Spiritual Warfare Quotes

“Demons are subject to believers through the authority of Jesus Christ. Although they have no fear of believers personally, they are terrified of the One who walks with us.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“The person controlled by bitterness and unforgiveness has learned to justify accepting from God what he refuses to give to his neighbors. At some point, fear and unforgiveness both represent lies, insult God, and should not be controlling characteristics of a growing Christian.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“Demons do not respect or fear Christians involved in deliverance ministries. They fear Christ who lives in all true believers, and they respond to the authority He has delegated to His ambassadors. Our authority is higher than their authority because our Master is greater than their master. Christ defeated Satan through His death, burial, and resurrection. Demons understand this, even if they try to play dumb or become belligerent when challenged. The key elements to deliverance are: 1) the volitional decision to consciously surrender every area of our lives to the control of Christ, 2) confession of all known sins, 3) the canceling of all footholds or ground being held against the demonized person, 4) identifying spirits and commanding them to leave, and 5) good follow-up.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“The goal, or at least my goal, is for each person I work with to understand that because of their authority in the Lord Jesus Christ, they no longer need me or anyone else to guide them through this process. The same God who lives in me lives in them, and He is more than willing to protect His children. I have watched passive, fearful, defeated Christians become bold soldiers who learn to quickly resist the devil rather than to entertain his accusations, play his games, or run. It’s a joy to lock arms with brothers and sisters in Christ who realize we are more than conquerors who don’t have to run from a defeated enemy.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“If warfare counseling is consistently a circus it’s because the individual conducting the session either doesn’t know what he is doing or he is allowing the chaos on purpose, possibly in an attempt to make himself look more important to the situation than he really is. He creates a problem so he can appear powerful when resolving the very problem he’s allowed. From my perspective, this is not only an example of immaturity, it’s dishonest. Christian leaders are supposed to help people with their problems, not use those problems to promote their own ministries.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“The Christian controlled by fear might conclude that the less consistently he follows Jesus, the fewer demonic attacks he will have to endure. Once again, the logic works, but the motivation is disgraceful. Ultimately, fear motivates this type of thinking, and fear is a terrible motivator for a person who understands that if God is for you, it doesn’t really matter who is against you (Romans 8:31). Why should a Christian believe a lie that implies Satan has more power to attack than God has power to protect? Don’t get involved in spiritual warfare. If you do, they will get you. Don’t buy the lie. Even if this type of comment is popular and spoken sincerely, fear is still its motivation. We must remember when discussing spiritual warfare that we are on the side that has ultimately won the war, not the side that lost. One result of victory in Christ Jesus over Satan and his demons is that Christians should live life as victors, not victims (Romans 8). Our position right now is that we are seated in heaven with Jesus, far above all rule and authority (Ephesians 2:6). Our master, Jesus, has already defeated Satan (Ephesians 1:18–23; Colossians 2:15; 1 John 3:8). As long as we are identified with Jesus, we do not have to fear a defeated enemy (Luke 10:18–20; Hebrews 2:14; 1 Peter 5:6–9).”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“Unconfessed sin gives demonic spirits a foothold or ground against a believer. Holding ground is a phrase used by demons to explain their ability to exercise limited control over a place, space, territory, or specific area of a Christian’s life. Once a person is willing to confess his sins and ask God to cancel the ground held against him, the battle is relatively simple. The believer has in effect given an eviction notice to an unwanted renter or swatted a bloodsucking leech. God, who is omnipotent, has no problem enforcing the eviction notice for an individual who submits to Him with clean hands and a pure heart.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“Usually the first meeting I have with an individual interested in exploring the possibility of demonization is to determine, to the best of my ability, if he truly is a Christian and to discuss the importance of his will. The person’s relationship with Christ and his will to walk with Him are more important than my participation. I am just a Christian brother who has been through this battle with hundreds of others before him. We share the same authority and position in Christ. I can encourage the individual to stand in Christ and fight, but I cannot stand or fight for him.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“Christians who choose to give footholds to Satan through unconfessed sin, possibly thinking it is just a game, are potentially surrendering areas of their lives to demonic control one room at a time. Jesus’ lordship over every area of our lives is not just a game. Usually the longer an owner allows a bad renter to destroy rooms, the more rooms he will destroy. Failure to confront a problem in our lives is usually an invitation for more problems.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“The paradoxical confusion is not usually over the New Testament writer’s awareness of spiritual warfare, but rather over the relative silence of the Evangelical church in North America about it, despite Scripture’s testimony to its reality. Why are so many Evangelical church leaders so hesitant to talk about this topic publicly? Why so hesitant to train people to distinguish between the various tactics and warfare strategies of the world, the flesh, and the devil? The short answer is fear. We fear the unknown, and we fear potential theological associations with groups or individuals who abuse this subject.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“It’s certainly wise not to play games with demonic spirits or to enter the supernatural realm with a cavalier or self-sufficient attitude. But it’s an insult to God Almighty for His children to allow themselves to be motivated and controlled by fear. Because of Christ, we are supposed to live as courageous victors, not helpless victims.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“I’ve worked with Christians from charismatic, non-charismatic, liturgical, and non-liturgical churches who have all been demonized. Demons are equal opportunity accusers with no regard for or fear of our denominational ties or theological hobbyhorses. They don’t care how proud we may be of our religious heritage or the faith of our fathers. Spiritual warfare is a topic in Christian circles that can easily appear like a swinging pendulum. On one side of the pendulum swing are the groups who refuse to give any credibility to serious discussions regarding satanic/demonic warfare other than hypothetical lip service concerning the most extreme of possible circumstances. There”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“lust of the eyes focuses squarely upon our desire to have beautiful things, which we believe we must have for contentment. By definition, both the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes in the world’s context deal with external solicitations to sin. A billboard displaying a scantily dressed body attempting to sell anything from breakfast cereal to fast cars might represent the lust of the flesh. The same billboard could represent the lust of the eyes with a winning lotto ticket, a dream house, or a rose. The message is clear. You need this. You deserve this. You cannot be content living without this.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“It’s easier to avoid supernatural struggles than to confront them because of the fear of being associated with doctrines outside of our comfort zones.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“If demonic deception increases as we approach the return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His bride, and I believe it will, then it’s past time Christian leaders make an honest attempt to learn how to confront spiritual problems rooted in demonic warfare rather than in mental or physiological maladies.”
― Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance

“Compromise always begins in our mind.”
― Karl Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance