week 1 12 Apostles of Hell
Notes
Transcript
Handout
12 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.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
The 12 Apostles of Hell
The 12 Apostles of Hell
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;
22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through this series, we are going to be dealing with the idea and the practice of spiritual warfare. Now, I realize that when we begin to deal with the topic of spiritual warfare, some would prefer the ostrich approach and just bury our heads in the sand. Supposing that if we don’t engage in the fight, the enemy won’t attack. Let me assure you, the issue is not wether or not the enemy is attacking, the question is simply are you fighting back or are is your spiritual being simply being looted by an enemy that is rummaging through the undefended and unguarded territory of your mind and soul.
Through this series, we are going to be dealing with the idea and the practice of spiritual warfare. Now, I realize that when we begin to deal with the topic of spiritual warfare, some would prefer the ostrich approach and just bury our heads in the sand. Supposing that if we don’t engage in the fight, the enemy won’t attack. Let me assure you, the issue is not wether or not the enemy is attacking, the question is simply are you fighting back or are is your spiritual being simply being looted by an enemy that is rummaging through the undefended and unguarded territory of your mind and soul.
Through this series, we are going to be dealing with the idea and the practice of spiritual warfare. Now, I realize that when we begin to deal with the topic of spiritual warfare, some would prefer the ostrich approach and just bury our heads in the sand. Supposing that if we don’t engage in the fight, the enemy won’t attack. Let me assure you, the issue is not wether or not the enemy is attacking, the question is simply are you fighting back or are is your spiritual being simply being looted by an enemy that is rummaging through the undefended and unguarded territory of your mind and soul.
Paul declares we are not ignorant concerning the devils devices. The Amplified Version states that phrase we re not ignorant of the devils wiles and intentions. The portion of the verse preceding that states “lest the enemy should get an advantage of us”.
When we have knowledge of the attack of the enemy. How He will attack. When he will attack. What weapon he will attack with, and…how we can combat his attack…it negates the ability of the enemy to gain an advantage in our lives.
When we have knowledge of the attack of the enemy. How He will attack. When he will attack. What weapon he will attack with, and…how we can combat his attack…it negates the ability of the enemy to gain an advantage in our lives.
In the context of vs. 11, Paul was specifically speaking of the enemy trying to bring division within the church over an issue of how to deal with an individual that had offended the church body. Paul is encouraging the church in forgiving this person because he had knowledge that if they weren’t unified in their dealing with the matter, the enemy would exploit it to bring division into the church.
There is a supernatural authority in certain individuals that makes them effective in the arena of spiritual warfare.
There is a supernatural authority in certain individuals that makes them effective in the arena of spiritual warfare.
It has nothing to do with pedigree or lineage
It has nothing to do with earthly wealth
It has nothing to do with secular education
It has nothing to do with personal charisma
One of the attributes that is present in those that are increasingly effective in spiritual warfare is the ability to to look beyond the traits being manifested to see and identify the predominant spirit causing the issue.
One of the attributes that is present in those that are increasingly effective in spiritual warfare is the ability to to look beyond the traits being manifested to see and identify the predominant spirit causing the issue.
Our tendency is to focus on the evil attributes that are being manifest and ignore the predominant spirit that is instigating the attack.
Comparison would be going to the doctor for pain and swelling in your leg and instead of him running tests and examination to find out the cause, he prescribes ice to bring down the swelling and advil to help with the pain. If he would look beyond the symptoms and examine their cause, he would treat the broken bone beneath the surface. The pain and swelling are only symptoms of the real problem.
We cannot afford to be distracted by the symptoms that we can see and not find the spiritual cure for the cause that we cannot see.
When we become overwhelmed with the traits ungodly spirits manifest in our world, we often fall prey against the actual spirit that is causing the problem.
When we become overwhelmed with the traits ungodly spirits manifest in our world, we often fall prey against the actual spirit that is causing the problem.
The Bible tells us in James chapter 4 verse 3
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
You ask and you receive not because you ask amiss.
The word amiss is from an old Norse word meaning “so as to miss.” Thus, this verse tells us that it is possible to pray for some things to no avail, simply because we are praying “so as to miss.” With this is in mind, to have genuine authority over the actual spirit manifesting the traits you are seeing, you need a basic understanding of what you are actually warring against.
The word amiss is from an old Norse word meaning “so as to miss.” Thus, this verse tells us that it is possible to pray for some things to no avail, simply because we are praying “so as to miss.” With this is in mind, to have genuine authority over the actual spirit manifesting the traits you are seeing, you need a basic understanding of what you are actually warring against.
Every child of God should be mindful of the spirit that want to war against them, against God’s church and against God’s purpose. That is part of the purpose to which we are called.
AMPLIFIED
This charge and admonition I commit in trust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with prophetic intimations which I formerly received concerning you, so that inspired and aided by them you may wage the good warfare,
There are three main battlefields of spiritual warfare: obsession, oppression, and possession.
There are three main battlefields of spiritual warfare: obsession, oppression, and possession.
It is vital to our survival to understand just how real spiritual warfare, on each of these battlefields is.
The three battlefields of spiritual warfare are Obsession, Oppression, and Possession. Most often we discount the first two battle fields as simply being life…or just the way we are wired…or a product of our environment…when we get to possession, its then that we are usually convinced that it is spiritual warfare….
If someone were to walk in here today and levitate off of the ground, or their head start spinning around in circles, we would likely all be fairly convinced that there was a spiritual battle taking place. However, the first two battlefields are equally spiritual in nature.
Obsession - This is where most of our spiritual warfare starts, and it happens when the adversary strives to consume your mind with such things as fear, jealousy, bitterness or lust.
Obsession - This is where most of our spiritual warfare starts, and it happens when the adversary strives to consume your mind with such things as fear, jealousy, bitterness or lust.
Oppression - This is where it goes beyond obsession in your mind, and your life starts to be affected. In this arena, you start reacting negatively, “acting out” to those things that have been tormenting your mind.
Oppression - This is where it goes beyond obsession in your mind, and your life starts to be affected. In this arena, you start reacting negatively, “acting out” to those things that have been tormenting your mind.
In this stage, you often experience things such as lack of sleep, constant heaviness of spirit and sometimes even physical weakness because of the depth of warfare. This process is vital to the enemy as the physical weakness is grooming your so possession can take place.
Possession - This takes place when the individual has accepted the obsession as normal. Their resolve has been weakened by oppression to the space that they are being controlled by the spirits that torment them.
Possession - This takes place when the individual has accepted the obsession as normal. Their resolve has been weakened by oppression to the space that they are being controlled by the spirits that torment them.
Again to be effective in spiritual warfare you must
Being able to look beyond the symptom to the root of the problem.
and the second quality of those individuals that have a particular authority in spiritual warfare is that you must…
Be skilled in how to deal with it.
Be skilled in how to deal with it.
knowing what is coming against you is only one part of the equation.
I mentioned a couple of months ago about a particular scandal that became even more public Monday of this week…a scandal that is shaking Major League Baseball. Teams had developed a system using technology that the batter already knew the pitch that was coming before it was pitched. Before a fastball came across the plate, he knew it was coming.
For a Major League player this is a huge advantage, because he is skilled that if he knows what pitch is coming, he knows what to do.
For me…if you came up and told me that a 97 mph fastball is coming or a 78 mph curveball is coming…I don’t care if you told me exactly what part of the plate the pitch is coming over…the chances are, I’m not going to hit the ball anyhow.
Some of us, if we knew the enemy was going to temp us with greed, we would tell the devil which bank account to make the deposit into.
If the devil was going to tempt us with an immoral relationship we would tell the devil what color hair and what color of eyes we wanted her to have.
Knowing how the enemy is attacking and what he is going to attack with is an incredible advantage…but only if we know what to do.
This series, and the book from which the content is being extracted, are intended to help us to better identify who the attacking enemy is and how to deal with that particular adversary.
This series, and the book from which the content is being extracted, are intended to help us to better identify who the attacking enemy is and how to deal with that particular adversary.
It is spoken, as well as inferred that their is a governing hierarchy of within the unholy. These twelve spirits that we will identify and investigate are intentionally highlighted within the Bible. The fact that there are 12 should not be surprising, for everything that God does, the enemy tried to imitate. Just as Jesus chose 12 apostles to shake their world and pass the Gospel on through generations…the enemy also works through 12 predominant spirits to shake all that can be shaken.
The first among hell’s twelve Apostles that we will consider is what the Bible terms as the “spirit of heaviness”.
This first Apostle of Hell is identified in
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Both within our world and within the church, there is a host who are plagued with the demonic spirit of heaviness.
Bro. White lists the traits that are often manifested when the spirit of heaviness is at work:
Bitterness, Continual sadness, Crying, Cutting, Defeatism, Dejection, Depression, Despair, Despondency, Dissociation with Reality, Discouragement, Easily Hurt Feelings, Fatigue, Gloom, Gluttony, Grief, Guilt, Heartbreak, Hopelessness, Indifference, Insomnia, Lethargy, Loneliness, Mourning, Negativity, Pressures, Rejection, Self-Pity, Suicide, Torment, Troubled Spirit, Weariness, Wounded Spirit
Bitterness, Continual sadness, Crying, Cutting, Defeatism, Dejection, Depression, Despair, Despondency, Dissociation with Reality, Discouragement, Easily Hurt Feelings, Fatigue, Gloom, Gluttony, Grief, Guilt, Heartbreak, Hopelessness, Indifference, Insomnia, Lethargy, Loneliness, Mourning, Negativity, Pressures, Rejection, Self-Pity, Suicide, Torment, Troubled Spirit, Weariness, Wounded Spirit
Continual sadness
Crying
Cutting
Looking at a few of these trains and how they point back to heaviness:
Defeatism
Dejection
Have you ever seen someone plagued with continual sadness or negativity?
Depression
People who, regardless if good things are happening in their lives, seem to automatically revert back to sadness. Its as if they are driven to look for the ray of darkness through the light that is shining in their lives.
No matter the good news, there is a negative explanation.
We are aware of situations like this all around us, and perhaps even in our own lives. In most cases they are never seen as the spiritual warfare that they are.
It should be noted that anything that obsesses, oppresses, or possesses you to the point it hinders you from being everything God wants you to be is, without a doubt, spiritual warfare.
It should be noted that anything that obsesses, oppresses, or possesses you to the point it hinders you from being everything God wants you to be is, without a doubt, spiritual warfare.
No doubt, there are individuals here tonight and people that you are connected to that are fighting any number of the manifestations that we listed. They are trapped by various demonic snares unleashed by the spirit of heaviness.
Brokenhearted people who have suffered some sort of heart-wrenching pain they can’t get over, leaving a heaviness on their life they just can’t seem to rise above.
People who had disagreements with family or friends, leaving them with a load of bitterness that seems far too heavy to overcome. They may even have lost all desire to fix those relationships.
Individuals who are walking with a genuine salvation experience but who fight crippling depression, shoving their world under the heavy weight of gloom and even suicidal thoughts.
Souls that come into our congregations from broken homes, domestic violence, and horrible backgrounds that leave them feeling hopeless and carrying the heaviness of a past for which God would readily forgive them.
People who live under a horrible, lingering loneliness, crushed by the heaviness of questions ranging from “Why am I not desirable to anybody?” to “Is there anybody out there who will love me?”
The individuals who have suffered the loss of someone precious to them and now mourn daily, incapable of escaping the haunting heaviness of loss.
Tormented persons living under such a spirit of heaviness they feel unrespectable and worthless, constantly living with hurt feelings even when there was no offense intended or inferred.
Unfortunately, it often doesn’t matter whether or not the offense is real because a demonic spirt of heaviness has convinced them they are somehow being disrespected.
It is amazing how quickly those with easily hurt feelings puts the blame on someone else. Its this ones’s fault. Its that ones fault. If you are in this condition, you would do well to understand the chip on your shoulder is your fault for continually entertaining an unholy spirit of heaviness.
It is not the offense of another individual; It is the demonic warfare waged by the spirit of heaviness!
It may have been a person that caused the offense or hurt, but at some point the depth of heaviness becomes demonic!
So many are trapped by this demonic spirt either because: (1) they don’t realize they are facing spiritual warfare or (2) They don’t know how to war against the evil spirit bringing the warfare.
So many are trapped by this demonic spirt either because: (1) they don’t realize they are facing spiritual warfare or (2) They don’t know how to war against the evil spirit bringing the warfare.
The overall goal of the spirit of heaviness is to rip certain necessary godly elements out of your world.
so consumed with heartache, you can’t feel JOY;
So consumed with bitterness, you can’t feel PEACE;
So haunted by hopelessness, you can’t feel CONTENTMENT.
So driven by offense, you can’t feel LOVE.
Once you are aware of what the spirit of heaviness is trying to take from you, it becomes much easier to know how to wage ware against it.
Once you are aware of what the spirit of heaviness is trying to take from you, it becomes much easier to know how to wage ware against it.
To take authority over the spirit of heaviness, you first need to strengthen the following areas. (this is how to defeat the spirit of heaviness)
STEP 1 - To defeat the spirit of heaviness trying to steal your joy, you have to involve yourself in things that will restore the joy in your world.
STEP 1 - To defeat the spirit of heaviness trying to steal your joy, you have to involve yourself in things that will restore the joy in your world.
To defeat the spirit of heaviness trying to steal your joy, you have to involved yourself in things that will restore the joy in your world.
We talked at the beginning concerning the prophecy of Isaiah which identified this unholy spirit of heaviness…but Isaiah didn’t just identify the spirit…he also identified the solution to overcoming it as well:
Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness!
Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness!
Praise will always stir up joy in the heart of a child of God.
No individual warring against a demonic spirit of heaviness should ever allow themselves to sit back and dissociate from the flow of joy that accompanies praise.
In 1 Samuel chapter 30 we find a perfect example of heaviness being defeated by the presence of joy.
Here David, whom the Bible describes as being a man after God’s own heart, faces one of the most discouraging moments in his life. He and his men had just rushed back to Ziklag from the battlefield only to find their homes destroyed and their families taken captive. The scripture describes an overwhelming spirit of heaviness:
David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughter.
6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
It wasn’t just David facing heaviness…it was a prevalent presence pressing against David as well as his men.
Before David go and fight the enemy and take back what had been stolen, he first had to fight the spirit of heaviness that was attacking his mind. There is much wisdom on realizing you are not equipped to attain some victories until you first fight battles plaguing your mind!
Notice that others facing the same spirit of heaviness turned on David and entertained the notion of killing him. This kind of response is common among people who are tormented by a demonic spirit of heaviness. They are so unprepared to wage war against the spirit of heaviness, they instead turn on those around them.
It is as though, because they refuse to pursue God’s joy and quit being miserable, they insist on making others miserable too!
There are spiritual victories that you cannot attain until you first engage against he spirit of heaviness attacking your mind.
The bible tells us exactly how David decided to wage war against the spirit of heaviness:
David encouraged himself in the Lord His God!
David understood the first step to getting any kind of victory in his world was to overcome the spirt of heaviness by restoring his grip on joy!
Step 2 - To stop the spirit of heaviness from robbing you of your peace, you have to separate yourself from things that will pull peace away from your life.
Step 2 - To stop the spirit of heaviness from robbing you of your peace, you have to separate yourself from things that will pull peace away from your life.
Some environments, some entertainments, and even some individuals have a way of reinforcing the spirit of heaviness by pulling peace away from your life. To fight the spirit of heaviness that is attacking your peace, you have to separate yourself from those elements.
I am going to forecast that you are going to see a tremendous increase in the spirit of heaviness as the election draws near. I don’t care what channel you watch, what newspaper you read or website you visit…the news is designed to rob you of your peace. Im not asking you not to vote…but I want to encourage you as much as possible, to stay away from that junk.
I can’t go near that stuff or it stirs me into a place that i have no peace. Do I have political opinions? Absolutely…but I covet my peace more than I covet a president!
Step 3 - To fight the spirit of heaviness that is devastating your contentment, you have to avoid attitudes of hopelessness.
Step 3 - To fight the spirit of heaviness that is devastating your contentment, you have to avoid attitudes of hopelessness.
As a child of God, you should always be aware there is no such thing as hopeless in God’s eyes. There is nothing He cannot fix, nothing He cannot change, and nothing he cannot overcome. This knowledge should encourage you to silence voices of hopelessness and rest in the assurance that God is in control
Step 4 - To reject the demonic heaviness of bitterness that crushes your ability to love, you have to focus on forgiveness until every sign of bitterness has been purged from your heart.
Step 4 - To reject the demonic heaviness of bitterness that crushes your ability to love, you have to focus on forgiveness until every sign of bitterness has been purged from your heart.
The cruel heaviness of bitterness, will never be overcome until there is a deep, sincere forgiveness in the depths of your heart.
Bitterness can’t be rebuked. It can’t be fasted out of your life…prayed out of your mind…the only remedy for lifting the heaviness of bitterness out of your life is forgiveness.
In summary: The best way to fight the spirit of heaviness and the various demonic manifestations it tries to use against you is to enter into warfare: pray, fast, and order your steps to intentionally walk in the joy, peace contentment, and love God has intended for you!