Most people believe that Satan is using a superior power and authority to oppress mankind. They see him as this huge, powerful being who is so much superior to any of us. This is reflected in television shows and horror movies. Satan and his demons are portrayed as these strong, powerful beings. Most people see the devil as a superior being in power and authority.
They don"t understand that Lucifer lost his divinely delegated, G.o.d-given power the very instant he transgressed and became Satan. The devil is not using a superior power and authority against us. He"s actually using the same power and authority that G.o.d gave mankind to rule and reign with over this earth. It"s our own power and authority that he uses against us.
On his own, Satan is powerless. He depends completely on physical human beings yielding to and empowering him. Even under the Old Covenant, Satan didn"t have the power to control and dominate people. He has to use our own power and authority against us. It"s only as we submit to him that Satan is able to do anything.
A DEMON NEEDS A BODY.
The devil and his demons-as spirit beings-have no power or authority on this earth apart from physical human beings yielding it to them.
Consider the example of Jesus casting out the demons in Luke 8. When the Lord commanded the unclean spirit out of a man, the demons identified themselves as "Legion" because they were many. (Luke 8:30.) They begged Jesus, "Don"t cast us out into the deep, but send us into that nearby herd of swine." When the demons entered these 2,000 pigs, this herd immediately took off running, jumped off a steep cliff, and drowned themselves in a lake. (w. 31-33.) Demons are looking for a physical body, a willing vessel. They need somebody who will submit to them. The power that the devil or any other demon uses against us is our own. Satan has zero angelic, spiritual power. All his authority comes from man. The only reason Satan exists and functions is because people cooperate with and empower him. That"s why he always seeks to inhabit a body. Even a pig has more authority on earth than a demon. An ant, a fly, or a snail has more power on this earth than Satan because they have physical bodies. He is absolutely powerless to do anything unless he can get a physical body to cooperate with him.
THE RIGHT TO USE POWER.
G.o.d is the author of all power and authority. When He created mankind, He gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. (Gen. 1:26-28.) G.o.d gave us-physical human beings-power and authority to rule this world. Authority is simply the right to use power. G.o.d gave that right to use power to Adam and Eve. Basically, G.o.d said, "Here"s My power. Now I give you the right to use My power. Everything I have created will respond to you."
G.o.d is a Spirit. (John 4:24.) Satan is a spirit too. (Eph. 2:2.) He doesn"t have a physical body, which means that he can"t come and make anyone do anything. First, he must gain their cooperation.
Many Christians see Satan as an angelic being with G.o.dlike supernatural power and authority over man. They see him coming and overpowering them, when the truth is that the devil can"t force them to do anything. He lost his power when he rebelled at G.o.d. The only power and authority Satan is functioning under now is human power and authority.
It takes your cooperation for the devil to do anything in your life. That"s why he seeks whom he may devour. Satan doesn"t have the authority and power to devour you unless you quit obeying G.o.d and yield yourself to sin. Romans 6:16 says that when you yield yourself to sin, you"re actually yielding yourself to the author of that sin, which is Satan. Satan can"t just come in and destroy you without your cooperation. But when you sin, you are empowering the devil.
EARTHSUITS.
Most people don"t see it this way. They understand that, according to Scripture, Satan was originally created as an angel. Angels have a higher power than what we do, but they don"t have the authority- the right-to exercise that power in the earth. Yet, most people a.s.sume that Satan has a higher power and authority than us, and they are intimidated by that perceived authority. They don"t realize that he lost all of his angelic power when he rebelled, and now his authority is totally tied to us. Since G.o.d gave the authority over this earth and everything going on in it, to physical human beings, Satan -who is without a physical body-is absolutely powerless unless we empower him by yielding to and indulging his l.u.s.t, lies, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, or some other sin.
This is why our actions are so important. Your physical body is what gives you authority here on the earth. Paul the apostle doesn"t have any power or influence over you today. He"s still alive, but he"s no longer in a physical body. The only influence he has on anyone today is through the physical writings he left behind. People can read them and be influenced. Nevertheless, Paul doesn"t have the authority to function and operate any longer on this earth because he no longer has a physical body. I have a physical body. I have more authority and power on this earth than the apostle Paul right now because he has lost his earthsuit. This earthsuit-my physical body-is what empowers me and gives me authority.
Satan can"t do anything without somebody in an earthsuit yielding to him. This is why he"s constantly vying for your heart, trying to get you to yield to him through anger, fear, hurt, pain, and depression. Every time you move away from what G.o.d"s Word says and act in union with what the devil is trying to do, you yield authority to him. Every time you quit believing and receiving G.o.d"s supernatural power and ability and sin instead, you empower the enemy. Satan can only function as he keeps people submitted to himself through lies and deception.
It"s sad to say, but one of his greatest weapons of deception has been the church. The church has taught that Satan is a superior power. He isn"t. He"s actually using nothing but human power and human authority acquired through our cooperation.
MY OWN HUMAN AUTHORITY.
Does that mean Satan isn"t a factor? No, he is a factor. There are millions of people on the face of the earth who are yielded to the devil today. They are operating in s.e.xual immorality, lies, deception, hurt, fear, hatred, idolatry, and more. Every time we yield to something negative, we empower the devil. So, yes, Satan is a factor and lie has to be dealt with.
But as far as my individual life goes, Satan can"t do anything without my consent and cooperation. Understanding that the power and authority Satan uses is human power-the power G.o.d has given to me, a physical human being, to rule and reign over this earth-has put everything in a brand-new light.
Now, instead of being intimidated by the enemy, I have boldness toward the devil. I understand that if I were to start doing the wrong things in my actions, saying the wrong things with my words, and indulging negative emotions, Satan would take advantage of it. He"d come in, eat my lunch, and pop the bag. I"m not ignorant of his devices, but I"m also not afraid of him. I"m not being pa.s.sive toward him, but I"m actively and intentionally resisting him. I realize that all he"s doing is coming against me with my own human authority and power.
I received a testimony from a woman who had been a Satanist before converting to Christ. Even after being born again, she suffered many problems because she was afraid that Satan was mad at her and was trying to punish her for turning away from him. When she heard this teaching on the believer"s authority, it set her free. All her fears left as she realized that the devil couldn"t do anything to her without her consent and cooperation. These truths liberated this precious sister, and they"ll liberate you too!
Chapter 7.
Under The Umbrella In light of what we"ve seen thus far, Ephesians 6:10-11 ought to make a lot more sense.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of G.o.d, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Wiles literally means "cunningness, craftiness, and deception." Satan"s only power is deception. He can"t force you to do anything. He can"t make you sin. People tell me, "I don"t want to commit s.e.xual sin, but I just don"t have the power to resist. Satan is stronger than I am." Not true. Satan doesn"t have the power or the authority to force you to do anything. The problem is that he"s a master liar, intimidator, and deceiver. It"s all deception. When we don"t know the truth about who we are in Christ and the power we"ve been given, then-in a very real sense-we are the ones who are giving Satan the power and authority to rule and dominate us. You can break that.
Recently I was speaking to one of our Bible college students about a certain area in the student"s life, and that person admitted, "I know I"m wrong in this area. It"s rebellion and I want to break it, but there"s just something in me that I have trouble doing the right thing. I just can"t seem to overcome it."
I told the student, "Here"s how you can overcome it. Do what you know you"re supposed to do but don"t feel like doing, every day. It doesn"t matter that you don"t feel like doing it. Do it every day. If you"ll start obeying and yielding your actions to the Lord, then He"ll be strengthened in your life. As you quit obeying and yielding your body to the devil, it"ll weaken him in your life." That"s why the Bible says you have to stand against the wiles, deception, lies, and deceit of the devil.
Satan is out to deceive you and he"s coming at you every which way through all of the help and support he gets from people. Our airwaves are full of l.u.s.t and lies. Every time you yield to the lies, you are the one who empowers the devil to come in and destroy your life.
WHY JESUS CAME.
Since G.o.d is a Spirit and doesn"t have a physical body (John 4:24), and since He gave the power and authority over the earth to physical human beings, He would have been unjust to come down here and intervene in the affairs of man. He couldn"t just step in and straighten out the mess. He had the power to do so, and as Judge He could have said, "Alright, I"m tired of this whole mess. I"m going to wipe out the entire human race."
He came close to doing that with Noah and the flood. As Creator and owner, He"s always had the right and privilege, but outside of total judgment, He didn"t have the authority to just come into the affairs of men and change things. He didn"t have it because He had given that authority to rule and reign over the earth to mankind. (Ps. 115:16.) Even though they used that authority in a way contrary to what He desired, G.o.d would have been unjust and untrue to His own statements to come down here and change things.
This is why G.o.d had to become a man. This is the reason that G.o.d had to send His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to this earth. It all comes back to this issue of authority being given to physical human beings. G.o.d didn"t have a physical human body, so He wasn"t free to just operate unrestricted on this earth. He had to become a man. Jesus-the Word made flesh, the G.o.d-Man-had to become a physical person so that He could have authority on this earth. (John 1:14.) G.o.d couldn"t have saved mankind any other way. Until He obtained a physical human body, He was limited in what He could do. He tried to work through people, but they were all corrupted, deceived, and under the devil"s control.
I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
EZEKIEL 22:30.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
ISAIAH 59:16.
Since there was no person sinless, pure, and able to bring G.o.d"s righteousness into the earth, He had to come and save us Himself. He had given the dominion of this world to physical human beings, so He had to become one. G.o.d Himself took upon Himself flesh, and limited Himself to a physical body My teaching ent.i.tled "How to Conceive a Miracle" goes into greater depth on this topic. It"s the second message from Lessons From the Christmas Story.
FOUR THOUSAND YEARS.
G.o.d spoke Adam"s body into existence when He had absolute authority over the earth.
G.o.d said, Let us make man. GENESIS 1:26 G.o.d created man by speaking words. Subsequently, He spoke words giving man dominion-authority and power-over the earth. In doing so, He limited His own authority. Man corrupted themselves by selling out to the devil and making him the G.o.d of this world. G.o.d wasn"t in control. He didn"t have dominion over the earth because He had given it to man.
That"s why G.o.d wasn"t able to just speak the physical body of Jesus into existence on His own. He had to speak to the spirits of men-the corrupted spirit within them-and then they had to take those words and speak them out of their mouths. It literally took G.o.d four thousand years to find enough people who would operate in enough faith to speak forth and prophesy the things that needed to be spoken for Jesus" body to be created. There"s no telling how many people G.o.d inspired to say, "A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son" before Isaiah actually spoke it (Isa. 7:14). Not many prophets would like to stand up and go on record declaring such a thing. It took a lot of faith for Isaiah to say that.
After all of these prophecies had been spoken over four thousand years, the angel approached Mary and told her what would happen. (Luke 1:28-33, 35.) She humbled herself and said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. LUKE 1:38 The angel took all of those prophecies-the spoken words of G.o.d-and the Word entered into Mary"s womb.
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
JOHN 1:14.
G.o.d created the physical body for Jesus to inhabit by speaking words over a four thousand year period of time through anointed men. Then those words entered into the womb of Mary, and that"s how Jesus was conceived. That"s why He had authority on earth to do what He did.
SHIELDED FROM THE RAIN.
Satan was in trouble now. G.o.d always had the power to intervene, but He had given the authority over the earth to mankind. His ability to intervene in the affairs of man was limited because He didn"t have a physical body. When man turned from G.o.d and gave their authority and power to the devil, he began to oppress the human race. G.o.d wanted to redeem us, but He had to have some physical human being- a person with a physical body-here on the earth so that He could have authority to do battle with the devil.
When you"re under an umbrella, it shields you from the rain. The rain may be falling, but it isn"t touching you. When Satan rebelled against G.o.d by deceiving men and gaining their authority, he came under the protective "umbrella" of the authority G.o.d had given to mankind. This human authority shielded the devil from G.o.d getting to him and stripping him of all this power. G.o.d couldn"t get to Satan directly without violating His Word because He had given authority over the earth to people with physical human bodies. This is why Jesus had to become a Man.
Christ said it this way: For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
JOHN 5:26,27.
Jesus said the reason He had authority to execute judgment was because He was the Son of Man.
THE G.o.d-MAN.
Both of the terms "Son of G.o.d" and "Son of Man" refer to Jesus. Son of Man emphasizes His humanity and physical side. Son of G.o.d emphasizes His divinity and the presence of Almighty G.o.d that indwelt Christ"s body. Jesus existed before the worlds began and He created all things. (Col. 1:16-17.) Jesus was G.o.d manifest in the flesh. (1 Tim. 3:16.) He was fully G.o.d and fully man simultaneously. Therefore, Jesus was the G.o.d-Man.
Son of Man refers to Christ"s humanity. So when Jesus said that the Father had given Him authority to execute judgment because He was the Son of Man, He was making a direct reference to the fact that He had a physical body. He always had power as Creator, but He didn"t have the authority to use that power until He took on flesh.
All this confirms the integrity of G.o.d"s Word. Once He spoke, "You have dominion" to mankind, it was theirs. He limited His own authority and power on the earth by giving it to us, and G.o.d never breaks His Word.
One time one of my employees was believing G.o.d for a car. When the Lord blessed me with a better vehicle, I gave my previous car to this person. It was a very nice car. It was brand-new when I got it, and my wife and I had only used it for a couple of years. I gave this car to my employee as a gift and signed the t.i.tle over to him.
A year or so later, he asked if it would be okay with me if he used that car as a trade-in toward a better one. I told him, "You can do anything you want with that car. It"s not mine, it"s yours." He felt he needed to get my permission, but it wasn"t necessary. In every way I had given him that car. It was legally his. If he wanted to park it on the curb and charge ten dollars each for people to take a swing at it with a sledgehammer in order to raise money for another car, he could have done so. He could have done anything with it he wanted.
That"s integrity. If I gave someone a car and signed it over to them, it"s theirs. If a couple of years later I find them selling swings with a sledgehammer for ten bucks each and that"s not what I intended, it would be wrong for me to come up to them and say something. If I truly gave the car to them-no strings attached-then it"s their business, not mine. They now have the authority over it.
A PHYSICAL BODY.
That"s how G.o.d gave authority over this earth to us. G.o.d Himself was limited until He became a physical human being. Jesus wasn"t only physical, but He-G.o.d Himself-inhabited a physical body on the earth. Now the devil was in trouble. He"d been using Adam and Eve like a hostage, saying, "G.o.d, if You do anything to me, You"ll have to destroy these people You have made too." But now Jesus became one of the hostages -a physical human being.
Jesus entered into the devil"s kingdom and destroyed it. He took away all authority and power from Satan and reduced him to a zero with the rim knocked off. The enemy has zip, zilch, nada power and authority against us. All Satan can do is tempt us. If we yield to him, we"re doing the same thing Adam and Eve did-we are yielding our human power and authority. Satan can"t do anything to you without your consent and cooperation.
This is completely opposite of so much of what the church has taught. Most people think that Satan is a major force to be reckoned with. He does exist, and you can"t just be ignorant of his devices. (2 Cor. 2:11.) You need to know what"s going on, but the devil is not someone to be feared. He"s someone you need to recognize and resist, but Satan can"t do anything to you without your consent and cooperation.
Understanding this truth has transformed my life and given me a tremendous advantage over the devil. Now I recognize that if I"m having a feeling, a desire, a drawing, or a l.u.s.t in some direction, all I have to do is quit yielding to those things that are allowing Satan to draw me in that way. I just use my physical body to go in exactly the opposite direction. What I do with my physical body releases either the power of G.o.d or the power of the devil.
Chapter 8.
Is This the One?
When Jamie and I first started out in the ministry, we really struggled financially. Occasionally, I"d work odd jobs to help make ends meet. One day I came home from a painting job feeling so sick that I could hardly stand up. I just wanted to lie down on the couch and rest. Jamie was in the kitchen fixing me lunch. When she saw me on the couch, she asked, "What are you doing?"
"I feel sick. I don"t know if I can eat anything."
We had already been teaching other believers these same truths we"ve mentioned so far: "You have to use your body to quit yielding to the devil. Don"t cooperate with him. Do the very thing that you don"t feel like doing. Resist the devil, and fight against him with your physical actions." (James 4:7.) Jamie came right over and got me up off of that couch. She put my arm around her shoulder and started dragging me through the house, saying, "We need this money. You will go back to that job. You"re healed!" She made me get up and start acting healed. She just forced me to practice what I"d been preaching.
Praise G.o.d, in ten minutes I was over it and felt well again. I went back to work and got paid that day.
"ACT ON THE WORD!"
The night before I was to be ordained into the ministry, I hurt my back opening our broken garage door. We were living in Seagoville, Texas, at the time. As I bent over and started lifting up the garage door, it got caught and something just popped in my back. The pain that immediately shot through my body was so excruciating that it knocked me to the ground.
My one-year-old son had been watching me. I told him, "Go tell Mommy," but he just sat there jabbering at me. Eventually, he wandered into the house and brought Jamie out. When she saw me lying there, I hurt so bad that all I could do was whisper, "I hurt my back."
"Well then, get up." Jamie pulled me up, prayed over me, and said, "Now, you act on the Word of G.o.d!" Again, we needed me to be able to work, so she cut me no slack.
I started doing things with my physical body. My shoulder blades were back so far they were touching each other. The pain was excruciating, but I forced myself to do things I didn"t feel like doing. Finally, over a day"s period of time, I got to where I could do sit-ups and other things. Although my movement had returned, my shoulders were still pulled back.
I went to bed that night and woke up on the day I was scheduled to be ordained. My shoulders were still pulled back, but I just kept fighting it all day long. Right before I went to my ordination service, I declared, "I am going to act healed. I am going there, and I will be ordained." By the time I arrived at church, I was healed. My actions played a major part in receiving and manifesting that healing.
You can"t lie in bed acting sick and at the same time release the supernatural power of G.o.d. You must learn how to use your physical body to resist the devil and cooperate with the Lord. If you don"t step out in faith and act on the Word, you"ll limit G.o.d. (James 2:20.) WE CAN LIMIT G.o.d.
We"ve seen that G.o.d is a Spirit and that He gave dominion over this earth to physical human beings. (Gen. 1:26-28.) In doing so, He limited His own dominion and authority. If we don"t cooperate with G.o.d, we can limit Him.
Yea, they turned back and tempted G.o.d, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
PSALM 78:41.
Yes, we can limit G.o.d. Jesus dealt with this in His own hometown.
He could there do no mighty work.. .because of their unbelief.
MARK 6:5,6.
It"s not that Jesus didn"t want to; He couldn"t do any mighty work because of their unbelief. Even the Lord Jesus Christ had to have cooperation from people to release His power into their lives.
Religion says, "G.o.d is sovereign. He controls everything." No, He doesn"t. G.o.d is sovereign, in the sense that He"s King of kings, but He doesn"t control everything that happens on the earth. G.o.d isn"t limited in the sense that He doesn"t have the power. He has the power, but He gave dominion over this earth to physical human beings. Because of His own integrity, He will not overstep that authority and violate His own Word.
Therefore, G.o.d has limited His own sovereignty, His own ability to intervene in the affairs of man here on earth. Until He became a physical being Himself, He didn"t have the authority to come down to this earth and straighten out the mess man had created.
For additional study on this topic, I recommend, The Sovereignty of G.o.d, Taking the Limits Off G.o.d, The Sovereignty of G.o.d, Taking the Limits Off G.o.d, and and Spiritual Authority. Spiritual Authority. They all go into further detail than I can right here. They all go into further detail than I can right here.
EARN THE RIGHT.
G.o.d Himself operates within these laws of authority. He will not violate His own Word.
Because we live in a culture today where authority isn"t a big issue, these truths can be hard to comprehend. People basically don"t submit themselves to authority. They only do what they are forced and demanded to do, but they don"t recognize authority. People violate authority all the time.
I don"t mean this in a critical way, but the younger generation as a whole doesn"t respect authority the way the older generation does. They"ve been raised in such a way that they believe they can get away with anything. They see little wrong with cheating. They aren"t submitted to authority. They think as long as they don"t get caught, everything is fine. That"s absolutely wrong. All of life is based on authority.
I teach our Charis Bible College students that you have to earn the right to speak into someone"s life. You have to gain their respect before they"ll let you minister to their heart. This works on every level.
One reason so much of what"s called "evangelism" today isn"t very effective is that it"s disrespectful and offensive. Some Christians just walk up to a stranger, stick a religious tract in their face, and say, "You"re going to h.e.l.l. Repent!" Then they try to coerce that person to submit to them, and "pray a prayer," however, they haven"t even had the common courtesy to introduce themselves or ask, "How are you? How"s your day going?" These so-called "evangelists" just come up and get right in people"s faces. That is absolutely wrong!
"WHO ARE YOU?"
While in Kansas City once, a guy came up to me after a meeting and started railing on my wife. He said, "If you were a man of G.o.d, you"d straighten this out. You"d make her do this and that and this other thing." Then he started criticizing and giving me all of his opinions about how my wife should dress.