Walk Free

“Yeah, all that spiritual warfare stuff you been teachin’, pastor, that’s a little out there, dontcha think? I mean, I know missionaries gotta be up on that stuff, but I’m just not seein’ it here in America.”  A few members complained about a series Ken chose to do on the believer’s position and authority in the supernatural realm. This parishioner received a crash course in demonic activity and believer’s warfare shortly after this conversation.

These folks loved the Lord dearly and made regular short-term mission trips to Haiti.  After one trip, they showed us some evil-looking masks they brought back as souvenirs.  Ken and I felt uneasy about them immediately and warned the couple that objects like that are often cursed by various priests and shamans of false religions.

The couple looked at us askance and assured us that these were merely objects of art, which they then displayed in their home.  After a series of strange home accidents and some weird goings on, they started to re-think their position and decided to get rid of the masks by burning them in the fire.  They told us that when they threw the masks into the blaze, they emitted screams.  No joke.

I still meet Christians who are unconvinced that every day, all day, there is a vicious enemy whose sole purpose is to either steal what we have, kill or destroy us.  As the days grow closer to Christ’s return, it is very unwise to be uneducated about your position and authority as a child of God.  The two books I want to recommend today, discuss this topic.

“A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare,” by Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock, is a little older but remains a go to book for me.   When we are faced with serious battles like a child’s addiction to drugs, a spouse’s addiction to pornography, anxiety, fear, depression, financial deprivation and the like, we do well to understand that we can break destructive cycles and bondages.  Our homes should be a refuge from our enemy, Satan, but they cannot be that if we do not understand the conniving ways he can erect strongholds in our lives.

I didn’t know nothin’ about fightin’ in the supernatural until I was in my thirties and frankly, I was afraid to mess with any of it.  I foolishly hoped that if I didn’t fool with that stuff, Satan, would sort of pass me by. My ignorance astonishes me still.  I became attracted to this book on a friend’s recommendation and purchased it because of the first chapter’s title; “But I Never Wanted to Be in a Battle.”

The authors address the hesitancy of the church to even embrace the phrase, “spiritual warfare,” and the lack of sound, Biblical teaching on the topic.  They quote another of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis, who said, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils.  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

This book is balanced and will open your eyes to Satan’s low strategies and the believer’s high position in Christ.  Other chapter titles include: “Who is The Enemy and What Does He Want From Me,” “Breaking Bondages,” “Fight for Your Children,” and “Fight For Your Marriage.” They assure us that most of our warfare occurs on our knees with focused, informed prayer arrows.

The second book today, is “The Bondage Breaker,” by Neil Anderson.  The focus is very specific towards walking in freedom and the abundant life Christ died to provide for us.  Using personal accounts (with names changed), Dr. Anderson teaches methodically on how to recognize bondage and obtain freedom.  His abundant use of Scripture provides a wealth of memory verses that we can retrieve when confronted with our own bondages or others.

If there is a reoccurring issue in your life like habitual sin, irrational feelings, chronically negative thinking, confusion, despair and other such destructive tendencies, there’s a possibility you are dealing with a bondage that needs breaking.  Sometimes we inherit these patterns from our families and others are all our own making.  Either way, Jesus does not intend for his children to walk around dragging chains behind them.  This book will lovingly take you down the pathway to freedom in a logical, no heebie jeebie nonsense, sort of way.

Ken taught this as a class several times with outstanding results and it could be a great book to use in your small group or to go through with a spouse or close friend. There is an accompanying workbook that we found to be very useful in applying Anderson’s principles to our specific situations.

Jesus is coming soon, dear ones, and I fear the enemy is more aware of that than we are.  The darkness will grow more intense in the last days and the apostle Paul warns us that many will fall away from the faith, towards the end.  If Satan’s already achieved a foothold in a life through a stronghold, how difficult will it be for him to pile on more deception on top of that?

Be armed and dangerous.  Whether we like it or not, every believer is in the battle between darkness and light which will rage until the end of days.  I want to be using every single weapon and tool God provides for me to advance his kingdom and force Hell’s retreat, don’t you?