In John 10:10 (NIV), it states, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The enemy in this scenario of course would be (the devil). His attempts are to take good things from you created by God to steal (e.g., snatching people from God), destroy (e.g., destroying churches through persecutions), or kill (e.g., enticing humans toward self-harm). Each day, as Christians, you face spiritual warfare. At times, the warfare may come through your finances, income, marriages, children, health, family, or friends, and at other times, your very own church members. In 1 John 4:1-3, The Bible (ESV) tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

The issue of your battles that you wrestle with daily, is not people (flesh), but the Spirit that’s behind that person. And until you know and do good to remember this, you may always lose the battle. This is why you must awake every day and arm yourselves to do battle by putting on the armor of God so that you can stand and overcome the attacks the devil throws your way.

The Spirit behind people wants to keep chaos, confusion, challenges, and problems in your life. Your battle is not with flesh and blood because human logic is not going to change. Our battle is four-fold. We are fighting against:

1) Principalities-Leviticus 26:7-8 (NIV) states, “You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.”

Principalities are ranked demons. They are grouped and ranked according to their purpose.

2) Powers- Satan does have powers, but so do you. Do not be impressed by the Supernatural. The devil is behind supernatural things because he has power. Principalities and powers are often listed together in scripture, but God gives you power over them.

In 1 Peter 3:22(NIV), it states, “who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” You have been given power to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick, and be bold witnesses for the Lord. You must operate with confidence.

3) Rulers of Darkness-These spirits rule in darkness and are absent of light and truth. They thrive in ignorance and deception. The devil knows what to come up with for every generation (the schemes and the plotting).

When someone wants to do something in secret, it isn’t God. Secrets are demonic territory. This is the devil’s playground. You cannot gain and reach victory with secrets. James 5:14-16 (NIV) tells us, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”

Keeping secrets, the enemy will use this to keep you in bondage. You must learn to tell and talk about it. The devil will paint or give you a pictured view of things for you to see as a certain way when they are not so, causing you to believe a lie. He deceives but the truth will make you see the light. Truth dispels lies and darkness.

4) Spiritual Hosts of Wickedness in Heavenly Places-Here we’ll have demonic plots, to be hurtful, planned and executed in high places. The devil likes to orchestrate events in your life so that you can give him credit. And to give him credit is to worship him. The only one you should be worshipping is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

To fight the battles with the spiritual realm, you must first strengthen your mind and secondly, your heart. If you do this you can overcome bitterness, anger, depression, hatred, hurt, pain, suicidal thoughts, lies, ignorance, deception, sickness, and even temporal values. God wants you to see Jesus and everything that’s going on around you. You must put on the armor of God to battle evil and darkness. You must submit to God given authority. The Bible tells us, resist the devil and he will flee.

At times, when you think you’re arguing with your child(ren), spouse, coworker, friend, neighbor, or sibling, and they won’t allow you any peace and peace of mind, it’s because they have darkness attached to them, supernatural spirits that you cannot see, and it’s controlling them because they do not know the Lord as you do, your light is bothering them, therefore, they want to cause chaos. Protect your heart from losing faith in this instance and allowing hatred by putting your breastplate up. Ensure that your faith and belief in the Lord is strong and He will deliver you from the situation, you, your neighbor, friend, coworker, and your child(ren), because remember, you have the power and authority to free them all, not just yourself. Always be prepared to help others get inward peace. Your faith must be practiced in every component of your life. Trust God, rely on Him. Look to Him.

Put up your shield of faith so that the words of people won’t inflame you. Say, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” Do not let the words or thoughts of other people throw you off track. A lot of you know church but don’t know the (Word) of God. And not knowing the Word of God leaves you defenseless against the enemies’ attacks. The devil can quote scripture too, to confuse you. He just can’t live them. Paul declared that you should pray without ceasing. A prophetic word should always be an affirmation of what God has already told you in your own personal walk with Him. Amen. Until next time folks. Stay prayed up and stay blessed!!

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