Possessing the Land - Spiritual Warfare (Sent 14/6/2010)
“When the strong man, fully armed, (from his courtyard) guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed (his property is at peace and is secure). But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armour on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil). He
believing with Me) is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me (engage in My interest), scatters”. – Luke who is not with Me (siding and 11:21 & 22 AMP
“...if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them...” – 2 Corinthians 4:3 & 4 KJV
“...For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting imaginations,
down and
every
high thing that exalts 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...” – 2 Corinthians 10:3 -6 KJV
“Behold,
I give
unto
you power
to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over
ALL
the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you”. – Luke 10:19 KJV
To possess all of the good things the Lord has for you in this land of Christ Jesus, you must be willing to use the authority He has given you, let the Words of Christ dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16) and stand on them, declaring nothing else regardless of
There is an enemy called satan who has been stealing from you, killing your dreams, and destroying God’s purposes for your life (John 10:10)... what your physical situation is saying...
In Spiritual Warfare as much as in physical warfare it is necessary to know your enemy, and your capabilities to defeat him.
The honest truth is he has already been defeated by Jesus for us and he will go to any lengths to block this truth from you... First and foremost is for you to realise that he is not omni-present like God... meaning he cannot be in every place at every point in time... we have evidence of this from the conversation The Lord had with him even after he had usurped Adam’s lease of authority over the earth, he had been going to and fro over the earth (Job 1:7). The second thing for us to realise is that he is not the same spirit he was 6,000yrs ago... there is a fire consuming within him (Ezekiel 28:18 & 19), making him weaker and weaker to the point that we would wonder at this little imp who troubled the nations... the third thing we need to realise is that he has help... he led a rebellion against God with a third of all the angels and they were cast out of heaven and reserved for judgement (Jude 6) This same satan was previously called Lucifer, one of the three highest ranking arch-angels of God, the other two revealed in scripture as Michael (War Prince in the book of Daniel) and Gabriel (Often carries Messages of the Lord to Recipients – Zechariah, Mary the mother of Jesus, etc, in charge of the Royal Mail of heaven)...
Lucifer was beautifully created, the anointed cherub and responsible for organised worship but iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:12 -19)... he was cast down by trying to usurp God’s authority (Isaiah 14:12 – 15)... Those fallen angels that followed satan in his deceived rebellion are the demonic spirits that exist today... You must know... they are very real... the enemy would either like you to believe he does not exist, or that you are powerless before him, but both are lies as he is a liar and the father of it (John
He hates you with an intensity that would shock the meanest soul on earth, just because 8:44)... you have authority over them if you are in Christ Jesus!
you are the object of God’s love... God freely gave you what he desired, God made you in His own image... which he wanted...
After taking over the earth from Adam’s fall, the enemy busied himself with ensuring this newly stolen citadel was reinforced to ensure he kept human beings in subjection till it was time for the fulfilment of his judgement which he had planned for us to share... These demonic spirits have an orderly organisation much like a modern day army would operate with generals, captains, foot-soldiers etc This is the group that are listed out in order by apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 6:12) which was located in modern day Turkey. Principalities are the lowest ranking demons, and are assigned to guard geographical regions... The demon named `Legion` Jesus confronted in the country of the Gadarenes was a principality as you would observe how he begged Jesus not to send him away from that territory (Mark 5:9 & 10)... This particular man was possessed by several other spirits which are the Powers, who are responsible for the various issues with humanity... The Bible specifically mentions there is a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7/ Romans 8:15), a spirit of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11), spirit of destruction named Abaddon in Hebrew, and Apollyon in greek (Revelations 9:11). This spirit often works hand in hand with the religious spirit and the spirit of death to cause wars which ensure wanton destruction of life and livelihoods, the latest dimension being international terrorism. I happen to know from experience in Intercession over the last 10yrs that there are also spirits of lust, pride, greed, covetousness, poverty, rebellion, witchcraft, doubt & unbelief, racism as well as the aforementioned religious spirit, and spirit of death... These powers are responsible for subjecting people groups through the principality’s influence in that region... These are the primary spirits working hard to hinder revival in a geographical region like Scotland... This is the primary reason you would find certain common social problems in particular geographical areas, like alcoholism, sexual immorality, drug abuse etc In the city of Edinburgh alone where I live, people who live here would attest to it that the areas of Leith seem to have had a strong problem with Alcoholism, Drug Use, Sexual Immorality etc; the areas around Newington seem to have an issue with a pronounced Intellectual atheism which is a spirit of unbelief, new age occultism, and rebellion with the attendant lifestyle issues.
These demonic spirit beings primarily like to hang around densely populated areas like cities, because as there is a finite number of them, they seek to spread their influence to as many human beings as possible. This is one of the reasons why built up cities always seem so stressful and it always seems so peaceful in the countryside, which is the primary reason Jesus often went to deserted places to pray.
Rulers of the darkness of this world are the next level up. These demonic spirits are responsible for all world false religions, cults, anti-Christ philosophies and ideologies... Communism, Fascism etc would come under this category... This is that spirit of the antiChrist John the apostle wrote is already in the world (1 John 4:3). These seek to replace the constituted authority of God’s Word and faith thereof in the hearts of human beings. They specifically go after whole countries and even continents to keep people under darkness... you would often find a dictator who would most likely be possessed by this spirit, who would enforce his will over every facet of a society, from business and industry to art, poetry and literature... creating ideologies primed at brainwashing the populace... This strong leader would be worshipped as a god, the privileged obedient few attributing him as the source of their joy and happiness, while the police state clamps down violently on dissidents to the prevailing ideology group-think. This police society in its most advanced state would seek to block the gospel out from being preached. Every individual initiative as well as every opposition including clergy would be wiped out to protect and maintain the prevailing ideology, and keep human beings in darkness. We have seen elements of this, not only in the old Soviet Communist regimes, but also in North Korea, Iraq, China, Nigeria, as well as many other countries in the World. These cannot operate freely in free societies like the United Kingdom, as well as many other Western Countries because of the rule of law... what they try to do in these countries is influence the law to their cause, what David described as framing mischief in a law (Psalm 94:20 -23) to make it more conducive for the lower level demonic spirits to operate, which is the primary reason the Body of Christ cannot afford to distance itself from the politics of wherever we operate... but rather lift every leader in all arms of the government in prayer as apostle Paul encourages us to in his letter to Timothy... that we may lead a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1 Timothy 2:1 – 4)... if there are any of these mischief laws that have already been successfully passed, they can be overturned by the Word of God from whom all authorities derive their authority (Colossians 1:16), through prayer... We have experience with this, both in Nigeria and United Kingdom. Don’t be mad at that politician, manager, or tutor making things difficult for you, it’s not them who are the enemies... the one you want to be mad at, is that ruler of darkness who constantly tries to influence them negatively against the Lord’s purpose for your life in the Church of Jesus Christ.
These fallen spirits’ hold on humanity is strengthened as long as un-repented sin goes on in an area... as long as people hold on to false beliefs... this is the armour they trust in... they rely on the fact that unredeemed man loves darkness rather than to come to the light (John 3:19)... when sin is the order of the day they have a legal but not moral right to keep the human beings captive and continually engaged in this activity until they are destroyed... that is until the people of God individually keep themselves pure and unspotted from the world, and walking in love come together in unity and enforce the victory Jesus has already won and cast them down from this self proclaimed pedestal... This is why God said if His people who are called by His name (The Church) would humble ourselves, and pray, and seek His face, turn from our wicked ways and repent, then He will hear from heaven and will heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14)... then people would be free to make decisions for Jesus... As I have been writing these articles,
I also actively confess the Word of God, pray and bind the devil on your behalf... you see, because apostle Paul specifically said if our gospel is hid, it is the god of this world (the devil) who has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe (2 Corinthians 4:3 & 4). We cannot just hit the streets preaching the gospel to anyone or to our work or college colleagues before enforcing the victory on our knees first! The strong man has held all these people captive and he needs to be overpowered and bound by the Stronger, who is the Messiah in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) The Christos, the Anointed One and His Anointing living and abiding within you if Jesus is your Lord and Saviour.
...demonic spirits seek to push forward their agenda by influencing human activity... they seek to steal, kill and destroy as many human beings as possible... they do this by sending quick-fire thought suggestions into human beings minds, oppressing their minds and bodies with a seeming pressing need, this takes place either through loneliness, lust, hatred or symptoms of sickness, disease, and lack amongst others... which is the primary reason we must be well-versed and armed in the offensive weapon of the Word of God, and above all the shield of faith to quench these fiery darts of the wicked one... They like to divide and conquer, destroying relationships through the resulting unfaithfulness, strife, racism, bitterness and un-forgiveness... they cause wars through fear, greed and seek to deceive human beings other human beings are responsible for their lack of happiness... they enslave multitudes of people in darkness in border dictatorships to block out the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation
(Romans
1:16)...
they spawn ideologies,
false
religions...
any lie
whatsoever to block your access to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ!!
They are the administrators of the curse in Deuteronomy 28... just as real as God’s Blessing, even so is the Curse... If you read that chapter 28 in the original Hebrew you will find that the tense of the wording is permissive... so as opposed to God putting these curses on you because of your disobedience, the same would come on you because disobedience exposes you... disobedience breaks off your vital link to God’s protection... you would be out of His shield of protection which was the Blessing Wall of the Old Covenant... the hedge (Job 1:10) that kept the devil out of Job’s life, that is till he opened the door to the spirit of fear, and that spirit let sickness, disease, poverty, lack, death and destruction in... ...please also notice how upset satan had been at Job’s protective shield surrounding him,
his beautiful family, blessed businesses, investments and material assets... God did not give Job away to the devil to kick around for an estimated 9 months... Job had been well protected... Job opened the door to fear (Job 3:25)... he didn’t think his sacrifices were sufficient atonement for his children’s behaviour, just like the devil would like to convince you the blood of our Lamb, spotless Messiah applied in Intercession for your family is not sufficient redemption from
all the unsavouriness in this world...
Right now, we have an even better New Covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6) signed, sealed and delivered in the blood of Jesus Christ’s
in our New Covenant, even though protected by this Blessing shield, we needlessly expose ourselves to demonic influence when we release words of doubt, unbelief, defeat and fear instead of God’s success-laden, faith-filled perfect sacrifice for us... however,
Words...
It shouldn’t surprise you that most of the countries reeling under the throes of deep poverty and oppression also happen to have these false religions dominating every facet of their lives and cultures... and even further, persecute the church of Jesus Christ... this is not merely physical hatred folks... this is deeply spiritual... These demonic spirits have already been judged and there is no salvation available for them so they seek to include as many human beings into this judgement as much as possible...
Did you know that contrary to what you may have heard, hell was not made for human beings but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and I tell you they deserve every lick of fire in there... how could they come into and enjoy the love and Presence of the Most Beautiful, the Most Adorable, the Most Awesome Being... dwell in the Presence of His love and rebel... hell is real folks, as well as heaven... these are very real places... hell is not just the English word for a hard time, it’s a real place... hell was not created by Dante and the early church fathers to keep people in line... it is in the Bible... the Greek word is `geena` and this is found twelve times in the New Testament, eleven of which were spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the twelfth time his own brother according to the flesh, James.
Every ailment, sickness, disease, lack, poverty, relationship breakdown etc can be traced to demonic spirits... obviously the human being participates but I am talking about the root source here (Acts 10:38)... the evil human nature Adam inherited from the devil when he bowed the knee and made him his god by obeying him instead of sticking to the Lord’s very clear instructions... If you read through the gospels, you would find in most instances our Lord Jesus had to confront demonic spirits to set people free and heal them... this deliverance administration was also a normal process carried out by His first disciples, and all His disciples to this very day...
Finally to Spiritual Wickedness in High Places who are the most high ranking demonic spirits directly under the aegis of satan himself...they are tasked with organising the lower ranking spirits across continents and world-wide... but guess what, you are far
you are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, far above ALL principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come (Ephesians 1:20&2/ above even this spirit...
2:6). You have complete authority over all of these demonic spirits, and this authority is backed up by the Power of Jesus, The Anointing that breaks every yoke and lifts every burden! You have the Armour of God, and when you go into battle with this, the enemy is not sure who is in it! It may very well be God Himself! ...And it is glory to God!! When you take the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God praying it is as though Jesus Himself spoke it!! ...the devils believe, and they tremble (James 2:19)... do you believe...
"You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder (in terror and horror such as make a man's hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin)!" - James 2:19
Only a third of these angels fell folks... as far as scriptural revelation would permit, there are two of God’s angels to every one of these despotic nuisances... the Bible further illustrates that God’s angelic beings are innumerable, in other
words if you’re one of those who just have to count, like me, forget it (Hebrews 12:22)... We learn from apostle Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews that they are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14), which is you and I... Might I point out here that contrary to what religion would have you believe, they are not old saints that have died, neither are they fat hovering babies with bow and arrows, nor are they nice kind and gentle looking women with a thorny heart and hallow over their heads... There is no evidence in the Bible of all this junk religion has sold us... it is no wonder that religion would portray a seemingly powerful devil and little bitty bitsy angels of God...
They are awe-inspiring beings... they are a different class of beings entirely... they look human, but the only difference between us and them is they have wings and we don’t... If you read through every instance in the Bible where they have appeared to men they always evoke an overarching sense of dread... they are massive... a detachment of Roman Legionnaires... Roman Legionnaires who are known to be fearless became as dead when they saw one angel... Their appearance is like lightening and their garments as white as snow... They can impact the physical at God’s will even though they are spirit beings – in Matthew 26, this angel sat on the stone of Jesus’ tomb after rolling it away, an angel was responsible for setting Peter, Paul and Silas free from prison, one of such angels destroyed 185,000 men in the Assyrian army in 1 night (2 Kings 19:35), which is a recorded historical fact. Independent recorded history says these men died of a certain plague that broke out in their camp (Herodotus, Josephus, Colonel Taylor who discovered Sennacherib the Assyrian leader’s Hexagonal prism recording his campaigns). All accounts recount the abrupt end to Sennacherib’s invasion of Jerusalem, but our Bible gives us the more factual account... the real source of these men’s demise which
In actual fact, you would find an overwhelming number of instances in the Bible where men directly opposing the Lord’s purpose were killed by angels... was the Lord’s angel smote them.
They also speak... The angel in Matthew 26 addressed his “fear not” to the women, not the soldiers who had a reason to fear if they planned on hurting them... They accompany, defend and preserve us in all our ways of obedience and service (Psalm 91:11)... They hearken (They attend with eagerness, observe and obey) to the voice of the Word of the Lord (Psalm 103:20) which is now proclaimed on earth by us individually and collectively as His representatives with His Power of Attorney
Scriptural evidence gives us a numerical estimate which is a bare minimum on the earth, His Authority (Matthew 28/ Hebrews 1:14).
of 80,000 warring angels available to hearken to God’s Word when proclaimed by every heir of salvation!! This is because Jesus told the high priest and his cohorts that He is able to pray to the Father and He would dispatch more than 12 legions of angels which figure the Amplified Translation gave as 80,000; plus, we know a great army of these guarded the prophet Elisha when he was surrounded by a physical army (2 Kings 6:16 & 17)...
I have news for you folks, Jesus is currently sitting at the right hand of the Father, and
So we can safely expect this number of angels to do our bidding when we speak the Words of God!! Every believer has an assigned angel because He has delegated all of his authority to us His Body!
Jesus said the angels of little children always behold the face of the Father (Matthew 18:10)... just because you are now all grown up doesn’t mean they’ve left! They provide strength and fortitude to walk in obedience to the will of God (Luke 22:43). Angels would even appear in human form on the Lord’s bidding in taking care of believers, and they also eat human food or theirs which the Israelites were fed with for 40 years in the wilderness (Hebrews 13:2/ Psalm 78:25). Redeemed man (us recreated in Christ Jesus – 2 Corinthians 5:17) are on a higher plane of authority and we will actually judge them (1 Corinthians 6:3)... Did you know that other angels not even assigned to you will work for you if you pray and intercede for other heirs of salvation not giving voice to God’s Word, for their charges’ sake! The Lord assures me of that!
There are several notable encounters contemporary people have had with angels, two of which I like best and I will recount them for you here which you may quite possibly have heard:
A Young lady was going home one dark evening, and decided to take a short-cut through a dark alley and saw a big scruffy looking man kind of like a tramp in there staring intently at her... She began to pray silently under her breath and speaking in other tongues as she just walked lightly by. Later on that evening she saw a local news break about a girl who was raped in that same alley, round about the very time she was walking through and the news was that they had caught the guy but they called out to anyone who had any information that could be of help in prosecuting him... This lady went to the Police Station and stood behind the screened glass and immediately pointed out the man. They were just about leading her out when she asked to please speak to the man, that there is something bothering her that she needs to ask him... Well, reluctantly after making her sign a legal waiver she stepped into that room and asked that man why he had not raped her instead of the girl who suffered... and the man said what! ...with those two big guys walking on either side of you!!
The second real account was in a land dispute in the United States, between a group of Christians and another group of people who had been threatening their lives as a result... The Christians prayed and decided to just let the issue go and cast that care over unto the Lord. After a protracted period of time, these Christians did not hear anything further from these chaps and were curious as to the status of the issue... after much deliberations, they finally decided to go and visit these people to find out the situation...They were met with intense trepidation and fear... those chaps said, you sent your guys to us yeah... they, confused, asked, which guys... and those chaps said a troop of big men in white suits, carrying weapons they had never seen before, came to warn them to let those Christians alone!
Ever since learning of angels through the Word of God, I have used them and continue to do so... they can only go into action when believers speak the Word of God, they have been much frustrated by many Christians I have met, I tell you, who like to speak broke, sick, defeated all the time instead of the victory Jesus suffered to purchase for us through His precious blood. Let the weak say I am strong (Joel 3:10), let the redeemed of the Lord say so (Psalm 107:2), let them say continually (Psalm 35:27)... These mighty beings created by our God to serve us have also been much enthused by many more glory to God... walking, speaking the Words of Jesus concerning every situation in their lives, and seeing victory after victory in their lives, and in the lives of many...
In Conclusion, I would like to give an expose on your complete kit for the battle to police these devils, and regulate their activities yet protecting yourself from any counterattack.
Belt of Truth: Always be ruthlessly honest with yourself... he that walks righteously is righteous, while he that practises and condones sin is of the devil (1 John 3:8 - 10). Live your life with absolute integrity and ensure you can bare what you do in private, public without a sense of shame or guilt.
Breastplate of righteousness: Accept the finished work of Jesus Christ in His blood that gives you righteousness and cast aside any self righteousness or goodness we may think we have. Further, walk in this righteousness by faith, through the Word of God.
Boot preparation of the gospel of peace: Always be ready to give any and everyone a reason for your hope... Preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season.
Shield of Faith: Give quality time to the study and meditation of the Word of God... don’t try to merely create time for God’s word but build your schedule around the Word. This develops your faith and strengthens your shield, and enables you defend
against any fiery darts... suggestions of sin... doubt and unbelief the enemy throws your way.
Helmet of Salvation: You must come into covenant with God through making Jesus Christ your absolute Lord and Saviour.
Sword of the Spirit: Which is the Word of God praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for your five-fold (Pastor, Apostle, Prophet, Teacher & Evangelist), that utterance may be given to them, that they may open their mouths boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.
When we all stand in full armoured Kit... the Armour of God... in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace... dwelling in the love of God, pull these pretenders down, destroying every influence they’ve had in every facet of our society... we will experience the revival the prophet Obadiah prophesied here...
“...But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions...” – Obadiah 1:17
...first deliverance, then holiness... then you get all your stuff.
“Give them nothing! But Take from them everything!!�
Your brother in Christ, Temisan
“...You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father...” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:13 – 16) New Living Translation