Tag: Christian Growth

Spiritual Warfare: Signs And Manifestations Of Spiritual Attacks

Spiritual Warfare: Signs and Manifestations of Spiritual Attacks

Spiritual warfare is not a theory; it is a daily reality for every believer. In the article “Spiritual Warfare Pt.: Signs and Manifestations of Spiritual Attacks,” I examine how the invisible war in the spiritual realm manifests in real life—what it looks like, how it behaves, and how it affects both individual believers and the church at large.

This article follows the same teaching.

Spiritual Warfare: Signs and Manifestations of Spiritual Attacks

In this article, we will examine how the invisible war in the spiritual realm manifests in real life—what it looks like, how it behaves, and its impact on both individual believers and the church as a whole.

A manifestation is a sign or event that shows something exists or is happening. In the previous parts (1, 2, and 3), it has been made clear that Christians are engaged in a spiritual war, where it began, and who is at the helm of this opposing force—none other than Satan. Now we turn to the results of this ongoing war.

The key thing to remember throughout this teaching is this:

What happens in the natural world happens first in the spiritual.

If you have not read parts 1, 2, or 3, I encourage you to go back and review them. This article builds on that foundation.

The Prince of the Power of the Air

Before we look at the manifestations, we need to remind ourselves who the enemy is.

Satan is a formidable foe. Before his fall, he was the most powerful angel in heaven, as described in Part 1. When he was cast out of heaven, he did not lose his power—he took it with him, along with a third of the angels (Rev. 12:4).

Paul describes him in Ephesians 2:2, speaking of the condition of Christians in Ephesus before they accepted Christ and walked in His Spirit:

“…in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2, NKJV)

“Silhouette of a demonic winged figure rising above a dark city skyline under a stormy, fiery sky — symbolizing Satan as ‘the prince of the power of the air’ from Ephesians 2:2.”
The Prince of the Power of the Air

Notice this title: “the prince of the power of the air.”

·       He is called a prince – a title of authority, an exalted position.

·       But a prince is still subject to the King, so he does not have all authority.

·       However, he has more than enough to cause devastation, because he influences “the power of the air.”

Where is the air? Everywhere. There is no place on earth where there is no air. Air sustains life. So, if Satan is the prince of this power, he is exercising influence all over the world. Jesus Himself acknowledges this in John 16:11, referring to Satan as “the ruler of this world.”

What does this mean for us?

It means that Satan’s influence is all over this world. That is why the Scripture says in James 4:4:

“…Friendship with the world is enmity with God.”

His influence reaches into everything. He even tried to use that influence on Jesus Himself. Look at Matthew 4:8–9:

8. “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

9. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’” (Matthew 4:8–9, NKJV)

This reveals Satan’s ultimate goal: he wants worship. He wants all worship. And he uses his influence to get it.

He did not get it from Jesus (thank God), but he is getting it from others—including professing Christians. Hence, the spiritual warfare and the ongoing battle for souls.

One of Satan’s most effective tools is deception. When Jesus spoke His prophecy to the disciples regarding the end times, the very first thing He said was:

“Take heed that no one deceives you.” [Matthew 24:4]

But are we listening?

Satan’s Influence on This World

Understand this: Satan’s influence is in everything:

·       The government and politicians

·       The entertainment industry—Hollywood

·       The music industry

·       The sports industry

·       Wall Street

·       Big Pharma

·       And yes—even the schools

Take the music industry for example. Music originated in heaven, but you would never know it listening to much of the music today. That is a manifestation of spiritual warfare.

Satan has many of these industries pretty much sewn up.

But his main target is Christians.

Fence-Sitting Christians: A Frightening Manifestation

Satan’s attack on Christians is so strong that he has many believers sitting on the fence.

For those who may not be familiar with that expression, picture someone sitting on a fence along a path between two forces. They are not on one side or the other—stagnant, suspended between two choices.

This is a figurative illustration of a Christian who is professing Christ, but at the same time is friends with the world—living and thinking like a worldly person. It is a position of compromise and a manifestation of spiritual warfare.

“Silhouette of a young woman sitting on a fence at sunset, torn between the world and Christ, facing a distant cross — a visual illustration of spiritual warfare, compromise, and the dangers of being a worldly Christian.”
The Path of Compromise!

There are professing Christians who walk—live—in that position:

·       Sitting on the fence between two worlds

·       The world pulling from one side.

·       Christ calling from the other.

They are facing both directions, but following neither, even though they profess Christ. They are not walking with the world…they are not walking with God…they are:

·       Spiritually stuck

·       Spiritually stalled

·       Spiritually powerless

·       Ineffective

No good to God and no good to themselves.

This is exactly what Paul warned about in 2 Timothy 3:5. The context in verses 1–9 is the coming apostasy in the last days—which is now. Verse 5 says:

“…having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:5, NKJV)

These, my friends, are fence sitters. They may look toward Christ and even have an outward appearance of religious godliness, but they lack a true, transformative inner faith. They inadvertently deny God’s power.

They are paralyzed on the fence.

This is a manifestation of spiritual warfare.

Satan has injected so much false doctrine into the church, and there is so much of the world in the church these days, that the fence can hardly hold all the compromised Christians.

False Doctrine #1: “Once Saved, Always Saved”

One of the popular false doctrines is: once saved, always saved—that when an individual accepts Christ, they can never be lost, even if they later backslide into sin.

Is that true or false?

In Part 3, The Mind Is the Battlefield, I explained how we are led either by the flesh or by the Spirit of God. The choice is always ours—even after we are saved—because Satan’s tactics are always on the offensive.

If we can choose not to follow the Spirit, can we not backslide into sin?

Let us look at some Scripture.

In Ephesians 4:23–24, Paul exhorts Christians to “put on the new man”:

23. and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

24. and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Then in verse thirty, he adds:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

The Greek word translated “grieve” is lupeō—to distress, to make sad. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we grieve God. Christians are to live in such a way that we do not grieve God by our conduct—our attitudes, and actions.

Wrong attitudes and actions hamper the Spirit’s work, making Him of less effect in our lives.

Some will say, “But it says we’re sealed until the day of redemption.” Seal here refers to a mark or stamp, as with official documents in biblical times. It does not mean a container sealed shut that can never be opened.

And notice it says, “sealed for the day of redemption,” not “sealed until the day of redemption.”

We carry this seal of God if we do not grieve Him. The fact that we can have this seal for the day of redemption should motivate us to maintain righteousness.

Paul gives another warning in 1 Thessalonians 5:19:

19. “Do not quench the Spirit.”

Here, Paul goes further—not just “do not grieve” the Spirit, but “do not quench” Him. The Greek word translated “quench” is sbennumi—to extinguish, to put out, like water putting out a fire.

We can literally put out the Spirit’s influence on our lives by our conduct.

Quenching the Spirit involves any action that hinders the work of the Lord in our lives or in the lives of others. Many Christians are guilty of quenching the Spirit when they throw cold water on His leading.

So, what happens when we quench the Spirit? Look at Romans 8:9:

9. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9, NKJV)

Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters. Here, Paul is informing the Christians in Rome how the Spirit delivers from the power of the flesh. He tells them straight-up: anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ.

Now let us connect the dots:

·       Scripture tells us we can quench—put out—the Holy Spirit.

·       Scripture also tells us that if we do not have the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ.

So, at that point, are we still saved?

I don’t think so!

There is no exception in Scripture that says, “Those who have once accepted Christ are exempt from this.” In fact, Paul is writing to Christians in Ephesus, Corinth, Rome, and Thessalonica.

In Ephesians 1:1–2 he opens:

1. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

2. To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

He is speaking to saints—believers. The epistles are written to Christians, admonishing them not to grieve the Spirit, not to quench the Spirit, and warning that if they do, they do not belong to Christ.

Bottom line:

We are saved as long as we do not quench the Spirit.

Therefore, this business of “once saved, always saved” is, in a word…

HOGWASH!

It is a manifestation of spiritual warfare—teaching that we can sin and still be saved. That is just dreaming.

If all we had to do was accept Christ once and be perpetually saved no matter what, Satan would be out of business. But he is not. He continues to harass Christians in the hope that they will capitulate—as many do.

Excuses for Sin: Another Manifestation

The sad fact is that we make so many excuses for sin that are contrary to the Word of God.

Take fornication, for example. Some will say, “God knows I have needs. He understands.”

Well, of course, God knows you have needs—He created you. But what does His Word say?

“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, KJV)

This is just one of many Scriptures that address fornication. None of them say, “according to your needs.”

The New Living Translation puts it plainly:

“God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, NLT)

That is as clear as the rising sun. Fornication is the umbrella covering all sexual sin. When individuals go against this Word, it is another manifestation of spiritual warfare.

“All sexual sin” includes homosexuality. Some professing Christians will say, “They’re still human; they were born that way,” or “God loves them too.” Homosexuals may say, “I was born this way.”

Well, you were born that way? Welcome to the club. We were all born this way—born in sin.

David said in Psalm 51:5:

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Romans 3:23 says:

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

All of us have some form of sin in us. All of us are experiencing some manifestation of sin because of spiritual warfare:

·       Some of us struggle with lying.

·       Some with stealing

·       Some with covetousness

·       Some with anger that turns into sin.

·       Some with murder in the heart

The list goes on.

The point is: we are all victims of spiritual warfare. We all need a Savior.

And God has made a way for all of us to be saved through His Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16–17 says:

16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

17. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  

“The world” means everybody. We all need to be saved.

Sin is sin. Being “born this way”—whatever that way is—is no excuse. It is not a “get out of jail free” card.

False Doctrine #2: The Myth of the “Carnal Christian”

Another false doctrine circulating in Christian circles is the idea of a “carnal Christian”—that someone can be a Christian yet live carnally, led by the flesh.

To be carnal is to be:

·       Worldly

·       Fleshly

·       Led by the flesh

Is there such a thing as a carnal Christian? Let us see what Scripture says in Romans 8:1–8:

1.“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

3.For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

4. that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

5. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  

Scripture says:

·       “To be carnally minded is death.”

·       “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” (Enmity = hostility, antagonism, hatred.)

·       “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Silhouettes of two men facing opposite directions, one in a fiery barren landscape and the other in a peaceful green valley, illustrating “To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” from Romans 8:6.
To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

Now, how can an individual have a carnal mind—a mind at enmity with God—and yet be a Christian?

It is impossible. It will never work.

It is like throwing a sugar cube into a cesspit.

This business of being a “carnal Christian” is—what is my word? —HOGWASH!

It is an oxymoron. According to Scripture, there is no such thing. We are either Christian or carnal. Period!

This, too, is a manifestation of spiritual warfare, because this kind of thinking is what keeps us on the fence:

·       We want to live the way we want to live.

·       We still want to be saved.

·       We want to have our cake and eat it too.

Now, yes, when we first accept Christ, we are still immature and carnal in many ways. But we are required to grow. For more on that, there is a full article on this Website entitled “How to Grow in Christ.”

Lukewarm Christianity: The Laodicean Condition

What does God—what does Christ—say about this fence-sitting condition?

Jesus calls this state “lukewarm.” Individuals in this state are neither hot nor cold for God.

In Revelation 3:15–16, addressing the church of Laodicea, Jesus says:

15. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

16. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

There is no room here for a so-called “carnal, fence-sitting Christian.” Christ has nothing for a lukewarm Christian. He says, “I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

Why do we vomit? Because the body rejects what is:

·       Distasteful

·       Harmful

·       Of no value

Lukewarm is ineffective. Lukewarm water is not hot enough to kill germs, and not cold enough to refresh. What good is it?

Personally, I like my coffee or tea either hot or ice cold. A lukewarm cup of tea is tasteless, of no value, forcing me to make several trips to the microwave to heat it up.

Some professing Christians need to make some trips to the “microwave” to heat up their spirits for the Lord.

Why does Jesus have such disdain for lukewarm, fence-sitting Christians? Consider this:

A lukewarm Christian is only half-committed:

·       Half-committed to Christ

·       Half-committed to proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God

·       Half-committed to studying the Word

·       Half-committed to evangelism and missions.

·       Half-committed to holy and pure living.

·       Half-committed to self-denial and sacrificial living.

Half-committed all the way down the line—lukewarm and of no value to God and His kingdom.

The present church is in the Laodicean age, full of lukewarm Christians.

Jesus sums it up in Matthew 6:24:

24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)

He also says in Luke 11:23:

23. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Luke 11:23)

There are only two masters:

·       The Godhead—God and Jesus

·       And Satan

We can only serve one.

If we walk through life with one eye on Christendom and one eye on the world, we are only fooling ourselves.

Manifestations in Church Leadership

Up to now, we have focused on individual manifestations, but there are also collective manifestations—especially in the church.

Satan’s attacks on the church have risen exponentially. He has been causing havoc with the church for centuries, but in the last twenty years this assault has really stepped up.

Satan knows his time is short. He knows that to wipe out a body, you strike the head. So, he targets the leadership of the church, and the damage permeates through the entire body.

I have a friend who is a Christian counselor, and some of the things shared with me have made me want to do a backward flip:

·       Pastors (plural) involved in adulterous affairs.

·       Pastors hooked on drugs

·       Pastors addicted to pornography

·       Pastors beating and mistreating their wives.

These are well-known leaders. No names are given—of course, that would be unethical. But the point is to shed light on manifestations of spiritual warfare—even on the heads of the church.

This is no game. It is a fierce, unseen spiritual war manifesting itself in the natural.

To women chasing after pastors, wanting to be “first ladies”:

Be careful what you ask for. Satan is chasing pastors like a fox chasing chickens. If the pastor is strong and will not relent, guess what? The next in line is the family.

In my growing up, some of the most rebellious children I saw were those of pastors and ministers.

Forget about status—you could end up sleeping with the enemy.

Pastors who allow themselves to become victims of this warfare had better repent before they become casualties instead of victims.

Jeremiah 23:1–2 says:

1. Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

2. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people;

Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them:

behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”  

This prophecy was initially directed at Israel—at leaders tasked with guiding the people according to God’s will. But instead, they contributed to the nation’s troubles, leading God to pronounce severe judgment on them.

Prophecies like this often express principles of God that have multiple applications, causing them to have more than one fulfillment. Here, the principle is: we are answerable to God for the people we guide and influence under His authority. Leaders bear responsibility for those entrusted to their care.

When pastors fall, they scatter the sheep—the congregation. People leave, they gossip, confusion erupts, and the church becomes crippled. As God says, they “destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture.”

Yet another manifestation of spiritual warfare.

Some may say, “Well, pastors are only human.” That is true. But look at the instruction in 1 Timothy 4:12. Paul is charging Timothy, a young pastor:

12. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Pastors are expected to serve as role models. Though they are human, they are called to exemplify a visible commitment to living in Christ.

If a pastor becomes so “human” that he can no longer be that example, he needs to step down, so the church can remain effective. Otherwise, he will be held accountable not only for himself but for the whole congregation—double jeopardy.

Cultural Movements as Manifestations of Spiritual Warfare

We have only touched on a few manifestations of spiritual warfare. They are far too numerous to cover in one teaching.

But know this: all the destruction and chaos in the country and the world are manifestations.

Consider the Postmodern era, which ushered in:

·       The sexual revolution

·       The Women’s Liberation movement

·       The pro-choice movement

·       The gay rights movement

All of these are manifestations of spiritual warfare, shaping culture to move further and further away from God’s design, against the will of God.

Conclusion

Get Off the Fence and Walk With Christ

We must get off the fence and walk the path with Christ.

If we stay on that fence, we are not only stagnant—we are lost.

We must make a choice. Since we are born with a sinful nature and, as Scripture says, “walked according to the course of this world,” it is vital to understand this:

Not to choose Christ is to make a choice against Him.

But if we choose Christ, then we must walk with Him—in Spirit and in truth.

The effects of spiritual warfare are all around us and are always knocking at our door. So, we must follow the Scripture, which reads:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8, KJV)

Be on guard—and fight when necessary.

Closing Call to Action

If you see these signs and manifestations of spiritual attacks in your own life, do not ignore them and do not stay on the fence.

Take time to:

·       Examine your walk with Christ honestly.

·       Repent where the Holy Spirit brings conviction.

·       Ask the Lord to renew your mind, your zeal, and your love for Him.

·       Pray for your pastors, leaders, and fellow believers who are also under assault 1 Tim. 2:1-2).

This article is part of a larger journey. In the earlier teachings on spiritual warfare, we looked at what the battle is and where it is fought. In the next part of this series, we will not only talk about the attack—we will talk about the fight.

Watch for the next installment on Overcoming Spiritual Warfare, and in the meantime, stay sober, stay vigilant, and keep walking with Christ—off the fence and firmly on His side.

Questions, comments, and concerns may be left below.

Blessings!

For those who enjoy receiving the message in video format, the teaching is also available below.

 

Here is a brief Short highlighting one of the key points from this message.

 

 

 

Spiritual Warfare: The Conditions of the Mind

This is the third part of the series on Spiritual warfare.  This segment is entitled, Spiritual Warfare: The Conditions of the mind

For a brief review:  I addressed the fact that we were all born with a sinful

All About Spiritual Warfare - The instant you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, war is delcared against you. But all is not lost!
War is declared but all is not lost!

nature, contrary to God—separated from God; that because of God’s mercy and grace, he established a way for us to be rejoined with Him, through His son Jesus.  Therefore making a way for us to have a spiritual renewal or rebirth: in other words—born again.  I also established the fact that because of our spiritual rebirth, we have been placed in a war—a spiritual war; a war that is ongoing, and fierce.  That we need to be aware of this war, who is at the helm of the opposing force, and how to fight, and win, this battle.

In the last article, I addressed the fact that it is in the mind where Spiritual Warfare takes place.  Satan attacks the mind—he sends his fiery darts, his evil-negative thoughts directly into our minds.  But we must learn to dispel those thoughts—to cast them out, in the name of Jesus.  One of scriptures

All About Spiritual Warfare-the mind is the battlefield
The battle is for the mind

that I covered was what Jesus said in Matthew 12:33: “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.”  Now to repeat He said: make the tree good: now how do we make the tree good?  By feeding it with good fertilizer.  We must feed our trees—our minds with good fertilizer—good thoughts in order to bear good fruit, or a positive life.  So we must dispel Satan’s evil thoughts

Satan’s attacks, if allowed to nest in our minds can manifest themselves in numerous ways, causing any number of conditions.  So in this article I am going to begin to address the various conditions of the mind.

Let’s first look at the normal mind of a Christian.  What makes a Christian’s mind tick?  1 Corinthians 2: 13-16

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The normal mind of a Christian is a mind that is led by the Spirit of Christ.

Let’s review a passage that I covered in the last article.  Romans 8: 9

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

The scripture says that we are not to be in the flesh, but in the spirit.  If we don’t have the spirit of Christ in us, then we aren’t his—we aren’t Christians.  So again, the normal Christian mind is one that is led by the spirit of Christ.

What we must understand regarding the mind of a Christian is that the mind and the spirit work together.  Let’s look at this in 1 Corinthians 2: 11

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now what this scripture is saying is that no one knows the thoughts and plans of man, other than himself—his spirit.  The only way anyone else will know, our thoughts, is if we reveal them.  By the same token, no one knows the things—the thoughts, the mind of God other than His spirit.  So the mind and the spirit work together.  The spirit knows what in the mind.

Now when a person receives Christ as His personal Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in him.  As we have just seen in scripture, the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God.  Now let’s take this a little further and look at Ephesians 1: verses 15-23 contain Paul’s prayer of revelation for the Ephesians: and in verses 17-18, it reads:

17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Now Paul is praying that God would impart to them (the Ephesians) His Holy Spirit so that He would be revealed to them and they would know more of Him.  Continuing with verse 18:

18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

The eye of your understanding is the mind.  The NIV translation actually reads, “the eyes of your Heart” and as I mentioned in the last article, I mentioned that the word translated as heart and soul [leb] (labe)], is also translated as mind.

Since the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and since He knows the mind of God, one of His purposes is to reveal to us, God’s wisdom and revelation.  That wisdom and revelation is imparted to our spirit, and our spirit then enlightens the eyes of our hearts—or our minds.

Take a car for example: you have the engine, the transmission, and the wheels.  The power starts with the engine—that’s where the power is produced; the power then goes to the transmission; and from the transmission to the wheels, and the wheels move the car.

Now taking this divinely: the engine is God—that’s where the power comes

The Holy Spirit - Our power source
Our transmission

from; it then goes to the Holy Spirit—which is the transmission; and from the transmission, the power goes to the mind—which is the wheels, which moves-controls the body.  The body reacts to the mind accordingly.

Now, if our power comes from God, then our transmission is the Holy Spirit, sending our wheels (our minds) in the right direction; but if our power comes from Satan, our transmission is the flesh, and will send our wheels spinning in the complete opposite direction.

As Born Again Christians, we are both spiritual, and natural.  As I mentioned during the introduction of the series, before we were born again, our flesh-our natural self did the leading.  What ever our flesh wanted, that’s what we set out to satisfy.  Whether it was sex, drugs, alcohol, or any overindulgence to appease our flesh, we did it.  But as Christians, our spirits, which are connected to the Holy Spirit is to do the leading But the natural doesn’t always understand the spiritual.  So the mind often misses what the spirit is trying to reveal to us, because it’s too busy.  A mind that is too occupied is not normal, but abnormal.  The mind is normal when it is at rest.  That doesn’t mean that we should have blank minds, but they should be at peace.

Our minds should not be filled with what I call mental junk food.  If we feed our bodies with a constant diet of junk food, and fast food, our bodies will

All About Spiritual Warfare: The Conditions of our minds
WE must control the thoughts we allow to dwell in our minds!

eventually break down.  But this also holds true of the mind. Junk food for the mind consists of: excessive reasoning, worry, anxiety, fears, and so forth.  The mind shouldn’t be filled with this junk food, but should be quite, calm and serene as much as possible.  But if filled with mental junk food, the mind just as the body will break down.  I’m sure that we’ve all heard of the condition: a nervous breakdown.  A condition that results when the mind has had so much of a diet of mental junk food, it becomes so overloaded that it just snaps; breaks down—it simply can’t take anymore.  Our minds simply become—a junk yard.  Other conditions include: depression, anxiousness, and anguish.

In addition to being at peace, the mind of a Christian believer should also be alert.  The bible says: “be sober, be vigilant.”  That doesn’t only mean don’t drink.  It means, be alert, clear headed—on the lookout, and on the defensive.

Now this isn’t easy because Satan makes it difficult—on purpose—it’s his job.  Satan is addressed by several names in the scriptures: For example: The Prince of this world, and the prince of the power of the air. [John 12:31, Ephesians 2:2]  But if there was such a thing as rewriting the bible, one of the names I would give Satan is The King of Junk.  He is the King of Mental Junk Food—the chief distributor, clogging our minds.  He attacks us, wagering a war against our minds.  He attacks us by attempting to overload and overwork our minds by filling it with every kind of wrong thought—junk, so it cannot be free and available to the Holy Spirit working through our own human spirit.  And Christians are yielding.  There are Christians claiming to walk in Christ’s spirit, when in fact they are walking in the flesh.  Why?  Simply because we’re feeding their minds with the junk of this world.  [that’s future article]  This is why we hear so very little from God.  The reason we hear so little from God is because we can’t receive His spirit which leaves us lacking in wisdom and revelation.  Therefore, it is impossible to have a healthy mind when it is loaded down with things it was never intended to carry.  To close on the normal mind, we’re going to look at one last scripture: Isaiah 26:3—Isaiah writes concerning the Lord:

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

In order to keep our minds at peace, we must keep our minds on God, and trusting God.  We must visualize ourselves obeying God and being greatly

The Mind is the Battlefield
The mind is the battlefield

blessed by Him.

Let’s now to look at some conditions of the abnormal mind: minds that get clogged with mental junk food.  This junk food manifests itself in ways that cause various ill conditions in the mind.  Much like junk food can do to our bodies.

The first condition is a wandering [waundering] mind.  To wander [waunder] is to move or go about aimlessly, without a plan or fixed destination.  So a wandering mind is a mind that doesn’t stay focused on a fixed topic or plan.  Now in childhood, this is one of the leading causes of learning disabilities.  It causes a lack of concentration.  The inability of one to stay focused on a topic or task.  Now to some this is involuntary—they can’t help themselves while others do this voluntarily.  I’m sure that most of us can remember daydreaming in class or even in a meeting.  Not because we couldn’t help ourselves, we simply wanted to be somewhere else (I know I did).  It was a means of escape to some place, or somewhere else we wanted to be.  But if we do anything long enough, it will become a habit—good or bad.  If we allow ourselves to form a habit of this it can reach near uncontrollable instances, when we should and want to concentrate, but can’t.

If our minds are filled with enough anxiety, worry, and confusion—mental junk food, it becomes impossible to concentrate leaving our minds to wander.  Satan loves it!  It prevents Christians from listening to sermons, teachings, Bible studies and receiving from them. While our bodies may be in church, our minds are have drifted to some far place or circumstance.  It can also prevent us from reading and receiving from the Word.  Unable to concentrate, we can just drift off to sleep; and it can cause havoc on our jobs and places of businesses, affecting our communications and sound judgments.

This can be a very subtle process, like all of Satan’s destructive works.  It can happen gradually with age.  As we progress further and further into All About Spiritual Warfareadulthood, our responsibilities increase, putting a greater load on our minds.  And if we aren’t careful we’ll become complete scatter brains, unable to accomplish anything.

Now the scriptures instruct us on this issue of the wandering [waundering] mind.  Let’s look at 1 Peter 1:13

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Now the people in biblical times would gather up their long robes and tie them around their waists so that they could move more freely and quickly.  We Christians today must also tie up the robes in our minds that can keep them from moving or operating freely.  We need to do whatever it takes to focus our thoughts on those things, that allow us to serve our God successfully; all while eliminating any thoughts that would tie or bind us up.

Let’s look at another warning against a wandering [waundering] mind:

Ecclesiastes 5:1

1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Now to keep your foot means in this case, to be alert as to not slip and loose our balance, and get off track when we go to God’s house.  We are to do this, rather than give the sacrifice of a fool.  When we sit in church and allow our minds to wander, to the point that we receive nothing for being there, It’s useless to go.  We may make the sacrifice to be there, but it is a useless sacrifice—we’re only taking up space.  It is the sacrifice— of a fool.

Now a fool is an individual who has no good sense—to the point that they do evil, and don’t even know it.  Now for clarity, here is same scripture from the New Living Translation.  It reads:

1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don’t be a fool who doesn’t realize that mindless offerings to God are evil. Is that to the point or what?

Now to not receive from God is evil.  To be a mindless offering is evil.  God has given us His spirit and we are to use it for our benefit.  He has also given us free will: and we are to willfully keep our minds from wandering [waundering] to the point of self-destruction.

Now how do we do this?  How do we obey this Scripture?  Only Through prayer and discipline.  If concentrating becomes difficult for us, we must make more of an effort to focus.  If we’re reading and find that we’re not focusing and receiving: Stop—go back and read it again.  If we miss spaces in conversations, apologize and ask the person to repeat themselves.  By the end of the Sunday message, we know whether our minds have wandered and we missed what was said; so, buy the tape.  Take a quiet moment and listen to it; and if we miss parts of that, rewind it play it back.  Sometimes when I have a lot on my mind, I’ll have to reverse a segment of a video 2 or three times.  I simply refuse to let Satan steal anything from me that I’m going to benefit from.  The Bible says: “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” [James 4:7]

The Devil will give up, if he sees that we won’t: give in. But only for a season; he’s tenacious so we must always be on guard.  In addition, when we have numerous tasks to complete, prioritize them.  This enables us to focus on what’s most important.  Then, instead of having our minds aimlessly buzzing around on numerous tasks, we can then concentrate on one to completion.  Of course it always helps to eat and rest properly.

The next condition I want to address is the wondering mind.  To wonder is to be filled with puzzlement and doubt.  When one has a wondering mind they’re never really sure about anything—unstable.  Anyone who has a wondering mind, can’t pray properly, can’t get answers to their prayers because they have too much doubt in their minds—their hearts Let’s review the familiar passage in

James 1:5-8

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We can’t approach God wondering if He’s going to answer our prayers.  We are to approach him in faith, knowing that He’s going to answer them.

Christians, who are walking in the Spirit of Christ, should never wonder, but walk victoriously.  Remember what Jesus said in Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

Now with a promise like that from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, whose spirit we’re to walk in, how can we allow Satan to give us a wandering [waundering]—wondering, mind?  We must replace our doubtful thoughts with positive thoughts.  Instead of asking: I wonder if God’s going to answer my prayer?  We should be declaring: I know God is going to answer my prayer, and when He answers it, and how He answers it, is up to Him.  Period!

Looking at one more condition, next we’re going to look at: the confused mind.  Now the wondering mind and the confused mind are first cousins.  They are very closely related.  James 1:5-8 covers both conditions.  When we have a mind full of doubt—a wondering mind, we are confused about everything.  From what we believe to what we’re going to wear.  We want to live single, but we want to be married.  We want to be saved, but we want to live like the world.  We want to be secure, but the fact is we’re very insecure.  Do we see a pattern here?  It’s a double mind.  A wondering—confused mind is in a word: a mess.  Unstable in all it does.

Now in the case of the confused mind, here is where Satan can really strut his stuff.  If you’ll remember back to my last article, I mentioned that one of the functions of the mind is to reason.  Now what does it mean to reason?  It is the ability to think, form judgments, and draw
conclusions.  This is a power that God gave man when he created him.  Remember in Genesis 1:26 God said

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” God gave man the ability to think and reason, and create like Him, but on a much more limited basis.  But remember along came Satan, who twisted God’s words and confused
man’s reasoning.

Now the scriptures tell us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. [Heb 13:8] But also, we must always remember that Satan is the same yesterday, today, and from now on, until his time is up.  And he’s using the same schemes today that he used, yesterday.  He is still interfering with man’s reasoning today, leaving many Christians with confused minds.  Now let’s examine how this works.

Reasoning is when a person tries to figure out the how and why behind

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something like: an issue, event, or a situation, trying to figure out all of the intricate parts of it.  If it is logical and makes sense, we accept it.  If it doesn’t, we reject it. But reasoning must be grounded in the right spirit.

Satan often steals the will of God from a Christian, because of reasoning.  We can literally reason ourselves right out of the will of God.  God may speak something to our spirits, but if it doesn’t make sense to us, we’ll reject it.  What God leads us to do does not always make logical sense to our minds.  While our spirits may affirm it, our minds will reject it.

For example: God’s Word in James 1:2 reads:”My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” [or various trails]  Now to our reasoning mind, this makes absolutely no sense what so ever.  How can anybody possibly have joy when going through a trial? A trial involves some form of adversity; some form of resistance.  There’s no such thing as a happy trial; or a joyous trial; and in our natural reasoning, a trial is something to be avoided at all cost.

But in the mind of God, a trial is a good thing.  It proves us, and tests us, and He knows that when we come through the trial, that we are tried and true unto Him.  So we must turn our reasoning—our minds—our spirits over to God’s spirit who knows the mind of God.  So for the Christian to encounter adversity, is to undergo a trial in which his or her faith is proved either true or false before God, the highest judge. Since many positive things come about through such trials, Christians are urged in this scripture, to rejoice at their occurrence.  It’s the complete opposite of our natural reasoning.  Another more literal example is what it says in Luke 4:1 which is: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”  Now in Matthew 4:1 it says: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be [tempted of the devil].”  Now natural reasoning may wonder: Why would God lead Jesus to the devil?  It just doesn’t make sense to natural reasoning, and when we try to apply natural reasoning to spiritual things, it leads to confusion.

The same goes with tithing.  Natural reasoning cannot comprehend the Tithingprinciples of tithing.  It can never understand that a blessed 90%
is far better than an unblessed 100%.  Natural reasoning will never comprehend the three T’s of Christianity: trials, tribulations, and tithes.  Now this is Satan’s game!

That’s why if you look at the ways of the world, and the ways of God with the teachings of Christ, they are the complete opposite of one another.

It’s Satan’s objective to keep our reasoning in the natural, instead of the spiritual.  Remember what Satan said to Eve: “”Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”[Gen 3:1 NIV]  He interfered with her reasoning; turned it away from God—the spiritual, and switched it to the natural.  Now she had already received the instructions from God, and accepted them in the spirit.  But after listening to Satan, she switched to the natural.  The scriptures read: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [Genesis 3:6]

Once she switched to the natural reasoning, she saw all of the natural
benefits and totally forgot about the spiritual—what God said.

All About Spiritual Warfare - The Mind is the Battlefield
Keep Satan at bay!!

This is why one of the worst things we can ever do, is have a conversation with Satan.  Once we open up a dialog with him, it gives him the opportunity to step in with his reasoning, unleashing havoc and confusion in our minds.  However, the best thing we can ever do, is give him the hand (to stop), and keep on walking in Christ’s spirit.  We must recognize him for what he is a deceiver and a liar.

Now again, reasoning is a natural God given ability.  But Satan comes along with temptation.  Now I’m going to cover temptation later on in this series.  But temptation is when we are enticed to take our God given abilities beyond God’s boundaries.  And this is what Satan does with our reasoning.  This is a very serious component regarding the battle in the mind.  This is a very serious aspect of Spiritual Warfare.  So we need to look at some solutions, which of course are in the scriptures.  Let’s first look go back to 1 Corinthians 2:14

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  [separated]

You see, the natural man cannot receive from God’s spirit.  The Scripture says that the natural man is spiritually separated.  Why? Because he’s stuck in his own reasoning, therefore the things of the spirit are simply foolishness, as far as he’s concerned.  So he remains stuck in his own, limited wisdom.  That’s why when addressing the ungodly, the bible says in Romans 1:22 “professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” They are fools because they are stuck in the world’s wisdom which is nothing in comparison to the wisdom of God.  The bible confirms this by saying: “because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” [1 Cor 1:25, cf. vss. 18-27]  So the natural man simply cannot receive any wisdom from God.

Now this is no accident:  Let’s look at this in 2 Corinthians 4:4

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The mind is the battlefield
Satan only wants your mind

The god of the world is Satan.  Satan is blinding the mind of man today by causing confusion, just as he did in the Garden of Eden.

So this goes back to what I’ve been addressing all along.  Walk in the spirit of God and Christ, and that will help us to understand God’s will for us.  This is what renewing our minds is about, which was addressed in my article. It’s about hooking up—with the spirit of God.  That’s why God said in His word:  “be still and know that I am God. [Ps. 46:10]  So we must learn to not always reason in our minds, but just obey the spirit.  Let’s now go back to James 1:22

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

The Inspired Word of God

We simply must obey God’s Word.  Not just listen to it, but do what it says.  If we listen to the Word, but don’t obey it: we’re only deceiving ourselves.  This goes back to what I said earlier about sitting in church, and not receiving.  We may look like we’re listening and receiving, fooling others, but in essence, we’re only fooling ourselves.  It’s like cheating on a test: in the long run we’ve only cheated ourselves.  We must not only listen and study the word, but we must also receive it, and apply it to our lives.  We can’t always reason and rationalize everything God’s says to us.  We are to just obey.  How many times have we heard bosses say: just
do it! And what happens?  We do it!

You see, a leader—a boss, sees things from a different perspective, a bigger picture, and has to answer to somebody higher than he is.  So we may not understand why they ask us to do, or not to do certain things. But nevertheless, we must do what they tell us: and it’s biblical. [Eph 6:5-7]

In addition, we must always remember what applies in the natural, applies in the spiritual.  God also see the bigger picture—a much bigger picture.  So we must just do what the spirit of God leads us to do.  Now we’re going to look at another scripture that deals with trusting God.  Proverbs 3:5

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Again, trust God and not human reasoning.  Reasoning opens the door for deception and brings much confusion, leading to a confused mind.  So Girding up the loins of our minds and trusting God, is the only way to win—The Battle of the Mind.

Please feel free to leave any question, comment, or concern regarding Spiritual Warfare below.

Blessings!

The battle for the mind is real—but so is God’s power to transform it.
Watch the full teaching below, and then the Short for a quick highlight.

 

 

All About Spiritual Warfare: The Mind is the Battlefield

I’d like to take a few moments to review the key points covered in the previous article, All About Spiritual Warfare. We looked at how we were all born with a sinful nature, contrary to God, and separated from Him. Yet because of His mercy and grace, He made a way for us to be reconciled through His Son, Jesus Christ, granting us spiritual renewal—to be born again. As a result of that rebirth, we’ve been placed in a war—a spiritual war that is ongoing and fierce. It’s essential that we understand this war, who leads the opposing force, and how to fight and win.

All Abut Spiritual Warfare

So, moving on into today’s segment, All About Spiritual Warfare: The Mind Is the Battlefield, we’re going to look at a specific aspect of this war—the mind. The fact of the matter is, the mind is the battlefield. The previous article was foundational to the series on All About Spiritual Warfare. This one builds on that foundation, focusing on how the battle begins and intensifies in the mind and affects our thoughts.

I just want to mention that you absolutely may leave any questions or comments at the end of this article.

To begin, what is the mind? First of all, the mind is contained in the brain, which is the portion of the central nervous system contained within the skull. The brain is the control center for movement, sleep, hunger, thirst, and virtually every other vital activity necessary to survival. Therefore, I deem it accurate to state that the brain is the most important organ in the body. All human emotions—including love, hate, fear, anger, elation, and sadness—are all controlled by the brain. It also receives and interprets the countless signals that are sent to it from other parts of the body, and from the external environment. The brain is the supervisor (if you will) of the body. Nothing gets done—nothing gets processed, without passing across the desk of the brain. The brain makes us conscious, emotional, and intelligent, and tucked away in the brain is the mind.

So what is the mind? According to the secular dictionary, the mind is that which thinks, perceives, feels, and wills; the seat or subject of

The Mind is the Battlefield
The mind is the battlefield

consciousness b) the thinking and perceiving part of consciousness; intellect or intelligence c) attention; notice d) all of an individual‘s conscious experiences e) the conscious and the unconscious together as a unit. So in other words, the mind is the part of a person that thinks and reasons.

The brain controls two types of functions: Voluntary and involuntary. For example, the brain regulates breathing and the heartbeat. These are involuntary actions—we normally don’t have to think about these functions; they occur automatically. Other actions, such as walking, talking, and thinking, are voluntary. We perform these functions as we will. Therefore, the mind for the most part falls under the voluntary category. Our thinking and our reasoning are voluntary. We basically choose what we think about, and what we reason, or rationalize. God has given us free will, and we exercise our will through our minds.

Your mind is often your greatest tool, but as anyone who has been taken over by fear, frustration, or worry knows all too well that it can also be your greatest enemy. 

Now, what is the spiritual or biblical application of the mind? As for the Old Testament, although the Hebrew language had no specific word for mind, several Hebrew words are sometimes translated as “mind.” For example: The word for heart frequently means “mind”; as is true for the word for soul, which is sometimes used similarly, as is also the word for spirit. Let’s look at some usages of the mind in the Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 30:1

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to [mind] among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,

So here Moses, bringing forth prophecy, was reminding the Israelites that when they were among the pagan nations, and when they committed apostasies which caused the curses among them, they should call to mind, or remember the blessings and the curses that were set before them.

Let’s now look at Jer 19:5

5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

Here God is addressing Israel’s apostasy, and He mentions that they had committed acts that He’d never commanded, nor had it even crossed His mind to command such a thing! He would never consider such detestable actions.

Let’s look at one more Ezekiel 11:5

5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

God was letting Israel know through His prophet Ezekiel that He knew exactly what was going on in their minds—what they were thinking.

So here in the scriptures, we see that the usage of the word mind was to indicate voluntary thinking

Moving into the New Testament, four separate Greek words account for nearly all references of “mind”. They all mean much the same thing. They are: understanding, thought, mind, reason. While today we think of a person’s mind in a morally neutral way, in the New Testament the mind was clearly thought of as either good or evil. Now in the negative sense, the mind may be “hardened.”

Let’s look at this in Heb 3:13

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

The mind can also be blinded. Let’s look at this in

2 Corinthians 3:14

14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

Moving on, the mind can be corrupt and debased 2 Timothy 3:8

8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Now, on the positive side, humans may have minds that are renewed

Let’s look at the familiar scripture Romans 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In addition to having renewed minds, they can also be pure. Let’ look at this in

2 Peter 3:1

1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

And after having renewed and pure minds, they may love God with all their minds. Let’s look at Matthew 22:37

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

And in addition, they can have God’s laws implanted in their minds Hebrews 8:10

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

And lastly since Christians have “the mind of Christ,” [1 Cor 2:16] they are instructed to be united in mind. 1 Peter 3:8

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Now just to note: No Hebrew word is translated as brain in English versions of the Bible.

So we’ve looked at the natural and the spiritual application of the mind.

Now, what we’ve covered so far is that the mind is the part of a person that thinks and reasons. It is a voluntary function of the brain, controlled by the individual, and it can operate in the positive or the negative frames.

Now, because our thinking and our reasoning is voluntary, we basically choose what we think about, and what we rationalize. One of the most important things for us as Christians to realize is the importance of our thoughts. Now as I mentioned in the beginning, the brain is the most important organ in the body, simply because it controls the whole body—all of the bodily functions. The mind is located in the brain, and therefore plays an extremely crucial role in the body as well. Since it is a voluntary function of the brain, we can voluntarily control its actions. Therefore, our thoughts are powerful. We can become imprisoned with our own thoughts. So much so that they can even control the involuntary functions of the brain, and it’s scriptural. Let’s look at this in Proverbs 23:7

7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Now remember I mentioned previously that the word for heart in the Scriptures frequently means mind, and the word thinketh means think, which applies to the mind. So as a man thinks, so is he. Regardless of what he may say. Therefore, our actions are the result of our thoughts. So if we think positively or have a positive mind, we will have a positive life. But if we think negatively or have a negative mind, we will have a negative life. All this means is that we must control our thoughts:

Let’s look at what it reads in Matthew 12:33

33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Now, here Jesus says that a tree is known by its fruit. The same is true in our lives. Thoughts bear fruit. Think good thoughts, and the fruit in your life will be good. Think bad-negative thoughts, and the fruit of your life will be bad. Bottom line: as we think, so are we. Now this is powerful, as are our thoughts.

When I say that our voluntary mind affects our involuntary functions, one example is illness. We can make ourselves sick simply by thinking sick.

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If we think about a heart attack long enough, we’ll have one (I have personal knowledge of this). A large percentage of illnesses are self-inflicted. Not by stabbing ourselves, or shooting ourselves: not by taking poison, or overdosing on some drug. But simply because of our thoughts: the thoughts that we allow to enter and dwell in our minds. For example: worry. We can worry ourselves into a host of various illnesses, and that’s just one example. [Anger, grief, loneliness, jealousy] But Jesus specifically warned us against worry. [Matt. 6:25-31] But moving on, if we want to die badly enough, we’ll die. We can literally think ourselves—right off the face of the earth.

Now, as I mentioned in the previous article, we were born with a sinful nature—in the flesh, satisfying the lusts of the flesh, until we were reborn spiritually. But that’s not all.

Let’s look at Ephesians 2: 3

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

So not only were we fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, but also of the mind. So once we are born again, if we renew our minds according to the scriptures (namely Romans 12:2), we will have a positive life. Because as that scripture says: “…that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Once we find the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God for our lives, we can’t help but have a positive life.

Now, think not that Satan doesn’t know this. He knows this better than we’ll ever know. Now, as I mentioned in the previous article, Satan’s main tool is deception. Satan is crafty. He is the greatest salesman in the universe. If we aren’t sober and vigilant, he’ll convince Christians, that because we’re Christians, not following the course of the world, that we are just good for nothing individuals, forcing us into a state of self condemnation, and self pity, placing us on a downward spiral that will deem us absolutely useless to ourselves and anyone else, and worse of all to God.

Now again, I want to emphasize that the activity that we dwell on in our minds is voluntary. But Satan has Christians believing that it’s not. That we can’t control what we think about, therefore have us also believe that we can’t control our actions. But nothing could be further from the truth. Now as we know from the previous article, there is a war—a spiritual war going on. But what this article is about—is where this war takes place. Because this war is spiritual, we can’t see it with our natural eyes. Neither can we see where it takes place. It is imperative to understand that it’s not Desert Storm in the desert. It’s not in the mountains of Afghanistan, Vietnam, Ukraine, Gaza, or any other battlefield in the natural. But that place is in our very own minds. So the fact of the matter is—the mind is the battlefield.

All About Spiritual Warfare - The Mind is the Battlefield
The Mind is the Battlefield

It is in the mind where Satan unleashes his fiery darts. The mind is his playground.

Now let’s look at this in the scriptures: 2 Corinthians 11:

In this scripture, Paul expresses his concern regarding the Corinthians’ faithfulness with a warning that if another teaching—a false teaching- came along, they would be corrupted. And in verse 3 it reads:

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Paul was concerned that their minds would be corrupted by Satan as he corrupted Eve’s in the Garden. Satan’s operation functions in the mind. He invites us (which is all he can do) to think about desires, evil thoughts, and evil deeds. He takes our natural curiosity and carries it beyond God’s intentions, until we cross His line of disobedience.

He operates in our minds by injecting his thoughts into us. It’s up to us to accept or reject these thoughts. Again, I want to emphasize that Satan uses the mind as his playground. Therefore, we must keep our thoughts under control. The bible says that we are to cast evil thoughts down.

Let’s look at this in 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5:

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 [Casting down] imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Verse 5 is regarding the control of negative thoughts in our minds. We are to cast down any thought, argument, theory, reasoning, or anything contrary to God. We are simply to flush them out. Christians are to bring their thoughts into submission so that they fall under the laws of Christ. We as Christians must often take an inventory of our thoughts. In other words, we must think about what we’re thinking about.

Now, the insertion of these negative thoughts is a very subtle, but effective, trick of Satan, causing us to have strongholds. So we have to be sober and vigilant.

Let’s look at how this works in Scripture: James 1:1-15

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

  1. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

This passage makes it clear that God is not to blame for our sins.  God has given us free will, and we are driven by our own desires and enticed by them. The fact of the matter is, the choice is ours, and WE ARE ON OUR OWN WHEN WE CHOOSE TO SIN!

Now, 2 Corinthians 10:4 mentions “Strongholds.” So, what is a stronghold? A strong hold properly means a fastness, a fortress, or a strong fortification.

The bible refers to David’s hiding places as strongholds [1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22] It is used in this scripture, however, to symbolize the various obstacles resembling a fortress that exists in our minds. A stronghold is an area in which we are held in bondage due to a certain way of thinking. These are caused by mind-binding spirits. Satan establishes these to interrupt our destiny as Christians. Now we’ll get back to the weaponry later in the series.

Let’s go back to positive and negative thinking. Remember what I mentioned earlier about this? That if we think positive thoughts, we’ll have a positive life; and if we think negative thoughts, we’ll have a negative life? As true as this is, it’s a statement in the natural. But remember, we’re talking about Spiritual warfare, so let’s take this spiritually. You see, we can set our minds on one of two paths: in the natural realm, it’s either positive or negative; or in the spiritual realm, it’s either on the flesh or on the spirit. Now, in the natural, we know that we can’t have both a positive mind and a negative mind. But we must remember that the same principles that apply in the natural apply in the spiritual. Therefore, we can’t have a spiritual mind and a fleshly mind; we either have one or the other. So let’s look at a couple of passages of scripture that deal with this issue of: the mind of the flesh, versus the mind of the spirit. Let’s look at  Romans 8:1

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Let’s go down to verse 5

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

So if we allow fleshly thoughts to enter and dwell
in our minds, we will have a mind of the flesh: saved or unsaved.
The scripture doesn’t differentiate. We very often feed our minds with the wrong material. Some Christians think that they can receive fleshly, negative material into their minds, and that it doesn’t affect them, because they’re saved (born again). That’s merely another form of Satan’s deception at work. We simply can’t feed our minds with negativity and expect to have a positive life. It won’t work. Again, Scripture says: “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” So if we’re feeding on negativity, how can we think positively, and if we can’t think positively, how can we live a positive life? But we’ll get to that later on in the series. On the other hand, if we feed our minds with spiritual things, we’ll have the mind of the spirit. Let’s look at another passage regarding this: Galatians 5:16-17

All About Spiritual Warfare-the mind is the battlefield
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:” These two forces battle for the mind.

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

In verse 16, Paul writes the prescription: “walk in the spirit” and we will have the mind of the spirit.

In verse 17, he addresses the warring of the two forces: the spirit and the flesh. Again—spiritual warfare.

Let’s look at another scripture regarding our minds and their thoughts. Let’s take a look at Philippians 4: 8

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

So as Paul begins to close his letter to the Philippians, he encourages them to think positively, to focus on good things. He says,” If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” In other words, think about anything: that’s good!

As the well-known advertising slogan says: “the mind is a terrible thing to waste.”  To fill our minds with negativity is simply a waste. We need to think positive things. We need to visualize ourselves, obeying God and being blessed by Him.

To summarize this point, if we think fleshly thoughts, wrong and negative thoughts, we cannot walk in the spirit. It deems it safe to say, therefore, that God-like thinking is a vital necessity to a successful God-like Christian life. For the Christian believer, right thinking is a vital necessity. A vital necessity is something so important that one simply cannot live without it. It’s the same as breathing air is vital, and eating wholesome food is vital; for without these things, there is no life. So the goal is to keep our minds clear of negative and evil thoughts.

Now you may have noticed earlier that several times, I incorporated the phrase “dwell in our minds,” regarding negative-evil thoughts. The reason for that is the fact that we can’t stop negative-evil thoughts from entering our minds. That’s just Satan doing his work—his job. Nor should we feel bad or guilty when these thoughts come upon us. Again—that’s Satan doing his job. The problem is, and the damage is done, when we allow them to dwell in our minds. How do we do this? By reasoning with them.

Remember, the function of our minds is to think and reason. Once a thought enters our minds, and we begin to reason with it, ponder it, and entertain it with visualization, it will manifest itself. That’s how powerful the mind is. Remember what I just suggested: what we need to visualize is obeying God and being richly blessed by Him.

We just don’t realize what power we’re walking around with. This is to the point that we are using this power against ourselves. Our thoughts can become a cancer, which is when basically, the body turns on itself.

So we can’t stop the thoughts—just get ready, because they’re coming, and will continue. We can, however, control the volume of the thoughts—we can minimize them. But that’s all (perhaps a future article). So don’t try to stop them, just let them enter in one side, and send them out the other. You see, we can’t stop birds from flying over our heads, but we can certainly, without a doubt, keep them from nesting on our heads!

The Inspired Word of God

Now I’m no Paul by any means, but I encourage you today, Christians: if you haven’t done so already, watch your thoughts. Be careful what you allow yourselves to contain in your minds. Follow the scriptures: one in particular; Romans 12:2. Now I know that most of us know this by heart, but I want to close with our physically looking at this scripture again. It reads:

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

As long as we entertain the thoughts and thinking of this world, we will always be conformed, or fit the mold of the world; and we will never be renewed in our minds, but will remain carnal-minded. And if our minds aren’t renewed, neither will the rest of our bodies be. Also, we will never know the perfect will of God, because we will remain in the flesh.

We’re going to look at another passage: let’s go back to Romans 8: 6-8

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

So, therefore, we must renew our minds and our thinking to win the battle of the mind.

Now how to we renew our minds? Let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 10:4

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to All About Spiritual Warfarethe pulling down of strong holds;)

Now let’s look at these weapons: let’s now look at John 8:31-32

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Here Jesus tells us how we are to win the victory over the lies of Satan. We must get the knowledge of God’s truth in us and renew our minds with His Word to tear down strongholds. These weapons are the Word received through preaching, teaching, books, tapes, seminars and private Bible study. But we must abide or continue in the Word, until it becomes revelation given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Now continuing is important. Remember what Jesus said in Mark 4:24: “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.” I’m going to repeat this in another translation: “Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more.

So Again I say, we must continue using the weapon of the Word.

Two other spiritual weapons available to us are praise and prayer. Praise

Christians and Prayer
Pray diligently!

defeats the devil quicker than any other battle plan, but it must be genuine heart praise, not just lip service. Also, prayer and praise both involve the Word. We praise God according to His word and His goodness.

Prayer is a relationship with the Godhead. It is coming and asking for help or talking to God about something that bothers us.

If we are to have an effective prayer life, we must develop a good personal relationship with the Father. Know that he loves us, that He is full of mercy, that He will help us—in a word: faith. Get to know Jesus. He is our friend. He died for us. Get to know the Holy Spirit. He is with us all the time to help us. So we must let Him help us.

We must learn to fill our prayers with the Word of God. God’s word and our need is the basis on which we come to Him.

One of the best aids to freedom is asking God for a lot of help, and to ask often. Prayer is not a life jacket; it’s a lifestyle. And always remember what Zechariah 4:6 says: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” It is only by the spirit of God that we can win: The Battle of the Mind.  AMEN.

Please feel free to leave any questions, comments, or concerns below.

Blessings!

Watch the companion videos that go with this teaching series. Each one expands on the key truths shared in the All About Spiritual Warfare articles.


Prefer a quick message? Watch the Shorts versions below for brief highlights from the Spiritual Warfare series.

 

All About Spiritual Warfare

With this post, I am going to start a new series on Spiritual Warfare.  This is the first of seven articles and we’re going to look at the issue of Christians and Spiritual Warfare, explaining all about spiritual warfare.All About Spiritual Warfare

The objective of this series is to address the subtle and practical ways that Satan engages in his attacks on Christians. This first message of the series, however, is foundational, laying down the basic truths of spiritual warfare and our enemy.

In addressing spiritual warfare, the first thing that we must address is the fact that there is a battle, a war going on—a very serious war indeed.

When we first left our mother’s womb and entered the world, we were born with a sinful nature.  David addressed this when he wrote in Ps 51:5, reading NIV: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

After the transgression of Adam and Eve, from that time on, sin fell on every subsequent member of their seed.  Sin breeds sin.  As Job wrote in Job 14:4: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.”  This placed man in a terrible state.

But because of God’s grace and mercy, He sent His son Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for our resulting sins. [Romans 6:23] But because of man’s corrupted seed, He had to be born of a virgin in order to be the perfect sacrifice.  Jesus said during His ministry here on earth: “you [must] be born again.” [John 3:7]

Now let’s take a closer look at this new birth.  Let’s take a look at John 3:3

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Let’s now go down to verses 5-8

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

What we see in this passage is that this rebirth is indeed spiritual. 

Now the Apostle Paul went into much more detail to describe the nuts and bolts, if you will, of our spiritual rebirth.  Let’s look at Ephesians 2:1-10

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,

Now, this goes back to what I said earlier, at our natural birth, we were automatically put on the worldly course.  What Jesus called: the broad road to destruction. [Matt. 7:13] We had nothing to say about it.  Once we stepped out of our mother’s womb, we were put on this broad road.  Let’s read on:

…according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

…according to the “prince of the power of the air.”  Now that’s Satan—the one and only.  Notice what else this verse says about him: “the spirit that now
worketh.”  Satan is a spirit: the adversarial spirit to God, that is: “now working in the children of disobedience.”  Now the picture is starting to form.

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh [and of the mind;]and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

“by nature the children of wrath.” Now here’s that point again.  All of us by nature, were “children of wrath.”  In our complete naturalness, we were walking in the flesh—fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind. [2 Cor. 11:3]  We’re going to get back to the mind (next article/post).  So what we have are individuals who were once dead in sins and trespasses, being spiritually reborn.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

So now the picture is complete.  What we have here are people who were All About Spiritual Warfareonce under the control and power of Satan (who, by the way, is a spirit); who become born again spiritually, reconciled to God, who is also a spirit, [John 4: 24] through Christ.  So people whose spirits were under Satan’s control, were and still are today, being literally snatched—spiritually from him by God.  Do you think that Satan is going to sit back and let this happen without a fight?  Absolutely not!.  What does this mean?   W A R!  Spiritual War!  The moment we accept Christ as Lord and Savior and are born again, war is declared against us with a target on our backs.

So, what we have is     [Spiritual]  Warfare.  Now I emphasize the word spiritual because it’s crucial for us to know what kind of war this really is.  It is not in the flesh, but it is spiritual.  This is what Paul is addressing in Ephesians 6:12.  Let’s take a look: All About Spiritual Warfare

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

Now this is clear.  It’s not against our parents, it’s not against our siblings, or aunts and uncles, cousins and friends, but against principalities… The word “principalities” refers to principal rulers, or group leaders.

…against powers, that being those who had power, or to whom the name of “powers” was given, that being, Satan and his demons.

…against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

These are the rulers that preside over the regions of ignorance, and sin with which the earth abounds.

… against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Now this refers to the spiritual things of wickedness; evil spirits, in celestial or heavenly places, and to their influences on earth.  So now we’ve covered the breakdown, or the makeup, of the adversarial kingdom, which is headed by Satan.

Now let us not be deceived.  Because this war is spiritual and not in the flesh, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take it seriously.  Because we can’t see it, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.  It actually makes it more dangerous.  When we can’t see the enemy and we don’t know who he is, we can’t defend ourselves.  But with our sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, we can see him for what he is and defend ourselves.All Abut Spiritual Warfare

Now, moving on, it is important for Christians to realize that the battle is going on and that there is going to be opposition in our lives.   Let’s look at John 15:18-19

18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own…

The point: anyone who’s part of the enemy’s camp doesn’t have to be concerned about being attacked by the enemy.  AMEN?

…but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Jesus told His disciples here that because they are not of the world, the world would hate them.  But just like He chose them, He has chosen us—making us disciples as well. [John 12:32]  The bottom line is that every Christian, whether we know it or not –  whether we like it or not— is engaged in war.  And we have to realize that: if we walk in the ways of God, Satan is going to oppose our – lifestyle, our conversation, our character, and our conduct.  He will do everything to frustrate, bring anxiety and confusion, and steal from us the Word of God.  He will do everything to keep us from serving God by creating confusion and disharmony—working morning, noon, and night—24/7/365.  Therefore, we must be ready for battle.  There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  This is a daily war—around the clock.  We must pray for protection while we sleep because he can even torment and tempt us while we’re sleeping.  This war is perpetual throughout our lives here on earth as a born-again Christian.

Let’s now look at the head of this adversarial organization.  He is called by several names in the bible.  He is also called by several names in the flesh, of which I won’t repeat.  The most popular ones are: Satan and the devil.  Now the word devil means accuser.  So Satan is his name, and devil is his game.  Devil is what he is—the accuser or deceiver.  This is the main title for this fallen angelic being, who is the supreme—the highest enemy of God and man. The term comes from a Greek word that means “a false witness” or “malicious accuser.”

So who is this Satan?  Well, as I mentioned earlier, he’s a fallen angel.  First of all, Satan was created by Christ along with other beings, principalities, and powers in heaven and on earth.  Let’s look at this in a passage of scripture: Colossians 1:15-17. Now, this is concerning Christ.

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Christ created all things, including Satan, whose name was originally Lucifer, which means—morning star.  A morning star or star of the morning is a bright star.  For a star to shine in the brightness of morning, it has to be very bright.   Lucifer was a high and bright angel in heaven.  He was beautiful and had a kingdom on earth, long before the creation account in Genesis.  [He was the leader of praise and worship] But Lucifer became full of pride, and rebelled against God, and led an invasion in heaven, which he lost.  Now let’s look at this in scripture.  Isaiah 14:12-15

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer , son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Now this is actually a prophecy of Babylon’s downfall—this is judgment against the king of the Babylonians.  But it is allegorical (symbolic) of Lucifer’s downfall, because the king of Babylon became a king who was driven by the spirit of Lucifer or Satan, and exhaled himself against God.

Let’s look at another one: Ezekiel 28:  Now here we have a lamentation [expression of grief] for the king of Tyre, when he has consequently fallen, though his own iniquity.  But again, it is allegorical (symbolic) to Satan and his fall. Verses 12 –17 The Lord said to Ezekiel:

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, [kar’-bun-k’-l] and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

The original creation was like the Garden of Eden. In that, it was a paradise of splendor and glamour.  As the scripture reads: “every precious stone:” was present.

Now tabrets are drums, and pipes represent music.  This goes back to what I wrote earlier, about Satan’s involvement in praise and worship in heaven.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Now this goes back to what I mentioned about him being, at one time, very high in the kingdom of God.  God said: “and I have set thee so.” He was appointed or anointed as a guardian angel (cherub) and had access to the “holy mountain of God,” meaning that he had direct contact with God.  He was God’s prince—so much that he walked amongst ‘Stones of fire,” i.e., bright and shining. Decked with bright jewels, this prince walked among jewels in gorgeous splendor.  This again refers to the original earth, which was full of splendor and beauty.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

He was perfect: after all, he was created by God.  But here’s where the party ended—he fell off the wagon.  He was perfect until – iniquity was found in him.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.All About Spiritual Warfare

“by the multitude of thy merchandise.” His greatness—his wealth filled him with internal turmoil, and he sinned, and there was a war in heaven.

So now we see that this highly exalted and perfect prince, created by God, was cast down from his high place.  From the “midst of the stones of fire” that was earth, which was voided out as a result of the prince’s iniquity.  Verse 17 describes this iniquity:

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

“thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.”  Now this is in a word: pride—plain and simple.  This high angelic being became puffed up, arrogant, and conceited.  Why?  Because of his beauty.  Somebody told him that he looked good—one time too many; that he was all that, and a bag of chips, and he believed it.  So much so that he rebelled against God.  As a result, the scripture says:  “I will cast thee to the ground.”  Now we all know that once you raise yourself up against the boss to the point that you want to take over, your time is up, and you’ve got to go. Remember what Scripture says about pride in Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. NIV

So the kings of Tyre and Babylon were cast out of their high places, just as Satan was.  What happened to these kings was a result of the spirit that was in them.  So what do we see from these passages?  Anything that is driven by Lucifer’s spirit goes the same route as he did.

Let’s look at this in 1 Timothy 3:  Here in this chapter, Paul is describing to Timothy the qualifications of an elder.  And it reads that he should be among other things:

6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

The NIV reads: “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.”  So again, anything or anybody who is driven by Satan’s spirit will be judged as he was.  Paul also warned the Corinthians when he told them: that they should cast down arguments, and [every high thing], that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. [2 Cor. 10:5.]

So Satan, full of rebellion and pride, which God hates, was judged.  [Prov. 6:16] Now because of this, all on earth was destroyed by the first flood. [Gen. 1:2]  So Genesis begins a recreation of the earth.  But Satan regained rulership over the earth in Adam’s time, seizing man’s dominion – by causing his fall.

Let’s now take a look at Satan’s objectives.  It really only takes one word to label his objective: Destruction.  His aim is to destroy our bodies, minds, and spirits.  As a believer, he can’t touch our spirits, but he harasses us until he wrecks and ruins our testimony for Christ, rendering us of no use, or value to God.

Now, as a result, we are living in a world that’s asleep.  We are living with our minds clouded in darkness, where we accept wrong for right.  We accept this immoral age as a moral age.  We are now living Romans 1—right now, today.  Let’s take a look at this: Romans 1 Verses 18-31 describes God’s wrath on unrighteousness.  Verse 21 describes the problem it reads:

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,”

Now what do we have here?  Again: pride!  Verses 24-31 explain the result

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: Let’s skip down to verse 28.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Now, if this isn’t today, I don’t know what is.  We have become so acclimated to the darkness that even the “very elect” are deceived by Satanic devices. Jesus stated this would happen in Matthew 24:24.

Moving on, we must know that, as powerful as Satan is, he is not omnipotent.  He isn’t all-powerful.  But he can possess unbelievers with his demons, but they can only harass believers.  No believer can be possessed, but greatly harassed and oppressed by demonic powers.

Now, what is his method of operation?  This can also be summed up in one word: All About Spiritual Warfaredeception.  His main tool is deception.  If he can deceive a believer, they become one of his most effective tools.  Remember what Paul said in Gal 5:9:

“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”  Any time two or more believers get together, Satan’s work begins.  Whether it’s a marriage, a friendship, an association, or a church group, he’ll do all he can to divide and separate that union.  Once he gets saints fighting amongst themselves, he just sits back and watches, laughing all the way to the bank (sort of speaking).  It’s just another feather in his cap.

Satan and his servants (demons) disguise themselves as believers, which requires discernment on our part. Let’s look at this in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

We must be ever so sober and vigilant, because Satan’s methods of deception can be difficult to recognize.  Let’s look at one passage regarding this:

2 Corinthians 2:10-11

10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Now, here Paul is addressing the issue of forgiving another.  One of Satan’s devices or designs is to cheat the believer out of true forgiveness.  Unforgiveness enslaves an individual and can divide the church.  Satan will try to divide the church in any way he can, and we must not be ignorant of his devices.  Now this is only one of them

Satan works on us in three areas:All About Spiritual Warfare

First, he operates in our minds by injecting his thoughts into us.  It’s up to us, however, to accept or reject these thoughts.  Satan uses the mind as his playground.  He takes our natural curiosity and carries it beyond God’s intentions until we cross His line of disobedience. Now again I want to mention that we’ll address the issue concerning the mind in the next article/post.

Now, one of Satan’s tactics is to get people to not believe that he exists—he blinds them to enslave them (the unbelievers).  Let’s look at this in

2 Corinthians 4:4:

4. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Now this is how Satan keeps his kingdom thriving: by keeping the unbelievers, unbelieving.  In addition, he keeps believers enslaved in their flesh by attacking and harassing them so subtly that they don’t even realize that there’s a war going on.  He is the prince of this world,[Eph. 2:2] having dominion of all the world’s forces under his control; and he uses these forces to harass us, to tempt us, and enslave us, and can eventually deem us useless to God.

Satan’s ultimate and only objective is to destroy.  There never has been, nor ever will be, any good objective in the mind of Satan.  Moving into the next area that he works on:All About Spiritual Warfare

He also works on our consciences.  For example, when we feel guilty because we don’t do what is wrong, that is a Satanic attack on our conscience–our thoughts.  Which is why Satan is called “an accuser of our bretheren;”  in Rev 12:10  “a liar, and the father of it” [John 8:44] a deceiver; [Gen 3:13 NKJV] and,  a destroyer; [Job 15:21, I Cor. 10:10] and Jesus said that he seeks to accuse and wipe out—destroy.  As Jesus stated in John 10:8 regarding the works of Satan: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  He is, in no uncertain terms – a thief.  Moving into the final area:

The third area that he works on is our bodies.  Now, not all sickness is from Satan, but a lot of it is.  For example, If we violate a law of health, we’re going to get sick.  It doesn’t have anything to do with Satan: at least not directly.

Bottom Line: Satan is a deceitful, scheming, cunning, liar, and his ultimate and only objective is to destroy and maim: testimonies, families, finances, friendships, churches, and business; and will use anybody willing to be used to do it.

It’s time for Christians to stop sleeping—to wake up, and see things as they are.  To smell the stench of Satan, our enemy, and the ongoing battle that must be fought.  We can’t fight this battle: sleeping and keeping our heads stuck in the sand.  You know when the ostrich sticks its head in the sand, its tail is still out—leaving itself open to be rear-ended and blind sided.All About Spiritual Warfare

It behooves every Christian to take heed to the word of God, which says in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

For part 2: Spiritual Warfare: The Mind is the Battlefield, click here.

Please leave any questions, comments, or concerns regarding spiritual warfare below.

Blessings!

Watch the companion videos that go with this teaching series. Each one expands on the key truths shared in the All About Spiritual Warfare articles.

Prefer a quick message? Watch the Short here:

 

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