The Prophetic Messenger
A Newsletter From Mysteries From The Word Of God Ministries
September/October 2009 - Volume 11/Issue 5
Spiritual Wickedness In High Places - Part II
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
In this issue of The Prophetic Messenger, we will finish a message titled "Spiritual Wickedness In High Places." We will look at how Christians can be victorious over the devil and his fallen angels.
In this issue of The Prophetic Messenger, we will finish a message titled "Spiritual Wickedness In High Places." We will look at how Christians can be victorious over the devil and his fallen angels.
We Must Use The Spiritual Weapons That God Has Given Us
A. Put On The Whole Armour Of God
The apostle Paul showed us how to fight spiritual warfare by putting on the whole armour of God. In Ephesians 6:10 -18 it says "10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
Notice how the Bible describes the whole armour of God:
1. "having your loins girt about with truth" - the loins, or our waist area, is an extremely important part of our physical body. If our loins are weak in our physical body, we can't even function. Similarly, to function as a Christian, we must have truth. Jesus said in John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
2. "and having on the breastplate of righteousness" - the righteousness which is in Jesus Christ. In Romans 3:22 it says "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"
3. "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" - we as Christians need to be prepared to be a strong witness for Jesus Christ. In I Peter 3:15 it says "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
4. "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." - as Christians, if we take hold of the shield of faith, we will destroy the works of the devil.
5. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" - as Christians we must use the Word of God like Jesus did against the devil when He was tempted in the wilderness. In Luke 4:1-13 it says "1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." Just as Jesus defeated the devil by using the Word of God, we can defeat the devil with the Word of God. When the devil tries to deceive us or tell us something that is not true, we must come back with what God's Word says.
6. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" - We must have a prayer life, praying regularly and frequently to the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep the whole armour of God on.
B. Fasting
We shared in Part I of this message (in The Prophetic Messenger newsletter from July/August 2009) how Daniel (you can read this account in Daniel chapter 10) fasted and prayed for three weeks when there was an evil spirit over Persia. This passage shows how important fasting is in a Christian's life. In addition, in Isaiah 58:6 it says "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" Fasting is a very important part of a Christians life when dealing with spiritual warfare. For more information on this topic look at The Prophetic Messenger newsletter titled "Fasting" (September/October 2000).
In closing, let us look at II Corinthians 10:3-5 where it says "3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
The apostle Paul showed us how to fight spiritual warfare by putting on the whole armour of God. In Ephesians 6:10 -18 it says "10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
Notice how the Bible describes the whole armour of God:
1. "having your loins girt about with truth" - the loins, or our waist area, is an extremely important part of our physical body. If our loins are weak in our physical body, we can't even function. Similarly, to function as a Christian, we must have truth. Jesus said in John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
2. "and having on the breastplate of righteousness" - the righteousness which is in Jesus Christ. In Romans 3:22 it says "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"
3. "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" - we as Christians need to be prepared to be a strong witness for Jesus Christ. In I Peter 3:15 it says "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
4. "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." - as Christians, if we take hold of the shield of faith, we will destroy the works of the devil.
5. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" - as Christians we must use the Word of God like Jesus did against the devil when He was tempted in the wilderness. In Luke 4:1-13 it says "1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." Just as Jesus defeated the devil by using the Word of God, we can defeat the devil with the Word of God. When the devil tries to deceive us or tell us something that is not true, we must come back with what God's Word says.
6. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" - We must have a prayer life, praying regularly and frequently to the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep the whole armour of God on.
B. Fasting
We shared in Part I of this message (in The Prophetic Messenger newsletter from July/August 2009) how Daniel (you can read this account in Daniel chapter 10) fasted and prayed for three weeks when there was an evil spirit over Persia. This passage shows how important fasting is in a Christian's life. In addition, in Isaiah 58:6 it says "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" Fasting is a very important part of a Christians life when dealing with spiritual warfare. For more information on this topic look at The Prophetic Messenger newsletter titled "Fasting" (September/October 2000).
In closing, let us look at II Corinthians 10:3-5 where it says "3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
Coming Up In The Next Issue
Tradition or Truth - Part I. Read this article in the next issue of The Prophetic Messenger.
Memory Verses
As Christians if we want to live in victory and if we want to be able to share the Word Of God with others we must know the Word of God ourselves. Let's see what the Bible says about this. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11. " If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." John 8:31. We encourage you to put the following scriptures in your heart: Matthew 6:18, Micah 4:11, Ephesians 4:11-12, Habakkuk 2:14, John 5:43, Deuteronomy 8:5, James 1:17, Jeremiah 17:10, Deuteronomy 33:24, II Peter 2:9. Use only the Old King James version of the Holy Bible. (If you have any questions about this please see the book New Age Bible Versions, by G.A. Riplinger ©1993, ISBN 0-9635845-0-2.)
Join Us For Service
We invite you to join us for service. For details on where we meet click here.