Evangelism Part 17: Proclaiming with Power Part 2 – Spiritual Warfare
Matthew 10:8 October 8, 2023
Recap
Matthew 10:5-8 “5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among
the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received
without paying; give without pay.”
Heal, Raise, Cleanse…Cast Out
Reminder
o Jesus does all four of these things in Matt. 8-9 right before he commands his
disciples to do them.
o Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons – All four
commands are in present imperative calling for continual reliance upon the Holy
Spirit to obey and for this to be the lifestyle of followers of Jesus
“Cast Out” (Gk. ekballō) to eject, to drive away, or expel with force/violence
Reality of Demonic Activity
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall in our thinking
about devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe in their
existence but to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” -C.S. Lewis, The
Screwtape Letters
Jesus encountered demons throughout his ministry.
o See gospels e.g.
Matthew 4:1-11 (temptation of Christ), 8:16 (general), 8:28-34 (demoniac
– 2 people), 9:32-33 (mute spirit cast out), 12:22 (blind and mute demon),
12:43-45 (teaching on demonic activity), 15:21-28 (gentile’s daughter)
17:14-21 (child the disciples could not help)
Mark 1:21-27 (unclean spirit recognizing Christ), 1:32-34, 39 (general), 5:1-
20 (demoniac), 7:24-30 (gentile’s daughter), 9:14-29 (disciples needed faith,
through prayer and fasting), 16:9 (Mary Magdelene)
Luke 4:1-15 (temptation of Christ), 4:35-47, 41 (unclean spirits recognizing
Christ), 8:2 (Mary Magdelene), 8:26-39 (demoniac), 9:37-43 (boy disciples
couldn’t help for lack of faith), 11:14-23 (mute demon), 11:24-26 (teaching
on demonic activity), Luke 13:10-17 (disabling spirit on sabbath)
John 13:27 (Judas demonized)
Disciples did as well
o Luke 10:17-20 (demons subject to the disciples), Acts 5:16 (general healing of
unclean spirits), Acts 8:7 (Philip w/ Samaritans), Acts 16:16-18 (spirit of divination
in Philippi), Acts 19:12 (general in Ephesus),
Satan has real power
o Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-11), Bar-Jesus the magician of Cyprus (Acts 13:6-12),
Seven sons of Sceva in Ephesus (Acts 19:13-17), 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (man of
lawlessness)
Teaching on Spiritual Warfare in NT
o Ephesians 6:10-18 (armor of God), James 4:7 (resist the devil), 1 Peter 5:8-9
(resist the devil), 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (satan and servants disguising
themselves), 1 Timothy 4:1 (deception of demons and evil spirits), Romans 8:15
and 2 Timothy 1:7 (spirit of slavery/fear), multiple references to principalities and
powers throughout Paul’s epistles (see e.g. Galatians 4:3, 9, Ephesians 2:2, 6:12,
Colossians 1:16), Revelation’s depiction of massive spiritual events in the end
times
High Places throughout OT (see e.g. Amos 4:13, Micah 1:3, 1 Kings 3:2-3, 12:31, 1
Samuel 9:12, Isaiah 16:12, Leviticus 26:30, Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 12:2, and
many more)
Understanding Demonic Activity
Not going to get into the weeds here – different theologians classify things different
ways.
o OT (Hebrew) = heart, soul, strength (see Deuteronomy 6:5)
o NT (Greek) = heart, soul, mind, and strength (see Mark 13:30)
Inner man and outer man
o 2 Corinthians 4:16 “16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting
away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” (see also Ephesians 3:16)
o Inner man is place where the spirit dwells
If saved, Holy Spirit indwells, seals us, and is our spiritual guarantee of
sonship to the Father 1 Corinthains 1:21- 22 “21 And it is God who
establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also
put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (see
also Ephesians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:5, Romans 8:9)
o Outer man is open to attack and oppression from the forces of the enemy
Ephesians 4:26-27 “26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down
on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.”
“opportunity” (Gk. topos) inhabitable place, foothold, right to act
Possession vs Oppression
o Possession = control of inner man by enemy (only a non-believer)
o Oppression = enemy has been given opportunity to gain a foothold or right to act
in the outer man (Christ followers and non-followers alike)
How does this happen?
Believing a lie/listening to temptation (from world, enemy, or the
urges of our flesh)
o -> resultant sinful action/thought/behavior/attitude/etc.
-> if not confessed and repented of will become habitual
foothold
Generational sin -> the way we are raised reinforces lies/sin
behaviors/thought patterns that give foothold and right to act to the
enemy
What do we do?
o See sermon on Authority
As children of God, we have been given the authority of Christ to deal with
the demonic activity all around us and we have been indwelt and
empowered by Holy Spirit to remove the opportunity/foothold/legal right
of the enemy to oppress our outer man as well as those whom we come
across
Need to act in the authority of Christ, speak truth (to ourselves or others),
confess, repent, and return to the Lord in worship
Spiritual Warfare primarily = truth encounter
o The weapon of our warfare is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God
(see Ephesians 6:17)
Lies = bondage and oppression by the enemy
John 8:31-32 “31…If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Neil Anderson, Bondage Breaker “Freedom from spiritual conflicts and
bondage is … a truth encounter. Satan is a deceiver, and he will work
undercover at all costs. But the truth of God’s Word exposes him and his
lie. His demons are like cockroaches that scurry for the shadows when the
light comes on. Satan’s power is in the lie, and when his lie is exposed by
the truth, his plans are foiled.”
o On rare occasion, as lies are revealed in a non-believer (or the Lord brings a
situation across your path) spiritual warfare may turn into a power encounter
with a possessing spirit like we read in scripture.
Power encounter = manifestation of a demonic presence in a non-believer
10 Practical Considerations of Dealing with a Demonized Person
1) Speak the truth of the word of God as much as possible.
o See Jesus quoting scripture throughout his ministry, including to satan in
Matthew 4)
o Remember spiritual warfare is primarily a truth encounter.
We must study, learn, and dive deeper into the Word of God to know and
submit to truth and expose lies that we ourselves may be believing
Grow in community where our brothers and sisters who can lovingly point
out lies we may be believing.
o Winsomely and wisely speak truth to those around us when we hear lies coming
out of their hearts.
o James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
Resistance to the devil is meeting lies with truth, not just standing there
and taking the lies and attacks passively; it’s pushing back with the Word of
God and casting the lies, and temptations that feed on lies, away.
Just as Yahweh cast satan out of heaven when he believed a lie and
rebelled against God (see Revelation 12:9) and will ultimately do at
the final judgment (see Revelation 20:10) so too must we make satan
flee when we resist his lies with truth.
2) Know the authority we have through Christ to act in the face of oppression.
o Only in the authority of Jesus and the power of Holy Spirit may we overcome the
enemy. His truth, His authority, His power. (our faithful, humble, obedience)
3) When we identify demonic oppression, pray and speak into the spiritual forces by
name.
o Jesus prayed against mute spirits, deaf and dumb spirits, disabling spirits
o We contend against spirits of fear, anger, lust, pride, and every other type of sin
o We may encounter spirits of divination or other representations of power
o When we identify the unclean spirit in operation, take authority over it by name
and command it out
Luke 8:30-31 “30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said,
“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not
to command them to depart into the abyss.”
4) When encountering demonic oppression and torment, turn to worship of the One
True King.
o See David soothing Saul with worship in 1 Samuel 16:14-23
5) If you have the occasion to experience a power encounter:
o A) know that the first thing the enemy will do will seek to frighten, confuse, and
intimidate you
o B) remain calm and remember that the enemy has no power over you and cannot
harm you so long as you are walking by the Spirit of the Lord
o C) NEVER go looking for the enemy, otherwise you are almost certainly operating
in your own strength and understanding and NOT following the leading of the
Spirit and are setting yourself up for trouble.
Acts 19:13-16 “13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to
invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I
adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish
high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered
them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the
man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and
overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and
wounded.”
6) What is cast out needs to be replaced by Holy Spirit or things will only get worse.
o Matthew 12:43-45 “43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it
passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I
will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house
empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other
spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of
that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
o If someone is seeking to overcome the lies and demonization of the enemy make
sure they understand that the only permanent solution is for the truth to replace
the lies and for Holy Spirit to replace demonic influence
Galatians 5:16-17 “16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit,
and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to
each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
7) We must continually grow in our walk with God to be effective in spiritual warfare.
o See disciples trying to cast out demons from boy Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-
29, Luke 9:37-43
Disciples lacked faith and spiritual discipline (prayer and fasting) to deal
with that demon.
o Jesus contended against 3 temptations of satan in the wilderness until the enemy
finally fled once Jesus cast it away (see Matthew 4:1-11)
o With demoniac Jesus’s first attempt to remove the demons met resistance until
He learned their name “legion” and then cast them out (see Luke 8:26-39)
Spiritual warfare against deeply ingrained lies, generational sin, and deeply
rooted oppression is often a process.
8) Do not be enticed by knowledge of demons and the occult.
o Knowing how to engage in spiritual warfare is important for every believer; but do
not take an interest in the things of the enemy.
There is a reason why scripture doesn’t talk very much about the specifics
of these things. If we find ourselves in a power encounter, trust in Holy
Spirit to guide you. Otherwise, study the Word of God and know Truth – do
not study occultic garbage that only gives the enemy a chance to lead you
astray.
9) The enemy knows and fears Jesus and will even give him feigned praise
o We must discern through the lies and give no quarter to the enemy
o Acts 16:16-18 “16As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave
girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-
telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the
Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept
doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to
the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it
came out that very hour.”
o Easter testimony (if have time)
10) Give all glory to God in every victory over the enemy and point people to Jesus.
o Do not allow your selfish pride to somehow think that you are anything special
when engaging in spiritual warfare.
o The purpose of spiritual warfare is to grow closer to Jesus in worship and
devotion.
o It is a tremendous tool for evangelism when wielded in the power of the Spirit
and authority of Christ.
o Jude 1:24-25 “24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to
present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the
only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion,
and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”