Despite years of prayer and moves towards unity, repeated evangelistic crusades and other outreach events, all of which have been valuable, it would still be fair to say that the position of God’s kingdom in the city of Perth is not visibly stronger than a decade ago. Recent painful personal experience has turned my find to ask why this is so? I want to suggest that by and large the church in this city is trapped within a perimeter whose boundaries are controlled by the activities of evil powers. For this situation to alter it will require spiritual discernment and warfare on a scale like we have not yet seen before.
I have always felt a certain reluctance to write on the demonic, as it seems to lead to wild extremes. On the one hand there are those for whom everything can be explained satanically, on the other hand many Christians act as if the devil were not active in the world at all. The first position is easily dismissed. If the world is ravaged by demonic powers this is ultimately because God gives them space to move. After all, it is God who allows the beast to conquer the saints and rule the world (Revelation 13:7 -8). It is God who looses Satan from his prison to deceive the nations (Revelation 20:7) and it is God who gives people over to a powerful delusion to believe what is false (2 Thessalonians 2:11). The second position is equally in error. For Jesus and the apostles the devil is a real and personal figure, who tempts, deceives and destroys (Matthew 4:1- 11; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 12:10 -17).
The truth about the nature of the demonic lies in an investigation of the devil’s methods as revealed in Scripture. Genesis 3 is the best place to begin. Here we see the figure of Satan disguised as one of the creatures of the Garden of Eden. He does not appear in his true nature but as someone who comes alongside of Eve to offer her good advice about how to better her personal interests. The way forward into the mind of Eve is through suggestion that arouses suspicion by accusation. The suggestion is that eating the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden will bring benefit not harm, the accusation is that God’s Word about the tree is not true.
This pattern is characteristic of the devils means of operation. He works more, we might say, “in the flesh” than “in the spirit”. Jesus recognises that Satan is at work in the very fleshly human words of Peter rebuking him for predicting his coming death: “God forbid it Lord! This must never happen to you.”, so he responds “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God but on the side of man.” (Matthew 16:22- 23). Likewise, in order to bring about the death of Jesus, it is necessary for Satan to “enter into Judas” (Luke 22:3). I do not suppose that either Peter or Judas were aware the evil one was working through them, all they were conscious of was certain emotions and convictions that they took to be their own; like Eve’s deception these were not experienced as temptations. As Paul says, the “strongholds” or characteristic thought patterns that resist God are aspects of the human mind (2 Corinthians 10:4- 5).
The primary location of the struggle between good and evil or Satan and God is not in a realm outside of ordinary human life (“spooks in space” as someone has put it) but in everyday human experience. The supernatural dimension of the struggle against the “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12) is conducted in our minds, not somewhere “out there”. Primarily we know that this must be so because this was the experience of Jesus. He did not confront the devil as a power who he encountered outside of his body, but someone he resisted in the very real context of this – worldy hunger, safety and so on (Matthew 4:1 – 11). Whilst there is a purely supernatural dimension to spiritual warfare, it is conducted by angels who dwell in these spheres and not by us (Daniel 10:10 -21; Revelation 12: 7- 9).
Paul focuses on the attack of spirits not in extraordinary manifestations (though he is aware of these (Acts 16:16 -18) he never teaches on them) but in everyday relationships. “Anyone who you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:10 -11).
Spiritual warfare is actively engaged in when we bless those who curse us and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). The ultimate action of spiritual warfare occurred on the cross when Jesus asked for the forgiveness of those who were killing him (Luke 23:34). It was this action that undermined the false authority of the evil powers and defeated them in human life once and for all (Colossians 14- 15; 1 John 3:8). The test of our success in spiritual conflict is not the number of demons we cast out or warfare prayers we pray but whether we love one another (1 John 3:10).
This sort of spiritual warfare is much more difficult then intercession or deliverances; and it is testable. Do I regularly pray the blessing of God upon those who have hurt me the most? Am I willing to give place to others that they might prosper? Am I involved in situations where confusion rather than clarity reigns (James 3:13 -18)? All these are infallible indicators of where we are up to in the spiritual struggle.
My observation in recent days is that the church in Perth is not as advanced in unity as many from outside our city tell us we are. There would not be many pastors, I believe, who could whole heartedly affirm that they would be willing to see their fellowship decrease in number for the greater good of the church in the city. Many people, including fervent pray – ers, shift from church to church because of wounding that is never fully healed. Hosts of believers have unresolved attitudes from the past.
Why is it hard for us to see all this and what do we do about it? Jesus said; “First take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5). When humility dominates all things become clear – we can sense what is of us and what is of the devil, and what Satan is doing in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Then we will be lowly enough not to hold their sins against them, but to live out the truth that our warfare is not against our own family, the church, but against the powers of evil hidden in our attitudes and the attitudes of others. This is the spiritual discernment and warfare which we need to wage on a scale like we have not yet seen before. Then we will see the perimeter Satan has set about the church in Perth come down. May God grant us the grace of brokenness so that we might fight and win the war that is upon us all.