Chapter 16 - Spiritual Warfare
For some poor souls from the moment they wake up until they finally fall asleep late
in the night, they are under crippling anxieties or massive depression that would
force most people to fold in their tents and just die! Why? It is because they have
never learned how to war in the spirit against the principalities, against rulers
of the darkness and against the powers of the air. (Ephesians 6:12) This is not the
fault of the individual that is under attack. It is the fault of the lackadaisical
Christian church who teaches the battle ended at the cross of Calvary and the church
has not given instruction to their congregation to continue through with Jesus’ commandment
known as the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:16-20) In reality the war had just begun
at the cross against the demonic with empowering the Apostles and the professing
Christian with the Holy Spirit! Yes, Jesus paid the price securing our salvation
as Christians. However, we are commissioned to fight the devil to remove his works.
I will include at the end of this chapter intercessory prayers and knowledge of warring
in the spirit with examples to stand against the wiles of the enemy. Prior to the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ there had not been the one-on-one or hand-to-hand combat
known as spiritual warfare available to mankind like it is now. We saw how Elijah
the Prophet ran from Jezebel even though he had favor with God and was successful
in destroying the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel beforehand. (1 Kings 19:1-2)
Even though he did incredible things by God’s power he still did not understand the
true power he had if he had stood his ground which he did not because of fear. (1
Kings 19:3-5) Jezebel unleashed great demonic power with her spoken word curses releasing
fear on Elijah. Others in time completed his task against Jezebel who ultimately
was destroyed in the end. In other biblical accounts God and the Holy Spirit were
active in delivering people by divine intervention through repentance with private
or corporate prayer including sacrifices. Now this power, because of what Jesus accomplished
on the cross of Calvary, is now in the hands of the believer to divinely intercede
for themselves and others. This divine power removes God’s people from curses and
demonic attacks as well as infirmities. This is the difference between the Old Testament
requiring sacrifices and the New Testament no longer requiring sacrifices because
it is finished! Never before has the devil’s army been faced with such an adversary
such as the child of God in any time prior in history. The children of God have been
imparted with the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of every believer who walks in the
spirit obeying the commandments of Christ. Now a human can stand against the wiles
of the enemy and the gates of hell cannot prevail against them when the power of
God is released through intercessory prayer, and just plain old-fashioned warring
in the spirit. (Matthew 16:18) At least for those who stand and fight instead of
others who turn and run at the first sign of opposition against what they have been
wrongly taught leaving them unable to war and defend themselves against Satan and
his demons. Seeing a Christian in fear of the devil is sad and sobering at the same
time. Remember, “We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and love and
of a sound mind!” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Continued in the book “The Second Heaven Invasion”…
