BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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.” Read that last verse again. Most believers are so earthly minded (or carnally minded) they never even realize where the enemy’s attacks are actually coming from. They blame circumstances and people, and they waste their energy fighting natural conditions instead of supernatural causes. We need to wake up to the warfare that’s going on in the heavenly realm! We can get a glimpse of it in Daniel 10:12. There, we find Daniel had been fasting and praying for 21 days, awaiting a word from The LORD. Then, an angel appeared to him and said, “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.” This angel had left heaven with the answer to Daniel’s prayer on the first day he prayed. But he didn’t arrive for 21 days. What took him so long? Look at verse 13. “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.” Then, later in verse 20, he says, “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.” These scriptures are clear examples of the activity and warfare going on in the heavens. Warfare in the Heavens Sometimes, when I talk about the warfare that takes place in the heavens, people get confused. “Heaven?” they say. “I thought the devil was thrown out of heaven.” What they don’t realize is this. Throughout the Bible, we are taught there are three different areas called heaven: the heaven where God resides; the stellar heavens (what we call “outer space”); the heavens around this earth (the atmosphere surrounding this planet). This last heaven is where spiritual war takes place. (That’s why Ephesians 2:2 calls satan the prince of the power of the air.) It is where wicked spirits such as the prince of Persia operate. From there, they attempt to rule the nations to which they’ve been assigned. And rule them they will unless the prayers of God’s people keep them from it. Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 18:18? “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The heaven Jesus was talking about there isn’t the heaven where God resides. Nothing needs to be bound there. He was talking about the battle zone, about the heaven where satan’s forces are operating. He was telling us we have been given the authority to pull down the strongholds of satan (2 Corinthians 10:4). He was telling us God has given us power to bind the wicked spirits in heavenly places and to loose the angelic powers of God to work in our behalf. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:19, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The Greek text of that scripture would literally read, “I give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatever you declare locked on earth is locked in heaven and whatever you declare unlocked on earth is unlocked in the heavenlies.” Daniel couldn’t do that. He didn’t have the authority of the Name of Jesus. All he could do was hang on for 21 long, hard days until the angel of God could get through to him. But praise God, you and I, as believers and as children of the Most High God, don’t have to wait 21 days. We don’t even have to wait 21 seconds for the angels to begin their work on our behalf! Philippians 2:9-10 says we have been given a Name which is above every name, and at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven, in earth and under the earth. That covers it all! As believers, we have total authority over the powers of satan. We can take authority over the evil spirits that are trying to destroy this nation. We can take authority over them in the Name of Jesus and pull down their strongholds. It is time we begin to realize how important we are to world affairs. Since the day Jesus gave us the Great Commission, the life or death of the world has been in the hands of the Church. We are the ones who have the mighty Name of Jesus and the awesome strength of the gospel to bring life and abundance to every creature. We are the ones whose prayers can change every office of authority in this land. Vote God’s Way on Election Day Very soon our national elections will take place, and if we want a nation of “godliness and honesty,” it’s up to us to begin to intercede right now and use the power God has given us. 24 : BVOV

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