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I have been thinking about the authority that believers in Jesus Christ
have over the devil and the Lord has been speaking to my heart to focus a
message on overcoming the enemy's tricks and using the authority God has
given us to defeat his evil plans for our life. If you are finding
yourself in a constant battle that you seem to be losing, you need to
realize that God has given us His Word and His Name to stand against the
devil and take back all that he has stolen from us. We must remember that
nothing good can come from the enemy. His sole intent is to ruin lives
and bring heartache and heartbreak. The believer can stand against it and
be victorious because Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth
and He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
There are many good people in this world who are struggling in all areas
of life and don’t know what to do to change their circumstances. The
first thing they must realize is that there is a spiritual war constantly
going on. The devil uses our ignorance against us and brings all manners
of torment into our lives and we accept it because we don't realize who
it's coming from. When we go through these hard times, we sometimes
murmur and complain against God and ask Him why we are going through such
things. We wait for God to answer, but if we knew His Word better, we
would know that He has already given us the answer. The Lord waits for us
to recognize who we are in Christ and realize that He has already given us
all authority over the devil; we just have to put it into practice.
What we must realize about the devil is that he has no new tricks. The
enemy uses the same kinds of deceit on all people using their ignorance
about him against them. Most people don't realize the authority that
they have over the devil. The Lord Jesus declares in Luke 10:19 “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.” We have
been given authority, but if we don't know we have it, then it is useless
to us. It's like inheriting a large sum of money, but never being told
that it’s ours. We have to realize who we are in Christ and know that His
death on the cross reconciled us to God the Father and now all who have
made Jesus Christ the Lord of their life have power in their words to
defeat the enemy. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
For us to be strong against the enemy and defeat his evil plans for our
life, we have to be close to the Lord. In Him is perfect peace that
surpasses all understanding. We have to submit ourselves to the Lord
afresh and ask for His continued protection over our life. The Bible
declares in James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh
to you.” When we resist the devil using our words of authority over him,
he has no choice; he has to flee from us. Standing in our authority and
knowing who we are in Christ keeps the enemy from being successful over
us. We read in Isaiah 59:19 “...When the enemy shall come in like a
flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” It
is the Lord who protects us, but we must stay connected to the Lord so the
enemy will have no place in our lives. (Isaiah 26:3-4) (Philippians 4:6-7)
The Lord Jesus declares in John 10:10 “The thief 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.” The enemy's sole intent is
to bring misery upon people's lives, but the Lord wishes for us to live an
abundant and blessed life. In order to do so, we have to take hold of the
authority that God has given us and rebuke the enemy in the name of the
Lord. We can be successful in taking back all that the enemy has stolen,
but we must be diligent and steadfast in our confession against him.
The enemy will come to us with nothing except negative thoughts. He will
tell us that this sickness will kill us, that we will never get out of
debt, that our marriage will never get better, that our life is not even
worth living. We should remember though that the Lord Jesus calls him a
liar and the father of lies. Nothing that the enemy says should discourage
our hearts or make us question God's plan for our life. What we should do
is stand firm in our faith and answer the devil like this “I will live and
not die, I will proclaim the blessings of the Lord all the days of my life
and nothing by any means shall hurt me.” When we answer his threats with
faith filled words, the enemy will have no stronghold over our life. He
will see that we recognize who we are in Christ and that we are standing
in our authority. (John 8:44)
No matter the discouragements the enemy brings against you, you can rise
up again. With God by your side, it is never too late to take back all
that the enemy has stolen. You simply have to be determined to stand
against him and keep your confession in line with the Word of God. Be
encouraged to speak faith filled words over your life. Do not think it
foolish to bless your life with your words because our words hold great
power. The Lord Jesus says in Matthew 12:37 “For by thy words thou shalt
be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Bless your life
with your words, speak against the enemy with authority and be confident
that God is by your side helping you to rise up again and be victorious in
this journey called life.
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist
steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are in the world.”
Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon
your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.”
James 1:13-17 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness
is of me, saith the LORD.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Prayer: Daily Prayer Confession
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Today’s Selected Testimony: THE LIGHTNING STORM
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony60.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
