I am led to post this whole psalm 18 today to encourage the one who may be discouraged right now because of the series of bad news just as what David had faced after he was anointed to become the new king of Israel and was viciously pursued and persecuted by king Saul who tried to hang on to his failed kingship.
Psalm 18 (NKJV)
God the Sovereign Savior
A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
18 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
4
The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
7
Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10
And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12
From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13
The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.[a]
14
He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16
He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19
He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
20
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23
I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25
With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26
With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27
For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.
28
For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29
For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
31
For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33
He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
34
He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.
37
I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38
I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39
For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40
You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41
They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42
Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.
43
You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.
44
As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.
45
The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.
46
The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47
It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
48
He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.
50
Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.
Hebrews 12:12
AMPC
So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees,
Showing posts with label battle in your mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battle in your mind. Show all posts
October 16, 2017
December 14, 2015
Three perfect storms in Bible (1) Prepared for Crisis
What are the three storms recorded in the Bible that still impact our lives today? What are the common key(s) of overcoming the storms? Reading afresh the respective story of the storms encountered by Jonah, Jesus, and the apostle Paul (in chronological order), we shall find the amazing answers to overcoming the storm of FEAR. We shall read in three parts (in three days in chronological sequence). The first story is about the supernatural encounter of prophet Jonah.
JONAH’S STORM (quoted in parts from Jonah chapters 1-2; boldness of some verses added by this watchman; my notes are in italics).
THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME: in all three instances the Word of God is a significant deciding factor. In the case of Jonah and Paul they could hear God’s word (speaking to them in their spirit). God wants the ones who can hear Him to pay attention, believe and take action. In the case of Jonah he chose not to listen even when he had heard clearly and specifically. He knew the consequences of his own decision against God’s decision about the lives of others at stake. He braved his own little body and soul (‘rightly’ constrained by his love and loyalty to his own nation, which had suffered thousands of years due to jealousy, hate, persecutions and oppression through recurring cruel conquests by enemy nations which surrounded her) against the foreseeable great personal storm to no avail. Why? Because God’s Word has spoken. God speaks of His mercy and wants to forgive and He gives an appointed time for them to repent, turn away from their wickedness and believe in the holy God, so that they may also be included in His Kingdom reserved for the Redeemed. God shows to even those who hate Him that He is a gracious and merciful God. But He has set a time frame for their repentance as shown in the case of the city of Nineveh.After Jonah obeyed and preached to the city of Nineveh (modern-day Mosul, Iraq), because of the repentance of the king and all his people, it was given a respite from destruction. The Book of Jonah depicted events from the reign of the Hebrew King Jeroboam II (786-746 BC). While, in The Book of Jonah, the city is spared the wrath of God, other references to Nineveh in the Bible (The Books of Nahum and Zephaniah, among them) predict the destruction of the city by God’s will because they reverted to their wickedness against God’s people. In 612 BC the city of Nineveh was sacked and burned by the allied forces of the Persians, Medes, Babylonians, and others who then divided the region between them. The area was sparsely populated thereafter and, slowly, the ancient ruins became buried in earth.
ON THE QUESTION OF OVERCOMING FEAR: Jonah slept during the storm which threatened the lives of others as well as his on-board the same ship. Why? Was he oblivious of the big problem? From his conversation with others and with God, there was no question that he knew God. Knowing God is a key to overcoming fear. He was angry but fearless. The ship did not sink. God had not finished with him yet. Jonah knew it was a matter of time before he had to face God and not hide. From beginning to end of this episode Jonah was in the presence of a living God. And he knew this.
KEY TO OVERCOME STORM: He prayed. And God heard his prayer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible verses from Jonah chapters 1-2 (in parts)
1:1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah …, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He …found a ship going to Tarshish; …to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, [a] …But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; …” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” …“What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; …” 15 .. and the sea ceased from its raging. ..
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me…Salvation is of the Lord.” 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
September 13, 2015
Further testimony of the healed: this blogger
This blog is all about healing. Today this blogger ponders on the
difference between believing in the unseen by faith and believing only
when seeing the physical. I have already posted many helpful links to
articles, audio and video teachings on healing. I have also posted
testimonies of the healed. I have also seen repeatedly cases of failures
in receiving healing and asked the question “why”. I asked the Lord and
sought answers from the Bible. I do not have a fit all answer. I can
only admit that God is big and great. Without the Holy Spirit’s guidance
no one can understand the way of God.
Here are some of my personal observations from today’s reading of 2 Samuel 5:17-25
Testimony: The intellect was the number one enemy to receiving healing of my own diseases. When I trusted God without any more reason and excuse I received my personal healing.
Relevant Bible verses:
Here are some of my personal observations from today’s reading of 2 Samuel 5:17-25
- David asked God every time even when he was confronting the same enemy. He did not presume he knew it all. Past success in a similar battle did not deter him from seeking afresh God’s opinion and direction for the current battle. When the Philistines heard that he was anointed king they came in full force to destroy him. He asked God two questions: “Shall I go and attack them?” “Will You deliver them into my hands?” He first made sure it was the right time, right place, right strategy and that he had the right resources. On a second occasion he asked again and obeyed God’s instruction to fight the battle differently. On both battles he won of course. “So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.”
- What has this got to do with healing? This blogger has learned that God’s way of healing is all about hearing God and believing, just as Davie did in this historical example. Like David, ask the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you and guide you.
- Like David, never try to rationalize and give credit to anyone else for your healing. David always remembered and declared and made sure others too believe it was God who helped him. He wrote about it. He sang about it. He named places about it. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me. So that place was called Baal Perazim.” (2 Samuel 5:20)
Testimony: The intellect was the number one enemy to receiving healing of my own diseases. When I trusted God without any more reason and excuse I received my personal healing.
Relevant Bible verses:
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
John 16:13 [Full Chapter]
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.
But when he, the Spirit of truth,
comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his
own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet
to come.
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
the Spirit of truth. The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But
you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:13-15 New International Version (NIV)13 This
is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words
taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught
words.[a] 14 The
person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the
Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand
them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,
Footnotes:
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual
April 19, 2014
See God: The power of His Resurrection !
The power of His Resurrection
(Bible
verse are from New King James Version unless otherwise annotated)
Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
Ephesians 1:19-20 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Colossians 2:12-15 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 3:1-4 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Colossians 2:6-10 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Isaiah 53:2 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
________________
Warfare now ! (from inside out)
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
John 12:31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. (NLT Bible)
Colossians 3:5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. (NLT Bible)
June 19, 2013
awesome revelation for the body of Christ -Spiritual Authority to overcome
Spiritual AuthorityBy Andrew Wommack Please take a minute to read this letter I recently received from a 19-year-old girl.
Dear Mr. Wommack, I realize that you must receive frequent letters regarding your ministry. But even with that knowledge, I feel compelled to write. I’ve just finished listening to your audio series entitled “Spiritual Authority,” and it has changed my life.
When I was in junior high, I became involved in Wicca, or Paganism. For two- and-a-half years I toyed with the powers of Satan, calling on numerous demons to do my bidding. Not only was I demon possessed, but I was heavily into drugs and alcohol. A few months before I became a Christian, I began to realize that I was no longer in control. In fact, I was the one being controlled. My free will was so entangled with Satan’s deception that I lost the ability to think for myself.
On August 29, 1996, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. At the moment I confessed my sin and gave my life to God, He delivered me from the demons, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sexual relationships I was involved in. I thought I was rid of Satan’s power for good.
It wasn’t long before fear started to overcome me. The demons I once fellowshipped with tormented me day and night. I could see them in the corner of my room while I was trying to sleep. When I was outside at night, I could feel their presence. After a while, I began to cope with it, and it became an everyday part of my life. I knew they couldn’t touch me, but I was terrified nonetheless.
Almost four years after my conversion, I was still dealing with these demonic forces. It was only when I listened to your series that I understood the power and authority I have over them. Instead of literally hiding under my blankets at night for fear of the demon in the corner of my room, I smile, say a quick prayer of praise to God, and fall asleep.
Your illustration of how we sometimes picture demons was of particular interest to me. You say that we picture them as towering beasts with claws and such, when in reality they are sniveling, little things. That is so true! The only power they have is the power we give them. What a blessing to finally realize that! My outlook on life has totally changed, thanks to your willingness to be used of God. If it were not for the godly truths of your ministry, I would still be enslaved by my fear.
I am now actively pursuing the calling God placed on my life, a calling to ministry. I am excited and anxious for the future and the things that God will be able to accomplish through my obedience. My Christian walk is stronger than ever before, and my friends constantly ask what’s different about me. They don’t seem to grasp that a nineteen-year-old can be so in love with God that it’s physically evident.
Many people don’t know the truth about Satan’s defeat. In fact, many Christians are the very instrument the devil is using to foster the deception that he is still a powerful foe. “Spiritual warfare” is one of the hottest topics in the church today. People are expending great amounts of energy constantly battling the devil in ways contrary to Scripture, but in reality, Satan has already been defeated. We don’t need to defeat him again.
We need to believe that Satan has already been completely destroyed (Heb. 2:14) and simply enforce his defeat. The only power he has is the power to deceive. Our battle should be against the wiles (trickery) of the devil (Eph. 6:11), not the devil himself. Any other approach is actually giving the devil authority and power which he doesn’t have, and he uses that to intimidate us. The only weapon Satan has is the power we give him when we believe his lies.
Warfare only takes place between two undefeated foes. Once an enemy has been conquered, the war is over. Satan is a defeated foe.
Colossians 2:15 says, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” The archaic meaning of the word “spoiled” here is “to plunder; despoil” (American Heritage Dictionary). This means that after Jesus defeated Satan, He stripped him of everything he had, specifically the keys of death and hell (Rev. 1:18). Satan has no power to imprison anyone.
The Greek word that was translated “shew” in this verse (Col 2:15) is “deigmatizo” which means “to exhibit” (Strong). This comes from the root word “deigma” which means “a specimen (as shown)” (ibid.). Satan is like one of those bugs we had to capture for biology class. We caught it and then impaled it on a board with a little pin to exhibit it. You need to picture the devil nailed to the cross of Jesus like a bug on display. Hallelujah! Take that, Mr. Devil!
The Greek word that was translated “triumphing over” in Colossians 2:15 is especially significant. It means “to make an acclamatory procession” (ibid.). This is specifically referring to the way the Romans had a “triumphant procession” after they had defeated their enemies.
Upon conquering an enemy, the Romans would hold a parade. They would take the conquered king, strip him naked, and drag him through the crowd behind the conquering king or commander for all their subjects to see. He would be humiliated and insulted, but that’s not all. They would also cut off the thumbs of his hands and the big toes of both feet. This was to assure the subjects this enemy would never be a threat to any of them again. He could not hold a sword and he would never be able to run again. There was no need to fear him any more. Any rumor about him ever challenging Rome again would be scoffed at because the citizens had seen him in the parade.
The same thing happened to the devil. That’s what this verse is referring to. Jesus not only beat the devil, but He had a triumphant procession to display the devil to the universe as a totally conquered foe. Satan should never terrify us again. Unfortunately, many Christians have missed the parade. They haven’t seen God’s triumphant procession that was pictured in God’s Word where Satan was displayed as a totally defeated foe. They are circulating rumors that Satan is a powerful foe to be reckoned with. That’s not so.
Satan is still alive, and we do have to reckon with him but only because he has so many lies circulating about his power against us. These are all lies, and therein lies Satan’s power. If we believe his lies, he then uses our own authority, which our fear grants him, to work his destruction in our lives. He has no power of his own. He’s using the power and authority that our misdirected faith gives him.
When I was just beginning my walk with the Lord, I came into the knowledge that demons do exist, and they are not all in Africa. We encounter demons often, and they are the workers of much of the evil we see every day. At first, this caused a fear in me that actually gave these demons in-roads into my life. On one hand, I was resisting them, but through fear I was also empowering them.
An example of this happened to me in Arlington, Texas, where I grew up. I was in love with the Lord and wanting to minister to people. I decided to open up what I called “Arlington Christian Center.” It was going to be a home where people who were being controlled by things like alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. could come and stay while we broke the power of the devil over them and helped set them free. I rented a two-story house, right on the edge of the University of Texas at Arlington campus, and started fixing it up.
This house had been a fraternity house, and there had been a lot of demonic activity in the house prior to our occupancy. The people were gone, but not all the demons were. There were some strange things about that place. One night I was working up there at 1 a.m., and some demons attacked me. There was no one in that house except me, but I was being hit and choked, and I was fighting for my life.
I ran out of that house and got in my car and backed out of the driveway. I was ready to “burn rubber” and get as far away from there as possible. Just before I got the car into drive, I heard the Lord say to me, “What are you doing?” I told Him I was getting away from that place as fast as I could. He then reminded me of the Christian’s armor that was described in Ephesians 6:10-18, and He said, “There isn’t any armor to cover your back.”
I knew what He meant. He was saying that the armor He had given me only worked when I faced the devil, not if I turned and ran. I thought, Lord, You couldn’t want me to go back into that place and face those devils. He never said anything else to me. I pulled back into the driveway and thought about that for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, I got out of the car and walked back into that house. I spent the rest of the night fighting off fear and those physical attacks of the devil. When I left in the morning, the demons were gone, and there was a supernatural peace in that place.
During that time, I had a lot of demonic attacks against me. I had dreams where demons would attack me, and I would wake up bleeding from those encounters. They weren’t just in my mind. I was being physically attacked. That also happened one night in Louisiana at a Bible conference. It felt like I was being choked to death. I won, but these demonic encounters were not fun.
Then one day as I was praying and binding every demon on every continent, it dawned on my lightning-fast mind that I was actually spending more time in my prayers talking to the devil and rebuking him than I was talking to the Lord. I knew that wasn’t right. The Lord began to reveal to me that all my attention on the devil was actually giving him these in-roads into my life, which caused all these attacks.
I repented and changed my thinking and focus and guess what? It’s now been at least thirty years, and I have never had another demonic manifestation in my life. I have seen demons manifest around me in other people, and I’ve cast them out, but those personal attacks stopped nearly instantly. There has never been another one because the only reason Satan’s imps were able to manifest like that to me in the first place was because of the fear I released toward them. The fear is gone, and therefore, so is their power.
This is an awesome revelation and one that is not the dominant theological position on Satan and demons today. This truth desperately needs to be communicated throughout the body of Christ.
The teaching MP3 includes: http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1017
http://www.awmi.net/store/usa/cd_albums/1017_c
Dear Mr. Wommack, I realize that you must receive frequent letters regarding your ministry. But even with that knowledge, I feel compelled to write. I’ve just finished listening to your audio series entitled “Spiritual Authority,” and it has changed my life.
When I was in junior high, I became involved in Wicca, or Paganism. For two- and-a-half years I toyed with the powers of Satan, calling on numerous demons to do my bidding. Not only was I demon possessed, but I was heavily into drugs and alcohol. A few months before I became a Christian, I began to realize that I was no longer in control. In fact, I was the one being controlled. My free will was so entangled with Satan’s deception that I lost the ability to think for myself.
On August 29, 1996, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. At the moment I confessed my sin and gave my life to God, He delivered me from the demons, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sexual relationships I was involved in. I thought I was rid of Satan’s power for good.
It wasn’t long before fear started to overcome me. The demons I once fellowshipped with tormented me day and night. I could see them in the corner of my room while I was trying to sleep. When I was outside at night, I could feel their presence. After a while, I began to cope with it, and it became an everyday part of my life. I knew they couldn’t touch me, but I was terrified nonetheless.
Almost four years after my conversion, I was still dealing with these demonic forces. It was only when I listened to your series that I understood the power and authority I have over them. Instead of literally hiding under my blankets at night for fear of the demon in the corner of my room, I smile, say a quick prayer of praise to God, and fall asleep.
Your illustration of how we sometimes picture demons was of particular interest to me. You say that we picture them as towering beasts with claws and such, when in reality they are sniveling, little things. That is so true! The only power they have is the power we give them. What a blessing to finally realize that! My outlook on life has totally changed, thanks to your willingness to be used of God. If it were not for the godly truths of your ministry, I would still be enslaved by my fear.
I am now actively pursuing the calling God placed on my life, a calling to ministry. I am excited and anxious for the future and the things that God will be able to accomplish through my obedience. My Christian walk is stronger than ever before, and my friends constantly ask what’s different about me. They don’t seem to grasp that a nineteen-year-old can be so in love with God that it’s physically evident.
Again I thank you for your willingness to step out
in faith and be used of God. God, through you, has touched my life and,
I’m sure, the lives of countless others. I’m looking forward to
listening to your other teachings. Tori from PA
Isn’t that awesome! Praise the Lord for the power of the truth and
how it sets us free (John 8:32). The only power that Satan has is the
power of deception, and the worst thing about deception is that you
don’t know you’re being deceived. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be deception.
Once the truth is received, deception loses all its power. Therefore,
Satan loses all his power when we know the truth.Many people don’t know the truth about Satan’s defeat. In fact, many Christians are the very instrument the devil is using to foster the deception that he is still a powerful foe. “Spiritual warfare” is one of the hottest topics in the church today. People are expending great amounts of energy constantly battling the devil in ways contrary to Scripture, but in reality, Satan has already been defeated. We don’t need to defeat him again.
We need to believe that Satan has already been completely destroyed (Heb. 2:14) and simply enforce his defeat. The only power he has is the power to deceive. Our battle should be against the wiles (trickery) of the devil (Eph. 6:11), not the devil himself. Any other approach is actually giving the devil authority and power which he doesn’t have, and he uses that to intimidate us. The only weapon Satan has is the power we give him when we believe his lies.
Warfare only takes place between two undefeated foes. Once an enemy has been conquered, the war is over. Satan is a defeated foe.
Colossians 2:15 says, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” The archaic meaning of the word “spoiled” here is “to plunder; despoil” (American Heritage Dictionary). This means that after Jesus defeated Satan, He stripped him of everything he had, specifically the keys of death and hell (Rev. 1:18). Satan has no power to imprison anyone.
The Greek word that was translated “shew” in this verse (Col 2:15) is “deigmatizo” which means “to exhibit” (Strong). This comes from the root word “deigma” which means “a specimen (as shown)” (ibid.). Satan is like one of those bugs we had to capture for biology class. We caught it and then impaled it on a board with a little pin to exhibit it. You need to picture the devil nailed to the cross of Jesus like a bug on display. Hallelujah! Take that, Mr. Devil!
The Greek word that was translated “triumphing over” in Colossians 2:15 is especially significant. It means “to make an acclamatory procession” (ibid.). This is specifically referring to the way the Romans had a “triumphant procession” after they had defeated their enemies.
Upon conquering an enemy, the Romans would hold a parade. They would take the conquered king, strip him naked, and drag him through the crowd behind the conquering king or commander for all their subjects to see. He would be humiliated and insulted, but that’s not all. They would also cut off the thumbs of his hands and the big toes of both feet. This was to assure the subjects this enemy would never be a threat to any of them again. He could not hold a sword and he would never be able to run again. There was no need to fear him any more. Any rumor about him ever challenging Rome again would be scoffed at because the citizens had seen him in the parade.
The same thing happened to the devil. That’s what this verse is referring to. Jesus not only beat the devil, but He had a triumphant procession to display the devil to the universe as a totally conquered foe. Satan should never terrify us again. Unfortunately, many Christians have missed the parade. They haven’t seen God’s triumphant procession that was pictured in God’s Word where Satan was displayed as a totally defeated foe. They are circulating rumors that Satan is a powerful foe to be reckoned with. That’s not so.
Satan is still alive, and we do have to reckon with him but only because he has so many lies circulating about his power against us. These are all lies, and therein lies Satan’s power. If we believe his lies, he then uses our own authority, which our fear grants him, to work his destruction in our lives. He has no power of his own. He’s using the power and authority that our misdirected faith gives him.
When I was just beginning my walk with the Lord, I came into the knowledge that demons do exist, and they are not all in Africa. We encounter demons often, and they are the workers of much of the evil we see every day. At first, this caused a fear in me that actually gave these demons in-roads into my life. On one hand, I was resisting them, but through fear I was also empowering them.
An example of this happened to me in Arlington, Texas, where I grew up. I was in love with the Lord and wanting to minister to people. I decided to open up what I called “Arlington Christian Center.” It was going to be a home where people who were being controlled by things like alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. could come and stay while we broke the power of the devil over them and helped set them free. I rented a two-story house, right on the edge of the University of Texas at Arlington campus, and started fixing it up.
This house had been a fraternity house, and there had been a lot of demonic activity in the house prior to our occupancy. The people were gone, but not all the demons were. There were some strange things about that place. One night I was working up there at 1 a.m., and some demons attacked me. There was no one in that house except me, but I was being hit and choked, and I was fighting for my life.
I ran out of that house and got in my car and backed out of the driveway. I was ready to “burn rubber” and get as far away from there as possible. Just before I got the car into drive, I heard the Lord say to me, “What are you doing?” I told Him I was getting away from that place as fast as I could. He then reminded me of the Christian’s armor that was described in Ephesians 6:10-18, and He said, “There isn’t any armor to cover your back.”
I knew what He meant. He was saying that the armor He had given me only worked when I faced the devil, not if I turned and ran. I thought, Lord, You couldn’t want me to go back into that place and face those devils. He never said anything else to me. I pulled back into the driveway and thought about that for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, I got out of the car and walked back into that house. I spent the rest of the night fighting off fear and those physical attacks of the devil. When I left in the morning, the demons were gone, and there was a supernatural peace in that place.
During that time, I had a lot of demonic attacks against me. I had dreams where demons would attack me, and I would wake up bleeding from those encounters. They weren’t just in my mind. I was being physically attacked. That also happened one night in Louisiana at a Bible conference. It felt like I was being choked to death. I won, but these demonic encounters were not fun.
Then one day as I was praying and binding every demon on every continent, it dawned on my lightning-fast mind that I was actually spending more time in my prayers talking to the devil and rebuking him than I was talking to the Lord. I knew that wasn’t right. The Lord began to reveal to me that all my attention on the devil was actually giving him these in-roads into my life, which caused all these attacks.
I repented and changed my thinking and focus and guess what? It’s now been at least thirty years, and I have never had another demonic manifestation in my life. I have seen demons manifest around me in other people, and I’ve cast them out, but those personal attacks stopped nearly instantly. There has never been another one because the only reason Satan’s imps were able to manifest like that to me in the first place was because of the fear I released toward them. The fear is gone, and therefore, so is their power.
This is an awesome revelation and one that is not the dominant theological position on Satan and demons today. This truth desperately needs to be communicated throughout the body of Christ.
The teaching MP3 includes: http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1017
Who’s The Enemy? |
What Authority Does Satan Have? |
How Does Satan Fight Us? |
Authority Comes From The Law |
The Battle Is In Your Mind |
Aggressive Authority |
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