Ministering: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
In previous weeks, we have talked about different levels of spiritual warfare that we as the church are engaged in. We have also talked about generational curses. I have mentioned that curses come by what we do. There are many things that people do that bring them under a curse though they may not even be aware of it. We also noted that curses come by negative pronouncements and spells made by oneself or someone close. There are also curses in families and communities which could be caused by covenants while some people who go or visit sacred demonic places put themselves and their family under curses.
Mattew 28:16-20
Jesus gave us the mandate to make disciples of nations but in that, He described the oppositions that we will face. Demons and diseases are the two great oppositions we will face. Majority of Christians does not want anything to do with demons. They just want to go to heaven forgetting there is an apostolic mandate on the church. Remember the word wiles speaks about trickery and strategies intending to want to take advantage of a person’s vulnerability. Satan was not been referred to in the New Testament as someone who has power. Therefore, his operation is not basically about power but strategies. We are dealing with an intelligent and experienced being that follows strategies in the pursuits of his objectives.
Job 2:1-5
Though Satan was cast out of heaven, we understand from scriptures that he still has access to the presence of God. Through Job’s story, we can understand the dynamic force at play in people’s lives. In Job 1:7, we learnt that if God does not build a hedge around you, you are not prosperous. Furthermore, we learnt that even Satan needs God’s permission to attack us. He is the serpent seeking to bite whoever breaks the hedge. He is always in the presence of God to accuse us. When nature turns upside down such as tornadoes and whirlwinds, we need to understand that there are spirits behind them. Job experienced calamities with Satan operating from behind the scene. Job could not have known what was happening. Even the friends of Job were sponsored by Satan to discourage him to give up on his faith in God. The same devil was the one who started the trouble and was the same one sponsoring all calamities around it. If Job had listened to the friends and walked out of integrity, the devil would have won. Satan attack people and behind the scene puts them under pressure to make them sin.
Acts 8:5-23
Looking at the history of the church, we see how Satan could easily have planted one of his own without anyone noticing. Simeon was into sorcery and held his community in bondage for a long time through the power of sorcery. Now sorcery means the use of power gained from the assistance and control of evil spirits for divining. Divination seeks to foresee. Simon was using sorcery to foretell. Many are also into sorcery in churches today. Many preachers are in occultic groups. That Simon followed Phillip does not mean his heart had changed. Just like in the fight of kung fu, you follow the one whom you think is more knowledgeable than you are just to learn. Simon wanted to become better in his business because he had met with someone with more power. However, when Peter and John came to Samaria and operated in the gifts of the Spirit, Simon saw this and wanted to buy the gifts with money since it was okay to make money using the power of sorcery. When people begin to monetize the gifts of the spirit you know something is not right. Verse 23 shows the nature of the demons that possessed Simon – bitterness and iniquity which is lawlessness.
Acts 13: 6-10
During one of Paul’s many missions, he went to preach to a high ranking government official, Sergius Paulus but a sorcerer named Elymas was present and kept resisting Paul. He was a Jew who operated in sorcery (magical arts of divination). He was a false prophet because he knew the law but had added something else to the faith of his fathers. He sought to turn the heart of the official away from Paul’s preaching. Sergius Paulus believed when he saw the demonstration of God’s power when Paul commanded Elymas to be blind for a season. We should expect such oppositions when we go out for soul winning.
Acts 17:16-23
Another important example is found in this story of Paul to the city of Athens. Most of us hardly pay attention to the spiritual atmosphere of the cities we enter or live in. In Athens, Paul came across demons of worldly philosophy and worldly wisdom. Examples of these in our days can be found in doctrines of capitalism and communism. This was what they gave their time and efforts to. It was a worship of some kind which is same as idolatry. Idolatry is any belief system raised by men which is contrary to the accurate knowledge of God to which men give their time and attention. What you spend your time and money on tells what you devout your life to.
Galatians 3:1
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he observed that certain teachers had got into the church preaching heresies that there can be no salvation without circumcision. Paul had earlier preached and taught them that circumcision was not necessary for salvation but by sorcery, these heretical teachers came and were able to blind them to the truth that Paul had opened their eyes too.
These are battles we face every day. When Balaam was called to curse Israel, he could not until they allowed fornication in their midst and God could no longer help them. When God is in our midst, we should not allow sin midst us. Evil spirits work in the heart. They do not respect your dressing. Confess your sin so that you can be helped. We need to pray for one another that we will not fall. Everyone is vulnerable. We can only win when we fight as a unit not when we exist as fragmented units.