Spiritual Warfare
Authors: Joseph Prince
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Spiritual Warfare
ISBN 978-981-08-8376-8
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2005
Joseph Prince Teaching Resources
All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.
contents
2
Spritual Warfare Myths And Truths
4
The Breastplate Of Righteousness
chapter
1
Stand With God’s Armour
chapter 1
Stand With God’s Armour
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Ephesians 6:11
The Devil Attacks God’s Image
S
piritual warfare is a vital part of our walk with God. There is a war going on around us that is invisible. You can’t see it in the physical. But it is real. Once you are born, you automatically have an arch-enemy dedicated to your destruction. His name is Satan. He is the enemy of every man, woman and child. Whether you are a Christian or not, he hates you because when God made you, He made you in His own image.
Sometimes, you see things happen to you that are out of the ordinary. When you notice that these things are happening regularly and you have tried unsuccessfully to deal with them in the natural, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that you are being attacked spiritually. The devil is a bit like a woman who has been rejected by her boyfriend. She keeps his photograph and whenever she looks at it, she gets a bit psycho. She starts to attack the photograph, and to swear at it and to curse it. Holes and scratches soon appear on the photograph! If she can’t attack her boyfriend, she can certainly attack his photograph.
The Bible doesn’t teach us how to cope with our problems, it teaches us how to always walk in victory!
The devil does the same thing. He can’t get God because God is too powerful for him, so he goes after God’s image — you and I. But the difference is this: When there is an attack from the devil, if you are a Christian, God’s Word tells you how to stand victorious in the victory that you have in Christ. On the other hand, if you are not a believer, then you are under the devil’s dominion and he can pick your number any time.
Don’t Just Cope, Walk In Victory
The good news today is that the Bible doesn’t teach us how to cope with our problems, it teaches us how to always walk in victory! The world teaches us how to cope. There are seminars that teach us how to cope with depression, sickness and relationship breakdowns. But God wants us to overcome. His Word shows us how to experience victory over these things. That is the difference between what God wants for us and what the devil wants to do to us.
Another difference is this: Once you believe in Christ, you have everything in Christ. Everything! The Bible says in Ephesians 1:3,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
Notice how the tense used indicates a past action — He
has
blessed us — with
everything!
The world thinks it has everything. People who don’t believe in God can sometimes boast that they have a lot. They say, “I am very wealthy. I have a lot. Look at my house. Look at my car. Look at my bank accounts.”
In Genesis 33:9 (NIV), Esau told his twin brother Jacob that he had plenty:
9
But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
Remember that Jacob had cheated Esau of his firstborn blessing from their father Isaac. So Esau became very bitter and hateful towards Jacob. Jacob ran away and the brothers were separated for many years. One day, they met each other again. Jacob was still afraid of Esau because of what he had done to him many years ago. But Jacob didn’t know that God had melted Esau’s heart. So Jacob sent gifts to Esau to appease him.
Genesis 33:10–11 says:
10
“No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favour in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favourably.
11
Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it
.
While Esau had plenty, Jacob had all that he needed! The world can boast that it has a lot. You know, it is possible to live in a big house with many bedrooms and not be able to get a good night’s sleep in any of those rooms. It is possible to have all the money you want, and yet be so full of depression, restlessness and anxiety. But you, child of God, have everything. In Christ, you have everything. You have eternal life. You have all the promises of God written in the Bible. You have the Holy Spirit and you can have all the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
You look exactly like Jesus when you are wearing His armour.
But here is another important distinction between you the believer and non-believers: Not only do you have everything, the devil pays extra attention to you because you are made in God’s image. My friend, welcome to spiritual warfare!
Put On God’s Armour
So how do we stand against the devil? What instructions has God given us to help us stand in the victory we already have in Christ? The answer lies in the armour of God! But what is the armour of God?
Let’s look at Ephesians 6:10–18:
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 you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13
Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand
.
14
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints
.
Look at verse 13:
“Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
The Bible tells us to take up the armour of God. God tells us to put on
His
armour. God has an armour. It is what Jesus wore when He walked on earth. He left the armour behind for us when He returned to heaven.
So we have the armour of God today. And when we put on His armour, the devil does not know who is inside the armour. All he knows is that that was the armour that defeated him 2,000 years ago! You and I look exactly like Jesus when we are wearing His armour. You might feel like you are a weakling, but when you are inside the armour, the devil sees you strong.
It is like being in Batman’s suit. In the various Batman movies, the directors had different actors playing the role of Batman. One of them was Michael Keaton. Now, how many of you know that Michael Keaton is not very big in size? But once he put on that suit, he looked huge, muscular and indestructible. That Batman suit even has a “six-pack” built into it! Anyone would look great in that suit. So even though Michael Keaton is not very big, inside that Batman suit, he looked amazing.
Likewise, when you are in the armour of God, the devil doesn’t know your weaknesses and he doesn’t see the fears you may have. In that armour, you just look like Jesus to him!
Some of you may be familiar with a teaching that floated through the church some years ago in which Christians were urged to “click on” the armour of God when they woke up every morning. So when you wake up in the morning, you “click on” your belt of truth, then you “click on” your breastplate of righteousness, then your shoes of peace and so on. I remember doing that for a while. So I used to feel like Batman putting on his suit and accessories!