THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER
Satan wants us to be scared. Peter describes him as a roaring lion (1Pet 5:8). Have you ever thought why he is called a roaring lion? Why does a lion roar? A lion roars when he has finished eating - he eats until he is full and then he wants to go to sleep but he knows that there are hyenas waiting to finish his meal and so he roars to scare them away. And so too Satan roars in order to scare us.
WHO IS SATAN ?
His names describe his character
• Satan - the adversary / enemy of God
• Devil - accuser of the brethren
• Lucifer - angel of light etc
Ez 28:11-19 There are 2 things that I would like to bring out here:
• He was a "model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty"
• He was anointed as a guardian Cherub
In the Bible we read of various different angels and it seems as though there is a hierarchy. There are angels whose ministry is primarily to man - they are messengers (Abraham), some perform miracles (when Peter was released from jail) and in Revelation we read of angels who are going to administer God’s judgement.
And then there are angels whose ministry is mainly Godward. These are the Seraphim and the Cherubim and Satan was the head Cherub - in charge of all the angels.
Who are demons?
Demons are involved in all kinds of disruptive activity
They can delay answers to prayer
They appear to have authority over places, buildings
They influence sinful behaviour
They have different personalities
They produce strongholds in peoples live’s
They attack Christian ministries
They have no power except that allowed them by God
Satan is not omnipresent
The war is real. Why are we at war when Satan has been defeated?
In June 1944, Allies landed successfully on the coast of Normandy. That sealed the doom of Hitler but yet the war only finished 11 months later. Though victory was assured, more allied soldiers died in those eleven months than in the preceding years of WWII
WHAT DID HE DO ?
Is 14:12-15
Here we see that Satan became proud of his wisdom and beauty and he started saying things like:
• I will ascend to heaven
• I will raise my throne above the stars of God
• I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
• I will ascend above the tops of the clouds
• I will make myself like the Most High
What does all this mean ? Lets look at these 5 I wills one at a time:
I WILL ASCEND TO HEAVEN.
Wasn’t Satan already in heaven ? Scripture refers to 3 heavens
a) where the birds fly - our sky
b) where the stars are
c) where God’s throne is
Satan stayed in the 2nd heaven so the heaven he is talking about is the _________ .... but didn’t he already have access into this heaven?
He was a Cherub and so his ministry was to sing praises to God before His throne. What Satan was actually saying here is that he wanted to actually sit on the throne of God
I WILL RAISE MY THRONE ABOVE THE STARS OF GOD
Job 38:7 God’s angels are referred to as stars - Satan is saying that he wants to rule over the angels. He was already the "chief" among the angels but the only orders he gave them were those given to him by God and what he wanted was to be able to call the shots.
I WILL SIT ENTHRONED ON THE MOUNT OF ASSEMBLEY, ON THE UTMOST HEIGHTS OF THE SACRED MOUNTAIN
Satan wanted to control the heaven and earth.
I WILL ASCEND ABOVE THE TOPS OF THE CLOUDS
Ex 16:10 And in the N.T. we read that when J.C. returns he will come in the clouds and in great glory. Clouds in the old and new testaments seam to refer to the glory of God Satan is saying that he wants the glory that belongs to God I will be like the Most High He wants to be responsible to no one but himself
He wants to occupy the throne of God, exercise authority over the angels, rule the universe, take the glory that belongs to God, and he wants to be responsible only to himself
WHAT IS HE DOING NOW ?
Is 14:15 Satan has been thrown into the pit.
Lets say that I am Mr Universe and you want to get back at me - how will you do it. You’ll get to the things that I love. If Satan wants to get back at God he will get to the things that he loves - his children, the human race. Satan is set on destroying the human race. This is very important to remember when we think of how people are drawn into the occult. They are offered power. But that power won’t last - once Satan has finished with you, he will destroy you - because that is what he actually wants to do. Oh He’ll tell them otherwise but he is the "Father of lies".
Think too of how he tempts us. He comes to us with things that make us feel good : drink, drugs, sex - but what is his final aim ....?
WHAT CAN WE DO ?
If you have been involved in any way with the occult you need to confess that and repent of it. Ask Jesus to become the Lord of your life. O.K. so now your a Christian, now what ?
Now you need to realise the authority that you have in Christ.
LETS LOOK AT THAT AUTHORITY:
Jn 1:1-3 Jesus created all things Col 1:16
Why did Jesus have so many confrontations with Satan and his demons? Because he came not only to redeem but to reign.
He came to take back the authority that Satan stole from Adam. Therefore when he cast out demons he was proving his right to rule.
The demons also acknowledged his authority Jam 2:19
Col 2:15 His death on the cross demonstrated his authority.
Phil 2:9-11 and the Father showed his approval
Eph 2:5,6 The authority of Christ belongs to the believer because he is in Christ
Ps 8:5 We are lower than the angels and so we have no power on our own BUT when J.C. rose from the grave ... we rose with him ...when he ascended .... we ascended with him ... when he took his seat at the right hand of God .... when God gave J.C. authority ...he gave the same to the believer because we are in Christ.
Makes you think of when people say " the Devil made me do it"
O.K. we have authority over Satan but what does that mean to us - how are we going to use this authority?
Jam 4:7 RESIST
None of this authority applies to you unless you are in submission to God.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POWER AND AUTHORITY.
The Devil has power but we have authority.
ILLUSTRATION: Take a 60kg man and place him in the middle of the road ….
2 Cor 10:3-5
