My dad was busy rebuilding the tractor’s engine and needed a part. “Son, run to town and buy one of these,” he said, handing me the engine part.
“Do I have time to buy some baseball cards?” I asked over my shoulder.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
I jumped in the old pickup and headed to town. Like most fourteen year old farm boys, I drove vehicles many years ahead of the legal age.
Arriving in town, I parked and walked to the drug store. There I bought some baseball cards and met a friend. We walked over to the dairy and had a cherry coke. As soon as I finished, I drove home.
I parked the truck by the garage.
“Hey son,” said Dad, “where’s my part?”
“Oops! I forgot.”
Without a word, he pointed at the truck. I jumped in, went back to town and picked up the part.
Dad was an easy going guy. Yet when he pointed at the truck, I recognized his authority and knew enough to obey without questioning him.
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” (Matthew 21:23)
The priests and the elders were the leaders of Judaism, but they themselves couldn’t teach or perform miracles like Jesus did. This hurt their pride and thus, they set out to undermine Him. By asking about authority, they were really inquiring whose government empowered Jesus. Was it God? Or Caesar? Or Satan?
You see, authority has always been a big deal, especially in the spirit realm. To succeed in spiritual warfare, we must understand whose authority empowers us to fight demons. If we have any doubts, causing our faith to be weak, then we need to stay out of the spiritual battle.
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. (Luke 10:19)
If we can believe this one verse with all our hearts, demons will tremble when we come near them.
What else did Jesus do?
(Continued in Part 7 after January 1st)
Thank you, Mr. Larry. What an amazing verse and promise. It stands out even more with what you have discussed prior to it. God bless you, Coach Who, and give you a blessed Christmas!
Debbie,
Thanks. I appreciate your encouragement as usual.
“If we can believe this one verse with all our hearts, demons will tremble when we come near them.” That’s where I struggle. I know I want to believe that with ALL my heart. But, then I doubt I do. Lord, I believe but help me with my unbelief.
Cristal,
Remember: it’s with your heart that you have to believe, not your mind. That’s the secret of spiritual warfare. So, I’ve memorized this verse and if I feel fear (usually a spirit) creeping up on me, I remind it of this verse and tell it to go. Who knows where my mind is during this discourse? But it really doesn’t matter because my spirit always agrees with the word.