spiritual warfare Archives - Colin Dye

Spiritual Gifts 2: Getting to Know Your Toolkit

Colin Dye — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:00:58 +0000

Spiritual Gifts 2: Getting to Know Your Toolkit

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Video: Pope Francis Performs 'Exorcism' on Wheelchair-Bound Man?

Colin Dye — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:54:47 +0000

Video appears to show Pontiff perform exorcism on wheelchair-bound boy after Sunday Mass. The Pope has been captured on film performing an apparent exorcism. Footage taken in St Peter’s Square purports to show Pope Francis carrying out a ritual to liberate a young man from demons.

The disabled man went into a frenzy of convulsions and shook, then slumped as Francis prayed over him.
The Pontiff was introduced to two men in wheelchairs after Pentecostal mass on Sunday. When a priest leaned across to tell Francis something, the Pope’s expression took on a serious tone.
Francis then took hold of the top of the man’s head firmly, pushing him down into his wheelchair. As he delivered an intense prayer, the man’s mouth dropped open and he heaved deeply half a dozen times, visibly shaking.
After the ritual Francis continued with his usual meetings with the sick who come to St Peter’s.

Vatican TV Shows the Pope ‘Carrying Out Exorcisms

Experts said the footage broadcast on the religious satellite channel TV2000’s programme Vade Retro, shows the Pontiff reciting a prayer to drive evil spirits from the body.
The incident caused a number of media outlets to proclaim that the pope had performed an exorcism against evil spirits, though Fr. Federico Lombardi, the director of the Press Office of the Holy See, clarified in a statement on Tuesday that Pope Francis had “not intended” to perform an exorcism.
“Rather, as he frequently does with the sick and the suffering who come his way, he intended simply pray for a suffering person who had been brought before him,” Lombardi stated.

The Devil is Driven Out

Colin Dye — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:52:00 +0000

At one time, the arch deceiver, Satan held sway over the minds and hearts of the nations. They were blinded from seeing the truth of God and his promise of salvation. But Jesus came to set the captives free.

Satan is also the old serpent, ‘whose sting brought death to the race and still brings death to the individual through ignorance or rejection’

This means that through his death on the cross he will draw all nations to himself. Jesus? death on the cross opened salvation for all nations and set them free from Satan?s reign of ignorance and
oppression. The devil no longer holds that place of domination over the nations of the world. He has been driven out and now all may come and freely receive God?s salvation.
?Lord, you have penetrated my darkness with the light of your revelation. I lift you up on my heart today and allow the drawing power of the Holy Spirit to bring me close to you.?
The devil cannot hold you captive and blind you to the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ any longer. His death on the cross drove the devil out of the place of controlling the minds and hearts of the people of the nations of the world. You are free to receive everything Christ has for you.
Christ was lifted up to die on the cross, so opening up the way for the whole world to receive him. As you lift him up in your heart and before others through your witness and testimony, he promises to draw people to himself. Live the cross, love the cross and never tire of proclaiming the cross in your life as a disciple. That way your life will be attractive to all who hunger for the truth but cannot yet see it for themselves ? and the Holy Spirit will reveal it to them.
Read John 12:27-32

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The Devil is Destroyed

Colin Dye — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:30:03 +0000

The devil is at war with God for the souls of men and women and the whole human race. But God has destroyed his plans once and for all. He sent his Son into the world to be born as human being, meeting the devil on our territory ? human nature.

Now that our sin has been taken away and the fearful judgment of death removed, the devil has lost his grip forever!

This means Jesus was able to confront the devil, and through his death surrender to the Father?s will to die on the cross and defeat Satan forever. Jesus? death destroyed the devil and ?rendered him inoperative.? He no longer has any power over us. Now that our sin has been taken away and the fearful judgment of death removed, the devil has lost his grip forever!
?Thank you, Lord, for overthrowing the devil and destroying his hold on me. You tasted death for me and for every person and have released me from the fear of death and condemnation.?
Jesus became man in order to pitch the battle for humanity on the same ground it was lost ? human nature. His death atoned for our sin and delivered us from the condemnation and eternal death we were due to receive. The devil now is defeated and totally inoperative in this area.
You have been delivered from the fear of death and condemnation. You can now serve God freely from the heart. Neither love nor faith can operate out of fear because perfect love casts out fear and faith works through love. This means you can serve God acceptably and walk in love before him. This is the real motivation of those who are united with Jesus Christ and are following the example he set on this earth. Plant your feet in his footsteps today.
Read Hebrews 2:10-14

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Stronghold of the Mind

Colin Dye — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:09:20 +0000

It is said that truth is the first casualty of war. Nations at war use propaganda as a significant weapon against each other. In spiritual warfare truth plays an even more crucial role. It defines the very nature of the battle.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

The heart of spiritual warfare is the battle for the hearts and minds of people. All demonic strongholds are rooted in deception and can only be overcome by the truth of God?s Word. The arguments Satan uses are often plausible and always appealing to fleshly human thinking. But they go beyond what is rational or appealing because they are charged with demonic power.
We must learn how to launch and effective and long-lasting attack on this power base of the enemy of our souls.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6
The answer to error is truth. Jesus told us that God?s word is truth (John 17:17) and this truth must be effectively proclaimed, genuinely professed and consistently practiced. That?s the only way to pull down strongholds in our own lives, as well as our families, our communities and our nation.
It is time for every Christian to be a disciple of the Word of God. We must make sure we know what we believe and why we believe it if we are going to pull down the strongholds of the mind. God wants us to be equipped with the weapon of truth that has been powerfully revealed in Christ and in Scripture. Getting to grips with God?s Word is an unavoidable must for everyone who wants to stand against the onslaughts of the enemy in our day.
Knowing what God says, however, is not enough. We must understand it, believe it and deeply receive it so that it becomes a profound conviction in our hearts. We must also be able to defend the truth before those who argue with human wisdom. Finally, we must actually do the truth. Putting God?s Word into practice is the very thing that releases Satan?s grip on our lives and that of our society as a whole.

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Preparing Your Mind for Action

Colin Dye — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:35:48 +0000

This quaint, old phrase, ?gird up the loins of your mind? is best understood in modern terms as, ?Prepare your mind for action.? It means getting rid of everything that stops practical action in Christian living. And, interestingly, these obstacles are frequently to do with what is going on in our mind.

Prepare your mind for action

Many thoughts and ideas that we cling to, even as believers, lead us away from God. Christ calls us to let go of the thought patterns that belong to our former times of ignorance when we were without God and to live with a new determination to follow the direction of God.

Key Thought

Sober thinking means your mind is always prepared for action. It is about setting the course of your life according to the compass of God, and letting go of any former ideas concerning your direction in life. You cannot rely on your former sense of direction that was based on ignorance of God.

Prayer

Lord, I determine the course of my life towards you this day. I want to be ready to serve you in my actions and reactions today. Please help me trust in your guidance and grace as I step out in obedience.

Discipleship Steps

Often, wisdom comes from the long view of things. As you set your hope fully on your future in Christ you are aligning yourself with the final outcome of all things. That may seem a long way off and not very practical as a guiding principle for the here and now. But your final destination determines every step of your journey. To follow Christ means day by day determination to focus your mind on the next step towards your ultimate destination ? the revelation of Christ.

Read: 1 Peter 1:13-15

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Strongholds of the Mind and Spiritual Warfare

Colin Dye — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:03:29 +0000

The battle is truly for the mind. The enemy has only three weapons to use against us ?deception, which brings temptation which opens the door to accusation. All of these activities operate from within the mind.

Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons.The strongholds of Satan over your mind are brought down and you become free to follow Christ wholeheartedly.

The devil suggests something to us, and we see it in our mind?s eye. He whispers his thoughts and our imagination protects them onto the screen of our mind. These become powerful arguments within us inciting us to reject the wisdom of God. But equally, if we resist these vain imaginations and hold onto the wisdom of God, every wicked thing is cast down from our minds and we have victory over the devil.

Key Thought

Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. God has given you the full force of his wisdom to cast down arguments and to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. That way the strongholds of Satan over your mind are brought down and you become free to follow Christ wholeheartedly.

Prayer

Lord, I reject every false argument and vain imagination of Satan in my mind. I bring every thought of mine captive to the obedience of Christ, now, in the name of Jesus! Amen.

Discipleship Steps

Dealing with your thought life is a crucial part of following Christ. Ideas have consequences and false notions lead you down wrong, even disastrous, paths. Reject the lies of Satan that come through popular culture, human wisdom and the thoughts that build strongholds in your mind. It is absolutely essential that you spend time each day in the Word and in prayer, tearing down every argument and making every thought captive to Christ.

Read: 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

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Spiritual warfare

Colin Dye — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:00:48 +0000

Spiritual warfare involves the whole of our Christian lives. It includes living a holy life, preaching the gospel and praying. Some leaders reject the view that spiritual warfare brings us into conflict with demonic powers. They say that addressing spirits directly is not a form of prayer and that this is outside the bounds of scriptural teaching.

Prayer is our most powerful weapon against the enemy

However, every form of prayer is an act of spiritual warfare. Whenever we pray and seek God?s will on earth, we find ourselves in opposition to the enemy.
Ephesians 6:10?18 is the foundation passage for spiritual warfare. It describes the Church at war. It is about ?us?, not ?me?, and offers a picture of an army standing and fighting in hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, we should expect to confront spiritual forces and to engage them directly. This is surely what Paul meant by ?wrestling against principalities and powers?.
The image is of a company of soldiers in one-to-one confrontation in prayer against demonic forces. Prayer is the point of this passage. We need to wear the armour of God so that we can be ready to engage the enemy when we pray. 1 John 3:8 shows this is God?s will.

The reality of spiritual warfare

Daniel 10:12?13 contains some unusual glimpses of the operation of the spiritual realm and how it is influenced by our prayers. Daniel, through prayer and fasting, sought understanding concerning a vision. God sent a powerful angel to meet with him and explain the vision, yet this angel met opposition from the ?prince? of Persia. As Daniel continued to pray, the archangel Michael was sent to help and God?s message got through.

The passage shows that:

Demonic beings (here called princes) do exist, and try to oppose the work of God
These demonic princes are associated with
particular territorial and temporal areas
There is a link between heavenly and earthly activity. What happened in the heavens affected the situation on earth, and Daniel ? through his prayers ? affected what was happening in the heavens
By his persistent prayers, Daniel achieved a spiritual breakthrough ? even though he personally saw nothing of the battle.

Although it cannot be denied that Daniel?s praying was spiritual warfare, some leaders use the fact that Daniel did not himself address the demonic powers and principalities to deny the need for conscious, active and aggressive spiritual warfare. They say there is not need for personal, direct confrontation of demonic forces in prayer. ??????????? Those who argue like this point out that, in Zechariah 3:1?5, the angel of the Lord said, ?The Lord rebuke you?, not ?I rebuke you?. It is the same in Jude 9. However, when Jesus was confronted by the devil in Luke 4:1?13 & Matthew 16:22?23 he did not converse and reason with Satan ? he commanded him. And, in Matthew 12:22?29, he taught that spiritual warfare characterised the coming of the kingdom of God. Of course, we will probably never be called to confront Satan himself, personally, as Jesus did. Our struggle is with his representatives: principalities and powers and other demonic forces.
The Daniel and Zechariah passages are before the cross. They did not share our benefits of the victory at Calvary. There, Jesus disarmed every power and principality and was raised far above them in the heavenly places. We have been raised with Christ and carry his delegated power and authority. Ephesians 1:15?2:7 makes this plain.
We do not have power to rebuke spiritual beings. But Jesus does ? and we receive that same authority from him. As his representatives on earth we can say, ?In the name of Jesus, I rebuke you.?
There is a need for balance. Satan may tempt us to ?prove it? and to step out of the will of God to confront the devil?s forces in our own strength. If we ?go it alone? we will quickly discover the reality of warfare which is written about in 1 Peter 5:8.

Effective prayer, a book by Colin Dye. Click here for more info.

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Satan Unmasked:Overcoming the Jezebel spirit at work in your life

Colin Dye — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:20:01 +0000

Satan Unmasked, a book by Colin Dye. Click here to read more on this topic.

Few years ago I had returned from a prolonged time of seeking Jesus. The revelation that He gave me was startling and focused on unmasking Satan. In our lives as Christians it is vital that we learn to overcome. I want to help you to discover how the enemy operates and for us together to unmask him and defeat him.?Living in this kind of victory does not happen simply through deliverance but occurs through deliverance and daily discipline. Many people believe that victory comes to their lives when they receive deliverance ministry – but in reality true victory comes when deliverance is coupled with a new godly, disciplined daily lifestyle. Also as you read this article today do not just receive it as intellectual truth but take it into your spirit and appropriate it. Then act on the truth – live it out!

The Jezebel spirit

So what is the Jezebel spirit? This is the spirit that is named after Queen Jezebel who was the wife of King Ahab who was a king of Israel. This spirit seeks to affect our marriages, family life, self image, relationships, sexuality, ministry and so much more! This spirit is at the root of the demonic kingdom and seeks to destroy all that is of God in the earth. This is a spirit that seeks to dominate everything in our spiritual and national life.

The beginning

The strategy of Satan has always been to take from mankind the authority that God has given to us. This strategy can be seen right from Genesis chapter one where mankind rebels against God and the battle of the sexes commences. God’s intention was for men and women to work together in partnership to subdue the world. But Satan’s distortion brought the temptation for women to manipulate and rule men and for men to dominate women. Men and women have equal status and worth in the eyes of God but they do have different, but complimentary, roles. The role of the man is as the head and that of the women as helper. The man’s role is as the loving leader and the woman’s as a suitable helper. Together men and women can subdue the earth!

Ahab and Jezebel

In 1 Kings 16 we see the supreme example of the Jezebel spirit. This evil queen Jezebel brought great sin into the nation and an incredible conflict occurs with the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel. Jezebel encouraged Baal worship which promoted immorality and perversion. A great victory is won on Carmel and the nations sees the fire of God descend. But even after that amazing victory Jezebel threatens and intimidates Elijah to the extent that he runs for fear of his life. Jezebel then institutes a period of persecution and the prophetic figures in the nation are killed. This is a spirit behind a woman who manifests incredible control, seduction and manipulation and Ahabhas given in to that control. Jezebel operates out of a spirit of witchcraft. Ahab had given up the headship of his home and of the nation. This Jezebel spirit is passed from one generation to another until it is stopped by the power of Christ. Ahaziah became the new king of Israel and indulged in all the sins of his parents.

Jezebel’s defeat

In the book of Revelation chapter 17 the spirit of Babylon or the Jezebel spirit comes into focus once again. Babylon is that great system of the world which is dominated and controlled by Satan. Babylon is everything that the devil has built around himself, it is the system of antichrist. He controls governments, the arts, media, finance, education, science and so much more! In fact he even tries to control the church. But at the same time the city of God, Zion, is rising to defeat Babylon. Babylon will fall. As believers we need, by repentance, to come out of Babylon and to live holy lives.

Freedom from the Jezebel spirit

As the conflict between the Elijah generation and the Jezebel spirit increases we need to know how to confront that spirit. God has given us powerful weapons in order to enforce the victory that he has already accomplished – the name of Jesus, faith, the word of God, praise, binding and loosing, prayer and the blood of Jesus. Incredible weapons by which we can wage warfare.

Living Free

We have been set free so we must live free! It is crucial that we do not yield our lives to sin. If you have sin in your life then repent of it now and shut off those areas of your life from the devil. Sins that might be relevant for you include pride, self-righteousness, abdicating male headship, usurping male headship, greed and adultery. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s light to shine on your life. Do not allow the devil to have access to your life. Today you can start to walk the path of freedom by:

Confessing your sin
?Forsaking your sin – walk towards Jesus and away from your sinful lifestyle
?Forgive all those who have sinned against you
?Ask God for deep cleansing and forgiveness; ask Him to extract the sin out of your personality
?Expel every evil presence in your life
?Praise God
Seek a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit

This new path needs to be your continual path. You can maintain the lifestyle of freedom in Jesus by pursuing God with all of your heart, by filling your life with prayer and intercession, by living in the word and walking before Him in obedience and service. Jesus has set us free so let’s live free!

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