Praise Warfare -Our enemy

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.— 2 Corinthians 10:4

This is a lesson about someone I don't like. His name is Satan. Lessons given about Satan aren't new. Most of them focus on who Satan is, and why he is our enemy, this lesson is slightly different. I don't like to spend a lot of time talking about the devil. He and I are not on speaking terms, you see. But Jesus spoke about him from time to time, so it's no sin for me to do it. Jesus didn't mince words when He spoke about Satan's in Matthew 4:10 “ Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "

Some Christians choose to not believe or ignore the existence of the devil in their lives , even though the words says he exists. “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! 
How you are cut down to the ground,
 You who weakened the nations!”( Isaiah 14:12 ) It also says in the word that Satan is a dangerous enemy. He is a serpent who can bite us when we least expect it. He is a destroyer ( Revelations 12:11) . . . He has great power and intelligence, and a host of demons who assist him in his attacks against God’s people ( Ephesians 6:11)

On the other hand ,some Christians believe in his existence to the point of becoming obsessed with what satan is doing. Believing that as a Christian we are supposed to fight him as hard as we can, as good soldiers of the Lord. They often go as far as to study everything they can get their hands on about deliverance. I went as far as to have a book that listed all the demons by name. Yes, I was an active member of a deliverance ministry. But for me it was not really about setting other people free from demonic influence. Instead, I focused upon setting myself free from what I believed was a spirit of infirmity.

When my prayers for healing of my chronic illness which had effected me since I was a child, bore no fruit after standing fast for fiver years. I decided that there had to be another reason I was not being healed by God. So I came to the conclusion that my illness was demonic in nature, and therefore I needed deliverance. I did not choose just any deliverance minister,to pray for me, I choose some of the leading ministers of deliverance. One in particular that wrote a book on the subjects. But each time I went in front of a deliverance minister they could find nothing. But I was so obsessed with the need to be set free that I became my worse enemy, condemning myself as to evil for God to heal me and began to pray for death. I did not even realize at the time that I had taken my eyes off God. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. “ ( Hebrews 12:2) And instead , all my attention was focused on satan.

When fighting and exposing satan becomes an obsessed , Christians can and often do begin to look upon themselves and often upon other with what I can only describe as the spirit of the accuser of the brethren. (Revelation 12:10 ) When this happens, they will begin to falsely accuse others , and or even themselves as being demon-possessed or influenced by Satan. Some begin to promote a belief that Christians and particularly them themselves, need to expose satan no matter where he is, to the point that. they are quick to label others as “Satan’s Henchmen,” heretics who spread a false gospel of deception, simply because they disagree or despise someone—often someone who has a different theological, social or political belief than their own. They may even begin to blame the satan for all your problems to the point they will not take personal responsibility for their own actions.

The question we should ask ourselves is, when entering into what we believe is proper spiritual warfare. Who has our focus, The Lord? or Satan? Jesus answered that simple question with Matthew 4:10 “ Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' In the face of this simple truth are we supposed to seek him out and defeat Satan? Nope. In fact, Christ already defeated him via his work. Let us see what the Scriptures have to say about this topic.

Colossians 2:15: He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Matthew 12:25-29: Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. “

Once I accepted the fact that the battle has been already won, I began to realize that we should be aware that satan often sits on our shoulders whispering his lies( John 8:44). But instead of wasting our energy on fighting him, we need to remember that the word also says in James 4:7 ; “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. “ It is that simply!Turning our eyes on God, instead of one satan we begin to realize that the battle is not ours it is Gods. “He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.” (2 Chronicles 20:15)