Understanding Spiritual Warfare

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Understanding Spiritual Warfare

• As Children of God, We must Understand that our
  Heavenly Father is GOOD
• His chief Goal is to make us the BEST people we
  Can possibly be
• Everything He does as he deals with our Christian
  lives is to develop our potential to the greatest
  degree possible

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Understanding spiritual warfare

• As children of God, we must understand that Satan
  is totally EVIL
• His Job description is revealed in John 1010
• The thief comes only to steal and kill and
  destroy

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Understanding spiritual warfare

• Attributes of God
• ?Spirit ? Holy ? Eternal ? Infinite ? Everywhere
  at once ? All knowing ? All Might ? The Truth ?
  Just ? Righteous ? Life ? Unchangeable ?
  Sovereign ? Love ? Faithful ? Merciful ? Caring
• Gods Attributes never get out of BALANCE with
  each other
• He NEVER acts out of Character
• For this reason we can trust and have confidence
  in Gods judgment concerning our lives
• He will ALWAYS do what is best for us
• His love is so great it is beyond understanding
  and he is absolutely trustworthy

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Understanding spiritual warfare

• Attributes of Satan
• ? A Liar ? A Murderer ? A sower of conflict ?
  An Adversary ? Cunning ? Wicked ? Malignant
  totally evil ? Cowardly ? Tempter ? A Thief ? No
  Principles ? Proud ? Deceitful ? cruel ? A
  destroyer
• The Devil is NOT a negative God he is a Fallen
  Angel
• As a result, he is not more POWERFUL than God
• Sin always WEAKENS whatever it touches
• But it doesnt nullify his power because the
  works of the Flesh are his area of experience
• Some of the works of the devil are Sin, Sickness,
  Fear, Death, Depression, Murder, Temptation,
  deception, lust, and rebellion

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Understanding spiritual warfare

• Jesus came to destroy the works of the Flesh 1
  John 38
• He who does what is sinful is of the devil,
  because the devil has been sinning from the
  beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was
  to destroy the devils work.
• In Christ, we have VICTORY and POWER of the works
  of the Flesh if we choose to USE that power
• We can trust that God will NEVER use the works of
  the flesh to deal with his Children
• God wouldnt have sent Jesus to destroy the works
  of the evil only to use them on those whom he
  loves

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Trust god in spiritual warfare

• Many have unfairly attributed the devils acts to
  the works God
• What can a person do if he believes it is God who
  sent the sickness into his life to teach him
  something?
• It is possible, that because we LACK the trust in
  God in spiritual warfare, we fall into the works
  of the Flesh thus causing our current condition.

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Open doors in spiritual warfare

• Paul says something very important concerning
  spiritual warfare Ephesians 427
• Do not give the devil a open door/foothold
• When we have OPEN DOORS in our spiritual lives,
  the Devil feels he has the right to take
  advantage of us
• If we keep them closed, He cant do what he wants
  to do

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Open doors in spiritual warfare

• Open Door principle introduced Gen. 47
• If you do what is right, will you not be
  accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin
  is crouching at your door it desires to have
  you, but you must master it.
• God told Cain sin was crouching at the door,
  waiting to leap into his life. Cain had the
  choice, but he chose to open the door to
  JEALOUSY, And Satan lead him to murder
• Sin is PROGRESSIVE One things leads to another
  until we find ourselves in big trouble
• For this reason, we must keep the doors closed
  before they develop into something harmful

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What are open doors?

• Lineage Inherited weaknesses from our family
  lineage
• Ex Our parents were Alcoholics so we are
  sensitive to Alcohol
• Crisis An emotional or Physical Crises can
  cause us to leave open doors
• Ignorance Ignorance of the word can leave Open
  doors that are DEVISTATING
• Paul urged believers, Not to be ignorant of the
  word, six times!

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How to close open doors

• Put on your ARMOR Ephesians 610-13
• Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his
  mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so
  that you can take your stand against the devils
  schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh
  and blood, but against the rulers, against the
  authorities, against the powers of this dark
  world and against the spiritual forces of evil in
  the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full
  armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
  you may be able to stand your ground, and after
  you have done everything, to stand
• Recognize your enemy, put on the Armor, quit
  feeling sorry for yourself WE UNDERSTAND THE
  DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SIN!
• James 47 Submit yourselves, then, to God.
  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8
  Come near to God and he will come near to you.
• 2 Timothy 215 Do your best to present yourself
  to God as one approved, a workman who does not
  need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the
  word of truth.
• Hosea 46 - my people are destroyed from lack of
  knowledge

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Insert video Spartans What is your profession?

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vIReMfvamQ28

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How to close open doors

• FAITH is the Key
• Our Power source is faith in Christ that comes
  form the Word
• Putting on the Armor of God (Which is the word)
  Ephesians 610-18
• Matthew 41-11 Jesus resisted with the word
• Not Just because he knew the word, but LIVED the
  word
• Ephesians 617 the word is the Sword of the
  Spirit

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Our part

• God doesnt do Everything He gives us the TOOLS
  There is a part we must do Romans 1312-14
• The night is nearly over the day is almost
  here. So LET US put aside the deeds of darkness
  and put on the armor of light. 13 LET US BEHAVE
  DECENTLY, as in the daytime, not in orgies and
  drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and
  debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14
  Rather, CLOTHE YOURSELVES with the Lord Jesus
  Christ, and DO NOT THINK ABOUT how to gratify the
  desires of the sinful nature
• Positive Action is required So be determined to
  ACT!!!!

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Strong man is his name

• The Strong Man? - Luke 1121-22
• When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own
  house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when
  someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he
  takes away the armor in which the man trusted and
  divides up the spoils.
• Jesus calls the demonic presence a STRONG man.

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Strong man is his name

• We have to take care of this problem strong
  man, or the problem will RETURN and even worse.
  Luke 1124-26
• When an evil? spirit comes out of a man, it
  goes through different places seeking rest and
  does not find it. Then it says, I will return to
  the house I left. 25 When it arrives, it finds
  the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then
  it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked
  than itself, and they go in and live there. And
  the final condition of that man is worse than the
  first.

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Strong man is his name

1. As we saw from the scriptures, it wasnt enough
   just bind the strongman and cast him out with all
   of his belongings
2. FOLLOW-UP WORK is necessary. We must learn to
   maintain the freedom God has given to us, whether
   it is a case of harassment or possession

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Strong man is his name

• Some people can get passed a certain point in
  their spiritual livesor they begin to fall
  behind.
• Something seems to Kick their spiritual legs out
  from under them, and they land back at square one
  again
• After the house is cleared by obedience to the
  Gospel, we must then feed on the word so that the
  house is transformed into the temple of God

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Can Christian be possessed

1. Dont misunderstand, its not that demons are
   everywhere and in everybody Not everything is
   caused by Demons
2. Here is the point - When an Evil influence is
   that is operating we can recognize it and deal
   with it according to scripture

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Can Christian be possessed

1. Christians (true Christians with the H.S.)
   CANNOT be demon-possessed but we certainly can
   be attacked in our minds, wills, emotions, and
   bodies
2. These parts of the Christian body can be
   troubled, pressed, buffeted, harassed, depressed,
   obsessed, in bondage, and bruised.

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Can Christian be possessed

1. The people who are in a state of possession
   have long severed their relationship with God
   they may still hang onto a form of Godliness, but
   its only an empty shell camouflaging their true
   spiritual condition

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Can Christian be possessed

• Some scriptures to Consider
• Matthew 624 Luke 613
• James 311-12
• 1 Corinthians 316-17
• 1 Corinthians 1021
• 1 Corinthians 619
• 1 John 44
• 1 Corinthians 212
• 1 John 518

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Concluding spiritual warfare

1. We cant make the mistake that the works of the
   Flesh can be attributed to Demon possession (the
   flesh has some strong ideas how it wants to
   live).
2. If we dont use the Power of the Holy Spirit to
   keep the FLESH subdued, it can raise Havoc
3. We have to remain on the Altar of a Living
   sacrifice Romans 121 Be A living Sacrifice
4. We are free of possession and Slavery if we have
   Christ John 836 The Son therefore shall make
   you free, ye shall be free indeed.

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Concluding spiritual warfare

1. PAUL didnt beat around the bush, Put on the
   whole armor of God, they ye may be able to stand
   against the wiles of the Devil (Eph. 611)
2. PETER said, Be Sober, be vigilant because you
   ADVERSARY the devil, was a roaring lion walks
   around, seeking whom he may devour Resist him by
   standing strong in the faith (1 Peter 58-9)
3. JAMES said, Resist the Devil, and he will flee
   form you (James 47)

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Remember

• For though we walk in the flesh, we are not
  waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the
  weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but
  have divine power ?to destroy strongholds. 5 We
  destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised
  against the knowledge of God, and take every
  thought captive to obey Christ
• 2 Corinthians 103-5