Spiritual Warfare - 11

Manifestations of the kingdom of darkness

Just like how God saves us and uses us to bring salvation to others, the devil separates people from God, influences them and uses them as his tools to steal, kill and destroy the lives of others. People who are influenced and controlled by the devil are his tools manifesting the works of the kingdom of darkness.

1) Spiritual oppression and bondage

 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.   Matthew 4:8-11 (NKJV)
Many people, who are spiritually minded, are oppressed by the devil, worshiping idols and bound into performing religious rituals. They oppress one another and are in bondage unless and until the Lord sets them free.
 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.   2 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NKJV)


 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.   John 8:36 (NKJV)


When Jesus walked on this earth, He cast out many demons from those who were possessed by them. Some of them manifest physical sickness and disability.

 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”   Mark 9:17-18 (NKJV)


 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.   Luke 8:27-30 (NKJV)

The devil is restless and when people are oppressed or possessed by unclean spirits, they become restless. It is important for us to be full of the Holy Spirit and not give room to unclean spirits.

 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’  And when he comes, he finds it 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.”   Luke 11:24-26 (NKJV)

2) Defilement of soul         

 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”   Matthew 15:17-20 (NKJV)
Pornography, violence and such, are manifestations of the works of the enemy in the hearts and lives of people. Jesus came to destroy these works and to give abundant life to people. We need to take every opportunity to expose these evil works so that people may be set free from the clutches of the enemy.

 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.   Ephesians 5:11-13 (NKJV)


 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:  looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;.   Hebrews 12:14-15 (NKJV


The works of the enemy are like dirt and filth that block the channels of love between God and us and between one another, bringing separation. Being holy is maintaining these channels clean and open.

3) Lies

Jesus said the following to the Jews who did not believe Him:

 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.   John 8:44 (NKJV)
Through lies and deception the devil finds inroads into our lives. Joshua chapter 9 gives us an account of how the Gibeonites, through crafty deception, got Joshua to make peace and a covenant with them to let them live. It is because Joshua did not ask counsel of the Lord, that the enemy was able to fool him.

 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.   Proverbs 3:6 (NKJV)


Let us also put away any deceptive way in our lives and get rid of the habit of speaking lies. Let the Spirit of Truth take over our lives.

 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.   Psalm 51:6 (NKJV)


4) Fear


 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind   .2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
We often fear  because we don’t know or can’t see the truth. When God’s love fills our hearts, fear has to leave.


The following story makes this clear:
 Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”  And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.”  Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.  Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”  So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.”  Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.  And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”  So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.  Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.  So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria!  Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”  But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”  Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.   2 Kings 6:8-23 (NKJV)

Pray for vision for God’s people. Pray for blindness in the tools of the enemy. That is how God apprehended Saul and then gave him new vision. We walk by faith and not by sight. Stephen overcame because of His ‘faith vision’.

 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”   Acts 7:56 (NKJV)

Overcome fear with faith and replace fear with love. Don’t fear other gods.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.   1 John 4:18 (NKJV)

Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’ ”   Judges 6:10 (NKJV)

5) Pride


 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.  Isaiah 14:13-15 (NKJV)

 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,  “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god  (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you. With your wisdom and your understanding You have gained riches for yourself, And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;  By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”  ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,  Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, The most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor. They shall throw you down into the Pit, And you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas.  “Will you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you. You shall die the death of the uncircumcised By the hand of aliens; For I have spoken,” says the Lord God.’ ”  Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.  “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.  You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.  “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.  “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.  “You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you.  All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.” ’   Ezekiel 28:1-19 (NKJV)
When his heart was lifted up with pride, he desired to lift himself up. He was cast down by God and he fell. He wants to see us in the same situation. We need to beware: the wisdom, beauty, strength and riches we possess can cause us to become proud.
The helmet of salvation protects our minds from thoughts that puff us up. We are commanded to bow down and worship the Lord and love and serve one another with humility.

 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.   James 4:6,7 (NKJV)


6) Guilt


Satan is guilty forever because his heart is turned away from God. He is eternally punished with no way of escape. Therefore he desires to keep us also in that position. God’s plan and desire for us is that we repent of our evil ways and turn our hearts to Him so that we can receive His forgiveness and be freed from our guilt. Jesus, being innocent, was pronounced ‘Guilty’ when He faced the cruel cross willingly. Therefore He justifies us and God pronounces us ‘Not Guilty’ when we live in Christ.

 ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—  then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.   Leviticus 26:40-42 (NKJV)

 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.   Ezra 9:6 (NKJV)

 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.   Colossians 2:13-15 (NKJV)


If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.   1 John 1:8- 2:2 (NKJV)
 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace  Romans 6:14 (NKJV)
The fallen, sinful nature in us and our weaknesses are used by the devil, to keep us captive in his territory, through guilt. He says to us, “You are a sinner like me and so you belong to me.” The more we sin, the more opportunity we give the enemy to harass us. Therefore it is necessary for us to be nourished with the word of God and be full of His Spirit, walking in the Spirit, so that we may not sin. This brings us to victory over the power of sin. Even in this situation, we are not under the law, able to justify ourselves. We are always prone to sin, and so we are under grace. Therefore when we do sin, we need to immediately confess and repent, so that the Blood of Jesus may blot out the sin and set us free from guilt. This is the victorious Christian lifestyle Jesus offers us – freedom both from the power of sin and from the guilt of sin.

7) Covetousness (carnality)

Many people are not bothered about spiritual matters but are carnally minded. If carnality is the disease, covetousness is the symptom.

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.   1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV)

 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.   Romans 8:5-7 (NKJV)

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.   2 Timothy 2:4 (NKJV)


 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.   Matthew 6:24 (NKJV)

 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.   Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses   1 Timothy 6:6-12 (NKJV)

 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.   James 4:4 (NKJV)

8) Self Glory & Worship


 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.   Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV)


Satan’s fall was due to his desire to take the glory and worship that belong only to God. These are the snares he now sets for people, especially God’s servants, to make them fall.


 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,  “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god.   Ezekiel 28:1-2 (NKJV)  
 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”   Matthew 4:9 (NKJV)

We need to be vigilant and understand these traits of the enemy and purposefully and vehemently refuse to accept any glory for ourselves and not allow anyone to worship us.
 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,   Acts 14:11-15 (NKJV)

 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”   Acts 10:24-26 (NKJV)

 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”   Revelation 19:10 (NKJV)

 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.  Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”   Revelation 22:8-9 (NKJV)


9) Rebellion

Repeated disobedience leads to rebellion, which means refusal to submit to rightful authority.

 So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”   1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NKJV)
When Saul ceased submitting to the Lord, he lost his position of authority.
Saul chose for himself- 1 Sam 13:2.
Saul offered the burnt offering- 1 Sam 13:9.
Saul made a rash oath- 1 Sam 14:24.
Saul disobeyed God- 1 Sam 15:9.
Saul feared the people and obeyed their voice- 1 Sam 15:24.
When we are in the battlefield, it is important for us to take our position in the structure of authority and stand firm.

 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,   Ephesians 6:13-14 (NKJV)

If you realize that the enemy of your soul has got a foothold in your life and is keeping you bound with invisible cords, so that you are unable to breakaway from habits that are destroying your life, come to JESUS now. Speak to Him right where you are. He is there. Express your desire to be set free to follow Him. He will set you free.