Sometimes, the devil uses what we know or what we think we know to try and weaken us. It is important to remember that he is a liar. It should not surprise us, then, how he twists everything to try and bait us away from the Father’s will. To combat his distractions, we must dig deep into the Word of God. In it is our proper footing from which we dare not stray.
Another major reason for Jesus’s success was His reliance on the Holy Spirit. Jesus made clear how much value He placed on the Holy Spirit:
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:31-32).
Jesus so prized this connection that He was willing to put forth the ultimate boundary. If anyone uttered even a word against the Spirit, Jesus asserted they would never be forgiven. Theologians debate whether this sin is truly unforgivable. Regardless of what you believe, it is important to see how fiercely Jesus protected His connection.
Not only did Jesus’s partnership with the Holy Spirit result in signs and wonders, it also enabled Him to operate with a strong discernment. With this gift, Jesus deciphered thoughts, spirits, and people’s internal struggles. Because of this, He was able to escape dangerous and manipulative scenarios:
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away (Matthew 22:18-22).
He also used His gift to distinguish evil spirits and teach people how to best drive them out:
And when he [Jesus] had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:28-29).
Lastly, Jesus’s gift enabled Him to detect hidden agendas even in those closest to Him. In His exchange with Peter, Jesus discerned the devil’s veiled intentions:
But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23).
Those wounded by suspicion, bitterness, and jealousy sometimes are critical of discernment because they have felt condemned or judged by it in the past. A true gift of discernment, however, is rooted in love. The apostle John wrote:
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (1 John 4:18).
If there is anything other than love motivating your discernment, repent and ask for God’s forgiveness. He does not take the abuse of His gifts lightly but is always willing to extend grace to those who repent:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Timing is yet another principle Jesus mastered. Content to operate on His Father’s time frame, Jesus spent the first thirty years of His life living what many would consider to be a normal existence. During this time, Jesus stewarded His identity, grew in His understanding of culture, and increased in favor by both stewarding and fulfilling the assignments God gave Him.
So many of us run headlong into ministry without taking the time to develop our character or favor. This can lead to us to be sidelined by discouragement, impatience, and our lack of preparedness. It is important to know Jesus took the time to prepare Himself for God’s calling. He did not simply wait around for thirty years. He stewarded the life God had given Him.
We can also examine how Jesus took the time to withdraw from crowds when needed (see Luke 5:16). Spiritual discipline, prayer, and fasting are vital foundations for growing a strong connection with the Father. Bill Johnson says, “If Jesus did what He did as the perfect Son of God then I am impressed, but I can never do what He did. If Jesus did what He did from a life of obedience and His in-filling with the Holy Spirit, then I am given the model for how I am to live.”5
Content with waiting thirty years (the majority of His life), Jesus served as a perfect sign of obedience. Doing so laid the groundwork for His ministry and the redemption of millions. Once He was anointed, the unstoppable influence of heaven was activated.
SO MANY OF US RUN HEADLONG INTO MINISTRY WITHOUT TAKING THE TIME TO DEVELOP OUR CHARACTER OR FAVOR.
We can learn endless lessons from Jesus’s life. As we, too, wait on God’s promises, it is important we do not forsake His timing. Remember, Satan wanted Jesus to take his shortcut in the wilderness. The temptations that Satan offered were very specific and targeted the very mission Jesus had come to accomplish. Jesus was offered a kingdom, but not the Kingdom. He was offered power without submission—authority that is grasped, not given. While doing so may have prevented His painful death on the cross, Jesus knew doing things God’s way would redeem mankind and lead us to freedom:
Though [Christ Jesus] was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11).
NOTES
1. Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind (New York: Faith Words, 2002), 11-12.
2. Caleb Bell, “Americans Love the Bible but Don’t Read It Much, Poll Shows,” The Huffington Post, April 04, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/04/americans-love-the-bible-but-dont-read-it-much_n_3018425.html.
3. Francis Frangipane, “Satan’s Domain: The Realm of Darkness,” Ministries of Francis Frangipane, August 2015, https://francisfrangipanemessages.blogspot.com/2015/08/satans-domain-realm-of-darkness.html.
4. N.T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began (San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2016), 169.
5. Bill Johnson, “As He Is, So Are We.” Bethel.TV, 4 Nov 2012, http://www.bethel.tv/watch/1485/as-he-is -so-are-we/2012/11/04.
TACTICS OF THE ENEMY
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves [the devils] are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.
—C.S. LEWIS, The Screwtape Letters
In order to disrupt the church’s understanding of spiritual warfare, the devil has put forth several ideological errors to distort truth. As mentioned by C.S. Lewis, the first of these, post-enlightenment rationalism, denies that anything exists beyond what can be seen, touched, or explained. This is the primary mindset of Western society where a high value is placed on the material while the spiritual world is left largely unexplored.
A second error, and equally destructive, is the embrace of an unhealthy obsession with the demonic. This puts Christians and non-Christians alike in an unfortunate place of focus. The devil becomes “bigger” in their eyes as they fixate on an inferior kingdom. While partnering with these mindsets manifests in different ways, both have their origins in deception.
As Paul instructs, we are called to keep our focus on God. We acknowledge the presence of an enemy but never allow its existence to overshadow our reverence of Him. As Paul writes, whatever we focus on is what we become:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are
above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3).
The devil does not care what we believe so long as it hinders our relationship with God. Both denial of the spiritual realm and an unhealthy obsession with it lead to distraction. As we ping-pong from one extreme to the other, we lose sight of truth. Soon our time is filled with either cultic obsession or blind, spiritual ignorance.
I encounter these two extremes often through my travels across the globe. I find churches either believe everything is a demon or deny the enemy is at work altogether. When churches focus too much on the enemy, undercurrents of fear and suspicion spread throughout their congregations. Churches that remain ignorant of the spiritual realm corrode internally as their blind leaders stand by unaware of the underlying spiritual attacks.
My husband, Stephen, author of Money and the Prosperous Soul, describes the pull of the two extremes this way, “The enemy does not care which side of the horse you fall off on. He just wants you off the horse.” Satan always wants attention, however skewed it may be. It does not matter how he gets it so long as he keeps our focus on his realm rather than on God’s. To obsess over the demonic realm gives it unnecessary power and fosters paranoia. Soon we begin “worshiping” what the devil is doing to us rather than what God wants to do through and for us.
Years ago, I attended prayer meetings filled with fun, rowdy intercessors. Determined to scare off the forces of evil with our authority, we stomped our feet, waved our arms, blew shofars, and shouted aggressively while commanding all the unclean spirits to leave. Although I usually left these sessions feeling empowered, I was confused that shortly thereafter I found myself facing the exact same issues as before.
In the long run, these experiences actually left me discouraged and perplexed at our apparent lack of authority. As I spoke with more prayer warriors, it seemed our only strategy was to fight harder, longer, and louder. Fortunately, I have learned a lot since then in my understanding of the spirit realm.
Contrary to this rowdy type of warfare is a complete denial of all things spiritual. These are the saints who embrace God’s Word but disregard His Spirit. Ignorance is not bliss because it disconnects them from receiving guidance from their Helper and therefore blinds them to the actual war going on around them.
When spiritual attacks do come, ignorant saints feel side-swiped. Expecting no danger whatsoever, they blame others for the harm they are experiencing and retaliate against spouses, friends, and co-workers instead of the spiritual forces driving them. Eventually, they can even begin to blame God for not protecting them from these seemingly surprise attacks; they forgot that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12).
Christians commit spiritual suicide by lacking a healthy perspective on spiritual warfare. They either slip into everything is bad and search for demons behind every bush or embrace an ignorant mindset and offer themselves up as easy targets. Neither of these outlooks leads to spiritual health. We either focus on God’s goodness and strength or fall prey to the devil’s schemes.
In The Happy Intercessor, Beni Johnson highlights the importance of focusing on God’s perspective. Even when picking up on (seeing/sensing) what is going on in the spiritual realm, she describes how important it is to find God’s heartbeat. This allows us to discover how He sees a situation and what He wishes to impart. If our cities are steeped in darkness, it is our responsibility to partner with Him and release His opposite (see 1 John 1:5).
CHRISTIANS COMMIT SPIRITUAL SUICIDE BY LACKING A HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE ON SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
To have a healthy outlook on spiritual warfare, we need to understand the Bible’s stance on the subject. If we look at Ephesians 6:12 without the surrounding verses for context, we can easily be pulled into the extreme perspective of exhausting warfare. Balancing this verse with the others shown below gives us a proper perspective of our authority.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:16-21).
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6).
When we line these verses up together, we see God’s balance of truth. Though we are in a real war, we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. This is a position high above every rule, authority, power, and dominion. Knowing this, there is no reason we should be afraid.
So many Christians live in fear when in reality hell cowers at the Spirit of God within them. The Bible says creation waits for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed (see Rom. 8:19). When we figure out who we are and whose we are, we become Christlike—an unstoppable force that batters the enemy’s ranks. It is important to realize how frequently the enemy uses fear as a tactic. A traveling preacher told a story about this while preaching at Bethel.
THOUGH WE ARE IN A REAL WAR, WE ARE SEATED WITH CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES. KNOWING THIS, THERE IS NO REASON WE SHOULD BE AFRAID.
Years ago, he was on a ministry trip with his longtime friend and mentor, Bob Jones. During the first night, Bob woke up to see a very large demon standing at the foot of his bed. He commanded it to leave and went back to sleep only to be awakened later by the same spirit. Instead of partnering with fear, Bob said, “Oh, it’s just you. Go bother Larry.” The unclean spirit vanished and Bob enjoyed the rest of his night. The next morning, Bob ran into Larry downstairs—who appeared quite exhausted. When he told Bob he had wrestled throughout the night with a demon, Bob simply informed him, “I know. I sent him to you.”
While this may seem cruel, Bob used this as a lesson to teach Larry something important. The enemy feeds off fear. Larry could have renounced partnership with it and sent the demon away. Instead, he gave in to fear and this allowed the unclean spirit to harass him throughout the night.
Often, demons appear to us in frightening ways (or forms they think will frighten us). This is why some people believe in ghosts and haunted houses. These phantoms are not ghosts but demons who have taken up residence to spread fear. All the “ghost hunter” shows on TV could be solved with one visit by a confident, Spirit-filled believer on assignment from God.
Renouncing partnership with fear is one of the quickest ways to disarm demonic attacks. This does not mean the harassment ends instantly; “resisting the devil” implies more than just saying “no” (see James 4:7; Eph. 6:13-14; Ps. 91). When we know who we are and who is covering us, we can stand firm in the midst of any spiritual assault.
Several years ago while on a ministry trip to England, I experienced a targeted harassment. During one of my first nights there, I woke up with an overwhelming urge to go out and buy pornography. Knowing this was an attack (I never normally have this urge), I got out of bed prayed and worshiped until this drive left me. I knew my inner self was pure to sexual sin, so this attack, which was obviously sent from a spirit of perversion, could not bait me. Because o
f my confidence in who I “normally was” (how I acted, thought, and felt on a normal basis), I easily identified this as an attack from the enemy and used this realization to stand firm and not give in to buying pornography. Instead of buckling under the assault, I submitted myself to God through worship and prayer:
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
One of the biggest ways the devil infiltrates our lives is through the practice of sin. If he can get us to partner with any aspect of it, ungodly doors will be opened into our lives and allow evil spirits access. I believe this is what God is warning us of in the following verse:
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27).
In the original Greek, opportunity translates as either a place, opportunity, portion, or space. According to this verse, by sinning we create a spiritual territory the devil can access.
Jesus knew the danger of partnering with sin, so He upped the ante during His ministry on the earth. Whereas the Old Testament commanded us to not commit adultery, Jesus taught not to even look with lust at a woman. Throughout His teachings, Jesus set a “higher bar” for us to follow. He emphasized the “you have heard it said, but now I say to you” gospel. The good news is He also equipped us with the ability to fulfill these higher callings.
While temptation itself is not sin, the actions resulting from it are. Bethel’s inner healing ministry, Sozo, examines open doors in people’s lives to see whether they are partnering with sin. These four doors are fear, hatred/bitterness, sexual sin, and dealings with the occult. Sozo ministers check each category and facilitate sessions so that clients can repent from sin and restore their relationship with the Father.
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