Battle For The Seed and Souls of Men by SHTL Publishing

Battle for the seed and the souls of

men

SATAN, FALLEN ANGELS AND DEMONS AT WORK.

ANDREW MORGRIDGE

ÂŠ 2014 Andrew Morgridge All Rights Reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without the prior written permission of the publishers. Publisher: Sapient Hadassahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Touch Limited 5/7 Alhaja Kofoworola Street, Off Awolowo way, Ikeja. Lagos state. Nigeria +2348067485145, +2348038616924 www.shtlpublishing.com info@shtlpublishing.com hadassahtouch@yahoo.com To contact the author: Call or Text: +2348033628796 Scripture references are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, except otherwise stated. Printed in The Federal Republic of Nigeria

DEDICATION To that special person doing something for God. You are the one subduing the Devil in fulfilment of Genesis 1:28: â&#x20AC;&#x153;And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion (over all His creation. My words)â&#x20AC;?

THANKS Sis. Ann Abraham does my computer works. Without her, the pace of my work will be affected. God bless and reward you, Sister Ann. I appreciate your contributions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication

Thanks

Introduction

1: The origin of iniquity (Sin)

2: In the midst of evil

3: When Satan rages

4: The answer to Satan

Serve is ABAD in Hebrew i.e. To be a vassal or slave – Paul in Eph. 4:1 describes the New Testament slave: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” A prison has

a wall, so Christians must not operate beyond the wall – pages of the Bible. Those who live by the word are the seed. In Exo. 3:12 we see another dimension to the word, “serve”. “And he said, Certainly, I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon

Ye shall serve God on this mountain means to worship. (Strong's Concordance lists labour as meaning of serve, but also adds being a worshipper as a part of the meaning). The Greek for worship is PROSKUNIEO. It appears in the scriptures about 60 times. It means to make obeisance, to do reverence to somebody. More literally, it means to kiss towards or to bow down or to prostrate yourself e.g. Muslims praying. See Lk. 8:41 “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, this mountain.”

and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:”

Mk. 7:25 “For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:” Fell at His feet is the demonstration of worship. Another translation of worship is from the Greek word LATREUO which means service – render religious

service or pay homage. See Acts 24:14; Romans 12:1 It covers GOOD WORKS. Heb. 13:15-16 says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices Doing good - communicate (not in speech, but in good works) are demonstrations of serving. God is well pleased.”

Worship is from the Anglo-Saxon word WORTHSHIP i.e. Expressing God's worth by our thoughts, words and actions, individually and collectively. The seed that served Him and was accounted for a generation is a set of people (special people) who did all the above and witnessed same to others in speech and deed. THAT IS THE SEED THE DEVIL IS SEEKING TO CORRUPT. That's the battle for the seed, which you, the child of God, must learn to win, as you resist his temptations and as you live under the cover of God by applying the scriptures to your daily living. Gen. 14:21 describes the souls of men. The word persons in Hebrew is NEPHESH which means SOUL; Self, life. See Gen. 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Psalm 103:1 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

All that is within me. The inner person is NEPHESH and

the outer person is SHEM. See Ezek. 18:1-4 “The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Man is made up of three separate entities – the body (flesh), the soul and the spirit. The soul is the realm of desire, volition, emotion, etc. that pushes the flesh into sin, while his spirit is dormant or at best, acts as his conscience when he is walking the evil path. When conscience is neglected severally, we say he has a dead conscience. The scriptures use the term, “Conscience seared with hot iron;” another way to say he is dead to conscience, correction or good advice. (1Tim.4:1-2) That is the souls of men in the hands of Satan. He doesn't want to let go of them, because truthfully God gave them to him. As the serpent was cursed in Gen. 3, God told him dust shalt thou eat... Snakes don't eat dust, so God must be talking figuratively. Man is the one that was made from dust, so God was telling him, “IF YOU CAN MAKE ANYONE TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE DICTATES (DESIRES) OF THE FLESH, I DON'T WANT HIM, YOU CAN HAVE (EAT) HIM. This is the PREMISE on which the boldness of the Devil in attacking humanity is based. If we don't know this, we will always be confused,

wondering why God allows the Devil to operate in the world. He is the instrument that God is using to draw men unto Himself: “Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.” (Psa. 90:3) See also Isa. 26:10,16. But not all people will be saved through problems, God expects those who have been delivered from Satan to begin to forcefully take captives from Satan through evangelism and deep intercession. However, the Devil knows the Bible and takes advantage of the ignorance of the knowledge of the Bible and carefree attitude towards sin to weaken Christians and to make their prayers and attacks on him futile (useless). 2Cor. 10:4-6 says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

On this premise, the Devil works assiduously to make sure the Christians’ obedience is not fulfilled, so that the seed of God is powerless and the souls of men are never liberated from his bondage. Details of these are the presentations in this write-up. My prayer is that you that read will know about the Devil and change your attitude towards sin.

THE ORIGIN OF INIQUITY (SIN)

atan was the first sinner, not Adam; he only replicated his sin in the disobedience of Adam and Eve. People have been wondering where the Devil came from, who is he? Somebody asked me one time that if God is truly in control, why should the Devil do whatever he likes? An acquaintance of mine, who I was ministering to about salvation called me a long time ago when the Tsunami happened in Asia. He said, “Andy, stop talking to me about this your God; He's a killer, He has just killed more than Five Hundred thousand people in one day in Indonesia”. I didn't know the number of people that died, he was the one that told me. But that was his understanding of who God is and who Satan is, because if he knew God, he would also know that God does not do anything without leaving a witness. There will be testimonies arising from every bad thing. Watch out for the silver lining in the dark cloud – see the calmness in the eye of the storm, and the ill wind that will do somebody, some good! Later, I saw on a cable T.V., how Christians were driven

Battle for the seed and the souls of men tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”

The king of Tyrus on earth was not a cherub, and had never been to the garden of God, so Ezekiel was talking about Satan, as the following verses prove. When you say anointed, it means he was separated into that office; so, many angels were made, but he was given pre-eminence. When you say "that covereth the throne of God,” it's like he was the Personal Assistant (P.A.) to God; the Bible says that he ran errands for God. That's vs. 28:16-18, “By the multitude of thy merchandise, they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou has sinned; therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy thee, O cornering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.”

Many things you will see there; the first thing is Satan was shining, he was beautiful, he was an instrument of music,

The origin of iniquity (Sin) and no wonder worldly music is killing thousands and millions today. You need to listen to the lyrics of some music, they openly worship Satan. I preached a message some time ago, called 'True Worship', and you would discover that what people call worship today is just music in honour of the devil. Jesus said in John 4:20-24, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The Father is looking for true worshippers. That is the key, because all meanings associated with worship has nothing but respect and the fear of God as the centre – point. That's what makes up the TRUTH AND IN SPIRIT. So you see the devil is an instrument of music, and he is using music to take away people's attention, and that includes Christians. In a book called, “Satan's Music Exposed”, written by a Professor of Music who became a Christian, LOWELL HART, he said at the beginning of the book: “Many years ago, as a then young non-Christian dance band musician, I enjoyed playing in ballrooms and night 21

Battle for the seed and the souls of men clubs. If anyone had suggested to me then that this same music would someday be heard in evangelical churches as the “now” sound. I would have regarded their suggestion as the best joke of the day.” Satan was an instrument of music, and if you don't want to be caught up, watch the kind of music that you listen to. What music does is that it opens up your mind, to receive good or bad waves (feelings). It closes the part of your brain that gives you control over yourself. You will see where there are concerts, you just go there the next day and you will see condoms all over the place, because people had lost their senses through the music that came to them. Move away from music that will not help your life and I know that you will not behave like Satan. From the book, “Every Wind of Doctrine” we pick: “Moreover, the repetitious beat of Rock and Roll produces an ecstatic state akin to trance, actually inducing a light hypnosis which opens the subconscious to the influence or invasion of demonic spirits, as well as causing the breakdown of moral inhibitions. The hypnotic beat, the flashing strobe or psychedelic lights, the erotic songs, and the suggestive gyrations of the performers are designed to arouse the baser sensual appetites and lust. Rock and Roll has contributed to the alarming rise in promiscuity, illegitimate children,

The origin of iniquity (Sin) venereal disease, drug addiction, sexual aberrations, crime, and revolt against authority. CHRISTIAN ROCK First of all, “Christian” Rock has the same suggestive, sensual beat as secular Rock which is always identified with sex. Rock is sex,” one enthusiast described it, for its rhythm and beat appeal directly to the body and the sensual emotions. Christian Rock as in secular. The scriptures warn the Christian, saying, “What communion hath light with darkness?.... Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing”

(2Cor. 6:14, 17). The Christian is

admonished to “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (2Thess. 5:22). The lyrics are often unscriptural or are spiritually shallow as any knowledgeable Christian recognizes. The themes and lyrics are frequently vague and idealistic which speak much of love, kindness, morality, forgiveness, joy and friendship with God, with little emphasis upon man's sinfulness, the need for repentance, the Atonement and blood of Jesus, or Hell and Judgment. The themes are religious, but the lyrics are often not Biblically clear enough to point the sinner directly to Christ and salvation. Moreover, some of the religious Rock records are actually made by performers who are not even Christians. (End quote from Every Wind of Doctrine).

Battle for the seed and the souls of men THE PRE-ADAMIC RACE We are looking at the origin of Satan because people don't understand where he came from and why he's just messing up everywhere. We have identified that he was created and God gave him authority. He was anointed; anointed means to be separated (kept aside) for certain things. And we saw that he was the angel that covered the throne of God, that was like God's P.A., he ran errands on behalf of God, and that's what the Bible called 'multitude of merchandise'. And we also saw that the Bible says he defiled his sanctuaries; a sanctuary is a place where you worship God; his job was to take fellowship, worship and bring them to God. Since animals cannot worship, then there was certainly a creation of men before Adam. Satan operated first in that world, not this world that we are seeing today. That's what we'll see in the following scriptures as we continue to unravel the mysteries that surround Satan and his fellows. In Isaiah 14:12-14; “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” …vs 16-17

That's the beginning and the end of Satan. At the end,

The origin of iniquity (Sin) everybody will see him when God has finished dealing with him and they will say, 'Ah, is this the person that scattered the whole place? Suicide bombers everywhere, blowing themselves up to kill scores of people, is it because of this man? And everybody will look at him and wonder at the mercy of God, in preserving their lives. Look at that scripture; Satan said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will exalt my throne above the starsâ&#x20AC;?; what is below the stars? The answer is the earth. So he operated on the earth. And he says 'I will move my throne.â&#x20AC;? That

means he had a throne. So he was ruling on earth and desired to move his throne to heaven. No wonder he did not like Adam, because the authority that he had one time was taken from him and given to Adam. And that was why he attacked Adam and made Adam to also disobey God, so that he could get back the authority that he had before Adam was made. Because the Bible says that the one you obey will become your master. People don't understand the power of sin, they think the devil is stupid when he says, 'go and commit adultery, fornication, go and steal the money'; he does not think about your benefitting from his deal or the pleasure you think you are getting, from the sin, he's interested in capturing your soul, because the Bible says if you obey him, you will become his servant and that's how people operate in ignorance and continue to be enslaved by the devil, though they still speak in tongues more than Paul.

Battle for the seed and the souls of men Here's another scripture to establish that Satan operated upon the earth. Jeremiah 4:23-28, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I beheld the earth and, lo, it was without form, and void, and the heavens, and they had no light, I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld and lo, there was the man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, the whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourns, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.â&#x20AC;?

God describes by the mouth of Jeremiah, a certain destruction. Jeremiah was in Judah, but he was talking about the whole earth and he said there were beautiful places, but no more, they had been destroyed by God, with all living things. How did God do it? Job 9:7 says God commanded the sun and the sun did not shine again. Once that happens, the earth will go into space and then everything will freeze, in utter darkness. That was the destruction that Satan brought upon the first world. To me, that explains the Ice Age, which Scientists are still battling to explain. Genesis 1:1-2 confirms, bearing witness to the state of the world before God started creating again just to show the linkage between that creation before Adam and the one that we are living in today. Genesis 1:1-2, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the

The origin of iniquity (Sin) beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.â&#x20AC;? God created everything and if you read down, you would read that after He made each thing, He would say it was good. But in verse 2, He said everything was void, formless and bad. That destruction described in Genesis 1:2, is the destruction in Jeremiah 4:23. They used the same words. What we call 'God created' is from the Hebrew word that means to shape. You can only shape what has a form. That's why scientists will tell you that the earth we are standing on is billions and billions of years old. In my university days, I did a course in Archaeology; we studied Radiocarbon dating, and we could date things millions of years old. It's simple Radiocarbon dating and now with modern technology and computers, they will even be more correct about the time an artifact was made.

So there was a creation before this one that we live in, and there was an ice-age that scientists cannot explain. That was the anger of God mentioned in Jeremiah 4:28; because Job 9:7 says God did it: He commanded the sun and the sun didn't rise. Now, if you remove the sun from the earth, you are going to send the earth into orbit, because between the gravitational pull of the sun and the rotation of the earth, the earth balances in space; if you move the earth one mile forward, it will burn

The origin of iniquity (Sin)

wouldn't come near you, and that is the only way you can beat the devil and the operations of demons. Remember what he told God about Job – There is no point attacking Job till you remove your hedge of protection around him. Once you are born again, he will still lure you with sin, to remove God's defence around you. You can see that in Eccl. 10:8, “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” You need to continually stay under the shadow of the wings of God (all the time) and live according to the precepts of the word of God. Once you do that, you have ensured your own peace and prosperity. There is no indication anywhere that these fallen angels, apart from the one that the Bible mentioned called Abaddon in Rev. 9:11 and Satan himself who possessed a wonderful statesman to turn him into the Antichrist (Rev. 12:13) there was no other record of a fallen angel occupying a man. They hate human beings and are too proud to come and live inside human beings. They are majorly concerned about controlling nations. They are mentioned in Ephesians 6 as the principalities, powers, rulers in high places. In Daniel 10, the Bible tells us the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece, were the real rulers, as we saw Satan being addressed as the prince of Tyrus in Ezek. 28:3. So if you want to pray concerning

Battle for the seed and the souls of men Nigeria, bind the ruler of Nigeria. There is a ruler. That was what Daniel did and the kingdom fell and another kingdom came. So praying against Mr. President or any other person will not work. Go to the forces behind everybody. These are the operations of Satan, demons and the fallen angels. By virtue of the blood of Jesus, you are covered against them. The devil knows it and that is why he makes you to sin so that he can expose you and then he can attack you. (Eccl. 10:8). Learn and move on to live a life of peace.

IN THE MIDST OF EVIL

he Devil is a destroyer, he exists to kill, steal and to destroy. The viciousness of his attacks cannot be measured. We can't even keep up with the news of his atrocities in the world. Just watch the News to see how busy the Devil is. He moves freely among the sons of men; and he kills them at his will because by refusing the grace in the Lord, they automatically declare they belong to Satan. And Satan has no use for human beings other than to cause them sorrow and at the end draw them to hell (Jn. 10:10; Mt. 25: 41-46). The one who is born again is a child of God. He has been delivered from the power of darkness (Satan) into the kingdom of His dear Son. God has put a seal on him and the devil sees it, marvels, gets troubled and flees at the Presence of a child of God. His God is with Him and the angel of the Lord encompasses him all the time (Col. 1:13, 2Cor. 1:21, 22, Ps. 48:1-5, Ps. 34;7, Is. 4:5-6). But Satan, as a roaring lion is always looking for a way to

Battle for the seed and the souls of men come in and attack the child of God. He knows that God hates sin and where active sin is in the life of a Christian, His power, influence and protection wanes and will eventually get withdrawn. That is when the hedge of God around His child is broken and Satan, the opportunist, becomes free to attack a Christian (Eccl. 10:8, Ps. 119: 9,11). That is why Paul admonishes us not to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit, God's seal on (in) us who raises the standard against the devil when he ventures to attack the child of God. (Is. 59:19). THE TRIUMVIRATE OF EVIL The human being is made up of the body, soul and spirit. The body thrives on carnal things - food, drinks, pleasure, possession, etc. The soul (mind) supports it to seek carnal things by thinking - arguments to support sin. It is the realm of intellect, ideas, emotion and decision. It feeds on information from events and things around which are passed on to it from the five senses Touch, Taste, Smell, See and Hear. The body and soul are very active. They war always against the desire of the Born Again Christian and the Holy Spirit which is to do the things that will please the Lord at all times. That is why the Bible admonishes us to walk in the Spirit: yield ourselves - body and soul to the dictates and the leading of the Holy Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:13-17; Col. 3:1-11; 1Pet. 2:11-12).

In the midst of evil This admonition, when obeyed, prevents us from the SNARE OF SIN - THE BEAUTY AND SWEETNESS OF SIN. Satan recognizes that the human flesh with its innate desires is the Christian's greatest drawback when it comes to doing the things of God or obeying God. Paul said, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would (desire) I do not but the evil which I would not (did not desire), that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no “more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” (Rom. 7:1820). Because of this (the human nature), the flesh has become Satan's most effective weapon against Christians. The genesis of this was in the garden of Eden where we find the THREE major ways in which Satan used the flesh to induce man to sin. These are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. They make up the TRIUMVIRATE (3 WAYS) OF EVIL which Satan has since then been using to keep Christians in bondage and to wreck havoc in their lives. Let us now examine how he has been doing this, for a thorough understanding of Satan and his methods of operation is very necessary if one is to get out of his bondage and if one wants to remain above him. The Bible says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you

Battle for the seed and the souls of men free.” (Jn. 8:32)

Taking the analysis from the beginning, the Bible says in Gen. 3:1-6. “Now the beast was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God hath made. And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruits of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doeth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

From the passage, the first thing that will strike one is that it was not the lie of Satan per se that caused the fall of man, but how he allowed his flesh to react to the lie. Thus, we find Satan coming first to tempt Eve with doubt. He said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” When he saw that the seed of doubt had been sown into the heart of the woman, he then watered it with the lie, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

But God does not

lie. As the Bible says, “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Nu. 23: 19). “The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have

In the midst of evil purposed, so shall it stand.” (Is. 14:24).

And as many as have twisted His word to satisfy themselves have always found themselves to be victims of prophecy, for as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word (the word of God) be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Is. 55: 10-11) Ahab and Jehoshaphat found this out too late: Israel was at war with Syria and Ahab sought the help of Jehoshaphat to fight them. “And Jehoshaphat said unto the King of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today. Then the King of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men and said unto them, shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall forbear. And they said, Go up: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the King". But they prophesied falsely for by the mouth of Micaiah the Lord spoke: "And he said; I see all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no

But rather than believe the word of God and heed it, they went to the battle and lost. Ahab died on the battle field and it was simply the grace of God that saved Jehoshaphat (1Chron. 18). master: let them return every man to his house in peace.”

Battle for the seed and the souls of men The same with the prophet of God. He heard the word of God which He spoke to him, saying, “Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.”

But when another prophet came saying an angel spake to him by the word of the Lord saying, “Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water", he believed his lie and followed him home. And for this he died and became known as the disobedient prophet (1Kings 13:1-32). Little wonder therefore that the Lord admonishes us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10a). That was what Eve did not have. By the lies of Satan which she believed, she was beguiled and she lost the fear of the Lord. Then, the triumvirate of evil began to work in her. The lust of the eyes began to see the tree which she had all along seen as unfit for food as good for food, And what she had earlier on abhorred now became pleasant to the eyes. Then the pride of life manifested. She desired to be a god knowing good and evil. She desired to be wise, but she did not know that the wisdom of man leads to death. As it is written, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Prov. 14:12) “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world. For ye see your calling,

In the midst of evil life like the unbeliever. The unbeliever seeks without the counsel of God, and will go to any length to achieve his aims or to satisfy his desires. The desires which the Bible says cannot be satisfied: “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance be increase…” (Eccl. 5:10). “All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.” (Eccl. 6:7)

So the child of God who cannot bridle his appetite, will fall prey to his desires. Eve did. Achan did. And so did David.

The method God has ordained for us to pursue our needs is simply to ask Him for provisions, and then wait on Him for the answers to the requests made. And to help our faith the Lord gave words of encouragement to help us to wait on him without tears. He said in Psalm 34: 9-10. “O fear the Lord ye His saints: for there is not want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”

And in Luke 12:22-30, He goes further to say: “Therefore I say unto you; Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat.; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens

Battle for the seed and the souls of men for they neither sow-nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: They toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If God then so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast unto the oven; how much more will he clothe you, o ye of little faith? And seek not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your father knoweth that ye have need of these things.â&#x20AC;?

So when faith in the word of God has replaced worry and the fear of tomorrow in the Christian, Satan will find it more difficult to ensnare him with the triumvirate of evil.

WHEN SATAN RAGES

hristianity is a veiled journey to eternal life. The destination (heaven) is known, but how to get there is fully known to God alone. The Christian only knows in part as he is led step by step by God. It is a life which is not easily predictable and fraught with danger and problems from Satan whose only objective is to steal, destroy and to kill whatever God has done (Job 30:26; Jn. 10:10a). This contention of Satan, with the Christian, over every step he takes towards heaven are, the moments when Satan's rage is manifested. Such is the nature of Christianity as ordained, by God. But many, especially the young Christian do not see Christianity in this perception. To them, Christianity is simply bliss. This is true, but the rest in God can only be achieved if one has understood the operation of the Kingdom of God. This takes time-studying and getting rooted in the word of God; building one's faith as one accumulates experiences through reactions to trials, temptations and problems. These will make one to see and accept Christianity the way God has ordained it to

Battle for the seed and the souls of men be. Job 22:21 puts it this way, “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee.” The Psalmists initially could not understand this during their trials and asked the Lord, “Why do the heathen (Satan) rage and the people (God's children) continue to imagine a vain thing (remain confused and worried).” (Ps. 2:1) “Will the Lord cast off forever? and will He be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone forever? doth His promise fail for evermore...?” Ps. 77:7-8.

These are questions that readily come to the mind of the Christian in problems, especially when problems escalate amidst the "affluent, happy and problem free" unbelievers, and the Christian fails to reconcile his predicament with the beautiful promises for the children of God in the Bible. These ultimately lead to a Christian life that is downcast, oppressed and faithless: the conditions which nearly made the Psalmist wander astray after the unbeliever. But God has not left us without knowledge “lest Satan should get an advantage of us...” (2Cor. 2:11). These are the main issues discussed in this chapter with the focus being on why God has ordained problems, how they affect Christians, and how to overcome them. THE BATTLE IS SET God is by definition, the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe; a male object of worship

When Satan rages (Chambers Dictionary). For reasons best known to Satan, he desired to be God (Isa. 14:12-14). For this, he was banished from heaven – cast to the earth to become the Devil. From the Greek DIABOLOS, he is the “Adversary”, constantly plotting against the Redeemer and the plan of Redemption. As Satan, a Hebrew name that implies both “Adversary and Accuser, he constantly seeks to delegitimize the divinely ordained work of the Lord and His elect. In his appearance to Eve as the “serpent,” it must be assumed that he presented an attractive image of glory and wisdom, not a repugnant snake. He is also said to be “subtle,” from the Hebrew word ARUM meaning “sly, crafty or conniving.” Thus, it becomes obvious that he was as evil as he was intelligent. With this profile – evil and intelligence, Satan focused on a spiritual reign on earth with an hierarchy of devils as described in Eph. 6:12 to oppose the plans of God for mankind. But before the fall of man, Satan was powerless, being under the dominion of Adam who had power over the creation of God. Then, the world was peaceful; Adam did not toil and he had fellowship with God. Satan saw this, considered his own predicament and envied them. So he raged against the creation of God. Satan knew that the word of God is God Himself (Jn. 1:1), and that obedience to the word was the sole protector of

When Satan rages is to teach us to trust in Him. Adam and Eve heard the word of God, but they never practiced it enough to become proficient in it; and when it mattered most, they were found wanting. So to prevent such an occurrence in us, the new Adams, God is preparing for His new creation, He allows Satan to attack us - He allows HIS word to be tried in us, and in our weakness, He delivers us. Continuous deliverance will then build our confidence in the Lord, and we will begin to exercise our faith freely, knowing that Jesus who defended His word and gave us victories in the days past is the same yesterday, today and forever. Again, Christianity is giving all to Christ and allowing Him to do all things for us. This is one basic fact that all Christians must not forget. Salvation is by grace (Eph. 2:8-9). It is the most important thing in your life. If salvation is by grace, how about provisions and deliverance? He will also give you by grace! All things are of Him and all things consist in Him (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:12-17). More often, we forget this when we strive in pursuit of goals. God said He had made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions (Eccl. 7:2, 9). In Jeremiah, He said it in another way, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisterns that can hold no water.â&#x20AC;? (Jer. 2:13). In such

cases - when we strive for things without the consent and help of God, we get out of His will for us and break

Battle for the seed and the souls of men His hedge of protection around us, leaving room for Satan to come in and attack us (Eccl. 10:8). This kind of attack and the subsequent suffering thus corrects us by revealing to us our creature status - it proves to us that we are not wise or infinite in strength and knowledge, only God is (Jer. 2:19). “Experience is the best teacher”, “Pain plants the flag of reality in the heart of a rebel heart.” goes the sayings. See also Job 36:7-15; Ps. 39:11. But since this kind of trial is always very traumatic, most times, leaving a mark of remembrance in us, the Lord helps us to avoid going through such trials by allowing an almost permanent, but mild (bearable) presence of Satan around us. Paul wrote, “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it was appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless, being persecuted we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the off souring of all things unto this day." (1Cor. 4:9-13). “For we would not brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength in so much that we despaired even of life But we

When Satan rages had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” (2Cor. 1:8-9) “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content, I know how to be abased and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil. 4:11-13) “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2Cor.

12:7-9). And in this perilous end of time when many are spiritually asleep, and many are falling away from the faith daily (Mt. 25:1-5; 2Thess. 2:1-3; 2Tim. 3:1-5; 1Tim. 4:3-4) such problems come as a blessing to pinch us, so as to keep us awake - crying constantly to God for revelation and solution to problems, and living every minute in the fear of God and obedience to Him - lest the coming of the Lord takes us unawares. David understood the nature of trials and problems –

Battle for the seed and the souls of men God's role and Satan's role and wrote: “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Ps. 46:l0) David realized this, and he

wrote, “My soul wait thou only upon God: for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us.” (Ps. 62:5-8) “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this (i.e. it is settled in heaven and on earth) that power belongeth unto God.” (Ps.

62:11) “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” (Ps. 76:10)

When we realize these and are totally dependent on God, His great love, mercy and blessings will begin to be showered on us. (Deut. 8:16; Job 5:17-27; Ps. 116:1-7). These apparently prompted Andrea Crouch to write: “...For if I'd never had a problem I wouldn't know that He could solve them. I'd never know what faith in God can do.” And according to A. W. Towzer, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”

THE ANSWER TO SATAN

ffliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground...â&#x20AC;? (Job 5:6) they are

ordained by God with the intent as explained to accomplish His purposes for us. However, God allows them only when they are necessary and when He knows we will prevail. God is not a task master, neither is He the author of recurring failures or enduring problems (Ps. 30:5; Mt. 11:28-30), but Satan is. That is why during hard times or trials, God who knows all things (including the unpredictable and mysterious nature of trials) and who is beautiful for all situations expects us to call on Him at all times in supplications, praises and cries for deliverance; for in Him alone lies our refuge (Ps. 48:1-3; Ps. 91). He is the one who made Satan, and He is the only one who knows how to frustrate His efforts. He is also the one who has made man; He is the only One who can mend him (Is. 44:25; Hosea 6:1). As the Bible says in Jn. 10:10, Satan has come only to steal, destroy and to kill. He has never created anything

The answer to Satan 22-23). On the contrary, one can manifest the love of the world which is the same thing as answering to the whims of Satan; and thus remaining under his control as a slave to be manipulated and to be afflicted. That is why the Bible emphatically says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1Jn. 2:15-16).

So when Christians love the world by keeping aspects of their old life in the new life; living like unbelievers and justifying this carnality with the cliché, “Christianity is in the mind”, disobedience will continue to reign in their lives and they will remain the punching bags of Satan, to be attacked at his will. Korah is a good example of such people. He left Egypt with the children of Israel. He witnessed the deliverance of God at the Red Sea, witnessed the cleansing of the poisonous water at Marah, and more importantly, partook of the leading of God in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. He was a Levite and thus a priest, but his heart was not right with God. Pride was in his life because he was esteemed among his people. He was also not contented and sought leadership. He disagreed with the choice of God in Moses and sought to overthrow his authority. His sin was however considered grievous by

Battle for the seed and the souls of men the Lord who struck him dead. (Num. 16) Consider also the children of Israel; they left Egypt but their hearts never left Egypt. They lusted for the things of the flesh - they rose up to dance and to play, and to tempt God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. And for these they ended up dead (Ex. 16; Ex. 32:17; Ps. 78:10-33). Achan is also worthy of consideration. He was ensnared by the lust of the eyes. In the battle against Jericho, the Lord commanded that no spoil should be taken, but lust overtook Achan and he disobeyed God. He first saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then he coveted them (in his heart) and took them. And by so doing, he opened himself to Satan, for he died a shameful death when the Lord exposed him (Josh. 7, Note vs. 21). Little wonder therefore the Lord warned, “That whosoever Looketh on a woman (anything that attracts) to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Mt. 5:28); “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single (sound) thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Mt. 6:22-23)

So the heart that will operate above Satan must be positive towards God - It must be obedient and willing to serve God; It must be determined to forsake the world; to

The answer to Satan resist Satan and to praise God in all situations (Ps. 57:7; Mt. 16:24-27). It must also be humble and must not exalt his understanding above the word of God, knowing fully well that “there is a way that seemeth right to man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Ps. 51:17; Prov. 3:32) And since our portion in the Lord is continuous victory over Satan, our hearts must also be filled with the Holy Ghost and the word of God. This is because an empty heart is the playground of devils (and thus, thoughts that will lead to sin and problems): “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return unto my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Mt. 12:43-45)

Also, an empty heart cannot resist the Devil since he understands and fears only one weapon - the word of God.

Hence, the admonition given by God to Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt

Battle for the seed and the souls of men make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8). And in another place, Paul wrote, “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

When the heart is thus perfect towards the Lord, the condition of holiness (righteousness) required by God for our protection and deliverance from evil will automatically be satisfied. As it is written, “For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp (body) be holy: that He sees no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” (Deut. 23:14). Indeed, riches profit not in

the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his path (away from the snares, of Satan): but the wicked, shall fall by his own wickedness. (Prov. 11:4,5) These were the things Paul recognized by the Spirit of God that his prayer for the Ephesians was that they might be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in the inner man (the heart) so that Christ in His fullness (the love of God, the protection of God and His deliverance) may dwell and blossom in their hearts. (Eph. 3:14-19)

The answer to Satan GETTING BUSY FOR THE LORD

“…And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of

(Eph. 6:15). This is the protection that involves taking the battle to the enemy and harassing him at all times to remain above his wiles or attacks. It is in consonance with the saying, “attack is the best form of defence”, and directly satisfies the “diligence” in the, scriptures, “keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23); “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (being dutiful unto God and being productive with the talents God has given us). Prov. 27:18. peace…”

In its entirety, it means yielding our members to God as instruments of righteousness. (Rom. 6:13,16) This involves among other things, praying for the church and one another. The importance of intercession cannot be over-emphasized in Christianity. It's a pattern of prayer God has chosen to use to help people in need. And as we pray for one another, the deliverances of God will become widely spread, and anguish and sorrow will thus be greatly reduced around us: Abraham interceded for Lot and saved his life and that of his family (Gen. 18:2033). Moses interceded for the Israelites most of his life with them and each time delivered them from destruction (Ex. 32:17:14; Num. 14:11-19). Rahab interceded for her family and saved their lives and property from destruction when the Israelites destroyed

Battle for the seed and the souls of men Jericho (Joshua 2 and 6). And in James 5:14-16; the Lord said we should pray for one another so that our sins can be forgiven and we can be healed. Intercessors are in a class of their own. They are doing the will of God and thus shall never lack any good thing, be it deliverance, protection or material things. According to scriptures in Jn. 14:21, 23, the Lord will love them, manifest Himself to them, and above all make His abode with them. This is the portion of those doing His will that Paul saw and wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;What then shall we say to, these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the daylong; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other feature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.â&#x20AC;? (Rom. 8:31-39)

And in another place, the prophet Ezekiel also wrote concerning intercessors: â&#x20AC;&#x153;And the Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem

The answer to Satan (Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house, or put differently, the individual temples of God. - 1Cor. 3:17), and set a mark upon the fore-heads of the men that sigh and cry that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others He said in mine hearing. Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark (of an intercessor); and begin at my sanctuary.â&#x20AC;? (Ezek. 9:4-6).

Leaving intercession, another aspect of working for the Lord is in the area of witnessing. The Lord gave a direct command that we as His witnesses should go into the world and testify of His goodness (the work of redemption and the benefits in Christianity) so that people could know of God and be saved (Is. 43:10-12; Mt. 28:19; 2Cor. 4:18-20). By carr ying out this commandment, we continually declare our stand to Satan and the world, and thus prevent ungodly suggestions from the world (unbelievers) from getting into our hearts. It also keeps Satan busy trying to prevent us from having testimonies: if you are a witnessing Christian, Satan will be very cautious when planning his attacks on you, knowing that after God has delivered you from his attacks, your testimonies might win converts to God, lift the faith of your brethren and provide solutions to their problems. Also, the word of God is activated by speech. When we repeat it to others, it comes alive and becomes effectual in the lives of the speakers and

Battle for the seed and the souls of men hearers as an instrument of attack, defence and as a guide. (Mt. 8:8; Phil. 6). Little wonder therefore that the Bible declares concerning the witnesses of the Lord, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” (Ps. 68:11-13)

Such a beautiful description, coming from God. Can you key in to it?

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.” (Is. 52:7)

Other aspects of working for the Lord includes serving, giving, Church ministrations and administration and generally believing the Lord, for Jesus said, “This is the work of the Lord, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

(Jn. 6:28-29) And to believe in God is to obey Him always and to continue working for Him diligently. This is when we can rightly be called disciples of Christ (Jn. 8:31), and this is when the blessings due to the disciples of Christ can rightly and fully be ours (Prov. 11:30-31; Prov. 27:18, 23-27; Dan. 12:3; Lk. 22:35). And as an episode in the life of David points out, it is as

The answer to Satan we remain steadfast in the work of the Lord that the saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the devil finds work for the idle handsâ&#x20AC;? will not find fulfillment in our lives. In the case of David, he warred all his life, believing the Lord for all his victories. But at a time, he stopped going to war. While taking an evening stroll, he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. His mind lusted after her, he conjured up sin in his heart, and perfected it by committing adultery with her. And to hide his sin, he murdered her husband. And by so doing, he opened his defence (Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hedge around him) to Satan, who attacked him and paid him back. For his sins, his daughter, Tamar was raped by his son, Amnon; the adultery he committed secretly with Bathsheba, Absalom his son did openly with his wives; for killing Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, the sword turned upon his house - Absalom killed Amnon, and was himself killed in battle when he rebelled against David, and was fighting to keep the throne of his father whom he had exiled (2Sam. 11 through to 18). So, the pleasures of a moment caused David years of sorrow. All he built in years were destroyed in a day. Sad as it was, it is an eye-opener for us that we should continuously walk in the ways God has ordained for us. For instance, a person working for the Lord will have little or no time to gossip or condemn others, and thus will get into less trouble than a gossiping Christian, since according to the Biblical law of reciprocity (Gal. 6:7), as

Battle for the seed and the souls of men and thus where the seal of God can be easily seen by spiritual elements so that the word of God, “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” (Ps. 105:15) can be obeyed. Satan and his demons recognize genuinely born again Christians and keep away from them, not only from what they say or do, but by the presence of God around them. This is in consonance with the scripture, “God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings (the enemies) were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and, hasted away.” (Ps. 48:3-6) See also Is. 4:5-6: “And the LORD will create upon every dweling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

Ps. 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”

This is confirmed, further in the following analysis on salvation as a defence and as a weapon against Satan. Firstly, when you are born again, you have put on the, glory of God (the power of God in His fullness) which Adam lost when he sinned. You automatically become superior and invincible to Satan, having regained all that Adam lost; prominent among which is the dominion over all things God created (which includes Satan and his

The answer to Satan cohorts (Lk. 10:19). You might not realize this initially but after you have received the Holy Spirit, and you begin to grow in the word of God, you will gradually begin to realize that the limitations of the power of God in His children lies only in our faith and the purposes of God(Jn. 3:8; Jn. 20:22-23; 1Cor. 2:12) . Secondly, the Holy Spirit is our guide and teacher who reveals to us things to happen (including the counsels of Satan) and teaches us how to pray against them. He also gives wisdom to guide our steps, so that we do not falter or sin (Ps. 37:23; Prov. 2:6-9) Thirdly, in our trials, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter who will not allow us to be tried beyond our endurance by encompassing us with songs of deliverance and the word of God, to encourage us and to increase our faith. And when the enemy has accomplished the purpose of God for us in the trial, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him to stop his activities causing the pains. (Is. 59:19; 1Cor. 10:13). Fourthly, all things (including problems) originate and are settled first in the spirit realm before they are manifested in the physical realm. For instance the defence of David in Ps. 18:3-16; Elisha in 2Kings 6:13-23; Israel in 2Kings 6:24-2Kings 7:7; Israel in 2Chron. 20:1-25; Gideon in Judges 7:9-24 are all examples of spiritual

Battle for the seed and the souls of men warfare and victories which were manifested in the physical realm, after being declared in the spiritual realm. So if one is not saved, he cannot partake of spiritual things to his advantage, since for instance, according to the scripture, “...All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” is

for God's children. (Is. 46:3-4; Is. 65:1924; Mt. 15:21-26; Lk. 12:22-32; Rom. 8:28). These are the ones who can see and have entered the kingdom of God to partake of His glory - His goodness and the revelation of His mysteries. (Jn. 3:3-5). They are those who know the truth about Satan and are free from him (Jn 8:31, 32, 36). They are the ones qualified to say, “Our Father who art in heaven” and are sure of deliverance or protection. (Is. 65:24) They are the ones whom God has graven on His palms and whose walls (all that concerns them) are continually before Him. (Is. 49:16). They are those who are borne upon the wings of the eagle, always cushioned when trouble comes and always protected from danger. (Deut. 32:11-14). And lastly, they are those who know the secret place of the Almighty, and are covered under His wings (Ps. 91). All these were the things John considered when he affirmed that whosoever is born of God overcometh the world (Satan) 1Jn. 5:4a. Indeed, as Isaiah wrote, “We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks

The answer to Satan (defence).” (Is. 26:1).

THE PLACE OF PRAYER

“…And the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, praying, always with all prayer and supplication, watching in

Prayer is the sword of the Spirit in action. It is the word of God that comes alive when it is spoken for the purpose of achieving a goal - either to receive from God, to prevent the desires of Satan from manifesting, or where Satan has prevailed, to comfort the afflicted, to strengthen him and to turn events and situations round to favour him. (Ps. 107:20; Jer. 23:29). all perseverance…”

Prayer coordinates, sharpens and fuses together the different parts of the armour of God into a concerted whole to confront the Devil and to overcome him. So as we declare the truth - the word of God which is the only language Satan understands, fear and obey; as we declare our faith by thanking the Lord for past victories and the unseen victories ahead; and as we plead the blood of Jesus as our righteousness, we are presenting our qualifications before Satan so that he can move away from us; and also before God so that He can attend to our prayers. Prayer has ramifications. This is what is meant by “all supplication” - these are the different types of prayers that should be prayed as the need arises or as led by

Battle for the seed and the souls of men God. These are briefly: (1) Confession: As pointed out earlier, sin enables Satan to rage in our lives. When by the Spirit of God and His word we are convinced of sin, prayer enables us to ask for forgiveness. This mends the broken hedge and restores our fellowship with God. (Ps. 51, 1Jn. 1:9). (2) Intercession: This is when we pray on behalf of others to bridge the gap between them and God; to pray for the forgiveness of others and to attack Satan on their behalf (Jam. 5:16). It involves qualities like love, compassion, concern and perseverance in the life of the intercessor. These are qualities which ensure that we receive mercy and help in times of need, according to the law of reciprocity (Eccl. 11:1-3; Lk. 6:38; Heb. 6:10; Gal. 6:7). (3) Authoritative prayer: This is the binding and loosing of spiritual elements in heaven and on earth through the commands (words) spoken by Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children. It requires faith, knowledge of the promises of God (the word) and being filled with the Holy Spirit who quickens the spoken word to be effectual, being the active power in the Christian who makes spiritual things to be manifested in the physical realm. (Acts 1:8) Examples of this can be found in Mk. 4:39 where Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging sea, and the wind

The answer to Satan ceased, and there was a great calm. And in Mt. 21:17-21 where Jesus cursed a fig tree and it withered. (4) Praises: This is the most satisfying, exhilarating and effective type of prayer which wroughts deliverance, protects and guides us, even where no formal prayer has been made. ( 2Chron. 20:21-22; Ps. 108:1-6). It involves recounting the glories of God, His wonderful acts and incomprehensible but abundant mercies in our lives, and in the lives of others through songs, recitations and testimonies. These allude greatness to God and automatically builds a solid wall of angelic defence around the Christian which Satan cannot approach, talk less of penetrate. This is because when we praise God in Spirit and in truth (Ps. 50:14,15,23), we return to the originality of all things (creation) and begin to perform the very purpose why we were created (Job 38:7; Is. 43:7,21). We return to His presence automatically, and there is no greater security than in the presence of the Lord. (Ps. 22:3; Ps. 91). The power of praise also includes deterrence. This is because somebody who has learnt to appreciate and to thank God in all situations, especially â&#x20AC;&#x153;badâ&#x20AC;? situations, will receive less attacks from Satan than the grumbling Christian, since the major reason why Satan rages in our

Battle for the seed and the souls of men lives is to make us sad enough to denounce God. So the more the Christian react negatively to problems, the more Satan sits on him - the more he will overlap or ramify his problem. He did it to Job, Which prompted him to say. “I am full of confusion: therefore see thou mine affliction.” (Job 10:15b). All in all, praises give comfort in times of need, increase faith, prevents confusion and lightens the heart (Ps. 32:7; Prov. 17:22). And indeed, “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.” (Ps. 89:15-16)

(5) Praying in the Spirit: This is when we pray under the direction or leading of the Holy Spirit. It connotes firstly, praying by revelation. This entails waiting on the Lord to show you through dreams, visions or prophecies the events to happen, and to use these as basis and guides in praying to counter the plans of Satan. Secondly, it means praying in tongues or languages we do not understand as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. This helps us to praise God when normal words fail us (1Cor. 14:15). And in cases where we are praying by revelation and do not have a full understanding of the revelation, by praying in tongues the Holy Spirit who knows all things will pray to cover the loop-holes we do

The answer to Satan not see. And since we do not understand the prayer said, the problem of unbelief will not come in to hinder the manifestation of the requests made. Again, when we are under pressure and praying becomes difficult, we can pray in tongues. This will gradually bring us into the presence of the Lord and we will feel Him as we continue in prayer. Lastly, praying in tongues edifies the Christian. (1Cor. 14:4; Jude 20) This has been described as the recharging of our spiritual batteries and the storing of anointing that comes with prayer and waiting on the Lord. (Is. 40:11). All these are useful as walls of defence, and in times of need or problems, they comfort and encourage us while acting as weapons of deliverance against Satan. The last aspect of prayer mentioned in our text is watching and perseverance. And they rightly come last as they not only guide us into the fulfillment of prayers, but also block the hindrances Satan brings to counter our prayers. Briefly, watching entails reading the Bible to know sin and to run away from it; waiting on the Lord to know His will, and to use the knowledge acquired to know our rights (possessions) in the Lord, so as to defend them against Satan, and to claim back the things he had stolen from us out of ignorance or mistakes.

Battle for the seed and the souls of men It also means being alert and sober spiritually and physically. This is very necessary because our adversary, “the Devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom to devour.” (1Pet. 5:8). While many Christians do not believe we are in the latter days and that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is nearer than imagined, Satan knows (Mt. 8:28-29). He sees the signs of the end (Lk. 21, 2Tim. 3:1-5; 2Tim. 4:1-4; 2Pet. 3:3-4) fulfilling, and is all out to prevent people from going to heaven, just as Jesus prophesied that the gates of hell (Satan and his army of devils) will fight the building of the Church, but shall not prevail against it. (Mt. 16:13-18). Thus, as many as are perpetually sober, vigilant, resolute and are filled with the Holy Spirit and His word: remain faithful to the word of God - a doer and not just a hearer (Jam. 1:22-24; Eph. 5: 14-21; Jam. 4:6-7), shall always ward off the attacks of Satan. These being the ways “to stand.” (Eph. 6:13)

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