Sunday

May 31

"Cosmic-Level Spiritual Warfare" - Pt. 2

What does the Scripture say about this sort of thing? There is some relevant biblical truth to consider. First, we need to recognize the teaching that obstacles to effective evangelism are not only human pride (John 5:44) and hardness of heart (Acts 28:25-28), but also satanic opposition. This opposition comes in various forms.

For example, Satan works in the hearts of the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2); he blinds unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4) and plants them throughout the world (Matthew 13:39); he deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9); he does signs and wonders to lead astray if possible even the elect (2 Thessalonians 2:9; Matthew 24:24); he holds people captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25ff, Luke 11:21ff); he takes the word away when it is sown (Matthew 13:4, 19); he gives out authority to the world rulers (Luke 4:6; Revelation 13:2); he uses people to hinder others (Acts 13:10); he thwarts mission plans (1 Thessalonians 2:18) and he throws ministers in prison (Revelation 2:10).

This raises the question whether a kind of focused warfare-praying should be a component of our evangelism and mission strategy alongside the preaching of the gospel. Should satanic opposition be explicitly resisted in prayer (James 4:7), along with petitions for boldness of the preacher (Ephesians 6:19) and the opening of the sinner's heart (Acts 16:14)?

More specifically, are there territorial spirits that darken whole regions or people? Should there be a concerted prayer effort to "bind" or disarm these powers for the sake of more fruitful evangelism?

The passage of Scripture that  points most clearly to the possibility that some demonic powers oversee territories is Daniel 10. Daniel set himself to pray and fast for three weeks. At the end of the time an angel appeared to him and said that God had heard his prayer from the first day he began to humble himself and pray (v. 12). The reason he had taken three weeks to come, said the angel, was this: "The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, so I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia and came to make you understand what is to befall your people" (vv. 13-14).

Evidently the evil angelic power that fought the angel who was sent to Daniel had some special relation to the territory or nation of Persia. In verse 21 the angel says to Daniel, "But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, lo, the prince of Greece will come." Again, the demonic power seems to have a special connection with a territory or nation of Greece.

John Piper

Saturday

May 29

"Cosmic -Level Spiritual Warfare"

Scripture: Daniel 10:10-14

On February 12 this year (1990), about 30 prayer leaders met in Pasadena at the invitation of Peter Wagner for a Post-Lausanne II Consultation on Cosmic-Level Spiritual Warfare. At least five workshops at Lausanne II in Manila last year had dealt with "territorial spirits" and their relationship to world evangelization. The Pasadena meeting was strictly ad-hoc and aimed simply to pray and brainstorm about wrestling with principalities and powers in world evangelization.

What shall we make of this new warfare strategy in evangelism? Is it the sort of thing you only read about in Frank Peretti's novels? Or is it terribly real and strategic for finishing the great commission among "hard" and "closed" peoples of the world?

First of all, what are we talking about? Increasingly, missionaries and evangelists are asking whether the "principalities, powers, world rulers of this present darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places" may refer to a hierarchy of demonic beings, some of whom are charged with darkening and oppressing a specific territory or people. If so, it may be that some kind of concerted prayer of resistance focused on these territorial spirits might "open" a territory to the gospel in unprecedented ways.

For example, one report from Lausanne II said that in the fall of 1984 a group of pastors and leaders from the San Nicolas/Rosario area of Argentina gathered to discuss and pray about spiritual warfare. The gathering was prompted by the realization that 109 towns within 100 miles of their training center had no Christian witness. They did some preliminary studies and discovered that the town of Arroyo Seco appeared to be the seat of satanic activity in the region.

Years before, a well-known warlock (sorcerer) by the name of Mr. Meregildo operated out of that town. He was so famous and his cures so dramatic that people would trek to Arroyo Seco from overseas for his services. Before he died, he evidently passed his powers on to 12 disciples. Three times a church was established in Arroyo Seco and three times it closed down in the face of severe spiritual opposition.

After several days of Bible study and prayer, the pastors and leaders came together in one accord and placed the entire area under spiritual authority. A few of them traveled to Arroyo Seco. Positioning themselves across the street from the headquarters of Mr. Meregildo's followers, they served an eviction notice on the forces of evil. They announced to them that they were defeated and that Jesus Christ would attract many to himself now that the church was united and had pledged to proclaim him. Less than three years later, 82 of those towns had evangelical churches in them. An unverified report indicates that as of today, all of them have a church or a Christian witness.

John Piper

Friday

May 28

"Additional Weapons" - Pt. 5

As the blood was put over the door, it was a testimony that there was a place of safety for anybody who wanted to come in from out of the circle of death. The record of Scripture is that there were some Egyptians who did. Seeing the power of the God who had already visited fierce judgments upon their land, they believed that He was the God of all, and they fled into the Jewish households, thus effect #4.

How is the blood, as it’s expressed your home, a witness? Is there a different mood and atmosphere in your home than that of the world? I am not talking about religious pictures on the wall, but something people can sense of the Spirit of the living God because the blood of Jesus covers your household—a witness that invites them into His safety and out of the circle of death. We’re not people who simply make recitations of creeds. We’re people who have tasted of a power. And that power, having come into our lives is to penetrate our homes. It is the power of the blood that protects, that delivers, that opens a new day, and that is to become a witness of an invitation to others as well.

There is an abiding presence of the power of the blood all the time, in every situation in which we apply it. Because it’s invisible, it ought not be seen as anything less real than that power that moved through Egypt that night when the host of Egyptians were slain. Those people had penetrated a realm of divine power that had insulated them from the forces of darkness and death in the land. This is what we mean by pleading the blood of Jesus.

Added to the blood of the Lamb is the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Embodied in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of the Living God, is not only the character of God, but the conquering power of God. The Bible says in this passage of Scripture that because of His triumph, God has given Him a name above every name, an authority and dominion above every other power. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Put the name of Jesus on your lips. The adversary must yield to the power of the name of Jesus which has been entrusted to us (Acts 3:6). Resist through the use of His name.

Pastor Bill

Thursday

May 27

"Additional Weapons" - Pt. 4

Pleading the blood of Jesus is not a superstitious application of a magical formula of words. A spiritual dynamic is being applied. We believe in the power of the blood because Jesus is the Son of God, and the Cross is the instrument of global redemption and provided the possibility of breaking all of hell’s evil.

The power of the blood of Jesus Christ is that power that is greater than both the energy of our own humanity and that of our Adversary. The power that saves is also the power that releases, delivers, and neutralizes the enterprises of hell and the weaknesses of the flesh. The appropriation of the power of the blood of Jesus in tough situations is intended for every believer in Christ to know, to understand, and to employ.

There are four effects that took place by reason of the blood being put on the doorpost and the lintels in ancient Israel. Those four things have direct application to us today: First, the blood provided protection. With regard to the plagues, God moved redemptively. The Lord’s directive to take a lamb into the house four days—turning it into a beloved pet of the family before it was slain—was laden with emotion. God was teaching a lesson that there is a high and painful price in order for redemption to take place. As much affection as the family had for the lamb, nothing compares to the heart of God who so loved the world He gave his only begotten Son. But this act required by God demonstrated more than the casual or indifferent attitude that can be so characteristic of human beings. The Lord was providing a way, not only for Israel’s protection on that occasion, but for the ultimate protection of all mankind from the judgment of death that is upon everyone unless we come under the protective cover of the blood.

By the blood, there would come the breaking of the yoke of Pharaoh’s strength to retain them, and God’s covenant people were released from bondage. It was a miracle and has become the central point of worship to this day in Jewish tradition. Every time we come to the Lord’s Table we’re celebrating the same thing of what the Lamb has provided—protection and deliverance—the second effect.

The Lord makes this such an important beginning point that our children will ask about it. It relates to future generations. What happens through this blood is going to open the door to a new tomorrow. You may be right now at what seems to be the end of your own hope and strength. But through the power of the blood, there comes the promise to you, just as it as came to Israel long ago: “This will be the beginning of days to you.” In addition to protection and deliverance, there’s fresh hope in the blood—effect #3.

Pastor Bill

Wednesday

May 26

"Additional Weapons" - Pt. 3

Repentance has to do with our personal response to a fresh inventory of where we aren’t as well as where we are (Matt. 4:17). It seems that many of us tend to feel condemned or disqualified by it. To whatever degree a point of failure may be true, the Holy Spirit never surfaces violation, failure or neglect to your awareness either to condemn or reject. He does so in order that you might repent, confess, have it released, and then move with the boldness of a son or daughter of God. But we need to deal with it.

We are not only all sinners who need salvation, but all of us sin and need forgiveness. It’s amazing the number of things we do that we don’t even notice. They aren’t calculated or rebellious disobedience; just things of neglect or things we let creep in. When Jesus says “Repent,” He says, for the kingdom—the rule, the order, the power, the sovereign might—of God is at hand. It’s right there, ready to move in on your behalf. That’s the power of repentance—instant kingdom and it is Kingdom rule and authority that evil spirits fear.

All victory is on the basis of the Cross. The Ascension of the Lord Jesus shouts forth the validity of the Cross. If the Cross had not accomplished the breaking of the powers of sin and Satan, the grave would still be sealed.

Colossians 2:14-15 says that in Christ’s Cross, two things were accomplished:

• The blotting out of all record against us for our sins because He bore them for us; and
• He made an open show, or a “spectacle” of the devil. Literally the picture is of an ancient monarch who has gained victory over an adversary, and parades the conquered king through the streets in humiliation and embarrassment.

Pastor Bill

Tuesday

May 25

"Additional Weapons" - Pt. 2

”so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan,

for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NASB)

In the war upon the powers of darkness, prayer is the primary and mightiest weapon, both in (1) aggressive war upon them and their works; (2) in the deliverance of men from their power, and (3) against them as an hierarchy of powers opposed to Christ and His Church; for the believer should pray against them, not only for himself, but for the whole Church (Eph. 6:18), and for the whole world, which in due time will be absolutely freed from their presence and power.

In the war upon the powers of darkness, prayer can be persistently and specifically directed against the works of the devil, as the believer moves about in his ordinary avocations, and sees their doings. There is also prayer for others, directed specifically against spiritual attacks on them; but this first needs knowledge for discernment. Prayer enables people to receive from God, and makes it possible for His purposes to be accomplished. Prayer is the greatest conceivable weapon of destruction at the disposal of the believer, destroying obstacles to God's working, either from sin or the works of the devil.

Prayer is DESTRUCTIVE as well as constructive, but to this end it must be radical, piercing to the very source of things, destroying the cause, or causes of hindrances to the operations of God. Prayer needs to be specific and radical, first in the sphere of the personal, then out through the local to the universal. Activity in prayer should be in the order of (1) Personal prayer, covering personal needs; (2) Family prayer, covering family needs; (3) Local prayer, covering environment needs; (4) Universal prayer, covering the needs of the whole Church of Christ, and the whole world (1 Tim. 2: 1; Eph. 6:18).[1]

Pastor Bill

 

Monday

May 24

"Additional Weapons"

First, some expanded thoughts on the shield and breastplate. Not only does faith reveal to the soul how wonderful Christ is; the beauty of His promises; and makes Jesus real to the soul in practical ways; it strips away the veil from the believer’s eyes to see sin in its nakedness before Satan disguises it with flattering costumes. Faith’s piercing eyes sees the ‘evidence of things not seen’ (Heb. 11:1).

Pastor Bill

Sunday

May 23

"The Battle Which Is Not Yours" - Pt. 5

Now, with one further word I will close.  Dear friends, if any truth has the effect of turning you in upon yourself, making you introspective, self-occupied in a spiritual way, that truth has been wrongly apprehended.  You may assume the position of the most spiritual, but you are all wrong in your apprehension.  This great work which Christ did in His Cross was never intended to make anybody miserable.  Of course, that goes without saying; yet there are multitudes who are miserable after trusting the Lord, miserable over the sin question in their lives; and the number, I am afraid, is increasing.  Always keep a very distinct and broad line between fuller revelation, deeper truth (whatever you may term it—all that going-on-to-full-growth realm of things) and this whole matter of introspection.  Some people seem to think that to become more spiritual we must become more intense and tied-up and occupied with this whole matter of the spiritual life, and really they are the most unbearable people, the joy has gone out of them.  I am certain of this, that nothing will ever come to you, however deep, however mighty, however tremendous, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, that will make you miserable.  The revelation of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit—and there is no other revelation—will never make a soul miserable.  There is something wrong if a Christian is miserable on spiritual matters, and it is either failure to apprehend the one great, absolute reality that the victory was God’s and that He won it in Christ, fully and finally, and we are not called to share at all in that battle; or the truth which has come subsequently has been misapprehended and has become something that is a burden grievous to be borne.  The Lord Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:30).

And what was the yoke?  Well, listen again; you will get it in various places in the New Testament where the very word is used.  “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger” (Matt. 23:4).  What was the yoke, the burden?—the law, ordinances, ‘thou shalt,’ ‘thou shalt not’; the enforcement of this.  “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”  He “despoiled the principalities and the powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in (His Cross).”  How?  He nailed to His Cross the whole list of ordinances against us and took the ground of the enemy’s strength and assurance from him.  Listen! 

The enemy is always saying that God is against you, His Word is against you, things are against you. That is his ground and strength.  But—“if God be for us...” (Rom. 8:31). Oh, that is another side—“for us”!  How?  Not abstractly.  “He despoiled,” “He made a show,” “He triumphed.”  It was not simply a clash between spiritual forces in the unseen; a moral issue was involved.  It was taking ground and robbing the enemies of their strength, their coherence.  Confusion resulted.  They in effect, say, ‘What can we do now?  All our weapons are gone.’ Then they begin to blame one another, to kill one another. There is no love among these evil forces, they have no coherence of love.  It is all hatred there, and immediately they find the ground taken from them, they turn upon one another. Any introspective Christian is useless as a servant of the Lord. 

T.A. Sparks