The battle is conducted by the Holy Spirit. He points out to us a bondage in our life. The bondage may have to do with our love of the world. The bondage may have to do with the passions and appetites of our flesh and soul. Or the bondage may be of our self-will and personal ambition.

Once we perceive that our behavior is not righteous in some area we must make a judgment concerning it. We must confess it to the Lord as sin, not as a flaw in our personality but as sin! The Bible does not talk about imperfections in our personality but about sin. The point of deliverance is not to improve us as a person, as though it were psychologic therapy, but to get at God's enemies so they can be put into the Lake of Fire. These bondages of ours are an offense to God and will not be permitted in the Kingdom.

We must judge the particular area of darkness as sin and name it clearly. Then we are to denounce it, renounce it, and by God's help turn away from it. We are to draw near to God and resist the devil. If we will do this diligently with all the determination we can summon we will be delivered.

I realize some deliverances require a period of time before they are final. If we do not quit but keep on renouncing the behavior as sin it finally will be brought down to death and ultimately removed from us.

We are never, never, never to give up in despair. God will deliver us. It is His will to deliver us. But we must realize this is a fight to the death. Satan regards the physical realm as his possession, just as the Amorites who had been in the land of promise for hundreds of years regarded the territory as their possession.

It is time to take the Kingdom.

As we said, to be delivered is to bring judgment on the adversary.

Notice Jesus' remarks in His own home synagogue.

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, (Luke 4:19,20—NIV)

Jesus was reading from the scroll of Isaiah.

To proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, (Isaiah 61:2—NIV)

Do you see what Jesus omitted? He omitted "and the day of vengeance of our God."

It is my opinion that the scroll is being opened in our day. I believe we have come to the day of vengeance of God.

If what I think I am hearing from God is true, then we have arrived at a massive move forward in the Kingdom of God. The emphasis is shifting, for the members of the Body of Christ, from imputed righteousness to actual righteousness of personality and behavior.

The message of forgiveness and imputed righteousness is still to be preached to the unsaved. But to the disciples the emphasis is now on actual righteousness.

To be continued.