VICTORIOUS LIVING IN THE END-TIME AGE OF DEATH 24 AUGUST 2019

I frequently see people make problems more complicated & difficult than they need to be, while ignoring simple, easier, Holy-Spirit solutions. Many times we Christians simply need to stand the moral, spiritual high ground, to stand in Christ’s victory over evil, & to use our jurisdictional authority in Christ to cause the enemy to flee. (A) God wants us to understand spiritual powers. (B) He commands us to “be strong in the Lord & the power of his might”(C) May the Holy Spirit use these words to inspire you. May the power & authority which Christ offers us be yours.

BE OF GOOD CHEER, CHRIST OVERCAME. Christ overcame the world & He tells us therefore to be of good cheer. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”(D). Like on a boat in the Sea of Galilee, when the disciples had to deal with a terrific storm. The storm was not a chastisement for sin, (although they had made the choice to sail); & God, in line with ROM 8:28, did bring good out of it.

When Satan confronted Christ in the wilderness immediately after his baptism, Christ simply stood the spiritual high ground & quoted scripture to defeat Satan. Christ said all power (which included all authority) was given him (E), and that we believers would do greater works than He did (F). We are told we can do all things in Christ (G) who is the power and wisdom of God (H). We are reminded of “the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe” (I).

Christ said that in spite of tribulations in this world, we should be of good cheer. If we have problems, it makes no sense to lose our faith & get depressed, which merely adds to our problems. A good example of faith in the middle of a storm is Paul who faced shipwreck & death. Paul convinced all aboard to be of good cheer (as he was) even though the situation was such that normal people would be terrified (J). Christ provides us the means to rise above tribulation, but Christians (unlike Paul) rarely use His power & often exacerbate a bad situation.

THE PROBLEM. Many Christians don’t feel victorious, they are depressed with broken spirits, which cripples their spiritual walk (K). How can one be pure in heart if one wallows in depression, enslaved by a spirit of depression, which is a lack of faith & self-centeredness. The Holy Spirit was sent when Christ left, so we could have God’s wisdom, great authority over evil, & an eternal life union with our Creator, the King of Kings.

Many Christians are not aware of evil spirits, & not aware of Christ’s jurisdictional power, their identity in Christ, which, as co-rulers, makes them God’s royalty (L). Until Christ came & showed authority over evil spirits, godly people had not been taking authority over demons (M). But Christ taught them, “In my name…[you] will cast out demons” (N). Some people are enticed by colorful apostates wielding religious props & deceitful drama. They embrace Christian religion rather then Christ’s governing authority & majesty.

THE SOLUTION. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty (O). Paul made some powerful prayers that the Ephesian believers would grasp the power & authority that was theirs as believers. (2 prayers are EPH 1:18 and EPH 3:14-21). As the Word says at EPH 6:10 “be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.” We are seated with Christ (P) as co-rulers. Remember the “exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe” (Q).

AN EXAMPLE. We are delivered from Satan’s dominion & authority (R). And given the authority to overcome all evil darkness (S). How does our authority in Christ work? “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (T). “Moreover it’s required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (U). Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (V). Unfortunately, Christians don’t have many good examples of believers using Christ’s authority & power.

A leftover from my old man before giving my life to Christ was depression. When I realized what a terrible sin this was (a lack of faith, self-centeredness, selfishness), I in turn felt terrible for sinning & asked God to remove the Spirit of Depression. Freeing myself from this spirit was that simple. The enemy did flee. However, I then had the responsibility not to allow Spirits of Depression back in. This meant I had to make the choice to have faith & not depression in every circumstance where before I chose depression. Taking jurisdictional authority is that easy. Christians often give lip service to God being all powerful & Christ being the Lord of Lords, but then fail to act on that. The enemy uses deception to hide the fact he’s a usurper, a squatter, & a thief . (W).

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (X) It promises us that the whole armour (faith, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, & the Word of God acting as a sword) will prevail over the enemy. Fundamentally, our battles are spiritual, although we may misperceive them as carnal. I have witnessed men of faith disarm their physical enemies by using their spiritual weapons. I challenge believers to discover the power, authority, & jurisdiction of Christ.

REFERENCES: (A) cf. JAS 4:7 (B) EPH 3:10 (C) EPH 6:10 (D) JN 16:33 (E) MT 28:18 (F) JN 14:12 (G) PHIL 4:13 (H) 1 COR 1:24 (I) EPH 1:19 (J) ACTS 27 (K) cf. PRV 15:18, 17:22 (L) 2 TIM 2:12, REV 1:6, 2:27, 5:10, 1 COR 4:8, REV 3:21, 5:10, 11:12, PS 91:14 (M) for ex. MK 11:27 (N) MK 17:17-18 (O) 2 COR 10:14 (P) EPH 1:21 (Q) EPH 1:19 (R) COL 1:13 (S) LK 10:19 (T) 1COR 3:11 (U) 1COR 4:2 (V) 2 COR 10:5 (W) cf. 1 JN 3:8, 2 COR 4:4, JN 8:44 (X) EPH 6:11