Know Who You Are Fighting! Part 2

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

Jesus is Ruler over ALL spiritual rulers and powers (Col 2:10) and He has given us His power, His authority as believers in Luke 10:19 and NOTHING WILL HARM US!!! God’s Spirit in us is greater than the devil that is in the world (1 John 4:3-4)!!! This is how/why we have the victory over the trials we face in this world!!! The rulers and powers of this world have NO control over us as I stated before – the enemy has NO authority in our lives because as you saw in Col 2:15 God has stripped the devil of his authority during His death, burial, and resurrection – that is why Jesus said on the cross “IT IS FINISHED!” Therefore, the enemy has no legal right to be NOWHERE in our lives; he is supposed to be under our feet ONLY!! Let us make sure there is NO open door in our lives which gives him the legal right such as unforgiveness, disobedience, offense, envy, jealousy, etc.

We already have the victory in Jesus; the key is being IN Jesus!! If you have not made a conscious decision to accept Jesus as YOUR personal Lord and Savior, you are not in Jesus!!  Jesus died so ALL mankind could live but it is up to mankind to accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior!! Accepting Jesus does not end when a person says a sinner’s prayer; that is just the beginning!! Being a Christian (a born again believer) means more that saying a prayer – it is a lifestyle – being a born again believer (adhering to, trusting in, and relying on Christ) is denying your will and allowing God’s will to be done in you!!! Our lifestyle in Christ dictates what we believe – how we live once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior shows whether we really believe in Jesus or not! And when people don’t believe in the One who died for us (Jesus), that is how the enemy can come in and use people (yes even the ones confessing Christ) against us! Remember, when I said earlier in the message that the god of this world (who is the devil) has blinded the minds of those who DO NOT BELIEVE (2 Cor 4:4)!!!

Well if you don’t believe in God the Father (Phil 1:2), God the Son (Jesus – Titus 2:13) and God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4), The Trinity, you don’t believe in the finished work of Jesus – They are One and you cannot have One without the Other Two – The Trinity is the Godhead and have three distinct personalities but are one – this is evident in Genesis 1:26:

 

“God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth” (biblegateway.com – AMP).

 

If you don’t believe in the finished work of Jesus (Eph 1:3-13), that means you don’t believe He died for you and gave you the victory over everything you would ever face in this world (sickness, distresses, diseases, chaos, disappointments, temptations, and the list goes on)! I don’t care how much you say you are a Christian, if you don’t believe in Jesus’ finished work, you are defeated by the enemy – believing is YOUR choice – you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you will receive the gift of His salvation; this is what Romans 10:9-10 says:

 

 “⁹ Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰ For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation” (biblegateway.com – AMP – I put the underline).

 

When we are born again believers, we CANNOT live as we did before – we CANNOT live as if we do not believe (adhering to, trusting in, and relying on Christ – biblegateway.com – AMP [2 Cor 4:4])!!! Our lifestyle shows whether we believe or not – when trials comes to test our faith (James 1:2-8), it will show up in our lifestyle (how we behave when our faith is tested) – again, whether we believe or not! That trial is going to show us just how much we really believe in God; just how much we really trust Him!!

 

 A Prayer For You!

 

The enemy wants you not to believe in the finished work of Jesus so he can blind your mind but in the Name of Jesus and by His Blood, the devil is a liar and will NOT keep you in bondage! YOU ARE SET FREE this day by the Power of the Holy Spirit, God’s Power Who raised Jesus from the dead!! I declare and decree that NO weapon formed against you, your family, or anybody/anything else that is close to you which comes to cause you to fall, will prosper! I command the blindness to leave you NOW in the Name of Jesus so you will be able to see the marvelous Light of the Good News – so you can see what Jesus has done for you!! Rise up in the Power that Jesus gave you in Luke 10:19 – the Power to walk on snakes and scorpions – the Power that is greater than the enemy has so NOTHING can harm you!  Shake off the old and embrace the new in the Name of Jesus!! You shall live and not die (Jesus has already died in your place and given you the victory in EVERY area of your life) and declare the works of the Lord!! Your time is in God’s hand – He has the final say so about your life!! I pray this prayer over you in the Name of Jesus and I thank God for hearing and answering me, Amen!!

 

My trials showed me many times how much I really trusted God; and it was not pretty – I had to face the ugly truth that I did not trust God as much as I thought I did – God already knew, He wanted me to know!! But this was not a bad thing, it showed me what areas I did not trust God in and I asked Him to show me how to trust Him – this is another reason to count it all joy as James 1:2 said; we get a chance to see where we are lacking trust in God and be able to correct it!

God’s message of how we should live once we become born again believers has not changed since Paul’s day! This is the message God told Paul to give the Ephesians in Ephesians 4:17-32 so they could know the way they were supposed to live as Christians – God is saying the same thing to you today:

 “The Old Life and the New Life

¹⁷ As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. ¹⁸ Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, ¹⁹ and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

^20-21 But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. ²² You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. ²³ Let the Spirit change your way of thinking ²⁴ and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.

Rules for the New Life

²⁵ We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. ²⁶ Don’t get so angry that you sin. Don’t go to bed angry ²⁷ and don’t give the devil a chance. ²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need. ²⁹ Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say. ³⁰ Don’t make God’s Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins. ³¹ Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. ³² Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ” (biblegateway.com – CEV).

 

You are not alone; you are a member of the Body of Christ if you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior! If you have not accepted Jesus, why not become a born again believer TODAY so you can be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light – instantly!!! All you have to do is believe that Jesus died for your sins AND that Jesus have given you victory over this world’s rulers, principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places (Eph 6:12)! Once you believe in Jesus (adhering to, trusting in, and relying on Christ – biblegateway.com – AMP [2 Cor 4:4]), your minds will no longer be blinded and you will be able to see the Light of the Good News – the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!! Always remember, you are the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21; Rom 3:22) so you have the victory in EVERY area of your life; NO MATTER WHAT!!!

 

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May God bless you and keep you!

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

 

 

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