Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, Spiritual Warfare - Book Reports

Anderson, Neil. 2000. Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the power of Identity in Christ

A quick look at the above title initially gives the impression that it is a deliverance book with the conventional approach of laying hand on the individual, accompanied with binding and casting. The researcher is particularly challenged to realize the more helpful biblical approach of Anderson where he adopted the discipleship counseling process and he was able to learn how the truth of God''s Word can set one free, thus conforming to the image of God as he works by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. With a transformed life, one can live by faith and grow spiritually.

A significant impact this text has on the researcher is realizing who he is in Christ. Before reading it, he didn''t feel accepted, secured and significant in his relationship with God. He thought it would really take a life time to be a saint.

The thirty three ''I ams'' on pages 38 and 39 (a list read regularly) have revolutionized my thinking. It is exciting to note that although he is not the ''I am that I am'' but by the special grace of God, he joins the apostle Paul to boldly proclaim that ''I am what I am''. He was ignorant of his position and authority in Christ and equally ignorant of Satan''s ability to deceive. Now that he has realized that he is not shaped as much by the environment as he is by his perception of it, life''s events will no longer determine his position. He is the only one who can keep himself from become the person God really wants him to be. If anything, Anderson assisted him in ways that cannot be expressed to realize the power of his identity in Christ.

Anderson, Neil. 2000. The Bondage Breaker

It is evident that the above text complements Victory Over Darkness. In Bondage Breaker, Anderson reinforced the researcher''s conviction of who he is in Christ. In spite of everything, he is not just a product of the past, but rather a new creation in Christ. He can now read with confidence portions of Desiderata, which says that "I am a child of the universe (better still of God), no less than the trees and the stars, I have a right to be here". God has a purpose for him on earth and he will achieve it since he is created with Christ in the heavenlies.

After going through the Steps of Freedom with a brother on 2nd July 2003, the researcher spent that evening to complete the text under discussion briefly echoing the prayers in part three. God gave him two separate dreams that night.

The first showed two sets of people he needed to forgive. He went through the steps on forgiveness and was free from the bondage of his bitterness. In the second dream, he saw himself being asked by his eldest relative to sweep the family house which he did including the family compound. He is strongly convinced that it was a symbolic act. His family is now free from ancestral sins which opened the door to Satan to keep family members in bondage. Forgiving everyone that he could remember and confessing ancestral sins have closed the door against Satan and he is now free. The feeling he is having is that of a newly converted Christian. Indeed Charles Wesley beautifully expressed it: "my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee". For the first time in his life, he can honestly say, "I am free".

Warner, Timothy M. 1991. Spiritual Warfare: Victory Over the Powers of this Dark World

After reading this timely publication, the researcher is now in a better position, with the information and necessary ammunition, to engage in spiritual warfare. It is clearly evident that he can defeat the enemy not in his own strength but rather because of the character of God, the certainty of His promises and ultimately the important victory which Christ has already won.

Challenging revelations are the two equal and opposite extremes people fall into about the issue of demons. To disbelieve in them or to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest are two deceptive errors that please Satan. It is indeed revealing to learn that the entire Christian life is an exciting process of trying to keep one''s balance.

This is the reason why Dr. Warner will neither see a demon behind every bush nor minimize the spiritual conflict. The more we know about our defeated foe, the more confident we will eventually be in the unavoidable conflict. It is the prayer of the researcher that the Church would bring the reality about the victory in Christ and of the power of the Holy Spirit from the theoretical to the practical realm. More prisoners will eventually be liberated when Christians start to fight the real enemy using the right weapons.

Another important truth learned is the fact that although a Christian cannot be demon-possessed, he can be influenced. Satan can use an open door to keep one in bondage and will continue to do so if that door is not closed. It is the researcher''s prayer that the Church will also be organized in prayer, its ultimate weapon.

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