I recently taught a message on spiritual warfare at church. In the message, I made a reference to how some Christians become overly devil conscious when they find out there is an invisible spiritual world filled with angels, demons, and the devil himself. While God does want us to be aware that we are in a spiritual war, God doesn’t want us to magnify the devil and make him more powerful that he really is. Take a look at these verses and let me explain:
Exodus 7:1 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
In Exodus, Moses dominated Pharaoh! As the Holy Spirit led, Moses spoke forth plagues that wreaked havoc on Pharaoh and his nation. Pharaoh begged Moses to take the plagues away and then Moses prayed so they were removed. Moses walked in the fulness of the authority and power God gave him and he ruled over Pharaoh! The prophetic word the Lord gave Moses about being Pharaoh’s God on earth came true.
In the Old Testament, Pharaoh is a picture of how the devil attempts to oppress Christians today. He tried to hold down God’s people just like Satan does. If God was speaking Exodus 7:1 to the church today, He would be telling us, “I have made you a God (given you dominion and authority) over the devil. You are the devil’s boss!
In the New Testament, Jesus said to His church in Luke 10:18-19:
18“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 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.
Jesus has given every believer authority over the devil. Satan has fallen like lighting from heaven and is beneath our feet, while we now sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 2:6). Jesus wants us to act with boldness and exercise our authority over the devil the same way Moses did with Pharaoh.
We don’t need to beg God to remove Satan from our circumstances. God has already moved and put the fulness of Christ in us! We need to be bold in our identity in Christ and tell the devil what to do. We are the devil’s boss!
The next time the devil starts wreaking havoc in your life, rebuke him and tell him to go back to the pit of hell where he came from! Then remind him of your love for Jesus and how your future is so bright you have to wear sunglasses to look at it. Make Satan miserable so that he begs you to call of the assault.
I hope this article has encouraged you in your identity in Christ and strengthened you to take authority over the devil. If you would like to learn more about spiritual warfare, check out this recent message I taught at Grace Life Church.
