AMERICA'S
ALL-OUT SPIRITUAL BATTLE
PART 2
By Marsha West
April 18, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
JESUS CHRIST AND DEMONS
My question to Christians who doubt the devil’s existence: Why would Jesus bother casting out demons if they don’t exist?
Why would Paul say in Romans 8:37-39 "…in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
According to the Bible, principalities and powers (demons) are under the power of Satan. (Mat. 12:24) Evil spirits have the ability to possess and control those who are unsaved. (Mat. 8:28-34) Evil spirits can cause sickness (Mat. 12:22); insanity (Luke 8:26-36); bodily injury (Mark 9:14-26); long term infirmities (Luke 13:11-13). Yes, Satan and his demons have been given certain powers, but as John MacArthur points out, “Satan is a servant of God and can only work within the perimeters that God defines...”
Here’s another questions for doubters: Why would the Son of God give the apostles power over evil spirits that are non existent?
According to the Bible the apostles were given the authority to cast out demons. (Mark 16:17,18; Luke 10:17; Acts 5:16; 8:7; 16:16-18; 19:12)
If fallen angels aren’t real, why would the account of the temptation of Jesus by Satan be included in the Gospels?
Listen to Mark 1:12-13:
And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Now listen to Luke 4:2:
Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
Even the Son of God was fully prepared before He faced down the enemy…because His enemy was real!
Jesus is our ultimate authority on how we should deal with demons. In what ways did He respond to Satan’s temptation? He used the Word of God (the sword of the Spirit) as a weapon to fend off his fork-tongued foe.
Matthew 4:2-15:
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
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Let that sink in for a moment…
Now that any misconception concerning what Jesus Christ believed about the forces of evil is cleared up, I’ll get back to my point. Paul reminded Timothy: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”(1 Timothy 4:1).
Demons can teach humans things? Wow. According to Paul demons are deceitful. Hmmm….I wonder if they teach lies to people?
Of course they do!
These cunning spirits enlist men and women to pass on their lies and deceit! (The dumbest demon is a whole lot smarter than the most brilliant human. Even smarter than Barack and Hillary put together.)
According to the Bible a spiritual battle is raging. Humans are unaware of what’s taking place. We’re unable to see it because it’s in the invisible realm.
Who is behind taking God out of the public square? You guessed it.
Who is behind making Christianity irrelevant? None other.
To accomplish these goals satanic forces must control the minds of individuals in high places if they are to carryout their plans. One short example. Christians who refused to worship the Emperor Nero as God were dressed in tar jackets and put on stakes and then burned at night to light the streets. This is nothing short of diabolical.
If you want to avoid being taken in by “principalities and powers” read Ephesians 6:10-20
No doubt some readers are thinking, “I can’t buy into the idea of a war going on between angels and demons.” That’s fine. But please explain to me what is going on in this country. No one can deny that a culture war has been brewing for decades. Kids vs. Parents…Sexual deviancy vs. Virtue…Hollywood vs. Family values…Filth vs. Decency…Pro-death vs. Pro-life…Moral relativism vs. Absolute truth…Christian liberalism vs. Christian orthodoxy…Atheism vs. Theism…Evolution vs. Creation. If all of this weren’t bad enough, there’s another war brewing: Big government vs. Free enterprise.
Since the Marxist/socialist/progressive/statists have taken control, for the first time ever free market capitalism is losing ground in America -- even though 70% of the American people think the free market is the best way to organize our economy. Worse, President “Hope and Change” is in the process of transforming us into an oppressive and tyrannical state! We the People are finally waking up to the fact that what’s in store for us is European-style socialism.
Wake up, America! Socialism is a godless system. Socialist want to take money from the “haves” and give it to the “have-nots.” This is redistribution of wealth!
Big Government is hell-bent on controlling our hard earned money and our lives. Big Government will tax Americans to death. Mark my words. A value added tax is coming. Government bureaucrats will determine how the money is spent! Personally, I prefer to decide where my money goes especially when it comes to the arts, charities and anything to do with healthcare. This brings to mind abortion. American’s tax dollars will pay for killing womb-babies under ObamaCare. If tax-payer funded infanticide is not part of Satan’s diabolical plan, I don’t know what is.
So I ask you, how will a godless government that controls business and industry, banking, and our healthcare system--as well as the minds of the masses--benefit future generations? What will our country look like in 50 years if We the People don’t rise up and put a stop to the Obama administration’s Marxist/socialist agenda?
SATAN’S LETHAL WEAPON: POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
America, Canada, and Western European countries are dealing with political correctness on steroids! Woe to those of us who offend our fellow man’s sensibilities. Correction! Fellow person’s sensibilities.
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Take for example “Merry Christmas.” The PC greeting is “happy holiday” so as not to offend those who are not Christians. “Spring break” has replaced Easter. The flavor of the month for retarded is “Developmentally impaired”…or is it mentally challenged…or developmentally challenged?
Just for the heck of it I visited dictionary.com to check the definition of “retarded.” It means the following:
“In childhood development sense, ‘mentally slow’ … To cause to move or proceed slowly; delay or impede …to be delayed … slowing down or hindering of progress; a delay. … Often Offensive Affected with mental retardation.”
Unless the word is used in a derogatory manner, which is unacceptable, referring to a person who has Down syndrome as mentally retarded is simply acknowledging that he/she is mentally slow. Why is that offensive or hurtful? Why do we need to come up with a new word or phrase every couple of years to take the place of perfectly good greetings, holidays, adjectives, etc.?
Ever notice how individuals who utter a PI word or phrase are attacked instead of given the benefit of the doubt? Critics will set aside a rational and brilliant argument and go all out to destroy the offending individual’s reputation and credibility! It matters not if it’s just a slip of the tongue, which it often is. The offender gets labeled a bigot, racist, homophobe, hateful or worse. From then on Joe Blow is known as the guy who said____ You fill in the blank. Both the Left and the Right are guilty of this, by the way.
The “politically correct police” pressure (bludgeon) people into conforming to social change. Paul Proctor points out that “It puts into practice any number of unbiblical behaviors, theories, religions and causes from promoting promiscuity, to homosexuality, to syncretism, to abortion rights, to euthanasia, to birth control, to stem cell research, to Darwinism, to faith-based initiatives, to ‘no child left behind,’ to global warming, to you name it…”
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN CHRISTIANITY
Progressive Christians embrace religious pluralism. For them each religion is equally valid and all religions lead to God. That’s weird. For over 2,000 years Christianity has taught that the only way to God is through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) Progressives get away with this heresy by rejecting historic Christianity’s long-held traditions, doctrines and creeds. What these folks are striving for is a New Kind of Christianity.
Progressive Christians celebrate unscriptural practices and behavior all in the name of tolerance and unity. “Although disturbing,” says Don Closson, “we shouldn't be surprised. Our culture has been moving away from a biblical view of truth and toward the acknowledgment of just one moral duty or virtue, that is--tolerance. This new absolute requires that we be tolerant of every possible faith assumption and moral system except, it seems, the traditional Christian view of God and salvation. It's not that we have new information about the life of Jesus or the reason for His death. As a society we no longer want to hear about a God who is holy and requires satisfaction when His moral order is violated. This view applies the notion ‘I'm OK, you're OK to God.’ Maybe if we tolerate Him, even with His outdated notions of holiness, He will tolerate us in our fallenness.”
Many pastors in our postmodern, moral relativistic, anything goes, live and let live houses of worship are too cowardly to teach on what the scriptures say about heaven and hell. If all paths lead to heaven, as progressives believe, will unrepentant tyrants, mass murderers, serial rapists, pedophiles, prostitutes, drug dealers and animal abusers go to heaven? What about atheists and those who say they’d rather go to hell where their friends are? Will God-haters be in heaven too? Is Judas there?
No. Unrepentant sinners do not go to heaven for all eternity. If there’s one thing the Christian religion is not known for is its all-inclusiveness. It is exclusive. What irks people about Christianity is its claim to be the only truth. Christianity also says that the God of the Bible is the One true God and that all other Gods and all other religions are a counterfeit. The Apostle John made this point clear: “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1John 5:12). In other words, those who reject the notion that Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of man on the cross will remain permanently separated from the Father in heaven. "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:1-2). Sin separates us from God, Christ reconciles us to Him.
Serious Christians please note: Religious pluralism is an oxymoron! If you haven’t picked up on this yet, diversity is not tolerant. In fact it’s glaringly hypocritical. Is it possible to have a personal God (Christianity) and an impersonal God (Islam) at the same time? No! Can a person “die once and after that face the judgment” (Christianity) and also be reincarnated (Hinduism)? No! These are two incompatible beliefs. Can Jesus Christ be the Son of God (Christianity) and a mere prophet (Islam)? Again, no! Either Jesus Christ is God incarnate and rules the universe as Christians believe, or He was just a man -- and a crazy man at that!
What I’m talking about is “doublethink.” Doublethink means simultaneously believing in two contradictory ideas. For example: same difference, spend thrift, perfect idiot, and my personal favorite, Southern Baptist Buddhist. (Some say Al Gore coined this one.)
For the sake of diversity everything society once thought of as perverted behavior is now seen by many as normal and acceptable. And of course Christians are expected to go along with what everyone else is doing or be ridiculed. However, the Bible, which is the roadmap that shows how followers of Jesus must live their lives, says we are not to embrace the culture’s vile ways. We are called to be Christ-like – which means holy. Not perfect -- no one is perfect. We’re not called to be cool, that’s for sure.
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If the Apostles lived today, would they get all pierced and tatted up and use foul language to reach the culture? Um…no. Being cool is not in God’s plan for our lives. He has called His people to be separate from the world, to be a “light in darkness.” Are you ready? We are called to be holy.
Are you a light in this dark world, brothers and sisters? Or are you making decisions that will snuff out your light?
