Living in the Shadow of Reality

Dr. Silas Gaines

Description

Unseen spiritual laws impact us every day, whether we realize it or not. Understanding these laws is critical to successfully fulfilling our destiny.

Westerners often make the mistake of discounting the spiritual aspects of life as “not real”, imaginary, a mere reflection of what is experienced in the “real world” (by which they usually mean, the physical world that we experience with our five senses). Many claim that the concept of angels and demons are creations of our imagination, that God or the gods of other religions are mere projections that we create for ourselves. The argument goes like this: Humans look at physical reality and then create/imagine a shadow world, the spirit world, based upon our experience of ‘real life’. But what if the opposite is true? What if what we are experiencing with our five senses is really just a reflection in a pond? What if the “real” begins with the spiritual and then is reflected into the physical?



If this hypothesis is true, if indeed what we see happening around us in the physical world begins in the spiritual world and is only later manifested where we can perceive it with our five senses, then that has profound implications for us in a practical sense. If true, this would mean that individual crimes, acts of evil and aggression, and perhaps even larger events, armed conflicts, terrorist strikes or man-made catastrophes that occur in our physical world might be avoided altogether…if we can stop them at the spiritual level. Likewise, what if good might blossom in our physical world as a result of intervention at the spiritual level? It certainly seems that we have evidence for both, in human experience and in the scriptures. Join Dr. Silas Gaines as he walks his readers through a scriptural, historical and personal journey to identify spiritual laws and principles that govern our current reality. Gaines aids us in highlighting spiritual laws woven into the Created Order of which we are often dangerously ignorant, and which often hold the keys to humanity flourishing in God’s plans and purposes. Gaines invites us to join in a journey that will open our eyes to new realities around us, and empower us to walk into our God-given destinies, impacting people and the world around us as we were born to do.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Inspirational
• Christian Living

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 18 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664279582
• Langue: English

Extrait

LIVING in the SHADOW of REALITY
UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRITUAL LAWS BEHIND LIFE AS WE EXPERIENCE IT
DR. SILAS GAINES


Copyright © 2022 Dr. Silas Gaines.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7959-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7960-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7958-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918096
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 12/16/2022
Contents
Introduction
Preface
 
Chapter 1
What Happens in the Physical Realm Happens First in the Spiritual
SECTION 1
Foundations
Chapter 2
Humanity Was Put In Charge from the Beginning
Chapter 3
Satan Usurped the Throne of Creation through Deception
Chapter 4
The Usurper was Overthrown and the Rightful Steward Restored
Chapter 5
Jesus Elevated His People to Rule Alongside Him
Chapter 6
We are the Extension of Jesus’s Ministry and Authority on the Earth
SECTION 2
Practical Application of Authority
Chapter 7
Authority has been Delegated to Us for a Purpose
Chapter 8
Our Greatest Concern is not External but Internal Threats
Chapter 9
The Devil Uses the Legal Curse System, if We Allow Him To
Chapter 10
Our Sin Not Only Affects Us, It Defiles the Land Around Us
Chapter 11
Representative Cleansing of Curses on a Territory
Chapter 12
Jesus defeated the Devil and The Curse System
Chapter 13
Internal Struggles Can Be Heightened By External Entities
Chapter 14
Spiritual Strongholds
Chapter 15
Demonization vs. Demon Possession
Chapter 16
Demons Strive to Hinder God’s People in Various Ways
Chapter 17
Demolishing Strongholds
Chapter 18
Strongholds of Righteousness
Chapter 19
We have been Armed with Powerful Weapons for this Fight part one
Chapter 20
We have been Armed with Powerful Weapons for this Fight part two
 
Conclusion (with warnings)
Appendix A: Removing/cutting off a Generational Curse
Appendix B: Cutting off “Soul Ties”/Spiritual Bonds between People
 
Endnotes
Thanks:
Father God, for all the glorious things You have done in my life, You have always been gracious and faithful, LORD. A big thanks to my wife; I would never have become the man I needed to be without you. Thanks for your prayers and challenges, and your timely wisdom and rebukes. Iron sharpens Iron. My kids, whom I love, taught me more about God’s love than I imagined I could learn. Each of you really is a blessing to me. Thanks to my parents, who have always been there, and for the foundation you gave me that “prepared the soil” of my life to produce good fruit. Thanks for always supporting me and our family, no matter how ridiculous our lives have been. To my brother, who has been not only a great brother, but great friend over the years; to my two oldest and dearest (non-brother) friends. Without you, I probably would have thought I was insane long ago … but you showed me what insane truly is. To friends from church for always asking me, “How’s your book coming?” and holding my feet to the fire to get this done! To all my overseas friends, who made our missionary work worth it all. Thank you to my 6th grade teacher, who encouraged me to write, and my 12th grade English teacher, who forged me into a writer. A special thank you to the pastors who have nurtured me along the way. The seed you invested in me has borne fruit. Thanks also to the many wonderful people of my congregations over the years, who gave me opportunities to study and then teach many of the things that show up in this book. Thanks finally to so many who remain unrecognized here, your prayers, support and love over the years have made this endeavor possible “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of God, for great is the HOLY ONE of Israel among you!” Isaiah 12:6
Introduction
What follows is a series of lessons that God has taught me over the years. I present them to you as I would to one I was seeking to mentor. As such, I have entitled my chapters as “lessons”. Bear in mind that these are intended as an introduction to basic understanding of the spiritual realm that constantly impacts our everyday lives. Veterans of faith, who have long fought the good fight, will likely find many of the principles shared in these pages to be simple, basic, or “old news”. Nevertheless, I find that I need to be regularly reminded of the simple truths in my walk with Christ. So my hope and prayer is that, even for the seasoned believer, the truths that I share here may be an encouragement, a reminder and confirmation of what God has already taught you. May God bless you in reading these pages as much as He has blessed me in the writing.
All Biblical quotes that follow in this book are from the: New International Version Bible (NIV). Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. 1987, unless otherwise specified.
Preface
I still remember first picking up a book by Daniel Handler. I was in our local public library with my boys, glancing over books in the children’s section, when my eye settled on one of his Lemony Snicket books. I picked it up and read the back cover.
If you have just picked up this book, then it is not too late to put it back down. Like the previous books in A Series of Unfortunate Events , there is nothing to be found in these pages but misery, despair and discomfort, and you still have time to choose to read something else … if you choose to read something else, you will save yourself a heap of horror and woe. 11
I was so intrigued by the cover that I opened the book and started reading immediately! There is something odd about our collective human nature that drives us to pursue, even more intently, those things that we are told not to. It started with the eating of the forbidden fruit in Eden and continues to this day.
When it comes to the Scriptures, I have often found that in countries where the Bible is forbidden, people are desperate to get their hands on a copy, willing to literally risk life and limb, to do so. Yet in the West, where Bibles are abundant, they sit collecting dust on our shelves. Whether we recognize it or not, the Bible is a dangerous book. It is radical. Its principles threaten the very fabric and power systems of governments, cultures and societies around the world. In fact, the truths within it have the power to undermine many of our treasured understandings about life. If we are serious about studying what the Holy Scriptures have to say, our lives cannot go on as usual. The words of God within the Bible demand compliance, and with that demand, also command change … change in us and in the way we interact with people and society around us.
Understanding this reality, I would also like to inform you that it is not too late to put this book down again. If you choose to read something else, you will likely save yourself a good deal of pain and loss. This book highlights truths within the scriptures that will demand change in your life. It may bring about a radical paradigm shift in the whole way that you view the world, yourself and others around you, and with that shift, an inevitable sense of loss, and grief over that loss. When we encounter God’s truth at foundational levels in our lives, we are not able to continue on with business as usual. This is what happened in my life, as God opened my eyes to see and understand the world around me from a different perspective.
For you, it is not too late to put down this book and run the other way. I suggest you do so if you are unwilling to experience loss, or unwilling to heed the demands for change that God will certainly call you to. But if you are willing to face loss, change and fears of various sorts, I believe you will be rewarded as you read. While you will be called to a higher level of responsibility (for heightened knowledge always comes with greater responsibility), you may also find that God gives you insight and understanding that opens incredible possibilities to bless and serve others, to impact loved ones and even whole communities around you for good. You may find that such new perspectives put you in a position to be used by God, perhaps in miraculous ways that transform lives and redirect history.
You will undoubtedly find some misery in these pages, but I hope you will find that it is the kind of misery that comes only from the pain of the Father’s hand pruning you, so that you may become more fruitful. God does remove things from our lives, bring changes to us, call us to discomfort or pain, and even suffe