Power over the Enemy: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds (11 page)

Every knee shall bow and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all three worlds!

We can enforce Satan’s defeat because of the position we stand in as sons and daughters of God. Colossians 1:13 tells us that the Father “has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” We are seated in heavenly places, ruling and reigning with Jesus who has already conquered the enemy.

The Bible says Jesus Christ has already won the victory for you. “[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross]” (Colossians 2:15
AMP
).

In the Introduction, I wrote about Ephesians 4:8–10. Jesus, our victorious King, went down into the dark regions of hell. He conquered Satan and all the demonic forces. He chained them and disarmed them. He took all of their armor off, paraded them out in the spirit world before the angels and before God the Father, and made an open display of the fact that they have been defeated eternally! It is that defeat that is our victory today!

Satan once had the keys to the kingdoms of this world, because when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, he said, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:8–9).

Who delivered the keys to Satan in the first place? Adam delivered them to him in the temptation in the Garden of Eden. He sold out to the devil and handed him the keys of the earth. Adam lost his position of dominion over creation and was no longer in charge. Satan stripped Adam of his authority when he sinned and became the god of this world (Romans 6:16).

I do not know all that happened when Jesus descended into that dark region of hell, but I know that when Jesus came out, He was Victor. John, on the isle of Patmos, saw Him in the midst of seven lampstands with that white robe girded about the chest with a golden band. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His hair was white as wool, as white as snow, and His feet like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace. He was majestic and mighty (Revelation 1:13–16).

Jesus said, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:18).

Jesus had the keys of that dark hellish kingdom. But thank God, Jesus did not keep them to Himself! Jesus turned to Peter, who represented the church, and said, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Jesus has given the keys of the kingdom to you and every believer in the Holy Spirit. Whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Galatians 3:13–14 tells us, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

God has always been on our side. God is for us. When Jesus came, His Name was to be called
Immanuel
, which means “God with us.” He was with us, and now He is
in
us!

Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever”—the Holy Spirit (John 14:16
AMP
). When the disciples and the congregation assembled at Pentecost received the Holy Spirit, the Bible declares that “therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). That was the Holy Spirit!

After Jesus ascended to the Father and sprinkled His blood on the heavenly mercy seat, we received the right to have our bodies become the temples of that same mighty Holy Spirit. We could then partake of the dynamic supernatural-flowing energy that Jesus had during His earthly life.

Jesus knew the power of the Holy Spirit. He knew that it was so good and so wonderful that He could come to earth as a man, demonstrate it, and then died that all might have it. Jesus wanted us to experience laying our hands on the blind and seeing a blind man leap for joy; to know what it is to say by the Holy Spirit, “Satan, be gone,” and see him run! He wants us to know and to see the thrill of God working through us. Jesus knew that this would bring us joy. He wants us to set the captives free, win the lost, and be His channel of blessing.

Jesus said, “I cast out demons by the Spirit of God” (Matthew 12:28).
Jesus demonstrated Satan’s defeat by the Holy Spirit!

Read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you will see a Jesus who faced the devil with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. “He… said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity’ ” (Luke 13:12). He commanded demons with a word, and they obeyed Him. Legions came out of one man (Mark 5:9–13).

Jesus did it all by the same Holy Spirit that is in you and me! He said we would be able to do all that He did and more. In John 14:12, the Bible says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

In the early church, all throughout the book of Acts, the believers knew their power over the enemy. They spoke with authority! They did not continually contend with demonic harassment. They spoke with the power of the Holy Spirit and demons obeyed instantly!
They demonstrated Satan’s defeat to the world!

We have the blessed Holy Spirit in us. Paul wrote: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). We have Almighty God on the inside of us! We have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit living within our very beings!

Colossians 2:10 reads: “And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]” (
AMP
).

Let me share with you a story that relates this very same principle. In the early days of our marriage, my father-in-law decided that he would buy us a car. What good news that was! We were so happy to have such help from our wonderful relatives. Just to think about having a car completely paid for in those days thrilled us beyond words!

You can rest assured that we got “car fever” real fast. We thought cars, talked cars, dreamed about cars, and looked for cars for weeks. Since it was going to be completely paid for, we wanted to be sure to get the right one. Finally, after weeks of searching, we decided on a certain model and proudly drove it home and parked it in the garage.

A few days after we purchased the car, I was in the house when a radio commercial about a new car caught my attention. Having been so interested in cars of late, I listened carefully to what the announcer had to say. I had tuned in late on the commercial, so I did not know what make of car he was talking about. As I listened to him describe all the wonderful features of this car, my heart sank. I knew I had made a mistake in getting the car that was now parked in the garage. I thought
, Oh, if I had just waited until I had heard this commercial about this wonderful car and all of its features, I would not have made the mistake that I did!

I was so disappointed as I thought about my car in the garage. How I wished I had waited to get this one that was being described! It sounded so much better!

Then, to my amazement, when the man finished the commercial and told the make and model of the car that he had so wonderfully described, I discovered I had the very same car sitting in my garage!

You see, I had something wonderful in my garage, but I did not know how to fully appreciate it until somebody who knew more about it than I did described it to me!

We need to know what we have in our lives when we have the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, but many times we do not appreciate that almighty power until someone who understands it begins to unfold to us the wonderful power and ability of this indwelling Person. When God begins to tell us what we have on the inside of us as saints, it will help us realize who we are in this world.

A young person who is full of the Holy Spirit has as much power and authority to
demonstrate Satan’s defeat
as any apostle, prophet, or pastor in the world! Do not seek out some special individual to bring deliverance to those you meet. When we face the works of Satan in demon possession, obsession, and oppression, the Bible says that
we are to demonstrate God’s power.

The Bible shows us that Satan is a defeated foe, but you must act on the Word of God to enforce his defeat. Know what is in your garage and use it!

You have the mighty Spirit of God within you to help you arise and be victorious in every situation. You have the Word of God, which is your instruction, to show you how to move in the power of God.

Second Timothy 3:16 tells us: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

For instance, if you have a vacuum cleaner, and you do not know what it is or how to use it, it is of no use to you without an instruction manual. You might take it outside and try to mow your lawn with it. You can plug it in and push it all day, and it will not cut one single blade of grass! Many people have tried to get the Holy Spirit to do what He is not in us to do! Read your instruction manual! The manual is the Bible!

The Holy Spirit is in us to demonstrate that Satan is a defeated foe. Jesus said: “The Spirit of the L
ORD
is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the L
ORD
” (Luke 4:18–19).

Jesus said that through the Holy Spirit we would bring a demonstration to the world that Satan is already a defeated foe! It is not up to us to defeat Satan—Jesus has done all of that! We are to demonstrate that the work is already done and that every believer can live a victorious life!

When I was first filled with the Holy Spirit, I would travel to other towns to minister and preach. I went by myself, and my family would stay at home. Every time I called home, I discovered that my entire family was ill. This happened so often that I didn’t even want to call home, because I knew everyone would be sick.