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THE LAWS OF BIBLICAL PROSPERITY
Part Forty Eight - The Requirement of Resisting the Adversary
Volume XI Number 13 September 26, 2008

In this issue

Links to FREE Articles

A Lightly Regarded Enemy

The God of This World

Reasserting Our Dominion

Understanding Our Authority in Christ

Some Final Thoughts

Sinners' Prayer

Prayer Requests

Donations

Questions and Suggestions


 

Links to FREE Articles


Links to Special Financial Services















"Owe no man anything..."
-Romans 13:8














"...the borrower becomes the lender's slave."
-Proverbs 22:7















"...the righteous man shall live by faith."
-Romans 1:17















"...without faith it is impossible to please Him."
-Hebrews 11:6















"No one can serve two masters..."
-Matthew 6:24















"The Lord will make you abound in prosperity..."
-Deuteronomy 25:11















"...God loves a cheerful giver."
-2 Corinthians 9:7















"...the Lord... is giving you power to make wealth..."
-Deuteronomy 8:18

















Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus!

Biblical prosperity is the state of total well being where God is meeting all your needs: spirit, soul and body.

The Bible says in John 10:10 that Jesus came so we could have life in abundance. Abundance means to have an excess, a surplus, more than enough. In other words, the Plan of God is that we're to receive more than what we actually need for ourselves in every area of life: spirit, soul and body. And He has a purpose for the excess: we're to use it to bless others and to build the Kingdom of God. In sum, the Lord wants Believers through faith in Christ to have an overflowing blessing so there'll be nothing missing and nothing broken in any area of life PLUS a surplus to be used to accomplish His plans and purposes.

Unfortunately though many Believers, probably most, aren't currently manifesting the fullness of Christ's abundant life and through this series on biblical prosperity, PLN has been bringing out for your consideration some of the key reasons we fall short. In essence we've said that as we see it, there're at least three main factors that obstruct abundant life in the Body of Christ:

  • Ignorance of the Word
  • Failure to apply the principles (or Laws) of life that are contained there
  • Complacency and dullness in spiritual matters

As we compare ourselves to these shortcomings, we need to consider the fact that Believers are faced with an adversary who's actively working overtime to make these negative factors dominate our lives. That adversary is Satan and his agenda is to have us CUT OURSELVES OFF from the biblical prosperity God intends for us to have. The truth is the devil by himself no longer has the power, the authority or the ability to cut Believers off from our inheritance because of what Jesus accomplished at the Cross of Calvary. Satan is a defeated enemy and is unable to successfully obstruct the flow of God's favor and blessing to Believers UNLESS WE ALLOW HIM TO DO IT.

But the reality of our times is that these three factors ARE prevalent, indeed they PREVAIL, throughout the Body of Christ and severely hinder the flow of God's abundance. How does this happen? And why do Believers allow it to happen? And what MUST be done about it so the Blessing and favor of God can flow through and provide the finances that are needed to accomplish His purposes?


  • A Lightly Regarded Enemy
  • The first condition to be dealt with is that many Christians tend to ignore that Satan is even a concern. They know that his name comes up in the Bible and maybe they know he tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13). But Satan has convinced a significant portion of the Church today that he's either not real or that he shouldn't be of any particular concern. Certainly we would expect folks in the World to think that way but many Believers have taken up the same thought structure because they're so closely associated with the World. So we need to go back and revalidate scripturally that Satan is still an adversary that Believers need to contend with.

    Now hopefully you'll remember from the previous issue of PLN that biblically speaking THE WORLD is a system of life that flows out of man's fallen nature and is based on the Flesh and the five physical senses. It's occupied and loved by the people who have chosen to follow a substitute for the Lordship of Jesus Christ and for the most part it reflects the values and preferences of non-believers. THE WORLD SYSTEM is based on self-interest and unrighteousness and manifests principles of life that are the exact opposites of what we find in the Word of God. And most importantly, according to the Bible Satan is the god, the ruler, of this WORLD SYSTEM (2 Corinthians 4:4) and it's totally under his power and authority (1 John 5:19). For more information about THE WORLD SYSTEM, please request a FREE copy of Part 47 of this series, THE REQUIREMENT OF RESISTING THE WORLD.

    The Bible tells us in John 10:10 that "the thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy." Jesus is quoted in red letters as having said those exact words and there isn't any place in scripture where it says that the devil ever decided to stop doing those things. He's still doing them in his capacity as Ruler of THE WORLD SYSTEM and he's still affecting the lives of many precious Believers because they're complacent and passive in dealing with this REAL adversary. Following are some of the powers he retains according to scripture:

    • He is Prince/Ruler of this World (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 5:19).
    • He has the ability to tempt us (Matthew 4:3 and 1 Corinthians 7:5).
    • He can influence our flesh through the World (1 John 2:15-16).
    • He can influence our minds through the flesh and the World (1 Corinthians 7:5).
    • He works to separate us from the Word of God (Mark 4:3-8 and 13-20).
    • He can send trials and tribulations to afflict us (2 Corinthians 12:7).
    • He can send the World to persecute us (Revelation 2:9).
    • He inflicts disease (Job 2:7).
    • He can lie to us and try to deceive us (John 8:44 and Revelation 12:9).
    • He can appear to us in disguise as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
    • He is the administrator of the Curse and causes it to manifest in the World System and we know this because Jesus has redeemed Believers from the Curse (Galatians 3:13- 14).

    In sum, no matter how complacent and passive Believers want to be about it, Satan remains on the earth as a powerful adversary for the Body of Christ. There is the Kingdom of God and there is the Kingdom of Darkness and they are both contending for control of the earth. But if Jesus defeated Satan when He was raised from the dead 2,000 years ago, how is it possible that he is regarded by scripture as the god of this World (2 Corinthians 4:4)? And how does that affect the Kingdom of God and individual Believers within the Kingdom?

  • The God of This World
  • As discussed in recent issues of PLN, after God created the earth and all its contents and inhabitants, He gave the Man in the Garden DOMINION over everything on the earth (Genesis 1:28). DOMINION means to rule and reign over something. In other words God delegated His authority over the earth to Mankind who He created in His own image (Genesis 1:27). At that point the Bible says God RESTED from all His work (Genesis 2:3), indeed He actually CEASED from His own works (Hebrews 4:4), leaving to the Man the responsibility of carrying out his assignment to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28).

    In time the man and woman sinned, they became separated from the presence of the Lord (Genesis 3:8) and as a result God's delegated authority was passed to Satan by default. Thus, the devil REPLACED Adam as ruler of the earth and became the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). So because of sin, control of the earth was lost to Satan and the new ruler was free to establish his own unrighteous ways of doing things which we call THE WORLD. For approximately 4,000 years from the sin and abdication of Adam and Eve until the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Satan ruled the earth by conquest through his WORLD SYSTEM with all of the power and authority that God had originally given to Adam (Genesis 1:28).

    Could the Lord God, the One with the real power and authority, have kicked the devil off the planet at any time if He had wanted to? Of course but He chose not to dispose of Satan so He wouldn't violate His own Word that originally delegated His authority over the earth to mankind. In other words, He chose to bind Himself to His own COVENANT of delegated authority until men could LEGALLY reassert their dominion as the true kings and priests of the earth (Revelations 1:6).

    And so at exactly the right moment in history, Jesus came to earth by being born to a virgin, died on the Cross of Calvary and rose from the dead on the third day to make it possible for men to begin the process of regaining their lost property. The result is that by faith in Christ, mankind has regained dominion over the earth. In other words, Believers are once again the legal rulers of the earth even if many of us are too dull spiritually to be aware of it. Satan is still the "god of this world" but the World no longer has the title deed for the earth; now it's the Kingdom of God that has the title deed and exercises dominion through the Church of Jesus Christ. Yes, the WORLD is still present on the earth and the devil is also present; but the Kingdom of God through Christ has established its presence on the earth and is moving steadily forward toward filling, subduing and ruling the entire planet in accordance with the Lord's original instructions (Genesis 1:28).

    Many would ask today: why is the devil allowed to stay on the earth if he's a defeated enemy? The Bible says that Satan remains on the earth in order to blind the minds of unbelievers (the lost) so they can't see the light of the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). Secondly, Satan's continued presence provides the alternative to Christ that prospective new Believers must consider in exercising their free will to choose between life and death (Acts 26:18). But thirdly, the truth is that the Church has been slow to understand and exercise the authority it's been given to reassert the dominion of Man on the earth. The combined result of these three factors is that the "god of this world" doesn't really accept that he's defeated so he continues to try to obstruct the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

    It's time for Believers and the Church to wake up to the ongoing confrontation of this adversary and then get serious about defending ourselves and the Kingdom of God from his continuous attacks. When we finally do this, when we finally actually USE the authority we've been given, the Blessing and favor of God can be released to bring the victory of Christ to our homes and to our families and to our churches and to our health and to our finances, all around the entire earth. And in due season Jesus will return to put the finishing touches on the job of re-establishing His Kingdom (Revelation 19:15-16 and 20:2-3).

  • Reasserting Our Dominion
  • While we wait for Him to return, it's God's intention that we participate in recovering what Adam lost by building HIs Kingdom and by RESISTING the enemy's efforts to draw us back into the World. Believers may have to live physically IN close proximity to the World but we're not OF it (John 15:19); we're no longer subject to the devil's rule unless we allow ourselves to come under it through sin or by failing to RESIST him. You need to know today that the devil will aggressively take over everything you have, he will kill everyone you love and he will destroy everything else that's important to you UNLESS YOU RESIST HIM. The tragedy today is that much of the Body of Christ doesn't have any idea what the Word of God says about it.

    Friend, the Bible says we're supposed to STAND FIRM AGAINST THE SCHMES OF THE DEVIL. It says further that in standing against those schemes we'll have to WRESTLE against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness. So it should be obvious that from a scriptural standpoint complacency and passivity on the part of Believers is totally inappropriate. Likewise, involvement in the World, i.e. loving what it does and failing to resist it, is also totally inappropriate. No, we need to protect what God has given us to be stewards over by RESISTING the devil.

    The principal weapon we have against the enemy is the Word of God. When the devil came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness Jesus used the Word to defeat him on the spot in no uncertain terms (Matthew 4:3-11). It's in the Word that we learn about the victory of Christ and that the devil is a defeated adversary. It's in the Word that we learn that we have total authority over that defeated adversary. And it's in the Word that we learn we can RESIST him and cause him to flee (James 4:7). He flees because he fears the name, the authority and the presence of Jesus and according to the Word every born again Believer has all three of these weapons at his/her disposal.

    The reassertion of our dominion on the earth starts with understanding and using the Word of God. Satan already knows the Word and he knows you can defeat him with it. So he has convinced many Believers, maybe most, that its okay to watch TV all the time and be involved in the activities of the World instead of studying and learning the Word of God. But it's in the Word of God that we find out about our authority over the enemy and how to go about using it so we change our lives from defeat to victory and from insufficiency to abundance.

  • Understanding Our Authority in Christ
  • Friend, the Bible tells us to take up the armor of God so we can resist the "spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12-13). If Satan weren't a threat to the Body of Christ then it wouldn't have been necessary for the Word to instruct us to arm ourselves, to be watchful (1 Peter 5:8), and to resist him (James 4:7).

    Now, in order to contend successfully with this adversary, we must separate ourselves from the World, submit ourselves to God (James 4:7) and continuously use the authority in Christ we've been given. If we don't know enough to do these things or if we think we can get by without doing them, or if we're just sleeping, the result will be that Satan slowly inserts his darkness into our lives and corrupts the prosperity and success God wants us to have. Instead of "nothing missing, nothing broken," a lot of things will become both missing and broken. Successfully overcoming the devil requires that we make a sincere effort to understand the following concepts:

    1) We must understand that the authority of Jesus is total and absolute. The Bible says in Matthew 28:18 with Jesus speaking again in red letters that "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Hebrews 2:14-16 says that by His death, Jesus rendered Satan powerless and set free those who were previously subject to a fear of death. 1 John 3:8 says that Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. In fact, the destruction was so complete He then made a public display of His defeated foe (Colossians 2:15). In Revelation 1:18 Jesus told the Apostle John that He had in His possession the keys to death and Hell. In sum, the defeat of Satan was total and absolute and it provided for the transfer of authority to Jesus.

    Now He is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named. And, He has put all things in subjection under His feet (Ephesians 1:20-22). In short, Christ has been given total and absolute authority to rule over all things. Satan, now stripped of power, has been allowed to remain in the World as a defeated adversary for the reasons cited previously. The authority Adam lost to Satan has been totally and completely regained by Jesus.

    2) We must know who WE are in Christ. The Bible says Believers have been raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places over all things (Ephesians 2:6). Therefore, we're called to participate in the exercise of His authority over ALL the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Thus, the authority and power of Christ has been delegated to Believers and we're to use it to bless others and to help establish the Kingdom of God.

    Further, Jesus has been given to the Church and made the Head of it; and we are His Body, the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23). Thus, we're closely joined together. He's the Head and we're His Body; He does the leading but WE ARE CALLED TO EXERCISE HIS AUTHORITY! Now it's Believers who're to cast out demons and lay hands on the sick so they can recover (Mark 16:17-18) as Christ once did in His earthly ministry. And, thanks to Jesus we've been redeemed from the Curse and restored to the Blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:13-14) so we're no longer subject to the works of the devil. We're children of God, joint-heirs with Christ for the glory that is to come (Romans 8:17). Indeed, we ARE a new creation!

    3) We must learn to USE the authority we've been given. Friend, Believers have been called to rule and reign WITH Christ. Our present assignments through the Church are to build/expand the Kingdom of God on the earth and by faith to keep Satan from interfering in that process. In order to rule, we have to exercise our authority. Another word for authority is "power" so we're to exercise our power over the adversary. We're to confront Satan boldly and without fear and continually resist him in the name of Jesus (James 4:7) not only so he can't interfere in our lives but for the good of the entire Kingdom of God that's in the process of being re- established. No one who rules successfully allows opposing and rebellious viewpoints to invade their kingdom at will because the objective of any invading enemy is to take over the ruler's domain just as once happened in the Garden of Eden. We must guard against and then repel the invasions of the adversary with the weapons we've been given. And when we stand against him, he will/he must flee.

  • Some Final Thoughts
  • A lot of great things happened at Calvary. Yes, Jesus shed His blood on the Cross and one of the results was that you can have eternal life by believing and trusting in Him. But the other part of the story is that Jesus was raised from the dead and in the resurrection we have the possibility of a victorious life in this present age characterized by prosperity, success and abundance in every area of life. But victorious living requires that we resist our enemy and contain him inside the World separated from the part of God's Kingdom each of us has been assigned to guard.

    Therefore, if you want the fullness of biblical prosperity manifesting in your life, you must continuously resist the devil and cast him out of your affairs. You have the authority and the power to make him flee from you so confront him boldly always in the name of Jesus and with the assurance that His name will protect you and provide victory.

    But, some Christians are concerned that if they confront Satan and actively resist him, he'll react and cause them to experience trials in their lives. The truth is when you begin to exert your authority you can count on facing a time of testing so be ready for it. The enemy's objective is to make you lack confidence in your authority and to get you to back off. But don't give in; God will see you through the test and you'll come out of it with stronger confidence and at a higher spiritual level than where you were before. If you desire God's best in your life, if you really want to experience the fullness of biblical prosperity, then you must confront, resist and overcome the enemy. According to the Word of God, there is NO other way.

    May God bless you and bring you into remembrance each day to resist your enemy the devil. Thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter. We'll be looking for you again in three weeks on October 17.

  • Sinners' Prayer
  • If you have never invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life, you can do so today by saying the following simple prayer:

    Jesus I believe in you and I receive You as my Lord and Savior. I believe You are the Son of God and that He raised You from the dead. Thank you that my sins are forgiven and that I am reborn, a new creature in You.

    If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith based bible teaching church where you can be developed to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God. If you're unable to find a church, give us a call and we'll help you find a good one.

  • Prayer Requests
  • Please e-mail your prayer requests to: [email protected]. We'll be honored to bring them before the Lord each Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM, Eastern Time.

  • Donations
  • If you have been blessed and edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, please pray about making a Spirit-led love offering to support the work of the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). PLN is a non profit [501(c) (3)] gift to the Body of Christ so your financial gifts should be tax deductible (please consult your tax advisor). May God bless you with His abundant harvest in return for sowing your precious seed into this Ministry.

  • Questions and Suggestions
  • It would bless us to have an opportunity to answer your questions concerning any of the areas covered by the ministry of PLN. We would also be happy to consider your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to e-mail them to us or give us a call anytime during normal business hours at our toll free number 1-800-357-4223.

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