“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to me; and you have forgotten the law of your God. I will also forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6)
Lack of knowledge leads to blindness and darkness, and Satan will rule in our lives because we are ignorant about his works and kingdom. Teachings on demons and deliverance are necessary because they equip God’s people with knowledge. Without this knowledge, demons will continue destroying lives.
“So I will send my people into exile far away because they do not know me. The great and honoured among them will starve, and the common people will die of thirst. The grave is licking its chops in anticipation of Jerusalem, this delicious morsel. Her great and lowly will be swallowed up, with all her drunken crowds” (Isaiah 5:13-14).
When you live in ignorance, you are living in darkness and you are already under the machinations of the enemy (Proverbs 24:5). Knowledge increases a person’s authority over the enemy, be it in physical or spiritual warfare. Governments have spy networks so that they can collect the necessary information on what their potential enemies might be planning. They need to know the enemy’s capabilities, the types of weapons their enemies have, and much more. Spying is not new.
We read about it in the Old Testament when Moses sent out a team to do spy work. ”Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them to explore the land.
“Go northward through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak few or many.” (Numbers 13:17-18.)
We also read about spying in Joshua 2: 1-2.
“Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia. He instructed them, “spy out the land on the other side of the Jordan River especially around Jericho.”
So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.” (Compare with Revelation 2:24).
When you spy on the enemy, you gain useful information; this information is what helps you to take the battle to your enemy’s territory. This information equips you to fight offensively instead of defensively. Defensive fighting is where you wait for the enemy to hit you first then you pick yourself up to start fighting back. This is not a good strategy to employ because it can be very tiring.
The good news is that those who walk in the light—that is, those who have been equipped with knowledge—will not be subject to the enemy’s manipulation. The Light in their lives will destroy Satan’s darkness. Knowledge is light. Knowledge destroys ignorance. Where there is light, darkness flees.
Proverbs 11:9 states that “through knowledge shall the just be delivered”.
Evil spirits will put up every possible resistance to block people from identifying them (the evil spirits). We know of people that get lost while trying to locate our church; this has happened despite the fact that they have our location address and know the area fairly well. Jesus always exposed demons and cast them out. His teaching and preaching was about authority and power. Jesus’ type of teaching hits the demons directly and exposes them (See Mark 1: 22-24).
Once, l was teaching at a married women’s conference about the spirit of anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness when one woman broke out and started crying, shedding many tears. At the end of the conference, l called her into my office and asked her what happened. She told me that felt great conviction during my teaching and could not help but shed tears. She said she suddenly realized how the demon of un-forgiveness and bitterness had blindfolded her and messed up her marriage. She told me that many of her relatives had talked to her about her anger but she would never accept because this demon was so hidden in its operations—it would always lie to her that it was her husband to blame, not her.
The conference exposed her to the right teaching; she realized that her troubles had been the work of a demon. She repented. I prayed for her and cast out the demon of anger. As I prayed, tears were running down her cheeks. I continued to cast the demon of anger out of her mind and called on the spirit of meekness. After praying for her, she promised me that she was going to repent to her husband. Later on, she came back and testified that her husband accepted salvation; they are now born-again Christians living happily together.
In conclusion, l can confidently state that the Pharisees’ hatred of Jesus’ ministry was motivated by demons. They mounted every conceivable pressure against Jesus to stop him from carrying on; they even accused Jesus of casting out devils using the powers of Beelzebub, the prince of devils (Matthew 12:24).
Editors’ note: This excerpt is adapted from Pastor Tom B. Mugerwa’s book, Taking the Battle to the Devil’s Territory. The author is the founder and senior pastor of Mutundwe Christian Fellowship based in Kampala, Uganda.
