The Youngest of Christians is Stronger than the devil if he or she exercises his authority by faith in the Name of Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11; Luke 10:19; Matthew 18:18; Mark 16:11; Acts 8:5-8). Amen.
This is a much relevant mystery. Nobody can lead a successful Christian life without necessarily knowing, understanding and exercising himself or herself in the knowledge of this mystery. It is impossible to live as a successful Christian without having to deal with the devil, the enemy of your progress, and his demons. However, the angle from which you deal with him is very important. I believe Brother Paul summarized this when he said by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 6:12that:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
It is twice important for every Christian to understand their battles, their position, their ammunition and their warfare strategy. For a Christian, our position is simply summarized by Our Victorious Lord and Captain – Jesus Christ – in Luke 10:19 when He said, “Behold, 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.” Our position is already that of an overcomer – we have been placed “over” and “above” all principalities and powers of the enemy, to trample them under our feet.
It is important for you to know that although “we wrestle” yet we do not wrestle as though we are on the same plane. Our authority is from above and is greater than all below. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but we dismantle principalities and power and rulers of the darkness of this age (world system) and all spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Our battle is from above.
Every born again Christian is stronger and greater than the devil by reason of our new birth and empowerment in the Holy Ghost. For he that is born of God, overcomes the world and the devils that are in the world. However, he must know this as much as He is aware that he is a Child of God and must in faith exercise his authority over demons, satan, challenges, principalities and powers by faith in the name of Jesus.
Let’s see I John 5:4 say – “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.”
Let me briefly share a story or two with you to illustrate this.
I may never forget that day in my life when by the grace of God I was invited by a company of believers to pray for a demon-possessed lady. The lady was beautiful but the demon had gained total control of her mind and speech and she was making serious demonic utterances. When I was asked to pray for her, I knew the victory that overcomes the world – the faith of a Child of God in the precious Name of Jesus. But as I opened my mouth to pray, all I could ooze out of my mouth were words of scripture in John 1:1-5 – So, I started quoting thus, “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend.” I remember that I had not finished reciting these scriptural verses when the demon-possessed turned her face towards my direction and made some warning or “keep off” signs with one of her fingers – shaking it at me. But I continued with the scripture because I know that the Word of God is the truth and demons may not like to hear the truth. Seeing this, I got a question from the lady – now I mean the demon speaking through her mouth. He asked me a very definitive question, “Who are you?” I mean the demon asked me, “Who are you?”.Friends, this is very serious. When I was asked who I was, it was as though I had never previously defined who I was in this context so I made a gentle whisper to the Holy Spirit. As simple as, “Lord, who am I?”. You see the battle. Friends, knowledge of who you are in Christ is very important and fundamental as you make a journey in this Christian life. So when I asked the Lord who I was, this was the answer He gave me. The Lord said to me, “Tell him, You are a Son of the Most High God. Your sins have been forgiven, and your name is written in the Book of Life. Tell him you have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb.” I immediately obeyed. Immediately I said these, I observed a gentle calm, there was no more boasting from the demon which had previously being boasting, and I learnt for about two days when my brethren were praying to cast him out. As I learnt, that was the second day of the prayer. I observed an immediate composure in behavior of the demon possessed, but this does not mean that the demon had left. He had just been muted by the Power of the Holy Spirit when I gave a right answer through the help of the precious and blessed Holy Spirit. I sensed I should request for the name of the evil spirit and my brethren told me the name. I was so surprised that the demon was not only bold to tell my brethren his name, he was also courageous enough to harass them and boastfully coax them that they wouldn’t be able to cast him out. Anyway, those were bragging of the devil. He came out by the power of God in less than ten minutes afterwards. After I was told the name, I sense a current of the Holy Spirit run through my spine and nerves, and when I ordered it to come out in the Name of Jesus, I heard a loud scream saying, “I will come out! I will come out!” The sister fell down there on the Church floor and the devil ran out of her. Hallelujah! A few months after, the Holy Spirit had so much enveloped the Sister that she became an effective minister unto the Lord in the same assembly and would often prophesy in the power of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah to Jesus!
You see, every genuinely born again Christian has got enough authority over the devil and all his forces just as Jesus had. Remember, the key point is that both a believer in Jesus Christ and Jesus Himself are Sons of God. You should also note that Jesus could not or did not perform any miracles until the Holy Spirit had rested upon Him at the baptism at River Jordan. Likewise, every believer has got the Holy Spirit inside them through their salvation experience and association with Christ (Romans 8:9). Now, at the Holy Ghost baptism, you receive a full measure of the Holy Spirit and His power for greater power and effectiveness as a Believer in Christ Jesus (Acts 1:8). Hence, it is the same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus throughout His stay on earth that now resides in you a believer. Thus, you can deal with the devil the same way Jesus did.
Another point I like you to note is that you are a Son of God just as Jesus is. Jesus is our Eldest Brother (Ephesians 3:13-14; 2:19). Demons as a matter of necessity always respect the authority of true Children of God. Demons recognize the authority of God’s children and are submissive to them especially when they know and use their authority in Christ.
First, I’ll relate this from the experience of Jesus Christ Himself in an encounter with an evil spirit inhabiting a man at Capernaum. In Luke 4:31-
“31Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 33Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I KNOW WHO YOU ARE—THE HOLY ONE OF GOD!” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.”
The evil spirit knew Jesus as the Holy One of God! Now, do you remember Tip #4 already discussed that– Every Born Again Child of God is “Holy” and they are all “Saints” according to the scripture (Hebrews 3:1 – “Holy brethren”)?
Again, let’s see a more familiar story in Paul’s experience and the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19:11-16:
“11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.15And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, AND PAUL I KNOW; but WHO ARE YOU? 16Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
Notice that the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know AND PAUL I KNOW!” Oh! By implication, they knew Paul too! And these two questions: why did he know Paul and what did he know about Paul? First, they knew Paul that he is a child of God and second they knew him be not because he was holding an apostleship office but because as a child of God he was always exercising his authority over them (Read Acts 16:16-19 – see Paul in holy anger cast out a demon out of a slave girl at Philippi in the name of Jesus). Demons know you if you are a child of God too but they can’t wait to obey you if you don’t believe the Word of God that you are what the Word of God says you are (I John 5:4; 4:4). But, anytime you know this, actually believe and demonstrate it, Oh, hell itself and all demons are waiting to obey you when you utter words of command based on scripture in the name of Jesus. Thus, I encourage you today not to live by chances or guesses or what you see or what comes to you but to begin to exercise your authority in Christ as a believer. Jesus said these painstakingly and I have been seen them happening in and through me by the grace of God. They know Paul too, not only Jesus! And so, they know you too as a child of God but you must take up this responsibility and exercise this authority in Jesus Name, else you aren’t different from a slave though you are a Son.
Friends, you see the point is knowing who you are in Christ and your heritage in the power of God through His Holy Spirit within you are very necessary so you don’t cowardly back out of a battle in which victory has already been ascertained. I read again, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.” [I John 5:4].
Now, you know that –
1. Christ has given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy with nothing being able to hurt you.
2. You have been empowered through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to know that victory is rightly yours in Christ.
3. Now, you must enforce and exercise this victory in faith in your daily walk with the Lord in prayers (for self, family, friends, Church, brethren, business, etc.) and all life confrontations. You must never give in to the devil.
4. If you oppose the devil by faith in Jesus name as a Child of God who has been washed in the blood of the Lamb, he is bound to obey you. Jesus said this in Matthew 18:18, “18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven,” and John 14:14
5. This is practically stated by Jesus after Peter had caught a revelation of Who Jesus is, Jesus told him in Matthew 16:18-19: 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19And 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.” Jesus could as well meant that the “this rock” upon which the Church is founded” is the revelation of Who He is that Peter caught. You see, there is great power lying in revelation. Revelation of Who Jesus Christ is as well as the revelation of who you are in Him.
Please, make this confession.
In Jesus Name, my name is [slot in your name please]. I have been graciously washed in the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God and all my sins have been completely forgiven. My sins have been completely washed away in the blood of Jesus. My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 21:27) and I have been completely forgiven, fully acquitted and discharged from all my sins, sinfulness and guilt (Hebrews 8:12; Romans 5:1). I am now accepted in the Beloved as a bona fide member of God’s holy Family (Ephesians 3:14) and I therefore have great inheritance among the Saints of Christ (Ephesians 2:19; Acts 26:18). Since these are all true, my name is in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 21:27), thus, I belong to God. All of God’s are mine and all mine are God’s. They’ve been given to me by Him and I use them to the praise and glory of His Name. As from today, I am greater than conquerors through the Love of He Who loves me. I confirm and confess that the authority of Christ Jesus already is in my mouth, and His Name is on my lips. His Words are burning as torches in my heart and bones and I am daily renewed by them to the glory of God the Father and into the perfect image of Christ Jesus the Son of the Father. Hence, whatever I bind on earth shall be bound or loose in heaven. I have a testimony clear and sure to the Glory of God My Saviour. Blessed, Wisdom, Honour, Glory and Power be to His holy Name through Christ Jesus our Lord in Jesus Name. Amen. Hallelujah! Praise God. Amen.
