Power over the Enemy: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds (2 page)

I said in my amazement, “Lord, who is this?”

The answer came, “This is the New Testament believer! This is one of the new creatures!”

We can be like this if we will only realize who we are. The Bible says the following about us as new creations:

There is therefore now
no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
(Romans 8:1).

We are
created in true righteousness and holiness
(Ephesians 4:24).

Jesus became sin for us
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him
(2 Corinthians 5:21).

We are
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust
(2 Peter 1:4).

Jesus
loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood
(Revelation 1:5).

We are
accepted in the Beloved
(Ephesians 1:6).

We have everlasting life and shall not perish, but have
passed from death into life
(John 5:24).

Our names have been
written in the Book of Life of the Lamb
(Philippians 4:3; Revelation 13:8).

We are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us
(Romans 8:37).

We can
do all things through Christ who strengthens us
(Philippians 4:13).

We have Jesus’ life, His blood, His nature, His promises, His Name, and His power! “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

We are sons of God, children of the King! We are cleansed from our sins and made as white as snow. What the first Adam lost, the second Adam, Jesus, gained back for us. We are not ashamed and not afraid. We are sent forth into the world with a commission from on high. Greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world!

You Must Believe You Are Where God Says You Are

Recognize your present sphere of life and activity. What does God say about it? “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13).

There are two kingdoms in this world—the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God’s dear Son. There is the kingdom where God reigns and the angels minister and hearken to His Word. That is the beautiful, wonderful realm of spiritual reality where Jesus and the angels live.

There is also a spiritual realm where Satan lives with his demons, and where they have their activity. Satan had power over you when you were in the kingdom of darkness, but Jesus delivered you from that sphere. It is not something that
will
happen, but it is
already
a reality.

These spiritual realms are places of reality. They are not just in our imaginations, and they don’t just go away because some people say, “We’re told there is a spirit world out there somewhere. Maybe it exists, and maybe it doesn’t.”

Know this: the spiritual world is a reality. Actually, the spirit world is more real than the physical world, because God, who is a Spirit, created the material world out of the spiritual realm. The Bible says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). And it also says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1–3).

Two spiritual realms vie for our attention. As we walk the pathway of life, we are being influenced by both. Influences come from another world. Satan and his demonic forces can hinder us (1 Thessalonians 2:18). The Lord and his angelic forces can help us. Which force will you choose? It is up to you. The way you choose to be influenced will determine the quality of life that you live.

The devil makes it his business to use his demonic forces to tempt us, to discourage us, and to cause us to give up and be defeated.

Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to go wrong? I have had days when it seemed as though there was an invisible wall of pressure against me. I have said to my wife, Dodie, during a church service, “A spirit of confusion is here. Everything seems to be a flop and go wrong.” When this happens, I have learned to call a halt to the service and immediately tell the devil to get out of the service, and he has to go.

You have been conveyed into God’s kingdom to help others get out. You have been released to release others. You are set free that you might go forth and set others free.

Satan has no power or authority over you as a new creation in Christ. Satan fears and trembles in your presence. The Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Because you are in God’s kingdom, Jesus says to you, “I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

In the Name and authority of Jesus, you can do these things.

Here is where so many believers fail. They do not so strongly believe what God says they can do that they actually start doing them.

For a long time after I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I stayed in my office praying that the gifts of the Spirit would become operational in my life, but nothing happened. Then one day the Lord seemed to say to me, “What good would a spiritual gift do now in your office? As you go forth to meet the people’s needs, I will be present to confirm My Word.”

I decided that I could do the things God has said we can do in His Word. He said I could cast out demons, lay hands on the sick and they would recover, and set the captives free. So I arranged for a citywide meeting and hundreds came. I told them what God could do, and they came forward in a long line! The devil said, “What are you going to do when they don’t get delivered?” I said, “What are you going to do when they do?”

God moved in a mighty way in healing and deliverances, and since that meeting I have gone all over the world seeing the same things being accomplished in Jesus’ Name.

You can do what God says you can do. He will confirm His promises. He will perform whatever you ask in His Name. Rise up! Stand tall for Jesus! You are in the kingdom of His dear Son. Live up to your high calling!

E
ver since he came to Eve in the Garden of Eden, the devil has been coming to tempt men and women under many guises. In Eve’s case, he came in the form of doubt. God had said to Adam, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17). But notice the enemy’s tactics as he approaches Eve. He didn’t come up and say, “Did you know God is a liar and you can’t trust His Word? He obviously doesn’t love you? Don’t you realize He wants to keep you from enjoying everything good?”

No. Rather, the devil came and said, “
Has God indeed said
, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

The devil is the master sower of seeds of doubt. Perhaps you’ve been approached in a similar manner with questions such as, “Is it worthwhile serving God? What difference does it make whether or not you read your Bible? Or, for that matter, why pray? Is it worthwhile fighting the good fight of faith? Does anything really change when you hold fast to your integrity?”
Doubt.
That’s the devil. You have to fight and drive doubt out of your life. When doubt knocks at your door, let faith answer.

But the devil comes not only to bring doubt, he comes to bring division. Consider the staggering rate of divorce today—both within and outside of the church. Or consider the percentage of couples living together unmarried as well as the number of single mothers? The enemy wants to divide the family. Divide husband and wife. Divide children. Divide churches. Divide Bible study groups.

He comes not only to bring doubt and division, but to bring degradation. Think about how low he’s pulled some people into unclean, unnatural lifestyles, drugs and alcohol and pornography and immorality, leaving people on the garbage dump of life. His ultimate desire is to degrade and pervert our sons and daughters, to degrade the human race.

The devil hates God. He hates Jesus. He hates the Holy Spirit. He hates humans, especially believers, and wants to keep us in bondage to sin. He wants to keep our minds unrenewed and to set up strongholds in our thinking.

You have to fight degradation, because its onslaught is continuous. If you have been delivered from an ungodly lifestyle, you can thank God you found out about Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He set you free. Nevertheless, you know that you must continue to resist temptation and fight the good fight of faith.

The Bible gives some excellent examples of how to handle the tempter when he comes to deceive you, to confuse you, and to keep you from being the victorious Christian that the Lord intended you to be. Throughout this chapter and the following chapter, I base my teaching on the clear example of how the tempter tried to overcome Jesus, and how Jesus handled the situation in Matthew 4:1–11. The tempter came to Jesus, and you are no exception. If he came to Jesus, he will surely come to you. As he tempted Jesus to disobey God the Father, so the enemy will try to tempt you and deceive you in many areas of your life.

You must do what Jesus did and find out what the Word of God says about the situation that the tempter has tried to put on you, and then do what the Word says to do to obtain victory.

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” ’ ” (Matthew 4:1–4).

Note that when Jesus states “It is written,” He was quoting the Word to the devil: “… man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the L
ORD
” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over you,” and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” ’ ” (Matthew 4:5–6).

The devil will quote Scripture to you. In this instance, he was quoting from Psalm 91:11–12: “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” And when the enemy quotes Scripture to you, you must learn to do exactly what Jesus did. He quoted Scripture back to the devil.

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the L
ORD
your God’ ” (Matthew 4:7). There are more Scriptures than one in the Bible that you must learn to use against Satan. The devil will take the Scriptures and twist them to meet his purpose and confuse you. But do what Jesus did: He stayed right with the Word when He said, “It is written again…” He quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 to the devil: “You shall not tempt the L
ORD
your God.”

In order to defeat the devil, you will have to say to the devil, “It is written” and “It is written again…”

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the L
ORD
your God, and Him only you shall serve” ’ ” (Matthew 4:8–10).

Luke’s Gospel reads this way: “And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the L
ORD
your God, and Him only you shall serve” ’ ” (Luke 4:8). I prefer Matthew’s account, because it is bad enough having Satan standing in front of me, let alone having him behind me. I picture him standing right behind me and getting ready to kick me. In Matthew 4:10, Jesus said to Satan, “Away with you…” In other words, He was saying, “Get out of my sight.”

In the
Amplified Bible
, these same scriptures state, “Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:10–11).

Both Peter and James provide excellent instructions concerning what to do when the tempter comes to you.

Peter tells us: “… be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:5–9).

May I emphasize this: Peter indicates that Satan cannot devour everybody. He is legally bound in certain areas. He must obey the Word of God. He must bow to the Name of Jesus. Peter did not say you have to find a strong preacher or a great personality to resist the devil for you.
You
are to resist the devil.

James 4:6–7 tells us: “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

You submit yourself to God. You resist the devil, and he will flee from you. That word
flee
means “to run as if in terror.”

Before either Peter or James talked about resisting the tempter, they talked about the prerequisite of humility.

The devil’s business is to attack you. He wants to discourage and tempt and influence you. But he cannot make you do anything, even though the comedian Flip Wilson was famous for saying, “The devil made me do it.” No! He cannot make you do anything unless he possesses you. He can work on your mind with a thought. He can try to get you to act against your will. He will try to deceive you, but he cannot transgress your own will.

Satan kept me in bondage for years in the area of finances. I was dragging through life just barely getting along. I had been convinced that it was very religious to be poor. In my ignorance, the devil ruled and lorded poverty over me. Because I was ignorant of God’s Word and God’s will in this area of my life, the devil took advantage of me through temptation.

Many sick people are tempted to give up when symptoms linger and it appears that they cannot get healed. It may look as though the doctors have given up on them, and that their faith does not work. If you do not know about God’s provision for healing, the tempter will tell you, “God did this to you. It is God’s will for you to suffer. God has ordained that you should live this way.” But if you will get into the Word and find out what the Word says about the situation, Satan’s lording it over you will come to an end.

That is a temptation. Don’t give in to it. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Many elderly people are tempted to feel that their time of usefulness is past. Perhaps they feel that their children don’t care about them anymore and have gotten the impression that their church sees them only as takers and no longer as partakers. Life for many seniors becomes meaningless, and they become convinced that nobody cares.

That is not biblical. In the time before the Flood, God stated that man’s days would be one hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3). In Psalm 90:10, the Bible says, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years.” But it never states that we reach an age where we’ve outlived our usefulness for life and the kingdom of God.

Colonel Sanders was a wonderful Christian businessman who started Kentucky Fried Chicken at the age of sixty-five. He was in his nineties when he went to be with the Lord, and in his latter years he was still engaged in starting new projects.

It is always good to be challenged by life, to have plans and projects. When I am older, I want to be like Caleb. He stood in the wilderness when he was eighty-five years old and stared up at the toughest, highest mountain. He said to Joshua, “ ‘And now, behold, the L
ORD
has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the L
ORD
spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the L
ORD
spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the L
ORD
will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.’ And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb” (Joshua 14:10–14).

Stop looking for a rocking chair when you’re told you are old. Look for a mountain to conquer! The enemy still needs to be driven back, and you have the authority of Jesus’ Name to do it.

I believe that the potential, the ability, and the expertise of older people are being wasted far too often. Why should we set people on the shelf when they get old enough to have some sense and wisdom?

Some young people may say, “Well, you know, Pastor Osteen is just an old fuddy-duddy. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. He and Dodie are over the hill.” Well, we have been over a lot of hills… and around the bend, and we have learned a lot of things that can help those young people live transformed lives.