Spiritual
Warfare
Copyright 2006 Pastor G.
Reckart
I fought the devil and I won!
The devil is our enemy. All evil has its foundation in the devil. There is no sin, no evil, no falsehood, no unrighteousness, no ungodliness, that is not rooted in the devil's nature. The entire spirit of the devil is profane and contrary to the ways of God. The devil and his spiritual kingdom are referred to as darkness:
"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God" (Acts a26:16).
Darkness represents the absence of light and light represents God, God is light:
"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1John 1:5).
It follows then that those who are of the devil are in darkness and those who are of God are in the light:
But if we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1John 1:7).
The origin of the devil:
According to most Bible scholars and Preachers, the history of the devil can be found in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-19.
The devil was some form of an angel when he appears before God in the book of Job. The text says there was a day the sons of God came and presented themselves to God. The devil appeared among them. He had to be some sort of celestial being, one that could transcend space and time to travel from earth to heaven is split seconds. He is called the "anointed cherub that covereth" in Ezekiel 28:14. A cherub is an angel (Exodus 25:19) and called there a cherubim. The fact two cherubs were placed in the holy of holies and overshadowed the mercy seat, speaks of some form of divine protection. They were assigned a position to "cover" that is to protect. If indeed the devil was a cherub, he held a position close to God. Some believe he was next to God and other than God was the most powerful of all created beings. He was given extraordinary power and liberty so that all angels were under him in their different ranks of glory. He was God's assistant. He was God's envoy. As such he was a "minister," the first created angel and thus the "servant" of God. He was created according to Ezekiel 28:15. And he was perfect in the day of his creation. Meaning there was no fault in him. His beginning was beautiful and he remained this beautiful spirit being until the day of his sin. What was once perfect and anointed would become a devil. Ezekiel says "till iniquity was found in thee" (28:15). Now the word iniquity is the Hebrew "evel (Strongs #5766)"and means: perverseness, unjust, unrighteousness, and wicked.
God created this angel and he within the power allowed him developed iniquity. It appears the devil's original sin was jealousy. He wanted what God was, to be equal to God, and to be a God. While some do not like it, applying racial equality to each other in our different callings and functions is not scriptural. All persons in God, and all people used by God ARE NOT EQUAL! We will even be judged according to our work, not on an equality basis! I am not speaking here of race, but of Ministry and rank as God has set them in the Church. For instance the eye is not equal to the ear, nor the mouth to the hand. But God has put them in the body as it pleased him. Even so, there is no equality in the Body of Christ as to Calling and Function. There are levels in the Ministry and in the laity. This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with God's choice. Some have felt they ought to be equal using their race trying to force their way into or under a ministry. This does not apply to God because he does not recognize race as a factor in the Callings and Functions.
The devil did not like being equal to other angels. He was not satisfied with his exalted position. He lusted for God's throne and honor. His jealousy developed into a rebellious spirit of "I will." Prior to this, all things, all beings, were orchestrated and performed to the will of God. This is the first time a created being decided to have a rebellious "will" separate from the will of God. This attitude developed into the actual exaltation of the devil. He thought of himself higher then he was. He did not stay in his order or estate. His order was as a minister of God, a servant of God, one under authority, to carry out the duties given him. He had no authority to alter his job description nor power to promote himself to a higher order. He had his place and there he was to remain until such time as God decided differently. It was not the devil's choice to determine when he would do something, how he would perform his job, or what his job would consist of. He did all things to the glory of God and NOTHING FOR HIS OWN GLORY! But now he wanted some glory for himself. He lusted to have some recognition that God was getting from other angels. He wanted to be looked upon as God was looked up. He was under the total authority of God but he wanted to cancel God's authority over him and be a God himself. He decided to revolt, to rebel, to lift himself up as a God, to do his own will, and fell into the sin of pride. The day he made himself a god, is the day he had no God! The same he had no God, is the day he was damned!
Pride is a wicked thing when it focuses on self to obtain glory and opposes God's order and plan. Pride is a good thing when it is directed toward God. Evil pride leads to self-centeredness, self-glory, grandstanding and showoff. Instead of God being number one, the devil made himself big #1. Pride will exalt self into something separate from God's order. The devil fell the day he exalted himself. He fell never to rise again to his order and place of ministry. His place and ministry were stripped from him. This caused loss of face among other angels over whom he had exercised power and dominion. Now he was demoted and put out with the other angels, stripped of honor, stripped of authority, and replaced. There is no doubt this is the origin of political parties. The devil deceived angels to follow him. He built his democratic party. You know the idea that majority ought to rule and not the Monarchy? You know, the idea the majority should dictate who is President, King, God, and Pastor? Since God would not make the devil a God, old satan would have those he deceived into his party to elect him as President, King, God, and Pastor. Reminds me of novice preachers who call themselves into a ministry or as a Pastor, get some folks in his democratic party to agree with him, and he is! Yeah! But wait till God has his day of judgment. As angels chose their God, God was planning the eternal Lake of Fire! No greater sin or evil can come upon a man, then that he follow the devil's procedure of rebellion. Novices fall into this sin and self-destruct. Once they rebel against a true man of God they are goners! This kind of man will go to the same place the devil and his angels are going. When a man makes himself a devil by duplicating the conduct of the devil, he deserves NO MERCY, NO FELLOWSHIP, and NO FORGIVENESS!
After the plan of the devil to spilt and divide heaven was dealt with, the battle between heavenly forces commenced. Why God permitted this we do not know but it is my finding by other situations, that God wanted the devil to see that he could give other angels MORE power and authority then the devil ever possessed. God took Michael the archangel and promoted him. Took this angel and gave him more power then the devil had and put him over the devil. Michael is over the devil right now! And Michael, single-handed, could just speak and the devil trembled. He could rebuke the devil's mouth and he was silenced. God gave Michael power over the devil. The devil was now not only in a demoted condition, there was an angel over him which had never been before. Devils are manifest in that they want no authority over them. Ok Pastor want to check out the spirit of a Minister under you? Promote a man and put him over that Minister and put that Minister under that man and watch the reaction. If there is rebellion there is a devil lurking. Here is what I did. I saw the conduct of three ministers was not Godly. So, I took my two Deacons and placed them over my affairs when I was gone. I put a primary Deacon in charge, and ironically his name is Michael (Ha, God has his Michael and I have mine). The spirit of the devil rose up in the three ministers who got together and had a pity party. They decided I was wrong. I should not have put a Deacon over them, after all they were Men of God, ministers who preached. I saw right then I had lucifer in the midst making three more just like him. And, know what, it came out exactly as I saw it. What was their response when I sat that spirit down? You guessed it, they went around to some of the members to create a democratic party. They split my Church and took off many members. But, gues what, my Michael is still over them regardless of where they go. Just like God's Michael is still over the devil and his followers right now. The name "Michael" means one who is like God! God has his Michael! And I have my Michael. Michael was a prince, an angel in whom there was more wisdom and knowledge then the devil ever had. Where the devil was more bold, forward, and pig-headed, Michael was more humble and kind-hearted obeying God. The devil was replaced by Michael. And I replaced three of them by one Michael. Now that was a excellent choice God! Glad you showed me what to do!
The devil suffered humiliation when he was sat down and removed from his lofty position as anointed cherub. God removed ALL LIGHT from the devil and his angels. They became darkness. They were the dark or black forces against the light and white forces. Darkness and blackness became the identity of the devil and his angels while light and whiteness became the identity of God and his forces. Now this is not speaking of black and white races but it could apply to some in both races. These color schemes remain today but does not mean the Black man is the devil. There are plenty of devils of all races none to the exclusion of the others. Death is marked by the color black. Life is marked by the color white. Those who die lost will go into eternal darkness whereas the saved go into the City where the Lamb is the Light thereof. The saved will be granted white garments as a symbol of righteousness. No one who goes to hell and the Lake of Fire will be granted to wear the white raminent of the saved. The devil wears a black garment and that is how he appears to satanic cults and those who dabble in satanic things. When he wants to deceive the elect he appears in white and deceives that he is an angel of light.
Their was some form of judgment in heaven. We do not know all that took place. Some angels who appear to have been worse then the devil himself in their hate and anger against God were put in chains and held under darkness until the end of the world when they will be cast into the Lake of Fire (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6). Yes, even as Hitler had generals far worse in hatred for Jews, and these men carried out atrocities upon human beings Hitler may have known nothing about, so these angels in chains were worse then the devil. They are locked up! They deserve fire now but God has reserved the honor of being first in the Lake of Fire to the endtime antichrist beast and his false prophet (Revelation 19:20). The earthly counterpart to the devil will go into the flames of the Lake of Fire first. Then the next to be cast in will be the devil (Revelation 20:10). Then death and hell are cast in (Revelation 20:14. Then all whose names are not written in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15). The Book of Life represents all those whose God is Jesus, the Lord. It represents all those who humbled to the will of God. The names in this book tell the human history of struggle, faith, and God's reward for righteousness. The judgment in heaven allowed certain angels (demons) and the devil to have access to earth and God's new creation, man!
One thing God withheld from the devil was his plan to create a lower form of beings called mankind. It appears God's purpose in creating man was to have a new order of beings who were created with free choice. Angels were created and had no choice in their order or assignments. But man would be given free moral agency. He would allowed to decide good or evil as his way of life. He would be allowed to choose between God and the devil. He would be granted power and authority to worship God or gods of his own making. But the man would be taught and informed that should he choose any other god then God, his soul would be in jeopardy of eternal punishment. The man was taught and instructed that certain thoughts, conducts, and actions would be sin against the nature of Godliness and unacceptable to God. If man chose to leave his divine order of righteousness and transfer over into the realm of iniquity, he would suffer the same condemnation and judgment as the devil. Man was informed of the devil and his existence. He was warned the arch-fiend was on the loose upon earth to deceive and destroy man's relationship with God. Adam appears to have known about the serpent. He was specifically instructed not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. He was told the day he ate, would be the day he died. There is a warning here that Adam was not to be deceived to partake of the fruit that had mixture of good and evil within it. This was the first example of false doctrine, always mixed with part of good doctrine, so it is acceptable as at least part good. This is compromise in its original form. And Adam was told not to partake of it. Eve had this knowledge, but when the serpent came she was persuaded that eating of this fruit would make her like God and equal to God. This was the mind in the devil so long ago, and now he wanted to poison the mind of mankind to have this same belief. If God cast him down for this sin and was unforgiving, would he cast the man down and be unforgiving? Would God be equal? Let me say that God is just in all his ways. But being just does not mean he has to be equal. The devil's sin or rebellion would be far different then the rebellion of Adam and Eve. The devil wanted to replace God upon his throne. There is no intent of Eve or Adam to replace God on his throne by eating the fruit? The devil deceived other angels to join him in a revolt against the throne. Adam and Eve did no such thing! So, there are different levels of disobedience and rebellion and they deserve different forms of censure and judgment. Some men need to be cast down and out while others who committed sin would be forgiven. These were judged by God not against his being just, but in the matter of the measure of sin and disobedience. Some men are not forgiven for sins and there are sins unto death and unforgiveness.
The devil brings his kingdom and spiritual warfare upon earth.
The devil uses the following to destroy man:
1.) Deception;
2.) Rebellion;
3.) Pride;
4.) Imagination;
5.) Fear;
6.) Rejection of God;
7.) Lust for position and power
Spiritual warfare begins the moment we are born. Our parents and their relationship with God determines if we are to be nurtured and raised in the presence of God's Spirit or if we are raised in the presence of the devil's spirit. Those born of Godly parents have the best association to God. They are raised up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. They are raised proper children. They who are raised up in the presence of evil are not admonished in the ways of God, they do not fear God, and usually manifest in them is outright rebellion to parents at an early age. Rebellion against God leads to lawlessness in the spirit of the child. Such children grow up to be evil with no respect toward God or God's order. The spiritual environment of the parents will set all future conduct of the child. This can lead to all manner of conditions which can include demon possession and insanity. If a portal is opened to the soul of the child before birth by the mother and father being ungodly, the child can be born demon possessed. Many children who are diagnosed with demon possession acquire it from their mother and father or a person close in the family. If the portal is not opened by the parents, then the parents must guard that such opening is not placed in the child's heart by association with demonic elements. This could be a grandparent, other family members, friends, baby sitters, day care centers, and even other children. Children are open vessels whose little minds hunger to know, to learn, and to experience. Their attitudes and conduct can be influenced by others, television, movies, music, pictures, and books. Their eyes become the gateway of desire for things that may be ungodly and demonic. Children learn early in life to be daring and this can lead to all sorts of dysfunction of proper conduct. They learn that what ever they do and can get away with it, it is ok. They learn that what ever gives them attention without censure or punishment, they will do it. Their liberty becomes a portal of the devil to enter into their soul. The devil does not wait until we are full grown to begin his attack. He starts as soon as we are born. Job said a man is born into trouble as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7). The devil has everyone on his now list, he has no wait list.
The primary devise of the devil is to provoke, persuade, and convince a person to sin and then to believe their sin is not sin. This kicks in the most used tool of the devil, the IMAGINATION! The imagination is a form of self lying. When a person lies to their self, this is the greatest deception the human has to handle. Usually we test lies with information and facts we have at our disposal. But when self lying takes place, the individual does not care to use information or facts because this would confront the lie inwardly and such mental powers these people do not exercise. In other words, a person who lies to their self does not want the lie confronted. Instead, they will protect the lie and oppose, resist, and deny such is a lie. This is the root cause of a large portion of individuals who have mental problems. They believe something to be true that is not true. No manner of trying to persuade these they are wrong will work. They take on the devil's mind. To this day the devil still thinks he is right. That he should be a God and have his own throne. It's like a man in an institution who claims he is President Lincoln. Such a person thinks they are something they are not and no amount of reasoning will change their mind or opinion. The devil himself is stuck with mental disease. He is a crazy devil and all whom he influences become as crazy as he is.
The crazy mind of the devil is a delusion. So, the devil attempts to bring delusions upon the minds of anyone he can influence. To accomplish this goal, the devil inspires mankind to develop mind and conduct altering substances. Thus we have alcohol and drugs. These embellish the individual's willingness to do evil and become devil like. They become daring and excited by the thrill these daring acts give them. This brings in tatoos and body piercings where each tries to out-do the daring conduct of someone else. These devilians go about the world to war against God and his followers. They are antagonistic and hateful toward the righteous. They will try to tear down and destroy the work of parents and Pastors. The Church becomes the target of all manner of evil and Pastors who stand for God become challenged by little devils in the making. I say to all Pastors: do like God, remove them from their position, sit them down, place them in a lower rank, and if they rebel to seek making a democratic party of church members against the pulpit, CAST THEM OUT! The Church is not a democratic political machine. It is a theocracy where God puts one man in control! Do not surrender this to the deacon board, to a pulpit committee, to a renegade prayer or Bible study group, to young novices, or organizational control. Be a Michael in the pulpit and stand for the people of God.
Evil always seeks large numbers. It was so with the devil when he sought to avoid personal isolation. He joined up with other angels in the heavenly revolt. He and these angels surely thought God would be intimidated by the number of them who disagreed with his policies. Yes, those who have a devil spirit will flaunt their association with large numbers as if this is some sign God and the Pastor should tuck head and be embarrassed. The devil was a novice in his position, a trainee, holding a position that although powerful, was not yet the final ordination to be achieved. There appears to have been a greater ministerial service the devil would attain. This is why Paul speaks to entry-level ministers not to be lifted up in pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil (1Timothy 3:16). They should humble down, take their ministry place and fulfill their service under the Pastor until such a time the Pastor chooses to elevate them to a higher ordination. But alas, so many of these self-made men neither have the sense or the revelation of their calling and service. They eventually get treated like God did the devil, demoted, sat down, and embarrassed before the congregation of the righteous. Now many novices fail right there along with the devil. They will not be humiliated. They will not humble. They will not take their punishment until restored. The will not seek repentance. They will not acknowledge they were wrong. And being lifted up in pride will start lining up members against the Pastor because of how they were treated. This is the source of church splits and divisions, exactly like the devil used against God in heaven. Pastor, let me tell you what to do. Appoint a replacement. Mentor this replacement and give him more power then the one you sat down. And if the one sat down revolts, CAST HIM OUT. Pluck him up. And if you have done wisely and transplanted him among tares, the only thing that will leave the Church when you pluck him up will be OTHER TARES! Let the tares in their great number fellowship together. The owner of the field will come and he will show who is the true wheat.
I got my first lesson about the conduct of a novice back in
1963. It was that year I took Army basic training in Ft. Knox, Kentucky.
When our eight weeks were up some of the E-2 privates were ready to
go on a two week leave back home. Some of them went to the PX and bought
a row or two of ribbons that are given as special award to soldiers. These
are pinned on the left above the left shirt pocket. Privates put these
on their shirts and acted like they had been in war campaigns, overseas,
had been awarded special merits, and received these decorations. I
saw some buy full bird Colonel brass, a cap with scrambled eggs, strapped
on a French Fourragere, and off home they went. They paraded around
like they were special soldiers of authority and rank. But these novice
soldiers are put on the spot when asked where they took their Officer's Training?
When asked what Officer's school they graduated from. Or who
awarded you your Officer's rank? These lying soldiers, masquerading
in rank, have to go back and when they do, off comes the falsehood and back
to reality. They are nothing until they go through their time and training
and are properly promoted. Many novice preachers are identical to this.
They cannot be trained they don't want to spend the time under subjection
and authority. They cannot be promoted because they have produced no
meritious service wherein they have accomplished a work under the Pastor.
They cannot be trusted because they seek their own and the favor of
others to exalt themselves above the Pastor. They become devils to
the Pastor and want to take over. When all fails, they leave to create
division and disunity in the Church. All the work of a devil. Yes,
a replica of the devil has emerged from the heart of a man who was once like
the devil, perfect in his ways until iniquity was found. If a man refuses
to keep his place, honor the authority over him, he does not deserve promotion
or recognition. He needs replaced!
Spiritual warfare starts in the home and goes to the Church house. Any conduct out of order in some manner follows the conduct of the devil. This goes for a child, a wife, a husband, a novice, a Preacher, or a Minister of what ever rank. We are told by Paul not to give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). This is an Apostolic doctrine. We are not to give anyone who conducts themselves after the procedure of the devil a place in the house of God. If this does not put a person in their place, then they have no place in God's Church. This is where Pastors insult and undermine the work of the Ministry. They will take in Minister-devils who left another Church because they would not humble to the Pastor. Pastors take these in with eyes on either tithes or because the membership will increase with these sitting in the Church. So, unscrouplous Pastors with no respect or dignity GIVE PLACE TO THE DEVIL! Let me give some advice here Pastors: if they are a devil at my place they will be a devil at yours once the honeymoon is over. You put them in place like I do and they will not come and sit on your seat or put their money in the offering. When you give place to a man who has manifest himself after the order of the devil, you will cause fellowship problems and this is a sin. Do not sin against thy neighbor by coveting his members and soon as one is sat down and runs off you encouraged him to come there for Church. If you serve this man the Lord's Passover you will damn his soul and God will judge you! Do not serve any man the Lord's Passover except those under your Ministry or someone you are witnessing to.
Spiritual battles caused by the devil are many. The purpose of all these battles is to cause a person to quit serving God. The method the devil uses is often to bring division and confusion. A person will experience the devil challenging them in matters of right and wrong. The devil wants a compromise with Truth and Righteousness. He wants God's Word to be perverted so an individual includes the mind of the flesh that wars against the ways of God. These wars of the flesh can take the form of disagreement over doctrine or disagreement with the Pastor or Man of God who is holding a high standard of holiness. The flesh demands freedom from God and God's authority so the individual begins to act and think on their own without spiritual supervision and leadership. They claim they feel this or that from God, and God is leading them, when all along: this is all false, the imagination of the flesh is at work. Questions are generated, the whole purpose of which is to create doubt and give permission to some act or conduct that is contrary to righteousness. In much of this there is an accusing spirit that develops. Accusing someone of spiritual wrong because such person stands in the way of liberty of the flesh. When a person lies to their self they have sinned. Self-lying is a sin. The devil has no greater joy then to create within a person a fallen spirit.
The devil's warfare is easily exposed. It is easily overcome. The place to do this is in the house of God, under a Man of God who is in his place as God has placed him. No harm is ever done being humble and of a contrite spirit. Let each person consider their self, because it is either the way of God or the way of the devil. Neither can hide because both will be made manifest.
Know what spirit ye are of. For no spirit that is of God will rise up against God or his Kingdom or God's anointed. Let everyone remain in his her place as God has so designated. Work out your own soul salvation with fear and trembling. If you end up a devil, it will be because you have chosen to reject what God has for your life.
Pastor Reckart