Good Morning Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Who does Jesus teach us is the “thief” in The Scriptures? Yes, satan. What are the general characteristics of a thief? Deceptive, disruptive, perverted, devourer, plunderer, manipulative, selfish, self-centered, cunning, swindler, liar, cheater, subtle, poser, persuader, predator, divisive, stealer, killer, and destroyer. The Scriptures describe every one of these characteristics in various verses about satan – who is the enemy of the Believer and The Church in the earth. We also know one other major characteristic and attribute of satan. He’s a big-time LOSER who had his butt kicked by Jesus Christ, who was paraded around in hell before his demonic spirits and before the Old Testament Saints in the Bosom of Abraham in subjection to the resurrected, risen Jesus Christ, and who had the keys to hell and death, his power, taken from him by Jesus Christ. What a LOSER! I’m glad his soon-to-be future is the lake of fire, torment, and pain unending for all eternity. Praise God!!
Jesus took satan’s power from him. The ONLY power satan, the devil, has is through deception – illusion. He lies to and tries to manipulate us into believing his lies. However, once satan has us believing his lies, we are bound by him, and he is able to plunder , or spoil, our house. He will continue to plunder our house until we do something about it. You understand the word “house” is a metaphor for our lives.
Luke 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.
I Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Let’s be blunt and to the point. Luke 10:19 is one, among many verses, where Jesus speaks and teaches us of the power we have through Jesus’ finished works and His all-powerful Name. So, what about Luke 10:19 do we not understand? God, through Jesus Christ and His Name, has given us power over satan and all of satan’s kingdom. And NOTHING……what is “nothing?” Just what it says, NOTHING. NOTHING can hurt us – UNLESS we believe satan’s lies and deception – illusion. An illusion is just that, an illusion, until we take it as a truth. Once we do this, satan is in our house and plundering it. Notice I Peter 5:8 substantiates this when it says, “seeking whom he MAY devour.” “MAY” means we have to give satan permission to devour us. Ouch! Larry are you saying satan is able to afflict us only because we give him permission. No, I didn’t say it. God did. This is why God warns us in the start of I Peter 5:8 to “be sober, be vigilant..” Being “sober” is to “make the conscious decision to acknowledge God’s truth and His wisdom above our own or the worlds.” Being “vigilant” is to be “watchful, attentive, observant, alert, on guard, and wide awake to the dangers around us through satan’s lies and deception.”
II Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.
Notice God says we are to ALWAYS triumph in Christ. This is not popular with many Believers. Why? Because it puts all the responsibility on us. WE make the decision whether we are going to triumph in Christ. How? By what we believe, what we speak, and what we receive. Now please don’t be condemned. God didn’t give us His Word to condemn us, He gave it to bless us. We are not perfect like Christ. So, there will be occasions when we may not initially triumph. But, God, in His infinite grace, gives us the ability to kick satan out of our house, through His declared Word, and for us to triumph in this.
Most Believers understand the believing and speaking, but they don’t understand how to receive. You receive by continual thanksgiving, praise, and blessing of and to the Lord God for answering your prayer – whether the decree you have made has physically manifest itself yet or not. Notice what God tells us to do to receive in Philippians 4:8.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Ask yourself, what things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, full of virtue, and full of praise? Yes, The Word of God, Jesus Christ. And, in context, Philippians 4:6 is talking about prayer – about making a decree, being justified by God. So, if you want your prayers, your decrees, answered, decree in faith, and stand through Philippians 4:8 every day until it physically manifests whether it takes an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, or a few years. If you stand in faith about your declaration and praise and thank God continually for having received it, it MUST – HAS TO – SHALL manifest. God loves to and has to honor His Word.
I pray all of your families and you have a blessed and wondrous Thanksgiving. I thank God we live in a country where the first President, George Washington, and the first Congress of the United States went to the Chapel in New York City, which still stands, unharmed, after the 9/11 bombings and aftermath, and dedicated this country, The United States, to God and stated this country and its people would follow the God of Israel, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is why the United States has been the greatest nation EVER in the history of the world. And no matter how hard satan tries to destroy it, God remembers the covenant George Washington and the first Congress made with God. Israel will become the greatest nation EVER as soon as they receive Christ Jesus the Messiah. It is their eternal destiny as spoken by God. God bless the United States, and God bless Israel.
Shalom aleichem b’Shem Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Peace be unto you in the name of Jesus The Messiah),
Larry