Francis Frangipane. The Three Battlegrounds (Chap 15)
The three Battle Grounds • Sermon • Submitted
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The Three Battlegrounds of The Heavenly Places
The last frontier of battle is the heavenly places, the dimension known today as the spirit realm. It is here that angels and demons wage their war for our cities. But let the reader take note: this dimension is currently enemy territory! Only according to the measure that our heart is like Christ's do we have authority in the heavenlies; only a citywide, Christ-centered church can displace the powers of darkness from the spirit realm.
15 THE WAR OVER REALITY
Created in the image of God, man was given limited, yet distinct, inherent powers. He was granted the power to imagine, as well as the faculty to define and then establish reality. And, operating within the boundaries preset by God, man does this, for better or worse, according to the free selection of his will. As we understand this, we see that the essence of spiritual warfare is in who shall define reality: the Word of God or the illusions of this present age.
WHAT WE AGREE UPON
What is reality? How does life appear-to you? The dictionary defines reality as "that which is real; an actual thing, situation, or event." Such is reality in terms of objective analysis. But reality is not just objective: there is also a subjective or personal side to reality which is rooted in our feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. From this perspective, life is "done to [us] as [we] have believed"
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
In this personal side of reality, what seems real to one is very often unreal to another. whatever a society agrees upon and establishes through consent, compromise and constant use will ultimately define reality to them.
Understanding this precept is very important because, as we come into agreement with the principles and standards of the kingdom of God, our whole definition of society is going to change.
An example of this in Scripture is seen in the book of Genesis. "And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible to them" (Gen. 11:6 AMPLIFIED).
This is what the Lord Himself said concerning the ungodly Babylonians. He said that whatever mankind imagined, it had the potential to accomplish. If you doubt the validity of that statement, you would have stood among the scoffers when dreamers envisioned themselves standing on the moon. You would have scorned the concept that voices and images could be transmitted around the world through invisible frequencies. You would have ridiculed the idea that weapons would become powerful enough to destroy all life on earth.
Yet, today these things are part of our world because of man's power to establish reality. If a man's mind can imagine it and he can get others to believe in it, their spirits can accomplish it. And with few exceptions, nothing will be impossible, even for as small a group as two or three, once they believe a thing can happen.
This is exactly what the warfare is centered upon in the church today: the devil wants us to accept Christianity as it is, as though division, sin, and spiritual impotency were the ultimate reality God has provided for believers on earth. Satan wants us to agree with and thereby reinforce this deceptive view of the church. There are many promises which are yet to be fulfilled concerning the people of God. These are holy and noble purposes which shall unfold in the last days.
Therefore, our agreement must be with God's plan for a holy, undivided, powerful church, for He is calling us to establish His kingdom, not the status quo!
While we must work with the church as it is, we must ever realize that what we see in Christianity is not what the church will be like before Jesus returns!
In fact, our call is to cooperate with God in the bringing forth of revival and the raising up of the body of Christ. "
That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless"
27 All that he does in us is designed to make us a mature church for his pleasure, until we become a source of praise to him—glorious and radiant, beautiful and holy, without fault or flaw.
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Before Jesus returns, the Father has promised His Son a bride without spot or wrinkle.
She shall be a powerful witness of Christ Himself in the earth.
WAR IN HEAVEN: THE PRINCIPLE OF DISPLACEMENT
"Then war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels going forth to battle with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer"
7 Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.
8 But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer.
Notice the phrase, "there was no room ... for them in heaven."
The war against principalities involves displacement:
Christ filling the spiritual territories once held by Satan. This event is difficult for us to comprehend. How do angels and demons, beings who do not die from wounds, wage war?
With what do they do battle? And how do they conquer one another?
Without exceeding the bounds of our knowledge, we can safely say this:
All spiritual warfare is waged over one essential question. Who will control reality on earth; heaven or hell?
When it comes to angelic and demonic warfare, the battle rests not in physical weaponry but in the power of agreement between mankind and the spirit realm.
We read in Ephesians 6 that "principalities and powers" occupy the "heavenly places" (v. 12).
But we read in Eph. 1:10 that it is the Father's expressed purpose to sum up all things in Christ, "things in the heavens and things upon the earth." Ephesians 3:10 reveals God's glorious plan, that "through the church" God has purposed to make known His manifold fold wisdom to the principalities and powers "in the heavenly places!"
You see, as the body of Christ on earth agrees with its Head in heaven, the Spirit of Christ Himself displaces places the powers of darkness in the heavenly places. In other words, when the church on earth is aggressive in its agreement with the will and Word of God, then the Presence of God increases in the spiritual realm, proportionally displacing the influence of hell on earth.
Shortly thereafter, manifesting in the world of men, we see revivals, healings, and miracles.
But when the church is passive, indifferent, or carnal, the powers of hell increase their rule over the affairs of men: marriages break up, crime increases, and wantonness becomes unbridled.
We must see that our prayers, attitudes, and agreement with God are an integral part of establishing the reality of the kingdom of God on earth!
THE DEVIL IS A LIAR
Satan is unmasked in Scripture as "a liar, and the father of lies"
44 You are of your father, the devil, and it is your will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false.
His realm of operation is the spirit world that immediately surrounds and blankets the consciousness of mankind. This realm is known as the "heavenly places" in the Bible (Eph. 6:12). From this spiritual realm Satan works to corrupt and control the mind of man through illusions built from mankind's carnal desires and fears.
But the power of the lie is not merely the speaking of falsehoods, nor is it that this world is an illusion. The lie of the enemy appears most powerfully when men believe that this world, as it is, is the only world we can live in.
The truth is, of course, that God is establishing His kingdom, and ultimately every other reality will submit to and be ruled by that kingdom!
26 Then [at Mount Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has given a promise: Yet once more I will shake and make tremble not only the earth but also the [starry] heavens.
27 Now this expression, Yet once more, indicates the final removal and transformation of all [that can be] shaken—that is, of that which has been created—in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue.
28 Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe;
15 The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)!
The weapon God has given us to combat the lies of the enemy is the Word of God, which the Scriptures refer to as the "sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17).
Jesus said His words "are spirit and are life" (John 6:63), which is to say that the substance or meaning in Christ's words represents an actual reality: the living Spirit of the kingdom of God.
We should also recognize that the ancient Greeks, in whose language the New Testament was written, had no word for "reality." To them "truth" and "reality" were the same essence.
If we seek to experience the true work of the Holy Spirit, we must understanding that the Spirit has been sent to establish a dramatically different reality in which Jesus' followers might dwell: His kingdom.
Thus, as we become one with the Spirit of Truth, and as we fully embrace brace the Word of Truth, we are brought into the reality of God Himself! This point is essential: in our war over who controls man's world, the singular weapon God has given the church is His Spirit-empowered Word. The Living Word of the Spirit is the truth.
Paul taught that spiritual warfare deals specifically with the "pulling down of strongholds." But what are those strongholds? They are lies the devil has sown into our thought processes which, as we accepted and believed them, became reality to us.
We do not fall in sin as much as we are seduced by it;
every sin is cloaked in some measure of deception. But, as these lies are uncovered and destroyed, as our thought-processes are freed from illusions, we will discover the blamelessness, perfection, and truth of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
STANDING UPON THE WORD OF GOD
To be successful in battle, we must know the Word of God. If you are in need of deliverance, or if you are being used in the ministry of deliverance, the following verses will be helpful in establishing victory. It is not wise to engage in any kind of spiritual warfare without knowing these Scriptures perfectly from memory.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; ...We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:4 KJV, 10:5 NAS
"And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them" (Eph. 5:8-13). When you expose and confess your sins, they no longer are in darkness (secrecy). When light is turned on in a dark room, darkness becomes light. So also, when you bring your sins out of darkness and expose them to light, they vanish in God's forgiveness; they become light.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Again, confess your sins. God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse you of ALL unrighteousness.
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place" (2 Cor. 2:14). There is victory, right here, right now because Christ is in you.
"For God has not given us a spirit of [fear], but of power and love and [a sound mind]" (2 Tim. 1:7). Do not fear Satan's threats. Always remember, the devil is "a liar and truth is not in him." "Through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives" (Heb. 2:14-15).
Satan may try to make you believe he has power over you, but Jesus says that Satan has been "rendered powerless" in our lives. Use the name of Jesus and the Word of God to break the power of Satan's lies.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). If God causes everything to work for good as you love Him, then ultimately nothing bad can ever happen to you. God has predestined you to be conformed to the image of His Son.
"Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you" (Luke 10:19). Jesus has given us authority over ALL of Satan's power. We have His authority and His promise that nothing shall injure us!
"The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). You have been set free-not because you "feel" free, but because cause you have faith. Each time you speak your faith, you are establishing your freedom as a true reality. Your confidence is that while you are praying, the angelic hosts of God, which outnumber the devil by at least two to one, are united with you against evil. With Jesus, you cannot fail!!
18 Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding on behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
7 So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.
13 The Lord will go forth like a mighty man, He will rouse up His zealous indignation and vengeance like a warrior; He will cry, yes, He will shout aloud, He will do mightily against His enemies.
Isaiah 54:11–17 (AMP)
11 O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in fair colors [in antimony to enhance their brilliance] and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make your windows and pinnacles of [sparkling] agates or rubies, and your gates of [shining] carbuncles, and all your walls [of your enclosures] of precious stones.
13 And all your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children.
14 You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God’s will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy.
17 But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.