MAINTAIN AUTHORITY

by Marsha Burns

The current attack by the enemy is for the purpose of getting us to relinquish Christ’s authority and our authority over ourselves so that he can exercise control.

He will do this by bombarding us with lies through a lying spirit.

If we believe the lies, the door will open to spirits of fear, infirmity and heaviness.
Fear of failure – condemnation
Infirmity – a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness
Heaviness – discouragement and depression

A loss of confidence will follow and the temptation will come to give up responsibility and authority by allowing the enemy or other people to take control.

John 17:1-2 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

We have accepted Christ’s authority over us, but when we believe Satan’s lies, he takes authority and begins to establish his kingdom of darkness.

If we can recognize this attack, get back to truth, and stand against it, we won’t have to run the entire gamut. We can stop this process at any point along the way.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

When we find that the enemy is setting up a stronghold; we have to cast out the demons … the lying spirit and spirits of fear, infirmity, and heaviness.

We must get back to the truth and re-establish ourselves under the authority of Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Then, we can be led by the Spirit again.

Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The flesh is the devil’s playground and his place of temptation.

2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

The temptation that comes against us is really not much different than the temptation of Jesus:

Luke 4:
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’"
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’"
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 "For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
11 "and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’"
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’"
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

We have to take the responsibility to get free by doing what we know to do and bring ourselves under Christ’s authority again.

In doing so, we have to change our minds about being a victim of these attacks and trust God to usher us into complete victory.

Small Straws: Sharpen your discernment to see the tactics of the enemy to manifest his will in your surroundings, and do not be dissuaded by his lies. Rather stand in the truth of My Word and be strengthened by the goodness of My thoughts and intentions toward you. You must choose to be strong in Me and in the power of My might as the enemy goes about like a roaring lion seeking an opportunity to devour you. I go before you and am also your rear guard.

Watch for the enemy to either tempt you to get involved in situations that are none of your business, or he will tempt others to violate your boundaries by not minding their own business. Either situation will create problems that you will ultimately not like to deal with. Now is the time to establish and maintain good boundaries.

Bolster your faith by making a clear and concise connection to the truth of My Word. Refuse to allow the devil to gain any advantage over you. You have nothing in him and he has nothing in you because you belong to Me. You are My beloved, and I am yours. I will cause you to triumph over the work of the enemy. Put your complete trust in Me, says the Lord. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Psalm 118:
5 I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD rhan to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
11 They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns; for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.

The enemy also wants us to curse ourselves through believing lies that someone else is cursing us. If we perceive rejection or gossip or someone’s anger, and yet that person is not against us, speaking against us, or in opposition to us, it will come as a curse just the same. But it will be self-imposed.

This is just one more way the enemy can gain control of our thoughts and emotions.

When we get clear and free from demonic forces, we are suddenly in the proper order of authority – The Father, Christ, the Holy Spirit, our spirit, soul and body. Then, we are ruled by Truth and our soul is subject to the Holy Spirit through our own spirit.

Excerpts from Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest, October 8th:
“If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words—‘Come unto Me.’ In every degree in which you are not real, you will dispute rather than come, you will quibble rather than come, you will go through sorrow rather than come, you will do anything rather than come the last lap of unutterable foolishness. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, anything at all that will put the axe at the root of the things which is preventing you from getting through. You will never get further until you are willing to do that one thing. The Holy Spirit will locate the one impregnable thing in you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him.”

God is dealing with our core issues, and the Holy Spirit will indeed locate the one impregnable (unconquerable) thing that we need to release to Him.

It has been revealed that our human spirits have places that still need to be healed, but we need to know what keeps us from healing.

It could be tragedy (or fear of tragedy), grief, betrayal, rejection, loss, or anything that we have been victimized by that still comes up for review over and over again.

The Spirit of God will reveal it if we ask Him to and release it to Him for healing.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The LORD is moving mightily among His people to bring us to a place of pure faith and trust in Him. This is just one more opportunity. Amen!

Faith Tabernacle

http://ft111.com