Spiritual Warfare Pt. 3: Deliverance
So...here is the GOOD NEWS. We have a more POWERFUL weapon than ANY weapon formed against us. It has
the POWER to TRANSFORM our minds and our natural negative nature.
It's called THE WORD of GOD.
Hebrews 4:12
"For the WORD of GOD is LIVING and
POWERFUL, and SHARPER than any two-edged sword, PIERCING even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
1 John 4:4
"You are of God, little children,
and have OVERCOME them, because He who is in you is GREATER than he
who is in this world ."
1 Corinthians 15:57
"But thanks be to God, who gives
us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ."
5 STEPS to FIGHT ACTIVELY and OFFENSIVELY:
In other words, HOW TO WIN:
In other words, HOW TO WIN:
1. THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD. In order to fight this battle you must be suited up for it. In this war YOU CANNOT BE TOO PROTECTED. You cannot overdo protective measures. Better to overprotect yourself than under-protect yourself. You may have heard it said that "the best defense is a good offense". Well the opposite is also true in this case. The best offense is a good defense. Before leaving the house make sure you put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD. Don't step out into the world unprotected. Don't be "caught with your pants down". Don't be unprepared. Be prepared ahead of time! This isn't physical armor, it's spiritual armor that protects against demonic forces of darkness every time you go out into the world. We aren't safe anywhere of these demonic forces, not even at home. That's why we must do spiritual warfare on a daily basis every time you feel an attack. These forces are very real, although the enemy would like nothing more than for you to think demonic forces aren't real. Jesus talked about hell frequently in the Bible and talked about demonic spirits frequently as well. If you don't believe this, go back and read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for yourself. If Jesus taught this then, then what's different about today? This is the same world today as in Jesus' time, if not worse (when it comes to demonic forces).
2. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Use BIBLE VERSES as WEAPONS. The sword of the spirit is the WORD OF GOD. I will repeat this verse one more time for emphasis.
Write out your favorite most POWERFUL Bible verses on note-cards and review them often, reciting them OUT LOUD, especially in times of trouble. Make them personal affirmations, and proclaim them OUT LOUD in JESUS' NAME! (My favorites are posted in Pt. 5 of this series) Use the anger you feel from the attack to fuel you as you proclaim these verses out loud, and mean them with every part of your being. Get these verses so deep in your spirit that you believe them with every ounce of your being and make sure how your'e saying them reflects that.
Ephesians 6:10-18
The Whole Armor of God
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—"
Also, Pray for God to surround you with His favor as a shield. You are His child and He protects you everyday, probably in ways you are completely unaware of.Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—"
You can say something like the following out loud daily, envisioning yourself putting on each and every piece as you say it while pointing to each place of your body where you are putting the armor on:
"Therefore I will take up the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes I will be able to stand my ground. I will stand firm then with the BELT OF TRUTH buckled around my waist, with the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS in place, with my feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the GOSPEL OF PEACE. In addition to all of this, I will take up the SHIELD OF FAITH with which I will be able to extinguish every flaming arrow of the evil one. I will take up the HELMET OF SALVATION and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the WORD OF GOD."
Psalm 5:12
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
2. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Use BIBLE VERSES as WEAPONS. The sword of the spirit is the WORD OF GOD. I will repeat this verse one more time for emphasis.
Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Write out your favorite most POWERFUL Bible verses on note-cards and review them often, reciting them OUT LOUD, especially in times of trouble. Make them personal affirmations, and proclaim them OUT LOUD in JESUS' NAME! (My favorites are posted in Pt. 5 of this series) Use the anger you feel from the attack to fuel you as you proclaim these verses out loud, and mean them with every part of your being. Get these verses so deep in your spirit that you believe them with every ounce of your being and make sure how your'e saying them reflects that.
3. PRAYER. The most effective way to fight this battle is on your knees. PRAY to God for deliverance. Pray for help from your Father in Heaven. He is the God of this whole earth. He is the supreme power over all things in Heaven and on earth. He is the God of powerful angel armies. There are vast numbers of angels set aside solely for battle. These are powerful angels, although nothing in comparison to the power of God Himself. You can only imagine the anger that God feels when demonic spirits attack His children. He is outraged. It makes Him furious, and He is more than willing to help you, and fight your battles for you. God will not intrude on our free will, so we must ask for help and allow Him to come in and help us with His vast armies of giant warring angels. Pray for God to send a legion of giant warring angels to deliver you, wherever you are, whenever you need it. A legion is somewhere between 3000-6000 angels. You can imagine how large of a space they can cover. You can pray for large areas to be cleaned out such as homes, churches, your job, your car, even whole buildings. Depending on how big the space is ask for more legions as needed. Ask God to send a legion of giant warring holy angels to clean out the place you're in. Ask God to have them torment every demonic spirit in there in, casting every demonic spirit into the abyss in Jesus' name, never to return. Ask God to have the angels to form a PERMANENT FIERY WALL OF PROTECTION around the place you're praying over in Jesus' name. Pray this as often as needed.
Pray for the Lord to FIGHT your battles for you in the heavenly places, and He will. The BATTLE is the LORD'S! 1 Samuel 17:47
Also, pray for God to lead you NOT into temptation and help keep you from sinning, and to DELIVER you from the schemes of the evil one.
Sin is what opens the door for the enemy to gain entrance into your life. Sin is the legal grounds in which demonic spirits gain the legal right to enter your body. When you knowingly willfully sin against God, it's like saying "come on in and destroy me" to the enemy. Sin is serious business. If you doubt this, you've already been defeated. Every time you're delivered of a demonic spirit, you clean out the space they occupied and when you do the same sin again, they come back in with more demons every time. It keeps getting worse. You've got to stop the cycle of sin. Ask God to take away your desire to do the particular sin you're dealing with. Keep asking God to take away your desire over and over, every time you feel the temptation to do the sin come over you. God doesn't care if you have to ask Him 10,000 times a day. He wants you to ask for help! He would do anything to keep you from sinning. He is more than willing to take away your desire to sin. Just remember, it's an ongoing battle. Don't give up! Sometimes it takes a long time to break patterns of sin, although it doesn't have to. It can end as soon as you decide you don't want it any longer. Don't give up and keep asking God for help. If you keep asking God for help, eventually it will get easier and you won't feel the temptation as strongly. Realistically, temptation never fully goes away. As long as we are in the body there will always be temptation to sin. Thankfully God is fully invested in our sanctification and increasing holiness, helping us every step of the way. He is more than willing to help us fight the battle against sin. That means He will take away sinful desires if we ask and lead us away from things that will cause us to sin. We need to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and ready and willing to break the cycle of sin. We need to make a decision when we are ready to renounce the sin in our lives. When you are ready to give up sinning in a certain area, earnestly say to God "I don't want this anymore. Take it from me!", and He will. God gives us everything we need to achieve holiness, and helps us every step of the way.
I speak from experience, because God has delivered me of demons multiple times, and taken away my desire to do a certain sin that I struggled with for a very long time. He has helped me every step of the way in the battle against sin in my life, and is still helping me with it everyday.
It's like when Jesus healed the man who had a spirit of infirmity for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus healed him and told him to go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon him.
Doing all of this will keep you safe from demonic attacks temporarily, but not permanently. This is an ongoing battle, and we must engage in spiritual warfare on a daily basis, whenever we sense or perceive an attack. Be aware. If you feel like you are being attacked, you most likely are. Just remember the enemy is working overtime trying to get to you so don't be surprised if you are attacked in ways or situations you never would have thought you would or could be attacked in. The enemy hits below the belt so don't underestimate his cunning behavior.
Finally, pray for God to SHATTER every curse over you, on you, in you or around you in Jesus' name. Pray for God to BREAK every generational bondage over you, on you, in you or around you in Jesus' name. And pray for God to SEVER every ungodly soul-tie going both to and from you in Jesus' name.
Before you fight and resist you must discern an attack. You can discern an attack by noticing an unusual or abnormal feeling of any type of negativity. This means a negative feeling that's unusually intense or sudden. Look for unusual patterns of thought and feeling that stand out from how you normally feel on a regular basis.
Pray for the Lord to FIGHT your battles for you in the heavenly places, and He will. The BATTLE is the LORD'S! 1 Samuel 17:47
Also, pray for God to lead you NOT into temptation and help keep you from sinning, and to DELIVER you from the schemes of the evil one.
Matthew 6:13
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.
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Sin is what opens the door for the enemy to gain entrance into your life. Sin is the legal grounds in which demonic spirits gain the legal right to enter your body. When you knowingly willfully sin against God, it's like saying "come on in and destroy me" to the enemy. Sin is serious business. If you doubt this, you've already been defeated. Every time you're delivered of a demonic spirit, you clean out the space they occupied and when you do the same sin again, they come back in with more demons every time. It keeps getting worse. You've got to stop the cycle of sin. Ask God to take away your desire to do the particular sin you're dealing with. Keep asking God to take away your desire over and over, every time you feel the temptation to do the sin come over you. God doesn't care if you have to ask Him 10,000 times a day. He wants you to ask for help! He would do anything to keep you from sinning. He is more than willing to take away your desire to sin. Just remember, it's an ongoing battle. Don't give up! Sometimes it takes a long time to break patterns of sin, although it doesn't have to. It can end as soon as you decide you don't want it any longer. Don't give up and keep asking God for help. If you keep asking God for help, eventually it will get easier and you won't feel the temptation as strongly. Realistically, temptation never fully goes away. As long as we are in the body there will always be temptation to sin. Thankfully God is fully invested in our sanctification and increasing holiness, helping us every step of the way. He is more than willing to help us fight the battle against sin. That means He will take away sinful desires if we ask and lead us away from things that will cause us to sin. We need to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and ready and willing to break the cycle of sin. We need to make a decision when we are ready to renounce the sin in our lives. When you are ready to give up sinning in a certain area, earnestly say to God "I don't want this anymore. Take it from me!", and He will. God gives us everything we need to achieve holiness, and helps us every step of the way.
I speak from experience, because God has delivered me of demons multiple times, and taken away my desire to do a certain sin that I struggled with for a very long time. He has helped me every step of the way in the battle against sin in my life, and is still helping me with it everyday.
Matthew 12:43-45
An Unclean Spirit Returns
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”It's like when Jesus healed the man who had a spirit of infirmity for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus healed him and told him to go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon him.
John 5:14
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
Doing all of this will keep you safe from demonic attacks temporarily, but not permanently. This is an ongoing battle, and we must engage in spiritual warfare on a daily basis, whenever we sense or perceive an attack. Be aware. If you feel like you are being attacked, you most likely are. Just remember the enemy is working overtime trying to get to you so don't be surprised if you are attacked in ways or situations you never would have thought you would or could be attacked in. The enemy hits below the belt so don't underestimate his cunning behavior.
1 Peter 5:8
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
Finally, pray for God to SHATTER every curse over you, on you, in you or around you in Jesus' name. Pray for God to BREAK every generational bondage over you, on you, in you or around you in Jesus' name. And pray for God to SEVER every ungodly soul-tie going both to and from you in Jesus' name.
Before you fight and resist you must discern an attack. You can discern an attack by noticing an unusual or abnormal feeling of any type of negativity. This means a negative feeling that's unusually intense or sudden. Look for unusual patterns of thought and feeling that stand out from how you normally feel on a regular basis.
4. FIGHT AND RESIST. You can actively FIGHT and RESIST demonic spirits by BINDING them in Jesus' name, REBUKING them in Jesus' name and COMMANDING them to leave in Jesus' name. First determine which type of spirit you are dealing with by using the Spirit of discernment. The Spirit of discernment is from God. If you cannot determine which demonic spirit you are dealing with, pray and ask God to reveal to you which one it is. The best clue is how it's making you FEEL. If it makes you feel guilty it's a demonic spirit of guilt. It's fairly simple to discern most of the time. You can command them to leave in this way, "I bind you spirit of guilt in Jesus' name. The Lord rebuke you! I command you to leave me at once in Jesus name!" Angels cannot help you unless you use your will to actively resist
demonic attacks. Once you begin to resist, your guardian angels can then fight for you. Rebuke and bind evil spirits using Jesus' Name, commanding them to leave over and over until they leave. We
have the power to cast out demonic spirits of every kind using the
POWERFUL NAME of JESUS. Rebuke demonic spirits in JESUS' NAME, and cast them out with FAITH. There is POWER in the NAME of JESUS. Every spirit is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ, the ALMIGHTY LIVING GOD. They have to obey when a child of God uses the NAME of the KING of every realm and world, JESUS CHRIST. We are victorious in Jesus Christ. Command demonic spirits to LEAVE in JESUS' NAME, and command them to go back to hell where they came from!
Once the demonic spirits leave you then ask the angels to attack them and torment them, casting them into the abyss never to return to you ever again. Ask God to fill you fuller with the Holy Spirit, every part of you, and cleanse every part of you with the blood of Jesus. Ask God to cleanse your mind, your heart, your will, your emotions and your body with the blood of Jesus.
P.S. You cannot successfully do spiritual warfare for someone else, or fight anyone else's spiritual battles. This is completely out of the realm of our control. Everyone must fight their own battle. Fighting someone else's spiritual battle is not our responsibility. I would suggest that you don't try it, because you will be attacked greatly, and it will be very hard to be delivered. If you have prayed for someone else's spiritual battle by mistake, it's best to ask to be released from it at once. We can only ask God to help someone, but not ask Him in any way to fight their battles. We must stay in our own domain and worry about ourselves in this case. It's every man for himself. The only thing you can do to help others fighting spiritual battles is teach them how to do spiritual warfare themselves.
Continued in the next post. Please read the whole 5 Part Spiritual Warfare series for maximum effectiveness. Thanks and God bless!
Once the demonic spirits leave you then ask the angels to attack them and torment them, casting them into the abyss never to return to you ever again. Ask God to fill you fuller with the Holy Spirit, every part of you, and cleanse every part of you with the blood of Jesus. Ask God to cleanse your mind, your heart, your will, your emotions and your body with the blood of Jesus.
Luke 10:19
" 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."
5. PERSISTENCE. Finally, the last thing is DON'T GIVE UP. Keep praying over and over and calling on the name of Jesus over and over again. Don't give up! God will answer every prayer of His children. Sometimes it really is a huge struggle and a fight. It may take all your strength to just keep fighting this battle, but DO NOT give up. Give it everything you've got and you will be delivered. If you don't know what else to do, just keep praying "Help me Jesus!" over and over and over and over again until He helps you. Don't give up, and those prayers will be answered. Be like the persistent widow in the parable of the widow and the judge.
Don't give up and just keep on praying and crying out to God for deliverance over and over, and God will hear you and deliver you. He will fight your battles for you in the heavenly places, if you keep asking in faith and just don't give up. The biggest part of spiritual warfare is PERSISTENCE. Don't forget that no matter how tired you feel fighting these battles, you mustn't give up.
God is trying to make us stronger and keep us growing in the power of His might to win this fight. That may be why sometimes there's a small delay in between our crying out for help and God answering our prayers. He's teaching us how to be determined, persistent, diligent and stronger in our faith.
Our free will is another weapon that we can use to win this battle. Keep RESISTING with your will. Keep FIGHTING negativity, and keep resisting demonic spirits. Use your free will to resist the enemy and seek God. Your will is a source of great power. It has the power to help us or destroy us. The enemy would like to make you believe you're powerless and paralyzed, helpless and a victim of circumstance. We are none of these things because these lies come from the father of lies himself. Therefore, we know everything he says is a lie.
Jesus said:
We must believe the opposite of whatever the enemy tells us, because we know he is always a liar. Demonic spirits cannot tell the truth. There is no truth in them. We have great power over the enemy when we resist him using the personal power of our own will. We must use our will for good and not evil. We must use our will to resist evil and seek goodness. God alone is good. No one can take our will from us no matter how hard they try. At any moment in time we have the ability to choose what we will do. We have the power of choice, and it's up to us to choose whether we want to be defeated or whether we want to be victorious and win this battle.
Let your anger fuel you in this fight against the enemy and make you even more determined to conquer and destroy the enemy!
5. PERSISTENCE. Finally, the last thing is DON'T GIVE UP. Keep praying over and over and calling on the name of Jesus over and over again. Don't give up! God will answer every prayer of His children. Sometimes it really is a huge struggle and a fight. It may take all your strength to just keep fighting this battle, but DO NOT give up. Give it everything you've got and you will be delivered. If you don't know what else to do, just keep praying "Help me Jesus!" over and over and over and over again until He helps you. Don't give up, and those prayers will be answered. Be like the persistent widow in the parable of the widow and the judge.
Luke 18:1-8
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”Don't give up and just keep on praying and crying out to God for deliverance over and over, and God will hear you and deliver you. He will fight your battles for you in the heavenly places, if you keep asking in faith and just don't give up. The biggest part of spiritual warfare is PERSISTENCE. Don't forget that no matter how tired you feel fighting these battles, you mustn't give up.
God is trying to make us stronger and keep us growing in the power of His might to win this fight. That may be why sometimes there's a small delay in between our crying out for help and God answering our prayers. He's teaching us how to be determined, persistent, diligent and stronger in our faith.
Our free will is another weapon that we can use to win this battle. Keep RESISTING with your will. Keep FIGHTING negativity, and keep resisting demonic spirits. Use your free will to resist the enemy and seek God. Your will is a source of great power. It has the power to help us or destroy us. The enemy would like to make you believe you're powerless and paralyzed, helpless and a victim of circumstance. We are none of these things because these lies come from the father of lies himself. Therefore, we know everything he says is a lie.
Jesus said:
John 8:44
(Speaking to the Pharisees) "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
We must believe the opposite of whatever the enemy tells us, because we know he is always a liar. Demonic spirits cannot tell the truth. There is no truth in them. We have great power over the enemy when we resist him using the personal power of our own will. We must use our will for good and not evil. We must use our will to resist evil and seek goodness. God alone is good. No one can take our will from us no matter how hard they try. At any moment in time we have the ability to choose what we will do. We have the power of choice, and it's up to us to choose whether we want to be defeated or whether we want to be victorious and win this battle.
Let your anger fuel you in this fight against the enemy and make you even more determined to conquer and destroy the enemy!
P.S. You cannot successfully do spiritual warfare for someone else, or fight anyone else's spiritual battles. This is completely out of the realm of our control. Everyone must fight their own battle. Fighting someone else's spiritual battle is not our responsibility. I would suggest that you don't try it, because you will be attacked greatly, and it will be very hard to be delivered. If you have prayed for someone else's spiritual battle by mistake, it's best to ask to be released from it at once. We can only ask God to help someone, but not ask Him in any way to fight their battles. We must stay in our own domain and worry about ourselves in this case. It's every man for himself. The only thing you can do to help others fighting spiritual battles is teach them how to do spiritual warfare themselves.
Continued in the next post. Please read the whole 5 Part Spiritual Warfare series for maximum effectiveness. Thanks and God bless!
Comments