Spiritual warfare Part V - Victory in Christ

Spiritual Warfare

Robert D. PattonMissionary to SurinameBaptist World Mission

What do we need to do?

First, if the person is not a Christian, then the person needs to accept the Lord as savior

Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world….

BRING THE PERSON TO FREEDOM IN

CHRISTWe want more than simple relief of symptoms. We want the person free to serve the Lord

Remember the goal - Freedom

The goal is not to simply drive out the evil spirit for that moment, but for the person to be free.

Many will stop when the evil spirit goes away, but what about when he returns with seven evil spirits worse than himself? And what if we are not available when there is an attack?

John 8:31-32, 36The truth shall make you free

8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews who 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. 36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

How to come free?

We must renounce sin and falsehood, step by step, and affirm the truth.

First, the individual must be capable of responding.

The evil spirits need to be bound in the Lord Jesus Christ

How to release the binding initially Have the person confess the Lord

Jesus Christ as savior if possible Pray Read scripture, especially those

places raising up the Lord Jesus, and showing victory over the devil – for example, Ephesians 1:17 Revelation 18-20

Praise the Lord in spiritual songs

Prayer is the ultimate help!

State our dependence on the Lord Pray for those whose eyes are blinded

- 2 Cor. 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.


.We can claim the promise of I Jn. 5:14-15 that if we ask anything in His name that is His will, He will hear

.Directly after that, he talks in 1 Jn. 5:16 about the unsaved

.Pray for those eyes of the saved to be open to the spiritual victory which is ours in Christ

I Jn. 5:14-15

[14] And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: [15] And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.


Resist the devil in our position in Christ

We lay hold to God’s property and hang on until satan loosens his grasp.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Prayer for those demonically oppressed:

Pray that demons will be cut off from communication with other demons and satan

Pray that demons will be confused and weakened in their hold on the person

Pray that the person will be strengthened in faith to understand his position in Christ and to trust and obey God’s word

Prayer for those demonically oppressed:

Pray that the person will be able to distinguish between his own thoughts and those of satan

Pray that the person will recognize the demonic influence and seek godly help and counsel

.Pray for God’s protection, and that the angels will break up every scheme of the enemy

For freedom from demonic involvement… We must give Christ total

allegiance, with death to self and living for Christ, walking in the Spirit. Gal 2:20 & 6:14; Jn. 15, Gal. 5:16 -23.

We must reject false worldviews: Rom. 12:2

We must break allegiance with self-centered profit and pleasure.

For freedom from demonic involvement… We must confess and reject any

involvement with the occult Any special gifts or transference from

laying on of hands All false religions Removal of false ways and possessions -

cleaning house Break contacts with those involved in

demonic worship

Witchcraft

Renounce every episode of witchcraft which you remember. Ask the Lord to bring back the necessary areas.

Ask for forgiveness, and break any promises or accords made with the spirit world

What about amulets, etc

We throw away any witchcraft items such as amulets, lotions to wash with, idols, etc.

We will often help the individual to clean out the house and yard and pray throughout the home.

We sometimes anoint a house as a symbol of the Holy Spirit – placing the home in His hands

Family involvement Remember that this can go back four

generations, and most persons don’t know about their great-grandparents

Renounce all ties, promises, etc. Ask forgiveness for any personal

or family involvement Take your position in the family

of God

During infant dedication or marriage We take these occasions to

make a declaration that we have broken with any evil spirits personally and from any family involvement.

We declare that we are in the family of God

We ask the congregation to help pray for the individuals

During soulwinning

I usually have the individual who is praying to receive Christ also state that they reject any involvement in witchcraft for themselves or their family

Family involvement

We break any accords made or sins done by ourselves or our ancestors

Remember the prayers of Nehemiah Daniel

They prayed for forgiveness of the sins of their fathers as well as the leadership of the nation

False teachings

There are the doctrine of demons. A few examples:

Worship of Maria Worship of the sacraments Acceptance of teaching of cults,

etc.

Each of these false teachings need to be renounced

We go through the common false teachings of any cults/religions in which the individual has participated

We renounce the false teachings and ask for forgiveness, and removal of any ground given evil spirits from accepting them

Bitterness

All bitterness needs to be renounced.

You need to decide to forgive. It is not a feeling, but a decision of the will

Forgive as the Lord has forgiven us – of everything – Ephesians 4:32

Forgive – no bitterness

Ephesians 4:[31] Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:[32] And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

What is the goal for forgiveness

It is not to change the other person. It does not depend on his response. It takes two to reconcile, but only one to forgive

It is to make us come free. As long as we hold onto bitterness, we are bound to the other individual, and also we may give ground to evil spirits

Pride

All pride needs to be renounced

That is the purpose of the Cross – to show our insufficiency but His sufficiency in: Victory over our old nature Victory over the world system Victory over the devil

Pride

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble

The sin of the devil is pride He gave us His nature Be careful that you are not

proud of your humility

Anger Our problem is that we are angry

when our personal rights are violated, rather than those of the Lord.

Jesus was angry when the Lord’s rights were violated, but He did not resist when His own rights were violated at the cross

We need to yield our rights to the Lord Jesus

Sexual immorality Renounce all immorality Break each relationship Remember that our thoughts are also

important: Mt. 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; 28. But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in her heart…

Thus pornographic pictures, films, and the internet are sin.

Remember, if you don’t go ahead in your warfare…

Mt. 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through the dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out, and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. 45. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

What about other groups of individuals?

In talking with a friend dealing with other groups – Creoles and Javanese, his church uses the basic same techniques.

Prayer is the basis Spiritual songs Scripture Removal of all witchcraft items

Our goal is permanent freedom

We do not want the person dependent on us – but on the Lord, and to be confident in his position in the Lord

He can pray; he can command the spirits to leave

Those who have found freedom our our most effective counselors

What about unconscious persons

We have this problem quite often. We pray, rebuke, read scripture, and sing.

When the person regains consciousness, if not saved, we present salvation. If saved, we have them begin to rebuke the spirits. This may take some time before they can do so

Follow-up care

Church attendance regularly Daily prayer

Acknowledge God’s greatness Yield to Him daily Confess and abandon all known sin Walk in the Spirit

Maintain freedom with Bible study

Follow-up

Further problems can mean: You have other areas not yet

confessed and abandoned You have re-opened areas to the devil

You must be active – not passive

We are responsible:

To put on Christ - Rom. 13: [14] But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

To resist the devil - James 4: [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

We are responsible: Wear the armor - Eph. 6: [10] Finally, my

brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.[11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We are responsible:

[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

We are responsible:

[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Yield to God - Rom. 6:[11] Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are responsible: [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal

body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.[13] Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

We must choose the truth & live a righteous life

Reactions to demonic deliverance with Christ

Some were amazed - especially glorifying God

Some were afraid – and sent Jesus away Some were antagonistic – and accused

Him of conspiring with Satan and using Satanic power

As His disciples, we can anticipate the same reactions

Biblical results of deliverance The demons are no longer inside,

and cannot control from INTERNAL use of the mind and the body

Sometimes there were visible signs that the demons were gone

Also often there was physical healing

There may be transference - eg - Legion to the pigs

Biblical results of deliverance

There is often loss of occult power Restoration to normal function

.Physical .Social .Reorientation to life

Sometimes, if the healing was occult, there may be loss of occult healing

Relief of Symptoms after deliverance

Relief from: Passivity & depression Lust Thoughts in the mind, suicidal

tendencies Problems with thinking


Freedom to grow spiritually .Sense of personal worth

.Satan and his demons are works and achievement oriented

.They oppose grace It is important that we recognize

our true worth with God


Ability to make decisions now Improvement in marriage

relationships Loving Christ more Greater awareness of sin and

satan

Do not always expect instantaneous victory

It may take time to see someone come free from demonic activity. It need not occur the instant you command the demon to leave.

It is preferable if possible for the person themselves to command the demon to leave. They need to get victory themselves, not depending on others, but the Lord

Sometimes victory comes more slowly

Even Christ did this repeatedly with the man with Legion - verb is in the imperfect tense

He may need to grow in Christ and in surrendering all to Christ.

We must dedicate ourselves 100% to what is good, and hate that which is evil.

Why no instantaneous victory?

Unyieldedness or sin that the Lord wants the individual to judge: Ps. 94: 12] Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;

Something that either the counselor or counselee must learn about the heinousness of sin, and the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ

We can learn how to recognize and deal with demonic forces to be able to help others: 2 Cor. 1:3-4

Helping others

2 Cor. 1:[3] Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;[4] Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Why no instantaneous victory? We must learn to walk in dependence of

the Lord in trials and demonic warfare God may put the demon to shame before

many witnesses, both angelic and human, as the individual walks in the Spirit in faith and obedience. Remember Job

God may show the proper need of counsel and support in the Christian walk

Like peeling an onion

It is possible to have victory, but to see further demonic involvement.

The mere fact that the person seemed free and now has problems could mean that you removed some but not all of the demons, and not that you did nothing

Follow-up is important

You need to work on keeping free, and not just getting immediate victory.

This means resisting the devil - keeping the doors closed that were open to give the demons a foothold.

I want to spend some time on spiritual principles to help maintain real freedom and spiritual growth