I
often tell people we live on a battlefield.
As we go about our everyday lives there is a spiritual battle raging
about us, as well as very often within us.
Similar to gravity, you don’t have to see it, understand it, or even
believe in it; it continues uninterrupted by our ignorance. The evidence of the battle is just as clear
as the evidence for gravity, if you know what to look for.
Spiritual warfare is the clash of
good and evil in the spirit realm, which has profound effects on the natural,
physical realm. While the Bible tells us
the war has been won (1Co 15:55&56), the
battle rages on with very real consequences and casualties. We, my friends, are the spoils of this war. (Jn 8:10)
God’s love for us is at the very
heart of this conflict. Although they are
timeless, angels existed before physical creation which makes up our universe;
they were given foreknowledge of God’s plan for our existence. The thought of serving man, an inferior being
with superior opportunity, was completely repulsive to Lucifer. When he learned of God’s plan to incarnate,
to become man Himself, it was too much for him.
In a jealous fit of prideful rage he snapped and rebelled against the
thought of it, as well as ultimately God Himself, taking a third of his brothers
with him. There began his goal of
keeping mankind from the love of God.
Since all of mankind has the
potential to receive God’s love, His salvation, and become what Lucifer, or
Satan, could not, we are all the target of this warfare. (1Pe 5:8) Those
among us who do not know Jesus are of great interest to our enemy, but require
little attention because they are at this time his; Christians, however, are of
great interest and attention. Even
though it is too late for him to “possess” us, meaning to own us, he relishes
the thought of killing, stealing from, and destroying our lives. He and his fallen angels attack us continually
using people they control; as well as directly from around, on, and WITHIN us; while
invisible to our natural eyes.
A very common question that comes up
on this topic is, “Can a demon indwell (be within) a Christian?” Many Christians say, they, as well as other
true believers cannot have evil spirits within them because of the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit; HOGWASH! I
deny anyone the ability to find one actual deliverance minister who holds this
view. This view is only held by those
with no firsthand personal face to face experience with an indwelling demon,
but only theological opinion. Let me be
clear here to believers who hold this view:
You need to stop theorizing and actually engage in the battle your Lord
has called you into, use the powerful authority He has given you, and you will
soon exchange this view that keeps you feeling safe and comfortable for the truth. You might even find yourself useful in the
fight instead of advancing the work of our enemy. Stop allowing fear to rule you; it is likely
a demon within.
The only verse I ever hear quoted to
support this “none-within” view is: “What fellowship does
light have with darkness?” 2Co 6:14b This
verse is actually instructing us to use wisdom is choosing partners because we
do not think the same as non-believers.
If the none-within view of this verse were correct believers would not
be able to sit on a bus next to a non-believer without one of the two bursting
into flames, and evil would cease to exist because God is Omni-present. What I see in scripture is that deliverance (or
exorcism for our catholic friends) is ONLY for followers of Jesus. In chapter 12 of Matthew, Jesus teaches, when
a demon is cast out of someone who does not have the presence of the Holy
Spirit within them, it will return with friends and make the person worse off
than before. So if you dare to expel
demons from anyone who is NOT a Christian, you need to be certain you can “fill
their house” with the Holy Spirit before you start.
As I am sure you can imagine, having
a home on a battlefield makes all of us vulnerable to attacks to some degree. In a physical battle, bullets are flying,
bombs are going off; even if you are not personally in someone’s sights you may
be wounded. In the spirit realm there is
what I refer to as “opportunistic demons”.
They don’t have a specific mission or target; they simply look for
opportunities to disrupt someone’s life. They would be similar to unarmed
invisible enemy soldiers roaming randomly through the ranks looking for whom
they might strike. We all get affected
by these. Once you know they are there
and the cause of a problem, they are not particularly difficult to deal
with. Headaches, nagging thoughts, or
temptation are often signs of their work.
Our bigger problems come from those on a mission, with a specific
target.
Nothing paints a target on our lives
bigger, better, or faster than sin. When
we disagree with God in our choices we are cooperating with our enemy. Its like we leave our doors and windows
unlocked inviting our enemy to come in and take control. “Jesus replied, ‘I
tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.’” Jn 8:34 Often it is someone else’s sin that gives our enemy
access to our house. We might even
inherit our houses with the windows broken and doors left open from our
parents; this would be a generational curse.
While we were not personally responsible for the cause of the vulnerable
house, it is our problem to resolve.
Another way someone else’s sin can cause vulnerability to our safety is
when someone has authority in our lives.
It doesn’t matter if it is permissive, someone to whom we gave authority,
like a pastor; or positional, someone who has authority just because of the
nature of their role in our lives, like our parents for example. If they use their authority inappropriately
or irresponsibly they can make our house vulnerable. All of these are pictures of our enemy having
access to us through rights of some kind.
It’s as if they have a set of keys to our house that they can come and
go as they please. Evil spirits do not
fight fair. It does not matter if you
are responsible, only if you are vulnerable.
They will enter if able and take you captive. Appeasing, or cooperating with them for
temporary relief only empowers them, strengthening their hold on you. A battle is never easy, but cooperating with
the enemy is never a good strategy.
Some sin carries with it at least
different, if not more severe, consequences than others: “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while
you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Eph
4:26&27 Not all anger is sin,
but apparently “old” anger gives the devil a foothold; “But
if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Mt 6:15 The sin of unforgiveness
works very powerfully against us. This
verse from the Word of God challenges a lot of men’s theology; “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits
are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” 1Co
6:18 Here, sexual sin is set
apart as different from all other. Experientially
we know that EVERY act of sexual intimacy creates what is known as a “soul-tie”,
whether it is honorably between a husband and wife, dishonorably (sinfully) in
any other form, or even by force. This
fact is indicated in Scripture: “For this reason a man
will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will
become one flesh.” Gen 2:24 Becoming
“one flesh”, or having a soul-tie creates a connection between those involved that
goes way beyond the physical act. There
is a spiritual connection made that allows open access one to the other. Using the house analogy, it is like an open tunnel
is dug from one house to another creating a permanent connection. When a tunnel is dug to a sexual partner’s
house, you are then connected by this tunnel system to every sexual partner they
have ever, or will ever, have. Demons
can easily and legally travel from one person to another through the network of
soul-ties, or tunnels.
Some sin seems especially offensive to
God, such as someone who: “practices divination or
sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist
or who consults the dead. Anyone who
does these things is detestable to the LORD” Duet 18:10-12; These are forms of idolatry and are
directly cooperating with demons who are very quick to perform powerful and deceptive
acts by which they entrap those who do not pay attention to God’s warning of
these dangerous practices
Unfortunately those who do not know Christ as their Savior
have no power with which to fight these many attacks. However, for Christians it is different, “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the
demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and
to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Lk 10:17-19 While it is the power of freewill, our
choosing to sin, that creates most of our spiritual vulnerability, it is the
power of Christ, and His authority given to us that is the solution. No matter what our problem, Jesus is the
answer. Jesus is Truth. When lies are destroying our lives, we need
to seek Him for truth. When our sin is
the problem, we need the power of His forgiveness through the cross by
repenting and confessing. When other’s
sin affects us, we need His authority to break soul-ties, and His strength to
choose to forgive. Through Jesus we are
able to repair broken windows, lock the open doors, and even dig up tunnels and
fill them in.
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