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PREPARE
FOR BATTLE
1 Peter
5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant, because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour:"
THE
DEVIL IS REAL, HE IS YOUR ENEMY, THE DEVIL WANTS TO DESTROY YOU
"...that
through DEATH He might DESTROY him that had the power of death,
that is the DEVIL: And DELIVER them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
(Hebrews 2:14-15)
For
the past 40 years, I have had the privilege of counseling people
who have written, telephoned or approached me privately
regarding family and personal problems or other crisis, in which
they were deeply involved.
People
often call, muttering on the other end of line, "Why did I
do it? What makes me drink? I've got to pull myself together.
I'm losing my mind."
They
often end up by saying, "I hadn't planned to do it, Pastor.
What went wrong"? Or they might say, "The devil
made me do it, the devil made me do it".
A
few years ago a Hollywood comedian got a lot of laughs out of
his supposedly funny quip, "The Devil Made Me Do It."
That doesn't seem funny anymore, after the movies that have
stirred millions, like Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and The
Omen.
The
Son of Sam, the Hillside Strangler, Charles Manson and the
Sharon Tate killings, together with ritualistic killings by the
occultists and devil worshippers have proved that.
Homosexual murdered like John W. Gacey, who sexually violated
little boys and then murdered them, have left a solemn
imprint on us all, regarding the devil's ability to make people
do his bidding!
The
Bible states that some people are led by the devil, to do evil
things. Those, however, who are taken captive by him - at
his will - are able to extricate themselves from his evil grasp
by calling upon Jesus Christ and trusting in His shed blood for
the redemption of their souls! "And that they may
recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will." (2 Timothy 2:26)
Some
time ago a Pentecostal denomination spent in excess of one
million dollars to investigate and research the topic of demons
and other related matters. After a year of studies they
came up with the conclusion that there is no devil.
Here
is their reasoning: "If they would preach that there is a
personal devil, people might become disturbed emotionally, so
it's better to do away with the doctrine that there is a
personal devil." HOW ARROGANT, IGNORANT,
UNCONSCIONABLE, DISHONEST & UNBIBLICAL.
Beloved,
you can rely on God's Word and the truth is that there is indeed
a very alive, real, personal devil that is the enemy of God and
the enemy of man. This however, does not disturb the
children of God, because the Bible says:
"Greater
is He that is in you, that he that is in the world."
(1
John 4:4)
This
Scripture offers great comfort to multiplied millions of
Christians. Our faith in Jesus puts the devil on notice,
that we are off limit to his insidious attacks and that we have
the authority to disrupt his plans and purposes.
WHEN
OUR FAITH IS IN JESUS CHRIST - SATAN HAS NO POWER OVER US
The
devil has absolutely no power over us when our faith is in
Christ, for Jesus said: "Behold
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means
hurt you."
(Luke 10:19)
This
Scripture offers great comfort to multiplied millions of
Christians! Our faith in Jesus puts the devil on notice, that we
are off-limit to his insidious attacks and that we have the
authority to disrupt his plans and purposes
He
has absolutely no power over us when our faith is in Christ, for
Jesus said: "Behold
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy:
and nothing shall by any means hurt you".
(Luke 10:19) The Bible
says "Submit
yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you."
As the
demons were afraid of Jesus and fled when He commanded them to
go, they must also obey us when we speak with faith and
authority in the name of Jesus.
The demons
screamed out, "Let us alone, what
have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come
to destroy us? I know thee who thou art the Holy One of
God. Art thou come hither to torment us before our
time"? (Mark 1:24)
You may say:
"But that was Jesus"! True! How about a
Spirit-filled deacon by the name of Philip who went down to
Samaria and preached Christ to them?
Philip had
such a great revival that the entire city came to hear him
preach and multitudes received the Lord Jesus: "For
unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that
were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that
were lame, were healed." (Acts 8:7)
The Holy
Record reports that the devil's power was broken and evil
spirits had to surrender to the commands of a Spirit-filled
servant of God. No wonder Philip had such power of the
devil. Jesus had promised: "And
these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall
they cast out devils." (Mark 16:17)
PAUL CAST
OUT THE SPIRIT OF DIVINATION
A
fortune-teller troubled Paul and Silas in the city of Philippi
for several days. After the spirit of divination was
discerned and cast out of her by St. Paul, she was unable to
continue 'telling fortunes'. Paul and Silas were jailed
and bound in a dungeon, but God sent an earthquake to set them
free. And the jailer was converted through this great
miracle.
"And
it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel
possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her
masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us,
and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most High
God, which shows unto us the way of salvation. And this
did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and
said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ
to come out of her. And he came out the same hour." (Acts
16:16-18)
The
Scripture says: "And God wrought
special miracles by the hands of Paul. So that from this
body were brought unto the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and
the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out
of them." (Acts 19:11-12)
When the
exorcists heard of St. Paul's success in casting of demons in
Jesus' name, seven sons of a certain religious man tried
unsuccessfully to duplicate that miracle!
"Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, Exorcists, took upon them to call
over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus
saying, We adjure you by Jesus Whom Paul preacheth. And
there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the
priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and
said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know: but who are ye?"
"And
the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame
them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that
house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the
Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them
all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."
(Acts 19:13-17)
The evil
spirit within this possessed man cried out to the seven sons of
Sceva. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are
ye"? The original Greek actually reads: "Jesus I
know, and Paul I am beginning to know". Words had
sprung through the devil's kingdom, and demons everywhere were
talking about Paul's revivals. They knew Jesus and they
were beginning to know Paul, but who were these seven sons of
Sceva? They had no faith in God; they had no standing of
righteousness, and the devil would not obey them.
The Bible
records: "And when He (Jesus) had called unto Him His
twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to
cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner
of diseases." (Matthew 10:1) The Scripture declares
that no only do we have power against unclean spirits, but we
also have power over them. "And
he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by
two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;"
(Mark 6:7)
Our Lord
Jesus gave the apostles power to cast out devils: "As
ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils: freely ye have received, freely give."
(Matthew 10:7-8) The Holy Record states: "And
they cast out devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick,
and healed them." (Mark 6:13)
JESUS
GAVE THE 70 HIS POWER TO CAST OUT DEVILS
"After
these things the Lord appointed another seventy also, and sent
them two and two before His face into every city and place,
whither He Himself would come." (Luke 10:1)
The Bible says that they returned with great joy, and said: "Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name."
(Luke 10:17) To this Jesus answered: "I
beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
(Luke 10:18) Jesus was saying - I was there when the devil
was defeated; I saw him cast out of heaven - I saw him fall as
lightning to the earth. I saw his power broken and his
works destroyed.
WE ALSO
HAVE POWER OVER THE DEVIL, DEMONS & EVIL SPIRITS
Yes, we also
have power over the devil. We have POWER OVER THE DEVIL
and POWER AGAINST THE DEVIL. The
Bible says, "Behold,
I give unto you power to: tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means
hurt you."
(Luke 10:19)
Satan
had to obey when Jesus spoke to him! Demons screamed out
in terror when Jesus came near. The devils trembled and
feared and obeyed the command of the Master. The devil,
demons and evil spirits must also obey us, when we use the name
of Jesus in faith!
JESUS
CAME TO DESTROY SATAN'S WORK
The
Bible says: "As
He is, so are we in this world."
(1 John 4:17) NOW - TODAY. We have His power today!
"Now
are we the sons of God."
(1 John 3:2) We are children of God, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ. "And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also
glorified together."
(Romans 8:17)
JESUS
SAID: "HE THAT BELIEVETH ON ME, THE WORKS THAT I DO SHALL
HE DO ALSO"
No
wonder Jesus said: "He
that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My
Father."
(John 14:12) Yes, my beloved friend, you and I as
Christians have power over the devil, we have power
against the devil to bind him, to cast him out and to destroy
the works of the devil.
The
Bible says: "How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with
power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were
oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him."
(Acts 10:38) Jesus said: "The
thief (the devil) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly."
(John 10:10) No wonder St. John said: "For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might
destroy the works of the devil."
(1 John 3:8)
Not
only did Jesus come to this earth to destroy the works of the
devil, but to destroy Satan himself. The write to the
Hebrews (probably St. Paul) states unequivocally: "Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also
Himself likewise took part of the same; that through DEATH He
might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is the
DEVIL; And to DELIVER them who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage."
(Hebrews 2:14, 15)
SATAN
- THE DEVIL IS THE HATED ENEMY OF GOD & MAN
Satan
is the hated enemy of God and man, but our Lord has given His
children power over him.
"There
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh
unto thy dwelling". Jesus declared: "Nothing
shall be any means hurt you". "That
wicked one cometh and hath nothing in Me." St.
Paul said, "Sin shall not have dominion over you."
THE
DEVIL - SATAN HAS NO POWER OVER US
And
our Lord stated, "I give unto you power over all the power
of the enemy." Jesus has given us power against all
unclean spirits, to cast them out. SATAN IS POWERLESS OVER
US!
The
Bible does not say that Satan has power over us; to put disease
upon us, to make us fearful, to hurt us or to injure us. A
THOUSAND TIMES NO.
The
Bible says: "Submit
yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you." (James
4:7) "The
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith." (1
Peter 5:8, 9)
IT
IS TRUE - YOU AND I AS CHRISTIANS HAVE POWER OVER THE DEVIL
Jesus
said: "I
have overcome the world."
(John 16:33) St. Paul declared: "Nay,
in all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved
us."
(Romans 8:37) The
Apostle to the Gentiles cried out: "I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
(Philippians 4:13)
The
Word of God says: "Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded,
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 8:35-39)
The
Bible speaks of Satan's total defeat: "At
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father."
(Philippians 2:10-11) Praise God!
Jesus
called the devil Satan, which means the ADVERSARY, and Satan is
the adversary of God and the devil Satan is the adversary of
man. HE IS OUR GREATEST ENEMY! The devil is
responsible for sin, sickness, disease, fear, depression,
torment and death. Satan (the devil) conspired against
God. The devil led a revolt against the Almighty.
Satan (the devil) is indeed the adversary. St. Peter said:
"Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
(1 Peter 5:8)
The
Scripture tells us about a man who planted good seed in a field
and in the morning, tares had sprung up among the wheat.
The husbandman said: "An
enemy hath done this."
(Matthew 13:28)
YES
- THE DEVIL IS YOUR WORST ENEMY
Yes,
my beloved friend, the devil is your enemy! The devil
works through the flesh, through the world through his evil
emissaries, the demons. Satan (the devil) is highly
organized; the devil is out to defeat the purposes of God even
though he knows he has NO chance of succeeding, for he has been
defeated.
On
Calvary's cross Jesus cried, "It is finished." (John
19:30) The Greek word that Jesus used here is tetelastai.
Tetelestai means that the work of Christ to redeem lost mankind
has been completed.
Jesus
cried out "Tetelestai", bowed His head and gave
up the ghost. At that moment the veil in the temple in
Jerusalem was torn from its top to the bottom, opening the way
to God through His Son's vicarious death on the cross. The
word 'tetelstai' comes from a Greek verb teleo, which has
three essential meanings:
-
to
finish something
-
to
fulfill something
-
to
pay what is owed
Jesus
Christ had just completed the plan of the ages, the salvation of
the human race. He had fulfilled every Old Testament
Scriptures that the prophets had written about the coming
Messiah, and He had paid our sin debt in full so that we could
be saved.
Three
days and three nights later, God raised Jesus Christ from the
dead for our justification, and forever sealed the doom of the
devil in the lake of fire. (Acts 2:31-34; Acts 3:14-15;
Acts 4:1, 10; Romans 1:4)
SPIRITUAL
WARFARE - THE BATTLE WE ARE FIGHTING IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE
The
Bible reveals that the battle we are fighting is NOT CARNAL.
It is not a natural, ordinary battle, but is of a spiritual
nature. We have God's weapons and we have power with God
over the devil. "For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itseldf against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2
Corinthians 10:4)
We
have power over the devil (Luke 10:19) for we are ambassadors of
the kingdom of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20) We are servants
of the living God; (Romans 6:22) sons and daughters of God; (2
Corinthians 6:18) heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. (Romans
8:17)
We
are bone of Jesus' bone and flesh of His flesh; (Ephesians 5:30)
our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, (1 Corinthians
6:19) and we are members of the body of Christ. (1 Corinthians
12:27)
Sin
does not have dominion over us. (Romans 6:14) Satan (the
devil) does not have power over us. We have power over the
flesh, the world and the devil, because we are God's people.
We are God's children. (Galatians 3:26) As He is, so are
we in this world! (1 John 4:17) The Bible states that the
'Old Man' is dead and that we are "hid with Christ in
God"! (Colossians 3:3)
The
Scriptures reveal that there are demons who work against God's
children and against God's will:
"Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first
day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to
chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am
come for thy words."
"But
the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty
days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help
me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia."
(Daniel 10:12-13)
I
believe that Satan is highly organized and has some powerful
generals, captains, lieutenants and others in his diabolical
army, whose duty is to harass, tempt, condemn, seduce, deceive,
destroy, steal, kill and murder God's children and try to thwart
the purposes of God and do harm to His kingdom!
The
Bible says:
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus." (Philippians
2:5) We can have the mind of Christ. "Let
the word of God dwell in you richly." (Colossians
3:16) Jesus is the Living Word and the Bible is the
written word. When we read the Bible and allow God's Word
free course, Christ dwells within us. Upon receiving Jesus
Christ as Lord and Saviour, Christ is formed within us and we
are born again. The Bible says: "If
any man have not met the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
His." (Romans
8:9)
When
we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, however, the Holy
Spirit fills us and takes up permanent residence within us.
Jesus said:
"He is with you and He shall be in you."
The Bible says: "And
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost..."
(Acts 2:4)
Even
though the devil is highly organized and seeks to destroy us,
and even though he is constantly try to afflict, depress and
torment, we can drive him out: "Draw
nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you."
When you draw nigh to God and God draws nigh to you, you receive
power over the devil. The Bible says: "If
our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him..." (1
John 3:21-22)
The
Scripture says: "There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
(Romans 8:1) Sin is what destroys the confidence we have
in God. Sin is a faith destroyer. Sin destroys our
confidence in God and in ourselves and allows the devil to slip
in with his evil, devious, wicked and sinister devices to harass
us, stop us, or destroy us.
We
have power over him, however, for the Bible says: "They
overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony."
(Revelation 12:11) We can stop the devil, for the Bible
says: "When
the enemy, (the devil) shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of
God shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah
59:19) The standard that the Holy Spirit lifts up stops
the devil and he can proceed only so far; he can go no further.
The
devil complained to God: "You
have put a hedge around Job. You are protecting him."
And that's true, God
has placed a hedge around His people, and I believe that when
the devil comes in like a flood to destroy, kill and murder, the
Spirit of God raises up a standard to stop him. We are
surrounded by the power of the Lord.
We
are covered with His blood and filled with His Spirit. The
Word of God is within our hearts. We have the name of
Jesus on our lips, the angels protect us and we have brothers
and sisters in Christ who pray for us and stand with us.
These are some of the agencies God used for our benefit.
Yes
indeed, when the enemy - the devil - shall come in like a flood
to devastate and destroy, the Spirit of God will lift up a
standard against him and stop him! The devil is like a dog on a
leash, with only limited capabilities.
SATAN
CAN ONLY GO SO FAR
If
God hadn't allowed the devil to attack Job, Satan couldn't have
touched him. God
gave the devil permission to touch Job's cattle, and his body,
but not his life. (Job 2:6) Satan had to leave the
presence of God to smite Job with sore boils. The Bible
instructs us to remember the patience of Job and the end of the
Lord. Job was sick
for approximately six months to a year, and then God healed him.
He lived for another 140 years and never had another boil, as
far as the Scriptures record.
God
gave Job twice as much as he had before the devil afflicted him.
Many people laughingly speak about Job's boils and say that
Christians have to suffer similarly, but the Bible records the
"patience of Job" and it also speaks about "the
end of the Lord". (James 5:11) The end of the Lord
was blessing, prosperity, healing, health, joy, peace and power
over the devil.
St.
Paul wrote to Timothy: "God
hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind."
(2 Timothy 1:7) Evidently, Timothy was afraid and St. Paul
writing to his son in the faith saying: "You
don't have to be afraid, Timothy. God hasn't given us a
spirit of fear." Fear
is a spirit and fear hath torment. The Scripture says:
"Perfect love casts out fear."
(1 John 4:18)
Fear
is an evil spirit. God
has not given us any evil spirits; He has given us power over
evil spirits.
God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but God has given us a spirit
of power: Power over fear: power of sin: power
over the devil: power over sickness: power over
disease and even power over death, which is the last enemy.
It
seems that Timothy had gotten cold in his soul, because St. Paul
wrote: "...that
thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on
of my hands...Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of
our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of
the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of
God."
(2 Timothy 1:6,8)
Apparently,
Timothy had become ashamed of St. Paul and he was afraid of
persecution; afraid that he would also be persecuted. Paul
said: "You
don't need to be afraid; God didn't give you that; the devil put
that on you. God has given you power, love and a sound
mind."
Hallelujah!
BE
PREPARED FOR BATTLE - - PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD
Writing
to the Ephesians, St. Paul stated. "Finally,
my brethren,
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil.
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."
"Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace;"
"Above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is he
word of God; Praying always with al prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and
watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints." (Ephesians
6:10-11)
Satan is
organized and has power, but God has all power. God is
omnipotent. The devil has wisdom, but God has all wisdom.
He is omniscient. The Wicked One, Satan is strong, but God
has all strength. The Adversary (Satan) has many demons
working for him, but God has more angels than Satan has evil
spirits. Satan has many lost souls in his camp, but God
has hundreds of millions of believers across the world, that are
equipped with His mighty power. And one man with God's
power is a majority.
JESUS
GAVE US POWER OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY (THE DEVIL, SATAN,
DEMONS, EVIL SPIRITS)
Jesus
Christ said, "Behold,
I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy, and
nothing shall by any means hurt you."
The Scripture says that 'one day' an angel will come from heaven
and bind Satan, casting him into the bottomless pit for a
thousand years. It won't take ten thousand angels; it
won't take a hundred angels' it will take one angel to bind the
devil and cast him into the pits of hell forever.
(Revelation 20:1-3) Hallelujah! Amen.
WOULD
YOU LIKE
TO RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST INTO YOUR HEART TODAY?
PRAY
THIS PRAYER NOW TO RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST IN YOUR HEART
"Dear
Heavenly Father,
I
ask for Thy great mercy and grace. I acknowledge my
sinfulness and confess that I cannot save myself. I
believe the GOOD NEWS that Jesus paid the penalty for m sins,
through His vicarious death on the cross."
"I
believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead according to the
Scriptures and He has the power and authority to forgive my sins
and save my soul. I repent of my sins and am willing to
forsake them with the help of the Holy Spirit."
"I
now renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways and I
now receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, my Master and my
God. Come into my heart and save me now, for Christs'
sake. Thank you Lord, for saving my soul. In Jesus
precious' name, I pray." Amen.
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