God’s Plan: Defeating Satan! Part Two

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Today’s Fresh Manna is the continuation of Part One: God’s Plan from the Beginning: Defeating Satan! Click here: If you haven’t had the chance to read it, please start there! Thanks!

When Jesus would come to minister to someone possessed with a devil, something would happen. The demons would cry out with fear. You see it in Matthew 8:29 (NKJV) “And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Satan and his demons know there is an appointed time for their appointment with Hell.

As a Christian, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You represent Jesus in the earth. When you put up a fight and stand in the authority of the name of Jesus, and when you resist and rebuke demonic forces from attacking your life, then your position of faith, confidence, and spiritual strength grows. You progressively become a spiritual prizefighter. You were never meant to be a doormat for Satan to wipe His feet on. You are to “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The greek word for “resist” means: to stand against, oppose, resist, or “to stand against.” As you put up that fight, you especially need to cast out wrong thoughts and feelings that are contrary to God’s Word—feelings that steal your faith, your peace, and your trust in God’s love and promises to you! Feelings are great when they respond to the truth of God’s Word, but when feelings are steered by the discouragement from demonic attacks, it’s time to take authority over them.

I remember some years ago we entered into a fight in the spirit over our granddaughter’s life. There were many rounds in this fight. It was time for me to step into the ring, resist, and use my authority in Christ. Want a play-by-play from ringside? It usually went something like this.

Okay devil, you want a fight? A fight you’re going to get! First of all, let’s get something straight. You aren’t having my granddaughter. She belongs to us, not you. My daughter and son-in-law have always honored God, their parents, and live for Him. Because they have, the promise of God’s Word says “all will go well with them.” Did you get that devil? All will go well with them! You are not my God. You are a liar and Jesus said you are the father of all lies! So, listening to you is pointless.

Secondly, you are not a credible source of information because you are a liar. You try to pick out all of our faults to disqualify us from blessing, but the truth is, our sins have been washed away. Jesus sees me as His righteous. But you devil—you will spend all your days in the lake of fire! That’s your destiny—not any of ours. We will spend all our days with Jesus praising Him in the company of those angels that were smart enough to follow God instead of you.

Thirdly, we’ve been adopted by God and made His child. We’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit and we have authority over you. God says our weapons against you are mighty. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So devil, with these mighty weapons, I cast you down and out! I know you are a thief but Psalms 35:10 says, God rescues those who rob from me. So devil, my God who rescues me from every attack too strong for me! Madeline will live and not die. Psalm 139:14 says that she was “reverently and wonderfully made!” I know His angels are here to help us because Psalms 34:7 says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who reverence Him, and He delivers them.”

There’s nothing like exercising your authority in Christ. It fills you with God’s Spirit declaring the promises of God’s word in a battle. It stirs your emotions toward the goodness of God. It builds your faith. Jesus defeated Satan in the desert with the truth of God’s Word. Satan would try to tempt Him but Jesus would step into the ring and say, “It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4) After Satan was defeated, verse 13 says, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.” Satan will give up for a while but he’ll be back so we have to stay ready and armed with God’s word. After Jesus defeated Satan in the desert, and Satan left, it says, then… “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.” Do you want to return in the power of God’s Spirit? There is nothing to refresh you like winning a good fight against the devil. This is how to have victory over discouragement. You resist Satan with the promises of God’s Word. You pray them! You say them! You keep them firmly in your heart! Do so and the bonus will be, you become refreshed and empowered in the Spirit. Step in the ring and try it for yourself today! Make it your daily workout! Praise God and defeat the devil.

Oh and of course you would want to know. They doctors gave my granddaughter no chance of living more than an hour at birth. Today, she’s a beautiful and sweet young woman now 18 years old and visiting us from Peru where her family are missionaries! Glory to God!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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