The Unseen War
Notes
Transcript
Prayer
Dr. Rob Reimer- Scooby Doo, Soul Care
“One of the reasons why it has been so hard for people in the Western world to accept the reality of deliverance ministry is because our Western world view has blinded us to Biblical realities. This is why I teach The Scooby Doo Theory. Scooby Doo is the longest running TV show in the history of TV. It began in 1968 when we were entrenched in a modern world view. Every cartoon started the same way: there was a ghost. But by the end of 22 minutes, Scooby and his teenage friends unmasked the ghost and revealed that it was just a bad guy dressed up as a ghost. They were teaching you a modern world view: Behind every apparent supernatural phenomenon is a natural explanation. The supernatural, if it exists at all, does not interact with the natural world. That’s modernism. Most of us were baptized into the waters of modernism and it tainted our understanding of the spiritual world presented in the Scripture.
Speed up the clock. Mid 1990’s I went over a friend’s house. He had a little boy. The boy got bored with adult conversation and went out in the living room and turned on the TV. I heard Scooby Doo. I love Scooby Doo; it was always my favorite cartoon. So, I went out and watched Scooby. There was a ghost; there is always a ghost. But this time by the end of the cartoon, the ghost was still a ghost. And I went, “Ruh-ro.” Someone just taught a new generation of children that behind an apparent supernatural phenomenon was an actual supernatural being. That changes everything. With that change can a dramatic increase in experimentation with spiritual practices. With that increased experimentation is an increase in demonization. The only answer to demonization is deliverance in Jesus’ name. The church, once again, must learn how to set the captives free.”
Today we are talking about the Unseen War that wages on, even when we are not aware of it. But first, let’s remind ourselves of what is taken place here in Daniels story…
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. 2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
Daniels Vision of the Eternal Christ
Daniels Vision of the Eternal Christ
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. 7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
It is in this place of prayer and fasting where Daniel has a grand vision of the eternal Christ. And his response is exactly like all of ours will be one day when we finally see him face to face, we will fall on our faces, prostrate before our King.
But last week we talked about the fact that prayer is the gateway to entering into the Unseen World. And there is nothing to fear there except the Lord Himself. And those whom have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb have nothing to fear at all because they are loved by Him, and perfect love cast out all fear. But we should expect to encounter Jesus in our prayer lives.
And that brings us to this next part of our story here in Daniel…
Of Angels and Demons
Of Angels and Demons
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
Daniel is in prayer, has this intense counter with the eternal Christ, was left lying face down, everyone else ran in fear of what they were encountering, though they did not see the vision that Daniel did…but as the Lord was speaking to Daniel, he fell asleep.
But now that Daniels spiritual eyes were opened again, it was time for him to learn a powerful lesson about the world we live in. How it is governed and what goes on behind the scenes.
Because there is a War that has been going on from the beginning, and that will one day come to fulfillment when the Lord Jesus returns…but this profound truth plays on behind the scenes and can explain much of what we as humans experience.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We simply need to have our eyes opened to the reality of the spiritual world that is happening all around us.
There is an interesting story from Elisha in 2 Kings that I want us to take a moment this morning and examine…
Open our Eyes
Open our Eyes
2 Kings 6:8–23 (NIV)
8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?” 22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
What an amazing story…Lord, open our eyes to see what you see. Let us live in to the reality that we are not just waging war against flesh and blood, in fact flesh and blood is not our enemy…but the spirits behind them are. The doctrines of demons and the ideaologies that set themselves up against your kingdom.
Would you open our eyes Lord.
Would we be made aware of this unseen war, and how we are to engage it.
Most of the time that engagement is prayer. Prayer is not only the gateway into the unseen war, it is the very thing we are believers are called to do in the war.
2 Corinthians 10:3–6(NIV)
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
These are things that we put on in prayer.
In fact, when Jesus taught us to pray…he taught us to pray a prayer of kingdom advancement and warfare against the enemy and his territory.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
But just because we engage in this type of warfare, doesn’t mean our answers will come when we expect them to. It doesn’t even mean that the answers will turn out like we hope they will…because his ways are not our ways…and he is so much greater than we can truly know or understand…
Back to Daniel…
Daniels engaged in prayer…his prayer went out to heaven the angel said…Daniel 10:12
12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
Your prayers were heard Daniel and I have been sent, I have come in response to them.
BUT…
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
Different circumstances demand different types of prayer. Jesus tells us to ask, seek and to knock. And that when we pray in accord with the will of God, then it will be done.
8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
The answers are sure when we pray on the basis of what God has said He will do. That is what the angel was saying…I have come in response to your prayer because your prayer was heard in heaven…but I was detained.
Sometimes delays occur to prayers for reasons that are beyond our current understanding. God sent his answer immediately, but the answer didn’t arrive for 3 weeks because the prince of Persia got in the way.
The prince of Persia…well that is an evil spirit, or a demonic spirit that has counsel with the king of Persia
Just as there are good spirits that we call angels, there are evil spirits that we call demons. And this goes back to the first war in heaven, which John describes for us in Revelation 12:7-9
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Do you ever wonder why some nations seem so bent on doing evil and stirring up trouble in the world?
Do you ever think about why some nations are so full of hatred towards God’s chosen people and the nation of Israel?
Do you ever take the time to ponder why some nations practice violence, oppression, murder and even genocide as a matter of state policy? Because this isn’t just a matter of humans making these decisions…this passage in Daniel shows us that there are demonic spirits that have counsel with different nations and leaders. And those leaders are listening to the counsel of those demonic influences.
This is why evil things happen in the world. Paul has already reminded us that we do not wrestle flesh and blood…but the powers and principalities that rule this dark world.
We tend to think that we are at war with bad people. Capitalists blame the Socialists and Socialists blame the Captialists. Democrats blame the Republicans and Republicans blame the Democrats. Laborers blame the managament and management blames the laborers. Husbands blame the wives and wives blame their husbands.
Our enemies are not people, But the spiritual forces of evil and their ideologies and doctrines.
An evil spirit, a demon had authority over the kingdom of Persia…
20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;
I would argue that there are demonic spirits that are assigned to all nations of the world… I would argue that there is a prince of the United States that is constantly whispering in the ear of our national leaders, doing everthing in its power to destroy religious liberty in our country. To continue to push for more access to abortion and the murder of innocent lives…to continue to fight for the agenda to rip apart the family unit that God has established and to try and destroy truth itself.
Likewise, I would argue that there is a prince of Russia, a prince of Ukraine, a prince of Gaza and a prince of Israel. Because demons don’t fight fair.
But we need to simply remember the truth that Jesus has taught over and over again…that
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
Open our eyes Lord and help us see that those who are with us are greater than those who are in this world…
But this is why it is vitally important for us to pray for those who are our governmental overseers…
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
We need to not only pray for them but we also need to remember that those who are with us are sent to help aid us in our lives and minister to us…
Angels are Ministering Spirits
Angels are Ministering Spirits
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. 17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.” 18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. 19 “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
So how do angels minister?
Ministries of Angels throughout Scripture
Ministries of Angels throughout Scripture
Messengers: One of the primary roles of angels is to act as messengers of God. They deliver important messages or revelations to people throughout Scripture. For example, in Luke 1:11-38 when the angel Gabriel announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus to Zechariah and Mary.
Gabriel was also the messenger that was sent back in chapter 8 of Daniel
Angels act as intermediaries between God and humans, facilitating communication and the execution of God's will. They also intercede on behalf of humans, as seen in the story of Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-33).
Warriors: Angels are also depicted as warriors in spiritual battles. The archangel Michael is often associated with this role, as he is described as leading the heavenly army against Satan and his forces (Revelation 12:7-9). Archangels in Scripture are the ones in a battle for God.
Worshippers: Angels continuously worship and praise God in the heavenly realm. The seraphim in Isaiah's vision constantly proclaim God's holiness, saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3).
Protectors: Cherubim are often set as guards within Scripture. God places cherubim at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, and depictions of cherubim are used throughout the Tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. As well as being near God’s throne in Revelations.
Guides: in the Book of Exodus, an angel is said to lead the Israelites through the wilderness (Exodus 23:20). Additionally, the concept of guardian angels suggests that individuals have angels assigned to watch over and protect them (Psalm 91:11).
Guardian angels, mentioned in Psalm 91:11 and by Jesus in Matthew 18:10, are said to protect and aid the saints in their prayers.
Power to Strengthen and Encourage
1 Kings 19:1-9 where Elijah is strengthened and fed by an angel. The angel touched him, woke him, fed him.
Luke 4 & Matthew 4, after Jesus was tempted by Satan in the garden, angels came and ministered to him, attended him.
An angel came and broke the chains of Peter while he was in jail in Acts 12:7
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Over and over again Scripture shows us examples of angels ministering to God’s people.
Take some time this week to examine your life, and every coincidcene
