DOMINION OVER THE SPIRITS OF THE AGE

Each of the spirits we are going to discern from the word of God is already actively involved in the world today. That is one of the beautiful things about the word of God. Until you begin to relate the word of God with what you see around you, it may seem like a fairy tale and you will not be able to place value on it. However, if you begin to see the word of God in your day to day living as it affects you and as the unfolding of the programme of God, you will begin to tremble at the Word. This will help you to apply the one that you have seen and you will see them produce far reaching results for you. It is not in the accumulation of knowledge that there is power, No! It is in the correct application of knowledge that there is power. Knowledge cannot be power until it has fully been utilized in its refined state of applied wisdom. The reason why the wise keeps getting wiser is that they celebrate wisdom; they celebrate knowledge. You cannot disarm what you have not discerned.

2 Tim 3: 1-5 says “You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel and sneer at those who try to be good. They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshipping God. they will go to Church, yes, but they wont really believe anything they hear. Don’t be taken in by people like that” (TLB). The spirits we are talking about are very wicked and are already in operation in the world today. The entire chapter identifies with what is already happening in the world today. May the Lord help us not to be ruled by the spirits of this age and grant us the wisdom to dominate each and every one of these spirits in Jesus name.

First and foremost, you must understand that we are in the time that the Word of God describes as ‘perilous times’ (King James Version). One of the major characteristics of this ‘perilous times’ is that at a time like this, it will be very difficult to be a true child of God, it is a time that it will be very difficult to be a true Christian. This is already happening. If you are sincere, you will admit that in your dealings, it is very difficult to be a Christian. It is difficult to be in the world today and not live a compromised life, a life of a little to the left and a little to the right. This is because there will be that urge to ‘do it’ because every other person is doing it. Many people now rationalize sin and feel nothing about it just to get along. We are living in that time right now. Although it is difficult to be a true Christian now, however, it is not impossible. This is because God has given us the grace to live above the spirits of the age. What are these spirits?

• It is a perilous time. There is a spirit at work that is making it difficult for you to stand when others are dancing; there is a spirit that makes it difficult for you to say ‘No’ to all appearance of evil, there is a spirit that wants you to bend and worship things that should normally be under your feet. There is a spirit that wants you to compromise your Christian faith in order to get things. Some people will laugh you to scorn when you declare that you are a child of God, they will laugh at you just because you have decided to be different. Wherever you go, you must never be afraid of declaring your identity as a child of God. That is the greatest you can ever be. Don’t ever play into the hands of the enemy. If you are a child of God, be a true child of God indeed. There are spirits that are engineering things in order to make nonsense of your faith and if you don’t place enough value on your faith, there is every likelihood that you will compromise. The devil has not manufactured new ways of tempting people; it is still that same old strategy that he used in tempting Jesus that he is still using today. You must recognize that your greatest evangelism is your lifestyle. Don’t ever hide your Christian identity, if you have ever done so, please repent.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .