October 30, 2008

• Overcoming Evil

  Overcoming Evil
  By Barry and Kristen Kramer (my husband and I)

  Halloween is a high day in Pagan worship. The occult is becoming increasingly popular in media and entertainment but at the same time moving away from the belief in a literal devil. Witchcraft is glamorized and glorified (Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Horoscopes, music, video games).

  I could keep going. Is this harmless fun? Or is the devil active behind these things?

  The devil is a real spirit being with a lot of power. His primary tool is deception. Making people believe he doesn’t exist or that it is all harmless fun.

  2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

  We need to be discerning. Devil goes by many names: Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Serpent, Deceiver, Accuser of the brethren, Father of lies, Prince of this world,Dragon, Thief.

  1/3 of the angels in heaven joined Satan in his rebellion. They are demons.

  Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
  Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
  Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
  Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

  Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
  Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
  Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

  Behind pain, terror, murder, rape, war, porn, etc is Satan and the demons. Satan wants to destroy all God created. All that God called good.

  The devil came to kill, steal and destroy.

  His goal is to discredit Christians and the Gospel. He tries to disarm us so that we are helpless and not a threat. He tries to defeat us and make us lukewarm. The bible warns us not to play with the devil’s things (plam reading, tarot cards, Ouija board, psychics, etc).

  1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

  When we are aware evil is lurking we need to be on guard. There is a lion out there. He is the devil and he is after your children. THE DEVIL IS AFTER YOUR CHILDREN!!!! He is evil and he wants your children. He doesn’t play fair. He is going after them now. He wont wait until they are 16. He will try for them at 6, 10 etc. WAKE UP!!!! This is reality. Take precautions. God gives a strong warning.

  Deu 18:10  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
  Deu 18:11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
  Deu 18:12  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

  God destroyed entire nations because of their occult practices. We are to stay away from all occult no matter how harmless it may seem.

  God didn’t leave us to fight the devil on our own. He sent Jesus. Jesus came to defeat the devil. Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin. When Jesus died on the cross Satan was defeated. We can resist Satan in Jesus name.

  1Jo 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

  Satan is not equal to God. God is almighty. Satan is not. Satan was made by God. Satan can only be in one place at a time. Then there are demons that are places too. There are a lot of them but God has 2 angels for every 1 demon. Satan doesn’t know everything. He is desperate. He knows that his time is short. The devil has already lost.

  Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

  Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

  The good news is we can enjoy heaven and the devil can’t stop us us. We don’t need to live in fear of the devil.

  How do we overcome the devil? How do we live in victory?

  1. Accept Jesus as you Lord and Savior.
  All those outside of Christ legally belong to the devil. They are the devils property because of sin. If you die and are outside of Christ then Satan claims your soul.

  Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
  Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins

  We have been bought. We were rescued by Jesus. Whoever calls on Jesus has the right to be a child of God. It doesn’t matter how bad you were. You have the right to accept Jesus. The devil can’t stop you. If you don’t give your life to Jesus you soul belongs to the devil.

  Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

  2. Submit yourself to God.

  Jam 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

  If we resist he will flee. To many Christians are compromising instead of resisting. To many play around the edge. RESIST the devil.

  3. Overcome the devil by using the name of Jesus.

  Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
  Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
  Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

  Devil in the name of Jesus stop. We can stand in the name of Jesus. You have God standing behind you. You have the power. In Jesus Name I take my stand. The spirit relm will take notice. The devil recognizes this power. He recognizes that you have the whole kingdom of God standing behind you. Does the devil know who you are? The devil knows those in Christ and recognizes God’s power in you. We have authority over the devil. Authority to enforce God’s will on the earth. God uses us to enforce His will. In Jesus name we need not fear the devil.  The devil fears us because he knows who is standing behind us.

  4. Use the weapon of scripture against the devil.

  Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

  There is authority and power in the word of God.
  Jesus used scripture to rebuke Satan.
  The bible says this…
  God says …….

  5. Put on the whole armor of God

   Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
  Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

  There is a battle going on. Our fight isn’t against people. We are in a war. It isn’t the flesh. It is spiritual. It is a War. WAKE UP!! It is a spiritual war.

  6. Overcome the devil with a good testimony.

  Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

  Sin gives the devil a doorway in your life. If there is a demon there, there is a reason. Repent of the works of darkness and sin in your life.

  7. Overcome evil by doing good.

  Move in the opposite direction of the devil. If someone curses you respond kindly.

  Rom 12:21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

  Respond like Jesus would.

  The spirit realm is real. Satan is real. We need to walk in victory. Jesus paid the price. Victory over the devil through Jesus. Drug addict and alcoholics can be set free through Jesus.

  Pray for your children. Pray in the name of Jesus that God would protect them. Greater is He who is in us then he who is in the world.

  The reality is that if you are not yet a Christian. If you have not accepted Christ. Have not surrendered you life to the Lord, then you are property of Satan and your soul belongs to him.

  Please surrender your life to the Lord. This is real. This wont go away after Halloween. This is true everyday.

  • 9:32 am
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