The Key to Exercising Authority over Satan

Struggle: Every day we accept and exercise authority in most area's of our lives. In fact, most new reports are filled with people exercising their authority or their rights. So... Why is it so hard to exercise our right when it comes to living the Christian life?  

Scripture Truth:

“Submit to Christ, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Truth Encounter:

The crowds witnessed as Jesus exercised his authority throughout his ministry, healing the sick, raising the dead, calming storms, walking on water, and casting out demons. It must have been confusing as the crowds watched Jesus take a beating that should have killed him. It must have been confusing as they watched his followers walk away. It seemed that Jesus had given up all authority as he spoke his last words, “It is finished,” and took his last breath.

It appeared Jesus was defeated, as Jesus was taken from the cross and buried. But we know the rest of the story. Jesus' work on the cross was finished. But what seemed to be the end was only the beginning. For the work of the cross was still yet to be seen. However, three days later Jesus raised himself from the grave and completed the work that he came to do. 

Jesus came to give us eternal life. No where does the scripture say, "Believe on Jesus so you can go to heaven." Some say, "All you have to do to be saved is to believe that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from the dead," and you will be saved. This is true but acknowledging this truth does not result in a transformed life. Satan also believed this and he is still filled with lies and deceit. So what are we to believe? The Son of God had defeated Satan (1 John 1:8). Christ died to destroy the power of sin in the lives of God’s people. 

Because Adam and Eve sinned, we were born with Adam's sin nature. We cannot live the fullest if we are captive to sin in our lives. But Jesus came to defeat the power of sin in our lives.  Jesus came to defeat sins  said that He must go so that he could send the Holy Spirit which would live in the lives of believers.

How do we stand in victory? How are we able to exercise the authority given to us? James 4:7 tells us, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Did you get that? 

1. Submit to God. Before we can exercise spiritual authority we must be under the authority of God, submitting to His Lordship in our lives.We must receive the truth, believe the truth, and act upon our authority in Christ. As long as you allow Satan to deceive you into giving up, or moving out from under your authority of God through temptation, accusation, or deception, you will NOT be able to resist him. How do we act upon our authority?
2. Resist the Devil. We must exercise our authority in Jesus Christ over Satan. If we know God's Word then we know we must obey God. If you are being disobedient to God you are inadvertently submitting to Satan.
3. And he will Flee from You. Spiritual warfare is not a power encounter, it is a truth encounter. A man cannot serve two masters. When we resist Satan's temptations by submitting to God in obedience to His Word. As we deny Satan's authority over our lives, and choose to live for Christ, Satan will flee. 

Have you tried to resist the devil but were unsuccessful? What are you struggling with: pride, rebellion, bitterness, jealously, anger, un-forgiveness? Each time you are tempted, say "yes" to God, and "no" to Satan's authority over your life, and be obedient to His Word and Satan will flee. Keep in mind this is not a one time event. We will always be confronted with sin and as we deny Satan he will up the auntie. But as we practice obedience to God it becomes easier to detect Satan's attempts to trick or deceive us. 

How have you exercised authority in your life to remain obedient to Christ? My next post will be a personal story. I hope you will share one of your personal stories.

Prayer:

Dear Father, thank you for the gift of eternal life. Help me to exercise my faith by receiving and believing your truth, by submitting to you, and by acting upon the authority of Christ within me to resist the devil. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Romans 1:1 IF YOU WERE FREE TO GO….WOULD YOU

Did you see the Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood movie, The Bridges of Madison County, this past week? There are many times we have the opportunity to walk out the door? We do not why?

Scripture:

Romans 1:1. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus

Lesson:

That movie elicits many emotions doesn’t it? It appeared that she was a servant in the family, and taken for granted by her husband. Why did she not leave her husband and daughter? As I thought about this scripture, this movie came to my mind.

After his conversion, Paul calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ. When we think about servant, we think about being someone’s slave, the person who is to do all the menial jobs that a master would not want to do. The Greek word for servant is bond-servant. A huge percentage of the Roman world was enslaved. A servant was one who had no control of their life; they were at the mercy of their master. They were totally dependent on their master for everything. However, there was a time that the servants were freed.

Sometimes the servant, even though freed, would choose to stay with the master. Paul is saying that he has given himself up to Jesus in this manner. God so loved us that he sent His son to die for us. As His children we have everything we need supplied for us. As Christians we are not bound to God out of a master/slave relationship but with the idea that we freely choose to be in relationship with God because of His love and care for us. I am not sure why Meryl stayed with her husband and child for it was obvious she felt bound to them but there was no love shown.

Not because of who we are, but because of who Christ was and is, we should want to give all we have to him in service. A slave submits with an attitude of responsibility to fulfilling a task and no more and cannot wait till the day when they can be set free. When our attitude is that of a bond-servant we submit out of love and we want that relationship to last for eternity.

Application:

1.   How do you react to the word servant, better yet the word submission?

2.   Do you see your relationship to God as master/servant or as a bond-servant? In other words is your relationship driven our of responsibility or out of  ove?

3.   How submissive are you to the will of God in your life?

4.   Do you ignore God at your leisure? Are you willing to be used? Paul was free to go. We are free to go. God want us in a love relationship not a have to relationship.

Prayer:

Dear Father, thank you for loving me enough to allow your son, Jesus, to die for me. You grace and mercy far outreaches anything that I might deserve. Forgive me for the times that I have been ungrateful to you. I love you and I want to submit my mind, body, and spirit to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Battle Rages Within Us: Two Wolves

I was just reading my son's sermon for this week. He was discussing "submission." Don't run away...hear us out. Submission has to do with self denial. Mark 8:34 says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." 

According to Pastor Matthew, when we die to self we are then able to be submissive in all areas of our lives. According to him, submission looks like this: 

(1) To the triune God – We surrender our body, mind, and spirit in the hands of God to do with us as He pleases!
(2) To the Scripture – We yield ourselves to hear the word, to receive the word, and then to obey the word! Even if we don’t like what it says, we must submit!
(3) To our family – We submit to listen to the people in our family so we can look out for their interest – not necessarily our own.
(4) To our neighbors and those we meet in the course of our daily lives – If they need help, then we help them.
(5) To other believers, the body of Christ – We step up to opportunities of service within our church family that needs to be filled.
(6) To the broken and despised – we help the “orphans and widows,” we discover ways to identify with the downtrodden and the rejected.
(7) To the world – We cannot live in isolation. Our act of submission is a determination to live as a responsible member of an increasingly irresponsible world.

A friend sent me a story told by a Cherokee grandfather to his grandson, Two Wolves. As soon as I saw this video, I thought of this sermon. Why do we battle with all junk in our lives. Why is there a battle at all for we know what we must do. I believe that this Cherokee grandfather has the answer to how we get rid of the enemy that fights within us, to hold on to self interest.

I find that while I want to get deny my self desires, I have never truely starved them. I wind up sneaking some food under the table to keep them alive. How about you? Do you continue to wrestle with self desires? It is only through Jesus Christ that we are able to deny ourselves and live the  victorious life that God so intended us to live.