The Warfare of Prayer | Part 2

Is every Christian have the power of the Holy Spirit? Listen to this. Is every Christian spirit filled? Does every Christian have the power of the Holy Spirit? Listen to this. Did you get it?

Listen to it. Even the devils, that literally means the demons, are subject unto us through by name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means, hurt you." Now the word power is used twice in the King James Scriptures, but in the Greek, they're two different words for power. The first word means authority, and it may be translated, Behold, I give you authority over all the power of the enemy.

The three things today I want to put on your heart as we talk about our spiritual warfare over Satan, and that warfare, by the way, is prayer. But first of all, kingdom authority has been sovereignly established. Now what do we mean by authority? Well, Webster says authority is the power or the right to command, to act, to enforce obedience, or to make final decisions. And then he says this power as delegated to another, authorization, as he has my authority to do it.

Now that's what these 70 understood. Lord, the demons are subject to us through thy name. In the name of Jesus, we have the victory. You see, our authority comes from him.

It has been sovereignly established. I told you last week how Adam and Eve were created, placed in the Garden of Eden and given dominion. Given dominion over all of the earth. Let them have dominion over the works of my hands, God said. But Adam and Eve sinned. They yielded their dominion to Satan.

They lost the crown. They became slaves of Satan, and all of the children of Adam and Eve are sons and daughters of slaves and slaves themselves. Adam lost his dominion.

The Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus, the second Adam, the last Adam came to this earth as a man, took flesh and blood, and brought back Adam's lost estate. This dominion was legally lost. It must be righteously regained.

God owes the devil nothing, but God will be true to his own legality, his own sense of righteousness and justice and truth. And so God did not just simply snatch that authority back from Satan, kill the devil and give it to Adam. It was lost by man, and it was regained by man. It was lost by the first Adam. It was regained by the second Adam, the Lord Jesus.

And so the Bible says, in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. That dominion has been bought back. Now here's the second thing. This authority that has been sovereignly established, this same authority must be strongly enforced. Now you say, now wait a minute, Adrian.

If it has been so sovereignly established, why does it need to be strongly enforced? Because Satan is an imposter. And he does not give up anybody or anything without a fight. And his fight is deception. He always tries to pull the veil of darkness over his nefarious kingdom. He does not want you to understand what has happened to him.

Many people don't realize this. Many people think that Satan still has power. He only has power to those who allow him to have that power. Well you say, pastor, I don't understand. If he's been defeated, why then must I enforce my authority over him? Because you must appropriate what God has already done.

We do this in many areas. For example, Jesus died for everybody. 1 John 2 says this of the Lord Jesus. It says, he is the propitiation for our sin. Now that's a big double-jointed word, but it literally means he's the satisfaction for our sin. He is the propitiation for our sin. And then John says, and not fires only, but also for the whole world. When Jesus died, he died for the world. But is all the world saved? No.

Why? Because what is absolute, his death, must be appropriated by faith, right? The fact that Jesus died for you and paid your sin debt will do you no good unless you believe on him. He that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You no longer need to go to hell because of your lying or stealing or pride or envy or lust that has been paid for. But you must appropriate what has been paid for.

Got it? So it was absolute, but it must be appropriated. Let's think about spiritual power. When the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, God poured out his Holy Spirit to the infant church, and we don't need to pray for another Pentecost. We don't need to pray, Holy Spirit come, the Holy Spirit has come. We need to quit asking God to do what he's already done.

It'd be like asking Jesus to die for our sins. The Holy Spirit has come, and God has poured out incredible dynamic power. But let me ask you a question. Is every Christian spirit filled? Does every Christian have the power of the Holy Spirit? No.

Why? Because they have not appropriated that which is already absolute. You see, it is there, but it must be appropriated. Now let's talk about your dominion over Satan. Has Satan's back been broken? Yes.

Has his kingdom been ruined? Yes. Do you have authority? Yes.

But you must appropriate and enforce that authority. Satan is not going to give up these who are in his dark kingdom. You see, Satan is holding people captive. Turn back, if you will, with me for just a moment to Luke chapter 4.

I want to show you the condition of these who are captives of Satan. This is an amazing passage of Scripture here. Luke chapter 4, the Lord Jesus is at his hometown in Nazareth. It's time for the sermon, and Jesus steps up to give the sermon now. And he takes for a text Isaiah chapter 61. And this is what Jesus says, because the Old Testament prophesied the Lord Jesus. I'll read verse 17 first.

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. These are those who are bankrupt, the poor. Now, he's not talking only about those who are financially poor.

He includes that, but he's talking here spiritually. Now, you may be a multimillionaire today, but without Jesus, you're bankrupt. You may go home today in a fine automobile, but without Jesus, you're a pauper and you need the Lord.

So, put down the word, he came for the bankrupt. But now notice also, he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Oh, listen, Jesus came to those who are filled with sorrow. Your neighbor, those people that you work with, they are brokenhearted.

The Bible says, man that is born of woman in two days and full of trouble. And without Jesus, it's only going to get worse. What do they have to look forward to? One by one, the loved ones will be taken from them. One by one, they'll go down into the grave.

Day by day, their body will get weaker and sicker, and all they have to look forward to is a hole in the ground and there's no rhyme, no reason, no sense to anything. Jesus came to those people, the bankrupt, the brokenhearted. And then look, to preach deliverance to the captives, the bound. These people who have been taken captive by Satan. Satan has moved in and made this world a vast concentration camp. And they're Satan's captives. They may not even realize it, but they are bound by Satan. And the Bible says the whole world lieth in the bosom of the wicked one. Just like a child asleep in his mother's arms, this world is listening to the lullaby of hell as demons sing that anthem. And then we wonder, why don't they wake up?

They've been chloroformed by the spirit of this age and they've been taken captive. And the recovering of the sight to the blind. Put down the word blind. These are people who cannot see. The 2 Corinthians 4 says, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not.

It's not that you don't have 20-20 sight. You can't see spiritual things. Never argue with a man for not understanding the Bible.

Nobody's ever argued into the kingdom of heaven. When he says, I just don't see it, he's lying, he doesn't see it. Jesus said, except a man be born again, he cannot see.

Listen, they are blind. Satan is cruel. He takes joy in your suffering and in your pain.

Why does he do that? Why is Satan the bruiser? Satan knows that he cannot get at God. Satan's war is with God. But Satan knows if he can hurt someone that God loves, he's hurt God anyway. So therefore, you have become a pawn in this war.

Now just look at this litany of problems. Those who are bankrupt, those who are broken hearted, those who are bound, those who are blind, those who are bruised. These are the ones who are in Satan's dark kingdom. Now what is our responsibility? Why did Jesus come? This verse says that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him because God sent him to do this. Now what did Jesus say to us?

Listen to me. Jesus said, as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. These who are bankrupt, these who are broken hearted, these who are bound, these who are blind, these who are bruised, God has sent us to the rescue. It is our job in the authority that has been given to us to set the captives free. That's the reason we have this great commission.

It deals with authority. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Our warfare is not with flesh and blood. We need to understand that our warfare is with Satan.

Do you understand that? Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12 says, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. When Simon Peter rebuked the Lord Jesus and said to the Lord Jesus concerning the cross, No, Lord, be it far from you.

You'll not die on that cross. Jesus Christ said to Simon Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou art an offense unto me. Now was Jesus calling Simon Peter Satan?

Of course not. Jesus knew better than that. But Jesus looked beyond the Simon Peter and saw where the battle was. Now you know what the devil loves to do? The devil loves to get us fighting with flesh and blood.

Now listen, our problem is not in Hollywood nor in the White House. We're at war with Satan. Our warfare is not with some politician. Our warfare is with Satan himself. We are not wrestling with flesh and blood.

And the reason that we're losing the fight is we're not showing up for it. And Jesus said, Behold, I give you authority over all the power of the enemy. Now it must be strongly enforced.

It is sovereignly established, but it must be strongly enforced. You have to take the power of attorney and move in. There was a woman in Missouri, I believe. I read about her. She had allowed a man who was not her husband to come into her apartment and live there. She thought it'd be a good arrangement.

But after a while, she realized that she'd made a tragic mistake. And she told that man, you're gonna have to leave. He said, I'm not leaving. She said, please leave. He said, I'm not gonna leave. She said, I don't want you here anymore. He said, I'm not gonna go. You invited me here, I'm gonna stay.

She didn't know what to do. She went to a court and got an injunction against him and brought it there and said, you see this? You've got to go. I've got authority now, and you've got to go.

And he moved out. Now Satan is that same way. You can say, Satan, won't you leave me alone?

Please leave me alone, don't bother me anymore. What you need to do, my friend, is take the authority of heaven and say, Satan, in the name of Jesus, I resist you, I rebuke you. You have no right here.

You're trespassing on my Father's property. And in the name of Jesus, be gone. Amen. You say, well, you're talking to the devil. Isn't that like praying to the devil?

And I pray to a cat when you say scat. I'm telling you, my friend, Jesus said, I give you authority over all the power of the enemy. It has been sovereignly established. It must be strongly enforced.

Now here's the third and final thing. This authority that our Lord has given us to set the captives free must be strategically exercised. Now, Pastor, what do you mean that it must be strategically exercised?

Well, number one, the person who does it must be right. Don't you sally forth against Satan if there's any unconfessed sin in your life or spirit of rebellion. It's going to be over until you learn to be under. Only when you're under authority can you live with authority. You're going to get yourself in a lot of trouble if you try to fight spiritual battles with a dirty, wicked heart or rebellious spirit.

There must be the right person. Number two, and this is very important, there must be the right position. Now, you must understand where you are as a Christian to seek from that position because what is our position? Ephesians 2, verse 6 says that God has raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in the heavenlies. And folks, listen, when Jesus died, we died with Him.

His death had our name on it. When Jesus arose, we arose with Him. When Jesus ascended, we ascended with Him. When Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, we are in Him, He is in us. We are sitting together with Jesus in the heavenlies. You say, I thought it was here in Bellevue Baptist Church.

Physically, you are. But spiritually, you're seated with Christ. Now, listen, you know our problem many times? We're praying in the wrong direction. We are praying from earth to heaven. We need to start praying from heaven to earth.

Are you listening? I mean from our position in the Lord Jesus Christ. From heaven to earth, we are seated with the Lord Jesus. And now we need to turn our prayers downward because these things are beneath our feet. And Jesus said, whatever you will bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now, it doesn't mean that God seconds the motion.

It means in the Greek language, whatever you bind on earth shall have already been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have already been loosed in heaven. It is done, and now we need to exercise kingdom authority. The person, the right position, and the right power. Where is the power? The power is in Calvary.

The Bible speaks of Satan in Revelation chapter 12, and it says, concerning Satan, they, the saints, overcame him by the blood of Christ, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. Where is the power? The power is in Calvary.

The power is in the blood. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. You, with the authority that has been given to you, can take the blood of Jesus Christ and overcome Satan every time. The word of their testimony, what does that mean? What is the word of your testimony? The word of your testimony is the word of God actualized in your life. That's the word of your testimony.

What God has done for you, do you have a testimony? Believe the Bible by the word of your testimony. Give the devil your testimony. Say, I belong to Jesus Christ.

My certificate of debt is paid in full. Your back is broken. God has given me authority over you, and I don't have to take it. That's my testimony, Satan.

Don't you let the devil intimidate you anymore. They loved not their lives unto the death. What that verse literally means is, I'll serve Jesus if I die for doing it. Doesn't mean I'll keep loving him until I die. It means I'll serve him if I get killed for doing it.

That's what it means. Oh, my friend, Jesus said, I give you authority over all the power of the enemy. If you've never given your heart to Jesus, and you like to be saved, I'm telling you right now today that God will save you by his grace and for his glory. And not only will he save you, but he will empower you and keep you saved day by day. And the same Jesus that has saved me is the one who will save you. I want you to pray this prayer if you want to be saved. You say, well, pastor, if a person can be saved and know it, I want to know it. All right, then pray this prayer.

Dear God, that's right, just talk to him. I know that you love me, and I know that you want to save me. Jesus, you died to save me, and you promised to save me if I would trust you.

I do trust you. I believe you're the Son of God. I believe you paid for my sin with your blood on the cross.

I believe that God raised you from the dead. And now by faith, like a child, I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, forgive my sin. Save me, Lord Jesus. Save me, Lord Jesus. Pray it and mean it. Save me, Lord Jesus.

Did you ask him? Then pray this way. Thank you for saving me. I believe that you have. And now, Lord Jesus, help me never to be ashamed of you.

Give me the courage to obey you and make it public. In your name I pray, amen. And if you prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, God bless you. We would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our Discover Jesus page. There at the website, you'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith.

We have a response section. You can share your testimony or tell us how this message or others have made a difference in your life. Let us hear from you today. Go to lwf.org slash radio and click the tab that says Discover Jesus. Welcome to God's forever family.

We can't wait to hear from you today. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, request one by the title, The Warfare of Prayer, when you call 1-877-LOVEGOD. This message is also part of the insightful series, The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority.

For that complete collection, all nine powerful messages, call 1-877-LOVEGOD, or go online to lwf.org slash radio, or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Are you longing to pray with Kingdom Authority? Understand the necessity of your clean heart and begin praying from your victory in heaven. Remember this wisdom from Adrian Rogers, stop praying from earth to heaven and start praying from heaven to earth. Thanks so much for studying in God's word with us today and tune in next time for more timeless truth from Adrian Rogers, right here on Love Worth Finding. A listener reached out to us not long ago and said this, Dr. Rogers' sermons have touched my life and many other lives as well. I thank God for continuing to use this ministry.

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