Power Over The Kingdom of Darkness
Study Text: Luke 10:17-20
Introduction:
- As believers of Jesus Christ, we have been given the power and authority over serpents and scorpions and all the powers of the kingdom of darkness.
- We need to understand who we are, and what we have, to be able to operate and enjoy our authority over the kingdom of darkness.
The enemy Satan, knew that his power is inferior to the power of Jesus, and he does not have authority over any true Child of God.
- So, he tries to look for a legal ground in the life of the believers, so as to be able to oppress them. Thus, Satan has no authority over you as a believer unless you give it to him.
- When a believer is ignorant of the authority he has, Satan can have power over that person. That is why we must have the knowledge of our empowerment, and understand how to overcome the powers of darkness.
2 Corinthians 2:11
- We shall be discussing the topic under three subheadings:
1. Uncovering the Strategies of the Serpent
2. Unfolding the Story of the Saviour
3. Unraveling the Strength of the Saints
1. Uncovering The Strategies of the Serpent:
- Satan is the old Serpent, and one of the way of overpowering him is to understand who he is and what his strategies are.
- We need to be aware of the enemy’s strategies. The area where we don’t have revelation-knowledge is the area where he will establish a stronghold and take advantage of our ignorance. 2 Corinthians 2:11
- There are two errors the believers usually make concerning Satan:
- The first one is to underestimate Satan, while the second one is to overestimate Satan.
- The enemy has power, but we must remember that he cannot use his power against us unless we give him the right.
- Always be aware of his devices because he will look for a place to take legal access and have authority in our lives.
- When we sin, our disobedience gives Satan the right to attack our lives.
- The strength of Satan is the ignorance of the believers. When we have the right kind of knowledge of who Satan is, we will know how to prepare against him and we will not fall to his devices.
- Some of the strategies of Satan include:
1. The Strategy of Deception.
- Satan uses the strategy of deception to present himself as the Angel of light, and make the believers to relate with him in his deceptive identity.
- For instance, everyone in Samaria thought the Magician was of God and operating by the power of God until Philip came with the light of the Gospel. Acts 8:1-15
- It was Satan that spoke through the old prophet to deceive the man of God from Judah and made him to go against the Word of God. 1 Kings 13:1-16
2. The Strategy of Enticement.
- Satan can present to you a common thing in an uncommon way to entice you to take the wrong step and sin against God.
- He made Eve to see the forbidden fruit in a special way to be desired, despite the clear warning from God that they should not eat it. Genesis 3:1-6
- This is the major strategy the Devil uses in making the believers to be enticed with sinful things and then fall into the sin against the will of God. James 1: 12-14
3. The Strategy of Persistence:
- This is when Satan visits you persistently so as to succeed in getting you out of several attempts.
- Jesus was tempted by Satan three times in a day in a bid to get Him down in one of the attempts. Until Jesus commanded him to go away, he was still hopeful that he will succeed against Him. Matthew 4:1-10
- Similarly, there were several attempts against Joseph by Portiphar's wife until he had the opportunity of releasing his clothes and running away.
4. The Strategy of Afflictions:
- Satan do come against the believers with afflictions with the aim of making them to deny God, or look for solutions outside God.
- Everything that happened to Job was from Satan, and all he was looking for was for Job to curse God and deny him before he died. Job endured the afflictions and maintained his relationship with God all through, and the Lord delivered him thereafter. Job 1:1-10, 42: 10
- We are encouraged as believers not to allow anyone or anything or any situation to push us away from God or to make us to deny Him. Romans 8:35-39
5. The Strategy of Pride and Arrogance:
- Satan can fill our hearts with pride and arrogance to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, and to look down on other people because of our position or possession.
- Satan knows that God will always resist the proud, so, he uses this strategy to gain authority over them. James 4:6-7.
- That was his aim when he demanded that Jesus should jump down from the top of the pinnacle with the arrogance of being the Son of God.
2. Unfolding the Story of the Saviour:
- Jesus recovered the authority that Adam gave the Devil. When Jesus came, he came without a sinful nature. He was not born with the seed of a man, and He did not commit any sin as a man.
- Because Jesus had no sin, either inherited or committed, He had authority to cast out demons and was able to rebuke and stop them.
- Jesus was the Seed of the Woman who was to break the head of Satan and who in turn will bruise His heel.
- No one else was able to do this because they were born with Adam’s fallen nature. Luke 4:34-35
- There was a confrontation of two kingdoms. Jesus was a manifestation of dominion and the demonstration of the power of the kingdom of God. Philippians 2:5-11
- We cannot cast out the enemy without taking dominion. When we cast out demons, we are taking dominion over spiritual territories. Every time we cast out spirits and demons, we are taking that dominion and are demonstrating the power of the kingdom of God. Mark 16: 17-18
- Jesus took away the enemy’s right and gave us the right to have dominion and power to overcome Satan. In any war, we must know our rights. As believers of Jesus Christ, we have been given the power and authority.
Hebrews 2:14-15
- Therefore when we receive the free gift of Salvation, we are not only reconciled to God, we are empowered by Him as one of the Kingdom Soldiers to destroy the works and activities of Satan and his kingdom. Colossians 1:13, 2 Timothy 2:4
3. Unravelling The Strength of the Saints:
- One major strength of the Saint is to have understanding of the status of the Devil and to put him where he belongs. We need to understand that:
1. Satan is Deceived
- Satan was deceived by His own wisdom and craftiness, thinking that crucifying the King of Glory is the destruction of the program of God, not knowing that it is the design of God to take over the authority he highjacked from Adam and Eve through subtility. 1 Corinthians 2:7-8
2. Satan is Defeated:
- We must declare the defeat of Satan all the time, by reminding him of the victory of Jesus through the death on the Cross and the resurrection on the third day. Philippians 2:5-11
3. Satan is Dethroned:
- One of the significance of the resurrection of Jesus is the dethronement of Satan and the recovery of authority he gained through the fall of Adam and Eve.
Ephesians 1:20-22
4. Satan's work is Destroyed.
- The purpose of the manifestation of Jesus is to destroy the works of the Devil. This purpose was accomplished on the Cross of Calvary and sealed by the resurrection of Jesus. 1 John 3:8
- The Devil cannot do anything without the consent of men. We need to guard against actions and attitudes that can make the enemy to regain rights in our lives. Some of these include:
1. Disobedience to God:
- When we walk in disobedience to God's clear instructions, we will grieve the Holy Spirit and this will make room for the Devil to regain rights over our lives. 1 Samuel 15:22-23
2. Making Negative Confessions:
- We need an active Faith in our walk with the Lord, and this should affect all areas of our lives including our confessions.
- What we say will come to pass. If you continuously declare that you are sick, the enemy has the right to make you sick. Proverbs 18:21
- Satan is always ready to enforce the words we say that give him legal right. Don’t ever give any place for him to come in. Do not underestimate him, but do not magnify and overestimate him.
- Any teaching that magnifies the works of the Devil must be avoided and rejected. We must always and only magnify the work of Jesus. 1 Peter 5:8-9
3. An unforgiving Spirit:
- When we harbour bitterness and unforgiveness against anyone, we are operating outside the will of God. The Devil can easily recognize this and take advantage of the situation. Matthew 6:14-15
4. An Unconfessed Sin:
- Whenever we cover up and refuse to confess our sins, especially those that the Holy Spirit has convicted us about, the hedge of God around us will be broken and the serpent can bite. Proverbs 28:13
5. An Ungrateful Heart:
- When we are not thankful to the Lord over our situation, but we are murmuring and complaining, we will not be pleasing unto God, and the Devil can hold it as a legal ground. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Conclusion:
- Whenever we discover that the Devil is gaining victory, we must be aware that we have given him the opportunity, and we need to take steps fast, to ensure that we recover our lost authority over him.
- Always check if you have given the enemy any legal right in your life. With any sin that is not confessed, any disobedience or ignorance leads to open doors to the enemy.
- A heartfelt repentance always removes any legal right of the enemy. Check your heart, the things you say, your thoughts and actions.When you repent Jesus washes away your sins and removes any authority the enemy has over you. 1 John 1:9
