Why didn't that work?

"We are too reliant on ourselves and our flesh instead of the Holy Spirit. He is the power of enforcement, and He responds to faith."

WE (THE CHURCH) HAVE BEEN GIVEN ALL POWER or authority, as the word is properly defined, over all the power or ability of the enemy. We are given authority to bind and loose, where it applies to victory and freedom. We do so from a position of victory, knowing what Jesus won for us on the cross and through the Resurrection.

The enemy must obey the truth of the Scripture. He is defeated entirely and completely. Yet there are times when it seems like despite saying the right words and despite knowing the truth of our position in Christ as delivered from the kingdom of darkness and being accepted in the kingdom of light, it seems like the enemy continues to harass and afflict anyway.

Why doesn't he stop? some ask. Why doesn't he flee like it says he will when he is resisted in the name of Jesus? There are many reasons but at the heart of them are two things. One, it is a kingdom in rebellion, bent on the destruction destined for it. Two, we are too reliant on ourselves and our flesh instead of the Holy Spirit. He is the power of enforcement, and He responds to faith.

Faith has been mislabeled and misunderstood. We grow in faith to greater degrees of faith, or we remain weak in faith with little faith. Yet faith is not a commodity we acquire. Faith is, simply put, reliance on God's faithfulness to His ability to bring an answer. It is an offshoot, a flower bud, if you will, of the love of God.

Once immersed in the love of God, upon our salvation, no man makes himself new, but relies on the Holy Spirit to do the work. We simply ask Him to live in us and because we have asked and because He is full of the fruit of love, He does so and all that we were is no more. We are forgiven, our hearts washed by His water, our consciences cleansed, our spirit man, that which is the real you, completely united with Him. He is then with us forever, to guide us, to teach us, and to protect or heal whatever we have need of.

But like owning a car or having an oven, if you never approach it and learn to use it, you will never go for a drive or eat something you have baked. We must increase our knowledge of Him and our perception of Him. We must spend time in prayer and worship becoming familiar with His presence, and time listening, both in our secret place and through reading of the Word, in order to recognize His voice.

There are many voices around us. The enemy comes as an angel of light. He can sound like something God has spoken, and thus he deceives many. Only when we know God's nature, that He is such a height of love, will anything lesser become clearly apparent. Men make criticism all the time and label it God’s correction. This is but one example of our error.

The point is, for our words of authority to be effective, we must cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit. He is in is, not simply to take up space, but He desires to become the true promise of the Father who conducts us in all the affairs of our lives from sunrise to sunset and all during the night.

Speak the Word. Command the enemy to take his hands off of your situation. Tell him, "Not today, Satan. Not today or tomorrow or on any other day will you steal my piece of mind." Then trust the Spirit of God to uphold your words. It may require some patience and endurance on your part, but you are capable because He is in you.

He desires to come upon you as well. At Pentecost, the disciples were baptized into Him, a separate experience from their salvation. Jesus had appeared to them previously and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." The Holy Spirit’s power upon you enables you to speak in His language in the very face of the enemy. Imagine having a code which the opposing forces could not read. This was done in World War II through several methods; the Navaho Talkers, comes to mind. Well, having the Spirit's language and cultivating it is beneficial to your growth and well-being, it says in Jude, but more than anything else, it ties you to Him and fosters your relationship.

A mother speaks to her children in similar ways. My daughter and I often use terms we developed in our relationship from when she was a child, much to my husband's consternation. The Holy Spirit is in us so that we can know Him and freely come to our heavenly Father, so we can freely call on Jesus directly to the place of heaven, and then because of His love for us, the strength of heaven will come and aid and bless our lives beyond our measure to ever ask or think.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com