POWER STUDY - E36

[Albert Finch]

Satan’s Domain - 5 - The Realm of Darkness
(Read 1 Peter 5 & 2 Peter 2)

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 3For 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;)

(Wherever a stronghold exists, it is a demonically induced pattern of thinking. Specifically, it is a “house made of thoughts” which has become a dwelling place for Satan’s activity. )

1 Corinthians 6:17 17But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

(A demon cannot dwell in a true Christian’s spirit. Through regeneration, the human spirit becomes the house of the Holy Spirit, indeed, it is because the Holy Spirit is within us that we have discernment concerning the enemy’s in-roads.)

Matthew 12:43-44 43“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44“Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

(Jesus reveals that there is a dimension to human nature that actually can host an evil spirit and provide it a type of rest. It is in our thought life and unsanctified attitudes that unclean spirits, masking themselves as our thoughts and hiding themselves in our attitudes, find access to our lives. The sense of “rest” they seek originates from being in harmony with their environment i.e. when our thought-life is in agreement with un-belief, fear, or habitual sin, the enemy has rest.)

Matthew 12:44- 45  --“Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45“Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

2 Peter 2:20 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

(Warfare must be waged according to the scripture in order to be successful in spiritual battles. If we are ignorant of the nessessity of bringing Christ into the delivered soul there is danger that the last state of “that man” might become “worst than the first”. Christ must enter (by submitting our thought-life to Him) and be allowed to build His house of righteousness in the very area where Satan once dwelt.)

Luke 11:21-22 21“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. 22But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.

(Before we were saved Satan was like a “fully armed strongman” guarding the homestead of our souls. On the day of our salvation, however, a glorious “someone stronger” the Lord Jesus Christ attacked and overpowered Satan and striped him of his “armor”. “Armor” upon which demons rely consists of our own thoughts, attitudes and opinions which are in agreement with evil.)

2 Corinthians 10:1-4 1Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: 2But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3For 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;)

(What Jesus described as “armor” the apostle Paul classified as “strongholds”. It is foolish to assume that our salvation experience has eliminated all the wrong ideas and attitudes – the strongholds – which are still influencing our perceptions and behavior.)

1 Peter 5:8-9 8Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

(We should expect a time when we must exercise our authority in Christ as we “resist the devil”. There will be a period of fighting involved in the process of pulling down strongholds; for you are breaking your agreement with the foe that will fight to remain in your life.)

Proverbs 23:7 7For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

(The essence of who we are is in our thought life. Two primary strongholds that must be annihilated:
1.) Pride – we must recognize and confess our need. We must stop pretending “everything is alright”. We must humble ourselves and seek help.
2.) Unbelief – It is this scheme of thinking – that tells us that Christ-likeness is impossible – which holds all further spiritual growth hostage. This lie and the chain it places on our hearts must be stripped from our lives.
Ex. How to deal with the stronghold of failure. To repent means our thinking must change – there are herds of erroneous thoughts roaming across our minds grazing on the ever available hay and stubble of unbelief and failure. Thoughts like:

1. I will always be a failure.
2. I am just a sinner.
3. I tried walking in the spirit and it did not work.

Thoughts like these converge and form the walls, floor and ceiling – the “building materials” of the stronghold of failure. To secure victory you must take captive those wrong thoughts -- capture the thought “I am a failure” repent of it, asking God to forgive you of your unbelief, and let your mind be renewed by the word of God which states “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13)

Find other scripture and affirm and meditate on them as you go through the day. Another Example:

Arrest the thought “I am just a sinner” replace it with the profession of your faith that says “Though I was a sinner, now I am a beloved child of God." And though I occasionally still sin the blood of Christ cleanses me of all unrighteousness. As you continue being renewed in the spirit of your mind by the word of God, you will begin walking in tremendous power and peace.)