He tells me that when I choose to follow Christ, I am enlisting in his army. I'm signing up to fight.
So, how can you be in a fight with a lack of knowledge about your enemy? How can you be in a battle with a lack of knowledge about your tools and the resources you have to defend yourself?
A lack of knowledge is what unfortunately destroys too many Christians. And so on that topic, I would like to expose a few things about the enemy, your enemy. I want you to know who you're fighting against, and who you're fighting for, and who you're fighting with. You are not going to fight alone in this spiritual battle.
More importantly, I pray that this message will stir up your spirit and rile you up for battle. And as I begin, keep this thought in the back of your mind.
As a child of God, you're fighting from a position of victory.
You're not fighting for victory, but from a position of victory because the war was already won by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now there are hierarchies in the kingdom of darkness. In the amplified translation from Matthew 12 26, the Bible reads, "If Satan casts out Satan, that is his demons, he has become divided against himself and disunited. How then will his kingdom stand?"
Satan has his own kingdom, one third of fallen angels doing his will to disobey God's word and work.
So from this verse we understand that the devil has a kingdom which is the kingdom of darkness. This kingdom of his is somewhat unified in its opposition to the kingdom of God.
And finally in the kingdom of darkness as in any kingdom there is a pillar of power. There's a chain of command. There are ranks in a kingdom. Here's how we can piece together the fact that there are hierarchies in the demonic realm.
Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
This is a list of spiritual enemies, principalities, rulers of darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness.
However you interpret this verse, the indication is certainly that there seems to be a ranked order in the kingdom of darkness. There will be a top level of evil spiritual forces below the devil and I believe these to be principalities.
If you remember the story of Daniel, he prayed and prayed for 21 days. And when the angel finally came to deliver his answer, Daniel 10:12 and 13 says, "Then he said to me, don't be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before God, your words were the prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me for 21 days. But behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because l had been detained there with the kings of Persia.
The prince of the kingdom of Persia. This wasn't your regular foot soldier.
This was a principality that was blocking Daniel's prayer. It wasn't your regular demon, but it was a principality that was strong enough to need the Archangel Michael to come in and intervene.
This was a higher ranking evil power. Now, despite these ranks in the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of God naturally has its own order of things. Our God is a God of order, and he has an innumerable number of angels available to do his bidding. Some angels are created simply to worship. Others are messengers, but thank God that we have warring angels avaiable to us.
The angel who delivered an answer to Daniel said, "The prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me for 21 days, but behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because l had been detained there with the kings of Persia."
Although the prince of Persia attempted to stop the angel from delivering Daniel's prayer, it was still no match for Michael the Archangel. And so the prince of Persia is obviously a highranking territorial spirit. This is very different from the type of demons found elsewhere in the Bible.
Demons which cause sickness or illness. Luke 8:1 and 2 says, "Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene from whom seven demons had gone out." The Bible says women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, meaning there exists a kind of demon that brings sickness and disease.
So how are we to interpret all of this and understand it in our own Christian lives?
Well, firstly, we ought to know that there are ranks in the kingdom of darkness. The stronger we get in faith, the stronger the opposition. But when you have knowledge of the truth, in reality, you know that Jesus Christ outranks every demon, every principality, every ruler of darkness, including the devil. Jesus Christ outranks them all.
Without knowledge, you will perish according to the Bible. You will perish because you will become fearful. And fear really only enters because you have taken Jesus Christ out of the equation. Of course, you'll become fearful at the thought of fighting evil principalities on your own. Of course, you'll be fearful at the thought of fighting demons on your own. But when you have knowledge, you will not fear. When you have knowledge, you will not perish. When you have the knowledge that Jesus Christ holds absolute power over all things, then you will not perish.
When you have the knowledge that Christ outranks the highest ranking member of the kingdom of darkness, then you eliminate fear. This is why it's so important to know God's word. Because the Bible says in James 2 19, you believe that there is one God, you do well. Even the demons believe (there is one God) and tremble. Even the demons tremble when you get God involved. You shouldn't be moved to fear or worry because of the kingdom of darkness.
The Bible says in Luke 10:17, "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name." Just the name of Jesus Christ alone holds enough power to defeat the devil.
His name alone carries power. So l encourage you to fight from a place where you know that you can call on the Son of God the one who has the highest rank above all.
Live with freedom and boldness.
Yes, you may have to fight a demon at some point.
You may have to fight a ruler of wickedness at some point. But if God is for us, who can be against us?
Even the devil himself is a defeated foe.
I would like end with a few fighting words. A verse that you should know as you fight this good fight of faith.
Luke 10:1 -19 says, "Listen carefully. I have given you authority that you now possess to tread on serpents and scorpions and the ability to exercise authority over all the power of the enemy, Satan. And nothing will in any way harm you.
We have authority through the name of Jesus Christ. We have authority through the blood of Jesus, through faith. This authority is what we need to exercise. And that is the kind of knowledge we ought to have. The gates of hell cannot prevail. They will not prevail because we have knowledge. We have the knowledge of the authority we're given by Christ.
We know that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome the devil. We know that God has angels encamped all around us. There is a divine perimeter protecting you and me as children of God.
In closing, should you find yourself under attack at any point in your life, remember Ephesians 6:10 to12, which says,"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against protecting you and me as children of God.
In closing, should you find yourself under attack at any point in your life, remember Ephesians 6:10 to12, which says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
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