Don't Be Caught Off Guard

We have just spent the last three lessons looking at examples of enemy counter-attack in various people's lives. You may have found this a study to be bit depressing (or maybe alarming), because the stories I shared are not stories of overwhelming victory. They are stories about the reality of spiritual warfare, and they demonstrate what enemy counter-attack looks like in real people's lives.

I did not share this to scare you or to depress you; I shared it to motivate you. I want you to prepare for battle so that you won't be caught off guard; so you won't be easily taken out. The simple fact is that we are in a war, and if we move in God's power to heal the sick, the devil is likely to view that as an attack on his kingdom, and he is likely to fight back by counter-attacking us. That is a simple fact, and we need to know about it so we can prepare for the counter-attack and stand in victory.

This is not a bleak or overwhelming situation, and we don't need to be frightened by it. Why? Because the Lord has given us spiritual armor and He has given us weapons for the warfare. He has given us every thing we need to win the battle and to walk in His victory. However, the stuff that God has given to us won't help us unless we take it up and use it to fend off the enemy's attack.

Jesus has given us authority over the devil. We see this in Luke 10:19 where Jesus said: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Jesus gave us His own authority to use to accomplish His purposes, which means that means we are not powerless in this battle. In fact, since Jesus is so much more powerful than the devil, that means we also have more power than the devil does--because we tap into Jesus' power. In short, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and empowers each of us (as per Romans 8:11) in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6 talks about how God has given us spiritual armor to protect us in the battle. Unfortunately, that armor doesn't do us much good if it is hanging in our closet. It won't protect us unless we wear it. Likewise, the authority that Jesus has given us won't do us much good unless we use it.

Using God's authority is a bit more complex than simply making a decision to move in His authority. There are spiritual principles that come into play here. For instance, we can't use God's power when we are in rebellion or in willful disobedience to Him. We can't use His power to accomplish things contrary to what He wants to do. Remember, Jesus said, "I only do what I see My father doing." If we want to move in His authority, then we have to embrace His agenda and lay down our own agenda.

Here is an analogy that might help. If you want to get dressed in a suit of real physical armor, say mid-evil style armor, you are going to have to take off some of your "street clothes" and maybe put on some special undergarments that are designed to fit with the armor. For instance, a lady wearing a dress with a full skirt and high heals isn't going to be very successful in stepping into a suit of armor, unless she changes first. Can you picture her trying to put the leg plates on over her skirt, or trying to put the boots on over the high heals? That wouldn't work very well, would it?

Also, the armor is going to be hard and painful in some places as the metal rubs against your body (like your ribs, shoulders, elbows, etc). So you may need to put on some specialized clothing with built-in pads to protect vulnerable areas of your body from being hurt by the mental of the armor pressing/rubbing against it.

We must follow a similar principle to put on spiritual armor. There are some things in our live that we need to "put off" (or get rid of) so that the spiritual armor has a chance of fitting us correctly. We need to close the doors in our lives where the enemy can easily move in to attack us...intentional sin, unforgiveness or bitterness, rebellion, gossip, jealousy, etc. In addition, we need to put on certain things, such as godly habits and right attitudes to have the right padding for our armor. And, of course, we have to actually put the armor on over the padding.

Ephesians 6:14-17 spells out some of the armor for us:

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I don't want to do a whole in-depth teaching on the armor here, as there are many excellent books written on that subject. But let's briefly highlight some of what is involved in these pieces and get an idea of what we need to protect us from enemy counter-attack:

1. Truth - Embracing God's truth and rejecting the lies of the enemy. It sounds simple, but our heart gets in the way and the enemy's lies can feel so real to us and take us out. When we embrace God's truth, those lies loose their power over us.

2. Righteousness - Living holy before God and behaving in the way that you know will please Him. It also entails going out of our way to avoid things we know would displease God. But it also entails receiving the forgiveness and cleansing of Jesus, which makes us righteous before God. Then when we know we are truly forgiven, we do not have to live under the enemy's cloud of condemnation or rejection.

3. Preparation of the Gospel - being attuned to the Spirit's leading and available when He calls on us to be His witness...whether it is in modeling (demonstrating) His presence in our life in a difficulty, or in moving in His power to heal the sick or whatever He wants to do, or by spoken word. The key here is not the doing of these things (though we do them)--but it is the preparation. In other words, the key is our ongoing relationship to the Holy Spirit. It involves things like knowing His voice, being submitted to His leading in all things, being careful not to grieve Him, etc.

4. Faith - This is basically knowing down deep in our inner most being that God is good, that He is faithful, and that He is in control. Then it is calling forth His will and His reality to replace the false reality that the devil tries to surround us with. Among other things, we need to keep up our faith in the basics...that God loves us and takes care of us, that our sins are forgiven (even when we mess up big time or make an ugly mistake) and it is an inner confidence that these things can't separate us from God's love because of what Jesus did for us.

   Some people view faith as the "doing things" (like moving mountains). That is an aspect of faith, but I don't think it is what this verse is talking about here. It says that faith will quench the fiery darts of the evil one. What are those darts? They are mental/emotional things like condemnation, rejection, feeling God is mad at you, feeling disqualified. They are also physical things like financial trials, dangers, false accusations, sickness, etc.

   The faith that overcomes these things is a confidence in God and in His faithfulness. It is knowing we don't have to do everything perfectly for God to love us. It is the assuredness that God is our loving Daddy Who wants to take care of our every need in a way that allows us to latch on to His provision. In short, faith is knowing deep within our spirit that God is faithful and that He is able to do all things.

5. Helmet of Salvation - This is knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are saved (because of what Jesus did to you). It means that you have embraced the Spirit Of Adoption and truly see God as your Father Who loves you and Who will take good care of you. It means you know that your sins (past, present and future) cannot separate you from God; it is an assuredness that when you repent and run back to Him, you know He will receive you with open arms. It means that you don't feel a need to introduce an artificial separation between yourself and God before you repent and become instantly restored. It means you have a confidence that it is OK for you to draw close to Him and you have the expectation that He will meet you and reveal Himself to you because of the personal relationship that you have with Him.

6. The sword of the Spirit - God's word is powerful...both His written word and His prophetic word. I strongly encourage people to really get to know His written word...read it, study it, understand what He is like from it, memorize it. When Jesus battled (and defeated) the devil in the wilderness during His 40 day fast, He used the Word. Jesus quoted Scripture to counter each lie and each temptation that the devil threw at Him. And since Jesus is our role model, that means we should also be using His word to defend against enemy attacks and temptations.

Now lets talk about preparing ourselves to wear this armor, and let's have this talk in the context of healing ministry. We know that if we do what the Father is doing, we will need to prepare for enemy counter-attack. That is because the devil feels attacked when we step out in God's power to advance His kingdom (like healing the sick). If it builds up God's kingdom, that means it tears down the devil's kingdom. And if the devil thinks that we are attacking him, he is likely to fight back by attacking us.

What are the things that we can do to better defend ourselves against enemy counter-attack?

1. Count the cost. We need to be aware that moving in God's power yields enemy counter attacks. We must not be afraid of it and we must not allow ourselves to be caught off guard when it happens.

2. Be careful to be led of the Lord rather than manipulated by the needs of others. We need to strive to be doing what He is doing and to avoid doing things that He is not doing.

3. Keep up our quiet times to tune in with the Lord for any warnings, leadings, or directions that He gives us.

4. Keep examining ourself (our hearts, our actions, our motives) with the Holy Spirit so we can close any "open doors" that the enemy uses to attack us.

5. Consider routinely breaking curses against us.

6. Live healthy--don't invite attacks on our health through things like exhaustion, being overweight, eating unbalanced diets, etc.

7. Be sure to be covered by prayer...your own and the prayers of others who have agreed to intercede for you.

8. Stay closely connected with other believers. You are more vulnerable when isolated.

9. Understand our spiritual atmosphere so that we won't be disappointed by unrealistic expectations of what we hope God might do.

We will talk more about each of these 9 things in our remaining lessons.

Can We Do Anything To Defend Ourselves?

We have been talking about the reality of spiritual warfare, and how the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world are in conflict with each other. We saw that when we do things to build God's kingdom, those same actions tear down the devil's kingdom, such as healing someone who is sick. The devil had worked hard to make that person sick so he could build a stronghold in his/her life.

When we come along and tear down the devil's stronghold by releasing God's free gift of healing, we have just attacked the devil's work. We have just taken territory away from him, and he doesn't like that. In fact, the devil doesn't like any activity that advances God's kingdom, because he looses ground anytime God's kingdom advances. So when we heal the sick, in the devil's eyes we have just attacked him--and he responds by fighting back. We call that "spiritual counter-attack."

The problem is that the devil's counter-attacks can be nasty. He doesn't really believe that he was defeated at Calvary and he is still trying to win. And the devil fights dirty...he will do whatever he can to hurt you or to take you out...after all John 10:10 says that the devil came to "steal, kill and destroy." If you attack him by "doing what the Father is doing" to advance God's kingdom, the devil will try to hurt you however he can. That is the nature of spiritual warfare.

But God doesn't want us to be taken out by the enemy's attacks. So He has given us spiritual weapons that we can use to defend ourselves, such as the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6. In addition, there are definite things we can do to prepare for the enemy's attacks so that we can win the battle.

I'd like to share 9 of those "things we can do to prepare" with you in the remaining lessons:

1. Don't Be Caught Off Guard, Prepare For Battle.
2. Be Spirit-Led In Your Activities.
3. Keep Spiritually Attuned
4. Practice Prayerful Self-Examination To Close "Open Doors" The Enemy Can Use To Attack Us.
5. Routinely Break Any Curses Spoken Against Us.
6. Live Healthy.
7. Stay Covered By Prayer
8. Stay Closely Connected With Other Believers.
9. Understand Your Spiritual Atmosphere.

So, let's take a closer look at each of these. We'll cover the first one in this lesson and look at the others in subsequent lessons.

DON'T BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD, PREPARE FOR BATTLE

We have to acknowledge that there is a spiritual battle going on for people's souls, and that healing the sick and evangelism are both a part of that battle. Most of us don't think of evangelism and spreading the good news of the Gospel as a warfare activity. Then we are surprised (and often taken out) when the enemy counter-attacks us for our efforts.

We cannot allow the fact that warfare exists to sidetrack us from doing what God is doing. We cannot allow it to keep us from being His witness. Jesus commands us to be His witness in the great commission. He also commanded it in Acts 1:8-9, where He said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

You can see the reality of this command demonstrated in the Book Of Acts. It shows how warfare accompanied the "spreading of the gospel," and that warfare came in the form of enemy attacks and persecution.

For example, Peter and James were arrested and imprisoned overnight simply because the healed the lame man at the temple gate (Acts 4:3). Then in Acts 5, the early-church had the equivalent of a huge revival meeting where people were getting healed and saved left and right (Acts 5:12-16). They were thrown in jail for their activity (Acts 5:17-18), but God sent an angel to release them from prison. God sent them back out to preach again, and they were arrested a second time for the same "crime" (Acts 5:26). They were put on trial for it, where they were physically beaten and commanded not to evangelize or heal anymore (Acts 5:40). That experience was came at the hands of men, but it was really an enemy attack. It caused them physical pain and suffering, but it did not keep them from preaching the gospel, as per Acts 5:41-42. "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

Along the same lines, Stephen was martyred because he was "full of faith and power, [and] did great wonders and signs among the people" (Acts 6:8). The other reason was because those disputing with him "were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke (Acts 6:10). So they falsely accused him of blasphemy and stoned him to death. What was his "crime" against the devil? He did miracles (like healing the sick) and he proclaimed the gospel. And the devil attacked him for that and took him out by having him executed.

Immediately after Stephen's death, great persecution came on the church (Acts 8). Believers lost their possessions and were forced out of their homes, but they did not stop being His witness. Acts 8:4 says, "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." And as a result, the church grew, even in the midst of persecution and enemy attack. One of those who was scattered was a man named Philip, who refused to be shut down by the devil's attack. He continued to do what the Father was doing; he moved in God's power and anointing to accomplish God's purposes in the midst of enemy counter-attack, and he saw results. Here is what Acts 8:6-8 says:

6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city.

If you continue to read the book of Acts, you will see accounts of all sorts of enemy attack against the evangelism efforts of the early church (especially in the lives of Paul and the other early church leaders). You will also see that healing the sick and casting out demons were fundamental parts of that evangelism effort.

All of this is to demonstrate the reality of the battle. God wants us to count the cost. We need to be aware that moving in God's power and in obedience to Him yields enemy counter attacks. We must not be afraid of those attacks. We just need to be aware that they will come, and we must not allow ourselves to be caught off guard when it happens.

We must not allow the reality of the war as an excuse to disobey God's command because we hope to avoid counter-attack. That would be a very bad idea. In fact, if you do that, the enemy will probably end up attacking you anyhow, because you are still a soldier in God's army, even if you refuse to fight. If you obey God and do what He is wanting to do through you, then He is right there with you, teaching you to war and helping you overcome. But if you haven't learned how to fight because you are busy running away from God's call on your life, you will suffer much worse in that seemingly unprovoked attack--because you won't be able to defend yourself.

I am suggesting is that we prepare ourselves spiritually and mentally for this fight; that we put ourselves in a position to successfully defend ourselves against many of the enemy's attacks. We shouldn't be surprised or frightened when counter-attacks come, and we should be able to stand in God's power and authority and (most of the time) come out victorious.

We Have God's Power And Authority

God has given us two things to accomplish His purposes: His power and His authority. "Power" is the ability to do the works that Jesus did, like casting out demons, healing the sick, multiplying food and performing other miracles. We don't do these things to "look good" or to "impress people." We do them in order to advance God's kingdom and to demonstrate the reality of the gospel. And as we use God's power to back up the message of the gospel, we also need to proclaim the good news of salvation. People will listen to (and respond to) the message of salvation because we back it up with a demonstration of the reality of God's power.

Authority, on the other hand, is about winning victory over the devil. Jesus gave us His authority over the devil in Luke 10:19 so that he is not able to harm us. In short, Jesus gave us His authority so that we could successfully fend off the enemy counter-attacks that He knew would could against us as we did with Him what the Father is doing.

We need to be balanced in our use of these things. On one hand, we don't want to just do the power stuff that advances God's kingdom and never defend ourselves from enemy attack. But on the other hand, we don't want to get so caught up on the warfare aspect that we don't do the stuff God commands us to do (be His witness, heal the sick, proclaim the gospel). We don't get want to get so focused on the devil and his activity that we stop looking to God. We need to see/sense/hear what the Father is doing and saying, then do it with Him. That is the only way to be effective.

So if we use just one or the other of power and authority, then it is like sitting in a rowboat and rowing with all of our might using just one ore. We might apply ourselves and work very hard, but we will only end up going in circles. We need to use both God's power and His authority in order to accomplish His purposes.

Along with that, we shouldn't be using either of them (power or authority) if we are not in good relationship with God. We need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and led by Him in order to use God's power and His authority effectively. If we are estranged from God, then we can't hear the Spirit's leading and we can get ourselves in all sorts of trouble if we step out to engage the enemy. We can bring needless attack and harm on ourselves, and not be in a position to defend ourselves from it. That happens when we are not properly tapped into God to draw on His power and authority.

Peter Wagner, one of my professors from Fuller Seminary, summed it up very well. He said, "We should never engage in a level or intensity of spiritual warfare that is higher than our intimacy with God."

Let me explain what he meant: When our intimacy with God is not that well developed, we should not go out of our way to engage the devil in warfare (or go looking for battles). Instead, we should engage God, to build relationship with Him and to draw closer to Him. We need to do this because He is our source and our strength in battle. But by the same token, we must not avoid the devil and warfare as we grow in intimacy with God. If we do, we get lopsided in our walk with Him, because true intimacy with God involves "doing with Him" what He shows us that He is doing. In short, we can't have a proper relationship with God if we are so afraid of enemy counter-attack that we hold back from doing the kingdom things that God asks us to do.

We need to keep our focus on God, not on the devil. We must not cower in fear that the devil might attack us. Likewise we don't go out looking for battles that God has not called us to. Instead, we watch our Commander and Chief; we follow Him and do what He is doing. When the attacks to come, then we fight in His authority, using the tools and weapons that He as given us and fully expecting to overcome and win.

[Previous Article] [Next Article]

Support Gateways of His Light by sharing this page on social media