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  WARFARE IN THE HEAVENLY
  by Derek Prince
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the spiritual warfare believers face,
highlighting the need to put on the full armor of God to withstand the
attacks of the enemy. It delves into the importance of truth,
righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God,
and prayer in overcoming the tactics of the devil. The victory is
ultimately achieved through the blood of Jesus and the power of personal
testimony, leading to a commitment that does not love life to the death.
Scripture References: Ephesians 6:14, Revelation 12:10, Acts 4:23

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the spiritual warfare believers face,
highlighting the need to put on the full armor of God to withstand the
attacks of the enemy. It delves into the importance of truth,
righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God,
and prayer in overcoming the tactics of the devil. The victory is
ultimately achieved through the blood of Jesus and the power of personal
testimony, leading to a commitment that does not love life to the death.

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CONTENT
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Thank you so much for that welcome. Thank you, Brother Hagee. It's a
real privilege to be with you again.

We've had some exciting times together, I think you'll agree. I always
remember when the New York Times sent down somebody to report on our
deliverance services and they were action-packed. How many of you can
remember at least one deliverance service? Well this one, the
photographer was going around photographing these details and he got
delivered himself without knowing what had happened.

I esteem Brother Hagee as a great man of God. I think what he's achieved
here in this place, in these people, is tremendous. I'm honored to be
here and to minister to you all.

I had planned to speak this evening on warfare in the heavenlies. Then I
was going to speak tomorrow morning on another subject and tomorrow
evening on warfare on earth. But when I went through my outline before
this meeting I concluded that I'd never get through it all in one
meeting.

So tonight I'll start with warfare in the heavenlies. Tomorrow morning,
God willing, I'll continue with that. Tomorrow evening we'll deal with
warfare on earth.

And that means demons. If you're nervous, you've been warned in advance.
But don't stay away.

So let me turn to an initial text for the theme of warfare in the
heavenlies. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12. For we do not wrestle against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places.

If I may, I'll give you the Prince version, which is a little bit more
literal. I started learning Greek when I was ten years old and I became
a professor at Cambridge University. So I do know something about Greek.

Nobody knows everything about Greek, let me tell you that. It's a very
elaborate language with a long history of nearly three thousand years.
So anybody who tells you he knows it all, is mistaken.

But this is the Prince version of Ephesians 6 verse 12. For our
wrestling match is not against flesh and blood. And the Living Bible
says persons with bodies, which is a good rendering.

Our wrestling match is not against persons with bodies, but against
rulerships, against authorities, against the world dominators of this
present darkness, against spiritual hosts or forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places. It begins here in my text, where we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood. Unfortunately many Christians have got it
punctuated wrong.

For we do not wrestle, period. In fact I would have to say from my
observations, most Christians have got it wrong. There are not many
Christians who are really wrestling.

And you know wrestling is the most intense form of conflict between two
persons. A boxing match, there are certain blows you're not allowed to
land on the parts of the body. Wrestling, an all-in wrestling as they
call it, is total combat.

And that's the word that Paul uses here. We are involved in total combat
against spiritual forces, persons without bodies, against rulerships and
authorities. I will come back to that phrase later on.

Against the world dominators of this present darkness. Against spiritual
hosts or forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Now we need to ask
ourselves how it came about that there are spiritual hosts or forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places.

Let me say first of all that from the first verse of the Bible, the word
heaven is always plural. In the beginning God created the heavens plural
and the earth singular. So there is more than one heaven.

In actual fact there are three heavens. This is stated very clearly in 2
Corinthians chapter 2, chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 and following. It is
doubtless not expedient for me to boast, but I come to visions and
revelations of the Lord.

So Paul is now speaking about a man who had a very unique vision and
revelation. I don't believe that man was Paul. Some people do.

I think it wasn't, but let's not argue about that. I know a man in
Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or
whether out of the body I do not know, God knows. Such a one was caught
up to the third heaven.

And I know such a man whether in the body or out of the body I do not
know, God knows. How he was caught up into paradise and heard
inexpressible or unutterable words. Which is it's not lawful for a man,
or not possible for a man to utter.

So Paul is speaking about somebody, a believer who had a very wonderful
experience. And he was caught up to the third heaven. Paul says he
doesn't know whether his body was caught up with him, or just his
spirit.

But there he was in the third heaven. And he was caught up in the
paradise and heard unutterable words. Which it's not lawful for a man to
utter.

Now before I became a believer, I was a professor of logic. And I still
believe in logic. And my logic tells me if there is a third heaven,
there must be a first and a second.

You cannot have the third of anything without the first two. And I
believe that's the way it is. So in the third heaven, this man heard God
himself.

He was in paradise. Obviously this is the highest point where God
himself dwells. So the third heaven is the top heaven, if I may put it
that way.

The first heaven I believe to be the visible heaven. The one we look at,
the sun, the moon, the stars and so on. Now between the first and the
third, there must be a second.

And that I believe is the area where the conflict takes place. I don't
believe there's any conflict in the heaven where God dwells. There isn't
that kind of conflict on earth.

But there is in this intermediate heaven between earth and the throne of
God. Now how did this conflict come about? What's its origin? The Bible
tells us certain things. It doesn't tell us other things.

It's a mistake to try to know more than the Bible tells. But it's really
important that we do find out what the Bible has to say. So I'm going to
turn now to Isaiah chapter 14.

And in my particular translation, the passage I'm looking at begins at
verse 12. And it's entitled or headed, The Fall of Lucifer. So these are
prophetic words described to a certain angelic being, who went, who
turned in rebellion against God.

How are you fallen from heaven? That's the heaven of God's presence. Oh
Lucifer, son of the morning. How are you cut down to the ground? You who
weaken the nations.

Now we get the motivation of Lucifer's rebellion. Let me say of course,
Lucifer's present name is Satan. Satan means the adversary.

The Greek word the devil means the slanderer. So Satan is the adversary
of God and man, the slanderer. Remember that anybody who slanders is
doing the devil's job.

And unfortunately it does occur in churches. Now let's look at the
motivation, because this is very important. We learn something extremely
helpful for each of us and all of us.

For you have said in your heart, this is the motivation of Lucifer's
rebellion against God. And five times it starts with the words, I will.
So the root of rebellion is the will set in opposition to the will of
God.

He says I will ascend into heaven. And he's planning to go higher. I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

I will also sit in the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides
of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be
like the Most High.

But when the English says like, the Hebrew can equally well be
translated, I will be equal to the Most High. So the origin of Lucifer's
rebellion was personal ambition and pride. And I would like to point out
to you that is the main source of trouble in the church today.

It's personal ambition. I often ask myself, how many ministers in the
church are motivated by passion for souls? And how many are motivated by
personal ambition? To have the biggest church, the largest mailing list,
hold the largest meetings and so on. And I can tell you from personal
experience and observation over a long period of time, many sections of
the church are riddled with personal ambition.

In my personal opinion, this is the greatest single problem in the
church. Personal ambition in the ministry. And we find that its origin
was in the heart of Lucifer or Satan himself.

Five times he set his will against the will of God. Five times he
planned to exalt himself. I have a little radio series about the whole
problem of pride, which is called The Way Up is Down.

If you want to go higher, you have to go lower. It's very interesting
because this has been circulated in various countries. It's translated
into German.

I'm sorry to tell you good Americans, that on the whole the response has
not been enthusiastic. The thing that surprises me is in Germany it's
been a bestseller. I can't explain it, but we need to take heed to that
fact.

The Way Up is Down. If you want to go higher, you have to go lower. And
you see Satan has implanted this personal ambition, this self-promotion,
in the hearts of all who will accept it.

And that doesn't mean that the church is excluded. In fact, the church
is the place where Satan most desires to implant this kind of personal
ambition. And then it says, yet you should be brought down to Sheol, to
the lowest depths of the pit.

It really is true. The Way Up is Down. If you want to go up, go down.

The lower down you go, the higher up you end. Don't let Satan deceive
you by planting personal ambition in your heart. Because it was his
downfall, and it can be your downfall too.

Now I want to take a picture of the interaction between the heavenlies
and the earthly realm. An example of what we could call spiritual
conflict. I'm going to turn to Ezekiel chapter 28.

Now this chapter portrays two persons. The king of Tyre, I'm sorry, the
prince of Tyre, and the king of Tyre. And they are quite different
persons.

But both of them are involved in the destiny of a very important city in
the ancient world called Tyre. And this, this revelation brings out the
fact that there is a, an interplay between earthly rulers and heavenly
rulers, evil heavenly rulers. And that brings out the fact that one of
the most important things we can do to change the situation, is to deal
with the evil heavenly rulers.

So now we look at a little of what it says in Ezekiel 28, beginning at
verse 1. The word of the Lord came to me again saying, son of man say to
the prince of Tyre, thus says the Lord God. So this is addressed to the
prince. The second half of the chapter is addressed to the king, who's a
totally different person.

Because your heart is lifted up, what would, how would you use, what one
word would you use to describe that? Pride, that's right. You see,
consistently the Bible warns us, more against pride than any other
problem. Because your heart is lifted up and you say I am a God, I sit
in the seats of God in the midst of the seas.

Yet you are a man and not a God, though you set your heart as the heart
of God. So this prince of Tyre is a human being, who claims to be God,
as many other human beings have done. We'll go on, well we go, behold
you are wiser than Daniel.

There is no secret that can be hidden from you. With your wisdom and
your understanding you have gained riches for yourself, and gathered
gold and silver into your treasures. By your great wisdom in trade you
have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up.

What's that? Pride. Because of what? Your riches. How many people would
recognize that wealth is often a source of pride? All these things are
very important practical lessons for us.

And here is a man, a human ruler, who claims to be God. That's not by
any means the only case. In fact we know there is coming an Antichrist,
who will claim to be God, and sit in the temple as God.

So these are things that happen continually throughout history.
Therefore thus says the Lord God, because you have set your heart as the
heart of God, behold therefore I will bring strangers against you, the
most terrible of the nations. And they shall draw their swords against
the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor.

They shall throw you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of
the slain in the midst of the seas. Will you still say before him who
slays you, I am a God? But you shall be a man and not a God, in the hand
of him who slays you. So here is a picture of this human being, who's
very clever, very wise, very successful, very wealthy, a ruler.

But he claims to be a God. And God disposes of that claim by sending
enemies against him, who kill him. And God asks, will you say in the
hand of the one who slays you, I am a God and not a man? Now that's the
first one.

Now we come to a totally different person in the second half of Ezekiel
28. This person is the king of time. And it's very clear from much
that's said, he's not a human being.

So we see something that's very important. In the whole spiritual realm
there is a relationship between evil forces in the heavenlies and human
rulers. And they seek to gain control of human rulers and use them to
carry out their purposes.

And the same thing is happening right now in the United States of
America. So this is not a remote story from some other age. This is very
relevant to where we are in the United States today.

Now I'm going on about the king of Tyre. Beginning in verse 11. Moreover
the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man take up a lamentation
for the king of Tyre.

And say to him, thus says the Lord God. You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of
God.

That was never true of any human being. Every precious stone was your
covering, the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your
timbrels and pipers was prepared for you on the day you were created.

So here is a created being who was in Eden, the garden of God. Who
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. He's not a man,
but he's not God.

Then it says in verse 14, you were the anointed cherub who covers.
Covers what? Well this is my belief. Covers the throne of God with his
wings.

So this cherub was outstandingly beautiful, outstandingly wise, and he
had a unique position in heaven. He was the cherub who with his wings
covered the throne of God. Now there's an interesting little footnote.

From that time onwards, as far as I can understand, God never put one
cherub anywhere. He always put two face to face, so that each of them
would know there's someone just as beautiful as I am. Verse 16, by the
abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within.

Now trading can mean going around selling wares. This is my little
picture. I believe Lucifer went around coveting and obtaining the
allegiance of the angels who were under his authority.

And I picture him, this is totally imaginary, saying to some of the
angels, now you know God doesn't really appreciate you. You're so
beautiful and so wise. If I were God, I'd give you a much higher
position.

Do we ever see people talking like that today? And there's very little
that's new. Verse 17, going on in verse, you were perfect in your ways
from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you. He's a
created being.

He's not God. He's a seraph or a cherub. He's angelic.

He's outstanding for his wisdom, his beauty, his power. Verse 18, by the
abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within and you
sinned. Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of
gold and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery
stones.

Obviously this is not a human being, isn't that true? Now let's go back
to the motivation. You see it's emphasized again and again and again.
Your heart was lifted up.

What's that? I mean I cannot say this too often. Undoubtedly pride is
this most common temptation. The thing that most liable to cause us to
fall is pride.

And it didn't start on earth. It started in heaven. Your heart was
lifted up because of your beauty.

You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to
the ground and so on. Now that's a picture of the situation in Tyre.

Tyre has passed away. It's just history. The prince of Tyre died like a
man.

The king of Tyre never died. He's an angelic being, very proud, very
powerful, very wise, full of beauty, and in total opposition to God. Now
I'll share with you my own little idea.

He said I will be equal to God. That was what he claimed. Now I believe
there's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

And this is simply my impression. I believe God the Father is so
awesome, so inimitable, so completely unique, that Lucifer did not
aspire to equality with the Father. But there was this beautiful being
who represented the Father, the Son.

And what I believe myself, Lucifer said I can be like him. And there
started at that point a conflict, which has continued ever since,
between Lucifer and the one who was manifested in human history as Jesus
of Nazareth. And really when Jesus came to earth in the form of a man,
Lucifer said now I can get him.

And he pursued him, turned the people against him, and obtained his
death, and said now I've got him. But he was wrong. Because the third
day Jesus came forth a total victor.

Amen. But the conflict is not yet ended, because Satan still fights in
every way he can against God, the purposes of God, and the people of
God. It's suggested, and I'm perfectly prepared to receive it, on the
basis of Revelation 12 verse 4, that it was one third of the angels who
turned in rebellion with Lucifer against God.

It speaks in Revelation 12 about a great fiery red dragon, who is the
devil. Revelation 12 verse 3, a great fiery red dragon. Remember Satan
is a dragon, he's also a snake.

He can overawe you, and overpower you, or he can slip in through the
drain hole, when you don't even notice it. He's got all sorts of
different devices. Anyhow it says of this dragon his tail drew a third
of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth.

Other interpreters besides me have suggested that this means one third
of the angels followed Satan, followed Lucifer in his rebellion against
God. Now I want to look for a moment at the structure of the heavenly
beings. I want to turn to Colossians.

Let me say Ephesians is the epistle about the church of Christ, but
Colossians is the epistle about the Christ of the church. If you're ever
dealing with people who've been in a cult, the place to take them to is
Colossians. Because it reveals Jesus so uniquely, that no guru, no other
person can ever have anything like what he has.

And so we see here in Colossians 1 verse 15. He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. And notice very
carefully he was not created, he was born.

The only begotten Son of God. And he's the image of God. He himself
expresses exactly the person, the nature, the appearance of God.

That's why God doesn't want any idols, any images, because he has his
own image. And that is Jesus. So he is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation, should be the firstborn before all
creation.

He was not created, he was born. Everything after that was created. And
then it says, For by him all things are created that are in heaven and
that on the earth.

Now what guru ever could make claim to that statement? You understand
it's ridiculous to compare Jesus with any kind of human occult figure or
power. By him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on
the earth, visible and invisible. So there are visible things and there
are invisible things.

And then it lists the invisible things. Whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. So there are four main orders in the heavenly
realm of the created being.

Thrones is the highest, then, and I'm going to give you a more literal
translation, dominions or lordships, then principalities or rulerships
and powers or authorities. Let me say that again. Thrones, lordships,
rulerships and authorities.

And I say, I put them in the abstract because these are offices, they
are positions. It's like we have the word president, it's a man. But if
we have the word presidency, it's a function, it's a position.

And these are really describing positions rather than individuals. So
there are four main orders. Thrones, dominions or lordships, rulerships
and authorities.

You'll find the NIV is probably more or less in agreement with me. I
have some problems with the NIV which I won't go into, but in some cases
it's a very good translation. Trump or Wallace, they didn't consult me.

No, I'm sincerely, I mean it's done a wonderful job. It's got the Bible
to all sorts of people who have never read the King James. But I just
regret that they weren't a little more careful.

For instance, I'm totally shocked that they still continue to use the
word demon possessed. Because there's nothing in the Greek that has any
basis for the word possessed. I'll come back to this tomorrow night, if
you're here.

But you see the problem with possessed is, to English ears it suggests
you belong to somebody. Can I be, I'm a Christian, can I be demon
possessed? Definitely not. But you can be demonized.

It's quite different. As a Christian you belong to the Lord. But there
may be areas in your personality where the lordship of God is not yet
fully in effect.

There may be little creatures lurking here and there that need to be
expelled. So let's look forward to tomorrow night. Now if we go back to
Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12, which is where we started.

And I'm I'm doing, giving you the Prince version now. For our wrestling
match is not against persons with bodies, but against rulerships,
against authorities, against the world dominators of this age. A
conspiritual host of weavers in the heavenly.

Notice the top level is principalities and powers, or rulerships and
authorities. So if you go back to Colossians, you'll see the top two
levels were not involved in rebellion. Rebellion started at the level of
principalities and powers, or rulerships and authorities.

So the thrones and the dominions never were alienated from God. But
we're still dealing with extremely powerful spiritual beings who are
called rulerships or rulers and authorities. That's where we are
wrestling.

If we are wrestling. How many of you are wrestling? You don't have to
answer. But you can't do it without knowing it, that's for sure.

Now I want to go now to an incident in the book of Daniel, which very
vividly demonstrates that there is a midheaven between the heaven of God
and this earth, which is occupied by satanic angels. So if you know
where to find Daniel, turn back. It comes after, what does it come
after? Now Daniel.

Daniel chapter 10. Now this is a lesson on intercession and on ruling by
prayer. And it's very, very up to date.

One of my books that was not announced was, what is it? Hold on a
moment. Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting. I don't know whether
you know, but there's going to be a gathering of young people, maybe a
quarter of a million or more, on September the 2nd in Washington D.C. to
do that, to pray and fast.

And the man who organized it told my son-in-law David Selby, who is our
director. He said, my plan is based on your father-in-law's book. So if
you want to, you can blame Derek for what's happening.

Well I'm not, I'm prepared to be blamed, because I'm happy about it.
I've also been invited to be one of the speakers. So would you please
remember that in your calendar, because it could be a very significant
day in the United States.

We get a quarter of a million committed young people gathering for
prayer and fasting. It could change Washington. Is that right? Let me
ask you a question.

Do you think Washington needs to be changed? So the next question is,
what are you doing about it? All right, now then. We're going to Daniel
chapter 10, verse 2. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full
weeks. Why was he mourning? For the sad condition of his people.

Why could you and I be mourning? For the sad condition of our people. He
says, I ate no pleasant food. No meat or wine came into my mouth, nor
did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

That is what we have come to call a Daniel fast. It's not totally
abstaining from all food, but abstaining from all the things you enjoy
the most. Such as coffee.

Now I've stopped preaching and I'm meddling with people's business. A
lot of other things. Now let me tell you this.

This is just by the way. When I was saved in 1941. If you can believe
people were alive, walking the earth as long ago as that.

I was saved in the British Army and I was totally unspiritual. I didn't
know that God spoke to people. But I felt that somebody was saying to
me, no chocolate, no chocolate, no chocolate.

So I thought, that's ridiculous. Besides I like chocolate. And later on
I was in charge of the canteen in my unit in the desert and I controlled
all the chocolate.

But later when I married Ruth, she said to me, you're a chocoholic. She
said, I've never seen anybody eat chocolate the way you do. You eat a
whole Toblerone bar in one sitting.

See I became an addict to chocolate. And I'm free now, thank God. But if
only he did God's warning, it would have saved me a lot of suffering.

I don't know what's funny about that. All right, so there are certain
things that we do. You know the strange thing is about the mid, well
we're not in the 20th century now, we're in 21st.

But anyhow, the recent period of 50 or 60 years, something has dropped
out of this Christian vocabulary. You know what it is? Self-denial. Up
till that time almost all people, whether Christians or not, assumed
that Christians would practice self-denial.

But somehow it just slipped through the cracks. Today very few people as
Christians even think about self-denial. But you know what Jesus said?
He said, if you're going to follow me, what's the first step? If anyone
will come after me, let him deny himself.

So Daniel denied himself. And I don't want to boast, but I want to say
at the same time, in my unspiritual condition, God spoke to me and
showed me that He wanted me to fast one day a week. Now in those days,
if you can believe it, I mean if you told people you were fasting,
they'd look at you as if you came from another planet.

I mean people did not do it. But I did. And while I was in the desert in
North Africa, I was in charge of a squad of stretcher bearers.

Being people who carry stretchers. They never carried stretchers, but
that was their title. And we traveled on one three-ton lorry or truck.

Eight stretcher bearers, two truck drivers and me. That's 11 people. And
we did everything together.

We had no alternative. Our truck was our home. So when Wednesday came
along and I didn't eat, it was impossible to conceal it.

So you know what they called Wednesday? We were in Egypt, remember at
the time. They called it Ramadan. You know what happens at Ramadan?
During the day the Muslims don't eat.

Believe me, they make up for it at night. But a really zealous Muslim
will not even swallow his own spittle in daylight. But as I say, when
dusk comes, they make up for it.

Anyhow, Daniel was without any pleasant food for three weeks. Now on the
twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great
river, that is the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked and behold a
certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold at Ufas.
His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his
eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in
color.

And the sound of his words was like the voice of a monster. And I,
Daniel, alone saw the vision. For the men who were with me did not see
the vision, but great terror fell upon them.

So they fled to hide themselves. I remember the people who led me to the
Lord were friends of Smith Wigglesworth. I never had direct contact with
him.

But I remember him saying once, a lady came to him and said, Mr. Smith
Wigglesworth, do you think I saw an angel? Because I had an experience.
And Smith Wigglesworth said, were you frightened? And she said, no. And
he said, then it was not an angel.

Because every time anybody saw an angel in the Bible, they were
frightened. So Daniel was frightened. And we go on verse 8. Therefore I
was left alone when I saw this great vision.

And my strength, no strength remained in me. For my vigor was turned to
frailty in me, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the sound of his
words.

And when I heard the sound of his words, I was in deep sleep on my face,
with my face to the ground. You can't come in lower than that. When I'm
about to minister anywhere, as for instance here, I always take pains to
take time on my face on the floor.

Because when you're face on the floor, you can't sink no lower. There's
only one way you can go after that. That's up.

And if I fail to do it, I always tremble that the consequences will
display the fact. Anyhow, verse 10. Then suddenly a hand touched me,
which made me, or set me trembling on my knees and on the palms of my
hands.

And he, this visitor from heaven, said, O Daniel, man greatly beloved.
Why was he greatly beloved? I'll tell you why, because I, why I think
so. Because he cared enough for his people to fast and pray for them.

Understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have
now been sent to you. I didn't finish what I was saying about fasting.
The year before last, I spoke at a conference of Intercessors for
America, with Bill Bright, whom you know has introduced fasting to many
people.

And as a matter of interest, I calculated how much time I'd actually
fasted during my Christian life. And I found out it was more than eight
years. But not all at one time.

And I do not consider any of it wasted time. I, wherever I am, I
wouldn't be where I am now, if I hadn't practiced fasting. And Jesus
said to his disciples, when you fast.

He didn't say if you fast. He said when you fast. He put it on exactly
the same level as giving to charity and praying.

Three things, when you pray, when you give alms, and when you fast. And
he's a pattern. He didn't have, they've had any ministry until he'd
spent 40 days fasting.

It says in Luke chapter 4, after he was baptized, he went into the
desert, full of the Holy Spirit. After 40 days fasting, it says he came
out in the power of the Holy Spirit. There's a difference.

You are full of the Holy Spirit, maybe. But are you moving in the power
of the Holy Spirit? It's another question. Anyhow, we're going back to
Daniel chapter 10, verse 12.

Then he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you
set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God. To
do what? What's the opposite of humility? We're going to do one or the
other. Which will it be? Pride is disastrous.

Humbling yourself is the way to success. To humble yourself before your
God. Your words were heard, and I've come because of your words.

Now Daniel had been fasting 21 days. But the first day that he began
fasting, the angel was sent with the answer. Why did he take 21 days to
get through? One tells you.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days. Now that's
no human being. Furthermore, it's not on earth.

It's between the throne of God and earth. Somewhere in the mid-heaven
there was an evil angel that resisted Daniel. Thank you, I'll do my
best, but I don't think it does much good.

Thank you. They tell me I ought to drink more water. Thank you so much,
I appreciate that.

All right, we're going back. Do not fear, dear Daniel. From the first
day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before
your God, your words were heard, and I've come because of your words.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days. That's no
human being. That's a satanic ruler in the heavens.

And he had a specific assignment. He was in charge of Persia. Let me say
something very exciting has happened to me.

I've been invited to, in July, to speak to 1,000 Iranian Christians in
the land of Holland. They're all refugees from Iran. And they tell me
that Iran is on the verge of a spiritual explosion.

And I'll just tell you this, I hope it doesn't seem boasting. Our
representative in Holland was trying to interest them in me, which is,
you know, optional. And the man was not interested, the least bit, this
Persian man, until our representative showed him the book, Shaping
History Through Prayer and Fasting.

He said, did he write that book? He said, we want him. You know there
are at least four nations whose history has been radically affected by
that book. That's Russia, Czechoslovakia, Persia, and one other nation
that I forget which.

And I want to tell you, if you want to see your nation changed, it will
not happen without prayer and fasting. I wrote that book about, oh, more
than 20 years ago. I'm an American by choice, you know that.

I immigrated to this nation by accident. Not many people immigrated by
accident, but I did. Because I arrived at the border with my Danish wife
and my little black African daughter from Canada, in Pembina, North
Dakota.

And they said, what are you coming for? Well I said, a visit. I had an
invitation from an AOG pastor. Well they said, how long is the visit?
Well I said, about six months.

They said, that's too long for a visit. Well I have learned not to argue
with people like that. So I said, well maybe you can help us.

So you can hardly believe this, but they said, come into Minneapolis and
we'll arrange for you to immigrate. That I'm probably the only person
who's ever immigrated to the United States by accident. And I thank God
for this nation.

The Christians of America have been extremely good to me. I have a debt.
And I think I'm, my way of repaying that debt is writing that book.

Because it demonstrates out of American history, the unique place that
prayer and fasting had in the birth and origin of this nation. And also
illustrated by other examples from my personal history in the Middle
East and elsewhere, where history has been shaped by prayer and fasting.
And if you want to see the United States turn back to God, I don't
believe it will happen until people really pray and fast.

So you have to ask yourself, how much does the welfare of my nation mean
to me? I am deeply grateful to the people of America. They've
entertained me, they've received me, they've supported me. I will do
anything I can to repay that debt.

But I know the best thing I can do is to tell them the truth about
prayer and fasting. You know, the pilgrims viewed from British
perspective were a dropout. I mean, they just sailed west and
disappeared out of English history.

When I got here, I was invited to speak at Plymouth, you know, in
Massachusetts, on the pilgrims. I didn't know a thing about them. I had
to find out.

And they had, because of religious persecution in England, they fled to
Holland. And they gathered their whole company, men, women and children,
in Leiden, in Holland. And they appointed a day of prayer and fasting,
based on Ezra chapter 8 verse 21, to humble ourselves before the Lord
and to seek from Him a right way.

Then they set out from there, stopped in Plymouth, and took the journey
to New England. You can say, in a sense, this nation, or this section of
this nation, was born out of prayer and fasting. And it was based on the
Bible.

And I think it's very stupid to turn away from the Bible to human
philosophies. I mean, I was a philosopher. I have no respect for human
philosophy.

It's a waste of time. And I mean, I'm not saying that because I failed,
I was successful. I can hardly believe it, but I wrote a dissertation
for King's College, Cambridge, on this title.

The Evolution of Plato's Method of Definition. Can you believe it? And I
was elected. So I'm not speaking because I didn't succeed.

I did succeed. But when I met the Lord, it all became totally irrelevant
to me. So we're back here.

Now it's verse 13. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me
twenty-one days. Now that's quite a conflict.

Three weeks of spiritual conflict in the heavenlies. Because the angel
from God was coming with the answer to Daniel's prayer. And the angel of
Satan in the heavenlies, in the mid-heaven, was resisting him.

So don't underestimate the power of Satan. And then it says, Behold,
Michael, one of the chief princes, archangels, came to help me. For I've
been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

Now if you read in Daniel chapter 12, verse 1, it says, At that time
Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons
of your people. Who are the sons of your people? When it's addressed to
Daniel. Come on, tell me.

Who are the sons of your people? The Jews, that's right. It's not a
popular word, but there it is. The Jews, they are the sons of Daniel's
people.

And whenever you see Daniel in the Scripture, you know the Jews are
center stage in history. Because he stands up for the people for whom
he's been given charge by God. And then it goes on to say, I have been
left alone there with the kings of Persia.

So one angel couldn't break through. It took two, this angel and
Michael. Now I've come to make you understand what will happen to your
people in the latter days.

For the vision refers to many days yet to come. When he had spoken such
words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.
And suddenly one, having the likeness of the sons of men, touched my
lips.

Then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, My
Lord, because of the vision, my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have
retained no strength. For how can this servant of my Lord talk with you,
my Lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath
left in me. So he went through a very powerful spiritual experience.

And not all spiritual experiences are enjoyable. If all you want is
enjoyment, you're going to miss out on a lot of things. Then again, the
one having the likeness of a man, touched me and strengthened me.

And he said, O man, greatly beloved. I like that. O man, greatly
beloved.

That's a message from heaven to Daniel. Fear not. Peace be to you.

Be strong. Yes, be strong. So when he spoke to me, I was strengthened
and said, Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me.

Verse 20. Then he said, Do you know why I've come to you? And now I must
return to fight with the Prince of Persia. So the battle wasn't over.

He'd broken through. But on the way back, he had to deal with this
satanic angel in the mid-heavens. The Prince of Persia.

And when I have gone forth, behold, the Prince of Greece will come. The
Prince of Greece is not a human being. It's another satanic angel.

So we found two countries, Persia and Greece. Each of which had a
satanic angel put over them, to work out Satan's plan for them. Why were
they so significant, both to God and to Satan? Because the destiny of
Israel was being settled there.

Now he goes on. And I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of
truth. No one upholds me against these except Michael, your Prince.

Talking to a Jew, Michael, your Prince. So here's a very vivid
description of conflict between angels. God's angels and Satan's angels.

Not on earth, but in the mid-heavens. See how real that is? Then it goes
on. Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to
confirm the strength of him.

Now Darius was a ruler raised up by God to bless Israel. Can you see how
Israel is the central theme of all of this? And we see that because of
Darius' influence with Israel, he was supported by the angels of God. So
this lays bare a whole different scenario from what we're used to.

Daniel said it all in motion. It's very important to remember that.
Daniel took the initiative.

The initiative was not with heaven, it was with earth. Daniel started to
pray and fast. That sent heaven in motion.

God sent an angel with the answer. But the angel was intercepted in the
mid-heavens by a satanic angel called the Prince of Persia. And it took
the angel plus Michael 21 days to break through.

Can you see when we're talking about wrestling, it's not a little parlor
game. It's serious business. If I can leave anything with you, I would
like to leave with you the reality of the fact that it's going to take a
lot more than most of us are doing to break the power of Satan over this
nation.

If he can destroy the United States, he will. And I have to say, I hope
I say it kindly, the great majority of American Christians are not in
touch with reality. They're playing their little religious games, having
a nice time in church, and they're totally unaware that a deadly
conflict in the spiritual realm is taking place.

And that the church on earth has a vital function to perform. Our
wrestling match is not against persons with bodies, but against
rulership and authority. The world dominators of this present darkness.

Dear brothers and sisters, that's not a little assignment. That's not
something you teach just in a Sunday school lesson. That demands total
commitment.

It demands facing the realities of the spiritual situation. It demands
coming to grips with selfishness, and self-centeredness, and self-
indulgence, and saying away with them. This is too important for my
little petty personal interest to interfere with what God wants me to
do.

All right, we've spoke to that picture. And let's go back to Ephesians
chapter 6. I hope I've succeeded in showing you that there is a real
conflict taking place in the heavenly realms. And we've got part to
play.

It's not going to come to success without our doing our part. Have you
grasped that? Say yes or no. I hope you have.

Because if you haven't, I've been wasting my time. Now, let me point out
something to you which another preacher pointed out to me this recently.
If you read Ephesians, every statement in it is in the plural.

There's not one statement to an individual. It's all to you, plural. To
you, the church.

To you, the believers. This whole scenario does not leave room for the
Lone Ranger. He has no part to play in this.

It's going to be a corporate action by the people of God, or it's not
going to work. So we come back to Ephesians 6, going on in verse 13.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

So, Paul's picture is taken from the equipment of a Roman legionary.
What was called his panoply, his full armor, or his full equipment. And
he gives a spiritual application.

I wish I knew a way to blow my nose without getting it recorded. All
right, we're in Ephesians 6, verse 13. Therefore, now you've heard the
famous prince saying, haven't you? When you find a therefore in the
Bible, you want to find out what it's there for.

And verse 13 is there because of verse 12. Because we're involved in
this life and death conflict with satanic forces in the heavenlies. Take
up the whole armor of God.

And let me say, this is of most urgent importance for all of you who are
involved in spiritual warfare. Don't go into it unarmed. And Paul lists
six pieces of armor.

And the first five are all weapons of self-defense or equipment. I want
to go through them briefly and I want you to check. How much do you have
on? It's verse 14.

Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth. The first piece of
equipment is the girdle, the belt. Now you need to understand, in those
days, most often, both men and women wore long garments that stretched
below the knees.

And you find a phrase used quite often in the Bible, gird up your loins.
Because to do anything active, the first thing you had to do was get
your long garments up above your knees, so that you could freely move
your legs. So what you did was, you put the girdle on, you pulled the
long garment up and you tucked it into your girdle.

After that, you were ready for action. Before that, you couldn't go into
action. Your long garment would have impeded you.

Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth. I think that's very
important. I think it means being ruthlessly honest with ourselves, with
other people.

The pastor was talking about my first wife Lydia. And she was a person
who told it like it is. Somebody who was reminding me, somebody said to
her, how are your children? So she said, do you really want to know? And
I said, yes, well sit down and I'll tell you.

And she went through all eight children, one by the one, and told them
exactly. In other words, she took the words seriously. She did not use
idle speech.

She didn't use religious clichés. They are a terrible hindrance if you
want to be a real committed Christian. You cannot hide behind religious
talk.

You've got to be sincere. You've got to tell it like it is. When I got
involved in the 1960s, with that generation, they were saying, tell it
like it is.

And I said to myself and my fellow Christians, whatever could we ask
better than that? Let's tell it like it is. Let's tell it the way it
really is. Let's not mince our words.

Let's not paint pretty pictures. Let's really come down and tell them
the facts. And I thank God that I saw hundreds of young people radically
changed.

You know why they got changed? Because they were radical. I was radical
a generation before them. But there were no hippies, so I didn't know
what to be.

I tell this story because people sometimes are incredible. But while I
was still at Eton and then at Cambridge, I had the impression that you
could make money at roulette if you had the right system. And I thought
we'd discover the right system, my friends and I. So I would go to Monte
Carlo or Cannes on the south coast of France and play roulette.

By a miracle of God's grace, I never really lost anything. Then I
discovered later that the man who invented the system, whose name was
Labouchere, died a pauper. But what I'm trying to tell you is, living in
Monte Carlo or Cannes, in warm weather, I would walk around in sandals,
which is pretty normal.

But what was not normal about me was I colored my toenails red. I've
often said to myself after that, why did I do that? I really don't know,
but I think it was a kind of protest. Well, I mean, I think it is a
protest.

You say, why does a girl color her hair blue? What motivates her? I
don't criticize her. I can't cast a first stone. If I colored my
toenails red, she's got a right to color her hair blue.

But I ask myself, what is it motivating young people to do things like
that? And I think it's a wordless protest against the fact that there's
something phony. And you know what they think about the church? Many of
them think we're phony. And you know what? They're often right too.

I believe myself there's a deep hunger in the young people of this
generation to get to reality. But it doesn't occur to them to go to the
church to find reality. I'll speak about that more on Sunday evening if
God wills and we live.

But we're talking about the good. In other words, tell it like it is.
Don't use religious clichés.

Don't use sweet language. Be like my first wife and also my second wife
to say the truth. I've never been married to an insincere woman.

I've never been married to one who played a role. They were real. They
were what they were.

With all their weaknesses and failings, they were real. And that's what
I believe is getting up your loins with the girl's truth. It's getting
all this fancy religious talk.

These religious clichés. I mean, I think when I first became a
Pentecostal pastor, which was in Britain, and the slogan of the
Pentecostals was, We've got it all. Save baptized in water, baptized in
the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues.

Well then I read the journals of John Wesley. And I said to myself, if
we've got it all, what did John Wesley have? Because he had a lot more
than we did. You see, we had the language.

We spoke in tongues. But how far does that get you? It doesn't get you
very far. You can just be a freak.

A religious freak. And gather with the other freaks every Sunday
morning. I'm not being malicious.

I'm just trying to get you face to face with reality. I thank God I'm in
a church now in North Carolina. I really enjoy going to church on Sunday
morning.

That's unusual. Most often I go because it's a duty. But we get in the
church, which really tells it like it is, up to a certain point at any
rate.

And I'm so much enjoying it. I want reality. I don't know how many more
years I'm going to live.

Only God knows. But I don't want to fool around. To me, time is
precious.

My strength is precious. I want to use it for the right thing. I'm
prepared to make sacrifices.

You know, I'm going to celebrate my 85th birthday. God helping me, if
God wills me to live. I'm going to be flying back from Benin, where I'll
be going to preach.

You know where Benin is? No, you don't. I don't blame you. I didn't
either.

But it's just next west to Nigeria. And there's a conference of French-
speaking Africans from all over that part of Africa. And it's like a
challenge to me.

I want to get my teaching into French. I want to be able to reach the
French-speaking world. You know, there are 500 million people who speak
French.

And they're not being reached, basically. France is a desolate land,
spiritually. So, why did I say all that? Because I want to get rid of
these long religious garments.

I want to tuck them up in the girdle of truth and tell it like it is.
Amen. Well, we're going on in Ephesians 6, verse 14.

Having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now, the breastplate,
what part of the body does it protect above all others? The heart,
that's right. So, protect your heart with the righteousness, which is
not a righteousness of works, but it's a righteousness received by faith
in Jesus Christ.

And it's a transforming righteousness. It changes you. It brings you
into harmony with God.

It's not a set of rules. It's a change in your heart that changes
everything you think and say and do. How many of you know that's
possible? From your own experience.

If you don't have... If you haven't had a life-changing experience, I
really question how much of a Christian you are. I don't want to be
unkind. You see, you can join a church and stay the same.

You can say a prayer and stay the same. You can sign a decision card and
stay the same. But, you can't meet Jesus and stay the same.

So, do you have on the breastplate of righteousness? Is your heart
protected? Are you a changed person? We're going on, we don't have much
longer. Verse 15, Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace. Now Roman legionaries had very strong sandals with thongs which
laced up the calf.

And they could march long distances, forced marches because of their
sandals. So, your shoes with the preparation of the gospel of peace to
me speaks about being available. Being anywhere at any time that God
wants you.

It's not having a set routine that you have to stick to. It's being
adaptable. Also, it's the gospel of peace.

So, you go to the supermarket to do your shopping. But you've got on the
shoes of the gospel. So, you meet this precious soul who's in deep
trouble and distress.

And you do what? You impart peace. See, it isn't so much what you say.
It's what you are.

It's what you have to give. People are desperately crying out for peace.
They long for it and they don't know where to find it.

When you contact them, they're not so much interested in your doctrine.
They want to know do you have it. Because if you have it, you can
communicate it.

And that means being adaptable. You're in the supermarket, you're busy.
You've got to shop for all sorts of things.

And you meet this precious soul who's on the verge of tears. And you
have to stop and talk to her. And you have to impart peace to her.

That means having on the shoes of the gospel, of the preparation of the
gospel of peace. Going on, above all, taking the shield of faith with
which you'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Now
the Greek word for shield is directly related to the Greek word for a
door.

Because the Roman legionary had a long sort of oval shield which was
narrow and it was his protection. And a really trained soldier could so
get behind the shield that no part of him was vulnerable. It took
training and it took being in condition.

An overweight person couldn't climb behind the shield. You can't afford
it if you're in the conflict. There's a strange silence in that point.

And you need it because Satan is going to fire arrows at you which are
flaming arrows. They're not just arrows. They're flaming arrows.

You want a shield that will stop them. You have to learn how to crouch,
how to get down, how to leave no part of your body exposed. That has
spiritual application.

You have to come to the place where no part of your life is exposed,
where you're fully protected. I said to somebody the other day, I said
the shield doesn't protect our luxuries. It just protects our
essentials.

And I mean, I have nothing against indulging yourself up to a certain
point, but remember, it's not protected by the shield. The shield
protects you as you are, just a person. And then we're going on taking
the helmet of salvation.

What part of you does the helmet protect? The mind, that's right. And I
suppose the mind is the place where we have the most spiritual battles
in all our experience. Is that right? And so we need a protected mind.

Now, after I was saved and became a pastor, I had a tremendous ongoing
conflict with depression. And I traced it back later to my father. It
was something I inherited from him.

I don't want to go into that. Then I discovered that God had provided me
with protection. First of all, I was delivered from a spirit, a demon.

I was a good Pentecostal preacher, but I was delivered from a demon.
What do they call it? The spirit of heaviness was what God called it.
And then I thought, now how do I stay free? And I said, I need to
protect my mind.

I'm always giving way to negative thoughts. And entertaining
possibilities that don't build you up. So I said, I need the helmet.

So I found it here, the helmet of salvation. Then I said to myself, well
I am saved. I know I'm saved.

Does that mean I have the helmet? Then I said to myself, no. Because
Paul was writing to Christians who were saved. But he said, take the
helmet of salvation.

So I said to myself, what is the helmet of salvation? And I make no
extra charge for this, but it's priceless. I mean actually you cannot
put any value on what I'm going to tell you. Well my Bible had cross
references.

And the cross reference was to 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 8. But let us who
are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love,
and as a helmet the hope of salvation. And it absolutely kindled
something within me. My problem is pessimism.

My shield is hope. I've got to cultivate scriptural optimism all the
time. And I had an ongoing battle because the devil tried to put back
depression.

And every time he did, I had to thrust at him with the sword. Tell him
to stay his distance. I had to have a scripture that would answer every
suggestion that things were not the way they should be.

And really what got me out of it mostly was Romans 8 24. All things work
together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to
his purpose. So I would say to myself, do I love God? Yes.

Am I called? Yes. Then whatever happens is working good for me. Can you
believe that? It's very, very important.

I've passed through a tremendous personal crisis in the last two years
with the passing of my wife. And I would not have survived if I had not
believed Romans 8 24. No matter what happens, the question is, not is
God working it together for good, but am I walking in God's purpose? And
I said, yes I am.

I believe I'm doing what God has called me to do. I believe I'm in my
calling. I don't enjoy it.

It's painful, but nevertheless it's doing me good because God works all
things together for good. If you can believe that, you'll never be
depressed again. And I make no extra charge for that.

But I mean I'm giving you advice which will save you a lot of time as a
psychiatrist. And I notice, I don't know whether you've noticed the same
thing, that depression is becoming more and more common. Have you
noticed that? People talk about depression today in ways I never heard
when I was a boy.

I mean people are actually hospitalized with depression. We need to have
protection. It's there.

It's the helmet. Going on. Where are we? Take the helmet of salvation,
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Now, it's very up-to-date now to find out that that word there means a
spoken word, verama. So the sword of the Spirit is not the Bible on your
bookshelf or even on your nightstand. The sword of the Spirit is the
Word of God when you take it and quote it to the devil.

And that's exactly what Jesus did. He didn't use any other weapon. Three
times when Satan tempted him, he answered what? And the devil has no
answer when you quote the written Word of God.

He backs off. So that's the sword of the Spirit. Now all those except
the last are really weapons of defense.

It's only with that that you pass into the realm of attack. But even
that, your sword will only reach as far as your arm reaches. You still
have nothing to reach out.

And there are only six pieces of armor. And when you've got six good
things in the Bible, you can be absolutely sure there is a seventh.
Where is the seventh? It's in verse 18.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication. What Charles Wesley
called the weapon of all prayer. And that is our intercontinental
ballistic missile.

It'll reach anywhere at any time with amazing accuracy. So that's a list
of the armor. Let me just go through it again.

The girdle of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. The shoes of the
preparation of the gospel of peace.

The shield of faith. The helmet of salvation. The sword of the Spirit.

Praying always. That's the ultimate weapon. It's all prayer.

I just want to take one simple example from the book of Acts. Acts
chapter 4. The apostles have been told by the religious and the civil
authorities not ever to teach or preach again in the name of Jesus. You
see how smart they were? Because there is no salvation in any other name
but the name of Jesus.

If you can't use the name of Jesus, you can't offer salvation. The
gospel has no meaning. And they were forbidden by the authorities over
them, the religious and the civil authorities, not to preach anymore in
the name of Jesus.

What did they do? It says in Acts 4.23, Being let go, they went to their
own companions. It's good to have your own companions, isn't it? Don't
be a lone ranger. And reported all that the chief priests and elders had
said to them.

So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord.
That's the weapon of all prayer. It's all God's people.

Praying together with one accord. And it changed the whole situation.
The way it was open for them to continue to preach the gospel.

But that was a major crisis in the development of the church. If they
hadn't won the victory, then the church could have gone no further. If
they were not free to use the name of Jesus.

So this is how the church overcomes strategic opposition from Satan.
When there is a closed door, when there is a closed nation, when there's
a closed group, how can we break through with the weapon of all prayer?
And I believe that's what we need today in America. It's the weapon of
all prayer.

So I'm going to pause there. Stop. Matter of fact, I've only got one
more.

Shall I just go one more? I didn't think I'd get through all this.
You've been wonderfully patient. So I might as well complete it.

Now I just want to give you a picture of the climax, the victory.
Revelation chapter 12, verse 10. Then I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the
power of his Christ have come.

For the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and
night, has been cast down. Who's the accuser of the brethren? Why does
he accuse us? What does he want to make us in one word? Guilty. That's
right.

We have to learn to deal with guilt. And they overcame him. They, the
believers on earth, overcame him, Satan, by the blood of the lamb and by
the word of their testimony.

And they did not love their lives to the death. So how do we overcome
him? By the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. In other
words, we testify to what the word of God says, the blood of Jesus does
for us.

Can I say that again? We testify personally to what the word of God
says, the blood of Jesus does for us. And you have to know what the word
of God says. You have to testify.

It's when it comes out of your mouth that it has power. You can believe
it all you like, but it doesn't until you speak it that it works. They,
the believers on earth, overcame him, Satan, by the blood of the lamb
and the word of their testimony.

May they point out just one thing from the example of the Passover. You
know, the story was that they had to kill the lamb, gather its blood in
a basin, and that was protection available. But it didn't protect
anybody.

They had to transfer the blood from the basin to the place where they
were living. And what they used was a little bunch of a herb that grows
everywhere in the Middle East called hyssop. They dipped the hyssop in
the blood, struck it against the lintel in the doorpost, and they were
protected.

Now, to apply this analogy, the blood is in the basin. Jesus has shed
his blood. But the blood in the basin doesn't protect you.

You've got to get it to where you live. How do you get it there? What's
the hyssop? The word of your testimony. It's when you testify personally
to what the word of God says, that me and Jesus are... that you're
sprinkling the blood where it protects you.

Amen. Now, I think I'll lead you in a little proclamation, which is on
one of our cards. But I think it would be good if you were to stand to
your feet.

You've sat a long while. You've been wonderfully patient. And standing
is an attitude of victory.

So, I'm going to make the proclamation that I make several times a day.
I take the hyssop and I sprinkle it wherever I am. I'll say it once
through and then we'll say it together, okay? And this is the end.

This is what I say. My body is a temple. My body is a temple.

All right. Okay, if you're going to then, that's fine. Start again.

My body is a temple. My body is a temple. For the Holy Spirit.

Redeemed, cleansed and sanctified by the blood of Jesus. How do I go on?
The devil has no place in me. No power over me.

No unsettled claims against me. All has been settled by the blood of
Jesus. All has been settled by the blood of Jesus.

I overcome Satan. I overcome Satan. By the blood of the Lamb.

And by the word of my testimony. And by the word of my testimony. And
that's not the end.

And hold on. And I do not love my life to the death. Say that again.

And I do not love my life to the death. How will you express that in one
word? A self-denial is a good one, but I would say commitment. And you
see, uncommitted Christians can use the blood as much as they like.

It doesn't do anything. You have to be committed. You have to be willing
to lay your life down.

How willing are you? I was preaching on this the other day. And I said
something which rather surprised me. But I am prepared to say it again.

And this is my personal testimony. For me, it is more important to do
the word of God. To do the will of God.

Than to live. To stay alive. So, I am not asking you to say that.

But that's what is commitment. The devil is not the least bit afraid of
uncommitted Christians. We can go through all our religious activities
and motions and sing and do whatever we do.

But it's only when you come to the place where you don't love your life
to the death. That your testimony has supernatural power. Shall we say
that once more and then you're released.

You've been wonderful. And now I have to remember what I was saying. My
body is a temple for the Holy Spirit.

Redeemed, cleansed and sanctified by the blood of Jesus. My members, the
parts of my body are instruments of righteousness. Yielded to God for
His service and for His glory.

The devil has no place in me. No power over me. No unsettled claims
against me.

All has been settled by the blood of Jesus. I overcome Satan by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony. And I do not love my
life to the death.

My body is for the Lord and the Lord is for my body. Amen. God bless
you.

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/-tODl_Pjmk.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/derek-prince/warfare-in-the-heavenly/
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