I think the majority of Christians have heard the phrase “Spiritual Warfare”, but I don’t think there are many who fully understand the depth of what it actually is, so in this post I will endeavor to examine what it is, why it exists and how it can affect us. This post will likely be a long one, for which I can make no apology. This is an important topic, especially at this point in time where the world is getting to be a very dark place as new enemy strongholds are being established on a daily basis. There are people who don’t like to read or say they don’t have time so I can only hope and pray for those people that they will wake up to their priorities, before their priorities wake them.
I think by the end of this post your eyes will be opened as to how big this issue actually is and how many areas of life it is embedded in.
The Bible, in Hosea 4:6 says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” and this is sadly true. <Key point>
The question for some people is, how can there be any spiritual warfare when the battle has already been won at Calvary? and that is a legitimate question and indeed a very true statement. The battle was indeed won and the ultimate price paid and Hallelujah, Praise, Honor and Glory be to God for that! and if you are in Christ, walking in His fullness you can enjoy the benefits of His sacrifice of Love for you, but what if you’re not?, what about the people who are not, who are walking and even trapped in darkness. Family, friends, loved ones, neighbours (who we are commanded to love even as ourselves? <Key point>
Let me ask you a question. If a kidnapper grabbed hold of someone close to you, and nobody else was around to help, wouldn’t you put up a struggle to save that person, wouldn’t you wrestle with the kidnapper to stop them from achieving their crime? – Of course you would!
What about struggling with a kidnapper that you CAN’T SEE?
Ephesians 6:12 says this:
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Now, please, please go back and read Ephesians 6:12 again, every word….got it? ok good as by now I hope you are beginning to understand at least the fundamental reason as to why Spiritual Warfare exists.
Before we come to Christ we are lost in our sins, walled in by society and the corrupt moral climate and education system, hell bent on shoving evolution down our throats and in as many ways as possible telling us that there is no God, and then on the other hand you have lots of cults and moderate “churches” who create an image of god in their own likeness (instead of the other way around).
The world and it’s many systems and schemes is a deeply wicked place. We only see the surface damage as we watch the news or read the newspaper, but when you are Spiritually awakened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit you gain a sense of discernment much like a sixth sense and from there you begin to see more fully the Spiritual battle which is going on in plain sight, but wait, if it’s in plain sight why are more people not aware of it and talking about it? Well, that’s because outside of the Lord, people are spiritually dead in their sins and blind to spiritual matters, they only see and are concerned with material things; making them cannon fodder for the enemy and his servants.
Going back to Ephesians 6:12 above (you read it twice remember), it is clear as to what we are dealing with and we need to remember that, and be conscious of it, as not only individuals but entire towns, cities or even nations can be affected by demonic influence and strongholds.
Even knowing this, there are, unbelievably, still professing Christians who shrug it off or take it with a pinch of salt, dismissing it because it’s not a fashionable viewpoint and their other moderate part-time Christian friends may not approve, or at least would only offer a worldly opinion on it because they still have 1 foot in the world (if not 1 and a half). Meanwhile demonic entities parading as familiar spirits carry on their offensive on many different fronts.
There are many ways in which demonic oppression manifests itself, I could probably write a list as long as a roll of toilet paper because it is so ingrained in society today that people accept it as the norm, so let’s take a look at just a few instances of what is going on.
I think everyone knows that devil worshipers exist. They are usually imagined as a group gathered in some dark place wearing dark robes and hoods with a pentagram on the floor etc and this does happen, but I wonder if people also realize that there is another much larger following of devil worshipers in the world Today that don’t always wear dark robes with black candles but instead they wear shirts & ties, run multinational businesses, Banks, Governments, the media and the music industry. The difference is that they don’t see the devil as satan the fallen angel that he is, but instead they see him still as Lucifer the bringer of light, the bright shining Seraphim he once was before he became filled with pride, greed and lust.
Why do they still see him as Lucifer when the Bible clearly recounts what happened? Because he told them so, is the simple answer, he appears to them in his original form:-
2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
he tells them that it was all a misunderstanding that God judged him unfairly and in return for siding with him he promises them great power, fame and wealth and in their eyes he seems to deliver on it – I think we’ve all heard, particularly of musicians making a deal with the devil, selling their soul for fame and fortune and sure enough they do get fame and fortune, there are countless examples of this
Bob Dylan, Jimmy Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Snoop Dogg etc
But it’s not just limited to musicians, it amounts to many more people than that. Some you might expect like magicians, and others who you would least expect (or suspect)
And yet, they must know that the day will come when it’s time to pay the price at their end-of-the-bargain, but they have absolutely no idea of what kind of price they will pay because they made the grave mistake in trusting in the father of lies. Worse still there are some people in positions of power who don’t think they will have to pay any price, but instead be rewarded – How deceived they are!
How can satan give people all of this? Well, let’s go back to when satan took Jesus up to the highest mountain (Matthew 4:8) overlooking all the kingdoms of the world and he said to Jesus “If you will bow down and worship me, I’ll give all of this to you” – Jesus didn’t respond to him by saying it isn’t yours to give. In order to give it, he must already have had it. Jesus Himself referred to him as the “prince of this world”, but the fact that he “has” it doesn’t mean it’s his and it will ultimately be taken back from him. Crime doesn’t pay, not even for satan as he and his followers will soon see.
So, the world and it’s systems are like a rotten apple, decaying all the time, built on an infrastructure of lies and deceit with people jumping from the frying pan into the fire trying to find solutions outside of God.
The essence of Spiritual warfare is to come against these systems and seek to nullify, tear down and destroy them for the strongholds that they are, but know this, this is the part where it all becomes real, where we stop with playing at it and actually end up on the battlefield on the front lines – Some people are specially anointed for this which is good because it is not for the faint hearted as demons don’t like having their cage and comfort zone rattled. They can be sitting in control of a situation for years with little or no resistance then you come along and start praying into it, they will make every attempt they can to stop you and if they can’t get to you they may go after your family or those closest to you so before you even consider getting into this arena, you have to cover yourself and your family, and those closest to you with the precious blood of Jesus, and ask the Lord to build His hedge of protection around you and them, you must do as He says and put on the full armour of God and have the greatest of Faith, courage and determination as you stand on the solid rock of your Faith, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God, trust it, believe it, live it, and the gates of hell shall not, and cannot prevail (withstand) against it.
There are vacancies, lots of vacancies on the front lines because many professing Christians are in denial about this and their responsibilities to seek and save the lost
Most churches are only fishing in their own “fishtank” trying to convert the converted to a higher standard whilst the people on the outside are perishing, lost in their sins.
So I hope by now you will have at least some idea and insight into what spiritual warfare is, why we do it and why there is a need for us to engage in it. Jesus came under attack from the devil so we can assume that man is not immune.
Once again I say that yes! the battle is already won but we have to walk in that victory and use that authority to declare freedom for the captives.
If you have any questions or want any further advice or information, don’t hesitate to leave a message or contact us through Norway Prayer Network on Facebook.
God Bless you and strengthen you for the battle ahead. Amen.
Jesus Norway 