Kingdoms in Conflict

          Discovering an invisible world at war:  MAIN HEALING LESSON 4

This teaching on the hidden, daily battle for our souls is just one of the 24 lessons in our workbook for personal transformation, "Matters of the Heart."  All 24 lessons will be helpful to the person seeking restoration and freedom and have been posted on this web site. They are available as a complete set in our workbook which can be purchased as a download or ordered through the mail. The lessons are also available on CD and DVD as 24, 1/2 hour teachings. All scriptures are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.
 

Introduction

In Lesson 3 we saw that Jesus has given us keys that give access to the peace and joy of His Kingdom on earth. Because these are divinely powerful keys they are guaranteed to work—but it is not so easy to get them to work. Someone is resisting us practically every step of the way! Satan’s name actually means the Adversary—the one who “opposes” and “plots against” God and us. In this lesson we will look into the working of this dark kingdom so that we can more effectively resist it.

Watch these short videos about spirit world realities on our YouTube channel.
A Stunning Deliverance
     An amazing reversal of fortune when a "drifter" got set free!
Support Group for Ghosts
     If you have ghosts in your house, who are you going to call?
 

Teaching summary

It wasn't just you alone
In a strange way it is comforting to learn this truth that we didn’t mess up our own lives or the planet as a whole just by our own foolishness alone. We evidently had lots of help! However, there are even Christians who don’t believe the devil is real or that knowing that there are kingdoms in conflict on planet earth could have any relevance for their lives—a way of the world wryly noted in his day by C. S. Lewis:

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors…
     C.S. Lewis, Preface to the The Screwtape Letters

The point of balance
We certainly don’t want to fall into the ditch of error on either side of this Truth--not by ignoring it, nor by being overwhelmed by it. The great thing in the Christian life is our relationship with Christ—not the enemy! Even so this very deceptive enemy must be exposed. We would be wise to learn from the early church.

…lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.   2 Corinthians 2:11

The Realm of Spiritual Darkness may be poorly understood by many in the church but it is a huge part of the biblical revelation. From those higher in authority (The Powers of Darkness--Fallen Angels) to the malignant masses which attack us (The Powers of Darkness--Evil Spirits) there are over a hundred references. There are also many names and descriptors used to expose the Enemy himself (The Powers of Darkness--the Evil One). Even the realms over which they exercise their dominion are treated in great detail: the world (The World as Humanity Separated from God); the flesh (The Flesh and its Crucifixion) and hell itself (The Realms of Death--Hell and its Environs).

An introduction to the battlefield
Did you know that you have a personal enemy, even legions of enemies?  Did you know that they know your weaknesses and will stop at nothing to bring you down?  How can you survive on a battlefield if you don’t know that a war is going on?  How can you fight back if you don’t know who your enemy is or how to recognize him or how to use your weapons? We have been given free will in a real world that is besieged by an invisible enemy (Ephesians 6:12). None of us volunteered to be involved in this war—we were born into an all out war between kingdoms in conflict! We can learn to fight in the great battle of our age, or be rendered ineffective, taken captive, or destroyed.  We can have a zeal for God and still be defeated by a lack of knowledge (Romans 10:2).

Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge.   Isaiah 5:13
 
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.   Hosea 4:6

This invisible kingdom of the enemy was in the Garden, but it was separate from Adam and, before the Fall, could not interfere with his fellowship with God. But after Adam and Eve sinned the nature of Satan—his way of feeling, thinking and believing began to operate in them—and seemed like their own reasoning process (Genesis 3:11). 

Instances of oppression from evil spirits in the scriptures
In the New Testament there is a linking of sickness and deliverance, just as there is a linking of sickness and sin. There is not an identity of the two, but a relationship—not every sickness required deliverance and not every deliverance from evil spirits involved a physical illness. Nevertheless, disease and death come from the Fall, not the blessing of God. Hence, it is the enemy’s kingdom that is at work behind sickness and disease to enforce the curse of the Law.

Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Matthew 4:24 (See also Mark 9:23-29, Luke 4:40-41, Luke 8:1-2)

And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."   Luke 13:11-12



These are real beings

The spiritual realm of darkness is not inhabited by ethereal forces, but by intelligent beings with malignant natures. Evil spirits have personality, will and desire, but lack bodies through which to carry out their assignments. Jesus says evil spirits prefer to occupy our bodies.

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there."  Matthew 12:43-45 

The evil spirits that have been cast out and sent into “dry places” are in torment because they need a means of expressing their nature.  Being in terror of their dark lord, they urgently desire to fulfill their mission by expressing themselves through us. At the same time they take an unholy pleasure in feeling inside of us the very feelings we don’t enjoy. Hence their primary goal is to return to the person they were cast out of.  We need to clean house and keep it guarded. Evil spirits gain dominion over us by tempting us to agree with the sin they represent.  Christians are not possessed, but they can be and often are oppressed from the inside and/or the outside.

Discernment is a key to freedom (see The Keys to the Kingdom (Main Healing Lesson 3))
The enemy seeks to throw a veil of deception and darkness over the working of his kingdom. If we can recognize the evil spirits, we can overcome them for Light drives out darkness (John 1:5). If we do not recognize them, they remain in control. When we agree with the evil spirit and let it express itself through us, then it is no longer its sin alone—its sin has become our sin. Sin is an agreement with the enemy—with his ways, his perspective and his opinions. Note well: we are still in secret (unrecognized) agreement with any sin we have not yet fully forsaken. We have to learn to fall out of agreement with the compelling force of the spirit’s own belief system and believe instead what God’s Word declares to be true in a situation that troubles us.



Consider this in relation to the negative emotions

Every negative emotion has had its source in this kingdom all your life: these evil ones have been sinning against you from birth. The kingdom of darkness is the true source behind all of your pain and suffering as well as your own sinful ways. But you didn’t know this in the beginning. You had no idea that kingdoms in conflict were fighting for you as the prize. You looked around and all you could see was other people and the injustice coming through their sins against you. You were blinded from seeing three things with enough understanding to stay free:

1) The real enemy who had attacked them first and was using them against you.
2) Your own sinful reactions and ungodly beliefs that bound the pain to you.
3) The loving and faithful God who was always there with you, preserving your life.

Now, God is saying forgive all people everything—take them out of the loop—and concentrate on the real enemy. Confess your own sins, resist the enemy, and let God restore your life.

Even so, our primary objective is not to crush the enemy, but to love God with our whole being (Matthew 22:37). In terms of spiritual warfare, this translates into trusting and obeying God no matter what the enemy is doing— to surrender and stay surrendered to God! Consider this and beware: there is no peace without surrender.

Even believers often find themselves living without the peace of Christ capturing their hearts. The truth is, whenever we begin to move away from the place of TOTAL surrender, we are, to that degree, joining the Great Rebellion that began when the Enemy used his free will to move away from the will of his Creator and go his own way. If we are ever to gain victories then we will surely have to learn to face our crosses and say with Jesus, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

We have to fight to stay surrendered!

Interested in going deeper?

Don't just give these truths a "head bob"!
For further study and for help working these truths into your heart and life, see Kingdoms in Conflict part 2 (Head to Heart Guide 4) and "work out" with exercises, discussion questions, review of main points, digging deeper, more scriptures, model prayers, renunciations/affirmations and practical steps of life application.

Or better yet, let us minister to you in person
     --at one of our Savannah Seminars...