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Satan Recognizes Your Authority
Question Is … “Do
You?”
by Pastor John &
Barbara Hamel
“As Jesus got out
of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and
graves. No one could restrain him –
he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with
chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame
him. Night and day he roamed through
the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp
stones.
"When he [the madman] saw
Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him – then [the
tormenting spirit inside the man] bellowed in protest, ‘What business do
you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!’
(Jesus had just commanded the tormenting spirit, ‘Out! Get out of the
man!’)” (Mark 5:2-7 Message)
Everywhere Jesus
went He encountered people who were being tormented by evil spirits. As a
matter of fact, over one-quarter of Jesus’ Ministry was spent getting evil
spirits out of people.
Often, before Jesus
even addressed those spirits, they would begin to bellow in protest,
screaming and crying out. They would
use the vocal chords of their human abode to do so. Evil spirits always recognized the power
of God on Jesus’ life. It freaked
them right out. They knew if Jesus
stayed around long enough, chances were they were going to be cast out of
their human abode. Therefore, they
would bellow, scream and cry out for mercy, oftentimes before Jesus even
got the ball rolling.
Demon spirits have
not changed since Jesus’ Earth Ministry.
As a matter of fact, the very same demons that roamed the Earth in
Jesus’ day are still roaming the Earth today. The Bible reveals they have a right to be
here until God’s powerful angel comes to place them forcibly and eternally
into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation
20:1-10)
These same demon
spirits still recognize the power of God when it is on the life of a true
Jesus person. Satan and demon
spirits still bellow, scream and cry out when they are in the presence of
the power of God abiding on the life of one of His consecrated children.
Satan
Still Recognizes & Fears the Power of God
One day my wife and
I walked into an establishment where we often ate breakfast. Upon entering, a man whom we did not know
was sitting at a table by the door.
He looked me in the eyes and said loudly, “Here they are, everyone’s social example, the perfect
couple.” We just ignored the man,
sitting down to eat our breakfast about four tables away. As I sat there, I looked directly at the
man and he became very, very agitated.
He could not seem to sit still.
He began to criticize us openly and loudly to the people who sat around
him.
We recognized immediately that
this man was possessed of evil spirits who were frightened by the power of
God upon our lives.
We continued
eating breakfast, pretending to ignore him, when suddenly he jumped to his
feet. He paced frantically from one
side of the room to the other.
Lifting his voice he actually began to shout repeatedly, “All this fuss over
one woman. All this fuss over one
woman.”
We were in a self-serve
dining room and I had just placed my wife’s breakfast before her. Satan was very obviously offended by the kindness I was
showing to my wife. Satan hates
God’s human creation and detests seeing them treated with love and dignity, possibly women more than men.
As this stranger
continued pacing and shouting, we continued to ignore him as most other
eyes in the dining room were now fixed upon him.
I very quietly began to tell
Satan,
“I bind you, in Jesus’ Name. I command you to shut your mouth. I take authority over you, in Jesus’ Name.”
The man then began to shout loudly enough for
everyone in the dining room to now hear, “The big Prophet of God. He thinks he’s the big Prophet of
God. He thinks he’s such a big
Prophet of God. He’s invading my
space. The big Prophet of God is
invading my space. This is my social
territory.”
Now, please keep in
mind that we did not know this man.
We had seen him in the past but we knew nothing about him and he
knew nothing about us. We never had
occasion to speak with him. We had
never shared our faith in Christ with him and certainly neither my wife nor
I had ever discussed the Ministry Office of the Prophet with him. However, the demon spirits this man had
opened himself up to were very obviously intimidated by the power of God
upon our lives. They were hoping to
intimidate us, forcing us to leave their presence.
We calmly and
confidently stood our ground. We
bound the rulers of the darkness of this present evil world and every
demonic principality and power operating through this man. (Ephesians 6:12) We continued
to calmly eat our breakfast, unmoved by Satan's spiritual circus.
Having calmly taken
authority, the
spirits in this man began to settle down.
Suddenly, as if he realized what he had just done, the man
shamefully gathered up his possessions and bolted out the door.
Probably it was a
very good thing that he did
so. Sitting behind us was an
acquaintance, a retired professional boxer who had once been in the ring
with Mohammad Ali. He had just told
me, “Either he sits down and shuts up right now or I sit him down and I
shut him up.”
I had to calm him
down, assuring him that the matter had been handled, referring to my having
taken authority over the demons within the man.
The Bible says
any Believer in Christ can resist Satan and he will flee. (James 4:7) If you are a Born Again
Believer in Jesus and Satan is harassing
you in any realm of your existence, you can bind him, too. (Matthew
18:18)
Satan does indeed
recognize your Christian authority. But
the question is, “Do you?”
More
Demon Spirits Encountered, More Demonic Fear Expressed
Another time my wife and I walked into a local grocery store. Stepping inside we passed through an area
where a very oppressed looking woman
was grinding coffee beans. This
woman was a stranger to us even as the man in the dining room was. As we passed by her, she pointed at us,
lifting her voice and loudly commanding, “You two stay away from me. Do you understand me? I don’t want you anywhere near me. You two just stay away from me. Stay away from me.”
She was speaking so loudly that I turned back and quietly, but
firmly, told the demon spirits in her, “You shut up. Do you understand me? You shut your mouth in the Name of
Jesus.”
I did not want this to turn
into a public disturbance in the grocery store, which is why I did not just
walk away. Not to mention the fact that the
Spirit of the Lord came upon me to take authority over the evil spirits in
her even as it came upon the Apostle Paul in Acts 16:16-18.
Customers were already
turning to see what was happening.
When I told the spirits to “shut up” they did exactly that, obeying
the Greater One within me. (1 John 4:4)
The woman suddenly left the store, leaving her items behind and no doubt asking herself, “What in the
world did I just do?”
The Bible says all Believers have authority
over Satan and demon powers. (Mark 16:15-20; Luke 10:19,20) The problem is,
Satan realizes this more than many Believers do. He runs roughshod over the lives of many
Believers who simply do not know they do not have to tolerate his
harassment and destruction. If you
are one who has lived without knowledge of your authority over Satan, it is
our prayer that this Bible study will open the spiritual eyes and ears of
your understanding.
Satan recognizes
the ones who are aware of their authority over him and his cohorts. He recognizes the ones who are not afraid
to drive him back, prevailing over him through the use of Jesus’ strong Name. Once you decide to make it clear to Satan
that you are not afraid of him and you will withstand him using Jesus’
Name, do not be surprised when he begins to bellow, scream and cry out at
your presence occasionally.
Just stay
calm. Stand your ground. Tell him quietly, but firmly, “You’re the
one who’s leaving, not me. Now go,
in Jesus’ Name.” He will leave. He might try you on for size for a minute
just to see if he can back you down.
Do not give up any territory to him. Remind him, “I told you that you’re leaving, now go, in Jesus’
Name.”
Needy
Human Persons Also Recognize the Power of God
Demon powers are
not the only personalities who recognize the power of God when it is truly
on His children. Needy human persons
also recognize the power of God on the life of a consecrated Believer. They may not recognize it as the power of
God, but they do, indeed, realize when they are in the presence of someone
who can help them.
One day while I was
praying, I was caught up in the Spirit and the Lord gave me a vision. In the vision I saw a man I would meet
eight months later. You can read the
account of this experience here on our website at “Great Spiritual Awakening Comes to America.” Eight months after seeing this man in the
vision, he actually walked up to me, intoxicated, and said, “I don’t know
you but I believe you can help me.
You have what I need. I don’t
know what it is, but you have it.”
This man turned out
to be the grandson of Israel Regarde, the world
renowned Satanist and magician. Israel Regarde
is the author of the book on magic called “Tree of Life.” Published in 1932, this work of Satan has
provided aspiring Satanists and magicians with a comprehensive study on
magical theory and practice ever since its unfortunate publication. Israel Regarde
is also known worldwide for the 14 years he spent as personal secretary to
Anton LaVey, the founder of the church of Satan.
We explained to
this man that we did indeed have what he needed. We shared with him salvation in Jesus Christ, as well as the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Lord instantly delivered him from alcoholism
with “no spiders” as he later explained.
“No spiders” is an expression of coming off of alcohol addiction
with no hallucinations or symptoms of withdrawal.
This
man had been drinking every day for the
past three years since pulling up to his home and discovering that it had
burned to the ground with his precious wife and two sons perishing in the
inferno.
Now he was standing before us knowing nothing about us but expressing his
belief that we could help him somehow.
Do not be surprised
when needy individuals approach you, wanting what you have as a result of
you spending time in prayer and in God’s Word. The Spirit of God is drawing them to
you. Hold steady. Listen immediately on the inside, praying
this silent prayer, “Holy Spirit, give me wisdom, please. Tell me what they need and I’ll tell
them, in Jesus’ Name.” Then do whatever He says, nothing more, nothing less.
He will never embarrass you, and He will always bring glory to God
through you.
(John 16:14)
Do not be surprised
when Satan and demon spirits begin to throw fits in your presence also as a
result of you spending time in prayer and in God’s Word. He can throw some pretty spectacular
fits, too. They are all intended to
back you down, scare you away and give him more space to operate.
Whenever Satan dares to address you
directly, take a hard run right back at him. Open your mouth and say, “Shut your
mouth, in Jesus’ Name. I command
your mouth to be shut, in Jesus’ Name.
Cease and desist in Jesus’ strong Name.” He will obey you whenever you stand your
ground and stay the course. He is all
“smoke and mirrors.”
Yes, Satan is
mighty. However, Jesus is Almighty
and Jesus lives within you.
Prayer
& Study Increases God's Power on Your Life
Whenever a Believer
in Jesus spends time in prayer and in God’s Word, the power of God is
automatically increased on their life.
It is a Spiritual Law.
Whenever Jesus returned from His mountaintop prayer retreats, the
Anointing (power) of God was increased upon His life, great multitudes
flocked to Him and the kingdom of darkness was turned on its head. (Matthew
8:1-3)
This is normal for all people
who have power with God. Satan
trembles to think that this power will be turned against him again. The presence of God’s power causes evil
spirits to literally bellow, scream and cry out
in absolute fear.
However, the Holy Spirit will always take complete
advantage when a Believer has taken the time to increase the power of God
upon their life. It is not unusual at
all for Him to lead needy individuals to that empowered one. Those who will listen within and obey Him
during those encounters will indeed see quite an impressive operation of
the Gifts of the Spirit in their lives on
behalf of others.
Spend some time in prayer daily even if all you have is a
few minutes. Do it
consistently. Spend some time in
God’s Word daily even if it is just one chapter. Do it consistently. If you miss a day or two, do not condemn
yourself. (Romans 8:1) Get back up,
brush yourself off, hit it again and watch the power of God increase upon your life. (Acts 10:38)
Watch as demon spirits become agitated in your presence. (Acts
16:16-31 )
Watch as the Holy Spirit
leads suffering individuals to you, using you to set them free by the power
that now rests upon you.
Jesus said,
“Everything I did, you can do, too.
As a matter of fact, as a corporate Body, you can do even more than
I could do.” (John 14:12)
Satan recognizes
your authority. Question is ... “Do
you?” After this little study, we
are
confident that you do.
Now be a hard
charger and do not take any guff from Satan and demon spirits when they
challenge you. They are doing it
because they are afraid of the power of God on your life.
If you have not yet
made the Prophet Jesus Lord of your life, just say, “Satan, I change
allegiance as of this day. Jesus, You’re my choice.” (Romans 10:13) You will become a member of God’s Family,
qualifying for all the Family Benefits.
One of those family benefits is POWER. (Acts 1:8; 2Timothy 1:7)
Power
to get yourself free and stay free.
Power to set other captives
free as well. (Luke 4:18)
Be Blessed ... John
and Barbara Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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