JUNE 28

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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1 John 1:7

“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 

Acts 1:8

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Romans 6:6 (Amplified version for clarity)

“We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”

1 Corinthians 1: 25-27

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.   For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.    But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;”

Ephesians 1:19-21  Amplified Version for clarity)

“and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength  which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come.”

Ephesians 6:11 (Amplified Version for clarity)

“ Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.”

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We are reading a book by Corrie ten Boom, with daily recordings she made to broadcast over Trans World Radio.  Her Dutch family  sheltered Jews during the Nazi invasion of Holland.  As a result, she, her sister Betsy and their father were taken to concentration camps in Germany. The Lord did many miracles to allow both Corrie and Betsy to bring the Gospel to the other women in their camp.   Their father was murdered in an extermination camp and Betsy was sick, dying just two weeks before Corrie and the rest were freed.  After her freedom, Corrie traveled the world, telling everyone even in remote areas, about salvation through Christ, besides radio and writing many books.  This one is entitled, “Not I, but Christ.”

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ARE WE POWERLESS AGAINST DEMONS?

The book that can give us the most practical knowledge of demons is the Bible.  At the same time it is the book in which we are taught victory over demons.  In these days in which there is such a big mobilization of evil powers all over the world, it is practical and necessary to know how a child of God, a Christian, should stand against these powers.  We very definitely read that there are two strong weapons available – the blood of Jesus Christ and the authority of His name.

What does “the blood of Jesus Christ” mean?  It points to the finished work on the cross.  When Jesus gave His blood in order to save us from sin – and not only us, but the whole world – He bought us when He died that terrible death and said: 
“It is finished.” (John 19:30).

However, it means much more.  “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”  (1John 1:7).

That means NOW!  We know that Jesus did not only die for us, but that He lives and He still wants to cleanse our hearts with His blood,  if we confess our sins to Him.

The devil is afraid of the blood of Jesus and even of His Word.  That is not surprising!  In the book of Revelation it says:  “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.”  (12:11).

We should never speak to people who are under the direct influence of the devil without first of all asking for the protection and the cover of Jesus’ blood.  We overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

Although we may not understand this, we shall experience that God is serious about His promises, if we act in obedience to His word.  The foolishness of God is so much wiser than the wisdom of the wise.  Only knowledge because of faith can comprehend these things.

We also must remember that the normal and safe position for every believer is to be “crucified with Christ.”

If, in the collision with satanic powers, the children of God appeal to the protection of Jesus’ blood on “uncrucified” flesh, (not born again)  they remain open to the influence of Satan’s spirits.  Speaking about the cleansing and keeping power of the blood and, at the same time, not understanding that being crucified with Christ is inseparably connected with it, means the full redemptive power of Golgotha is misunderstood.

The second strong weapon we have in our hands is the wonderful name of Jesus.  Jesus told us what we can and must do in His name. 

Mark 16:17:

“In My name shall they cast out devils.”  In the name of Jesus, not Christ.  Christ is His title, not His name.  But the name that is above every name is Jesus

The third great source of power we have is the promise of Acts 1:8: 

“You will receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

Then the Lord gave us the big task to go into the whole world and tell all people about His Gospel of Salvation.

 “And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth.”

“But before He gave this big commandment, He said, “You shall  receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

The gifts and the fruit of the Spirit make us strong in the battle against evil powers.  So if we ask ourselves if we are powerless against demons, we can reply with a strong NO.  Jesus Christ’s victory is OUR victory.  On our side are a mighty High Priest and legions of angels.  They that are with us are much stronger than they that are against us.

It is necessary to recognize the enemy before being able to conquer him.  We must be careful about the following, equally bad, though opposite, errors, which our generation can make concerning demons.  One is to believe they don’t exist.  The other one is to believe they exist and to have an unhealthy interest in them.

In his little but powerful book, “the Screwtape Letters,” C.S. Lewis has a demon write to his nephew who is in the world in order to lead men astray.  He says:  “At first you must try to let them believe we don’t exist.  If they know we do exist, then you must cause them to think and talk about us as much as possible.”

Let us not forget that God wants and expects us to be conquerors over the powers of darkness, not only because of our personal victory or the setting free of others from the bondage of Satan – although these things are very important – but to the glory of God, in order that His triumphs over His enemies may be made manifest.  It is important that we should take the right position. 

The Bible tells us:  that we must be IN Christ, “above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion.  (Ephesians 1:21) that we are called to “resist the devil” (James 4:7); that we must  “put on the whole armor of God”(Ephesians 6:11); that we must resist the devil in the power of Jesus’ blood, by faith, prayer, and sometimes fasting.

Jesus cast out demons, and He commands His disciples to do the same.  That is what He expects from us.  In the book of Acts we read how the disciples used the authority given to them by casting out demons.  In this way they glorified the name of Jesus.

We must never forget that God’s Word holds good forever and that His commandments mean to us exactly the same now as they did two thousand years ago for the disciples.  Those who act according to them in obedience shall receive God’s almighty power in the same way.  Be strong, not in yourself, but in God, in the power of His limitless majesty.  Put on the whole armor in order that you may be able to withstand all satanic methods of attack.  Because (as I presume you will have understood by now) our battle is not against some physical enemy, but against spiritual powers ruling this dark world, and against the messengers of the devil’s headquarters itself.  “For this you need the whole armor in order to be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Jesus WAS victor ~  Jesus IS victor ~ and Jesus WILL BE victor!

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that we do not need to fear, although the powers of the enemy are strong and manifold.  Will you open our eyes that we may see what great task we have in this dark world, and how we can conquer?  Please forgive us when we live as weaklings, when we can be strong and rich because of Your many promises that are true.  Thank you that You Yourself will make us strong in you.

Hallelujah!  Amen.

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