1. “Spiritual Warfare #3” 11/15/2009 Dane Boyles

2. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
“How can one close one’s eyes at the fact that the demons themselves have taken over the rule of the world, that it is the powers of darkness who have here made an awful conspiracy.” -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1932

3. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
In the Word of God we find for ancient insights into the workings of the principalities and powers of evil.
The writers of the New Testament tell us:

4. “Spiritual Warfare #3” The Powers Are Legion.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. (Rev. 13:2)

5. “Spiritual Warfare #3” The Powers Are also Material and Physical.
8 …Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Pet. 5:8)
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14)

6. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
The powers work in and through concrete, material institutions and systems in the world.

7. Ephesians 6:12
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

8. “Spiritual Warfare #3” The Powers also Impact Human Lives.
The spiritual forces of evil shape the spirit of human beings.
The level of your spirit is the essence of who you are.

9. “Spiritual Warfare #3” Your spirit succumbs to the will of the devil.
In subtle ways, the powers kill our moral conscience.
That’s why we’re dealing with power in its spiritual dimensions.

10. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
Ask yourself why so many demons showed up when Jesus came to the earth.
The demon shouted “Ha” (Luke 4:34).

11. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
So since the demons cannot conquer Jesus, they come after his creation.
They turn people into mere “tools” for their purposes.
That’s why men seek power.

12. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
The people who are unwilling to resist these things, show they are controlled by them.
This shows us that we live in a system in which we are trained to behave and think like things and to relate to each other as things.

13. “Spiritual Warfare #3” The Powers Are Created by God.
Colossians 1:15-17 is the primary statement of the origin of the powers in God’s creative purposes.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Col. 1:15)

14. Colossians 1:16-17
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

15. “Spiritual Warfare #3” We learn three things here:
The powers are creatures of God.
The powers are a part of God’s good creation.

16. “Spiritual Warfare #3” Satan Really Wants Your Mind.
Five functions of the mind:
The Heart Is Changed by the Mind.
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. (Matt. 15:16)

17. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?” (Matt. 15:17)
9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? (Matt. 16:9)

18. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matt. 16:11)
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? (Mark 4:13)

19. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
Jesus was challenging the disciples’ belief systems.
2. The Mind Perceives Truth and the Will of God.
3. Your Belief System Determines Direction, Actions, and Responses.
4. A Corrupted Mind Will Block Your Usefulness to God in the Kingdom.

20. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Cor. 11:3)

21. “Spiritual Warfare #3”
5. The Mind Is the Battlefield for Bondage or Freedom.
32 You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

22. “Spiritual Warfare #3” 11/15/2009 Dr. Dane Boyles