rose from the dead, for the past 2,000 years he's been running around like a spiritual outlaw-continuing to steal kill & destroy all who will let him. But he's not going to be able to do that for much longer. The day is coming when he will be put out of business. The day is coming when the evil he has done on earth will be totally underfoot by the power of God.
Most believers know that to be true. They have shouted & rejoiced over it-but they haven't really understood how it's going to happen. they haven't realised that they are the foot that is going to trample down the works of the devil.
Jesus is the head of the Church you & I are the foot, so we are the ones who are going to take His authority & power & stamp on sin & sickness & every other demonic thing on earth. We are the ones God is going to use Acts 2:35 says...Till I make Your enemies Your footstool. That is what Jesus was telling us when He said in Mark 16:15-18 Go ye into all the world, & preach the gospel to every creature...lay hands on the sick &...cast out devils. In essence what He was saying was
go & be My foot & all power authority had been given to Me, both in heaven & on earth. Therefore you take it to put the devil under.
But instead of obeying Him we've waited around wondering when God was going to do something about the mess on earth. We sit around wondering why it's taking Jesus so long to come back.
We are the reason its taking so long! Jesus is waiting for you & me. He is waiting for us to step out in His power, to put the devil in His place, & win the world. He is waiting for us to stop our silly doctrinal differences & get busy doing what God said we would do.
The Bible tells us How can one chase a thousand & two put ten thousand to flight. Deut 32:30 Every time we get together we increase our strength. If only we would just get together & find out who we are, we would realise that we are the feet of Jesus, then we would kick satan out of earth's affairs with ease.
If we want to hasten Jesus' return then we need to stop sitting around staring at the clouds! We must stamp around in the spirit. & Start putting the works of the serpent under our feet.
Gen 3:1-4 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
The serpent is identified in Rev 12:9 as satan himself. It is unclear why he chose to dwell in this particular beast which the Lord God had made.
Later the Old Testament lists the snake among the unclean animals (Lev 11) He is so cunning, crafty, & shrewd, for he said has God indeed said... "all this is not enough" suggested the tempter. "You could have more! The question was shrewdly overstated EVERY TREE?
The woman's response shows initial innocence, but the serpent caused her to ponder the matter.
This bold lie in Verse 4 could be translated Die? You will not die! In other words God has falsely threatened you with death.
Now we must not challenge God's Word. Ask instead What does God's Word mean to me? & How can I apply it to my life.
Man fell by Choice. The tempter is the father of lies (John 8:44), deceiving & seducing us to sin. The lie questions God's Word, giving our opinion absolute authority. Our opinions are easy prey to satan's deception.
Ps 18:37-38 tells us I have pursued my enemies, & overtaken them...they have fallen under my feet.
If you have been standing around wringing your hands worrying about what the devil is going to do, it is time you made a switch, it is time you put the him under your feet.
Jesus has already given you the power & authority you need to do it. He has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He's promised you whatever you declare locked on earth is locked in heaven (Matt 16:19) That means that
you can speak the Word & lose the angelic forces of God to work on your behalf.
Keys means authority. Through Peter a representative of the church throughout the ages. Jesus is passing on to His church His authority or control to bind or loose on earth.
The Greek construction to be bound & loosed indicates that Jesus is the one who has activated this provision through His cross, that means the church is charged to do what He has released through His life, death & resurrection.
The power & authority we have been given enables us to use the mighty Name of Jesus. A Name that's above every other name. A Name that will cause every knee to bow—in heaven, on earth & under the earth (Phil 2:9-10).
Don't waste time worrying about the devil. instead take authority over him. Bind the evil spirits that try to destroy your home, your church & your nation. Loose God's Word on the earth & enforce it with the name of Jesus.
You hold the keys. Learn to use them before long the devil will wringing his hands worrying about you.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The Greek word for abundantly is perissos meaning superabundance, excessive, overflowing, surplus, over & above, more then enough, profuse, extraordinary, above the ordinary & more then sufficient.
As you give your total self to God, God gives you His total self. That is the supreme message of the Bible. Inherent in God's total self of His own person is true. Bible based prosperity—the real possibility of healing in your total being (body, mind, emotions, relationships), all of your spiritual & material needs are met. Above all His prosperity brings eternal life. STOP & think about that. WHAT else is worth having?
Jesus said that he came to give life—not just an ordinary existence but life in fullness, abundance, & prosperity (3 Jn 2). On the other hand the enemy (satan) comes to steal kill & destroy.
The line is clearly drawn. On one side is God with
goodness, life & plenty of all that is necessary for life. (Joel 2:26 & 2Pet 1:3), & on the other hand is the enemy of our souls, who comes to rob us of God's blessings, to oppress our bodies through disease & accidents, & to destroy everything we love & hold dear.
Our first step toward experiencing full biblical prosperity is to believe that it is God's highest desire for you. Our next step is to line up our highest desire with His.
Considering how much the devil hates people & how dead set he on destroying them it is no wonder we see so much tragedy & disaster in the world. In fact it's amazing we don't see more.
I think it would be true to say that it takes time for the realm of darkness a long time to set up major disasters. For instance the aviation industry is highly regulated & works hard at policing it's self because safety is its product. You take a highly regulated system like that & the devil has to work hard to cause disasters.
He can't just come roaring in & rip up things any time he wants to. If he could, he would knock every plane out of the sky tonight but he can't.
Why? because he is bound. The Bible says he is bound to things that are common to man. (1Cor 10:13) he has to line up with things in this natural human realm before he can lay a finger on you. He has to use people to get his work done.
Praise God we are not bound to what is common to man. We are free to use what is common to God! We fight our warfare with uncommon weapons. That means that we ought to have the devil wrapped up. & we ought to put him in a sack with a ribbon on top.
The devil cannot cause disaster in our life unless he has been given place. He cannot come & start destroying & stealing unless he can get you to give him a place of sin, doubt, ignorance or disobedience. So if he has been giving you trouble ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you have let those things in. Then repent & get rid of them.
Once you have done that pull out the weapons God has given you & fire away with both barrels. Pull out prayer. Pull out faith & use them to tie the devil in knots. Use the uncommon power of God to keep him bound & he won't be able to put
anything over on you.
Eph 6:10- 18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
Paul admonishes us to put on the full armour of God in order to stand against the forces of hell. It is clear that our warfare is not against physical forces, but against invisible powers who have clearly defined levels of authority in a real way, though the invisible sphere of activity. Paul, however, not only warns us a clearly defined structure in the invisible realm. He also instructs us to take up the whole armour of God in order to stand firm. against this unseen satanic structure.
All of this armour is not a passive protection in facing the enemy; it is to be used offensively against these satanic forces.
Note Paul's final directive we are to be praying always with all prayer & supplication in the spirit (V 18). Prayer is not so much a weapon or even part of the armour because it is the means by which we engage in the battle itself & the purpose for which we are armed. To put on the armour of God is to prepare for battle. Prayer is God's Word which is our chief weapon employed against satan in our struggle.
Stand in readiness for spiritual combat. Recognise that the demonic enemies are behind what comes against you to harm you.
The book of Ephesians gives us insight to the nature of spiritual warfare we face daily. Our combat is against spiritual forces, not man. Great is the protection & resources God has provided to meet this enemy.
It is most important that we put on God's armour each & every day & to learn & understand of this divine protection.
* The belt of truth. Enables us to know the truth when we see or hear it.
* The breastplate of righteousness protects our heart from all condemnation in the soulish realm.
* Having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace means we can walk in peacefulness.
* Taking up the shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one.
* The helmet of salvation protects our mind.
* The sword of the Spirit which is Gods Word enables us to wield that sword effectively against the devil & his cohorts.
* To pray with all pray & supplication (petition) in the Spirit for all the saints.
Ephesians 4:27 tells us to leave no place for the devil & not to give him any opportunity.
If you give him place he will take it. So you must stay alert & keep your shield of faith high because if you don't he will steal back from you the ground you just took.
There have been people that have received their healing & fallen back into their old thinking patterns of sickness. They let their faith shield down & gave the devil an opening. When he came along with an old symptom they were not ready for him. They fell victim to his counter attack.
You can stand successfully against devil's strategies! But before you do you are going to have to make three quality decisions:
1 You must make the Word of God the final authority in your life. Line up your thinking with whatever the Word says.
2 You must decide to live your life by faith in what
God has said. The Bible says Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God. Rom 10:17
3 You must decide to live by the love of God because faith works by love. Without love, your faith wont function. Without the Word you can't have faith. So do not try to make one of these decisions without the other two. You need all three to make it work This lifestyle of the Word, faith & love keep you in a place of resistance to the devil.
John 15 7-11 tells us that when we abide in Christ our prayers are effective. We glorify God in our fruit bearing. We demonstrate our discipleship, & our joy becomes full through experiencing Christ's own joy with us.
Acknowledgement Kenneth Copeland.
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