The Battle is the Lord's: A Guide to Spiritual Warfare

CONTENTS

PREAMBLE

INTRODUCTION

1. MUSIC

2. VIOLENCE

3. THE NATURE OF WAR

4. WHAT ARE DEMONS LIKE?

5. CAN CHRISTIANS HAVE DEMONS?

6. THEIR SYMPTOMS

7. SATAN AND RELIGION

8. SATAN IN THE CHURCH

9. SATAN AND TRADITIONS

10. TIME FOR WAR

11. THE COMBAT 1

12. THE COMBAT 2

13. THE COMBAT 3

14. THE COMBAT 4

15. DELIVERANCE

16. SELF-DELIVERANCE

17. THE HUMAN SPIRIT

18. SPIRIT OF WITCHES

19. EPILOGUE

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to: The Sanctuary of Truth Centre (STC) Church Nairobi for being  the only church that opened her door of fellowship to me at the time when nobody thought I could still be of any use in this kingdom. It was here that the Lord collected my broken pieces, put them back together and made me yet another vessel of noble use. Glory be to God in the highest, hail the power of Jesus Christ, and may the Holy Spirit who inspired this work flow into the mind of every person reading this book.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank:

My father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name for accepting and loving me just as I am without one plea.

The Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of eternal life. Lord, I’m out to render a limitless service unto your kingdom.

The Holy Spirit for your inspiration, guidance, counseling and comfort throughout this work.

My pastor and members of the Sanctuary of Truth Church (S.T.C.) Nairobi for their perpetual prayers and support.

My family for giving me the gift of being a husband, a father as well as a priest at the family altar.

All the pastors under whose feet I ever learnt: Rev. Dismas Onjula – STC Nairobi, Pastor Samson Kamau - I.F.C. KwaMaiko, Pastor Harrison Gachanja - Deliverance Church KwaMaiko, Pastor John Chege - Living Water Ministries KwaMaiko, Pastor Muchai - PAG Juja, Pastor Ben Ouma - Juja Life Church, Pastor Josephat Waweru - PAG Ngenia Kiambu East, Pastor Phanuel Omung’ala - Fishers of Men Church, Rongo, Pastor Christopher Obiero – FPFK Thessalia Church Muhoroni.

All my fellow teachers and students who have helped me grow spiritually – Muguga High School Kikuyu, Kinale High School Lari, Kambui Girls High School Kiambu East, Lukenya School, Machakos County.

All my favorite authors through whose books I have learnt a great deal (see Bibliography): Dr. Rebecca Brown, Mrs. Mary K. Baxter, Pastor Don Piper, Mrs. Betty Jean, Derek Prince, Dr. David Oyedepo, Angelica Zambrano, John Lennox, The 7 Columbian Youth.

Special thanks to Pastors Bernard Lugado, Dismas Onjula and Ben Ouma for reading the manuscript and kindly delivering their encouraging comments and support.

Mr. Daniel Nzue, my computer Technical advisor. All those who contributed towards this worthy cause the Lord will reward you richly.

And you, my esteemed reader. Thank you for choosing to read this book.

FROM MY READERS

A TIMELY BOOK

Indeed the book is timely and for sure the author is powerfully inspired by the Holy Spirit to go beyond the normal, by revealing the hidden secrets affecting the entire body of Jesus Christ. So it is my deep desire and prayer as the spiritual father of the writer that we read the book prayerfully for more inspiration and transformation; because religions have been informing and performing but cannot transform people - only Jesus.

Rev. Dismas Onjula Ogalo, Sanctuary of Truth Centre

Cell: 0726-749 827/0733-267337

Email: donjula@yahoo.com

A GREAT BOOK

The book is wonderful. Truly inspired of God and many souls are going to be touched. I've gone through the sixteen chapters carefully and prayerfully, my brother move on. You left no stone unturned. Simple language and it rouses curiosity as you read on. May our good Lord prosper and bless your humility for being very honest with your captivating testimonies and realities of life. You have my blessings, Sir.

Pastor B. Lugado

POWERFUL REVELATION

Every team must study and know the devices and the winning formula of the opponent team. No wonder the Bible says: My people perish because of lack of knowledge. The same principle is applicable in our quest to live a victorious life in Christ. God has equipped Brother Francis with powerful revelations that every Christian need to get a grip on in this book.

Pastor Ben Ouma, Senior Pastor - Juja Life Church

PROLOGUE

Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

The day I was saved, the first thing I did when I rose from my knees was to check the time on the wall clock - and it read 2.a.m. We'd started talking with this man of God from around 11 p.m. to 2. That morning I felt a reassuring urge in my heart and a feeling like I was the last person to be saved on earth! Many years have passed by since then and all I see around me are people who live like there is no urgency in matters pertaining to hell and heaven! Satan is the author of confusion and lies that lead to eternal death in hell. He has posted his fallen angels in every sphere of human life to obstruct people from gaining access to God's eternal joy. The name for the fallen angels as used in this book is demons. These are invisible spirit beings whose deadly mission is to drag God's children to the hell fire that burns eternally.

The aim of this book therefore is to expose these invisible spirits from their hideouts to the enlightenment of the reader. They have lied to the entire universe, causing people to travel on a wider road that leads to hell. All of us have dealt with issues in life whose solutions seem vain. We're left scratching our heads with no solution. Some have sort help from 'wagangas' while others just throw in the towel. The solutions to those incomprehensible problems are within the pages of this book. It is futile trying to solve a problem whose root cause you know nothing about.

Everybody young and old would want to be in heaven, but many are doing nothing to enable them to access that perpetual bliss. I have come to tell you that there is a reason for your reluctance. You have an invisible enemy standing on the way.

PREAMBLE

The repercussions or aftermath of my first book, dancing with devils, featuring traditions of men vs. the Bible, were quite an eye opener into the hidden world of evils. I had been a believer for quite a while when I was confronted with the face of cultural practices of our people after my mother's departure. The things I heard and experienced prompted me into writing that book. I could not imagine that people would still talk of such in the twenty-first century! I came face to face with the evils of our land. I dared touch the shrines that had held our traditions for ages and made them known into the outer world. The devil's kingdom operates in darkness, and so he wants to keep people always in the dark. His will is ever fulfilled in secrets; even those that worship him do so in top secret. So when I dared open a chapter of these secrets to the world, the consequences were not simple.

The attack came through finances at first. The book was sold by people who had signed up as my salesmen, the majority of them being brethren and some of whom were pastors. Others even went to the extent of photocopying and selling it, but I never saw the money. Somebody in Siaya was so moved that he asked me for permission to translate the book in dhoLuo, but this is the same person who turned round and criticised me with very sharp words. Yet another Christian friend who had taken one hundred copies claiming that he was well connected with the big churches in Nairobi was to sell and take his commission. I never saw the money, neither were the books returned to me.

It was in the era when there were no mobile phones, so I had to literally make trips to this man's house, and believe it that he was never at home either. I was so carried away such that I threatened this person with hiring the service of debt collectors. In my letter I had used a lie because the truth was that I had not contacted any office for that matter. Now the Holy Spirit also turned against me for telling a lie. The latter compelled me to travel all the way to this man's house and waited for him till ten at night. My mission was only to confess to him that I had lied. Since he was not expecting me, and at the same time he had no extra bed for uninvited visitors like me, I ended up sleeping on his chair. That night I was exposed to the torture of bedbugs throughout. I had become wiser by now knowing better than getting annoyed because I had painfully discovered that I was not struggling with flesh and blood. So the more I got angry with people the more I was losing the battle.

On top of those financial harassments, I still suffered illness that no doctor could diagnose and give me solutions for. St. Mulumba's mission hospital in Thika had to refer me to Kijabe, another mission hospital in Kiambu County. There I underwent so many tests and they finally admitted to me that they could not see anything wrong with my kidneys. A friend then advised me to try water therapy which I adhered to as a last resort and that became my cure. I am reporting what took place ten years from this time and I have never gone back to hospital for anything close to kidney problems.

I was kept on my toes solving one problem after another. One evening someone called me using a private number. At first it sounded like he was not ready to say whatever made him call. He just mumbled some words in dhoLuo, and at the same time the caller sounded like he had muted his mouth to disguise himself. The second time he called, he was clear and bold. He was straight to the point and did not meander anymore with his words. He spoke in plural like he was representing a certain group of people. In clear vernacular he first threw a few words of insults then he told me that they were responding to my exposition of the traditions. The last word was that they would soon come for me.

At first I was perplexed. It took me some time wondering who they could be and why so much concern! Then it dawned on me that the devil's agents were not amused at my writing. That night I remembered Dr. Rebecca Brown's experience with devil worshipers in her book, He Came to Set the Captives Free. In that book the author shared her experience on one night when the devil worshippers surrounded her house and threw terrible threats to her. It is reported that angels were seen standing back to back round her house with swords in hands. These evil men could not penetrate the chain link of warring angels. Learning from Dr. Rebecca's experience I took time also in prayer and out loud read the whole of Psalm 35.

May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away (vv.4-5).

I have just given an example of the above verses, though that night I prayerfully recited the whole psalm, and remained vigilant. Nobody touched my door and it is now over ten years. I believe the angel of the Lord must have driven them away.

One very dramatic evening in Ruiru town I came across one that paused like a hawker, a clean-shaven youth of about twenty-five, at most. He approached me politely in Swahili, requesting me to assist him in getting a job. He said he would do any available labour. The funny bit with this jobseeker was that he had not told me his name, neither had he known mine – worse still he did not know whether I was in any position to secure a job. So I demanded to be told his name, and do you know; the youth was hesitant. When I pressed on he calmly pronounced to me that he was the Sovereign Prince!

This opened our long discussion that was to take days. I boldly told the 'Prince' that I wanted a name not a title, but he politely wanted me to know and believe in him as a Sovereign Prince. When he saw that I was not going to take that, he twisted a bit but still meant the same thing. He said, I am he who has come. From the Sovereign Prince now to I am. Who are you and where have you come from?

When I saw that it was rapidly getting dark, I asked this prince to come home with me for a further talk. He had no problem with that. I later discovered that deep in his heart he was celebrating having found one who could invite him to the safety of a home whereas no known Christian had ever wanted to listen to him. On the contrary I thought that I had come across a lost sheep and so it was my duty to direct him back to the Father's sheepfold. What a contrast!

At home our discussion went past 2.00 am and the man still wanted to talk. Whatever scripture I could quote was not going to convince my guest that he was not Jesus the Christ of God. To my amazement the man was extra superb in his knowledge of the word. He would quote precisely and to the point. When I felt I could not take it anymore I suggested that we pray and retire to bed. I deliberately requested him to pray. This was because I was eager to hear in whose name he would pray now that he was the Sovereign! I listened to a solemn prayer that sounded something like what our Lord did when He was here on earth. There was no mention of the name 'Jesus' anywhere, but we prayed and concluded by saying 'Amen.'

I don't know for how long I had slept when all of a sudden I woke up to find this guest tightly clinging to my hand. His face looked terrified, with blood oozing from his tightly closed lips! My first question was whether I had hurt him, but he shook his head. Then what? Why the blood? The man told me that he heard me shout and as he ran for my rescue then he found some supernatural power was emanating from me that he could not contain, and that was the reason for his biting his own lips! I then took courage and used his own words against him. I asked:

'Do you now believe that there is someone within me that is stronger than the one you claim to be?' I thought that was too direct and the man could easily take an offence, but he didn't. And neither could that make him change his mind. I will give the concluding part of this adventure in the later chapters.

On the contrary to all that, I have so far derived great satisfaction from the positive side of the outcome. As I said in the conclusion of the book that I would be glad to hear from any one person who may have found some help from the same, I have received quite a response. Very encouraging encounters. Two biological sisters, members of the Nairobi Pentecostal church, belonged to a Christian group of intercessors with a mission to prayer lift curses in Nyanza Province. As I got the story, the group had a conference that was due in three weeks. One of these two was the secretary of the organization. On this fateful day they were driving round bookshops looking for books and tapes on curses. They already had a copy of my Dancing with Devils.

When they read the cover, these ladies told me that they had a great desire to contact the author and invite him to speak live at the conference. This is getting interesting. At that very time they spotted a school bus with the inscription KAMBUI GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL. The cover of the book portrayed that the author was a teacher in that institution. We were on our way from a district music festival at Thogoto Teachers College in Kiambu, and had given the girls time to shop around in Kikuyu town. A student came running to me breathlessly reporting that some ladies had parked a car near our bus and they had a book with my photo on the back. Being in Form One that year, this student had no idea of her teacher having written a book.

We shared a great deal with those dear ones. Instantly I was accorded an invitation to speak to a conference in Kisumu, an audience of Luos on that topic of curses, customary laws and taboos. Had I ever been any happier in my life? If you want to know that the devil is a real devil and is ever alert, he was very prompt to block my way into that conference. Three days prior to the occasion, the lady secretary called me and she was in tears. I learnt that she could not narrate clearly her message on phone, so I eagerly accepted an appointment into her office. As always the devil would come from a corner that you least expected. He cunningly caused a serious disagreement between this lady and her chairman of the group.

The latter had insisted on inviting a certain great politician (name withheld) into the meeting, claiming that the same was such a prominent member of the community who must be included in the programme. My sister begged to be told of the importance of this great man in the meeting of intercessors, but her plea fell on deaf ears. Sadly she handed over the file with these words: it seems that you and I are not on the same road. I believed her and that blocked my participation in the conference.

One other time I was having lunch in one of the restaurants in Nairobi. Then a lady came and joined me but she was not talking. Any time I looked up, I would catch her stealing a glance at me until I became nervous. When she saw that I was in a great haste to leave, she excused herself and broke the silence. She started by telling me that I looked like an author of a book that had really blessed her life, though that day I was not in specs while the photo on the book had some. Then instantly I got interested and gave her all the audience she may have wished to have. Her story was that she was born a Kikuyu in Limuru and got married to a Luo from Seme in Kisumu. As a Christian she was fascinated by my accounts in the book Dancing with Devils. These and many other incidences have blessed my life