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WAR IN THE SPIRIT

Training Material

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

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WAR IN THE SPIRIT

Avenue of Faith #3

Preface

(spiritual war, devils)

Colossians 2:10 says, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Verse 15 says, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Jesus came and literally pulled down every principality and power. The Word of God says in Ephesians 6:12, “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.” He is talking about supernatural entities with intellect and the ability to persuade, immobilize, or gird up. Devils can plan and manipulate not only individuals, but whole nations.

You have a mission to destroy the works of the devil like Jesus commanded the church to do. If we pray against the principalities and powers over any given area, the people then can hear the Word of the Lord and get saved. It is a spiritual condition. There are many people in the earth, and we have a short time. God has called us to do this thing. We have a superior source because our source is of God. Let’s seek Him.

WAR IN THE SPIRIT

Avenue of Faith #3

by Pastor Kevin Badgle

Colossians 2:8 says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Beware means to “watch out”. Verse 9-10 says, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” If you are in Christ, you are complete in Him.

Colossians 2:11- 12 says, “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

Verse 15 says, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

This is not group therapy! We are to get closer to God and keep our relationship with Him fresh. That is why we come to church. We are to learn more according to His Word about what goes on in the spirit realm, so that we might go past the obstacles that are in the way through the fall of man. The fall of man broke down a lot of connections between us and God, but thank God for Jesus!

Jesus talked about spiritual things constantly. Many times people didn’t know what He was talking about, and when they got a glimpse of it, it usually ended up splitting the crowd. The accusation of the crucifying crowd to Pilate was that - Jesus stirreth up the people!

As I look at the Lord’s ministry, the very first recorded words He spoke were in Mark 1:15, “. . . The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel,” echoing the words of John the Baptist.

God wants us to turn away from the ways of the world and operate in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “. . . the kingdom of God is at hand - in other words, Repent from where you are and go to where I am calling you.

In Luke 16:16 Jesus said, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” John said about Jesus in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” There has to be a losing of the world and a gain of the things of the kingdom of heaven. We are entirely too earth bound. We make our judgments with natural explanations.

Many accept the idea that misbehavior is a physical condition, hence the thoughts of the signature of the DNA molecule and all the things in man. They say if they get rid of the gene they will get rid of the problem. They say the DNA in your body controls what is going on in your mind and soul. They are so far off base.

The Word of God warns us that we should not let philosophy in the church. Philosophy breeds psychology. Philosophy is another one of man’s estimations of a given condition, behavior, or activity of life. It is analyzed by minds of men and then put into practice, and that becomes psychology. They try to be mind doctors and a cure for the things that are wrong with people, and all the maladies in life. There are mind doctors and body doctors.

Jesus didn’t specialize in any one thing, but in ALL of them. Jesus is the CURE. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. . . .”

We see that Luke was a body doctor. He talked about the woman who had a spirit of infirmity. She was bowed over and could in no wise lift herself up. She didn’t need an operation on her backbone. She needed a spirit cast out. It was a spiritual condition.

As we read the words of Jesus, we see time and again where He says natural things are controlled first in the spiritual. Where you are physically, mentally, and naturally, is determined by where you are spiritually. There is no exception to this rule. The Lord made this plain.

He is talking about supernatural entities with intellect, thought, power and ability to persuade, immobilize, or gird up. They can plan and manipulate not only individuals, but whole nations. There is one beside every president, prime minister, and king. There are untold numbers of them in every kingdom and nation and household, and in every family linage, church, hospital, government, and organization regardless of race, creed, background, nationality or tongue.

This world may appear one way, but it is first organized in an area you cannot see. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Temporary things are limited. Things being moved in the natural are not always moved by things which can be seen, but the effects surely can be seen. The destruction made by a hurricane is horrific. There are princes of the power of the air. Jesus stood up in the boat and rebuked the winds and the waves. He rebuked the fever that Peter’s mother in law had. Jesus talked to things that we regard in this realm as inanimate. He did that because they are not inanimate.

Devils have intellect, power and ability, and they are here specifically to alter and control your life and mine. They are here to alter our government, household, nation and the earth. They are sent against churches and anybody who tries to go on into the spirit realm God’s way.

To try to fight a war without learning about your enemy is stupid. The Lord told us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” He said in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God . . . rightly dividing the word of truth.” In Luke 24:49 Jesus told the disciples, “. . . I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

He told us to receive power from on high so we will have power over all the power of the enemy. Since we are not fighting against flesh and blood, there is an enemy we fight that we cannot always see. However, we can see the effects of it just like the effects of the hurricane and wind. We cannot remain ignorant any longer.

Many have left the preaching of the kingdom and got into philosophy and psychology. There is a great amount of teaching on marriage, anger management, and other subjects, but if you don’t get to the root of the problem, it comes back. The Word of God is for redeemed people, but most people aren’t saved, and they need help.

We as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ are supposed to be able to supply that help. I cannot help you unless I can first diagnose you. You cannot help yourself unless you first are willing to receive from the Word of God the diagnosis. It must be so, whether you like it or not.

You have to know who your enemy is and who your friend is. TV and many publications promote the idea that everybody is sick, or is going to get sick, or needs to get tested before they get sick! Doctors take pictures of your insides looking for stuff. Just get right with God, and let’s go on.

The Lord demonstrated by the life He lived what He did in the spirit realm. He expects you and me to do the same. He said to repent, come out of the ways of the world, believe on Him, and operate in the same realm He operated in. If you look at His teaching, everything He taught was about the spirit.

The whole mentality of the pure gospel is this: Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” God will take care of all the other stuff. We switched it around and now we seek in the name of the Lord all the other stuff! Then we try to figure out what is wrong in the spirit realm.

Colossians 2:8 said to beware lest we be spoiled through philosophy. Ruined is what He meant by that - through philosophy trying to figure things out. Instead, bind the devil that comes against you, and loose the Spirit of God in your life. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

He taps on every single human shoulder at one time or another, and some more than others, depending on how much he owns or how much influence he has. For Christians, it is in direct proportion to how much of God we press for. We need to be aware that we are fighting an intellectual and powerful enemy.

1 John 4:4 says, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You can expect daily war, and if you don’t have it, examine your heart to see if you have capitulated to the enemy.

It is not the way of the Lord for someone to live in defeat all the time. They certainly are not a prayed up Holy Ghost filled Christian. Yes, we have burdens and needs, and when you are fighting you are going to look a little different than when you are cruising.

Daniel 10:8 says, “Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.” Daniel was the third ruler in the kingdom. God placed him there at the time of the Medes and the Persians. They defeated the Babylonians and a new prince came in. Daniel began to intercede to God for Israel which was amongst those people. He had been mourning and fasting. No doubt his kinsfolk and acquaintances thought he was off the deep end, but he was going at it in a spiritual sense. He ran head on into the principality that was controlling that nation. God wasn’t going to leave him alone so he sent a prince to comfort him.

Daniel said something I find fascinating in Daniel 10:8. He said, “. . . my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.” Everything he thought he knew, and everything he thought he had was nothing compared to what he was up against.

A nation is not going to win the war against physical enemies with military might, if they are backslid spiritually. America has not only let the hedge down, but has built a new one and hedged God out. We have cut our own throat. God has to turn the church around, because the last day church will not rapture out until it is turned around.

Daniel 10:11 says God specifically sent an angel to Daniel, this Old Testament man who did not have the Holy Ghost baptism we have. It says, “And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.”

Verse 12 says, “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” Don’t tell me that prayer does not get the attention of the most powerful forces in the universe. Hallelujah!

Daniel 10:13 says, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” All the time Daniel was fasting and praying, but he made a break through. Verse 14 says, “Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.”

Daniel 10:19-21 says, “And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” The scripture of truth is the Word of God.

Daniel was interceding for Israel who was captive among the heathen. It is the same today with the church of Jesus among the heathen in this country or any other. Daniel wasn’t trying to make a political move. He did not have a social agenda, and he wasn’t using psychology. He was on his knees seeking the Lord morning and night. Finally he got distraught, realizing that it wasn’t working in the natural. Nothing was changing. It was the same old same old status quo.

Jesus said the only way you can fix a situation and destroy a prince working over an area is that a greater than he will come upon him and overcome him. It is that way individually, in families, churches, and nationally. A greater (power of Jesus and the Holy Ghost) has to come upon it (the devil and his works).

When you got saved, somebody greater than you came upon you. Somebody greater than the devil powers operating you has to come upon you or you are not saved yet. When you receive the Lord, greater is He that is in you than the devil, and the Lord is greater than your self. We must win the battle spiritually first, or it will not be won in the natural.

You may wonder why we see certain levels of relief. It is the grace of God and the prayers of the saints. God would have us to be a people who are willing to war in the Spirit. There must be sacrifice now for the benefits to be felt later.

God says you have to win the battle over the enemy. That enemy is in the spirit realm, and he is more powerful than you, but he is not more powerful than the Holy Ghost which God has sent to them that believe. Luke 10:19 says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

If you go into battle fretting about whether you are going to get shot or not, you won’t be much of a soldier. You must go into battle with your mission in mind, understanding that there will be some around you who will backslide. There will be some who coward out, and others will be slaughtered by the enemy. Some won’t make it.

You have your mission to destroy the works of the devil like Jesus commanded the church to do. You say it is risky. Of course it is, but your kids and mine are worth it. The people who do not understand these things are worth it. God wants to send revival to those who are ignorant of what God has called us to.

God has given us power over all the power of the enemy, and He intends for us to fight by Him. Many can’t even discern Him. It is wretched for a soldier to go into a battle and not be sure who is theirs and who the enemy is.

It is the same when you don’t know how to pray. Thank God for the Holy Ghost. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

He is of God, and He knows how to pray. He knows what to bind and loose. If we let God have His way in our lives, and we pray in the Spirit, He will defeat the enemy. Has the enemy crept into your house? Is there a thief and a liar in your house? If you cannot operate the way you should, a devil is at work.

God set up laws, and you have to have things in the right priority. The devil tries to make sure the Word of God does not work. You can obey God’s Word implicitly, but if the devil is not gone, you will still go to hell. Jesus said woe to the scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. They knew the law better than anybody, but he called them whited sepulchers.

We are in a war. I can see this stuff like I am looking at you. I can sense it, see the results of it, and watch it waltz into your life and do what it wants to, and then waltz out.

When a preacher in the Old Testament time came into the city as a visiting evangelist, the city rulers would come out and ask if they came peaceably! They knew that they would know in short order everything that was going on in their jurisdiction.

God doesn’t want us to be ignorant of the devil’s devices. We are not to give place to the devil. If you are not real sure what is and is not of the devil, how do you know if you give place to it?

I am mad at the devil for lulling the church to sleep in these modern times! We need to get back to casting out devils and discerning spirits like Jesus did. We need to fight and war in the Spirit. If we don’t have a whole lot of money, that is fine. We can bind the prince of poverty over an area and that will change. We shall have revival, no matter what is going on around us.

Princes rule over areas. Daniel was praying for a whole nation, and he started knocking those princes out of the sky. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 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;”

It is not a natural, physical war he is talking about. It is a spiritual war. Fear, unbelief, skepticism, and mockery of the things of the Word of God are all devil inspired and manipulated and comes out of the mouths of men.

God want us to turn around. Jesus said to repent! Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

Get ready to do battle. The Bible says that every time there is a great door and effectual open, there are many adversaries. Paul wasn’t talking about the politics of the day. Jesus came and tore the spirit realm all to pieces, and He said He gave us power from on high. He said to move it all across the earth.

If we pray against the principalities and powers over any given area, the people then could hear the Word of the Lord and get saved. It is a spiritual condition. There are many people in the earth, and we have a short time. God has called us to do this thing.

It gives the devil good pleasure for a husband and wife to just chew on one another and eventually split up. The kids are beaten or neglected. The devil gets his kicks when you do not fulfill your part of the marriage covenant. Human suffering empowers the devil. He gets a high from it.

2 Kings 6:8-12 says, “Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.”

The king of Syria set up attacks against Israel to destroy it. God spoke to Elisha who was in his prayer closet seeking God. He was doing what he was supposed to be doing. The Lord told him exactly where the king of Syria was going to attack and when. He told him to tell the king of Israel not to go by that way. He gave the head count of the men, how they were arrayed, what they were going to do and everything about it.

The king of Israel, albeit a worldly king, had enough sense to know the man of God was right. He escaped several times out of the hands of his enemies, because he listened to the preaching of a man who was walking in the Spirit.

How did Elisha know these things? He was at home in his prayer closet. You can be home in your own prayer closet, and God can tell you everything you need to know. God knows where everyone is. He knows where the angels are. He knows what Satan and principalities are thinking! He knows all things. He lives within your heart and if you stir Him up, He will show you great and mighty things.

Finally, it happened so much and so precisely, the king of Syria said one of his own was a spy. He thought that as soon as he got done giving out orders in a private meeting that someone went out and told the king of Israel. He just knew there was a spy among them, and he wanted him found!

One of his own men told the king of Syria that there was a prophet in Israel who knew everything the king was doing. He could read his mail without going to the post office! He could read the mail of the principalities that were over his kingdom. God would send it to Elisha, and it would be right. God knew it before the king of Syria really knew what he was going to do.

We need Christians who will get down and say, God, I am not leaving until you bless me. I’m not leaving until you give me victory over this thing. We need to get on our faces and pray until God shows exactly what things are wrong in our house, the church, and ourselves.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We have to repent and turn from worldly ways. Then He will give us victory, and heal us and deliver us.

The king of Syria said they would just go get Elisha! That was not a good thing, because 1 Chronicles 16:22 says, “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

2 Kings 6:13 says, “And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.” That reminds me of Pharaoh trying to cross through the Red Sea on God’s miracle.

Verse 14 says, “Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.” One older man was all he was after, and maybe his one servant, but he sent a great host for him. He really was messing with God!

Verse 15 says, “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?”

Elisha had the same mentality Jesus had when He was asleep on the storm tossed ship. Verse 16 says, “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Elisha could already see them, because he had been in prayer seeking the Lord, warring in the Spirit and listening to God. He was acting on what God said.

Verse 17-18 says, “And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.”

God blinded every last one of them, and Elisha led them like little children right into the hand of the king of Israel. This is Old Testament, where they depended on the blood of bulls and goats and limited promises. This man didn’t have the indwelling Holy Ghost.

Folks, we have got to get in the Spirit, because the needs are so great. It can affect a whole battalion at one time, a whole nation, or one person at a time. The unreachable are reachable this way. A third of heaven’s angels fell with Satan. Two thirds stayed with God, so twice as many are for us as are against us. We have the advantage. We have a superior source because our source is of God. We need to believe God and trust Him. Let’s seek Him.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY

LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O. BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL 62941

CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541

E-mail livinghopefellowship@lazernetwireless.net

These condensed Bible studies have been published to help new Christians in their new walk with the Lord. Kevin Badgley, the author, is the pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.

This is a Living Hope Fellowship publication