WISDOM FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Ephesians 6:10-13
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that
you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting
against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world,
against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time
of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
(NLT)
I. SOME CAUSES HAVE DEMONIC ORIGIN
1. Some Unexplained Restrictions
Luke 13:10-12
Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold,
there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent
over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called
her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”
Luke 13:16
So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has
bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the
Sabbath?”
2. Some Betrayals
John 13:21-27
21 When Jesus had said these things, He…testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say
to you, one of you will betray Me.” 22 Then the disciples looked at one another,
perplexed about whom He spoke… 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one
of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to
ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25 Then, leaning [e] back on Jesus’ breast, he said
to Him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece
of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to
Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered
him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
3. Some Arguments
Matthew 16:22-23
Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You,
Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get
behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men.”
4. Some Lies
Acts 5:1-3
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and
brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias,
why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the
price of the land for yourself?
5. Some Mental Illness
Matthew 17:14-18
And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to
Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers
severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought
him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and
said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How
long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon,
and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
Matthew 17:18
And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured
from that very hour.
6. Bondage
2 Tim 2:25-26
“…if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil,
having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
II. LAWS OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE
1. Satan is not stronger than God
Luke 10:17-18
17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject
to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven.
Revelations 20:1-3
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless
pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of
old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that
he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.
2. Jesus beat Satan on the Earth
Colossians 2:13-15
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet
cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He
canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the
cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed
them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. (NLT)
3. In Christ we Have Power over Satan
Ephesians 1:19-21
“…according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that
which is to come.”
Ephesians 2:5-6
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Luke 10:18-20
18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I
give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless
do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven.”
4. We must remove Legal Access
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 4:26-27
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give
place to the devil
5. We can Pray against Him
Matthew 6:8-13
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need
of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is
in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we
forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from
the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
6. We can stop him with our Words
Matthew 8:28-32
When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met
Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so
that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What
have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment
us before the time?” 30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many
swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us
to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they
had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of
swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
III. WISDOM IN WARFARE
1. War Requires Strategy
Proverbs 24:6
For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors
there is safety
Judges 20:18
Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of
God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of
Benjamin?” The LORD said, “Judah first.”
2 Samuel 5:17-19
Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all
the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down
to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the
Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against
the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said to
David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand”
2 Samuel 5:22-25
22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley
of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not
go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry
trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the
mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out
before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the LORD
commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer
2. Verbally binding is not the only way to deal with devils
The kingdom of God is light, and the demonic realm is darkness. This analogy
alone shows that there are other ways to displace darkness than binding. Again,
binding works but “turning on the light works as well.” In other words, releasing
or manifesting the kingdom works to displace darkness. Here are a few ways we
can do that.
1. Prayer and Worship. Psalm 149:6-9
2. Releasing Faith. Ephesians 6:16
3. Evangelizing. Jude 23
There are many others, but the idea is that every time we go forward offensively,
we are displacing the darkness.
3. Principalities are displaced not pulled down by a Command
The Bible does reveal the demonic hierarchy of leadership. Paul the Apostle
received the revelation and depicted it in Ephesians 6:12. Despite his knowledge,
we have no record of Paul ever praying directly against the Principalities and
Powers. Our response to the demonic hierarchy is to don ourselves with the
whole armor of God which includes praying always with all prayer and
supplication. We do not see him verbally attacking them. Daniel gives us further
insight on how to deal with principalities.
Daniel 10:12-20
Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your
heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were
heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom
of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of
Persia. 14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your
people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.” 15 When
he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and
became speechless. 16 And suddenly, one having the likeness of the [b] sons of
men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who
stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have [c] overwhelmed
me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can this servant of my lord talk
with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath
left in me.” 18 Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and
strengthened me. 19 And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to
you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and
said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you
know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince
of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come…
Prince – śâr – Saaoh – Representative of the King. Official, chief, ruler
Jude: 8-10
Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of
dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he
disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling
accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these speak evil of whatever
they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these
things they corrupt themselves.
4. Sometimes warfare is just a distraction to draw you down a rabbit trail
5. Some do not have the standing or Consecration to handle Backlash
John 14:30
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he
has nothing in Me
Acts 19:13-16
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the
name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you
by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a
Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I
know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit
was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that
they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
6. Some use demonic excuses to keep from Changing or Fixing themselves
Demonic attacks usually show you where issues are in your life. We should see
them.
An x-ray at times, reveals areas we may have openings or weaknesses. We must
respond by bringing those areas under the blood.
IV. HOW TO WAGE WAR
1. Ask Questions
God what is happening? How do I deal with this? Are you calling me to wage
war against this? Is there something I need to change? What strategy should I
use?
2. Discern what is an Assignment and what is a Provocation
Acts 16:16-24
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a
spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-
telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the
servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And
this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the
spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he
came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit
was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to
the authorities. 20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These
men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which
are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude
rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and
commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes
on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them
securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and
fastened their feet in the stocks.
3. Be Bold and Courageous and Fear No Evil
Psalm 23:1-4
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green
pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me
in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
Psalm 27:1-4
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength
of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat
up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may
encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In
this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
