December 20, 2020
Sunday AM
Mark 1:21-25 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.23 Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.
Notice how Jesus reacted. He did not ask any questions or become critical of the man. Too often we have not gotten to the root of our problems. We get wrapped up in the natural, the people, the circumstances. That is not the real issue. Deal with the CAUSE of the problem. Jesus went straight to the root!
Ephesians 4:27 nor give place to the devil.
This verse implies that the responsibility lies on us. The devil cannot take place in your life unless you let him. Most of the time he gets in through ignorance. The cure for ignorance is knowledge. Light vs. Darkness, Light is understanding and knowledge. Darkness is ignorance. The devil works in darkness. He likes to work so that you don’t know it is him. He gets in through your mind. That’s why it is important what you watch, listen to, and read. Light dispels darkness. When you have knowledge of how the enemy works, you have the advantage. The picture is this: water dripping upon a rock. The constant dripping will eventually make an impression and divide the rock. The enemy works the same way. He is persistent with lies and thoughts feeding into your mind in hopes that eventually an impression will be made.
Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Sickness and disease are oppression of the devil. We have authority given to us from God Himself. Too many times, we deal with the symptoms and not the root of the problem! Deal with the devil first before anything else!
Jesus didn’t pray to God to do something about the devil. He knew He had the authority! He rebuked! Praying to God to do something about the devil is a waste of time! God has already defeated him! Take your stand in your God given authority and rebuke the devil. He is only defeated in your life to the degree that you take that place in authority and defeat him. If you don’t, you will stay under that oppression. You have a choice and you do not have to live with it! When you sense the least bit of oppression, deal with it. Don’t put it off! If your thinking isn’t right, your believing won’t be right. And if your believing isn’t right, your speaking won’t be right and therefore your life won’t be right. The bible teaches to have a mind that is stayed on Him! It all starts in the mind. You must learn to control your mind.
1- Authority
2- Power
3- Command
Authority and power do not work unless you exercise it! When you know you have the authority, you won’t fear the enemy anymore. God’s power WILL back up your authority! Jesus is our example. Anything He did, you can do as well. Know your God given right! His power is His ability!
Mark 16:14-18 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those whobelieve: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Believers:
1- Cast out demons
2- Speak in tongues
3- Take authority over serpents
4- Lay hands on the sick, and they recover
We have authority, exercise it! God will back you up. Control your thoughts! Use your words! Expose the lies! Combat thoughts with words, not thoughts!