18 Jun 2014
Not long ago, a man was seriously ill. He was laying in the hospital. And he was visited by a friend of his. His friend, you know, as he was talking to [him] looked down, and said to him, “You know? Don't you think it's time for you to renounce the devil? Turn your life over to the Person of Jesus Christ?” His friend looked up at him in all seriousness, and he said this, he says, “Well, you know? I'm ready to turn my life over to Jesus Christ. But I'm not ready to renounce the devil!” [His friend], of course, was shocked, thinking, “Why would you want to turn your life over to Jesus Christ and not [renounce] the devil?” The man said, “In all honesty,” he said, “because a man in my condition - who's about ready to die - has no business making enemies!”
Well, this man failed to realize that the devil is no man's friend! But he is, without a doubt, every man's enemy. Do you realize as man's enemy, it is the desire of the devil himself, to damn the sinner to destruction, and yet, at the same time, destroy the life of the saint, a child of God? In fact, as it has been wisely said: God has a wonderful plan for your life. If you're a child of God today, that is true. But you know, we can say with equal certainty tonight, that the devil has a destructive plan for our life as well! Because the very moment you and I placed our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ, we entered into a battle, a battle that we sung about tonight. That battle is real. That battle is fierce. And that battle is a spiritual battle that manifests itself in the physical realm.
Placed in a Spiritual Battle Since the Day We Got Saved
Paul speaks of that battle in our passage here in Ephesians 6:12. With these words, Paul says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” In other words, our enemy is not man. As much as we may, like maybe, you know, for some reason, have difficulty with people, our enemy is not flesh and blood. But we wrestle against principalities. Against powers. Against the rulers of this darkness of this age. Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms. You see? Every war, every shattered life - you see - every broken home, every suicide, every rape, every act of immorality is a reminder that we find ourselves in a battle that is real; that is spiritual; that manifests itself in this physical realm.
I'm sure you know that we battle three enemies: The world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is that system of thought that is so designed by the evil one; purposed to draw men away from God. The flesh is that part of you, that is constantly knocking upon the door of your heart, tempting you to do the very things that God doesn't want you to do. And the devil is the leader of this unholy trinity, who so takes the world and appeals to your flesh for the purpose of:-
Believers Fight from the Victory Jesus Won – Victory Over the Devil
Friends, we find ourselves in a battle. But the good news is that by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, this battle has already been won! By the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the devil and his minions have been defeated. As we'll see, in a moment, they have been stripped of their power and their authority in your life. We don't fight for victory, but we fight from the position of victory. And the last thing that the devil wants you to do, is to live in the victory [over the devil and sin] that Jesus won for you on the cross; to keep you in spiritual defeat.
There are several things that the devil doesn't want you to know about him. So, I want you to know some things about him, so [that] you and I can continue to live in the victory that Jesus won for us on the cross. Here's the first thing that devil doesn't want you to know. You might just think about this and think, “Well, this is very common.” But I hope, as common as it is, that the Spirit of God will help you in your victory through this truth.
Number one: The devil doesn't want you to know that he's real. You say, “Well, I already know that he's real.” Well, just listen, all right? He is real. Because one of the devil's greatest deceptions is to convince men and women around the world that he just doesn't exist. In fact, in the minds of most people, the devil is nothing more than a cartoon character! You know? A mascot in a football game who wears a red suit carrying a pitchfork! You know? That's the concept of the devil in the minds of most people. In fact, I read recently in The New York Times - they ran an article on the devil - and they said this, and I quote:
“There is today a diminishing belief in the reality of the devil. In fact, 62% of all people believe that Satan is not a living being; that he does not actually exist; that he is only a symbol of evil.”
Friends, maybe that's why the devil is deceiving and damning the lives of so many people today. Simply because they don't believe he exists. But the Bible is not ambiguous upon the reality of the devil. In fact, we can open the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and we see the devil doing what? Tempting Eve there in the Garden of Eden. We can go to the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, and what do we see? We see that very same devil, now being bound with a chain, and thrown into that bottomless pit.
Jesus knew the reality of the devil. Do you realize 25 times [in] the New Testament He deals with the devil and his demons, and had a personal encounter with him in the wilderness? In fact, do you know today that 25% of all His actions, parables, and miracles concern the devil and the demons? Hey, listen! Jesus, without a doubt, knew [the devil’s] reality.
So maybe tonight, you're sitting there, and maybe you're just not certain that he's a real living being. Well, if that's the case, here's what you need to do. All right? If you want to know - in your personal life - if the devil is real or not, try opposing him. Are you with me? If you want to know the devil is real, try opposing him. Or may I say it this way: Make a spiritual decision. Desire to move forward in your Christian life. Desire to make a spiritual change. Engage your world with the Gospel. And you know what you'll find? You'll find the devil attempting to oppose you at every single turn. You know what I'm talking about. Because that's what's going to happen to you. Because if you've been in this camp, and you've made some spiritual changes; you've taken some forward steps in your walk and relationship with God, mark it down, I tell you, the devil is going to oppose you. Because the last thing he wants is for you to move spiritually forward. So, if you want to know he is real, try opposing him: Take a spiritual step forward.
I remember many years ago, I think maybe about 100 years ago, when I was working for Hyatt Hotels. It seems like 100 years ago! You know? But I was working for Hyatt hotels. I'd been with the company already for a few years; I worked with them in New York City and San Francisco. When I was working for Hyatt Hotels in San Francisco, I was going to a good church, and I felt God calling me to be a preacher. I would get upon my knees in the morning. My wife was teaching [in] school and she would go to work in the morning. I'd have to go [to work] in the afternoon. So, I spent a good time at devotion. I'd be praying, and I just felt that tug and pull at my heart; God calling me to preach. I was a little bit, I was a little bit nervous about this, because it wasn't something that I was used to. I didn't. I wasn't really used to the Spirit of God tugging, to pull upon my heart. But I knew that God was calling me - was calling me to preach. So, I met with my pastor on a Monday and I told him, “Pastor, God's calling me to preach.” He agreed that God was calling me to preach. So, that was a Monday. I went to work on Tuesday. I told my boss in San Francisco, I said, “I'm sorry, God's calling me to preach. I'm no longer promotable.” I'm not kidding you: That afternoon, I had a call from corporate office in Chicago. I was 24 years of age at the time, and the corporate Food & Beverage Director of Hyatt hotels - we had worked together previously - called me and offered me, at 24 years of age, the opportunity to run their premier hotel, Park Hyatt, in Chicago, [with] double my salary.
I was 24 years of age, and I want you to know something. I was more than a little tempted! Are you with me? I remember, I was like, my whole body was like quivering, thinking, “Well, this is what, you know? In my profession! This is what I dream of! I mean, this is the premier hotel in Chicago. This is their flagship! Man. I mean, this is my rocket to stardom! You know?”
I went home and I told my wife, and I'm not kidding. My wife and I, we began to reason and rationalize, “Well, you know what? You know? Maybe [the call to preach] was just an emotional decision? Or, you know, you know, hey, you know, [what] we can do? We could take this job and, I mean, it would be great experience for life! You know? Or, you know, we could at least pocket some money. You know? Because our salary is gonna double, and then we can later go to Bible college...”
But you know? Deep down in our heart, we knew that was the devil trying to stop us from spiritually moving forward. In fact, I went back and I told Hyatt, “Sorry. No longer promotable.” Thus, here I am today. I want you to know something, I'm thankful. But you see, that was the devil and I want you to know something: He's real. So, when we try to spiritually move forward, and we make a spiritual decision, and we want to kick our spiritual life up a notch, mark it down: The devil is going to do everything in his power to stop you. When you go back home this week and you want to get up early in the morning before work, and have a time of devotion, Bible study and prayer, the devil is going to make you sleepier than ever. You're going to wake up and say, “Wow, I wasn't this tired last week.” You know? You want to get involved in your church and to get involved in ministry, go to pastor [and] say, “Pastor, I want to do more for God.” Or you want to engage your community. Or you want to go out and do evangelism. Mark it down: The devil is going to oppose you. He's going to make you busier than ever. He's going to bring conflict in your home. He's going to bring conflict in the team that you're serving with. But here's what I want you to know - that is the devil! Because he's real. The last thing he wants you to do is to kick your spiritual life up a notch and move forward. You see, the devil is real.
In 2009, we felt led of the Lord to start a ministry in Indonesia. So, we had to rally to get seven teachers. So, Lisa and I and some others, we hustled and the Lord gave us seven teachers. Our desire with these teachers [was] to place them on universities in Indonesia, [so] that they could teach conversational English, build relationships, and share the Gospel with the Indonesians. The Lord was good to us. In our first semester, God gave us seven teachers, and that's what we needed.
But within three months of our ministry, the devil struck. One of our team members fell into immorality. I mean, he was in our team, there to help evangelize, you know, the Gospel. [Then he] fell into immorality with the locals. We had a married couple; husband-wife began to fight like cats and dogs. We had to send them home to get their life right. We had another team member that wanted to kill Kamal! He's here today because he didn't get killed. All right? But he had wanted to kill him! And not because - if you know Kamal, he's pretty docile. All right? I mean, he doesn't have fangs and he wasn't trying to – but, but [the team member] tried to kill him. So, think about it.
[At] the end of three months, we were down to only three full-time workers. Friends, that was the devil. But you know what? The devil wasn't done. By the way, do you think it was a little discouraging to us? You can nod. Yeah, I can tell. Yeah. It was a little discouraging to us. But the devil wasn't done! Because this guy that tried to kill Kamal decided he wanted to destroy our ministry. So, he told the universities where we were working - government officials - that we are a subversive Christian organization, with the goal of converting the people. Although that was true, he didn't need to tell people that. Especially to the authorities! So, what happened? The immigration officers - these corrupt guys - took it upon themselves to come to our staff house about 10 o'clock at night. They threatened Kamal and they threatened my wife, and so Kamal went down there. You know? They kind of threatened him. Then they came to my wife, and they charged my wife with immigration fraud, and sent my wife to court. She had to stand before an Indonesian court without representation, being sentenced five years in jail for immigration fraud. I want you to know something - she didn't go to jail. God delivered her. That's a another story, at another time!
But here's what I want you to know: That was the devil. You see? Because we wanted to move forward and do something for God, the devil was right there to oppose us. You see? Here's what the devil wants. You see? The devil doesn't want you to know that he's real. When you take that spiritual step forward, and you want to kick your spiritual life up, you want to engage your unsaved community, the devil is going to bring difficulty.
He doesn't want you to know that he's the one bringing it. He doesn't want you to think [that] he's real. He wants you to think that this difficulty was a bad decision. So, you take a step backward, right where you were [prior to your decision for God]. Did you get me? Because that's what's going to happen to some of you. You're going to make some spiritual decisions this week, and you're going to bring them into play next week. Mark it down: The devil is going to oppose you. Here's what he wants you to know. He wants you to think that that decision was dumb; that [it] was wrong; that [it] was a bad decision, e.g. “Why do you want to do that anyway? What were you thinking? You know? Life was easier. You know? When you were back here, just kind of spinning your spiritual wheels. It was better back here when you let everybody else do the work!” You see? But the devil, you see, is real. He opposes you. He doesn't want you to know that he's real. He wants you to think that [the] decision that you had made - that brought this difficulty - was a bad decision. So, you take a step back, right where you were [previously]. Are you with me? But you see? The devil is real. He doesn't want you to know that. But you know that he's real.
Here's the second thing he doesn't want you to know. So, you know, he's real, right? We all knew that right? So, there's Kamal. All right? There he is. Guy who was almost killed. If you know [the devil is] real, here's the second thing he doesn't want you to know: He doesn't want you to know that his power is limited. Are you with me? If you know he's real, he really doesn't want you to think his powers are limited. See? He wants you to think that he is equal to God - that he can do what God can do. But listen! Nothing is farther from the truth. You see? Satan is nothing like God.
God is the Creator. Satan, like us, is created. God is all powerful. Satan is limited in his power. You see? God can be everywhere present at the same time. Satan does not have that ability. You see? God knows everything. Satan doesn't know everything. He's a master of human nature. All right? He knows man without a doubt, because he's been studying man. I mean, talk about someone who could teach a class on anthropology. I mean, that is him! I mean, he understands human nature. But you see? He is not what God is. He wants you to think that he is all powerful, and he can do as God Himself does. But friends, that is not true. In fact, do you remember that when Jesus Christ died upon that cross, the Bible says that Satan was defeated? In fact, I love this verse.1 John 3:8 says: “For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might (notice) destroy the works of the devil.” So, when Jesus died upon that cross, he defeated Satan. But not only did He defeat the devil, he also disarmed the devil and his minions. In fact, we read in Colossians 2:15, “And having spoiled,” - and that word “spoiled” means “disarmed” - “having disarmed principalities and powers, He (that is Jesus) made a show of them openly, and He triumphed over them.” So, here's what happened when Jesus died upon that cross: He stripped the devil and his minions of their authority. They have no more power over you. You see, [the devil] has been defeated. I mean, yes, we have been [set free], as children of God. Now we are free not only from the penalty of sin, but we're free from the power of sin. Satan has no more authority over your life. You have been set free from the power and the authority of the devil.
It means that, as I mentioned a couple [of] nights ago, the devil can’t make you believe anything. He can’t make you do anything, OK? All that he can do is tempt you. And remember, temptation is never sin. It's a choice we make to embrace that temptation [that] becomes sin. But all that he can do is knock at the door of your heart. He can't open that door and barge in. He can't twist your arm and make you do what you will and don’t want to do. Why? Because he's been disarmed. He lost his power, and he lost his authority over you. You have been set free from the tyranny of the evil one. That's pretty good news. Agreed? In fact, we'll just take it a step farther and say it this way: You know? The devil can only do in your life what God permits him to do? Did you hear me? The devil doesn't have free rein over you. Why? Because of what Jesus did upon the cross and our relationship with Him. You see, God limits what the devil can do in your life. You say, “How do you know that?” Well, remember the story in Job chapter one? God gives us one of those beautiful behind-the-scenes glimpse into the spiritual world. Remember, the Bible reminds us that Satan came into the presence of God. He asked God for permission to tempt Job, and God gave Satan permission. But He put certain limits on what Satan could and could not do in the life of Job. In fact, we read it this way: In Job 1 (verse 12), the Bible says, “and behold, all that he has (that is Job) is in your power. Only do not lay a hand on his person.” You see, God knows what we can take.
A) God Knows Our Breaking Point
God knows your breaking point. God does not allow the devil to tempt you beyond your ability to say “no”. Did you hear me? Friends, that’s good news! That means there's always for us a way of escape. That means when we fail to take that way of escape, we sin because we make a choice to do so. By the way, that's what makes sin so sinful. We sin because we choose to not, because we have to. You don't have to. You've been set free from his power and his authority. And God has set certain limits around Satan's life [so] that Satan cannot do whatever he wants to do in your life. You see, none of us are pushed beyond our ability to say “no”. Nobody can come to God and say, “Oh! But God, did You know the devil made me do it!” The devil doesn't make you do anything. We do what we do because we choose to do it. Not because we have to. But because we choose to. You see, no temptation is stronger than your ability to resist. Why? Because Satan has been defeated. He has been robbed of his power and authority in your life. And God, in His loving way, does not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to say “no”. Good news? Quiet out there tonight... Good news!
Can I just illustrate that one more time from the New Testament? Lest you think that's just an Old Testament illustration? I think Jesus taught this clearly. Do you remember Peter? Jesus, one day, came to Peter and He said this. He said [in Luke 22:31], “Peter, Peter, or Simon Simon, indeed Satan had asked for you that he might sift you as wheat.” In other words, like Job, Satan came into the presence of God. And he asked for permission to destroy Peter’s faith. You see? Satan wanted Peter to turn and walk away from Jesus and get so discouraged in his face, that he would never turn and walk back. But then, Jesus comes to Peter and He says this [in verse 32], “(Peter), I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail.” In other words, [Jesus] says, “Peter, listen. I want you to know something: You will be tempted, but you're not going to be tempted beyond your ability to resist.” Why? Because Jesus would say, “Because on that cross, I'm going to defeat him and I'm going to disarm him. God, in His loving protection, has put certain limits around Satan, [so] that you will not be tempted beyond your ability to say ‘no’.”
I want you to know something: The devil doesn't want you to know that [you won’t be tempted beyond your ability to resist]. You see? If you know that [the devil’s] real, he wants you to think that he is all powerful, and you can't stand against him. But friends, I want you to know, from a biblical point of view, he is defeated, and you can stand against him! You see?
That's a third thing he doesn't want you to know: He doesn't want you to know that he can be resisted. But you know what? I have news for you. By the way, this is not ground-breaking news. He can be resisted! He can be! I love what James said in James 4:7, he said, “Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and the devil will flee from you.” You know? Nowhere in Scripture are we told to flee from the devil. But we are told to stand and he will flee from you. And the devil doesn't want you to know that. But now that you know that, let me show you as we begin the message tonight: “How you can resist the devil”(all right) in 15 minutes! Because I have a time limit tonight! This means that you're going to have to think quickly as I speak rapidly! (I'm just kidding.)
How can we resist? Let me give you three simple thoughts. And we're done tonight. Number one, resist the devil. And by the way, this is a review now of all that we've covered this week, because I want to tie it all together for you tonight, and let you know that you are in a battle. These are just not isolated truths. These are truths that will enable you to stand against [him] who is going to desire to hinder you and stop you from going forward in your walk and relationship with Jesus.
Number one: We resist the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit. We resist the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit. OK? You know this. At the very moment of your salvation, you and I, we are indwelt with the Spirit of God. In fact, Romans 8:9 says that if you have not the Holy Spirit, you are none of His. So, the Spirit of God lives within you and He is there to enable you to do what you cannot do for yourself. He's there to give you victory and power over the devil, over sin, and over temptation. You see? This victory comes as we choose to depend upon that indwelling Spirit to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. You see? When we choose to depend upon the Spirit of God who gives us victory - victory over what? Well, it gives us victory over sin. And you know?
The verse Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit (and walking in the Spirit is a choice that you make to depend upon the Spirit. Just as [walking] as it is, is an act of dependence, is it not? When you walk, what are you doing? You say, ‘Well, I don't know. I don't even think about it.’ It's a choice to depend. Every time you take a step, you're depending upon your leg to hold up your slightly overweight body! No, that's my slightly overweight body. But everything step I take, I choose to depend upon my leg; in the same way, we choose to depend on the Spirit. That's walking in the Spirit. And notice, when you choose to depend upon that indwelling Spirit, you will not, [He] says) fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
In fact, [the Holy Spirit] gives us power in service. Acts 1:8 says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses.” So, there's power available to you from that indwelling Spirit to enable you to stand in the victory that Jesus won for you on the cross.
So, the question is: (All right, then.) How can I know that power? Well, very simple. You need to, in faith, ask, in faith, ask. Jesus put it this way in Luke 11: 13. He said, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit's [power] to them that ask?” Friends, if you want power to be what God wants you to be, power to do what God wants you to do, then you need to come to that ever-willing Father, and ask for that Spirit's power. Are you with me?
Here's how it works: When the devil comes knocking upon the door of your life, tempting you to do what you know you ought not to do, hey! With the eye of faith, look up to your Heavenly Father and say, “Heavenly Father, Blessed Spirit, enable me with your Spirit to keep that door of temptation in my life closed.” That's an act of faith that accesses the power of the Spirit; that enables us to say “no” and turn and run from sin. You see? It's like this. When you're tempted to be critical about that person then ask, say, “Blessed Spirit, give me love, enable me to love this person so I'm not critical of them.” You see? When you're feeling, fearing, feeling a little fearful to share the Gospel, then ask that blessed Holy Spirit or ask God the Heavenly Father. You know? ([Just] so we don't get caught up in semantics here.) You know? Just ask for the power that's available for you to do what you are not to do, what you are being tempted to do. Are you with me? You got it. There's power available. Because when you, by faith, call upon the Spirit to enable you to live a victorious life – do you realize the devil can’t stand against the Spirit?
Here's a great verse for you. I love this verse [Isaiah 59:19], “When the enemy comes in like a flood
(when the enemy comes knocking at the door of your life, tempting you to do what God doesn’t want you to do, that) Spirit of the Lord (He) will lift up a standard against him.” And you will go forward in victory. There’s power available. Power through the Spirit. Yet there’s also power to [resist] the devil through His Word. There’s power in the Word of God. And I know we know this verse, Ephesians 6:17. The Bible says the sword that that Spirit uses, is the Word of God. Hey, that's why we need to be both a “Word-filled” and “Spirit-filled” people. Did you realize, man, the devil cannot stand against us, if we are filled with the Word of God, and the Spirit of God? In fact, the example of Jesus is Jesus defeating the devil in the wilderness. Matthew 4. Remember that passage? By the way to get the whole flavor of that you’ve got to go back to Matthew 3, where the Bible says Jesus is in the synagogue.
The Bible says He puts his finger on Isaiah 61:1 and He says that, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to preach the Gospel.” Bam! The next moment, He's in the wilderness – there, filled with the Spirit of God. He's in the wilderness, and he's confronted by the devil himself. Three times the devil tempts Him. Yet three times Jesus defeats the devil with the Word. Three times He says, “It is written. It is written. It is written.” And all three times the devil fled. There's power, when we are Spirit-filled men and women. Use the Word of God to confront the temptations of the enemy.
There's power in the Word. One of the reasons I think that we're so easily defeated, is because we are so, and I mean this kindly, ignorant of God's Word. Absolutely. I remember reading a story about a pastor who was telling a joke about Bible ignorance. He said that one day he asked a question. He [asked], “What are the epistles?” A lady rose her hand. She said, “The epistles are the wives of the apostles.” Everybody like that laughed. So [the pastor] is at the door shaking hands as people are going out and lady came up to him in all seriousness and she said, “Pastor, if the epistles aren't the wives of the apostles then whose wives are they?” Okay. [This joke] didn't work. But anyway, that's it. I'll tell you what, that's one reason.
One reason we’re so easily defeated [is] because we're ignorant of the Word. The devil knows if he can keep us ignorant of his ways, into his devices, if he can keep us ignorant of the Word, he can keep us in spiritual defeat. So, we must be- as the people of God - friends, we must be men and women of the Word of God. Filled with the Word of God, as we're filled with the Spirit of God. Why? Because the Word is the sword which the Spirit uses.
I remember reading a story of a little boy who was converted one night in the Gospel meeting. Evangelists gave this little boy a verse, 1 John 5:12, for his memory verse. 1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has life and who has not the Son has not life.” Great verse. So, the little boy was memorizing his verse before he went to bed. He was saying, “I am a son of God, because I have life.” He heard a voice say, “No, you don't.” He was kind of shocked. [The boy] says, “Yes, I do.” The voice said, “No, you don't.” He said, “Yes, I do.” [The voice] said, “No, you don't.” He said, “Yes, I do.” [The voice] said, “No, you don’t.” So, the little boy got up. He was laying in bed. Turned his light on. He opened the verse here in 1 John 5:12. He quoted the verse; he said, “He [who has] the Son has life and he who does not have the Son does not have life.” He said, “I have the Son, I have life.” And again, the voice seeming as it was coming out from underneath the bed said, “No, you don't.” So, the little boy opened his Bible, threw it under the bed and said, “There! Read it for yourself!”
Friends, that’s exactly, in essence, what we're to be doing to temptation. You see? When sin comes knocking at the door of your life, in the power of the Holy Spirit, you address that temptation and say, “No! This is an illegitimate attempt. You're trying to bring me again under your control.” And there, in the power of the Spirit of God, quote a promise. Quote the Word of God, And the devil will flee! There's power in the Word. Yes! Power to change your thinking. And power to change your life. The devil cannot stand against He who was filled with the Word of God, and the Spirit of God.
Lastly, as this is, we resist the devil through the power of prayer. As I mentioned earlier, [at] the moment of salvation we entered into a battle. This battle is real. This battle is fierce. This battle, in essence, is for the souls of men. This spiritual battle manifests itself in the physical realm. The spiritual battle as we read in Ephesians 6:12 cannot be fought with flesh and blood. It is not fought with our intelligence, with our ingenuity. It is not fought on a on a physical realm. It is a spiritual battle that demands spiritual means. In fact, Paul put it this way when he said, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (they are not human). They are not fleshly. They are none of your mind. They are none of your ingenuity, he says, but [Spirit-filled weapons are] mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4)
Hey, listen! Victory in this battle demands that you and I face the battle on our knees, to spiritually battle. That demands you and I who are Word-filled and Spirit-filled, take the battle to our knees. You see? The most powerful weapon against the devil and his minions is the power of prayer. You see? The devil cares not about how many activities we’re involved in. He doesn't care how many services we run on a Sunday morning. He doesn't care about how many spiritual families we have. He doesn't really care about how many 2:7 [Navigator Series] Discipleship groups that we have. Because the devil knows without prayer, every activity of the church is useless because it lacks God's power. Are you with me?
I love what the old Methodist evangelist once said. A guy by the name of Samuel Chadwick. He hit it spot on when he said:
The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom [but] he trembles, but he trembles, he trembles when you and I pray.
There is power in prayer. There's power when we are Spirit-filled, Word-filled people [who] fall upon our knees and there, in the power of the cross, in the authority, in the victory of our resurrected Lord, we engage that enemy on our knees.
Friends, there's power. In fact, Jesus reminded us in Mark 9(verse 29) that prayer has a direct impact on the devil and his minions. Do you remember in Mark 9, the disciples could not deliver that individual from the delusion of the demons. They could not deliver that demon-possessed boy. The disciples were baffled. They came to Jesus. They asked him “why?”. Here’s what [Jesus] said. He said, “Because this kind [of demon],” he said, “can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” In other words, Jesus was telling these disciples that the power of Satan falls when the prayer of saints prevail. Friends, there's power. There's power through prayer.
Let me tell you one story, and then we're done. Last year on our [Evangelism] campaign, July 2013, about 15 of us were in a van and we came in to this particular school. Our goal was to preach the Gospel.
When we arrived to the school, there was obviously some type of turmoil - something was going on. So, we did what we usually did. We went into the principal's office. We made our customary greetings. And I remember looking in the face of the principal, and she was obviously distraught. She said to me, “ I want to tell you what's going on right now in our school.” She said, “There's a young 16-year old girl that has been here two days, and she is demon possessed. We have tried everything. The Catholic priests have come. They can't exorcise the demon. The spiritists have come. The parents are here. It has [upset] our whole school. We just don't know what to do. Can you help us?”
I remember looking at that lady, and I turned over. By the way, dealing with demonic activity is something that we do every single year in our E campaigns. Somewhere along the line. We do it all the time. So, I looked at one of our workers, a lady by the name of Daphne, who's on our staff, and I looked at her, I said, “Let's go.”
So, we walked down to the end of the hall. Of course, there's a large crowd of about 50, maybe 75 students. We pushed ourselves through the crowd. As I walked up to that girl, her father was on, on his knees. There he was offering a sacrifice to the demon, begging the demon, “Please, I'll do anything. I'll do anything. Could you just let my daughter go?”
So, I just kind of jumped in there. I asked the father, I said, “This is who I am. Do you mind if I pray for your daughter?” They've already been at [for] these two days, I'm sure he was desperate thinking, “Listen, if you can do something, go for it.” The father stepped aside. And we immediately engaged in a one-hour fierce battle with a demon-possessed young girl.
Although I have dealt with demonic people, over the years, I mean, every year, several at a time, so on and so forth, this was without a doubt, probably the fiercest one hour I have ever experienced in my life. There are several people in this audience today that were there with me who could testify to what I'm saying. As we were there dealing with this girl, I stood up before [the girl], understanding my position in Christ: I am a child of God; I am blood-bought; the devil is defeated; he is disarmed; he has no power, and he has no authority over me. Therefore, I could stand in front of this demon-possessed girl with absolutely no fear.
So, immediately, I began to rebuke that devil for her mind. Asking and pleading - the devil there - in the power and the authority of the cross, [that he] would let go of this girl's mind, so we could bring her into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. As I was confronting the demon, he, first of all looked at me, and with this growl up on his face - and I mean, not to scare anybody tonight, but I want you to know the reality of the battle we find ourselves in. Although you may not face this, there are enemies, friends who are trying to destroy your life and your family. Yet we have victory available for us to keep them off our back - and as I was dealing with this demon-possessed girl, I remember that he looked at me and growled, and began to, you know, just do all kinds of wild and weird stuff. I will not explain tonight. But I just stood there. I looked at that demon straight in the eye through the eyes of that little girl, and they were dark and black. Her face was contorted. She was squirming. It was quite a scene.
And I remember looking at demon saying, “You are defeated. Jesus won the victory. I am a blood-bought child of God. You are on the losing side.” From that moment on, that demon never again looked at me, but began to look at the crowd and began to begin to hiss, and spit, and kick, and try to scratch and grab people. We went on this way for about an hour. And I remember 45 minutes into it, periodically, that demon would let go of this girl's mind just for a moment. And friends, I'm telling you what, it was the most tragic thing that I've ever seen. This young 16-year old girl, the demon would let go of her mind, and she would look over at her father with this absolutely pitiful face, and she would cry out, and she would say, “Mommy, help me!” And Bam! The demon would grab a hold of her mind. And there we would go battling again.
After 45 minutes, I remember just stepping back and I looked up to heaven when I said, “God, man, I just don't know what to do. You know? I'm claiming the Lord's victory. We're praying the blood of Jesus, and so on and so forth.” I was a little bit baffled. And the Lord said to me, “Look over your shoulder.”
I remember looking over my shoulder, and there I saw Joy Pinero, and about 15 of our brethren, many of those from our China team that Mae brought. And God said, “Get them to pray.” I looked back at them, I said, “Pray.” I said, “Pray for victory. Pray for deliverance.” I said, “Pray and don't quit praying.” They began to pray. I'm telling you they were praying. I think people on the next island overheard these people praying. As they were praying, I could sense the power lifting. I remember I asked Daphne, I said, “Daphne, you sit there and you plead with this little girl to say, ‘Jesus, help me. Jesus you’re Lord!’ ”
As I was confronting that demon in her mind, and pleading the cross of Christ to let go of her mind, within 15 minutes of their praying, the demon let go of her mind. She blurted out through her tears, “Jesus help me! Jesus, you’re Lord!” At that moment, I am not kidding you, it was like a cloud lifted. It's like a black cloud that had surrounded that girl was gone. Her eyes were dark; light came back in her eyes. Her entire countenance changed. I mean, it was an unreal experience. All of a sudden, she sat up in her chair, and the demon was gone. We were able to begin to talk with that young lady and bring her into a saving knowledge with Jesus Christ. Within 20 minutes after that, her parents grabbed her by the hand and walked her off campus – redeemed, blood-bought and delivered from the delusion of demons.
You know why? Because of the power of Satan falls when the prayer of saints prevail. Believer, there is power available to you. There is power available to you. The devil doesn't want you to know that. So, we live in defeat. We live in the muck, in the mire of this world, spinning our spiritual wheels, thinking, that there's nothing to this. But there's something to it. There's power. There's power in the Spirit. There's power in the Word. There's power in prayer. Maybe today, you're being tempted. Maybe you're still not finding victory in your Christian life. Maybe people you know and you love are not getting victory. And you see them moving in the wrong direction. Can I tell you something?
Get Word-filled. Get Spirit-filled. Then take that battle to your knees. And watch the King of kings and the Lord of lords do what He's already done in your life: Put the devil to flight.
Friends. I don't know what spiritual decisions you've made in this last week. But I'm certain you've made some. And the spiritual decisions that you've made today, or this week, will be challenged next week because the devil stands opposed to you; he stands opposed to spiritual growth; he stands opposed to your progress. If you want to continually move forward, remember this: There are some things he doesn't want you to know. He doesn't want you to know that he's real, but you know that. So, remember, when you get opposition next week, when you wake up and you're [more] tired than ever, when you want to take a spiritual step forward, you want to start serving the Lord, remember this: The devil is going to convince or he's going to come and he's going to oppose you. Then he's going to want you to think that this difficulty is a bad decision. It's not a bad decision. It's spiritual warfare. You're involved in it. So, take that battle to your knees. Take that battle to your knees. Friends, aren't you glad that the victory is won? Aren't you glad you're on the victorious side? And there's power in the cross - power available for you? Let's bow our heads for a moment. Let's just thank our King of Kings and our Lord of lords.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we just want to say “thank you” tonight. We want to thank You for the cross. Lord, we want to thank You for the cross tonight. For on that cross, the devil was defeated. He and his minions were disarmed and they have no authority over us. The only authority they have is authority that we give them. And yet Lord, we can stand. We can resist. We don't have to flee. He should flee from us. And I want to pray for Your people here tonight: That Lord, we would be people who are filled with Your Spirit; daily, calling upon that same Spirit to do what He can do: Give us victory and power to be the people that He wants us to be, that we might do what You want us to do. Lord, may we be Word-filled people tonight. The Spirit of God can take the Word of God when the devil comes knocking upon the door of our heart. And Lord, I pray that we would be men and women of prayer, that we would take our battle to the knee. And Lord, I'm thankful tonight that Satan cannot stand against us when we arm ourselves with these unbelievable weapons that You have provided for us. Lord, I ask tonight, that You would strengthen Your people for Your glory, that we might live in victory. In Jesus’ name.
And everybody says, “Amen”. God bless you tonight.
More Episodes from Pastor Mike Redick:
Episodes from other sermons:
