Biblical Spiritual Warfare Session 10
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My name is Basie Martins. I trust that you are all well and I want to thank you again for listening to this series. For you who do not know, this series is about spiritual warfare. In the previous session, we discussed the elements and the foundation of real spiritual warfare. We discussed the power and the reality of ordinary people possessing the same power that God does, in a limited capacity, but still so amazing, and that is the ability to create.
We do it physically but also spiritually. In a spiritual sense, we can speak things into existence. We have been created in the image of God and that is why we have the same ability that God has in this regard. The Bible is clear on this. It says that there is power in the tongue. Life or death is in the tongue and even Jesus said that we can speak things into existence if we believe. Remember, the fig tree and the sycamine tree and the mountain that can be cast into the sea. Well, this happens daily in terms of our own circumstances and situations in our lives. Those that grasped the fact that this is supposed to be a way of life, live victoriously in Christ. A mountain was once literally moved by a person, in the Name of Christ, in North Africa. It really happened. Just check out my website, asrmartins.com and read all about it.
In this session, we will be discussing a few myths about spiritual warfare and also some wonderful aspects of true Biblical spiritual warfare. Let’s start this session briefly on a subject called curses.
Just like evil spirits, people like witches and satanist are powerless when it comes to them attempting to cast spells and curses on people. This includes them trying to hurt Christians and even unsaved people through this evil activity or method of witchcraft. They may have success when it comes to hurting each other this way but when it comes to people who are not part of the kingdom of darkness they are completely powerless in this regard. They just cannot curse people or bewitch people at all. This is a lie that they that they do not want people to know about. Yes they can bewitch each other but that is because they chose to be part of the evil kingdom of darkness.
Of course, this is a well-guarded secret. The citizens of the kingdom of darkness do not want the world to know this truth. It is for this purpose that they “invented” all sorts of doctrines of devils to conceal this truth. Even the church and church leaders, unfortunately, play a huge role in assisting the kingdom of darkness with this evil strategy.
The devil and all his dark and evil forces, including witches and satanists, have absolutely no power over Christians and even over unbelievers. They just cannot cast spells and curses on people. It is a lie from hell. Even if they get together to pray against Christians or certain things in the kingdom of God, they are wasting their time. That is if we are not ignorant about this. If you believe a lie that lie might become a reality in your life.
However, these acts are all a powerless show of force. It is all just smoke and mirrors but the sad thing is that Christians fall for that. And because they do these acts have a devastating effect on their lives. This is a result caused by ignorance in the body of Christ. It is caused by a lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, the church does not know the word of God in this regard.
I sincerely hope that this series will set you free. Jesus Christ conquered the devil and all the demonic creatures of the kingdom of darkness on the cross. He completely disarmed them and He delegated all power and authority to us, the church. We do not have to fear the kingdom of darkness one bit. They fear the church. Because of this they are adamant to keep the truth away from the children of God. They are fighting tooth and nail to keep the truth hidden and a secret. As long as the church does not know the truth and as long as they do not take up their inheritance, the children of God will suffer defeat. It is up to you and me to make a difference in this regard. Preach the truth wherever you go. Even if mainline Christianity and mainline churches preach the opposite. Do not be silenced. When we are silent, we cause people to stay exposed to oppression.
About two years ago a friend of mine announced that he is returning to his old support group to change the bad circumstances that he experienced in his life at that time. This support group pursued a very distinct goal which is their official “trademark”. This trademark is, of course, the relentless breaking of curses and the subsequent spiritual warfare strategies that always form part of these rituals. He mentioned to me that he decided to do so because he missed their fellowship and their support, particularly concerning this aspect.
I was visibly appalled by this decision. My friend again stepped into the trap of looking for the causes of his personal and spiritual failures and hardships at the wrong place. He was going through a tough time but not because of generational curses or the lack of spiritual warfare or because of demonic attacks or special strategies that evil spirits embarked upon to make his life miserable.
Something else was to blame and I was about to tell my friend what it was. According to the people in the group that he wanted to join, all or most negative and bad things in people’s lives are either caused by generational curses or evil spirits and demonic attacks.
When I asked my friend for the opportunity to discuss this matter with him before he joins this group again he reluctantly agreed. I again took him through the Scriptures that so clearly prove that generational curses were a reality early in the Old Testament but not since the time of Ezekiel. I showed him the Scriptures which proves that God joined the debate about generational curses at that time and how He once and for all publicly announced through his prophet how He feels about generational curses, and why He feels that way. I showed him clearly that God promised the nation of Israel, through His prophet Jeremiah, that He will repeal the law of generational curses. I also showed him where God confirmed that the promise that He made through Jeremiah was now, a few years later, in place, repealed and done away with, as announced through the prophet Ezekiel, during the debate that I mentioned.
Let me read these Scriptures again:
The promise in Jeremiah 31:29-30
In those days people will no longer say, The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes – their own teeth will be set on edge.
The confirmation as per Ezekiel 18: 1-4
1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
and Ezekiel 18:17
That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
and Ezekiel 18:19
Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
and Ezekiel 18:20
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
I discussed these Scriptures and even more with my friend.
Well, he did not listen to my arguments at all and he did join this group again. No, his circumstances did not change for the good at all. It got worse!
Despite this, they are still breaking curses and they are still confessing the sins of their forefathers regularly although nothing changed. As I said, some situations even got worse. They are constantly busy with spiritual warfare. One moment they are fighting water spirits and the next moment some strong demon, a principality of some sort. They even know the names of some of these demons. This whole process just goes on and on. They are fighting relentlessly and the war is never over. This, of course, is different from what Jesus and the disciples did. And now I am going to discuss a very important principle in the body of Christ. If you understand this principle you will never be deceived again in your life. Let me explain this principle:
Every word that ever came out of the mouth of Jesus was very significant. It was always anointed, it always did what it was sent out to do and it was said to teach us the will and the ways of God. Each and every action that Jesus performed was also very significant. It was done to show us the will and the ways of God. Jesus himself said, “I only do what I see my Father doing.” He never did anything and never said anything that the Father did not do or say.
John 5:19-20 (KJV)
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
John 5:19-20 (NIV)
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.
John 12:49
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
This is very important. Jesus Said, “Verily, verily, these also doeth the Son likewise.“. If the Son of God regarded it very important to do exactly what the Father did and to say exactly what the Father did, how much more should we do the same? He even said that if you saw the Son then you saw the Father. Why did He say that? Because He was exactly like the Father. In words and deeds. He chose to be like the Father. He chose to only do and only say what he sees and what He hears his Father does and says. He closely looked at the Father. He closely observed the Father and He became exactly like the Father.
Jesus’ time on earth was focused on teaching us the will and the ways of the Father. He did not come to teach us about himself. He did it by doing and saying what the Father does and says. His whole ministry was a process of equipping us (the church). He taught the disciples and the disciples taught other disciples. They made converts and they made disciples in turn. A disciple is a person who follows Jesus. He showed them how to live and what to say in the kingdom of God. It is therefore very important what Jesus did and what He said. The disciples observed him very closely. They knew exactly what He said and what He did.
John 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
So Jesus requested them to teach other people what He commanded them. If you study this aspect in the Bible you will find a remarkable thing. You will find that if you watch Jesus Christ in action you will know exactly what God the Father would have said and would have done if He was walking the earth. But that is not all. You will also find that the disciples did exactly what Jesus did and they said exactly what Jesus said. They followed his ways and his actions to the letter. They did not even once deviate from this. They never even once did something or said something that Jesus did not say or did not do. This is very significant. It means that even the disciples did and said what God the Father would have done and said if He was walking the earth.
I specifically carried out a thorough investigation of this aspect. I specifically looked for something different or any sort of deviation about this aspect in the Bible in the life of the disciples and the apostles. I could not find any contradictions or any additions. I dare you, study the Bible and see if Peter, John, James, Paul or any other disciple ever did or ever said something that Jesus did not do or say. Jesus told them to go out and to teach people the words that He taught the disciples. Jesus specifically referred to his own words and He asked the disciples to teach other people those words. He was asking the disciples to carry on what He started and that is to teach people to do what the Father does and to say what the Father says. Make disciples means to make followers.
However, the problem in the church today is that people have deviated from this instruction. Through the years a lot of new things and new ways emerged in the church. People started doing things and saying thinks that is not in the Bible. Take a look at the following and take note that these things are nowhere to be found in the Bible. The Father, Jesus Christ, and the disciples did not carry out these things, they did not use these words and they never instructed anyone to do these things:
In the Name of Jesus, I break all curses in my life.
I cut off every curse.
In the Name of Jesus, I bind you satan.
Lord, I confess the sins of my father, my mother, and all my ancestors. Please forgive me for their sins.
In the Name of Jesus, I cast down any evil stronghold in my life.
I break every plan that the enemy orchestrated in my life.
Satan, I break all your works. I come against you in the Name of Jesus.
All these commands and decrees sound spiritual but are in fact worthless words uttered in ignorance. Why do we use these words? Where does it come from? It is not in the Bible. Have you noticed that Christians in New Testament times never did any of this? Have you noticed that Christians in New Testament times never discussed generational curses? Nowhere in the Bible did God, Jesus or the disciples instruct us to break curses. Nobody in the Bible broke any curses. Nowhere in the Bible did God, Jesus or the disciples instruct us to confess the sins of our ancestors. In fact, there are numerous Scriptures in the Bible that instruct us to confess and repent of our own sins. Nowhere in the Bible did God, Jesus or the disciples bind satan. So people attempt to fight evil in a negative way instead of being positive and creative. We speak healing or command healing in a sick person’s life. We create positive circumstances in people’s lives. We do not fight evil by attempting to break negative things. We do not start our own ways and own initiatives.
Jesus refused to do so in his life as we can see in John 8:28
Jesus therefore said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me…
So if Jesus said that He does nothing of himself or on his own initiative, why did we start using words that are not in the Bible? Why did we start doing things of ourselves which is not in the Bible? Why did we start using our own initiative? Why did we start anointing windows and doors and vehicles with oil? Why did we start all these “house cleaning” rituals? Did Jesus Christ or the disciples ever anoint houses and windows and vehicles? Did Jesus or the disciples ever carried out house cleaning rituals or did they ever instruct us to do so? Did Jesus Christ or the disciples instruct us to do these things? If these things were authentic and important, why didn’t Jesus or the disciples ever instruct us to break generational curses? Why didn’t they instruct us to confess the sins of our ancestors? Why didn’t they instruct us to anoint our property and belongings with oil?
By the way, the only thing that I do concerning “house cleaning” is the following: I make sure that I do not have any objects related to idols like Buddha statues or ornaments in my house. I make sure that I do not have sinful or sin inducing material in my house like pornography or really bad music and so on and then I am done. Nothing else… Nothing else… This is all I do… Anything more than this is just another soulish or religious ritual implemented in the church by people who believe in generational curses and the erroneous counterpart of the spiritual warfare doctrine.
Why do we carry out these things? We carry it out because we know not the word of God. We believed false doctrines like generational curses and the erroneous teachings of the false variation of spiritual warfare, the transferal of spirits and all sorts of doctrines of devils. Yes, there is a thing called spiritual warfare but it is completely different from the very popular teachings we have been taught through the years. Most of the decrees that I mentioned are the battle cries of the fake or ignorant spiritual warriors created by false teachers. It is the actions and the words of the ignorant. It is the actions of people who do not know their position of authority in Christ.
That position of authority is not on the battlefield. It is from a position of rest in Christ on his throne. We are resting in the love of Christ from where we plug into all the resources that He made available to us through the cross. He gave us divine provision, divine protection, divine authority, and divine maintenance through his redemptive work on the cross. As kings in the kingdom of God, we learned to trust God, to believe God and his word, to be obedient to God and his word and to take up our inheritance through faith. We take what is ours by faith. We take it by force. We live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.
Matthews 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
We do not accuse the enemy of causing all sorts of negative and bad things in our lives. We know those bad things exist only because we failed to take up our inheritance. We know that the devil and the kingdom of darkness can cause us absolutely no harm unless we allow them to do so through us and through our ignorance. Through obedience and through faith we live victorious lives. We call good things into existence and we destroy bad things by the word of our testimony by declaring good things and creating good things in our lives. We fear nothing. We know that our battle is not against evil forces directly but against evil forces destroying our faith through temptations and lies. We know it is a battle of faith. We abstain from sin and we do not believe the lies of the enemy. We give evil no foothold in our lives.
We resist evil by not giving in to temptation and lies. We know that evil can only attack one front; through lies and deceit. Evil cannot change our circumstances. Evil cannot damage our belongings. Evil cannot damage or injure our bodies. Evil cannot kill us. Evil cannot take away anything from us. Yes, evil cannot even steal from us. Evil cannot curse us because nothing can be cursed that was blessed by God. Evil forces are absolutely defenseless and powerless against the true warriors. There is absolutely no way that they can penetrate that armored shields of protection or the hedge that surround these warriors every second of their lives.
We read about is in Job 1:10-11
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Notice that the devil did not ask God to allow him to touch Job and his belongings. He said “you” touch him and his belongings and he will curse you. The devil just could not penetrate this hedge that God put around Job. He tried from every side. He could do Job no harm at all. He was absolutely helpless, powerless and hopeless against this man of God. Satan asked God to touch all that Job had. He could not do it himself. As you can see in the above Scripture that Job was blessed and that he enjoyed divine protection, divine provision, and divine maintenance. And let me tell you right now, Job did not break any curses and he did not engage in spiritual warfare. In fact, nowhere in the Bible do we see anybody getting involved in spiritual warfare according to the ways that the church has been taught. Why not? People like Job rested in God through obedience and faith.
When there are chaos and havoc and lack in a man of God’s life, only one person is to blame; not God, not satan, not circumstances, not your wife, not your husband, not your friends, not your boss at work but only yourself. Evil just cannot cause you any harm whatsoever himself or through anybody except yourself. They cannot break your vacuum cleaner. They cannot break your car. They cannot make you sick. They cannot cause an accident in your life. They cannot steal from you. They cannot take your job from you. They cannot do anything at all. You are protected like Job was. There is a hedge of divine protection around you and your house and your belongings. This hedge is kept in place by God and is absolutely impenetrable.
You just need to stay in faith, trust in God and stand on the word of God. It is a battle of faith and obedience. And the next two Scriptures reveal the significance of this.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
1 John 3:22
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
So as you can see, these Scriptures are all about faith and obedience. The problem is that people do not have faith and they are not obedient to God and his word. This is why they experience all sorts of problems in their lives. You can see it in the way they live. They trust in many things. They have alarm systems installed in their houses. They take out insurance on their belongings. They take out medical insurance. They trust in gates and electric fences and walls. They loan money from banks and other people. They are stingy. They go to church but they get involved in all sorts of sinful acts. They get sexually involved with people outside of marriage. Their lives sometimes do not differ much from unsaved people. No wonder things fall apart in their lives. No wonder their lives are falling apart.
This is when they start accusing the devil of all sorts of attacks on their lives and when they start breaking curses and engaging in spiritual warfare and fighting demons and water spirits and so forth. Needless to say that these actions are a worthless waste of time and it does not bring any change. They are not addressing the real problem and that is why things do not change. We need to find the truth and we need to be obedient to God. That is the bottom line. Faith, faithfulness and obedience change everything.
Did the disciples ever take part in Jewish holidays and festivals after the resurrection? Did they ever blow shofars and carry flags and banners around? Did they ever wear Jewish prayer shawls when they prayed or interceded for other people? Did they ever take part in Christmas? Did they take part in the Passover after the resurrection? The answer to all these questions is “no”. They did not, nor did they instruct us to do so. In fact, the Christian faith is the only faith that has no holy days, no holy places, no holy buildings, and no holy rituals. By doing these things, you open the door of legalism in your life. You open the door of own works in your life. You gradually replace Jesus Christ with legalism. You become disobedient.
People do all these things and they are under the false impression that it is Christian whilst it is, in fact, Jewish and even Pagan and wrong. They do it because the church teaches them to do these things. No, it is not God’s festivals. It was festivals God gave the Jewish nation to keep. It is not our sabbath. It was the Jewish sabbath. Not anymore though because Judaism became obsolete when it was replaced by Christianity. Today Judaism is nothing but a false religion just like Islam. In fact, Paul warned the church about the danger of Christianizing Judaism.
The same can be said for incorporating all sorts of pagan festivals and uses. Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with Christ or the church. It is a pagan festival. Christ must not be put back into Christmas. He was never in Christmas. There is absolutely no instruction in Scriptures that we as Christians should do all these things. The church moved away from the teachings of Christ and the teachings of the apostles. They ran after false teachings and false doctrines. Paul warned the church about the false prophets that will come to cause division, apostasy, and doctrines of devils to be embraced in the body of Christ.
Well, these things have consequences. Do not believe the lie that these things are OK or innocent. It is not OK and it definitely has devastating effects on our lives.
Whilst the so-called spiritual warfare warriors are fighting evil spirits they fail to take up their inheritance. They fail to find rest in the love of Christ. They fail to put their attention on the important things. They fail to focus on their calling and their real purpose in Christ. They are kept busy fighting one group of evil spirits whilst another group is burning down the city. They are occupied by evil whilst they were supposed to be occupied by Christ.
They experience false anointings, false emotions, and false victories. Many people mistake their emotions with the anointing of the Spirit of God daily. So many times, when a so-called “spiritual warfare warrior” makes his decrees and breaks the power of evil, people are emotionally lifted. At that moment they feel as strong as an angel. They feel how the enemy is defeated and they rejoice in it. Not even aware of the fact that they misinterpreted emotions for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes they do experience the true and authentic anointing of God and then they make the mistake by assuming that the anointing is the approval of God. I have seen many times that God does work when people act in faith even if it is not the way He wants them to act. He is God and He does come to our rescue even if we are not acting as we should. He is a God of grace and He will help us in times of trouble and in times of need even when the methods we use are wrong. This does not mean that He is happy with us and that He approves of what we are doing.
This is a very important principle in the church that every Christian should know and understand: Never assume that the anointing is a sign of God’s approval. The anointing is a sign that God is at work or present. Also, never assume that when a man of God has an anointing on his life or anointed to minister unto people that his doctrines and teachings are sound and beyond reproach. The anointing only proves that God is working through such a person. The anointing can never support doctrines. Our emotions cannot support doctrines. Personal observations cannot support doctrines. There is absolutely one thing only that can support doctrines and that is the word of God. If you ignore this principle the enemy will use your emotions and your personal observations and even the anointing of the Holy Spirit to deceive you. You must ignore your emotions and you must ignore your personal observations. Both cannot be trusted at all. You must even ignore true anointing in this sense. Only the word of God can be trusted when it comes to supporting doctrines and teachings.
I hope that this series helped you to make the right decision when it comes to generational curses and spiritual warfare. In the next session, we are starting a new series that is closely related to this series. It will be all about the reasons why we get sick and why we experience calamities in our lives. We will discuss in detail how we can successfully prevent sicknesses and diseases and calamities in our lives. I think we should call this series, How to Live successfully and victoriously in Christ.
What I mean by this is that all people can live a prosperous, healthy and victorious life in the kingdom of God, right now. We can turn everything around. We can get rid of every sickness and disease in our bodies. We can experience complete healing. We can prevent sicknesses and diseases from taking hold in our bodies 100% successfully. We can experience divine protection and provision right now. It is all guaranteed for everyone and everybody, right now, in the kingdom of God. There are no exceptions. And this is what our next series is all about.
This is all for today. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
