Spiritual Warfare

II Corinthians 2:11 says "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."
Before we discuss some of the devices of Satan, we first need to know who he is. The name "Satan" comes from a Hebrew word signifying an adversary, an enemy, and an accuser. In God's Word, we discover that Satan is God's enemy and is against all for which God stands. He is the archenemy of good.

Surprising as it may seem to some, Satan was not always evil. In the beginning, he was an angel created in perfection and beauty. Angels were given a will with a free moral choice, and "Lucifer" (Satan's name before he was cast out of heaven) chose to do evil and rebelled against God. He was cast out of heaven to the earth because of his sin. His present domain is limited to the earth and hell.

Isaiah 14:12-15, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

Satan's sins were pride and covetousness. He desired God's throne and set his will against God's will. Five times he said, "I will" in this portion of Scripture.

This is still man's sin today: the refusal to do God's will, with the same attitude of "I will." Satan chose to rebel and it brought him down to hell. Men are making the same choice today and those who rebel will ultimately go down to the pit (hell) with the devil.

Lucifer had been gifted with beauty and had walked upon the holy mountain of God. But even with all this, he was not content with his position and by trying to usurp God's authority, sin entered into him when he attempted to overthrow God's kingdom.

Ezekiel 28:12-19, "...Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more."

From these verses, we see that God did not create Lucifer evil, but made him perfect. By Satan's own choice, he became evil and was cast out of heaven.

SATAN CAST OUT OF HEAVEN

The Lord never meant for evil to exist. It was simply the opposite of good, and since it takes a free will for evil to come into existence, Lucifer was the first created being to exercise his will against God. Since that time, others have followed. Satan caused a third of heaven to fall with him by influencing other angelic beings to make war against God (Revelation 12:4a). They too were cast out of heaven. They have since become evil spirits due to their choice. They now roam the earth, with Satan as their leader and master. These invisible supernatural beings still have power, but it is directed toward evil works of darkness. Satan is still ruling in the earth today, not only over the evil spirits, but also over evil men who choose the same path of rebellion against God. He is the dark prince of this world. We can see a glimpse of his evil wisdom, strength, glitter, and his inevitable end by reading the previous passages. We must remember that he has only limited power, but nevertheless he does have power, and those who do not know him and his devices inevitably become his victims.

JESUS DEFEATS SATAN

Those who are "born again" and filled with the Spirit of God have no need to fear this evil foe as he has been defeated by our God. Jesus defeated him and stripped him of his power two thousand years ago. Jesus paid the price of our sins on the cross and then rose from the dead bringing life to all who would follow Him. Satan's authority has been taken away from him. We now have authority over him through Jesus Christ. "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:18).
Revelation 12 records the account of Satan's overthrow by Christ. We are first given a vision of what takes place in heaven, then the Bible reveals the earthly scene:

Revelation 12:7-12, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
Excerpt from the book Exposing Satan's Devices.

BREAKING CURSES FROM OUR LIVES?

by Pastor R.S. "Bud" Miller

Today, we think of "cursing" as someone using foul language, profanity, or perhaps, even blasphemous words against God. Our definition usually is synonymous with "swearing." This is a form of cursing, but it is only a small portion of what curses mean in the Bible.

Cursing in the Bible is not only speaking evil of someone, but evil coming upon someone. If a person is under a curse, according to the Bible, evil has come upon them in some way. Sickness, tragedy, or bad circumstances are occurring in their lives.

Please Note: This does not mean that every difficult circumstance that we go through is a curse. Sometimes God leads us through circumstances to stretch our faith. This is for our own good, as it is helping us to grow stronger and identify ourselves with Him. However, He is not bringing anything upon us, but rather leading us through a circumstance so that we might experience His overcoming power. For the duration of this article we are referring to an evil curse that comes not from the hand of God, but from the enemy.

Even today, in many cultures, witch doctors or shamans put curses on people through demonic powers. In some cultures, for example, "voodoo" is practiced. This includes such practices as sticking pins in a doll made in the image of a person, usually with some of that person's hair, fingernail clippings, and so forth incorporated into the doll. Hateful words are projected as the doll is stabbed over and over. There also are more gruesome practices used. However, with all evil witchcraft rituals, it is the hatred and evil projected from these people that is aimed at the targeted person that causes the harm. The curses spoken over that doll do not come to pass because of the doll or the pins. There is no power in those inanimate objects. They come to pass because of the demonic power operating through the person speaking forth the curses.

In many cultures, other than Western Societies, people have no problem understanding these curses and blessings, because the presence of demonic beings is very real to them. In fact, in many places, they leave offerings to appease evil spirits, for the purpose of warding them off so they will leave them alone.

If you have been affected by a curse such as listed above, we have good news for you. By accepting Jesus, you can be free from demonic oppression and actually have authority over the devil and his curses (Luke 9:1) instead of his spirits having power over you or your family.

CAN A CURSE AFFECT A CHRISTIAN?

In today's culture, some Christians still have curses operating against them. That is because various occult practices are openly practiced in our societies in this day. Many Christians need to be freed from curses spoken against them before they were saved, or from curses that have come upon them through involvement in idolatry and witchcraft (Deuteronomy 29:24-28).

We have been redeemed from the curse, but if we walk in willful rebellion, we are "breaking covenant" and that leaves holes for the enemy to bring a curse on us. Many Christians mistakenly believe that the devil cannot come near them in any way. The Bible does not support this theory. When Paul wrote to "not give the devil any foothold, or a place" (Ephesians 4:27), he was writing to Christians! Curses can work against Christians if they are in rebellion, out of the will of God, or not walking in faith and love. However, if we are walking where God wants us to walk, a hundred curses against us would just bounce off and would do us no harm.

The story of Balaam and Israel gives us a good example of this principle (Numbers 22)). Although Balaam was not an Israelite, he was a prophet of God. The kings of Moab and Midian wanted him to curse the Israelites during the journey from Egypt to Canaan. Elders of those nations offered him what apparently was a lot of money, and he tried to do what their king wanted -- but he could not. He tried three times but was unable to do anything, but bless Israel.

JESUS TOOK THE CURSE FOR US

Before we are born again, we walk under the law of sin and death; but, after we are regenerated, we are under the law of life in Christ Jesus, who became a curse for us.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).

How wonderful is our inheritance as Christians! We do not get the evil that should be ours. We all deserve hell, but when we come to Jesus, we get Heaven. We are not under the curse of sickness and death any longer. We now have power over sin through Jesus. Sin can no longer pull us around like bulls with rings in our noses. You know, leading an animal by that ring must hurt his nose sometimes. Many of us have been led around hurting with rings in our noses!

However, we have to want to overcome the habit of sinning. God will not violate our wills. If we want to keep on sinning after we are saved from the law of sin and death, He will allow us to do so. We need to clearly understand that when we sin, it produces the death principle in our lives.

Although we are children of God and have been given the covenant of blessing, "idols" in our hearts and lives can cause us to be open in some ways to the curse. Those who come under the curses of God are unbelievers and Christians who knowingly and deliberately continue to sin.

BREAKING A CURSE

The way to break a curse is to repent for whatever involvement has occurred on the enemy's territory and rebuke the devil out of your life. You should also pray something along the following lines:

"Father, I ask you first to forgive me for my sins and cleanse me from any area where I have allowed the devil to enter my life. I renounce any involvement with the works of darkness. In the name of Jesus, I now cancel every curse, and Father, I ask you to forgive the people who have spoken them against me. I thank you that those curses will no longer operate against me. In Jesus' name, they are broken right now, by the power of Almighty God. I cancel every evil that was spoken against me and ask you to cover me and my family with your protection according to your Word in Psalm 91."

The Bible tells us in James 4:7 to "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

If we think that someone is speaking a curse upon us, we should not send a curse back on the one who sent it to us. We are not to return evil for evil, but rather overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Ask God to forgive them, because many times they do not know what they are doing. If you intercede for such persons, you are obeying the Word, which allows the Holy Spirit to cancel the curse automatically if we are speaking good and praying for those who would seek to harm us. We should also quote the scriptures that promise us protection such as Psalm 91.

Remember the devil is the fallen one and we have power over him, so we need not fear him. As we use our authority over him in faith, he cannot hurt us. We have power over all curses through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Luke 10:18: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

(Excerpt from the book entitled: COVENANT God's Guarantee for Victorious Living by R.S. "Bud" Miller)