Spiritual Warfare and The Authority of Jesus

Summary

In this episode of the Breakthrough Church Podcast, the speaker delves into the topic of spiritual warfare, emphasizing the reality of the enemy and the authority believers have in Christ to confront and deal with demonic influences. The conversation explores Jesus' expectations for His followers regarding deliverance, the nature of lies propagated by the enemy, and the importance of recognizing spiritual resistance in daily life. The speaker encourages listeners to embrace their empowerment through Christ to combat spiritual warfare effectively and to maintain a focus on Jesus amidst the battle.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Spiritual Warfare
01:11 Understanding Jesus' Authority Over Demons
10:20 The Nature of Lies and Deception
15:22 Recognizing Spiritual Resistance
20:59 Empowerment and Authority in Christ
22:04 Higher To The Sky (Instrumental).mp3

Creators and Guests

Host

Josh Brake

Lead Pastor at Breakthrough Church

What is Breakthrough Church Podcast?

Josh and his family are planting Breakthrough Church in Richardson, TX. Their prayer is that Jesus would use them to advance His Kingdom and to see many receive healing and deliverance in His name. Josh is married to Abby and has three kids, two boys and one girl.

Breakthrough Church (00:01.166)
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Breakthrough Church Podcast. Excited to be with you again. Man, I, sharing the testimonies I shared last week in the episode, I just felt so much life in just sharing the testimony. And I don't have as many testimonies today. I wanna talk about something a little different that is in real time, in real time, something I'm going through.

And it's spiritual warfare. Now, I'm not going to like teach on it. I'm sure there's a lot of really good teachings out there. But I just I want to just name some things and walk through some things that I think will help help us raise our awareness. Of the reality that there is an enemy who is actively working to destroy us. This last week.

Breakthrough Church (01:01.13)
I was teaching on Mark 9 and in Mark 9 Jesus transfigures on the mountain before Peter, James and John. It's this amazing encounter. Everybody or Peter is like, hey, this is good. We should stay here. Let me build some tabernacles. Y'all can hang out. And it's this amazing moment and they come down the mountain and there's a man who has brought his demonized son. So a son who's

possessed by demon, brought him to the disciples and the disciples could not, could not cast him out. And Jesus rebukes his disciples for their inability to cast the demon out of this person. Okay, what does that tell us? He says, faithless generation, how long must I be with you? How long must I bear with you? Jesus is very upset that his disciples could not deal with this demon and drive it out.

That tells us Jesus' expectation for all of his followers, not just the 12 disciples, but for all of his followers, you and I, the average everyday Joe who's trying to follow Jesus, he expects us to be able to deal with demons. Deliverance ministry isn't a specialty just reserved for ministry leaders and staff or elders. Deliverance is for all people because deliverance is one of the primary marks or

what I'll say, arenas the gospel speaks to. Let me tell you why. When Jesus came on the scene, he said, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was the gospel message according to Jesus. And to keep it short, what he meant by that is that the future rule and reign and authority of God is invading the present.

evil age marked by the rule and reign and authority of Satan. So when Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand, I'm already feeling my heart come alive right now guys.

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Jesus saying the kingdom of God is at hand is a declaration of war against Satan and his demons

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It's not primarily, I've come to plant my flag in the sand and tell everybody that I love them and come to me. That is a part of it. I think primarily when you look at the message of the gospel, of the kingdom, Jesus is making war on Satan in a way that has not happened yet. Now, Satan, his demons, I've talked about this before. Let me briefly tell you.

where they came from. Genesis 6, don't go there, you don't have to turn there, I'm just gonna briefly tell you. Genesis chapter 6, if you remember, says that the sons of God saw that the women of men were attractive and they came down and they mated with them. They had sex with them and formed this line or race called the Nephilim. So in other words, angels left heaven to have sex with women.

because they were attracted to them. They had lustful desire and they acted on them, came down and took them captive and had sex with them and had babies that were half angel or demon and half man called the Nephilim. So they were giants. They were these well-renowned like, whoa, kind of powerful men on the planet, but they were demi gods. They were like half angel, fallen angel and half mankind.

the book of 1st Enoch, which is not Bible, but all the biblical writers in the New Testament would have known it and they referred to it. They actually quoted it. Jesus himself quoted it. So it was definitely authoritative in their thought process and how things went down in terms of demonology. And what that text says in very short, this is very short. Okay, so don't, you should go read it. It's actually a quick read. Basically, there was a ring of angels that said, hey, we should go to heaven.

I mean, we should go to earth, look at those women, they're attractive. Let's go, let's have sex with them. Let's have babies with them. And let's teach mankind all of these things like astrology and witchcraft. And let's go teach them all of these things about how to access the spiritual realm in ways that were not conducive to a relationship with God and out of bounds for what God had for mankind. So they came, they made a pact. said, we're going to suffer consequences together. Let's go. There's a ring leader is about, forget the number, maybe 20 of them that were like leading this charge.

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and they all came down and they had sex with women and taught mankind all these horrible, evil, demonic things which give birth to the occult and witchcraft and all these things. Okay, that's crazy, right? But this is what the Jewish tradition, they knew that this was how things kind of came down. And Jesus referred to it. He knows that's where it's coming from. So when Jesus says, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand, what he's saying is I've come to deal with those demons now. Because in the flood, the Nephilim,

and the flesh would have died, but the demon or the spirit, the unclean, unholy spirit that had been animating this body still lived and it roamed about the earth and would eventually possess bodies. They still have those fleshly, lustful desires, but they can't fulfill them unless they take a body on. So they seek to take on a body to destroy the body in the process of seeking their own desires would destroy the host, the body.

So the enemy destroys wherever he goes in an effort to fulfill these lustful desires and these evil desires that they have. This was the beginning of the process of demons taking over the planet. So they're very real. And the spiritual warfare we're in is very real because there's these unclean spirits that are influencing things we can't see all the time. I'm not saying everybody is just

should watch out lest they get demonized, although I do think that's something we should be aware of. This is why we should live holy and upright lives, because sin opens the door, specifically habitual sin opens the door for the demon to come in and to make a home in you, basically. I'm throwing a lot at you, and I don't mean to. You can look into this, and maybe I'll go into some of this more later, but when Jesus comes and says, repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he's saying, hey, it's time to turn back, it's time to turn to me.

I'm the true king and I'm exercising the authority of God here on the planet and the authority of Satan and his demons, they don't have a say anymore and I've come to kick them out. I've come to declare war on them. And so, in Mark, he preaches this gospel and then he tells a few of his disciples to follow him. He goes into a synagogue and the first thing that happens is a demon manifests as Jesus is teaching in the synagogue. And the demon says, we know who you are, Holy One of God, which was the title for the coming Messiah in 1 Enoch.

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So the demons know, shoot, it's time. The Holy One has come. We thought he was not coming yet, but he's here. And Jesus decisively and effectively and quickly tells the demon to shut up and to leave and it does. And this marked Jesus' ministry. Jesus saying the kingdom of God is at hand is a war declaration, a declaration of war on Satan and his demons and unclean spirits. And ultimately,

breaks the power of Satan by going to the grave and God raising him from the dead, loosing the chains and the power of death so that life might reign through righteousness rather than death reigning through sin. This is why Jesus going to the cross is the ultimate display of the kingdom because it was the breaking of the ultimate enemy against God and his people, which was death. Now Jesus, holding the keys to death and to Hades, gives us the keys. What are keys? Keys say access.

He says authority. Keys give you, grant you authority to walk in and out of the house or the gate. So if you have keys, you have authority. Jesus has the keys. He gives the keys to his people and says, you have authority now to exercise the rule and reign of God over the earth, over the demonic principalities and unclean spirits that roam and reign in the earth. And so Jesus expects his people to take the job he started.

to kick Satan out of the territories and the spaces that he's been ruling over, to kick him out and reclaim that territory in Jesus' name. This is powerful stuff, and it's not just reserved for me as a pastor. This is something we all should be able to do. We all should be able to deal with demons. Now, if I asked you, do you feel like you are equipped to deal with a demon right now? My guess, based on my experience, is most of you would say no.

The way the enemy works is primarily through lies. Let's talk about this.

Breakthrough Church (10:18.722)
The enemy, Jesus calls Satan the father of lies. He says it in John, I believe it's seven. Fact check me on that. I could be wrong. Probably am wrong. Jesus calls the enemy, Satan, the father of lies. He is a liar. And so what he does is he lies. Think about Genesis three. What did he do to Adam and Eve? He lied to them about who God is first.

which led them to act in a way inconsistent with God's will. Because if you don't trust God's character, you won't follow God's will. Because if God isn't as good as he says he is, and I start doubting his goodness, then I doubt that his will will lead me into goodness and fullness of life. So what the enemy does, ultimately, is lie to you about the goodness of God. When we begin to believe a lie that God's not that good,

I will begin to live outside of God's will, which leads to chaos and death. This is Bible. when, let's make it really practical. When I wake up and I have the thought, I really should, I really need to read my Bible so that I can enter into God's presence. That sounds right to some of us. That sounds, yeah, you should read your Bible and pray.

and in doing so will enter God's presence. What's wrong about it is that God, through Jesus, has already made a way to live in his presence. Now the Holy Spirit dwells in me. And so when I wake up in the morning, I should come into agreement with what's already been done on the cross by Jesus to usher me into the presence of God, rather than thinking I gotta do X, Y, and Z to enter the presence of God.

Instead of what do I have to do to get into God's presence, I should meditate on what Jesus has done to get me into God's presence. And in doing so and thanking Jesus for what he's done to get me into God's presence, I become aware of God's presence because he's always there already. So it's so subtle what the enemy will do. He will lie to you. That thought about, that person is out to get you or God doesn't really, he doesn't really want you to succeed. He doesn't really want you to have all that he wants you to have.

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We begin to limit God's goodness and when we act out of that, that's when chaos ensues and ultimately leads us towards death. This is what the enemy does, he lies. When we begin to believe the lie, he begins to have a greater hold on us and the enemy wants to control you. God does not want to control you. The enemy wants to control you. He will lie to you saying that it's freedom, but when you step into the thing the enemy's put in front of you.

What you find yourself in is slavery and bondage, not freedom. Satan says, I promise you freedom, but he always delivers slavery. God says, promise you freedom, and he truly gives it to us through Jesus. But what's required is a death to self, which feels like we're going into slavery, but we're actually going into true life, which is why Jesus says, if you want true life, you must give it up for my sake in the gospels. Then you'll have life. Okay, the enemy lies.

What he lies about at its core is the goodness of God that God's holding out on you. He's holding back from blessing you. And when we believe that, chaos ensues, the enemy gets more control over us. Here's a hint for you to know, how much does the enemy have a hold of me? What do you sense in your life you don't have control over? Is there something in your life you just don't have control over? It could be eating habits. Do you not have control over your ability to eat or to say no to foods?

Do you have very little control over your sexual appetite and your sexual drive? Whether you're married or not married doesn't matter. There are ways to go out of bounds sexually. Do you not have control over that? That's a sign that the enemy has a foothold. Okay? Are there thought processes that you find yourself going through often that you know aren't good, they're destroying you, but you can't help but think that way?

That's a sign the enemy has a foothold.

Breakthrough Church (14:42.37)
This is no reason to freak out. This is just to be aware of this. Because the enemy is going to lie to you about the goodness of God. And when you say yes and you agree with the lie, you're giving the enemy power over your life and you lose self-control. God is in the business of giving back self-control. He wants you to be in total control of your decisions, of your thoughts, and even your emotions. He wants you to have control over these things. Not because you're king, but because He's king. And when we submit to His authority over our lives,

He restores what was lost in the garden, which is freedom to choose love of God and love of people. let me get practical, because I've really felt just a push back in my spirit over the last couple of days. And I don't want to go into all of it, but I've really felt a resistance in my spirit to the things of God, to...

Even my family and leading them well, I've just felt a resistance. And in Western rational thought in America, we think, you just need a day off, go golfing or just, you know, just rest, whatever, or just, you know, some people might be, just suck it up and just get over it, you're fine. But with a biblical perspective, if I begin to feel a resistance to something that is so clearly God's will, like reading scripture and praying and loving my wife and my family well with a joyful heart and

and actively seeking to make relationships with people who don't know Jesus. Those are obviously things God wants me to do. When I feel a resistance to those God given things, I should immediately put on my spiritual lens, which we should always have. We shouldn't have to put it on and take it off. But I should come into an awareness that there's spiritual warfare at play.

And if I realize that, then I know I'm not a victim here. I don't get to just let the enemy kick me around, that I've been empowered to fight back with the authority of Jesus by pleading the blood, preaching the gospel, and living by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. This is so beautiful why Paul gave us in Ephesians 6 the armor of God, helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth.

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the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit. I have all of those and it's not something I put on every morning. I should always have these on. Because if I'm in a battle and I don't know it, I'm going to get kicked around. But if I'm in a battle and I know it, I'm ready to fight. And we've been given things to fight with. The word of God, hide it in your heart. Speak it out loud over your family. Plead the blood of Jesus and preach the gospel to the principalities and spirits. Take authority over the spaces and places.

in your house, your rooms, your pillows, your people. This is what spiritual warfare looks like. And I think it starts with us seeing through the lens of spiritual warfare that there are unclean spirits, Satan himself and all of his minions that are actively at work trying to destroy us by teaching us lies about God's goodness and that we must look outside of our relationship with God to find everything our heart longs for. That's a lie from the enemy and it will destroy you. And it's so prevalent in our culture.

Just seek whatever's in your heart, follow your heart, follow your dreams, do whatever's in you, follow that, or even just your identity is found within yourself. All of these are lies attempting to get you and me to look for what God provides outside of God. And when we do that, there's only death in our wake. This is how the enemy works, and I want you to be aware of it.

What area of your life you feel like you're out of control in, that's an indicator that maybe the enemy has a hold on you there. And if that's the case, repent. This is the weapon we have to fight. Yes, we have the armor of God, which is mainly defensive. We have the sword of the spirit, which is offensive, okay? On the offense. And in the word, to enter the kingdom of God and to submit to the authority of King Jesus in every area of our lives,

He's given us the gift of repentance, which is turn. If you have that way of thinking, confess it to God, confess it to a friend, tell them and commit in your heart, say, Jesus, I want to turn from this. And then turn and commit your heart to studying God's word, to following him in that area of your life. That will result in great amount of freedom. So if you find that there's something in your life you're out of control in, get God's mind about it and begin to

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think in a way that's consistent with how God would think about that thing. So confess it and repent and turn. And I could talk about this more. But you're also probably going to come across someone in your life who's out of control in some area. And if that's true, your job as a minister of the kingdom and as a friend of that person or a family member of that person is first and foremost, pray for them. Pray for them. Intercede.

Go to battle for them in your prayer closet. Get after it. And then number two, pray with them. Lean in when the time is right, offer to actually pray. And when you pray, don't pray some wimpy prayer like, God, would you help them? God, would you deliver them? No, get after it and command anything that's not of God to go. Take authority. You have authority. This is not presumption.

This is dependence on the spirit and walking in what God's already given us because of Jesus's death on the cross, which is authority over unclean spirits and any work of the enemy. Take authority, get after it. If I'm going through something, I don't want someone to come and pray wimpy prayers. I want them to come over to me and command whatever it is to leave and to lift off. Okay, I feel like on some level I just opened a bunch of can of worms, but I hope there's some a little bit of clarity. Number one, the enemy is real.

And he's always at work trying to get you to believe lies about the goodness of God. Number two, you have been called by Jesus to be a minister of the kingdom and to deal with demons in your own life and in the lives of those God has given you to love your family, your friends, your neighbors, those that God has placed in your life and has given you a commission to love them. Part of loving them is being aware of the enemy's work in their lives and being able to partner with God to get it out. Praise God for this, the authority we have in Jesus. So.

Be encouraged, be empowered, do not be afraid. The enemy has been judged and will eventually be conquered forever and finally. In the process, we get to usher in the kingdom of God. Be sober minded, know the enemies at work, and never lose sight of that. But we should not be so focused on the enemy, we actually lose sight of Jesus. So let's keep our minds and hearts on Jesus, the King, the one with authority, the one who loves us, who conquered death.

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And as we do that, enemy will flee. He has to, in Jesus' name. Love you guys. Have a great week.