Spiritual Warfare for the Modern Christian

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Introduction

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior? Have you repented of your sins and made a commitment to walk a new way of life? If you have answered ‘yes’ to these two questions, then you are in the middle of the greatest battle taking place on earth right now. This battle is a spiritual battle, and you are under attack. You are under attack because when you become a Christian, Satan and his demonic forces, place you at the top of their hit list. I Peter 5:8 states:

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Let’s analyze two main aspects of this spiritual war that we are in. First, we need to identify how it is that Satan attacks us, and second what we can do to neutralize his attacks.

How Satan attacks

In order for us to understand how Satan attacks, we must first understand his character (or lack thereof), and well as his mindset. Several Bible passages give indications of what makes him tick: He is covetous and wants God’s position,

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He is a murder, a liar, and incapable of telling the truth,

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He has the ability to masquerade as a messenger from God,

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He is also a being that is literally insane. Anyone who thinks that they can supplant God has to be.

When you analyze these components of Satan’s character, you realize that rules are off limits to him. If he were a boxer, he would hit you below the belt. He will do anything he can to take you away from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Satan has almost unlimited avenues of how he can attack us. All of them are centered in falsehood. Let’s examine a few of them.

The Lie.

Genesis 3:1-5 states:

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This serpent in this passage of scripture tells several lies, but the one that is the most devious is in verse 5. Satan tells Adam and Eve that they can be like, or be equal to God. In other words, they have no need for God and that they are the only authority that they need in their lives. This attitude has all but permeated our society today. It is known as secular humanism. Secular humanism is defined as “An outlook or philosophy that advocates human rather than religious values.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. A person that holds this philosophy really has no basis of how to live their lives. If we only advocate human values, then the only determining factor of those values, are those which each individual holds. It then becomes an “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.” mindset. The Christian faith has defined laws and guidelines to follow. These laws help to maintain a decent and civil society. Secular humanism, or “the lie”, only leads to the eventual death and destruction of the society that adheres to its beliefs.

Music and Entertainment.

Western civilization and much of the rest of the world, have become enamored with entertainment, to the point that the average American spends between 5-6 hours a day on watching TV, movies, internet, and listening to music. Entertainment in itself is not a bad thing, and even if all of our entertainment was wholesome and virtuous, to immerse ourselves in any form of escapism is not healthy. The problem with our entertainment is that it has become so perverse. The following excerpt from Steve Bonta in the magazine The New American sums it up best:

“Little wonder that, after decades of having pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality, pro-sexual promiscuity, and anti-religion messages, among others, dinned into them on prime-time TV, in movies, and in popular music, Americans have largely acquiesced, and in many cases openly embraced, conduct and beliefs that were taboo a couple of generations ago”

The New American Vol19, No. 3 Feb 10th, 2003

To try and find entertainment that is Godly or uplifting, is quite a challenge. So, when you combine our addiction to entertainment, with its increasing moral depravity, you begin to see what a powerful indoctrination tool that Satan has at his disposal.

Direct Spiritual Attacks

Hollywood portrays demonic activity in an unbiblical manner. They are often shown to have limitless power and are on an equal footing with God. However based on personal experience and what is written in the Bible, I believe there are three main ways which we are directly attacked by the demonic world.

1) Influenced

This appears to be the most common attack. It is something that everyone experiences at one time or another. Have you ever had a thought pop into your head and wonder, “where did that come from”? Satan does have the ability to influence our minds, if we have our guards down. There are several examples of this in the Bible. (Acts 5:3, I Chronicles 21:1, John 13:2)

His influence may actually manifest itself in a more physical form as well. I have talked to several people who have woken up in the middle of the night with an “evil presence” that was on their chest making it hard for them to breathe. I have also personally had the feeling of an evil spirit being in a room and could almost “see” it.

2) Demonized

This idea is almost an intermediary step between being influenced and possessed. It is where people hear voices and begin to do things without knowing why. They still are somewhat in control of their lives, but they tend to be in a constant state of confusion, worry, and doubt. Several Christian psychologists believe that most mental illnesses fall into this category. Two excellent books that deal with this topic are: The Bondage Breaker and Victory over Darkness by Neil T. Anderson.

3) Possession

This attack apparently gives its victim very little control over what they do. It is almost like they become a puppet to a master. Several examples in the Bible are found in: Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18

4) Brainwashing

Another way that Satan uses to attack us is to brainwash those who has a lack of commitment. We are warned of this in Galatians 6:7-9

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During the Korean war more US prisoners of war died in captivity than in any other war, and most of those that didn’t were brain washed against the United States. Because of these surprising statistics the US Army did studies to determine why this occurred. One such study was conducted by an Army doctor: Major William E. Mayer. Doctor Mayer reported his finding in a 1956 speech entitled “Brainwashing: The Ultimate Weapon”. What they found was is that the Communist would separate those few captured leaders and those who had a strong faith, from the 95% or so who lacked a committed faith.

Doctor Mayer referred to this as a disease of non-commitment. Here is a quote from the 1956 speech I referred to earlier.

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Basically, what they found was that persons who lacked commitment were easily swayed (or brainwashable) to the point they were willing to do and say things against the United States. They found that these attitudes continued even after their release. Many chose not to return home and of those that did they continued to hold a negative attitude to their home country, and some of those worked against the US. The communist used this over and over again successfully. Likewise Satan does the same things with those who hold no or weak beliefs.

Many people today lack commitment to faith in Jesus Christ, and some Christian’s just give up in the face of adversity or worse turn against those of faith.

It is imperative that you and I remain vigilant and steadfast in our beliefs and commitment to our faith in Jesus Christ. And furthermore to often share our faith with others as Jesus told us to do in Matthew 28:16-20:

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Overcoming Satan

Satan can be a formidable foe for us. He is a being on a different plane of existence and is capable of doing things that we cannot imagine. How then can we defeat him? Here are several things that will help:

1) Have the correct means to fight him

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This passage of scripture is almost always quoted when discussing spiritual warfare, but let’s make sure we do not diminish its significance! It is God and his strength alone that will help us to defeat Satan. We are instructed to use aspects of our Christian walk, in the same manner that a soldier would use armaments to protect himself in a war. Just as we wouldn’t expect to walk out and fight a Sherman tank in our pajamas, we cannot expect to fight Satan and his minions without effective prayer, Bible study, and fasting. Remember that we would not need this armor if it wasn’t possible for Satan to attack and injure us.

Referring back to Doctor Mayer’s study

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I cannot enough stress to you that we are in a war with Satan every single day. Our battlefield is in our minds, in our homes, in our families and in our Country, as well as in the world in general.

Our weapons for this war are issued to us in our own homes and churches. We must always stand firm and vigilant against the weapons of Satan and his minions.

2) Know the tactics of the enemy

Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:16:

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In other words, we should understand how our enemy works, but not be partakers in his behavior. We need to remember that Satan is a deceiver, a murderer, speaks half-truths, and does not follow rules. His pursuit of us will never end, so we need to be on guard and understand how and where his attacks come from.

3) Be careful of your surroundings

I can recall reading a story of a preacher in the 1800’s. He went to New Orleans to help convert the drunks and the prostitutes. He decided to live on Bourbon St. to be right in the middle of all the action. Within several months, his behavior had become just like those all around him. It is important for us to realize that we cannot stay immersed in a sinful environment. If your job, school, or even church is a place that is like that, you may want to consider going elsewhere. As Christians we should want to help those who are lost and living in sin, but we need to be careful that it does not overcome us. Since we are constantly under attack by the tempter, we should not put ourselves in a constant state of attack and temptation.

Conclusion

Much like ancient Israel, we as Christians need to learn to rely upon the strength of God’s hand. Of our own power we can do nothing to stop the onslaught of evil that is at our door every day. Satan and his demons hold sway over much of humanity. It is possible for us to fall under that sway as well. We need to put God as our first and only line of defense. He will fight these spiritual battles for us. If we encounter an evil spirit, or a person possessed, we can command the evil spirit to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. If we are having personal encounters or are being influenced, we can pray for God to fight the battle. This war that we are involved will not stop until Jesus Christ returns. Let us remember that we have nothing to fear if we put God first and make him our defense. It is in him and him alone that we will be victorious in this spiritual fight.

AMEN