SPIRITUAL WARFARE gleanings and STRATEGY
A Paper Submitted to Dr. Desmond Jim O’Neill
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Course
EVAN 670
Spiritual Warfare
October 2013
Table
of Contents
INTRODUCTION
GLEANINGS FROM THE READINGS
The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson
The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders by David
Earley
Quiet Talks by S. Gordon
Spiritual Warfare
SPIRITUAL PRAYER WARFARE STRATEGY
IN MY MINISTRY
MINISTRY SETUP
PRIME OBJECTIVES
STEPS OF ATTAINMENT
Build the Prayer Life
Teach Spiritual Warfare
Minister Deliverance
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS
God’s Presence
Deliverance from Bondage
Spiritual Fruit
Church Attendance
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
This application paper is the fruit of an
eight-week course on spiritual warfare, summarizing the gleanings of the
four books assigned, reviewed, and critiqued, as well as applying the teaching
to set up a spiritual warfare strategy for ministry. The four books are: The
Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson (2006), Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders by David Earley (2008), Quiet Talks on Prayer by S. Gordon (2003), and Spiritual Warfare by Jerry Rankin (2009). The methodology consists of overviewing the
gleanings of the four readings and tailoring a spiritual warfare strategy for
a ministry context, detailing the prime objectives to achieve, the steps of
attainment, and the indicators of success, wrapping up with the conclusion.
This paper argues that victory in spiritual warfare,
whether defensive or offensive, is determined by faith in our positional
sanctification—who we are in Christ—and in the Word of God, by submitting to
God and resisting the devil, and by living out a daily life of repentance
paying the cost of victory—suffering through denial of the flesh.
GLEANINGS FROM THE READINGS
The four books reviewed and
critiqued left many impressions and brought home valuable lessons and gleanings
for my ministry setup to enable building a spiritual warfare strategy plan. Below
are the key ideas from the readings that will partake in building a strategic
spiritual warfare plan for my ministry context.
“The Bondage Breaker” by Neil
Anderson
The bondage Breaker is Christ
Jesus who sets us free by the truth of God’s word, our positional
sanctification—who we are in Christ as children of God with authority, freedom,
and divine protection.[1]
Six foundational guidelines Jesus
clearly stated in the gospels: deny
yourself—self-promotion and self-rule; take your cross daily; follow
Christ—walk in His footsteps, imitate Him; and sacrifice the temporal and
worldly for the eternal and divine, respectively.[2]
Satan’s first goal is to blind the minds
of unbelievers (2 Cor 4); the first step is to be aware of the reality of
spiritual warfare and to commit oneself to knowing the truth—our position in
Christ.[3] Satan uses a three-fold strategy: temptation, accusation, and deception
(counterfeits).[4] Temptation is an
enticement to live independently of God and to satisfy carnal desires that are
empowered by mental strongholds and self-centered patterns of thoughts.[5] Accusation, the father of lies throws
to us convicting God and ourselves, paralyzes our witness and productivity;
therefore, we must rebuke Satan by confronting him with the biblical truth,
raising the shield of faith. Deception
is meant to dissuade us of God’s truth through self-deception, false prophets
and teachers, and deceiving spirits; the first line of defense against
deception is spiritual discernment, then rebuking of negative thoughts.[6] The steps to freedom in Christ that will
enable us to submit to God and to resist the devil deal with recognizing and
resolving the spiritual conflicts by renouncing whatever is not of God and by
embracing God’s truth. Counterfeit,
deception, bitterness, rebellion, pride, bondage, and curses are to be
renounced and to respectively embrace the real, the truth, forgiveness,
submission, humility, freedom, and blessings.
Learning the truth of our spiritual identity in Christ and sonship to
God the Father are the essential truths that set us free within a life of
repentance in submission to God and resistance to the devil.
“The Timeless Secret of
High-Impact Leaders” by David Earley
Prayer is the “common denominator of spiritual
difference-makers in every generation and in any setting.”[7] If leadership is influence, then prayer
influences men by influencing God to influence them.[8] To develop a prayer life that has impact and
influence in the spiritual realm, nine disciplines ought to be developed and
maintained throughout. These disciplines
are: prioritize prayer time; make time
to pray; pray for those you serve—intercession; train others to pray for you—
prayer partners; turn your problems into prayers; fast and pray; possess a bold
faith; build on the basics—ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving,
supplication); and adopt best practices in prayer life. Prayer is omnipotent
and omnipresent, breaks through time and location, is faster than sound and
light and mightier than lightning and thunder.
Arrowhead prayer or instant messages is a way to practice unceasing prayers.
“Quiet Talks on Prayer” by S.
Gordon
Prayer is the greatest outlet
of power and the deciding factor in spirit conflict for it puts us in direct,
dynamic touch with the world/people through the Holy Spirit.[9]
The true conception of prayers is about “a God to give” and “a man to receive.”[10]
There are three categories of
prayers—communion, petition, and intercession.[11] This latter is the climax of prayer as it is
an outward movement built on communion with God that materializes in petition
that stands as a “go-between” God and others to win the earth and its
inhabitant back to God.[12] The hindrances to prayer are: sin, selfishness,
and an unforgiving spirit.[13]
Prayer must be through Christ Jesus,
having oneness of purpose with Jesus—to please God, Abba Father. Jesus states six promises in relation to
effective prayers and in context of the cost of discipleship—they must be in
Jesus’ name, by faith, abiding in Christ, in line with the Word of God, and in
agreement with other believers.[14]
The listening side of prayer lies in trained ears to hearing God’s voice
through the Holy Bible, through His messengers, and through dealing with
people. When prayers are either delayed
or denied, it is for a greater purpose, such as “reverence obedience” as in
Moses’ case, “preparation for a great task” as in Hannah’s case, and “humility”
as in Paul’s thorn. Prayer is warfare
and the object of warfare is the earth and its inhabitants. The battlefield is God’s and we are joined to
Him; and therefore, we have the assurance of victory. Satan’s power is limited and temporary and we
must fight back in Jesus’ name by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our conception of and dealing with God, in
prayer as we seek His will and plan, is that of a Father, Mother, Friend,
Lover, and Husband. God’s will is
concerned with our whole beings and lives.
“Spiritual Warfare: The Battle for God’s Glory” by Jerry Rankin
Spiritual warfare is a
reality, not a myth, as experienced in the mission field, and therefore,
believers have to be well-equipped to fight Satan knowing his nature,
strategies, and weapons in order to lay hold of Christ’s victory by faith in
the Word of God. “Spiritual warfare is
not so much about demon possession, territorial spirit, or generational
bondage, inasmuch as it is about overcoming Satan’s lies and deceits in our own
lives.”[15] Satan’s primary objective is to rob God of
his glory in us and to rob us of God’s glory; therefore, we must not entertain
his thoughts.[16] The major part of victory in spiritual
warfare is recognizing our enemy—our flesh, the world, and Satan, and
understanding the reality of the battle on a day-by-day basis.[17] We must also study God’s personality-nature
and character, as we seek to understand God’s enemy. Satan’s strategy was to keep people-groups
hidden and unreachable, nations closed to the gospel and to missionary witness;
he had developed his strategy to convincing believers that mission is optional
and to keeping them from proclaiming the good news by living to self.[18] Satan uses various barriers—social,
cultural, religious traditions, and psychological presumptions—to keep people
from accepting Christ as the Lord Savior and to take away the seed and hope of
the gospel.[19] He is a deceiver, a liar, a tempter, and a
hinderer. The world is where we live in
and where Satan works; his attacks are through worldliness, to drive us to be
self-centered and self-serving, which is countered by sacrificial love. Satan’s favorite fiery darts are
unforgiveness, anger, doubt God’s truth, pride, unholy living, and dissension.[20] His most effective weapon is adversity to
blindside believers but if we respond correctly, adversity to confirm the
reality of God’s presence and the sufficiency of His grace.[21] The three basic foundations of victory are:
faith and believing in God, renewing of the mind, and commitment to God. Victory is appropriated, not in our own
strength or efforts, but because we are in Christ—our positional sanctification;
however, the cost of victory is self-denial that entails suffering. The approach to spiritual warfare is to focus
on God’s word, which is the source of faith that overcomes the world.
SPIRITUAL PRAYER WARFARE
STRATEGY FOR MINISTRY
The heart of spiritual warfare
could be summarized in laying hold of our spiritual identity in Christ Jesus,
as redeemed children of God, with authority and freedom, and in laying hold of
God’s Word of truth that will set us free from bondages to the flesh, to the
world, and to Satan. Spiritual warfare
is a reality, not a myth; therefore, we have to be well-equipped to fight Satan
by knowing our enemy—his nature, strategies, and weapons, and by knowing the
personality of God. Victory in spiritual
warfare lies in submitting to God within a life of repentance and in resisting
the devil. Intercessory prayer is a
determinative factor in spiritual conflict and winning the battle to redeem
God’s prodigal son—the world.
Ministry Setup
The church is a small
Evangelical church with a past history of discharging the pastors, for one
reason or another. It was owned by a
family of three brothers, who bought the land, built the church, interviewed,
assigned, and dismissed the pastors, according to their assessment. Ministry was a family-affair, not a
God-affair. Fifteen years ago, God sent a minister who confronted them with
their illegal, illegitimate behavior. To
cut the story short, after much struggle and resistance, this family gave back
the church to its legal rightful Owner who bought her with His blood—Jesus
Christ. God assigned a young pastor, in
his late twenties, who used to serve in the Sunday school. He struggled for six years, during his
pastorate, but with no evidence of tangible fruit, even in terms of
membership. The members are quite few,
mostly the servants and their families.
The church income hardly covers the basic necessities, including the
pastor’s salary, which led him to look for a job, to complement his income and
not to burden the church, but he did not find any. We have toiled the field many times, consistently
and persistently, but there is no fruit to the point that the pastor thought of
leaving the church, closing it down. But
God sent a person, neither knowing the situation nor what the pastor was
planning to do, to tell the pastor to wait and to give it another trial for
“God’s calling and gifts are irrevocable.” The pastor was encouraged for he was
praying for a message from God, so he decided to stay and to try again.
In the area, there is an
orthodox church that serves the area and people do attend the holy mass and the
services. I will not draw comparisons
between both churches because the issue lies in the church itself. If there is genuine, credible food offered,
people will come. If there is a steady
service with evangelistic outreach, people will regain trust in the church. If the servants are united and pray together
consistently with one heart, one mind, and one accord, God’s presence will fill
the church and this very presence will call people to the church to see
Jesus.
Prime Objectives
The prime objectives are to
build the prayer life of believers—personally and corporately, along with
teaching spiritual warfare and ministering deliverance to believers. The prayer life will strengthen their
relationship with God and fill them with God’s power that will have an impact
on others. Teaching on spiritual warfare
will expose Satan’s nature, strategies, and weapons used to entice believers
and rob them of God’s glory and power.
Deliverance ministry will set believers free from the worldly mindset
and spiritual strongholds that keep them in bondage, preventing them from laying
hold of Christ’s victory.
Steps of Attainment
Build the Prayer Life
They started meeting every
Thursday in the church, however few servants they were, but praying together
encouraged them and poured hope in their hearts to keep fighting and struggling for
God’s glory to fill their lives, church, and country. Parallel to the corporate prayer, they need to
study together as servants in the church Earley’s book, Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High Impact Leaders, in
order to develop the nine disciplines, and to have prayer partners and
accountability partners. The pastor
needs to have a mentor that could share his burden, pray for him, and be a
spiritual coverage; he too needs an accountability partner.
Teach Spiritual Warfare
Andersons’ Spiritual
Warfare must be taught and the steps to freedom in Christ ministered
to the servants in the church. Servants
must be set free first in order to minister to others—a person in bondage can
hardly, effectively minister to others or even go on evangelistic outreaches. Corporate
teaching is to be given either before the Thursday prayer meeting, or on a
separate day, or use the prayer meeting partly for teaching and partly for
praying. This must be tested and modified according to the degree of success,
feasibility, and practicality to servants’ conditions and church circumstances.
The church must reject the plethora of lies
spoken and deception brought by Satan against the church due to its past
failures. God’s eternal word of truth
and all the prophecies over the life of the church will no doubt come to pass
in God’s wise timing. The church must in times of crisis and tribulation, “keep
the view from the throne.”[22] The church must keep God’s perspectives alive
in her mind and heart. “If we (the
church) have answered a call to the Lordship of Christ, God’s will cannot be
thwarted. He will always use location and circumstances to fulfill His will and be glorified…A closed door
is not necessarily a victory for Satan, if one is obedient to follow wherever
God leads and trust Him, then Satan cannot hinder and divert God’s will from
being filled in His way and in His timing.”[23]
Minister Deliverance
Anderson’s chapter on “Walk Free” defines the steps to freedom in
Christ which will enable us to submit to God and resist the devil and how to
help others find freedom in Christ.[24] There are seven specific issues that every
Christian needs to recognize and resolve by renouncing whatever is not of God
and by embracing God’s truth:
counterfeit versus real, deception versus truth, bitterness versus
forgiveness, rebellion versus submission, pride versus humility, bondage versus
freedom, and curses versus blessings.[25]
Indicators of Success
God’s Presence
The church becomes filled with
the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of God (Eph 1:17). The Holy Spirit is outpoured on everybody, in
fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28-29), and the church is not put to
shame for those who seek God shall surely find Him. God’s presence too brings
healing and deliverance, even without direct ministry from anybody, or laying
of hands, or speaking words of rebuke to Satan.
God’s presence breaks bondage and yoke, heals the broken-hearted and the
sick, comforts, and fills with joy and praise (Is 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19).
Deliverance from Bondage
The first indicator is
physical and/or psychological healing from various unexplainable
manifestations, diseases and ailments, as well as the ability to read and
comprehend the word of God, to pray, to confess sins, and to commit one’s life
to Christ. Anderson received many
letters from people who were in bondage to Satan and who were healed; they
testified that healing was the first fruit of breaking the bondage and demonic
influence.
Spiritual Fruit
Spiritual fruit is hardly
tangible; however, the aura of God’s presence to the people’s lives becomes detectable,
as they are transformed gradually to Christ’s likeness. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)—love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control—is manifested in their dealings
and interactions. Their mindset becomes
evangelistic, wanting to reach out for others—“All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt
28:18-20).
Church Attendance
At the corporate level, the
congregation starts to attend the prayer meeting regularly, not wanting to miss
that meeting, where they encounter God, pray and praise, are encouraged and
filled with joy and hope. However,
church attendance, as an indicator, could be misleading for there are people
who just come to enjoy the worship band, or consider it an outing, or for
self-righteousness, or for whatever personal motive.
CONCLUSION
The climax of this course, Spiritual
Warfare, is the ministry application—how the teaching studied is processed
and applied to people’s lives to free them from bondage and to let them be
filled with God’s glory to their lives, being enabled to glorify God. Strengthening the prayer life of the
church—corporately and personally, knowing the personality of God, the
Trinity—who God is, knowing the enemy’s nature, strategies, and weapons,
submitting to God and resisting the devil, and living a life of repentance
incurring the cost of victory—suffering, are the basic foundations to glorify
God and enjoy the victorious life that Christ won for us on the Cross.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Neil T. The
Bondage Breaker. Eugene,
Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2000.
Earley, Dave. Prayer:
The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders. Chattanooga, Tennessee: Living Ink Books, 2008.
Gordon, S. D.
Quiet Talks on Prayer.
Shippensburg, PA: Mercy Place,
2003.
Rankin, Jerry.
Spiritual Warfare: The Battle
for God’s Glory. Nashville,
Tennessee: B&H Publishing, 2009.
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