The Remnant,e-zine - Satan has No Authority Except What WE Give Him

Published by Practical Spiritual Warfare web site, a division of Mission Miami Valley and authored by Dr. D. Vincent (Bud) Ford. This e-zine is dedicated to providing valuable, practical information for dealing with the chaotic and confusing times in which we live.

Isaiah 54:17 (NIV) ¹⁷no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.

We are to live by faith, not by sight – to having complete faith in Jesus - is knowing that He hears everything we say to Him – everything. That's much better than we do with our friends, our families, our business associates, or even ourselves. Because when God hears, He really hears.

We hear very little of what is said to us. How many times has one of your children had to re-tell you something because you weren't really listening in the first place? Or one of your friends? Or your spouse? Or a business associate? How do you feel when you have something really important to share with a friend, but he's so busy telling you about something in his life that he isn't really listening? And you're so frustrated at not being able to get him to listen that you don't hear what he's saying to you. How frustrated do you become when you have told your son three times to take out the trash, but he doesn't hear you?

This “hearing impairment” – or maybe “selective hearing” might be a better term – is a common thing in human beings. We're used to it. It's what we expect, even though it can anger and frustrate us to no end. Whether we admit it or not, we all tend to think of God in human terms, which makes it very difficult to believe that He really hears us when we speak.

So the sixth step in learning to live by faith is to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is always tuned in, that you always have His undivided attention, that for Him, every moment of every day, you are the most important person of all!

Pray that this knowledge will become a part of you – that He hears everything you say to Him. Engrave this knowledge on your heart, so you can truly take this sixth step in learning to live by faith, not by sight. Dogwood Ministries

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.'

It is essential for us to get our theology correct. Something very significant happened with Jesus’ death at the cross. Jesus defeated Satan and all authority in heaven and earth was given to Jesus.

Prior to Jesus’ death on the cross Satan had all the power and authority that had been given to Adam before Adam sinned. That power and authority is what Satan took from Adam.

It took Jesus’ death on the cross to take back what Adam had lost. We longer have to fight or battle the devil since Christ “rendered him powerless” 2000 years ago (Heb 2:14).

This does not mean that Satan does not still have all of the same abilities that he had before the cross (deception, cunning, wisdom in evil, great scheming, etc); he just no longer has the authority to act out in the fashion he did in the pre-Calvary timeframe (Eph. 1:20-23).

I believe that most believers would agree that the devil was defeated at the cross. However, it seems strange that even though we agree upon this premise many feel compelled to go ahead and engage a defeated foe in battle anyway. This really does not make theological sense.

Either Satan is in a different place or he is not. I personally do not believe the Lord started something at Calvary but did not finish it.

If we believe we, or other people, are victims of the devil than we will need to be rescued. If we believe we are victims of Satan, this belief will became a deceptive arena in which Satan is allowed to operate within.

We need to develop a theology that is more consistent with what the post-resurrection passages declare about the devil’s defeat.

In the post-resurrection passages, you will find some references to Satan's influence on people after the cross. However, you will find the people impacted by demons or Satan was already alive and impacted before the cross.

God will not violate our will. We are free to make our own choices. When we choose to believe that Satan is able to torment us, that belief gives him the authority to do just that.

When we accept the post-resurrection the position that Satan no longer has any authority except that which we give to him through our own beliefs and choices, it makes all the difference in the world for us.

I received this email from a friend and believe it is worthy of wider distribution. It is one of many signs of the end times we are in and pointed to by Jesus in Mathew 24. It relates to religious persecution to the point of death.

We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. We brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. None of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And this persecution in India seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media ....

Were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed..

The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ. (This is persecution in India in biblical proportions.)

Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.'

Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors locked and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.

More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging.

As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. (This Christian persecution in India is amazing!)

Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death.

Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children.

At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.'

More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. (It is not known how long this persecution in India will continue.)

This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down.

The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm.

None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.

Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.

What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations.... Prayer works!

NOTE: Please pray fervently for those Christians involved in this persecution in India.

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