THE INVISIBLE WAR
We are created for God, but given free will, which gives us ability to make choices and decisions. Those choices or decisions effect our lives. Salvation is simple: Believe in Jesus Christ, Repent from our sin, Accept Him as Saviour. But the process is complicated, there is a war for our soul. Man apart from God is incomplete. It is the same with walking in The Holy Spirit, simple but complicated! Why is that? Because there is an invisible or spiritual arena that is in us, around us, and bombarding us. Satan is as real as God but he is limited in what he can personally do so he directs hoards of entities to do his bidding.
Ephesians 6:12, NLT: "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."
Our struggle will always seem to be against flesh and blood. Isn’t it people who get in our way? Isn’t it even ourselves that are our own worst enemy? Maybe sometimes there is some truth to that, but the ultimate reality is that we are in a spiritual battle that can only be fought with spiritual weapons. Under and behind all physical manifestations of struggle is a spiritual reality. A problem with another person, is really a spiritual problem. A problem with the effects of a fallen world, especially when it concerns hostility to the gospel or with God’s way of living, is not truly a struggle against the flesh and blood manifestations of those problems.
For a time, Satan has a measure of authority to cause harm. Just as the Nazis were actually defeated on D-Day, but continued killing and causing trouble until V-Day, Satan, a defeated enemy (Col 2:15) is not yet fully routed.
While it is unhealthy to become obsessed with Satan and demons, it is fruitless to deny their existence. But the very weakest of Christians have enough of the power of God and the authority over every demon of hell and should not be afraid. The evil one, actually powerless against the church (Mt 16:18) has one main weapon that he uses most effectively: the power of lies to deceive.
THE WORD OR THE WORLD
Christians are called to live by God's Word not the World. The world, it's systems and philosophies, do not originate from God at times it seems as though some worldly concepts are rooted in biblical principles but Satan used this tactic on Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness. Matt 4:1-11. We need to have a proper context of the word to understand its spiritual, cultural and literary concept. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The first temptation involved a misrepresentation of God's Word. Remember God hates mixture!
“You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together“ (Deuteronomy 22:11 also Leviticus 19:19).
The mixing of materials is one of commandments in Scripture regarding prohibited mixtures (Deut. 22:9–11). These commandments include: mixing cattle (Leviticus 19:19), mixing seed (Leviticus 19:19), wearing garments made of two kinds of material (Deut. 22:6), and intermarrying with the nations (Deut. 7:3–4). These commandments are about set apartness and purity. In regard to mixing two materials, wool is an animal product and linen a plant product. The commandment is symbolically forbidding the mixing of two things that don’t go together. We can’t mix sin with righteousness and we can’t mix truth with falsehood. To be a believer in God is to be set apart from the world.
CONFORMED OR TRANSFORMED
Romans 12:2, NIV : "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Conform means to comply, to act in accord or harmony with a standard, acquiescence, agreement; to correspond in form or character.
Transform means to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose; to change in condition, nature, or character; convert.
Here is simplicity, to know how much our lives have been influenced by Satan, we just have to look at our lives and say, Do we live differently from the world around us, or have we allowed the world to influence our decisions. Our nature should change on our salvation.
1 John 2:15- 16 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.…
INFLUENCE OR INFLUENCES
There is only one Holy Spirit, but there are many demonic spirits that are guided by Satan. Satan has a hierarchy of principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The phrase principalities and powers occurs six times in the Bible, always in the King James Version and its derivatives (NKJV, MKJV). Other versions translate it variously as “rulers and authorities,” “forces and authorities,” and “rulers and powers.” In most places where the phrase appears, the contexts make it clear that it refers to the vast array of evil and malicious spirits who make war against the people of God. The principalities and powers of Satan are usually in view here, beings that wield power in the unseen realms to oppose everything and everyone that is of God.
This hierarchy has an intention to influence us, in order to cause us to lose our witness and bring us into bondage. They achieve this in three ways:
Influence: what influences us the media, people, etc if the influence takes our focus from God then it is Satanically influenced.
Oppression: this where we are so consumed with things that it causes us to live in constant anxiety over our situations.
Possession: this where we have relinquished our will to a demonic spirit.
The Holy Spirit has one influence, to teach us, lead us and transform us according to God's Word. The Holy Spirit is ONE with the Father and the Son. He does nothing contrary to God's Word or Will. As we submit to His leading it will allow us to conquer opposing forces in our lives. As opposed to the spirits of the world, the Holy Spirit imparts true wisdom to the believer. The Holy Spirit enables us to receive and understand “the secret and hidden wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 2:7). Only God’s Spirit can reveal spiritual truth because only His Spirit knows “the deep things of God” (verse 10).
HOW TO OVERCOME:
1. Stay in God's Word.
2. Be transformed by the Word.
3. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in God's Word.
Romans 8:37–39: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” These verses are about the victory Christ has won over all the forces ranged against us. We are “more than conquerors” because no force—not life, not death, not angels, not demons, indeed nothing—can separate us from the love of God.
CONCLUSION
BORN AGAIN and BAPTISED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
It is interesting to know that as the early Church in Acts was born the urgent message to these believers was to be Baptised (immersed ) in The Holy Spirit. This was crucial to a victorious life lived for God. As the coming of the Lord draws near so to will the propaganda of the enemy, but in Christ through the Spirit we are more than conquerors!
