Principalities, Powers & Rulers - Part 2

The story is told of a man who was drinking his morning coffee and reading the newspaper before he went off to work. His wife came in and asked if he knew what day it was. Of course, he had no clue. But he didn’t want to appear that obvious, so he said yes, and quickly pretended he was very interested in what he was reading. As the day progressed, he wracked his brain, trying to remember what day it was But he couldn’t come up with anything. So to be safe, he sent her a dozen roses at 9:00 am., and then again at lunchtime. He then called the local jeweler and had him hand deliver an expensive diamond necklace to his home for his wife. Fearing that wasn’t enough he called the local clothing store and had them deliver an expensive new fur coat to his wife for the special occasion. When he went home, his wife met him at the door with all the expensive presents he had purchased, and said “Honey,… this is the best Ground Hogs Day ever !”

Sometimes we go through life clueless to the events and happenings that go on in the spiritual realm. But while we move from one moment in time to the nextthere are spiritual confrontations taking place that effect our lives everyday.

Four areas of life our spiritual battle effects:

1. This Battle Effects Your Personal Life

Many believers are seeing the wounds of spiritual warfare in their personal lives. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians saying: “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be anger, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:25-27) If Satan can seize our emotions, he can destroy our ability to function by crippling us emotionally or leading us into all manner of destructive and addictive behavior.

2. This Battle Effects Your Family
Many believers are also feeling the effects of spiritual warfare in their families. The devil messed up the first family in the Garden of Eden, and we have been dealing with the effects of Adam’s and Eve’s sin ever since.

Moses said to the Israelites, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. “I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands” (Exod. 20:4-6 NLV). That may sound unfair for a God of love and justice to do that. Perhaps this story will help you understand the way the meaning was expressed. In his forthcoming book When You’ve Been Wronged , Erwin Lutzer tells this: "A young pastor began a ministry on Saturday mornings to the inmates of the local county jail. Each week he’d go into the jail cells and conduct Bible studies and prayer sessions among the inmates -- mostly young white men who were doing time for anything from burglary to habitual drug use. As he’d enter the jail the despair and anger among these nineteen to twenty-four-year-olds was palpable."When the young pastor asked the warden how so many young men with great promise could end up in such a place, the warden sighed and said, ’This place is filled with boys who got tired of waiting for their dads to keep their promises -- promises to provide, promises to show up and spend time with them, promises to come home at night -- they finally got so angry with the injustice of it, they went out and did stupid things.’"Young men waiting for their dads to keep their promises! What a sobering reminder that broken promises can help send a young man down a road of personal destruction."

Fathers can give a godly heritage. God said to Moses, "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ’The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt’” (Exodus 3:16 NIV). Here is a godly heritage passed down through the generations. The Israelites in Egypt were heirs of the covenant made with their great, great grandfather Abraham generations ago. Because of that, God would intervene in their lives, deliver them from slavery and lead them to their inheritance in the Promised Land. Forty years later, when Moses was giving his farewell sermons to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land after 400 years of being away, he said: “Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5 NIRV).

“Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates” (Deut. 6:6-9 Msg).

3. This Battle Effects Church Life
Spiritual warfare also has an impact on church life. Paul told Timothy to watch out for “doctrines of demons” that will infiltrate the church (1 Tim. 4:1). The church is being undermined in many places today by teachers who claim to teach the Bible, but are teaching doctrines from hell.

4. This Battle Effects Our Culture

Finally, spiritual warfare affects the life of a nation, the culture in which we live.According to passages like Daniel 10, entire nations are influenced by the invisible battle in the angelic realm. Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air” with good reason (Eph. 2:2) Our ability to deal with the spiritual realm will determine whether we win or lose in the physical realm.Satan’s job is to get us to ignore the spiritual realm or give it low value. If he can divert us from the spiritual realm, he can divert us from finding spiritual solutions.