 7:24-29)
• The foot of the mountain
(Mark 9:14-29)
– overt manifestations
– the disciples ineffectiveness
– the possibility of re-entry
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The encounters explained: A Satanic•
Offensive
Confusion (Matt 13:19)
Counterfeit (Matt 13:24ff)
The Gospels: 4 Crucial Incidents
• The encounters explained: A Divine•
Counteroffensive
The strong man is bound (Mark 3:26-29)
And stripped of his armour (Luke 11:17-20)
The Book of Acts
• Satan attacks the church (5:1-11)
“How is it that Satan has filled your
heart to lie to the Holy Spirit” (3)
“Minos” in the painting The Last Judgement” by
Michelangelo c1541
Sistene Chapel
The Book of Acts
• Satan attacks the church (5:1-11)
• Satan opposes evangelism
- Simon in Samaria (8:9ff)
- Bar- Jesus in Cyprus (13:6ff)
- the slave girl in Philippi (16:16ff)
The Book of Acts
• Satan attacks the church (5:1-11)
• Satan opposes evangelism
• Satan uses occult practices
(19:11-20)
Paul’s Picture of Satan
• As a powerful enemy
(2 Corinthians 4:4,
Ephesians 6:12)
• As a persistent aggressor
(1 Thessalonians 2:18)
• As a divine instrument
(2 Corinthians 12:7)
• As a deceptive agent
(2 Corinthians 2:11,
11:1-2,14)
The Apocalypse
• Satan attacks the churches (2-3)
The devil will throw you into prison
(2:10)
I know where you live..
Where Satan has his throne (2:13)
The deep things of Satan (2:24)
The synagogue of Satan (3:9)
The Apocalypse
• Satan inflicts pain
When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose
from it… out of the smoke locusts cam
down upon the earth and they were
given power… they were given power to
torture them for five months…they had
a king over them, the angel of the Abyss
(Rev 9:2-10)
The Apocalypse
• Satan desires worship
Men worshipped the dragon because he
had given authority to the beast
(Rev 13:4)
The Apocalypse
• Satan invades structures
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast
that was covered with blasphemous
names (Rev 17:3)
The Apocalypse
• Satan experiences defeat (12:7-12)
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
Now have come the salvation and the power and
the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his
Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who
accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and
by the word of their testimony; they did not love
their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Building A Satan Proof Life
Some Preliminary Issues
Protecting ourselves
Protecting our families
Protecting our ministries
Protecting our communities
Putting On God’s Armour
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Corporate as well as individual
Four areas of attack
Satan’s timing is strategic
Pray it on
Two basic areas
consistency of life style
competence in the Word
Open Doors in Our Culture
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New Age practices
Aspects of witchcraft
Increase in role playing games
Secret societies
Warfare at the Personal Level
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Deal with weaknesses and wounds
Practice inner healing
Learn how to resist temptation
Make your home a spiritual refuge
Engage the ministry of angels
Deal With the Weakness
and The Wounds
• Where are the weaknesses?
• Where is the woundedness?
• Where is the distorted thinking?
Deal With the Weakness
and The Wounds
• Where is the distorted thinking?
“A spiritual stronghold is a mind set
impregnated with hopelessness that
causes us to accept as unchangeable
something that is contrary to the will of
God” (Ed Silvosa). Luke 1, Gen 18, 2
Cor 10, 1 Cor 11
Practice Inner Healing
• Make significant preparation
• Use ministry time appropriately
• After the session
Dealing With Temptation
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Understand the dynamics
Deal with any woundedness
Use Word and Spirit
Build in prayer and accountability
Recognize the wisdom of flight
Invite God in at the beginning
Make Your Home A Spiritual Refuge
• Acts of cleansing
• Acts of consecration
• Acts of protection
Ask For Angelic Intervention
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They instruct us in warfare
They assist us in warfare
They instruct us in worship
They can enlisted for service
The Ministry /Church Level
Do A Spiritual Assessment
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Affirm your strengths
Identify weaknesses
Uncover memories
Deal with corporate sin
Discern areas of attack
The Ministry /Church Level
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Watch for spiritual counterfeits
Evaluate your leaders
Be alert to systemic evil
Watch for “spiritual carriers”
Aggressively Reclaim Territory
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Through the work of evangelism
Through binding prayers
Through prayer walks
Through the use of the sacraments/
ordinances
Practising Warfare Prayers
• Energized by the Spirit
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions…”
(Ephesians 6:19)
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us with
groans that words cannot express”
(Romans 8:26-27)
Practising Warfare Prayers
• Energized by the Spirit
• Is aggressive, bold, compassionate
“Save O Lord and have mercy on those
that envy and affront me and do me
mischief and do not let them perish
through me.”
Leanne Payne
Practising Warfare Prayers
• Energized by the Spirit
• Is aggressive, bold, compassionate
• Involves sending and receiving
- bind the voice of the enemy
- ask God to remove any
preconceived ideas
- wait in silence for the voice of God
Practising Warfare Prayers
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Energized by the Spirit
Is aggressive, bold, compassionate
Involves sending and receiving
Is susceptible to abuse
Practising Warfare Prayers
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Is energized by the Spirit
Is aggressive, bold, compassionate
Involves sending and receiving
Is susceptible to abuse
Two O.T. illustrations
Exodus 17
2 Chronicles 20
Deliverance Ministry:Points of Entry
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Occult involvement
Sexual abuse/ trauma
Ancestral involvement
Persistent sin and inability to deal
with problems
Overt Symptoms
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Altered state of consciousness
Personality change
Hostility toward spiritual things
Clairvoyance
Uncontrollable urges and anger
Self mutilation
Avoidance of eye contact
Overt Symptoms
• Unusual bizarre dreams
• Dissociative identity disorder (DID)
• Satanic ritual abuse (SRA)
Preparation for Ministry
• Interview the client
Are they spiritually prepared?
Do they understand the procedure?
Do they need to sign a consent form?
Preparation for Ministry
• Interview the client
• Assemble a team
Look for compassionate people who
are team players
Look for discernment gifts
Work with a small group
Have them make spiritual preparation
Preparation for Ministry
• Interview the client
• Assemble a team
• Get prayer backup
Ask people to pray for the team
Ask them to pray for the client
Preparation for Ministry
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Interview the client
Assemble a team
Get prayer backup
Set the time and place
Don’t let the enemy determine these things
The Session Itself
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Do preparation with your team
Start with prayer and praise
Reassure the client
Establish a power base in the room
Confront the spirits
Expose the spirits
Expel the spirits
The Session Itself
• Do preparation with your team
Pray against anything coming against
your team or their families
The Session Itself
• Do preparation with your team
• Start with prayer and praise
The Session Itself
• Do preparation with your team
• Start with prayer and praise
• Reassure the client
Are they willing to affirm the
Lordship of Christ?
Do they want all spirits to leave?
The Session Itself
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Do preparation with your team
Start with prayer and praise
Reassure the client
Establish a power base in the room
Cut off
Call back
The Session Itself
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Do preparation with your team
Start with prayer and praise
Reassure the client
Establish a power base in the room
Confront the spirits
The Session Itself
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Do preparation with your team
Start with prayer and praise
Reassure the client
Establish a power base in the room
Confront the spirits
Expose the spirits
The Session Itself
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Do preparation with your team
Start with prayer and praise
Reassure the client
Establish a power base in the room
Confront the spirits
Expose the spirits
Expel the spirits
Follow up
• Pray for filling and healing
• Give reassurance and instructions
• Have an ongoing contact made