DON’T MESS WITH US DEVIL
By Pastor Jim May
One of the marks of a true church and of a true Born Again Child of God is that they have power at their disposal beyond anything that the world can produce or that Hell can gush forth.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus said these words to the disciples before He ascended to sit down at the right hand of the Father, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Mark 16:15-19 gives us this same promise in different terminology, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."
Are you full of the Holy Ghost? Have you been baptized with that special anointing of power from on High? Is the “Dynamo” of the Holy Ghost alive in you?
Salvation is the most wonderful thing there is. To have your sins washed away, and to be adopted into the Family of god, is the miracle of all miracles. But it doesn’t stop there, not for those who want to go on into the deeper things of God.
After salvation, there is another experience in God that we should seek after. I know that much of the denominational church world won’t agree with the Baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. But I know that which I have received and no man can convince me that this isn’t real or that it is of the devil. A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. If most of the church world doesn’t want to accept this free gift from God, then that’s their problem. But for me, I want all that God has for me.
The Holy Ghost fell on the Day of Pentecost in that Upper Room, and 120 Believers were filled with the power of the Holy Ghost at one time. That sparked a revival like the world had never seen and gave Peter and many others, the boldness to speak for God and preach the Word like they had never done before. The power of the Holy Ghost turned fear into faith, and suddenly the gospel was unleashed upon this sinful world with a demonstration of just what the power of God can do through the lives of men and women who are sold out, anointed and full of the Holy Ghost and power.
Even in the early days of the church, the religious leaders rejected and persecuted those who were filled with the Holy Ghost. They tried to throw Christians into prison, kill them with the sword, feed them to the Lions, and rip them apart with wild horses. But every time the religious leaders thought that they had finally succeeded in stopping the voice of one martyr, more would step forward in his place to continue the preaching of the gospel.
God’s Word will not be stopped. Satan tried to stop it from the foundation of the world and yet it came forth in the fullness of time and he failed. The organized religions of Israel even tried to stop it from spreading, even though they were the chosen people of God to bring forth the Messiah, but they couldn’t stop it and the kingdom of God grew even larger and more vocal. All through the different periods of human history, right through the Medieval Age, the Dark Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, the Golden Age, into the Atomic Age and now into the new Digital Age, mankind has tried every way imaginable to discredit, destroy and stop the spread of the gospel. But every time the devil and his servants stomp out the flame in one place, it just springs forth in many more. God’s Word will not fail. The whole world will hear the gospel and every creature will have an opportunity to hear the story of Jesus Christ who died for them.
The devil can’t stop the power of the Holy Ghost and every time he tries, he just causes it to spread quicker. Every time he tries, the power of the Holy Ghost just breaks forth from the man or woman of God that he is trying to stop and it knocks the devil back on his heels one more time. Time, after time the devil keeps coming back for more. He has a death wish and He is making his own wish come true.
It won’t be long, Satan, until you will be locked away forever, never again to step into the life of God’s people and do your evil deeds. Your day is coming and it won’t be long. You may laugh now at the calamity you manage to bring upon God’s people, but “he who laughs last laughs best” and we will have the last laugh on you.
The devil is a defeated foe, and he uses weapons of spiritual warfare against you and I that are outclassed, outdated and ineffective, if we are filled with the power of the Holy Ghost.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."
Did you hear that Satan? The power that God has endued into his people who are saved by the Blood of Jesus, Born Again by the Spirit of God, and filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, is stronger than anything you can pit against us! Are you ready for a whipping – then come on – make my day, but get ready to run because you can’t win!
Don’t mess with us devil – I’m filled with the power of the Holy Ghost and fire, and you will get burned!
Too many Christians put up with too much of the devil hanging around them all the time. Use the Word of God on Him. Command him to leave in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Resist him and he will have to flee.
If we will stay true to God, and live in faith, and stay prayed up and full of the Holy Ghost, then God gives us a promise in Deuteronomy 28:7, "The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways." But beware that you are right with God, because if you try to whip the devil in your own power, there is another verse that reverses what happens. Deuteronomy 28:15, "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…” and Deuteronomy 28:25, "The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth." I know that God was specifically speaking to Israel, but everything He said to them was for our example and we should learn from it.
In the Book of Acts, there were a number of times that the devil tried to stop the gospel from going forth, and time after time, the power of God was manifest, to deliver his people and set them free to keep on preaching. I wonder how much the devil was frustrated as he watched every attempt fail? I know that it frustrated the religious crowd because you can watch their reactions!
In Acts 13:8-11 we can see one instance, "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand."
Don’t mess with us devil. That same Holy Ghost power that was with Paul is with me. Push me too hard and you might be blinded for a while. In fact, I think you are already blind and don’t realize it.
Over in the next chapter, in Acts 14:1-2 we read about another instance of Satan’s attacks. "And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren."
But look at what the power of the Holy Ghost, working through Paul and Barnabas did!
Acts 14:6-10, "They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: And there they preached the gospel. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked."
Devil, don’t mess with us! The Holy Ghost that lives inside of me already knows your evil plans and He has prepared a way of escape for me. Not only that, but you won’t accomplish anything more than to drive me quicker to my next victory over you!
Even when the devil persuaded his bunch of henchmen to stone Paul and leave him for dead the battle wasn’t over! The power of the Holy Ghost in Paul’s life would not be stopped by a few stones! Paul couldn’t be stopped until he had accomplished the work that God had called him to do.
Acts 14:19-22, "And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."
Don’t mess with us devil! Even those times when it may seem that you’ve won the battle, God will raise me up and the gospel will go forth even greater than before. You can’t win, so why don’t you just quit trying! I might be temporarily defeated. I might be knocked down, and maybe even appear to be dead, but the power of the Holy Ghost in me has Resurrection Power and it will give me life and power to fight you one more time.
Over in the 15th chapter of the Book of Acts, the devil rose against the church once again. This time his weapons of spiritual warfare brought a division in the church. The devil stood back and thought, “There I’ve finally stopped that pesky bunch of Christians because even God’s own word says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. They are finally finished!”
But they weren’t finished at all! The anointing power of the Holy Ghost took control of that meeting of Apostles and Disciples and pretty soon they had the mind of Christ and adopted a resolution to solve the issue permanently. From that meeting we see Paul and Barnabas go out to preach the gospel, and after a while, the Holy Ghost decided it was time to really give the devil a black eye. Now there would be two teams because Barnabas would take John Mark and Paul would team up with Silas and away they went in two directions, and now we have double the gospel being preached as before! That set the devil back on his heels one more time!
Don’t mess with us devil! You might try to bring a division in your attempt to stop us but beware! My God is not a God that likes division and subtraction. He loves multiplication and addition. He will turn your plan against you and there will be more, and greater ministry going forth than ever before. Devil, you can’t touch this!
Let me give you one last example. In the Book of Acts, chapter 16, we see the devil trying again to stop the preaching of the gospel. He has Paul and Silas down in the lowest part of the dungeons, locked away in chains and guarded by Rome’s finest soldiers, 16 of them to be exact.
But look at what the power of the Holy Ghost does!
Acts 16:25-31, "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Don’t mess with us devil! You can’t shut us up for long! You can’t keep us bound up and locked up in doubts and fears for long, because we know in whom we believe and we are persuaded that He is able to keep us and give us victory in all situations.
We know how to praise Him! We know how to glorify Him! And our God will inhabit those praises as we send them forth, and it won’t be long until the power of the Holy Ghost will rock your world and you will have to turn us loose, because God’s people will not be stopped! The preaching of the gospel will not be stopped! The Word of God will be fulfilled in us! The power of God in us will not go away and be defeated!
The true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is still alive and well, and filled with the power of the Holy Ghost! The same signs that followed the early church are still evident today. The power of the Holy Ghost is not weaker than it was then. God doesn’t change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, and the Holy Ghost in us is the same Holy Ghost that was in Paul and Silas, and Barnabas, and all of the disciples.
Don’t mess with us devil! You can’t win. You’re a defeated enemy! Though you may walk around like a roaring lion seeking whom you may devour, you’re nothing but a toothless lion without any power over us that we don’t let you have. You can’t cross the bloodline! Jesus has built a hedge of fire around us, the angels of Heaven are watching over us, and the Holy Ghost is inside of us! I almost pity you devil, if you try to mess with us!
We will live in victory! We are made over comers in Christ! We will win in the end! The last chapter of God’s Word has been written. We are the New Testament church, still carrying on the Acts of the Apostles in these last days. We are washed in the Blood of the Lamb, saved by the grace of God, and filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, so don’t mess with us devil!
