Note from Debbie
Hi – sorry for any inconvenience but I noticed this morning that when putting notes on my blog yesterday that I had missed a few important scriptures. I have therefore deleted the first copy and am replacing it with the following.
James 4:
[7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (KJV)
Also used the following scripture within the message below…
Matthew 4:1-11
Matthew 17:14-21
Mark 9:38-40
Acts 19:13-16
1 John 4:4
Philippians 4:13
Psalm 138:3
Psalm 118: 24
Luke 10:19
Luke 10:20
Genesis 1:3
James 4:7 tells us that in order to have authority over the enemy, we must submit to God. We must give ourselves to God, as our Father, by accepting Jesus as our saviour, thereby becoming a part of the Lords family.
We are told to place our lives in His hands and rely on him fully in all situations.
We are also told in this scripture that we must flee from the enemy. That means we are not to stand there and take the lies that satan tries to tell us. Our Father has given us the authority to overcome the enemy.
By standing strong in him and using the Word of God (scriptures from the Bible) we can fight the devil and come out winners.
When I became a Christian 8 years ago, I felt satan closing in on me like never before. I felt lonely because I was the only one of my family and friends that believed in Jesus.
As time went on and I grew in the Lord I felt persecuted because people made fun of my beliefs and challenged me with questions I couldn’t answer.
I was called a prude because I started to change and wouldn’t do things that I had previously done. Examples: using the Lords name in vain, or accepting a DVD that was illegally copied, telling a clerk that she had given me too much change instead of saying ‘wow bonus’.
There are far too many differences to list here but the enemy apparently didn’t like the good changes he was seeing in me, so he came down hard. Being so new to the faith in God, I fell under the persecution of others and felt lonely and left out.
I even started to wonder if “this God thing” was worth the aggravation I was receiving.
Thankfully, God, my Father knew my heart and had other plans for me.
I was reading my Bible one day and I read the following scripture…
Matthew 4:
[1] Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
[5] Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
[6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
[7] Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
[8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
[11] Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (KJV)
These verses opened my eyes. If Jesus was tempted by satan and he is part of the Trinity, then of course satan is going to temp me as well. Satan would be assuming that I would be much weaker than Jesus.
Two other scriptures gave me more insight:
Matthew 17: says
[14] And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
[15] Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
[16] And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
[17] Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
[18] And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
[19] Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
[20] And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
[21] Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
And Mark 9:
[38] And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
[39] But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
[40] For he that is not against us is on our part.
These verses tell us that we have been given the authority over demons, even in ailments caused by the enemy.
Acts 19:
[13] Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
[14] And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
[15] And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
[16] And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
These verses show that not just anyone can call on the name of Jesus. Even priests tried but we’re not successful. In order to call on Jesus for anything, we need to have a good relationship with him.
Having God as our Father, Jesus as our Saviour and the Holy Spirit living in and directing us on a daily bases gives us the authority we need to overcome the enemy.
Faith in God and using that faith wisely in Jesus’ name is a gift that has been left for all believers in Jesus. Without them, the enemy will just laugh at us.
We are not to feel superior to others nor use our gifts to show off. We are to fast and to pray in the Name of Jesus to help the person or situation.
By these scriptures, I was led to see that Jesus used the WORDS of God to defeat the enemy. If it worked for Jesus then I could use Gods words as well and they would be just as powerful for me as they were for Jesus.
I decided to search the Bible for scriptures that I can use when I feel heavy or overcome by satan. The following scriptures stood out for me and I use them over and over again.
1 John 4:
[4] Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (KJV)
Philippians 4:
[13] I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (KJV)
Psalm 138:
[3] In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. (KJV)
Psalm 118:2
[24] This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (KJV)
I am so very blessed that God has allowed to have authority over satan but I must remember that the authority only works because I am a Christian.
Luke 10: says
[19] Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (KJV)
This verse assures me that I have the same authority that Jesus had over the enemy. Satan and all of his minions power is nothing compared to the authority that I have in the name of Jesus Christ.
But I must remember to stay strong in the Lord and not get conceited by this authority because then I would be working outside of God’s grace.
Luke 10: reminds us…
[20] Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. (KJV)
Heavenly Father
Thank you that my name is written in the Lambs book of life. Please allow me to always remember that the only way I have authority over satan is through the name of Jesus!
Thank you Father that early in my walk with you, you taught me that the Word of God has authority. From Genesis 1:3 I saw the power in the spoken word “and God SAID”. Yes Lord, everything was created by your Word.
Yes, your word is full of power and through Jesus, I have access to it. Thank you Lord because I use it on a daily basis. I believe that the enemy sends out his scouts, just to test the waters and if they see any kind of weakness, they will call in the troops.
That is why everyday I confess my sins to you and then put on the armour of God. I know that your words are my weapons and they can defeat the enemy easily as long as I stand strong.
Thank you Father, that you are with me and watching over me each and every day. Thank you Jesus for the work you did on the cross, and thank you Holy Spirit for living with me, reminding me of the words of God.
Thank you for helping me to stand strong against the enemies and that on the days his scouts find a leak you send out your warriors to fight them off and the Holy Spirit reminds me of your Words.
I know Lord that prayer is important, so allow me to pray continuously every day.
In the blessed name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I pray.
Amen