Devil, l Say Enough Is Enough: How To Engage Yourself Into Spiritual Warfare

Devil, l Say Enough Is Enough: How To Engage Yourself Into Spiritual Warfare

You have had enough, you can't take it anymore. The devil and his demons have been tossing you left right and centre. You have been their dummy for too long. It's time to call it quits and claim your true position in Christ. You are already a spiritual giant but your problem is that you perceive yourself as a tiny and helpless human.

Life begins in the spiritual before it manifests in the physical. That means if your life is messed up in the spiritual realm, there is no way you can expect it to be perfect in the physical realm. You have to take corrective measures in the spirit inorder to put your house in order in the physical world.

It's time to wake up from that deep sleep of ignorance and exercise your authority in Christ Jesus. The Word of God says Behold l have given you the authority and power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19),take note it says all power not some power. Which means all the power the devil possess you can conquer it because you have been given the authority and power to do so.

The advantage that you have over the devil is that you have the authority and he doesn't have it. He only has power without authority. Having authority becomes advantageous to you because it gives you the right to exercise your power or to put your power into action or use. On the other hand the devil doesn't have the authority to exercise his power. 

The definition of authority in simple terms is the ability to exercise power and the devil doesn't have that capacity. That is why the devil couldn't kill Job nomatter how much power he had why because he didn't have the authority to exercise his power over Job. He had to wait to hear from God who had both the authority and the power to exercise whatever he wants done on Job. Job 2:6 says,The LORD said to Satan, " Very well, then he is in your hands but you must spare his life. 

Now the bible says that we were created in the image and likeness of God  which means we are like God. This is according to Genesis 1:26 which says, Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.Therefore what God is able to do we are able to do as well. The Word says as he is so are we in this world according to 1John 4:17 which says, By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgement, because as he is also are we in this world. The only thing that could limit us is the level of our faith because the Lord says greater works than these shall you do because l'm going to the father. John 16:7 says, "l tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works l have done, and even greater works, because l am going to be with the Father.

During the time of Jesus's ministry he was limited because before he was glorified he could be in just one geographical location at a time. That is why he said that it is good for you that l go to the Father because if l don't go the Holy Spirit cannot come. This is written in the bible in the book of John chapter 16 vs 7 which says,  However, l'm telling you the truth. It is for your advantage that l'm going away, because if l don't go away, the Helper won't come to you. But, if l go, l will send him to you. Now that we are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit we are no longer limited.why because the Holy Spirit is omnipresent he is everywhere.

He can do so many things all at once. Having this kind of information means that the devil is in serious trouble but the reason why he still roams free is because we lack the knowledge of who we are and what we carry what l call identify crisis. Ignorance is our number one enemy followed by the devil himself. 

The word of God says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free according to John 8:32 which says, Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. By having access to this kind of knowledge, will you have the capacity and ability to deal with the devil and his company accordingly. Now that you know this, it's high time you put the devil and his agents in their rightful place.

Pull those demons by their filthy hair, drag them back to hell, give them a loud slap one by one  and kick them by the ass back into the roasting fire. Point to take note, this is done in a metaphorical sense because in the literal perspective it would not make sense at all. Don't allow the devil and his workforce to make you their playground and do nothing about it. How do you do that? By engaging into spiritual warfare.

 Equipping Yourself For Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:10-20 is perhaps the simplest and clearest definition of the spiritual war which we find from the pen of the Apostle Paul. It not only assures us that there is a spiritual war, but it warns us that apart from utilizing the weapons which God has provided for us, we are hopelessly underpowered. This message informs us as to what our divinely weapons are. These weapons imply the nature of the struggle which we are in. The weapons which God has given us are those weapons which best repel the attacks of the devil and thus we can learn a great deal about the nature of Satan's opposition from simply considering each of the weapons at our disposal.

Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV

Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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.

Paul warns us that our conflict is not primarily against flesh and blood enemies. Rather we are fighting against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the the heavenly realms. Our battle is primarily spiritual in nature but our main problem is we tend to often lose sight of that and instead direct our energies against those we can see with our eyes rather than the real enemy, the ones directing the affairs of the physical ones we see. In other words, we are fighting against the sword rather than the one who wields it. 

It is quite frightening and unimaginable to think about fighting evil spiritual entities, surely we render ourselves powerless against such as that. But, Paul encourages us to take our stand against them, not in our own strength but with the weaponry and armor of God. Paul uses the imagery of the Roman armament, the specific attributes are very meaningful. Now let us look at the instruments and their features which makes up the whole armor of God and unpack how we can utilize them as our weapons for spiritual warfare.

The Weapons To Use In Spiritual Warfare

The Belt Of Truth

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist; Ephesians 6:14a NIV

Paul begins with instructing us to have the belt of truth buckled around your waist. But our question maybe how important is the truth to us? I do believe its importance cannot be understated. If we veer off from the truth, we Expose ourselves bare to all kinds of attack. It is important that you speak the truth even when it hurts.

Always walk in the truth and never give into the temptation to disguise it to make it more appealing to others or less threatening to yourself. The truth is not always pleasant to be honest and it may cost you in the short term. But, how many people have you seen falling down the gutter because they left the way of the truth? Therefore, be armored with the belt of truth against the enemy. 

The Breastplate Of Righteousness

The  Breastplate of righteousness in place.. - Ephesians 6:14 NIV

Paul next instructs us to have the Breastplate of righteousness in place. Always do what is right. Do not give into temptation to do what is convenient or expedient rather than right. Do not let your personal righteousness slip away from you, adopting the morality of the world around you. 1 Peter 2:12 says, Live such good lives among unbelievers that even they criticize you, they will see your good deeds and glorify God.

Righteousness protects you from from attack as well as protecting you when you go on the offensive. It will be impossible to be very effective in God's service if your life does not reflect well on Him. Believe, teach and practice what is right and true. Having done that will protect your core, keeping you safe in the battle.

The Gospel Of Peace

...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. - Ephesians 6:15 NIV

Are you ready to march out into the battle with the gospel, the good news that a relationship with Jesus brings one into peace with God? The fight we are in is to bring the light of Christ into a world of darkness. Allow the light of Christ to shine brightly out from you. If that light is not there or if you are not walking in the light, it will be hard to take the gospel to others. 

The Shield Of Faith

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 NIV.

Here is another piece of the armor that we are to take up which is the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. If you depend on what you can see and experience in the physical world, and what you are capable of accomplishing on your own, you will never be successful in the battle. Instead, you will become a casuality in the war and maybe never even aware of it. 

Faith allows you to overcome your own limitations and wield the weapons that the Father (God) provides, weapons that have the power to tear down strongholds (2Corinthians 10:3-5). It is with the eyes of faith that you can see the enemy and deflect his attack, the flaming arrows of doubt, discouragement, feelings of inadequacy, pride, greed and other host of other arrows that would sideline you if they hit their mark.

The Helmet Of Salvation

Take the helmet of salvation... Ephesians 6:17a NIV

With the helmet of salvation in place, we can have assurance of our relationship with God, and do not need to fear anything that the enemy might throw our way. This was Paul's sentiment, "l will know who l have believed and am convinced that he will guard what l have entrusted to him (2Timothy 1:12). Having an assurance of your future makes you less concerned about what might happen to you here. And it will enable you to fight more fearlessly.

The Sword Of The Spirit

...and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God- Ephesians 6:17b NIV

And finally take up the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. The word of God is sharper than any double edged sword and able to divide soul and spirit, bones and marrow. The word of God is a weapon which offensive to the enemy. If you want the devil to tremble and flee, always be ready to attack him  with the word of God.

If we look at the temptation of Jesus by the devil in the wilderness, the devil used all sorts of tricks including quoting the scriptures to lure Jesus but, Jesus didn't give in to the devil's crafted plan. Jesus eventually conquered the devil using the very same Word of God and the devil fled.

There is tremendous power in the word of God. Spend time in the Word; learn what it says to you; apply its teaching to your own life and be ready to share it with the world around you. Use it to attack the enemy. Resist the devil and he shall flee. 

Prayer

And pray in the sprit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. - Ephesians 6:18 NIV

While prayer is not part of the whole armor of God, it is included in the discussion about the whole armor of God. Keeping the communication lines open with God is vital to a successful mission. We are not in this battle alone remember; rather we join with other believers across the world in waging this war. Only as we continue to keep in touch with our commander in chief of the heavenly armies (God himself), we can fight as an army rather as ragged collection of individuals, each with our naive thoughts as to how the battle should be fought.

Prayer might not be everything but it changes everything. Prayer is a necessity for survival. The Word of God says pray without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17) and man always ought to pray and not faint (Luke 18:1). If you don't want to faint then always faint. Prayer strengthens, protect, heals. 

Always be bold to declare and decree, "Devil, l say enough is enough" and then attack him left, right and centre. You are more than a conquerer through Christ who loved us. Stay blessed and winning all the time because Christ became victorious on your behalf 

***The End***