A Wrestling Match
In Ephesians 6 it says that we are going to be in a wrestling match. I don't know about you, but years back I never would have dreamed that I would be in a wrestling match with the devil; specifically with powers, principalities, rulers of the darkness of this world and wicked spirits - something you cannot see. But that is because I could not read Ephesians 6 and I knew nothing about spiritual warfare. Total unbelief! But when you start walking in this gospel, being led by the Spirit of God, you will see that you have an enemy that will always be there resisting the purposes of God for your life and really every step you take with God. You will have to fight the good fight of faith to overcome these powers and rulers and wicked spirits - and the victory that overcomes them is your faith.
I knew nothing about overcoming, and what all you would have to overcome in this walk - which simply put, is the world! And if you were not overcoming, then the alternative would be - you would be overcome. This was all foreign to me 13 1/2 years or so back. But after coming to Water of Life Church and hearing the gospel preached by the Spirit, and then receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with evidence of speaking in other tongues, God started leading me by His Spirit and leading me down righteous paths to overcome powers, principalities, and rulers of the darkness of this world, and yes, even my own soul. And because of the bondage's in my soul, it made it even that much harder. But I found out there is a war - and daily, at that.
When you start overcoming wicked spirits and walking against them, they will put pressures on your spirit, as well as on your body, that you never would have imagined. I have also come to see that it can be spirits in people that you are overcoming, and those spirits will attack your body. But thank God, He does say His grace is always sufficient to overcome and He will always give us the victory if we will believe the power that raised Jesus from the dead. And when you get a revelation of what all Jesus went through when He went to hell for you and me and how He came out in total victory, then you can easily see that there is nothing that we cannot overcome by the power that raised Him from the dead, if we will believe. In John 16:33 Jesus said that in this world we shall have tribulation (pressure): but to be of good cheer; for He had overcome the world. And it says that Satan is the prince of this world. And when Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for those forty days to be tempted of the devil, that is where He overcame the devil. And the victory for us to overcome is our faith. Praise God!
I am going to share with you a few incidents that took place last year ('98 and the first of '99) when JR and I were traveling with Doyle on crusades. I had previously had the devil put some pressures on my body, but nothing like what happened to me on three separate trips. But when you are fighting these spirits day and night, and I have been for several years because I am determined to overcome every one of them, they will fight back.
On one of the trips to California, I had the devil visit me like I had not experienced before. We had finished eating dinner (or late lunch) and I had gone back to the room by myself. I had not been there very long when all of a sudden this 'spirit' grabbed my mid-section and just started squeezing it - I mean the squeeze kept getting tighter and tighter until I could barely breathe. I will admit it did scare me, but I refused to yield to fear. When you can barely breathe because the breath is being 'sucked' out of you, though, it can be frightening. But I knew without a doubt this was a spirit - and I also knew I was going to overcome it by faith in believing the gospel, by the grace of God.
During this time the devil told me that they were going to have to rush me to the hospital. But I paid no attention to what the devil was saying to me. I went in the bathroom and sat down and in a whisper (that is all I could get out because of the pain this spirit was inflicting on me) I started binding the Jezebel. The pain and pressure was incredible and with every word I spoke, it took all the effort I could force out to bind the Jezebel. I sat there for about 5-10 minutes binding this spirit over and over again, with breaks in between to catch my breath from the pain. I mean it was that bad. Sometime during this time JR came in the room, but I just stayed in the bathroom and never said a word to him or called him, I just kept praying and binding this spirit. After a short period of time, I could feel this spirit turning my mid-section loose, until that pressure was completely gone. It was amazing, really.
The next time this happened, I believe we were in Tulsa. Once again I was by myself. When this spirit hit me, I immediately started binding the Jezebel spirit, and did so for several minutes, but this time this spirit kept squeezing my mid-section. This spirit was once again trying to squeeze the breath out of me. I felt sick and broke out in a sweat. It reminded me of a python snake - squeezing the breath out of its victims and suffocating them. I mean when that came to me, I started binding this 'python' spirit with everything within me, and when I did I could sense this spirit totally backing off and gradually turning my mid-section loose. It was incredible. But this is the kind of wrestling match you will get in with the devil. You may say, "Well, that is a strange spirit to bind." And I agree - I had never bound that one before, but I was after results, and it worked!
It took maybe 5-7 minutes to overcome it. And those 5-7 minutes seemed like eternity. That did encourage me - although I never wanted to experience anything like it again. If you don't think these spirits have power and can do things to you, just wait until one of them comes down your path - then you might be convinced that they are real. And if you will keep your heart on the gospel - the death, burial and resurrection power of the Lord Jesus, and know that God has given you the faith to resist these spirits, you will gain the victory over them.
Needless to say, on a trip to Houston with Doyle this same spirit came to visit me once again. This time it was in the middle of the night. When this 'thing' started squeezing me, I immediately got out of the bed because I knew what it was, and went into the bathroom and this time it ended up taking me 30 minutes before I overcame this grueling attack. Once again the devil spoke to me and told me to get JR and have him call Doyle and rush me to the hospital. But I kept praying and binding this spirit - and as before, I knew it had to obey and leave me - and it did. Thank God! If you don't think your faith will be tested and tried when one of these spirits come to visit you, you are one blind person. But if your faith is in the gospel - the power that raised Jesus from the dead - you will be able to put these spirits off just like Jesus did. After all, He is our example. I do thank God for His mercy, and that His grace is always sufficient to overcome.
This past Saturday night (May 8, 99), I was on the way to church and was just a few blocks away, when this spirit started doing the same thing to me. I mean I broke out in a sweat, as before, and I could hardly breathe. As I got to church and sat there, I just kept binding the Jezebel and giving God thanks. After about 30 minutes it completely left me. There would have been a time in my life where I would have thought that all of these occurrences were some sickness attacking my body. But if you ever get a revelation of who your wrestling match is with - it will change your life completely in how you think and react to these situations.
It really makes me appreciate what Jesus went through when He had all of these spirits on Him at once, and by the faith of the power of God He put them off and made an open shew of them and triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15). When the Lord started revealing the strength of the Spirit of that man to me, and that I have that Spirit in me, I came to see that as long as I would trust in and rely on that Spirit in me, I could gain the victory over these spirits every time. It does say His strength is made perfect in all my weaknesses. (And you will feel worse than weak when one of them hits you!)
I am amazed at times at the pressure these spirits have put on me. But when I stop and think about how I am always fighting and wrestling with them, it is really easy to see why these pressures and attacks come. As long as you are walking with the devil - and if you are walking in the ways of the world, then you are walking with the devil - then he will pretty much leave you alone. It is when you start resisting these spirits in faith that they will fight back. But one thing you can always be assured of, is they have been judged and they have to bow, because it is written that at that name every name that is named has to bow at the name of Jesus - and that includes powers, principalities, wicked spirits, etc.
When you can keep your heart on the fact that it is the devil - and he was defeated 2000 years ago - you will get the victory in every one of these situations by standing fast in believing the gospel. As I previously stated, it is hard to believe something you cannot see could put that type of pressure on you, but after you have had it happen, and you pray through it, you will believe it a lot easier.
I am just grateful to know the One that was raised from the dead, and that He put every one of these spirits off His body. And if we will trust in, rely on, and adhere to that power that is in us, we can put them off likewise. In I John 4:4 it says that greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. Praise God!
