[This is from Jeremy who had a spiritual warfare gettogether in Cape Town in August. Jan]

SPIRITUAL WARFARE “ SOMEONE ELSE’S REPONSIBILITY

With the greatest respect I borrow from the teachings of Dr Derek Prince. I am hugely indebted to his legacy and example. Two of his books in particular, shaping History through Prayer and Fasting, and War in Heaven, deal broadly with the theme of Spiritual Warfare. I would recommend you buy them as soon as possible and read them. He mentions, among other examples, how he regularly prayed and God helped appoint a Godly leader in North Africa, who turned the tide of war. There are a number of other such examples in history that have been recorded so that we may be encouraged by them. There are of course numerous examples in the Bible where people turned to the Lord with their whole heart, with fasting and weeping, and God dramatically answered them (eg the story of Esther and Mordecai). This is also referred to as intercession (someone dealing with the Lord on behalf of someone else). You go and seek them out. The concepts of prayer, intercession, spiritual war etc, overlap considerably as one thing can blend into the other.

Just two weeks ago someone asked me whether I would like to join a group where someone was œteaching on Spiritual warfare. I declined. This was because I knew it was going to be just another talkshop, or even worse a œworkshop, where people would learn a few things, then go away, and promptly forget about it all. I did not think I could deal with the annoyance I knew I would feel, or their outrage if I dared to open my mouth. With Christians you see, it is always someone else’s responsibility. I have seen it so many times… I recall one person asking me, via e-mail, to pray for someone she knew was sick. Being distinctly led of he Spirit, I told her that, seeing as I didn’t know him from a bar of soap, to go and lay hands on him in faith herself. She was hugely offended and I never heard from her again. Always someone else’s responsibility, you see. Dave Wilkerson (still going strong by the way) said that it never ceased to amaze him that people would lots of money and fly thousands of miles to visit him, so that he could pray for them, but not spend 5 minutes on their own knees. Do people not know that the era of œthe great man of God is passed?

A powerful word from God was shared in 1986 by Lance Lambert to a large national ministers conference. His talk was all about spiritual warfare. At that time that particular denomination was blessed by god; many of the ministers operated regularly in the miraculous. Things were really happening. It was also the day of the visiting man of God, who actually heard God correctly and spake HIS WORD (not just a word). Half way through his address Mr Lambert unconsciously broke into prophecy. And I quote from pg 5 of the transcript:

TROUBLE FOR SOUTH AFRICA UNLESS GOD™S PEOPLE LEARN HOW TO PRAY
I would hope to be the last person to try to give solutions to your problems in South Africa but I have in my heart a deep”seated sense that a major catastrophe of enormous proportions overhangs this nation. I do not mean necessarily foreign occupations, I do not think that will happen or that type of Marxist take over.
but even the destruction of the economy or the total isolation of South Africa could lead to untold consequences in the days that lie ahead, unless God™s people learn how to pray, to hear the Lord and how to stand in the secret place together. how to see the purpose of God for this land fulfilled, how to see those vice”like grips of demonic powers upon Governments, departments or whatever else in the sections of society, broken in the Name of the Lord: Unless the Church rises to it, the church will have no”one else to blame but herself for the lawlessness and disorder which will come like an avalanche upon South African society.
Did you understand that last sentence? Read it again. The bum-numbed Christian, as usual, totally ignored this word, and went off to do better things. What God had warned about, what God didn’t want to happen, came to pass … because the Christians didn’t take the Lord’s word seriously. All the ministers doubtless yawned, said œjolly good word, hey?, went on to lunch and maybe borrow some ideas for their own next sermon. How do I know? Because the very thing the Lord had warned about, that the Lord did not want to happen, came to pass, according to the word of the Lord spoken by his servant, in this case, Lance Lambert. It was of course, you see, someone else’s responsibility, definitely not those ministers… Perhaps someone not at that meeting. The fact is God can back up his threats as well as his promises. In Ps 105 we are specifically urged to remember

5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
O descendants of Abraham his servant,
O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.

This is not talking about the end of the world, as many other passages do, but a PRESENT ongoing reality. We are urged in Matt 6:10 to pray: Thy kingdom come ON EARTH as it is in heaven. Why would the Lord have urged us to pray this if we were simply to wait for the hereafter? My God is real, and terrifying. He is able to back up his threats (judgements) as well as his promises. I have lived long enough to see such events take place. Your God is perhaps not quite so scary. Whose God do You think is the true one?

Jer 10:10
But the LORD is the true God;
he is the living God, the eternal King.
When he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations cannot endure his wrath.

And again: Dan 2:21
21 He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.

Dan 4:34 “ 36
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: œWhat have you done?

The point is that human governments are not in charge. God is, though he permits unrighteous governments to rule for a season. The Bible is a record of this over the centuries.

The steps to spiritual warfare or intercession are as follows:

1. Come before the Lord with a clean heart. Confess sin and be forgiven if necessary.
2. Claim the Protection of the Blood of Jesus.
3. Bind Satan’s voice.
4. Die to your own thoughts and imaginations.
5. Yield to the Spirit, ask for God’s burden (whatever He wants you to pray about).
6. Praise.
7. Revelation.
8. Ask for God’s strategy in dealing with the matter.

These things cannot be œtaught (indeed most of Christianity cannot be taught) “ they have to be lived, experienced, undergone. An analogy the Lord gave me for church a few years ago was that it is like a keen football fan watching a game on tv. He knows all about the rules, the names and history of the players, the strengths and weaknesses of the teams. He gets snacks and drinks ready for the game, invites friends over. Maybe he even arranges babysitting for the children. He then shouts and enjoys the game as if he were really there. He feels strongly about their performance. He is an œexpert.

In reality he may be overweight, unfit, and a unable to kick a ball straight. He is an expert in theory only. I am sorry to say that this is how I view most Christians. They talk a good game. They do not swear or drink too much. But they are useless at discerning evil, intercession, praying for the sick, deliverance or any other practical Christian activity. They do not know what to do if they are attacked (by a mugger I mean). Do you? They do not know what to do if a friend or relative become terminally sick. They have become confused and disempowered by all the contradictory church teachings. They are in biblical terms œasleep. Like our tv watcher, they are œmatch fit in theory only. The trouble is that incorrect theory is not very good at dealing with hard, ugly realities.

Hebr 5: 11 – 14
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God™s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Why do spiritual warfare/ intercession?
Good question. In fact one has to be utterly convinced at 1) the reality of the devil, and 2) the supremacy of God, and 3) that God can use one to intervene in reality; before one would do these things. If you are not convinced of these things, do not waste your time. To put it another way; unless you believe in the reality of God, it will be meaningless to you. Denial of the reality of God is one of Satan’s effective œdoctrine of demons namely the œabsentee landlord theory – the belief that God is not part of human affairs and abstains, waiting to see what we will do without him. This of course justifies inaction on the part of Christians. It is always amazing to me to see how many Christians have never seen a visible healing or deliverance or miracle. Personally, I have been privileged to see some extraordinary acts of God first hand. So I know God is real. In fact I’m quite scared of the awesome power and frightening reality of God, the God who can reveal your inmost thoughts and sins to whomever he chooses “ I have seen (for example) sin-revelation first hand. Also miracles of healing.

You do not have to be clever, learned, experienced or especially holy to be effective. You simply have to believe God’s word, and be willing to be obedient, in order to be used by Him.

1 Tim 2:1-4. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone” 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

This is the main biblical reason for spiritual warfare: so that a state of peace may be brought about (ie good governance in a country) and that the gospel may flourish. These two things are linked you see. Simply put, we have a right to good government, and must pray it into being if it is not there. Like healing, it has to be claimed/appropriated to be enjoyed. There is very little peace in South Africa, and the devil’s strategy has been effective (what is the devils goal? To kill, steal and destroy. How does he achieve this? “ by lies coupled with evil actions, often through evil government). This is simply because the Christians have not done their job of interceding. They have not claimed, fasted, rebuked, bound etc, on a national level. So Satan’s kingdom has prospered, without much opposition. I pause at this point to confront the doubters: I have only one conclusive remark: read the newspapers for just one day. I can also cite you also the frequent droughts in Africa in recent years “ again the Christians have not being doing their job, as rain is a direct blessing from God given to the Christians who are right with God (drought is a curse). Nationally it is simply a hard fact that the Christians have not fulfilled their responsibility to God. The evidence is everywhere. You see œthe strong man (Satan’s ruler in a particular region or situation) has first got to be œbound before his œgoods can be spoiled. This is practical advice, not vague spiritual theory. This can only be done via intercession / spiritual warfare.

The spiritual forces/beings can only be bound, for a period of time, via the greater authority of the Lord, delegated to us. Thus Jesus taught us in Mark 3:27 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man™s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. This principle applies equally to deliverance and intercession. Furthermore, the general principle on all matters is in Matt 16:19 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. What have you personally done with this awesome responsibility? Or does it apply to œsomeone else?

Elijah was a remarkable man of God. He dealt also on a national, as well as a personal level. You are familiar with the following verse:

17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (Jas 3: 17 “ 18).

Elijah interceded. The phrase œjust like us actually means œof like passions as us. He was a real man who burped and farted. Who had sexual desires. Just like me. And you. And God used him. Because he prayed earnestly.

God can use you too if you are committed and if you put yourself in a place to be used “ by the way you should fast regularly “ this is expected of all Christians “ read Derek Prince on this.

The principles or œsteps to intercession above are simple. The origins of this paticular teaching are unknown to me, but I heard it sometime in the mid 1980’s. As is obvious, you must be led of the Spirit, confirmation of revelation is crucial and don’t stop until you have the victory! God can lead you to to pray for anything in a variety of ways “ eg give relevant scripture by revelation. Often the ruling power is revealed in metaphorical form. There really are no hard and fast rules. All God seeks for is a willing and obedient vessel.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil™s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.

In this Passage from Eph 6 there are described various dimensions and levels of authority in Satan’s kingdom (kindly look up each word in the Greek and study the whole chapter). The one level, Kosmocrater, or world ruler probably corresponds to the Prince of Persia described in Daniel 10:13. This Prince of Persia blocked an angel of God for 21 days from visiting Daniel. Babylon, where Daniel lived in Biblical Persia, is now present day Baghdad in Iraq. Mohammed lived his life in the region just south of Persia, in Mecca and Medina, on the same unbroken piece of land, now mainly Saudi Arabia. I believe that this same Prince of Persia now controls Islam. Does it not make sense that the powerful angel that so opposed the purposes and people of God then, does the same now, via Islam? In Jude 8 “ 10 we are urged not to make light of the legitimate, evil authority that these being hold. Also, when the devil tempted Jesus, by offering give him all the kingdoms of the world, this was a legitimate offer remember. The devil rules now illegitimately, but the price has been paid to ransom each person and every kingdom of the whole world, back! Satan has usurped God’s authority in many places, and we are invited to help establish God’s will for regions again…

My personal view is that man originally had only two purposes: to fellowship with God and to rule the earth. Man however fell from grace, cutting off fellowship. We also ruined the whole earth. But through Jesus, who is the second Adam (1 Cor 15:45-47), we can once again fellowship with God, and rule the earth. This is through the delegated authority of Jesus. All rulership has been placed under the authority of Christ (Eph 1: 20-21). Also Matt 28:18-19: Then Jesus came to them and said, œAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go … etc. Now interestingly, in Eph 1: 22-23 and 1 Cor 15: 25 “ 28, it is clear that everything has been placed under the feet of his body. So we, as the body of Christ on earth, are to rule! But the average Christians has failed to do this, broadly speaking. There is a long line of heroes in history of great men of God took whole countries by storm “ eg Luther, Finney, Wesley, Moodey, John G. Lake etc, right up to the modern era of B. Graham, Wimber, Hagin and Derek Prince. We are required to follow their example of integrity and courage. We have to take up the fight, because no-one else will do it for us.

Of course there are limits to binding and loosing: usually we cannot heal all the sick in a hospital, certainly we cannot bind the devil in the whole earth. Our authority can only be exercised piecemeal, as God gives us the faith, for a period of time. This is because we are in an ongoing war “ with battles, victories and losses. Even though the war has been won by Jesus on the cross, the war will only cease when Jesus returns. But we can attain victories in spiritual war, such as peace, prosperity and justice for a nation, deliverance and healing etc, all for a time. There are many recorded instances of this historically, and probably many unrecorded ones.

The victories of spiritual warfare are signs / firstfruits / reminders, of 1) our Lord’s defeat of Satan’s kingdom 2000 years ago, 2) an outworking / reflection of the perfect Kingdom presently in place in heaven, and 3) foreshadowing of the future judgment of Satan’s kingdom and the kingdom of God on earth.

Why were the demons terrified when they saw Jesus, and some people outraged at the deliverances he ministered? “ it was a sign of the Kingdom of God (the complete rulership of God) on earth in the here and now, heralding how it will be one day, on the new earth. Matt 8: 29 œWhat do you want with us, Son of God? they shouted. œHave you come here to torture us before the appointed time? They were forcibly reminded of their ultimate doom, by being ejected right then. Spiritual warfare is exciting because it an application of a prior victory (the resurrection) in the here and now, by exercising the present delegated authority of Christ to bind evil forces, who know of their ultimate fate. It is bringing the perfect order of heaven to earth. We are in a battle “ not against flesh and blood, but invisible mind-controlling evil forces, who hate all good things and desire only evil. They know they are defeated yet still hang on, like dying leeches. We have been given the authority to rule them. We need to appropriate this authority in reality. Or stay defeated until we pass on. The choice is ours.

The need in our country has never been greater. The levels of witchcraft, rape and murder in our country has never been higher. The demonic principalities and powers which strongly influence people in this country never rest. Unfortunately the ugly truth is that Satan laughs at most Christians because they do not avail themselves of what God has provided. We stand on the brink of a hard-core Communist replacement of the ANC and an open sacrifice of all Whites to the ignorant, greedy masses deceived by their corrupt, demonically-inspired leaders. The single aim of Satan is destruction. Communism is an open doctrine of demons that unscrupulous leaders have never hesitated in history to use for their own advantage. Like Hitler almost all the Black leaders of Africa are willing to drag the country down with them, so long as they have personal luxuries.

Jer 16:10-12
10 œWhen you tell these people all this and they ask you, (152)˜Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?™ 11 then say to them, (152)˜It is because your fathers forsook me,™ declares the LORD, (152)˜and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me.

The Lord specifically gave me this for South Africa a number of years ago: Hos 4:1 “ 3
Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
œThere is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing,
lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land mourns,
and all who live in it waste away;

When you answer to God one day, He will not accept that there was œnothing you could do. This article clearly shows that there is something you can do. God holds all Christians responsible for their country. In this country the Afrikaner in particular, who knew God as a nation, have forsaken Him, and we sit with this mess as a result. Clearly, it is time for us all to return to God. Right now. With repentance, fasting, prayer and intercession. Our whole heart. The choice is simple: we are in an invisible war, and we each do our part, or we all go under. Our weapons are mighty, but only if we use them.

You have read this article. Maybe even understood! Now tell me, is it … still … someone ELSE’S responsibility?