Lesson 3. How to Wage Spiritual Warfare. A Practical Guide by Dmitriy Leo, senior pastor of Father’s Blessing Church. The purpose of this school is to equip Christians to wage spiritual warfare correctly and safely.
One person or several people can participate in spiritual warfare, without any fear. At the same time, you need to know your rights well and stand firmly on them. This is the belt of truth (Eph. 6:14), which is so important for a warrior of Christ.
1) In the spiritual hierarchy, a Christian is seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms and is above demons and the devil. In any hierarchy, lower-ranking members always bow their knees before those above them. In the spiritual hierarchy, Jesus is above the Christian, while the angels of the Lord, Satan, demons, and fallen angels are beneath the Christian.
Eph. 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
1 Cor. 6:3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life?
2) A Christian has authority over all demonic forces. “All” means all. This includes earthly and heavenly forces, as well as serving and ruling forces. A Christian can boldly tread on any demonic forces of the enemy, and nothing will harm him.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you;
3) A Christian should not fear the devil, because he is able to put him to flight. The issue is not the devil’s power, but how the Christian behaves toward the devil. You may tolerate the devil’s schemes, but if you properly resist the devil, he will flee.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
4) Finally, the most important point. The God of the universe lives in the Christian, and He is greater than all their enemies combined. Christians have nothing to fear. Teachings that make Christians weak and helpless are not biblical teaching.
1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
It is incorrect to say that nothing can be accomplished alone—that is not true. One person filled with the Spirit and power can accomplish a great deal. The prophet Elijah was alone, but he prayed and the heavens were shut for 3 years. Elijah summoned the king and the people and stood alone against 900 false prophets, and God sent fire upon his altar. In the end, Elijah killed all those prophets at the Kishon Brook. One man did all this. And the Bible says that Elijah was like us.
If God is fighting on our side, victory depends not on the number of people, but on God.
Joshua 23:10 One of you chases a thousand, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you, as He has told you.
Zechariah 4:6 …not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
Therefore, if a person is alone and has no one to help, they can engage in spiritual warfare themselves and have nothing to fear. In any case, everyone should know how to engage in spiritual warfare when necessary. But this is not the rule; it is the exception. True Christians generally do not remain alone, but are always members of some local church or part of a ministry connected with a local church.
There is a tremendous advantage to praying together and engaging in spiritual warfare together.
Matthew 18:19 I also tell you truly that if two of you on earth agree to ask for anything, whatever they ask for will be done for them by My Heavenly Father,
Herod killed James and, after putting Peter in prison, planned to kill him as well. However, the Church united in prayer and changed Herod’s plans.
Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the Church was earnestly praying to God for him.
In the end, Peter was delivered by an angel of the Lord, while King Herod was struck by an angel of the Lord and died. This is one example of how the Church opposed evil not physically, but spiritually. They did not take up physical swords and go to fight Herod. In the end, they would all have been executed. Instead, the Church took up spiritual swords and won.
Therefore, we should not be afraid to oppose evil spiritually on our own, but if there is an opportunity to do so together with others, it is better to do it together.
End of lesson
Source: Father’s Blessing Church
Author: Dmitriy Leo
