John 10:1-18

I will refer to this text passage without listing it verbatim.  I encourage you to read it as we examine the principle of defeating the devil and stopping the thief in our lives, spiritually.  We can live higher than what we do, most of the time, because of what Jesus has done and done in us, for us, and does through us.

God has made provision for us to defeat the devil.  Jesus declared that He came, according to 1 John 3:8, to “destroy the works of the devil.”  In 1 John 4:7 we are informed that “as He is, so are we in this world.”  Also, in John 14:12, our LORD declared, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.”  Then in Luke 10:19 Jesus declared, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  That is part of our Promise and Provision “in this world!”  We won’t need that power in heaven, there won’t be in devils there.

We need, no we must become what I call Word Conditioned.  In John 15:7 we read, “If you abide in Me (Jesus), and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”  If we make that a reality in our lives and become saturated with God’s Word and His Spirit, we will cease being deceived by the thief.  We will begin to exercise authority and dominion over the devil and utilize our weapons of warfare that are mighty in God.

We need the Eyes of our Understanding opened.  We also need to grasp the principle of The Law of Retribution as described and detailed in Exodus 22:1-9.  The thief had to restore in multiples.  Today’s laws do not make that requirement, but they should.  The retribution was from double to 7 times, depending on the item and the situation.  No need for jail time, because the thief virtually had to go to work for the person from whom they stole until the debt was paid. 

In human courts, there are times when it is unlawful for a person to defend their own property.  In some states, in America, if a thief is injured in your home, you must pay for his medical expenses.  That is ludicrous!  Usually, there is no recourse for you in recovering the loss you suffered.  That is tragic!

But, in God’s Court, there is a place for retribution and recovery.  That makes knowing the Laws of God incredibly important, especially in spiritual matters.  We have been armed with weapons of warfare that are Mighty through God to the Pulling Down of Strongholds.  Two factors are vital:  We must know the Law and we must catch the thief.

The devil’s strategy is what I call Perception Deception.  He wants us to perceive that he is all-powerful and thereby deceive us into believing that there is nothing we can do about his lawlessness.  The only power that the devil truly has is deception!  You may not agree, but if you examine scripture you will find I am right.  I am not suggesting that you taunt him, turn you back on him, or say something as foolish as, “Take your best shot!”  If you study, you will find that what began as a snake in the garden is a dragon in Revelation.

I have a question: “How did he grow so much?”  Let me oversimplify it by saying, We did it!  How? Through deception.  I remember in testimony services in church people would stand and virtually praise the devil by talking about what all he was doing to them.  He sounded as if he was all-powerful, omnipotent, and omnipresent.  He is not! 

The LORD quickened me years ago, to stop preaching about the devil’s power and talk about his defeat. I was challenged to begin exposing the deception.  The church has been giving illegitimate power to the devil for decades if not centuries.  Instead of preaching about our power over the devil we have heard about the devil’s power.  If you believe the devil has the authority and power to kill you, he will.  If you believe that he has the power and authority to rob you, he will.  If you believe he has the power and authority to destroy you, he will.  He will do to us whatever we allow him to do.  It is time for us to believe God not the devil and defeat fear.

Hebrews 1:14-15 reveals a truth that too often we seem to miss.  Read it and note this truth: the devil had the power of death, but Jesus came and defeated him, now he has no power and is not one to be feared.  I suggest that the only thing the devil can steal from you in his own power is “The Word of God.”  However, if he achieves that goal, then he takes everything else too.  The real battle is in our minds and that is why we need for Jesus to be the LORD of our Minds.

I hope this has challenged you to find out what God says, believe what God says, and begin to practice what God says!  We are more than conquerors through Jesus!  We overwhelmingly conquer through Jesus.  We are the head, not the tail.  We are victorious not defeated.  Live victoriously, as He is in his present world!

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!