From Darkness to Light

Some people would prefer not to be involved in spiritual warfare. They are afraid that in paying attention to Satan they might lift up, glorify, or somehow give honor to him; this they do not want to do. Nor is that my intention. My purpose is to do what Scripture says: to expose the deeds of darkness and uncover the way Satan and his kingdom operate. In that way the reader’s eyes may be opened so they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God. Satan is active and has a despicable purpose—to steal, kill, and destroy. If we do not stand against him, he is going to obstruct and hinder us. We must learn how to keep him from devouring us. We need to now what his schemes are. We have to gain knowledge of what it means to be equipped. We need to know how to apply that knowledge and how to effectively resist Satan and his demonic forces.
I recall a cartoon I once saw. There was a little demon sitting on the curb outside a church, crying. Someone came by and asked the little demon why he was crying. He pointed to the church and said, “People in there blame me for everything!”
There is more truth in that cartoon than many Christians would care to acknowl–edge. I’ve heard people give credit to Satan or demons for things for which they are not responsible. In giving them recognition for these things, it could be considered as lifting up, glorifying, or honoring Satan and his demonic forces. Only God knows how often Satan or a demon gets credited when someone is simply walking after the flesh.
On the other hand, I’ve also heard people say their problems were caused by every excuse from A to Z. They should have been open to exploring the area of demonic op–pression to determine whether that was a factor in their lives.
The Profitability Factor of Scripture
In the third chapter of his second letter to Timothy, Paul says ... :
3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
3:17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
These verses say that Scripture is profitable for teaching. Teaching means “to give instruction, to provide facts, and to define and clarify information for application.” This verse also says that the Scripture is profitable for reproof. Reproof means “to find a fault; to convict, or to expose error”. When we as God’s people are doing something in our battle against the enemy that is faulty, we need to know what we are doing wrong so it can be corrected. Unless we realize the way that seemed right was wrong, we will not seek God’s way, which is right.
Correction means “to change from wrong to right”. We must accept what is right if we desire correction. Unless we receive His ways as right, we can never realize the experience of victory and maturity. This is God’s process of renewing our mind that we may learn to agree with Him and His ways.
Training means “to instruct in order to make proficient or qualified”. Training shows how to efficiently carry out instruction and how to respond to reproof until it becomes an automatic way of living in our experience. Then believers will be more proficient and qualified in putting the enemy to flight in their own lives.
Jesus Used Parables to
Help People Understand Spiritual Truth
When working with people, I have found that some have a problem believing in the reality of demons and how they work in the lives of believers. Some are not positive a demon can afflict people—especially believers. Jesus spoke in parables in order to help us understand what He was saying. He would take a familiar truth and compare it to one not yet understood. A parable, according to Webster, is “a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like”.
For example, Scripture states in Luke Chapter 13,
13:18 Therefore He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
13:19 “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree; and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
13:20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?
13:21 “It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.”
I would like to share an illustration of my own with you—a physical description of a spiritual phenomenon. Let’s consider the world of bacteria and see how it relates to the demonic realm.
The Similarity between Bacteria and Demons
We all know what bacteria are. We know that they are all around us and that they cannot be discerned by the senses. We can not hear them, see them, smell them, touch them, or taste them. For example, have you ever seen a bacterium pneumococcus? These bacteria cause meningitis and pneumonia. If a bacterium pneumococcus was moving around in your house, you could not hear it. If it came into the room where you were reading this book, you could not see it. If it came right up in front of you, you couldn’t even smell it. If it were to land on your hand, it would be touching you, but you would not be aware of it. If it were to make contact with a taste bud, you couldn’t even taste it.
The same is true of demons…