BREAKING THE POWER OF THE DEVIL

One major reason why many Christians are living a life of oppression and defeat in the hand of the devil today is because they do not know their rights and privileges in Christ. They neither know who they are in Christ nor realize their exalted position in Christ.  So, today we are going to look at “BREAKING THE POWER OF THE DEVIL.”

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him (not her); male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:26-28). 

The truth is the fact that the whole earth is groaning under the wicked rule of Satan and his evil cohorts that have held them captive in every facet of life. The world is patiently waiting for salvation, probably looking to God for help. 

He has sent them help already, and that is you!  We are in the day of His power, the season for the manifestation of the sons of God! This is the much awaited time, when saviours shall arise from Zion, and through the many-sided wisdom of God chase the devil back to hell, where he belongs. 

At the beginning, God created man, gave him dominion over all that He has created, and instructed him to subdue them. 

To have dominion means to have the power or right to govern and control; to be in charge. To subdue means to control these things so they will fulfil the will of God.

Man was that powerful until he disobeyed God. He fell as a result of his disobedience to God. He lost the dominion to Satan.

Here is what happened: Originally, God made the earth and everything in it, giving Adam dominion over all the works of His hands (Gen. 1:26-28). In other words, Adam was the god of this world.

But Adam committed high treason, and sold out to Satan, and Satan, through Adam became the god of this world. Adam did not have the moral right to commit treason, but he had the legal right to do so.

Now Satan has the right to be here to be the god of this world until “Adam’s lease” runs out Satan had the right to rule over us until we became new creatures and got into the Body of Christ, as we see in Colossians 1:12-13 saying, “Giving thanks unto the Father…13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son…”

That’s exactly why Satan has no right to rule or dominate any Born-Again believer any longer.

“…God the Father hath quickened (made alive) us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:5-6).

“Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:21).

Therefore, our contact with the devil and his forces should be with the knowledge that Jesus Christ has defeated them, spoilt them, and put them to nought (Col. 2:15). We should deal with the devil and his evil forces with the far above mindset. 

And now that Jesus has dethroned them, we can confidently reign over them. The Bible not only talks about the first man Adam, but also the second man, Jesus Christ who became our Substitute.

In 1 Corinthians 15:45 He is called “the last Adam,” and in verse 47, He is called “the second man.” All that Jesus Christ did, He did for you and I.

We can now boldly dominate the devil because we have regained our authority over him. In Luke 10:19 Jesus said, “Behold, I give unto you power (authority) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

We need to build these truths into our lives by frequently feeding and meditating upon them until they become part of our consciousness.

As Jesus rose from the dead He said, “All power (authority) is given unto Me in heaven and in earth…” (Matt. 28:18).

All the authority that can be exercised on the earth has to be exercised through the Church, because Christ is not here any longer in His physical body. We are the Body of Christ, and Christ has conferred all His authority on the earth to His Body, the Church.

Therefore, problems exist on this earth because we permit them to, in that the Church is not doing anything about the problems.

We are the ones that are supposed to do something about them, but we try to shift all such things over to God, after He has given us all the authority, we need to easily take care of all such situations on earth.

We should understand the authority we have: Whatever the situation is here on earth, we are the ones to take care of it, not God any longer because Jesus has handed over all the authority to do so to the Church.

For instance, you have been praying for your brother’s salvation for so long. And you have been praying saying, “Father, save my brother, IJN.” 

Your prayer sounds good but it is not scriptural, because you have been given all the authority you need to do something about it.

You should do something about it by giving an order, because when a king gives an order, he knows that that order must be carried out. “Where the word of a king is, there is power” (Eccl. 8:4).

How do you do something about your brother that needs to be saved? Your prayer should read, “The Bible says that salvation is for me and my household. Therefore, I break the power of the devil over my brother’s life, and I claim his salvation right now, IJN.”

Is your business suffering? Your prayer should read, “The Bible says that whatsoever I lay my hands on to do shall prosper. Therefore, I break the power of the devil over my business, and I claim progress and prosperity in my business right now, IJN.”

Are you sick? Your prayer should read, “The Bible says that Jesus took my infirmities and bare my sicknesses (Matt. 8:17), and by His stripes I have been made whole (1 Pet. 2:24). Therefore, I break the power of the devil over my health, and I claim my healing right now, IJN.”

Look at how to deal with the devil: As long as Satan can keep you in unbelief, or hold you in the arena of reason, he will defeat you in every battle.

But if you can hold him in the arena of faith and the Spirit, you will defeat him every time he shows up. He will never argue with you about the Name of Jesus – he is afraid of that Name.

The most beautiful way to pray is to demand your rights. Peter, at the Gate Beautiful, did not pray for the lame man, he demanded that he be healed (Acts 3:6).

You are not demanding of God when you demand for your rights; you are demanding of the devil.

In John 14:13-14 Jesus said, “And whatsoever ye shall ask (Gr. demand) in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it.”

Here, Jesus is saying, “…whatsoever ye shall demand as your rights and privileges, in My name...”

This implies that you must know your rights and privileges in Christ.

In John 14:13-14, Jesus was not talking about “prayer,” rather He was talking about “demand.” But in John 16:23-24 Jesus is talking about prayer. Jesus said, “And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

Faith is involved in exercising spiritual authority. Just know that once you speak the word of faith, the devil MUST obey.

There are times when the evil spirits come out immediately when ordered to do so, but if they don’t, when you speak the word of faith, don’t get disturbed about it.

While the faith of many is based on a manifestation, I base my faith completely on what the Word of God says. 

When circumstances don’t change immediately, some people become discouraged and slip back into the natural. They start talking unbelief, and by so doing defeat themselves. They give the devil dominion over them.

Conclusion: Therefore, as a child of God, you have every right to use this power to enforce your authority over the kingdom of darkness.

Watch out for the next edition of the Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG)