About Jesus   Steve Sweetman

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Our Real Fight  

In was 1978.  What was called the Shepherding Movement was in full swing.  Our pastor, or shepherd as we called him back then, was Jim Covert.  His shepherd was Robert Grant.  Robert left his home in Mission Veijo, California, to fly to Toronto, Canada.  There he would visit those under his care in the province of Ontario.  As he landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto he couldn't help but think; "there's a conservative spirit hovering over this place. 

In part, what Robert Grant was sensing stems from the late 1700's when Americans who remained loyal to Britain moved from the thirteen colonies to eastern Ontario.  They were called United Empire Loyalist, many of whom were conservative Methodists.  Because of their conservatism, in general terms, eastern Ontario has traditionally been politically, socially, economically, and religiously, conservative.  What Robert Grant was sensing in his spirit was more than a feeling.  It was a lingering spirit of conservatism that had permeated this region of Ontario for a couple of centuries.       

It was 1980.  I had visited Washington D. C. before, but this time it was no visit.  My wife and I packed all we had, followed our shepherd, and moved to Vienna, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D. C..  As we crossed into Virginia from Maryland and headed south towards the beltway that circles Washington, I sensed something else circling this city.  "There's definitely a different spirit around here", I thought.  It was exhilarating.

Were Robert Grant and I sensing something real or was it a figment of our overactive imaginations?  Do spirits, whether good or evil, permeate the atmosphere around any given municipality?    

In Ephesians 6:10 to 12 the apostle Paul said that "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 realm".  Paul certainly struggled with human authorities who opposed his every move, but as he said, his real struggle was with demonic authorities.    

The prophet Daniel speaks of this same satanic spirit struggle while exiled in Babylon.  In Daniel 10:13 and 20 he mentions two specific demons by name.  The prince of Persia and the prince of Greece were high ranking demons who aided these two ethnicities in their future rise to world domination.  It was the prince of Persia who prevented the angel Gabriel from answering Daniel's prayers.  It wasn't until the angel Michael came to Gabriel's support that Gabriel could answer Daniel's intercessory prayers.      

It's clear to me that there is a spirit world that is just as real as the material world in which we live.  This is where the real struggle between good and evil, God and satan, and Christians and non-Christians, takes place.  I believe that demons, under the leadership of satan, are assigned to nations, ethnicities, and municipalities to administer the will of satan on earth.  I'm not talking about so-called ghosts in haunted houses or Halloween spooks.  I'm talking about satanic spirits influencing the national affairs of the nation in which you live.   

As the world becomes more anti-Christ, we as Christians can expect an escalation of satanic activity in ways we've never experienced.  Unless we come to grips with this escalation we'll be blindsided by satan's devices.  We may think our fight is with Washington, Ottawa, or wherever, and that it is as well, but in the final analysis, our fight is with a satanically inspired authoritarian system that is reproducing itself in humanity.  So, after we vote, after we campaign, after we write letters of protest, we stand firm on Biblical truth, understanding that we've got a more pressing battle on our hands.   

Let me be perfectly clear.  I know my words circle the globe, and in our present global climate, this kind of talk can be construed as being "Christian radicalization".  This is not any kind of radicalization as the word is presently being defined.  It's simple stuff we've learned in Sunday school but have long since rejected in a post modern, secularized world.  Our weapons of choice in this battle aren't guns, backpack bombs, or letters laced with anthrax.  Jesus specifically told us that His disciples would not fight using weapons of men because the kingdom we represent is not of this world. (John 18:36)  Our weapons are spiritual in nature because our fight is spiritual. (Ephesians 6:10 to 20)  You can't kill a demon with a gun.  It's times to exercise our Biblically constituted rights and responsibilities as citizens of the kingdom of God and start aiming our spiritual weapons at their intended target.

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