Authority

Have you ever dealt with a bully? They seem so tough but once you decide you have had enough and stand up to them it surprises them. They lose that power of intimidation they had over you.

Satan is a bully.

Are you tired of the things that are going on in your city, in your church, in your family? When are we going to stand up and say ENOUGH?

We try to control our circumstances thinking if we just change this or that things will be different. But we are not dealing with the source of our problems. Now, there is nothing wrong with going to doctors when you are sick, or to counselors to help you deal with issues, but there comes a time when all that time and effort give no results except to keep our mind and energy focused on ourselves and our problems.

2 Kings 22 tells us that at the age of 8 Josiah became King of Israel after 54 years of rulers who acted wickedly in God's sight. When he was 26 years old a worker found the scroll of God's Word that had been lost and forgotten by the people for so many years. When Josiah read God's Word he tore his robe in anguish. He said ENOUGH and Josiah cleaned house. He destroyed all the pagan temples and put an end to all the wicked practices that the Kings before him had instituted. He gathered the nation together and read the scroll and proclaimed that the nation would follow the One True God. And God was pleased and told Josiah that as long as he was King in Israel God would not punish the people for all the wrongs they had done. THEN things started to change politically, then Israel started to see victories. Josiah did not go out to make a better nation, he acknowledged God as the One True God and through his changed heart the nation was changed.

We need to give up control of our circumstances to God. Then we need to take back the authority that God has given us over that great bully Satan! In Luke chapter 10 Jesus tells his disciples that they have been given authority in the spiritual realm. That wasn't just for the people then. If you are a disciple of Jesus you have that same authority. You can stand up to the enemy and say ENOUGH!!

But we need to remember we can't do anything in our own power. If we try to fight this battle on our own we will fail. Ephesians 6 reminds us to be strong in the Lord and in His power! This is not about us. It is about God. He is the one we are fighting for. Satan's stategy is to get us so focused on our issues and our problems that our mind is off of God. We need to change our relationship with God, put Him back in the center of our lives where He belongs, then He will release His power through us to fight the enemy.

Whatever is in your life that is holding you back from God needs to go. Whether it is sin or addictions or a wrong view of yourself it needs to go! Satan has planted these lies in our mind in hopes that we might curse God and turn away from Him. Yes he is attacking Christians because he already has control over those who don't know God. Stand up to him, using God's power. Realize that this is a battle and in a battle you must FIGHT!

Be blessed,
Steve