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"Our Dominion Over Darkness"
Colossians 1:13 (KJV)
"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:"
Obviously, it is Christ Jesus our Savior who has abundantly redeemed us from the forces of all darkness. Many times I have taken it for granted and assumed that everyone should know these truths as a believer. Unfortunately, how wrong that assessment has been. If you watch and listen to the many lives that profess to be a Christian today, you will discover that they do not have this revelation at all. They may voice it in theory as to knowing it, but lack the consistency of it working in their life. This is the same as there is a big difference in saying you are a Christian, and being one.
This weeks devotional will look into the various levels of authority and their power within the overall design that God originally made things in the beginning; whether they be principalities, dominions, or thrones. Our reason for studying this is not to elevate the devil in any sense of the word, but rather to reveal his origin and his diabolical schemes, so as to empower the believer over Satan through what they have received in Christ. Imagine how successful a believer could advance over their adversary if they knew exactly what made the devil tick. Consider the huge advantage of the average Christian if they understood precisely the devils motives. Could that informed believer conqueror their enemies in all conflicts that he assailed against them? I believe whole heartily that that Christian would greatly spoil the devil and his future plans if they knew his agenda. Now, think about this as you consider the full magnitude of terror that the devil must feel over the prospect of some child of God receiving the revelation about his complete defeat at calvary. I tell you, he is terrified of the very thought of that happening. Therefore, this is the reason that I brought forth this teaching that I shared with my congregation this past Sunday morning, and now in this periodical to my many readers around the world. My hope is to trigger this truth that promises to empower every believer who may have been lacking in this beneficial knowledge. If should by chance you already be well schooled in these things that I am about to share, then at least allow them to refresh once again in your memory, so as to recall that you are rock solid and nothing can penetrate your position in Christ. Let's look at some Scriptures, and lay this foundational truth through which we can successfully fortify our divine position in Christ, and therefore, dominate our
adversary and his evil schemes at all times.
Colossians 1:16-17 (KJV)
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
I start off with this Scripture to show undeniably that our Lord Jesus Christ is the supreme authority over every level of powers that exist. Why? It is because He made them, therefore, He set them in their place and they cannot go beyond the perimeters for which they were created to do or contribute to His purposes. The moon stays where He told it to stay, and that is why it is still there today. The stars above remain even now because He spoke them to be there and serve their intended purpose. Everything that God made has an authoritative level by which it governs, rules, or operates from. This is highly important to know and get embedded within your understanding, so whenever God speaks within His Word that you can do all things, there will be no
reason to believe that it is not so. You can't have Christ in you and not have fully what He is in you. This is especially comforting to know when I recall in the Word that the devil is under my feet, and he is not the super self-imposed god that the devil wants to be over me.
Ephesians 6:11-12 (KJV)
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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.
I have spoke over the last few weeks that we as Christians are wearing something wonderful. Therefore, if we are wearing this wonderful brilliance of glory [Christ in us] then people ought to be able to see it. Here we just read that we are to put on the whole armor of God. Why? That you and I may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. That word "wiles" is where we get our word, methods. When I look at this properly I will see clearly that by putting on the whole armor of God it enables me to stand against the methods of the devil. Notice that this passage of Scripture does not say, "So you can stand against the devil." There is simply no need to do this because Jesus Christ our Lord defeated him and redeemed us from all the forces of darkness. It is his schemes and methods that we must be aware of. We are enlightened through the revelation that the Holy Spirit imparts to us from the Word, therefore, we reflect that same brilliance of light because we are of that same Light when it abides in us. This is the proper perspective that all believers in Christ should have. Our passage goes on to say that we do not wrestle against uncle Bob, or aunt Darla, or your spouse; but rather against the various levels of authorities mentioned in verse 12. Our adversary the devil is very predictable and when we understand his motives and what makes him tick, then we have the unstoppable power to shut him down. Why? Because greater is He that is in you, then he that is in the world. Now, let's enlarge our understanding about some of the compulsive and destructive characteristics about our adversary, the devil.
Ezekiel 28:14-19 (KJV)
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
There are many Christians who believe that God created iniquity because He created Satan. Yet, it is a faithful position to assert this truth with all confidence and is confirmed throughout the Word, that God cannot make anything imperfect when it remains in its original design. This is the key to understand the origin of iniquity: all of God's created intelligent beings, whether humans, angels, and other celestial creatures have been given the ability of choice or a will. Therefore, iniquity is the work of an evil outsider who comes along to force a perversion of the perfect and original state, and therefore, the creator cannot be attributed to being the designer of such imperfect flaws, when in fact He Himself, is perfect. He is God! The imperfect evolvements out of what was originally God's perfect creation, is simply the perversion of those created things as they become influenced by the devil and all of his works of corruption.
As we continue to read this passage we will find out what went wrong with this created being that was once called, Lucifer. It was through the multitude of merchandise that filled him with violence. In other words, he just couldn't be satisfied with the possessions that God put under his authority, so he betrayed himself and his original design by usurping influence over the third of the angels to obtain more; nor could he keep from elevating his own beauty to the point that it corrupted his wisdom that he would presume that he could take God's place. Essentially, what Satan did was he polluted the sanctuaries of God with self-absorbing methods that drew all things unto himself and for his own glory, thus increasing his iniquity. In contrast to this, have you noticed that it is the love of money that is the root of all evil according to Scripture? This lustful spirit comes out of our adversary the devil, it is his corrupted nature. This is something for us to think about the next time we decide to will and deal for better things in life for ourselves at the expense of someone else. We can see many characteristics of the devil working in the lives of people around us, for he has influenced their minds by blinding them to the truth. Now, let's look at a few passages from the book of revelations.
Revelation 12:7-11 (KJV)
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
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.
The important thing that I want you to learn out of this passage is that our adversary the devil does not have the ear of God like we see him in the book of Job. When iniquity was found in Lucifer a war broke out in heaven. Here we find God's arch angel Michael and his angels fighting against Lucifer and the third of the angels that he drug down with him. Yet, as we continue to read this account, we see that he did not prevail against the arch angel Michael and his angels. They were in fact, evicted from heaven and cast into the earth. Now, I know this seems like a mistake on God's part to loose him and his despicable angels among the people of the earth; but on the other hand, we all have a "will of our own," and we can choose who it is that we will serve. The good news to all of this is though we were once tricked through his many methods of destruction within our lives and were always captive through our ignorance, is that verse 10, reveals that salvation was sent to our rescue, and it came with strength, with the fullness of the kingdom backing it, and with the power of His Christ. Glory to the King! Therefore, the Word states that the accuser of the brethren has been cast down [defeated, whooped, beaten, impeached, and any other adjective that you want to insert here to reveal his utter annihilation]. This is how we overcome him: by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony [faith never grows beyond your confession]; and that you do not love your life enough that you would betray your allegiance to Him, even unto death.
Isaiah 14:12-17 (KJV)
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!
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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
In verse 12, we see the name that God gave Lucifer in the beginning of his creation, which meant, "son of the morning," until iniquity was found in him that is. Then it was from this point on, that you will never again find in God's Word, him being referred to as, Lucifer. He was stripped of this original legal name or title, and renamed because of all of his many iniquities that nullified his original identity. Thus, he is called "father of lies, devil, dragon, serpent, adder, Satan, scorpion, and the many other names of destruction found in the Bible." This is why he hates you so much, because you have in you what he can never have again. The devil needs you and me in order to try and get back into that place of authority that he once had. But, it will be to no avail, simply because it does not belong to him nor can it ever. Therefore, all your adversary has is his "methods" which he uses to tear down and deceive the leaders of nations and its people. The apostle Paul wrote in one of his epistles to the church that we are not to be ignorant of the devil's devices. We are to be informed and not clueless to his devices, as we often find so many Christian's demonstrate that they are without understanding. The neglecting of knowing the Word of God personally, and confessing it when your adversary comes to steal something that belongs to you is a major problem among the brethren of Christ.
I would like to apologize for the often lengthiness of my weekly devotionals, especially when so many have written me over time and suggested that I shorten them because they simply do not have the time to read something so detailed; yet, I just can't bring myself to do so; because "time" is a choice that we decide how to allocate things based on what is important to us. The "Truth" is so important to me that I must tell it even when it wearies some folks, even when it infringes upon their busy lifestyles. When death comes calling, none of those other things will matter anyway will they? When, and should calamity come knocking on your door, do you still think that you will place the importance of keeping your day planner? God's people are suffering needlessly, and my heart breaks over it, because I see what many of them place as important in their life at the expense of spiritual things which will bring no remedy should they face their adversary. Because of this unpreparedness, he will catch them distracted spiritually, enabling him to deceive them. Friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. Take the time to know what you have completely right now in Christ by reading the Word; and then be willing to leave all other things that you might find interferes are competes for His affection, and weakens your willingness to be obedient to Him.
The truth is, we have dominion over darkness not based on theory, but by aggressively living in the truth of God's Word and spoiling the adversary and his objectives because of knowing who you are in Christ. One might think that we can't possibly know the mind of God because of what the Old Testament said, "my thoughts aren't your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways." But the mind that has been spiritually renewed in the Word of God can and will have an unction from the Holy One and they will know all things! We are commanded to put on the mind of Christ. We are instructed to let this mind which was in Christ be in us, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God. I can honestly say, darkness is still ruling over many of my fellow brethren in Christ because they are clueless to who they are. I pray that you will draw closer to Him, and that these words today will fill you with great desire to pursue Him, the hope of glory. Your adversary the devil has been defeated completely! All he has left is his methods to deceive. God gave us His thoughts and put them in a book and called it the Bible. If we dare to live deeply in what it says, and confess it, and live it, where it can be seen outwardly every day; you will experience, that darkness cannot prevail where light abides. Is the Word abiding in you? Are you abiding in it? Then ask what you will and it will be done on your behalf. I appreciate all of you that give me this privilege of speaking God's Word to your heart. I assure you, this pastor loves you very much and does not take that for granted. Yet, it does not compare to the love God has for you. Be blessed and know that you are loaded with God's best, His Christ, to the world. Amen!
* This devotional is excerpts from a message by Pastor Tommy Morgan on 9/15/2009. If you would like to receive this teaching in its full content on DVD please write us at: P.O. Box 2290 Rowlett, Texas 75030 or email us at admin@potterswheel.org The cost of our teaching DVD's are $5.00 each. |
