Spiritual Warfare: Overcoming Evil

 

Link to the YouTube video subtitled in 70 languages: https://youtu.be/U47Eq1f9iEI

 

Every Believer is an Ambassador

 

When approaching a subject such as the authority of God, we need to understand that every believer possesses this authority, not just those we may consider to be “super saints.” It is God’s will for you, as a child of God, to know how to walk in His authority, and your training begins the day we say “yes” to Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit is moving throughout the earth, and as His children, we need to be involved and cooperate with God as we learn to walk with Him. As God’s Kingdom people, we seek to do the will of the Father just as Jesus did. Every child of God can pull down strongholds of the enemy in their life, in their family, or in their city. The call goes out to whoever will take God at His Word and move forward in faith. He leads His children one step at a time, but we rest on Christ’s authority, not our own. Let me illustrate what faith in God can do when men and women step out in the power of God with a story from the book, Megashift. Author James Rutz writes about three unknown believers who acted in faith, and in doing so, changed the spiritual atmosphere in Africa.

 

In 1999, three men from the Kalahari Desert in Africa changed the course of history. They were not the movers and shakers of society, but relatively poor nomads who laced strips of leather to the bottoms of their feet whenever they needed “shoes.” However, they distinguished themselves from the crowd in three ways:

 

1. They knew God and His plan to transform Africa.

 

2. Through conversations with readers and researchers, they discovered how Africa became known as the Dark Continent, the home of the world's poorest nations.

 

3. Thinking in sync with the Spirit of God, they determined that the continent had had enough of misery, and it was high time to take a stand and reverse the curse.

 

They found that a curse lay at the root of the problem. Archaeologists and anthropologists have pieced together a coherent picture of how Africa was settled and culturally developed through ancient pottery shards, cave art, and other artifacts. Long ago, the original settlers descended very slowly from the North through the Great Rift Valley, a geological crack that extends from the Sea of Galilee in Israel down through Africa. Wherever they established communities, they made pacts with evil spirits masquerading as local gods, placing themselves under the authority of these evil powers. The results have been massive and ghastly. However, these three men knew what to do. They organized a prayer expedition to conduct Spiritual Warfare.

 

Bringing together a team of experienced prayer intercessors, including some Westerners, they journeyed north for three months, starting in July at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. They renounced and broke the original deals with demons and curses at numerous old sites, mainly along the Rift Valley. Every prayer session at each stop was what we refer to as a power confrontation. By far, the largest occurred in Zimbabwe. After a very long, rough ride in jeeps, the team arrived at Mount Injalele (in-ja-lay-lee) in the Motobo Hills. Although remote, the region was a popular destination for pilgrims, many of whom were presidents, kings, or tribal chiefs. For many years, they had traveled to Injalele to seek advice and guidance. There, an "oracle" supposedly spoke to them from a large crack on the side of the mountain.

 

You can safely assume that any advice from the false god of the mountain was of inferior quality. Over the years, it became such a busy shrine that the witch doctor network across Southern Africa built four temples around the edges of the crack. So, the team prayed and worshipped God. They repented for the sins of the people in worshipping these false gods. They decreed the downfall of the evil powers and declared that ownership of the land had been transferred to the kingdom of Christ. Then, they went to the next stop. Shortly afterward, lightning struck all four of the temples and completely destroyed them! As you can imagine, it was all over the region's newspapers and on everyone's lips.

 

Within two days, the most respected witch doctor in all Southern Africa arrived to assess the damage and determine what could be done to restore the site. Although it was a cloudless day, he was struck by lightning and killed on the spot. Then came the storm.  Reports of the damage were covered on CNN World News. The most torrential rains in memory lashed a vast region, washing away entire villages and particularly devastating the occult sites and numerous witchcraft training centers. However, the same storm system caused the Kalahari to bloom like a garden in the western areas where many believers in Christ lived. The land transformed into a lush oasis of trees, vibrant grass, blooming plants, flowing streams, and abundant wildlife—virtually unseen for at least a century. The locals were awestruck, and the fear of the Lord fell on the whole territory.[1]

 

When you hear this story, it bears a resemblance to the powerful encounter the prophet Elijah had with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). When I reflect on this modern story of God's power, the first thing that stands out to me is that these were ordinary people who were simply obedient to the Holy Spirit. Additionally, they stood together and did not engage in this ministry alone, which follows the pattern established in the New Testament. Furthermore, they were individuals who understood how to pray and act in obedience to God's revealed will. Sometimes we complicate things, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The Scriptures teach that this is the inheritance of every child of God. This kind of deliverance power is the "children's bread" (Matthew 15:26), a part of the covenant Christ bought for us at the cross. The Father will give us His instruction if we ask Him and listen to His guidance and voice.

 

The Family Business

 

When you know you are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6) and have God's approval, you can move with spiritual authority because you understand the source of your power. People often find a more intimate walk with God simply by engaging with Christ in His work. Don’t you know that we are called into the Family Business? I was only six years old when I first went with my father on his fishing boat, the Why Worry. I remember him standing me on a box and helping me steer the boat. He took me just a few hundred yards from the harbor at first, and later, when I was a teenager, he taught me to navigate, steer the boat, and perform all the tasks I had seen him do. We live in a time when God is accelerating His work, as we observe the world around us becoming increasingly spiritually dark. God promises that, as the darkness increases, so will the light of God (Isaiah 59:19). The Father needs "all hands on deck" to pull up the nets.

 

In my early days as a fisherman off the East Coast of England, one didn't need a license to operate a boat or fish. When people saw how young I was and the size of the boat I was working on, they naturally questioned my competency. However, when I mentioned who my father was and that I was working with him, their attitude changed immediately, as my dad was well-known throughout the entire East Coast region. I had the authority to operate his boat and catch fish. Because of the relationship Christ has established with believers, we are authorized to venture out onto the fishing grounds and catch men and women for God. Your Father has granted you His permission and blessing.

 

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

 

Because Christ has been given authority in heaven and on earth, He shares or delegates that authority with us who believe in Him. We are seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), and the Lord will be with us as we go, just as my dad taught me bit by bit through on-the-job training. The Lord has given gifted leaders to teach the Scriptures and train others by observing them in action. That is the way Jesus did ministry. The enemy does not want you to believe that you have also been given authority, for his kingdom will lose ground when you begin to live in dependence on God's power. The authority given to Christ now also rests on all believers (Acts 2:38-39; Matthew 28:18). In the thirteen letters of Paul the Apostle, the phrases “in Christ,” “in Him,” or related terms, occur 165 times. I think Paul is trying to communicate an essential truth about something, don't you? Let's explore that:

 

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body--whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink (1 Corinthians 12:13).

 

When you believed and placed your trust in Christ, the simple truth of the above statement is that the Spirit of God came and took up residence in the temple of your heart, your spirit (John 3:3). Those who belong to Christ are in an organic union with the God of the universe (John 17:22-23). Later, Paul restates his thought when he says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). In the same way that Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches (John 15:5), we have been grafted into this spiritual union with God (Romans 11:24), which Paul refers to as being in Christ Jesus. To be in Christ is to be in an organic relationship, joined to Christ, while simultaneously being in spiritual union with brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide. Here’s just one of Paul’s statements on this topic:

 

From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16).

 

Restored Authority

 

When our ancestor Adam was created, he was made in the image of God and given dominion over the earth. He was also entrusted with the responsibility to rule over all that God had made:

 

²⁶Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ²⁸God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:26-28; emphasis added).

 

The Hebrew word, radah, translated into English with "rule," means to "rule over or subdue."[2] God gave responsibility and authority over all creation to Adam and his descendants. I presume that even the king of the beasts, the lion, could be spoken to by man under God’s authority and that the lion would obey. Such was the dominion and authority that man had before the Fall in the Garden of Eden. King David, speaking by the Spirit, says something very similar:

 

³When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? ⁵You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. ⁶You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet (Psalm 8:3-6; emphasis added).

 

The Hebrew word mashal, translated as the English word "ruler" in Psalm 8:6, indicates that Adam, and we as his descendants, are God's managers, governors, or stewards over the earth. Mashal means to “rule, reign, govern, have dominion over, and manage.” Humanity was different from the rest of the created beings, as man was crowned with glory and honor and made rulers over the earth. Man alone was created in the image of God and could rule with grace and true justice. He was God's representative. He was created in the image of God, reflecting the likeness of the One True God and embodying God's heart and will for His creation. Under the inspiration of the Spirit in the verses above, King David wrote that man, in his original creation, was made a little lower than Elohim, the Hebrew word for God. Many translations render this word differently, and some translate it merely as the English phrase "heavenly beings"; however, Scripture states that Adam was made just a little lower than God. "Elohim" is the term almost always used to refer to God. Some translations note the change by placing it in notes at the bottom of the page or in the margins. How magnificent Adam must have been, crowned with glory and honor, fully equipped by God for his managerial role over the earth. The passage states that God put everything on Earth under Adam's feet, symbolizing rulership and dominion over all creation (v. 6).

 

The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man (Psalm 115:16; emphasis added).

 

The Hebrew word “Nathan,” translated in the above passage with the English word “given,” means to assign. God gave responsibility for the Earth to Adam and his descendants. It is the territory over which man is assigned to rule. Scripture is clear that the earth belongs to the Lord, but it has been entrusted to humankind to govern and manage. This concept of humanity being given responsibility is also illustrated in Genesis 2:15: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” The Hebrew word, “shamar,” translated as the English words “take care of,” means: “to keep, guard, protect, and preserve, as a watchman cares for his cattle or sheep." The governing and stewardship of the earth were assigned to Adam and his race.

 

Using the definition of the word, Shamar, what do you think it meant for Adam and Eve to have dominion over the earth?

 

As we have already stated in a previous study, this dominion of man, I believe, was short-lived. Satan was quick to usurp and steal man's authority and rulership over the earth. Our forefather, Adam, relinquished humanity's right and dominion to rule into the hands of Satan at the Fall. Satan, with impunity, could say to Christ at the temptation, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to” (Luke 4:6). Satan was not offering Jesus something that he did not possess. Otherwise, it would not have been a temptation. Satan was offering Jesus something in his hands to use as leverage. He sought to tempt Christ to bypass the cross by bowing to him, acting outside of the Father's will.

 

This loss of humanity’s rulership and dominion, given to us by God, is why redemption had to come through a man. God gave the earth to Adam's race, and only one of his descendants could win it back, as man was the trustee. Once Adam succumbed to Satan's temptation to obey him rather than God, the enemy could legally do anything he wanted to any of Adam’s progeny, as they became slaves of Satan due to humanity's slavery to sin. All it took was one act of disobedience. God came Himself, the Lord Jesus, the only One totally without sin, and Satan had no claim on Him. That’s why Christ had to be born of a virgin. It is no wonder that the concept of the virgin birth is under attack and something the enemy wants to refute as foolish. It is an essential element in the redemption story. The Messiah, Christ, had to be of Adam’s race, but could not be tarnished or stained by sin; otherwise, He would have been owned and dominated by Satan.

 

Christ was fully man yet fully God, conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary, not having Adam's seed or sin nature. Therefore, Satan had no claim on the innocent Christ. Divine law states, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man” (Genesis 9:6). In other words, when Satan took it upon himself to bring Jesus to the cross, for the first time under divine law, he became a murderer because Jesus was completely innocent and had never sinned. In the upper room just before the crucifixion, Jesus stated, "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me" (John 14:30; emphasis added). Every person who makes Christ's death their own by believing and trusting in His death as the payment for their sin is made righteous before God. Eternal justice was satisfied at the cross. Satan was legally condemned as a murderer in the courts of heaven because he had no right to kill Jesus due to His sinless birth and life. He was stripped of the keys of death and hell at the cross (Revelation 1:18). Just before the crucifixion, Jesus said:

 

Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out (John 12:31).

 

What do you believe would occur if all Christians worldwide embraced their God-given authority in Christ? In your view, what differences would this bring to individuals and the Church globally?

 

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms [the original Greek language says, "in the heavenlies"] (Ephesians 3:10).

 

Satan, along with his angels and demons, does not want you to grasp the full implications of the verse above. If I understand it correctly, Paul is expressing that it is God's intent and plan for us, the Church, to stand in total opposition to the demonic rulers and authorities that are invisible around us. We are to declare to them through our faith in God that they no longer possess any legal ground on which to stand, that this territory belongs to God, and they must surrender their rule and depart. Christ died for you so you could reclaim the dominion and authority given to us at creation! He died not only to redeem you from Satan's power through His death on the cross, but also to empower you to stand as a soldier of Christ in complete opposition to every evil work surrounding you. We can begin to exercise the authority Christ has bestowed upon us and rule over the evil rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). What did Christ teach them and command them to do? He commanded them to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the Gospel (Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:9, 17).

 

Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing…You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it (John 14:12-14).

 

The doctrine that every believer has authority from God is referred to by theologians as The Priesthood of All Believers. Satan has no legal right of ownership over true believers in Christ. Paul the apostle wrote, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:13). The legal authority Satan once had over us is destroyed. Only our unbelief of God’s Word stops the flow of the Holy Spirit's power and authority through us: “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Do you feel inadequate? Then God has chosen you to glorify Him through exercising His authority.

 

By His death on the cross, Jesus nullified every claim Satan had against all of us who are in Christ. The authority that Satan once exercised against us has passed to the Lord Jesus Christ and to all who are in a covenant relationship with Him, i.e., the Body of Christ, the Church of the Living God. We are to exercise Christ’s authority under the leadership and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. No matter how young or old we are, those of us who belong to Christ are made ambassadors of God (2 Corinthians 5:20). In a legal and spiritual sense, we are to exercise the power of attorney God has given to do His will on earth. Only our unbelief stops us from exercising our authority. Just as electricity flows over copper cable, faith is the channel for the authority and power of God to bring about healings and other supernatural phenomena. Will we believe the lies of Satan or the truth of the Word of God?

 

Our Birthright as Children of God

 

It is one thing to know these truths intellectually, but God wants to teach us truth experientially. He desires to bring His Word from our heads to our spirits. “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (Psalm 51:6). All of the twelve disciples knew that Jesus could help them walk on the water, but it was only Peter who got out of the security of the boat and experienced the Lord in a new way (Matthew 14:22-33). Understanding the truth of God's power and authority and assimilating it— grasping or embracing it —will change the dynamic of your life and that of those around you.

 

The Bible says that God has given each believer a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Along with this measure of faith, He also bestowed various gifts of the Holy Spirit so that God may use each of us to build up one another's faith: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). After Paul listed different gifts that the Spirit gives to the body of Christ, he wrote:

 

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines (1 Corinthians 12:11).

 

What are you doing with the measure of faith that God has given you? Every time we step out, decide to pray, exercise our faith, and choose to take God at His Word, we grow our faith. We are responsible for growing in the faith God gives us.

 

Our lives would be so different if only we could view ourselves the way God sees us and step out of the security of our boats! The enemy's hand is heavily involved in sowing thoughts into our minds that there is nothing special about us and that there was no change in our lives when we became believers in Christ. Satan wants to shut a tight lid on us from ever believing what the Scripture says about us—that we are more than sons of Adam trapped in our sinful lifestyle. We are God’s children, saints of the Most High God! We are invested with authority and power to destroy the works of the devil just as our Master did. The Scripture says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work” (1 John 3:8). The authority and power of our King, Christ Jesus, are behind us as we represent Him in this world, speaking His Word and doing His works. The Lord is ever looking for His people to express their faith in Him:

 

Faith honors and pleases God more than anything else (Hebrews 11:6). How often do we stop short of receiving all He has for us merely because we do not persist in prayer, going beyond what seem like barriers to persevere in faith?

 

What keeps many in the Body of Christ from exercising God’s authority?

 

We know that the manifestation of the Spirit’s work is available to each child of God. We have not because we ask not (James 4:2). The problem is not on God's end. He has told us that He will confirm His Word with signs accompanying it (Mark 16:20). We have not because we do not ask in faith. Demons shudder every time a child of God begins to ask God to move supernaturally. When you start to pray, all hell breaks loose to hinder your prayer life, but we must persist in prayer. Once a child of God begins to see what power and authority are available to them, the demons and their deceptive game of keeping them believing that they have no power and authority are over. Power and authority over demons is one’s right as a child of God!

 

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you (Luke 10:19).

 

¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well (Mark 16:17-18; emphasis added).

 

It doesn’t mean that we should go looking for demons. Jesus did the work of His Father, and when opposition arose, He dealt with it. In doing God’s kingdom work, we will encounter resistance, but we have the authority to confront the opposition as we carry forth the Gospel.

 

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

 

I want to leave you with this promise. If you are a believer in Christ, you are in the Family Business. Just like the three unknown men in our story who dared to exercise God’s authority by stepping out in faith to change the spiritual climate of Africa, we are His ambassadors who speak His Word and do His works.

 

Prayer: Father, I pray that You would fill and equip me to take up the authority You have given me for a needy world. Come afresh to me, Lord Jesus. I believe—help me overcome my unbelief. Please teach me how to walk with You and do Your work.

 

Keith Thomas
www.groupbiblestudy.com

 

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Email: keiththomas@groupbiblestudy.com

 

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