13 Feb Three Spiritual Warfare Tactics And How to Defend Against Them
IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE
As we saw last week, there are two kinds of spiritual warfare: Resistible and Non-resistible, which call for two different responses. This week we will look at the fact that the devil uses three different spiritual warfare tactics against Christians. He might use any one of these tactics in both the resistible and the non-resistible kinds of spiritual warfare.
THREE SPIRITUAL WARFARE TACTICS
- Dirty Tricks: These are negative circumstances the enemy uses to deceive and defeat us. They include challenging circumstances that we might not even know are satanic in origin.
For example, in the first chapter of Job, we see Job’s life being devastated. One day, he had fabulous wealth, a large family and good health. Then, virtually overnight, he lost it all.
At the time, Job had no way of knowing why the tragedies befell him. They all had a natural explanation. However, in the Bible, we learn that all of the incidences were a result of spiritual warfare.
- Mind Games: Another tactic of spiritual warfare is “Mind Games” which the enemy uses to deceive Christians.
Satan is the great trickster, the great illusionist, the great con-artist, and the great liar. Referring to the devil, Jesus said, in John 8:44: “Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Satan plays games with our minds to get us to believe that…
- that which is false is true
- that which is bad is good
- that which is wrong is right
If we know Satan’s mind games, we can be prepared to resist them. Like walking through a camouflaged mine-field we must always be alert to the danger of satanic deception.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat: Occasionally, the enemy comes out from behind his Dirty Tricks and Mind Games, and engages God’s people directly in Hand-to-Hand Combat.
This involves direct opposition by evil spirits to God’s will and God’s people. We see an example of this when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness when Satan spoke directly to Jesus and tried to deceive Him and tempt Him into sinning (Matthew 4).
There are many times in the Bible when we see direct confrontation with evil spirits (for example, Luke 8: 26-30; Acts 19:14-16), and such things are being seen more and more today as the light of the gospel dims in our world. Of course, one of the most frequent sources of such reports comes from missionaries, often in very primitive cultures, who tell stories of direct demonic confrontations.
In summary, we may not be sure, especially with Dirty Tricks and Mind Games, when something is spiritual warfare or when it may be accounted for by truly natural circumstances.
However, in the Bible we see spiritual warfare being behind a number of life problems:
- Unusual circumstantial calamity, as in the book of Job.
- Physical maladies. (Luke 13:11)
- Severe depression and mental instability. (1 Samuel 16:14-15)
- Inaccurate and faulty thinking. (2 Timothy 2:24–26)
- Thoughts raised up against God. (2 Corinthians 10:3–5)
This is not a complete list, but is a list of examples from Scripture of the kinds of things the enemy does to wreak havoc in the lives of people.
The Bible teaches that there are three defenses we have in spiritual warfare.
THREE SPIRITUAL WARFARE DEFENSES
- Be Alert
First, we must be alert to its reality. If we aren’t, we are vulnerable. Peter said, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). To be clueless is a great disadvantage in spiritual warfare – ignorance is not bliss!
- Put on the Armor
Second, we must put on spiritual armor, which is a metaphor for being spiritually prepared. The armor is found in Ephesians 6:14–17:
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NIV)
What it means to put on each piece of armor includes:
Belt of truth: “I accept the truth of the Scripture and will follow it with integrity.”
Breastplate of righteousness: “I will not harbor known sin and I will strive to be like Christ.”
Shoes of peace: “I believe God’s promises, and count on them to be true for me.”
Shield of faith: “Whenever I feel like doubting or sinning or quitting, I will reject those thoughts and feelings, and tell myself the truth.”
Helmet of salvation: “I rest my hope in the future, and live in this world according to the values of the next.”
Sword of the Spirit: “I will use the Scripture to fend off attacks of the enemy and to advance the cause of Christ.”
- Resist the Devil
Third, if we are alert to spiritual attack, and if we have our armor on, the Bible makes it clear, as we saw last week, that we can resist the spiritual attack. In three different passages of Scripture, we are told to resist the enemy.
“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:13
“‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:6–8
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.” 1 Peter 5:8–9
The Bible does not tell us in these verses what it means to resist. But we can draw reasonable conclusions about How to Resist:
- Maintain a clear conscience: Ephesians 4:26-27 instructs us not to let the sun go down on our anger because it gives the devil an opportunity. This would seem to apply to any similar sin. We are to repent/confess quickly. Otherwise, it gives the enemy an advantage in our lives.
- Resist temptation: 1 John 2:15-17 instructs us to resist the lure of the world, flesh and devil.
- Control sinful thoughts: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are divinely powerful, and that we are to destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and that we are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
- Quote Scripture: In Luke 4 and Matthew 4, we see Jesus resisting the devil by quoting Scripture to meet his every temptation.
- Pray: In the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying before His arrest, He urged His disciples to “pray that you may not come into temptation”(Matthew 26:41).
As we are alert to the devil’s tactics in our lives – Dirty Tricks, Mind Games and Hand to Hand Combat – and as we use the three biblical defenses to counter the enemy – Be Alert, Put on the Armor and Resist – we will be victorious in our battles in spiritual warfare.
And, by “victorious”, I mean either the devil will flee from us if we are in “resistible warfare”, or if we are in “non-resistible warfare”, these defenses will give us the ability to remain faithful to the Lord while the spiritual battle lasts.
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