KCM Australia

had it. It was clear Vickie wasn't sick; she was under attack. We got home and gathered in the living room. With my family, I knelt down at the couch and started to pray, "You foul spirit..." Immediately the Lord got my attention. "Open your eyes!" He said. "Get o your knees and don't you ever respect My enemy again by ever respect My enemy again by ever giving him any spiritual honor. That's the posture you use when you talk to your God, not your enemy!" not your enemy!" not I jumped up. "That's it! You foul spirit, you have no right to me! You have no right to Vickie! You have no right to my family!" I ran over and swung open the door. "Get out!" I shouted. "And in Jesus' Name, stay out!" That devil left and never came back. Be Vigilant Spiritual warfare is real. Most Spirit-filled, spirit-led believers know that, but lately I've noticed a dangerous trend in the Body of Christ: We ignore the spirit realm. As believers and as ministers, we can't fulfill what God has called us to do in the natural. We can never, ever forget that we're primarily supernatural—not natural—beings. First Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." When we read "be sober," our minds may go straight to alcohol, but that's not what Peter is talking about. The next phrase clarifies it for us: "Be vigilant." Peter is saying we must be watchful and alert to our real enemy. He goes on to say that the devil is "a roaring lion," who "walketh about." That tells us he is neither omniscient, nor is he omnipresent. Satan is not God. In fact, he's not even like God. In Luke 10, Jesus described Satan and his fall from heaven—as well as our authority over him: And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven (verses 17-20). When Satan lost his position in heaven, it wasn't simply an address change. He went from being a beautiful, worshipping cherub to being like a lizard in a tree. Then, he messed with God again and God demoted him even further. God plucked his legs o and said, "'You will crawl on your belly'" (Genesis 3:14, New International Version). We don't want to overemphasize our enemy by making a big deal out of him and acting as though he's like God and knows everything. Because he isn't, and he doesn't. The Enemy Is Your Adversary That doesn't mean Satan should be ignored. He's still our enemy. Peter refers to him as "your adversary the devil." He will continue to be an adversary until he gets introduced to the lake of fire. He wants us stopped or sick or broke. He has declared every inch of this earth a combat zone. And if he can't destroy what we've got, then he wants us dead. That doesn't mean he'll succeed at killing, destroying or tormenting us, but we must stay vigilant and pay attention to his schemes. First Peter says he "walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Given a chance, the devil will devour us. That's his desire, but here's the key: We must give him permission for him to succeed. Whenever I think about this, I always flash back to when I was just a kid in school. I'd raise my hand and the teacher would say, "What do you want, Mark?" I'd ask, "Can I go to the bathroom?" She'd answer, "I don't know, can you?" can you?" can As believers and as ministers, we can't fulfill what God has called us to do in the natural. We can never, ever forget that we're primarily supernatural—not natural—beings. 1 0 : B V O V

• Cover