Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

No one makes it through life without problems.  In the eyes of the
world, when bad things happen that can't be otherwise explained, they're
attributed to "circumstances" or "bad luck".  Too often we as Christians
have bought into this lie; we live "under the circumstances", a place we should
never be.  If we apportion blame, it may be to specific people. or to the
general condition of the world, or society.  While it is certainly true
that, in a fallen world, bad things can and do happen to "good people", and we
sometimes bring disaster on ourselves, often we need to look elsewhere.

The ancient world was accustomed to the idea of demons and evil spirits of
every kind.  No one questioned that Jesus or Paul cast out demons from
people.  In our "modern" world, though, things like mental illness,
heredity, and chemical deficiency are blamed for a wide variety of ailments that
once would have been considered the work of demons.  That's certainly true
in many cases, but most physicians and psychiatrists are not trained, or
inclined, to diagnose spiritual problems.  Concentrating on treating
symptoms, they have no real idea of the ultimate cause if it isn't physiological
or related to "circumstances."  Fundamental Christians believe in the
existence of demons, servants of Satan, in the world, but we steer clear of
subjects like exorcism, casting out demons.  People who engage in such
practices are viewed as crackpots, or con artists.

As Christians, we should expect unfavorable attention from the Devil. 
If we coast along, and nothing really bad ever happens to us after we're saved,
it's because we're not doing anything for the Lord.  The moment we do, we
can expect an attack to come our way.  It may take many forms: through our
work, through our families, in finances, in relationships, in being victimized
by crime or personal attacks.  The good news is that we don't have to sit
and take it; the Lord has given us defenses against the enemy's attacks. 
We also have a powerful weapon to strike back with.  The next two lessons
in this series will look at both our spiritual armor, and our weapon of attack,
the sword of the Spirit.

Besides direct attacks against Christians, there are levels of ongoing
demonic involvement in our lives, and in the lives of the unsaved. 
Persistent demonic activity around someone, leading to feelings of anxiety,
despair, and general spiritual heaviness, is demonic oppression.  The
demon, or demons, don't directly control the person, but make life so miserable
that the person may be driven to extreme action, such as violent behavior or
even suicide.  This activity is much less common than the daily drum roll
of attacks we face if we're trying to serve God.  Even less common,
actually quite rare, is demonic possession.

The Bible is clear that possession by demons occurred in the time of Christ
and the early church.  We should not think things are any different in our
world, where there is such an obvious abundance of satanic activity.  There
is a fine line, though, between behavior manifested as a result of schizophrenia
or paranoia, and the work of demons inside someone.  No one should delve
into activity like confronting demons, or attempting something like an exorcism,
without the gift of spiritual discernment, to determine if demons are, in fact,
at work.  Such efforts can be disastrous both for the person attempting
exorcism and the presumed demoniac, who may be mentally ill and nothing more. 
One such incident, actually a bit humorous, is recorded in Acts 19:13-20,
involving the sons of one Sceva.  Too many times, though, the results are
far from humorous.  We will look in a later article at the marks of demonic
possession according to the Bible.  Can a Christian be demon-possessed? 
The short answer is "No"; we'll look at why this is the case.

There are many paths a person can take to spiritual bondage.  Today our
world is endlessly fascinated with the occult, from psychics with their "spirit
guides", to mediums, to haunted buildings.  Horoscopes are a big business,
as are psychic hotlines.  People are frantic to gain a measure of control
over their lives by trying to find out what their future holds, and what
decisions they should make.  Such fascination with the occult is very
unhealthy, and provides an open door for demonic involvement in the person's
life.  This lesson looks at avenues of spiritual bondage, both to avoid,
and to repent of, if we have already engaged in them.

In the last discussion, we look at the requirements of good spiritual health. 
For every circumstance, for every problem, God has a solution in his Word. 
Nothing is new under the sun, Solomon wrote (Ecclesiastes 1:9).  Modern
philosophies have a lot of new names, like secular humanism, and modernism, and
postmodernisms, and a whole host of other "isms".  All of them, though,
amount to the same thing: an attempt to explain the world, or the universe,
apart from God.  To him, all such are efforts are foolishness (1
Corinthians 1:18-25), and the one who denies that there is a God is the greatest
fool of all (Psalms 14:1).  There is a correct, Biblical attitude that we
should take toward the world, and all of its terrors.  That's what we'll
consider at the end of this series.

Coming next: The right equipment for the job.

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