When the Counterfeit is Exposed
"And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15)
There is an unseen, spiritual realm that is always surrounding us, sometimes overtaking us, and regularly having influence on our lives. Furthermore, there are evil spirits working with the devil that seek to hit us with fiery darts of doubt, distress, and deception. Meanwhile, God is with us and sends His ministering angels to help comfort, keep, and protect us.
The question for us to consider is what are we doing to influence the spiritual realm? And are there any ways that we have opened the door to demonic realm?
God allows all kind of things in our lives according to His sovereign purpose but we also need to have an active will to confront the principalities and the rulers of the darkness of this age with our prayers and submission to God's authority to partner with Him in the Spirit.
Whenever we pray and call upon the Name of the Lord, we are calling down the resources of heaven. It is only when we are under God's authority that we can carry out God's authority and bring down spiritual strongholds, expose the lies of the enemy, and help free those who have been taken captive to do the will of our adversary. By the finished work of Christ, we have bold access to go directly to the throne of grace with every concern and conflict we face in our lives and He will provide the grace to help us in our time of need.
When Paul the Apostle entered city, he discerned what was happening in the lives of people spiritually and he adapted his ministry to further disciple the believers and to help deliver any of the unbelievers who were bound up.
When the Apostle Paul came to Ephesus, he delivered certain people who were demonized. As Paul served and spoke in the Name of Jesus, there were superstitious Jews and others who heart of the power that was demonstrated through his ministry and they sought to mimic and counterfeit whatever religious acts that they were seeing that they thought would be successful.
However, their counterfeit ministry was exposed to have no power at all. For no real connection to Jesus means no real credentials to exercise authority over the evil spirits. For when the seven sons of Sceva tried casting out an evil spirit, this same spirit spoke how they know Jesus experientially, they knew about Paul as well, but they had no knowledge of these sons as it pertains to needing to flee.
It is only when we submit to the authority of Christ and resist the devil that he will flee from us (James 4:7). Since they were unable to do so, the evil spirit was able to have even greater control over this man and the sons became overpowered by the supernatural strength given to him as the man broke chains and visciously attacked them.
What a powerful lesson in spiritual warfare! The only way to defeat the enemy is to be rightly connected to Jesus and to be submitted to His authority in your own life. This means that we must be vessels of honor that are sanctified to be fit for the Master's use.
Is there anything that is hindering the full work of the Spirit in your life? Have you opened the door in the past or are you playing with evil things presently that is giving the enemy permission to have ground in your life to cause certain hinderances, or spiritual heaviness or bondage in your life?
We must get rid of any access points or any possessions that are associated with false worship and occultism that may open the door to the demonic forces of evil, such as: religious idols, pendants, good luck charms. witchcraft, Ouija boards, spells, curses, religious items that draw our attention away from Jesus, astrology, tarot cards, etc. It doesn't matter if they were a part of our past or given to us as gifts, it has no place in our hearts, lives, or homes.
The Lord desires to reign over every area of our lives, without any mixture, and we can be assured that He who is in us [Christ] is GREATER than he who is in this world [the devil].
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Once we are freed from every form of bondage or association with the kingdom of darkness, we can be instruments of righteousness who are under Christ's authority to overcome evil with good. When this happens, we will the same results that Paul saw..."So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed" (Acts 19:20).
In the end, the Lord protects His servants who are committed to His work and His glory and He will preserve us from all evil to when we serve no other god but Him.
Consider your way of living: Is the devil and his evil spirits and principalities even slightly
threatened by your manner of living? If you went home to be with the Lord today, would the devil and his evil spirits and dominions celebrate that they are now able to do more harm than before because you are no longer opposing him in battle here on the earth?
That is something we must take very seriously. For if we know finished work of the cross and we live in light of Christ's victory, then sin no longer has dominion over us and the we are more than conquerors through Him who gave Himself for us and still gives more grace.
ACTS IN ACTION CHALLENGE POINTS
There is an unseen, spiritual realm that is always surrounding us, sometimes overtaking us, and regularly having influence on our lives. Furthermore, there are evil spirits working with the devil that seek to hit us with fiery darts of doubt, distress, and deception. Meanwhile, God is with us and sends His ministering angels to help comfort, keep, and protect us.
The question for us to consider is what are we doing to influence the spiritual realm? And are there any ways that we have opened the door to demonic realm?
God allows all kind of things in our lives according to His sovereign purpose but we also need to have an active will to confront the principalities and the rulers of the darkness of this age with our prayers and submission to God's authority to partner with Him in the Spirit.
Whenever we pray and call upon the Name of the Lord, we are calling down the resources of heaven. It is only when we are under God's authority that we can carry out God's authority and bring down spiritual strongholds, expose the lies of the enemy, and help free those who have been taken captive to do the will of our adversary. By the finished work of Christ, we have bold access to go directly to the throne of grace with every concern and conflict we face in our lives and He will provide the grace to help us in our time of need.
When Paul the Apostle entered city, he discerned what was happening in the lives of people spiritually and he adapted his ministry to further disciple the believers and to help deliver any of the unbelievers who were bound up.
When the Apostle Paul came to Ephesus, he delivered certain people who were demonized. As Paul served and spoke in the Name of Jesus, there were superstitious Jews and others who heart of the power that was demonstrated through his ministry and they sought to mimic and counterfeit whatever religious acts that they were seeing that they thought would be successful.
However, their counterfeit ministry was exposed to have no power at all. For no real connection to Jesus means no real credentials to exercise authority over the evil spirits. For when the seven sons of Sceva tried casting out an evil spirit, this same spirit spoke how they know Jesus experientially, they knew about Paul as well, but they had no knowledge of these sons as it pertains to needing to flee.
It is only when we submit to the authority of Christ and resist the devil that he will flee from us (James 4:7). Since they were unable to do so, the evil spirit was able to have even greater control over this man and the sons became overpowered by the supernatural strength given to him as the man broke chains and visciously attacked them.
What a powerful lesson in spiritual warfare! The only way to defeat the enemy is to be rightly connected to Jesus and to be submitted to His authority in your own life. This means that we must be vessels of honor that are sanctified to be fit for the Master's use.
Is there anything that is hindering the full work of the Spirit in your life? Have you opened the door in the past or are you playing with evil things presently that is giving the enemy permission to have ground in your life to cause certain hinderances, or spiritual heaviness or bondage in your life?
We must get rid of any access points or any possessions that are associated with false worship and occultism that may open the door to the demonic forces of evil, such as: religious idols, pendants, good luck charms. witchcraft, Ouija boards, spells, curses, religious items that draw our attention away from Jesus, astrology, tarot cards, etc. It doesn't matter if they were a part of our past or given to us as gifts, it has no place in our hearts, lives, or homes.
The Lord desires to reign over every area of our lives, without any mixture, and we can be assured that He who is in us [Christ] is GREATER than he who is in this world [the devil].
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Once we are freed from every form of bondage or association with the kingdom of darkness, we can be instruments of righteousness who are under Christ's authority to overcome evil with good. When this happens, we will the same results that Paul saw..."So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed" (Acts 19:20).
In the end, the Lord protects His servants who are committed to His work and His glory and He will preserve us from all evil to when we serve no other god but Him.
Consider your way of living: Is the devil and his evil spirits and principalities even slightly
threatened by your manner of living? If you went home to be with the Lord today, would the devil and his evil spirits and dominions celebrate that they are now able to do more harm than before because you are no longer opposing him in battle here on the earth?
That is something we must take very seriously. For if we know finished work of the cross and we live in light of Christ's victory, then sin no longer has dominion over us and the we are more than conquerors through Him who gave Himself for us and still gives more grace.
ACTS IN ACTION CHALLENGE POINTS
- Get rid of anything that can be associated with the occult.
- Renounce the hidden things of shame and bury the past.
- Pray over your home for the Lord to reign over all areas.
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