S U N D AY, 4 T H J U LY, 20 2 1

CHARISMATIC BAPTIST CHURCH, TAIFA

UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
Ephesians 6: 12
INTRODUCTION-SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
•1. Spiritual warfare is the kind of warfare that occurs in the spiritual realm.
•2. To understand spiritual warfare, one must understand the realm in which
the warfare occurs.
•3. There are various aspects of warfare.
•4. We can learn a thing or two about warfare in the Old Testament.
•5. The children of God, the Israelites, fought a lot of battles as the Bible
records in the Old Testament.
•6. When God decided to choose Israel as a nation and give them the Promised
Land, He told them to destroy all the inhabitants in the land of promise.
INTRODUCTION-SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
•7. When they failed to drag the people out of the land, these nations grew and
became thorns in their flesh as the Lord described it.
•8. Most of the battles they fought, if not all, were with these nations that they
failed to destroy completely when they had the chance.
•9. A battle/war is always between at least two parties.
•10. Most wars are fought for a purpose; (a) To gain ruler ship over a land (b)To
gain access to resources (c) To gain freedom or break free, etc.
•12. Recap: There are various types of warfare and nations or people go on
warfare for various reasons.
INTRODUCTION-SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
•13. The moment you are born into a kingdom, if the kingdom is at war, you are
automatically born into that war. You cannot dissociate yourself from the war
which is on-going as long as you are part of that kingdom.
•14. In the Old Testament stories, warfare was about power, conquering lands,
gaining freedom etc.
•15. The more you conquer, the more you gain access to resources, you
establish or extend your authorities to those kingdoms.
•16. Believers must understand that a war has been instituted even before any
one of us was created.
 INTRODUCTION-SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
•17. Warfare happens and is happening in the spiritual realm even before it
manifests in the physical realm.
•18. As believers, we are part of the body of Christ, the Church and most
importantly, the army of God.
 SOME COMPONENTS OF
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
•1. The Parties/Kingdoms involved.
•2. The War Leaders.
•3. The Army or the Soldiers.
•4. The Battle field.
•5. The Weapons used.
 SPIRITUAL WARFARE- THE
KINGDOMS INVOLVED
•In Ephesians 6:12: For WE (the children of God) do not wrestle against flesh
and blood, but against ….spiritual host of wickedness (Kingdom of Satan).
•The spiritual warfare is between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of
satan.
•The moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we have chosen a side,
and that side is the side of Christ or the kingdom of God.
•In this type of warfare, there is no neutrality. If you remain neutral, a side is
chosen for you, and that side is the side of the kingdom of darkness or
wickedness.
 SPIRITUAL WARFARE- THE WAR
LEADERS &THE ARMIES
•In 2 Timothy 2:3: You must therefore endure hardship as a good soldier of
Christ Jesus.
•The Devil and Jesus Christ.
•Fallen angels (demons) Vs the children of God.
 SPIRITUAL WARFARE-THE
BATTLEFIELD
•1. In Ephesians 6: 11 the Bible speaks of the wiles of the devil.
•2. The word WILES means devious or cunning stratagems employed in
manipulating or persuading someone to do what one wants.
•3. It also means tricks, schemes or to entice.
•4. The devil’s aim is to deceive us into fear and disbelief. God’s desire for us is
to have faith and belief, the devil is looking at the opposite.
•5. It’s a mind game, the battle field for our spiritual warfare is the mind.
 SPIRITUAL WARFARE-THE
BATTLEFIELD (CONT’D)
•6. In 2 Cor. 10:4; the Bible says, “For the weapons of warfare are not carnal but
are mighty in God for the pulling down of strong holds, casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
•7. Stronghold: a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack.
• Two (2) Parts; STRONG & HOLD i.e. It’s like a prison & a fortress at the same
time.
•8. A prison is built to keep people from going out and a fortress is built to
prevent people from coming into a place; A Mental prison
 SPIRITUAL WARFARE-THE WEAPONS
•Read Ephesians 6: 10-18;-The Armour of God for the children of God.
•The Armour of God is God’s own armor. The weapon God uses can be
illustrated with the instance where Saul(the king) decided to give his armor to
David to fight with.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE-THE WEAPONS
 CONCLUSION
•In our spiritual warfare, we need to understand that we are dealing with a
defeated devil. His authority has been stripped. You cannot finish a finished
work. Jesus dealt with him on the cross. Jesus said on the cross; it is finished.
•Colossians 2:15; “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a
public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
•1 Peter 5:8; “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”