What constitutes spiritual warfare?

[martyr]

Realizing that Worthy is made up of hundreds of different people from different backgrounds, I know that there is a difference of opinions and thought in here.  This post is here just to find out what spiritual warfare means to you and what it entails in your belief system.

[Guest]

Good question, I hope you get some real good replies.

First, in my opinion, what we are about is all spiritual warfare. Whether we realize it or not.

 For we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness in high places. Our battle is never against flesh and blood although it seems like it at times. The battle must be won in the spiritual realm.

 For instance, I have submitted my life to God. I even had to cast a jezebel spirit out of my home. And no I did not throw out my wife, LOL. I anointed my house with oil to symbolize my dedicating it to Jesus also. I have spiritual peace in my home and occasionally I must repent of things allowed in my home and get rid of them. I think it opens the door up to the ememy.

 Side note, even if we bring in an unclean thing in our home unkowningly, it will still affect our home.

 I went to a brothers home to visit and after a while I could sense something of darkness was there. I must add I don't look for a demon under every rock. I asked him what he had in his home and found out there were somethings in there that could have opened the door to evil. He had dream catchers, his daughter had brought in a book on witches, and there were other things.

 Bear in mind this man was a brother who  repented and was trying to get his life back under the control of the Holy Spirit. I advised him to pray and be obedient to God about these things.

To me this is just one example of spiritual warfare. The war in Iraq is, I believe, all about a spiritual war.

 I think I will sigh off for now and am looking forward to others Ideas about spiritual warfare. :a2:

[Guest Blessed One]

The first thing that came to mind in response to your post is that there was a battle going on in heaven before man came along and it's been going on ever since.

[Guest shilou]

Hi guys good subject. I first recognized spiritual warfare in my head. You know your having a disagreement with another person and you go to bed at night and all these things are running around in your head. Well being a saved person I was fighting off the bad thoughts and even though I didn't want to have them they kept coming. I was telling a friend about this one day and she said oh it's like the good angel and bad angel on your shoulder thing. It hit me like a brick that I was not the originator of all these thoughts. Once I had a handle on that and rebuked the demon that had access to me through my thoughts he actually started swearing vulgarities at me in my head screaming at me. The very next day my stepson and I were going to the christian book store and the doors on my car started flying open on the interstate. We had to stop and pray. At the book store the total came up to 66.60 and I added another item. We got out to the car and when I went to open the trunk my head was slammed into it. I realized that now that I had gotten this thing out of my head he was retaliating in the physical world. Before all of this I had no idea anything like that could actually happen. And of course momentarily it brought fear to me. I prayed and that stopped. Next he went after my family. My husband started playing music in the house that was first of all stuff he never listened to and we got into a fight about it, I found pornography in my stepsons room, and my step daughter was copying pictures of MM and such off the internet and hanging this stuff up in her room. After we went through the everybody fighting and trying to assert their rights I sat us all down and asked what is going on here. Everybody got into all their rights, and justifying and all of that and then I said well I have another spin on this. I reminded them all of what me and my stepson had went through and showed them how all of us were playing right into satans hands and it was getting ugly here. I asked my husband what was going on with him and the music thing and he said he really didn't know, that he really didn't like that music. That was the easy one. I had to tell the kids that there was nothing I or their dad could do to stop what they listened to or viewed when they were not in our presense but they were not to bring anything like that into the house. We all prayed and agreed that the house would remain with God. So I have learned that satan will try anything to get to us. He will go through the mind, the physical, family, friends, other christians, anything that may cause a disturbance. My home is the only place I actively get to choose to keep clean, that means music, books, what is watched on tv, how I treat others here and the pictures whatever. With the teens in my home I have noticed that Satan has easy access to them. They want to start an argument over even the most trivial of matters. I just simply listen and then ask them whose altar are you kneeling in front of right now? Some even christians tell me I'm going to give them some kind of a complex. I ask why should kids not be aware of the spiritual battle going on? Perhaps if more teens were aware of what is really going on and were alerted to the fact they are being used by this force in a very real way they could make better choices. I don't know all the answers, but I do know I want to be very aware of the spiritual battle and twart satan at every turn I recognize. Thanks for the subject guys, keeps me on my toes.

Love in Yeshua

Shilou

[Work in Progress]

Hi Martyr. I believe "Spiritual Warfare" is the ongoing battle that Christians should engage in to fight against anything that impedes the cause of Christ. IMO, it is the flip side of sharing Christ's love.

[Ovedya]

I don't particularly care for the term "spiritual warfare" myself.

The term "warfare" indicates that there is a continual battle being fought with no determinate winner.  However, with regard to the battle over sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh, the battle has already been won!  Jesus Christ crucified sin and sin in the flesh, conquored Satan, and has won the victory in all aspects of the world and self.

Now, this does not mean that I believe that there is no fighting going on in the spiritual realm.  The enemy attacks and frustrates on every front.  There is a world system absolutely anesthetized and controlled by God's enemy.  He even has enough boldness to accuse God's people before the the throne - to God's own face!

The point is that I think that believers get into the realm of spiritual warfare too much, and often miss the facts of Christ's accomplished work.  Yes, the enemy attacks with lies and slander, but Christ is our Advocate.  Yes, the world pressures us on all sides and can often cause us to fall into sin, but Christ is our refuge.  He is conquerer over all things.  So when pressed on all sides, the only way to go is straight up!

I hear believers all the time - and I even do this myself: "I am so frustrated with....  I keep doing....  The enemy is..."  It is frustrating.  And it really is a battle.  The Christian life is not the easy road.  Anyone who tells you that is trying to sell you something.  But if more believers took the path of victory instead of the path of "warfare" I think the enemy would stagger from what would happen.  I speak of myself too.  I would not speak of Christians in general without including myself.

So what do we do when the enemy attacks with your past?  Tell him boldly, "Enemy, the Lord has done away with my past.  It has been cast into an eternal sea of forgetfulness.  Get away from me!"

What do we do when we fall and the enemy attacks with, "See?  You are not a true Christian, a true Christian would not do such things.  You cannot even go to God with this sin, it is so bad."  We tell him, "Get away from me, Satan, Christ has won the victory over my sin.  I will confess with a bold heart and Jesus will be my Advocate.  You have no pwer to stop me."

What do we do when we speak certain things we shouldn't, do certain things we ought not, and act in ways that is unbecoming?  We, like Paul in Romans 7, humbly accept that we have a fallen nature, and that it is not our portion to dwell there.  And though we have a wretched outter man that is decaying, we also have an inner man that is being renewed day by day - even moment by moment.  And there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  We have a way out.  Satan has no way out.  He is doomed and he knows it.  Next time he attacks, how about we remind him of that fact?

I'm pontificating here.  One last thing?  For those of you who know a little bit of geology, know what heat and pressure produces?

[Guest]

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;  

   

   Col 2:15   [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.  

I believe we have 3 distinct ememies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. I sometimes war against my flesh more than the others. I have to live with me, but wait, If we crucify the flesh and take up our cross, than the flesh is dead. So maybe it is the world that I war against, no wait, come out from among them and be you seperate. So maybe it is the devil, no wait God has disarmed them, and we have authority over them. And if we submit to God and resist the devil he has to flee.  Sounds like Victory when I am walking right.

That leaves me to others. Sometimes others just get theirselves in trouble and need our help. Maybe they have entertained darkness and the world and maybe their flesh is live and kicking. hhhmmmm..... There in lies the battle. And boy is intercession a real battle. Sometimes we can speak to them, sometimes we can go to bat for them, and sometimes we just have to take the bullet for them. Kind of like Jesus did for us.

Sometimes it just gets messy and ugly, but we will prevail if we faint not and keep our hope in Jesus.....

I still think it is warfare, by the way.  After all we have been given the armor and the sword to do battle with.  And we do win. And how do we win. We overcome by the word of our testimony and the blood of the lamb.... :il:

[Guest kingsheir]

"Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ--I who am humble among you in person, but bold toward you when absent. I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are walking in a fleshly way. For although we are walking in the flesh, ((we do not wage war in a fleshly way)), since the weapons of our ((warfare)) are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

2 Corinthians 10:1-6:read:

"Warfare" is spoken of all throughout Scripture.

Blessings!

kingsheir

[For Him Alone]

I don't particularly care for the term "spiritual warfare" myself.

The term "warfare" indicates that there is a continual battle being fought with no determinate winner.

[martyr]

It was just recently brought to my attention an interesting concept.  In the Bible it says to resist the devil, and he will flee.  Imagine that, all this time spent in active aggression against the devil, and the Bible is telling me not to attack but to stand my ground.