Sermon – Spiritual Warfare Part 1 Mar 19, 2006

Series Intro
Last year in June, Steve, Denise, Dani, and I returned from Africa and you may recall we showed videos of demons manifesting during baptism. We had six different encounters in the three weeks we were there. I came back and told you I still did not understand all the reasons God allowed us to be confronted with these issues. Since that time I have been praying, reading, and asking experienced missionaries about spiritual warfare. For the next two weeks I want to share some of my findings. Many Christians do not live in joy. Understanding the war around us and gaining victory is the key to joy as we await the return of Jesus.

Still Active in Our Time?
One common teaching on demons is that these powers were around in Bible times but not today, except possibly in some superstitious third-world countries. If I were a demon and I wanted to have my way with you, that is exactly what I would want you to think: that I don’t exist. Our Western scientific worldview says: If you can’t see it, touch it, measure it, or define it, it does not exist. We are blinded by the egotistical boundaries some scientists put on existence. We look to ourselves and to false teachers to solve how life works rather than ask God. What God tells us in scripture is that we DO have spiritual enemies:

2 Cor 12:7-8
…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

Jesus said to Peter:

Luke 22:31-32
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.

Peter in turn warned us:

1 Peter 5:8-9
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith…

Eph 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The truth is we do have spiritual enemies and they are active today all over the world; however in our culture they tend to manifest themselves as materialism, pride, apathy, lust, bitterness, and over-indulgence, etc.

Let me give you a list of examples of when we are under spiritual attack (Most taken from The Bondage Breaker by Neal T. Anderson):

1) Have you ever seen, heard, or felt a spiritual being in your room?
2) Do you have recurring nightmares, or have you ever felt choked, or a heavy weight on your chest at night?
3) Have you ever had an imaginary friend or spirit-guide, or “angel” offering you guidance or companionship?
4) Have you ever heard voices in your head or nagging thoughts such as, “I am no good,” “I’m ugly,” “I’m an evil person?”
5) Have you been prompted to seriously consider suicide, or kill another person, or an animal, or be destructive?
6) Have you ever been contacted by beings who said they were aliens?
7) Do you have real problems with wandering thoughts especially when trying to read the Bible, listen to a Christian message, or pray?
8) Do you fret and worry over things you cannot control?
9) Do you fantasize about sex, power, fame, revenge, or wealth?
10) Do you suffer from recurring headaches, dizziness, or sleepiness?
11) Do suggestions of doubt pop into your mind when you consider Biblical promises?
12) Do swear words or vile thoughts take over your mind at uninvited times?
13) Do you brew in anger over issues or when others offend you?
14) Do you obsess over any particular thing?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you are possibly under spiritual attack. This week I hope to explain the theology behind demons and next week provide practical steps for victory.

Demonic Beginnings
Here is a brief history on where demons came from. Sometime before the fall of man (Adam and Eve), Satan was called Lucifer and was a powerful angel. The name Lucifer means angel of light.

EZE 28:14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.

EZE 28:15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.

EZE 28:16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, O guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.

EZE 28:17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.

Jude 1:[6] And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

REV 12:7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. [8] But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. [9] The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Satan and one-third of the angels were condemned and thrown out of heaven, but now comes the worst part for humans:

Rev 12:12
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.

Satan and his demons hate God so they take it out on us, God’s children. That is why we have spiritual enemies today.

Spiritual Strongholds
The Apostle Paul explains how demonic strongholds work.

2 Cor. 10:4-5
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Arguments and pretensions that are set against the knowledge of God become spiritual strongholds. Simply put, accepting lies is what allows a demon to hang-on and harass. Behind every sin is a lie we have accepted and acted on. For example, we accept the lie that sex, or drugs, or possessions can fulfill us when only Jesus can meet our truest needs. The lies we accept enter our hearts during life events; the larger the life event, the larger the potential of impact on who we become. Let me explain this with an analogy.

Imagine your spirit as a clean and sleek rocket ship flying through space. You have a pointed top and shiny untouched sides. You are blasting across the galaxy enjoying the incredible creations of God in space. All of the sudden, blammo! A rock slams into your nosecone and leaves a big dent. Then, blammo again. Another space rock tears down the side of your rocket leaving a deep gash. More ferrous meteorites are leaving dents in your pristine rocket.

The shock wave from the smashes has attracted evil enemies. They fly through space and try to hang onto your speeding spirit. But the hull is too slick and round and they peel off. But some of them begin to dig into the dents and hang on. Soon you have all these evil spirits clinging to the dents on your rocket ship.

This analogy gives us a picture of what happens in the spiritual realm. The meteorites are life events that slam into us: sexual abuse, emotional abuse, a fight with a loved one, an encounter with drugs, someone hurting us, pornography, practicing the occult; there are any number of rocks that can dent our hull. Once dented, we are vulnerable to demonic attacks. Notice I did not say possession. The original Greek in the New Testament never uses the words ‘demon possessed.’ It uses the word demonized. Only the Holy Spirit can possess a Christian. However, a demon can terrorize and tempt a Christian—especially if the demon has a dent to hang onto. Next week we are going to review the more common meteorites, or life events, that cause demonic strongholds of deceit.

All At Once
Let’s switch from discussing evil to discussing truth. Once we have accepted Christ, some incredible things happen to us on the inside. Here is a partial list of the changes that happened to us when we were born-again. Each one is given as an ‘I am’ statement because we already have these.

I am God’s child
John 1:12

I am Christ’s friend
John 15:15

I have been justified
Rom 5:1

I am one with the Lord
1 Cor 6:17

I have been bought with a price
1 Cor 6:20

I am a member of Christ’s body
1 Cor 12:27

I am a saint
Eph 1:1

I have been adopted as God’s child
Eph 1:5

I have direct access to God
Eph 2:18

I am forgiven of my sins
Col 1:14

I am complete in Christ
Col 2:10

I am free of condemnation
Rom 8:1,2

I am assured all things work for good
Rom 8:28

I cannot be separated from God‘s love
Rom 8:35-39

I am anointed and sealed
2 Cor 1:21,22

I am hidden with Christ in God
Col 3:3

I am assured of God’s work in me
Phil 1:6

I am a citizen of heaven
Phil 3:20

I have a spirit of love, power, & self-discipline
2 Tim 1:7

I am protected from the evil one
1 John 5:18

I am the salt of the earth
Matt :13

I am a witness for Jesus
Acts 1:8

I am a minister of reconciliation
2 Cor 5:17-20

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm
Eph 2:6

I am God’s workmanship
Eph 2:10

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
Phil 4:13

I am the temple of the Holy Spirit
1 Cor 3:16

Living Temple of God
The last ‘I am’ is the key to all the others. Before Jesus came, people had to worship God in the temple. Now, we are the temple. The Old Testament temple was made of an outer court, a Holy Place, and a Holy of Holies. God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies.

The construction of the temple is a mirror of how we are made. The outer court is our body, the Holy Place is our mind, and the Holy of Holy of Holies is our spirit. As soon as we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit moves into our Holy of Holies and He brings with Him all those treasures we read on the ‘I am’ list.

The real you—your spirit, the part that will last forever—is now completed in Christ. Demons do not want us to live in the reality of all we have in Christ so they try to get us to accept another reality where sinful things bring fulfillment. Demons work on our mind—our Holy Place—to get us to live for the body instead of the Holy of Holies. The mind is where all the battles of spiritual warfare are fought.

No Fear, Just Precaution
Next week we will discuss how to reveal demonic strongholds of deceit, how to get free of them, and how to defend ourselves from future attacks. We should feel about demons the same way we feel about germs. Are you afraid of germs? No, but you are concerned about them and you take measures so they cannot infect you. You wash your hands, you are careful what you eat is not rotten, and if someone with a cold offers to kiss you, you run. Demons can only harm us when we do not take the correct precautions. So do not fear them, just learn how to steer clear of them.

1 John 4:3-4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Prayer