James 
~ by James J. Fire
Brother Shawn, a regular on THROUGH The BLACK, goes over some vitally essential basics that form the foundation of what it means to conduct spiritual warfare, which he aptly defines as “the clash between two kingdoms”, denotatively speaking the Kingdom of GOD and the Kingdom of Satan. This entails far, far more than merely ‘casting out demons’ and deliverance ministry.
There are three primary forces that array themselves against the Christian and work to diminish the effectiveness of the Christian in their efforts to advance the Kingdom of GOD: the sin nature of the Christian, Satan himself and his hellish hosts of fallen angels and demons (and human beings), and the world itself (“the world system”) comprised of the majority population of people given over to their sin nature (see 1 JOHN 2:16; 1 PET 5:8; 2 COR 4:4; GAL 5:16-17; EPH 6:10-19).
The fundamental focus in every aspect of the Christian is the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ – without which, the Christian is truly powerless to effect salvation for lost souls that are condemned due to their sin (JOHN 3:17-19); the Christian, who can do nothing to truly deliver on any permanent basis those who are demonized or demonically oppressed or influenced.
Note: when I say ‘Christian’ I am speaking specifically of those who are saved, born again in Christ (JOHN 3:3-5; 1 PET 1:23), spiritually regenerated (TITUS 3:5) and indwelt by the Spirit (1 COR 3:16). As a child of GOD (JOHN 1:12-13), we have authority ONLY through the LORD Jesus Christ (MATT 28:17-18; EPH 6:10), and so it’s extremely important that one is a genuine citizen of the Kingdom of GOD (PHIL 3:10) in order to exercise authority granted to us by Christ.
No other people are recognized by Satan’s kingdom as authoritative in any way (ACTS 19:14-16).
ROMANS 1:15-17
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
It’s vital to understand that if one is delivered from demons in any capacity and does not receive Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior, they are not only susceptible to increased demonic activity, but its occurrence is likely (MATT 12:45)!
For the Christian to stand fast as an able, victorious warrior for Christ, Discipleship is the standard that cannot be ignored; otherwise the Christian will know nothing but struggle and defeat. To have one’s fleshly, carnal nature “on a leash” (1 COR 9:26-27; GAL 2:20-21; ROM 8:13; COL 3:5) is a must before one can engage in spiritual warfare. If you want to war in the Spirit – you must walk in the Spirit: that is, to live life in the power of Christ (GAL 2:16-26; 1 JOHN 2:6).
Discipleship in Christ is reading, studying, meditating on the Holy Scriptures and obeying GOD’s Word, coupled together regular private and public prayer as well as godly fellowship (exhorting one another through the Word, prayer and encouragement in godliness)!
The more of the nature of Christ is grown in the life of the Christian, the more that the Christian dies to self, dies to sin nature, the more sanctified (set apart, made holy, purified) in a practical sense the Christian will be and this will ensure our ability through Christ to truly wage a good warfare against the Kingdom of Satan (1 PET 1:16; ROM 12:1-2; HEB 12:9-11)!
Spiritual warfare and the armor of GOD is really a study of “CHRIST IN US, the HOPE OF GLORY” (COL 1:27)! It’s really not us fighting against the Kingdom of Satan, but Christ working through us – like ‘hand in glove’; and to the degree that we yield to Christ, to the degree that we get out of the way and let Him do what He does best (defeating and decimating the devil!) the greater the successful results we will see! We war by faith, just as we walk by faith!
Engaging in spiritual warfare must NEVER be done to feed one’s ego, to simply command demons and order them around and rejoice in the power that Christ has given His people for the power’s sake.
The motivation has to be the very heart of Christ: His compassion (MATT 9:36; 14:14), His love (JOHN 3:16; 5:12-13; 10:18; LUKE 23:34), His desire to redeem and save souls (LUKE 9:55-56) and “translate [them] from the kingdom of darkness” into the Kingdom of Christ and Light (COL 1:12-14).
To repeat, if one is going to engage in casting out demons, one best be prepared, ready, willing and able to present the Gospel and see the soul saved (ROM 5:9-10; 10:9-10; EPH 2:5,8-10), and then sealed by the Holy Spirit (EPH 4:30), the only protection over the lost souls heart, which will prevent the reintroduction of demonic spirits into the person’s life, resulting in even greater, more powerful bondage (MATT 12:45).
Noted author, speaker, youth pastor and competent warrior for Christ Gregory Reid has written an excellent article: DEALING WITH THE DEMONIC: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. I strongly recommend that the reader carefully read this article in preparation for any engagement they may encounter with the Kingdom of Satan.
Greg has also written a book, that in my own estimation, is the very best treatment on Spiritual Warfare, to date: check this out and consider purchasing your own copy: WAR of the AGES: A Complete Scriptural Guide to Confronting and Defeating Satan’s Kingdom.
Also an excellent, comprehensive, in-depth treatment on this subject by Russ Dizdar’s book, EXPELLING DARKNESS: Engaging Non-human Entities Now and In The End of Days
Brother Shawn in addition to these, also recommends Merrill F. Unger’s book: Biblical Demonology: A Study of Spiritual Forces at Work Today.
To watch THROUGH The BLACK with brother Shawn dealing with Spiritual Warfare Basics: Part One, check it out here:
To watch other videos with Thomas Dunn and Jared Chrestman, and others from THROUGH The BLACK that deals with Spiritual Warfare, check out this list from their youtube channel.
For another REAL DARK NEWS article on the Luciferian Order that is increasingly coming into the public domain, read this article:
The EMERGENT PROTOCOLS of LUCIFERIANISM.
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