Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical faith-filled vision for your life. I bless your spiritual eyes to see tomorrow's promise today. The Lord has good plans in store for you. Plans for your welfare, not for evil. to give you a future and a hope.
That's the promise of Jeremiah 29, 11. May you live in joy now because of tomorrow's blessings. May you delight today in future glories. Your hope isn't pie in the sky. It's already prepared, already promised, already procured.
A hope. a future. For sure. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. Run into the arms of a loving God who died in your place so that you would be utterly set free and know this, that the Lord and your Maker loves you infinitely and wants you to be utterly set free and to give you this authority over evil.
For the rest of your days on earth, until you reign with Christ forever in glory. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I am Daniel Britt. Excited for you to hear the teaching today in our series, Empowered, as presented at Renolda Church in North Carolina.
Um If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. or call 877-544-4860.
More on this later in the program. But now let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Pastor Alan Wright. Bennett, I think, was playing in the number one slot, our son. He just wasn't on his game at all.
He wasn't accurate. He was missing his putts. It just wasn't good. The number two guy normally played great. He hit his first ball into another fairway, and then he shanked his second shot.
All our guys were just uptight, and they had terrible scores that day. And I loved that night at dinner listening to George Niehart, Coach Niehart, gave him a little talk. And he said, guys. We do this sport because it's fun. And I never want to pressure you.
Because That just makes you more nervous. And we've come out here to enjoy this, and we've had a great season, we've had a great time. And I want you to really get out there tomorrow and have fun. But I have noticed That you have a lot more fun when you play better than you did today. And I always thought that was a great line because.
That's the tension it's like We don't need to live in a stress or a fear mode because of the reality of. Of spiritual warfare. But we instead need to live with an awareness of it. A sense of authority in Christ so that we are living victoriously. That's the picture you get from this.
Yes, a spiritual battle. but absolutely spiritually victorious. Jesus says this, verse 18: He said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. This is an incredible statement, should be underlined in your Bible, sealed in your heart.
Jesus says to them and to every ordinary follower of Jesus, I have given you authority. To tread on serpents and scorpions, that's just a symbol. for demons. And over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
So, serpents and scorpions, just common imagery of the symbol of demons, not literally. This is one of the most misunderstood crazy that anybody pick up a snake and think that's what they're supposed to be doing. Of course not. No, in the beginning, Satan was pictured as a serpent in the garden. And this is a prevalent Old Testament image as well.
But he's saying that you are the head, not the tail. That when it comes to this spiritual realm, you have the authority. We learned about this a couple weeks ago. There's no comparison between light and darkness. Light is an energy and a power force that is pictured as God's first words, and God Himself is like light.
And all of hell is just. Operating under the shadows, it's like the absence of light. And you, child of God, have been escorted into, brought into the kingdom of light of His beloved Son, Colossians 1 says.
So you're the light of the world. And so there's no comparison between light and darkness, and you're walking in the light.
Next week, we'll take a deeper dive into what this means when he says, I've given you authority. I want to look at this word authority. But A little sneak preview. The word for power in the New Testament, dunamis. Which has been the subject of what we've been talking about in these past weeks, dunamis, like dynamite.
But the word for authority is different. Exusia. And it comes from that Greek prefix xex that means out of. And usia, which means being or substance. Power, dunamis, is like Something that comes from God and the power of God comes upon you, or the power of God fills you in moments of ministry.
It's beautiful. Exusia. Means out of one's being.
So Authority is something that is flowing from Who you are. Who God has declared you to be. Authority Is to say that the 72 and you are Jesus's ambassadors, delegates. that it is like you've been given what we call power of attorney. You've been authorized.
to act on behalf of another in their name. To cash their check, to pay their bill. It's not your resource. but you've been legally aligned with the authorizer, so it's as good as if they were doing it themselves. This is really what we mean by ministering or praying in the name of Jesus.
When you say in Jesus' name, amen, it's not like you're just tagging on the proper ending of a prayer. Instead, Think of it. You are praying and ministering in the name as the delegated authority of Jesus and appropriating all of that authority that Jesus has given you. Jesus says that there's something he saw. He said to them, verse 18, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
And I just love this verse. I wonder what he saw. He's probably not here talking about when Satan was originally thrown out of heaven at the original rebellion of Lucifer. Instead, I think he's Seeing more than that. He may be seeing into all that the cross is going to accomplish.
He certainly sees the final destiny of Satan, but I love what Sam Storms has said. Sam who By the way, if you want to pursue this more, his book on spiritual warfare is one of the most thorough and absolutely best. You get Sam Storms. But he says there are seven stages to Satan's defeat. The first is the incarnation of God.
at the first Christmas. in human flesh. You may recall That There were all these efforts that seemed like were happening to kill the baby Jesus. It's pictured, I think, in Revelation chapter 12, where it's like there's a dragon trying to consume the male son of this woman. But Satan doesn't succeed.
despite King Herod's efforts. And so That's the first defeat of Satan. couldn't kill Jesus before his time. And the second stage of Satan's defeat was when Jesus resisted Satan's temptations in the wilderness. He was hungry, he had been fasting, he was tired, and he was vulnerable, and yet the Son of God.
By applying the Word of God, resisted every one of the devil's temptations. The third stage was when Jesus cast out demons from those who had come under the demonic oppression. He did it over and over. And he said, If you see me casting out Demons, by the finger of God, you'll know that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And the fourth stage was when Jesus disarmed and humiliated the demonic host by his suffering on the cross for sinners.
The Bible describes this as Jesus, through His shed blood and the sacrifice that He made, that He made a public spectacle of all of these. Heavenly Supernatural beings that were opposed to God. And the fifth stage is when Jesus brings people, men and women, into saving faith Himself. And they are snatched away from the clutches of the devil. The sixth stage storm says, is when we, by God's sustaining strength and our own grace and the armor that He gives us, that we learn to resist Satan.
And then the seventh and final stage, of course, is that one day God will throw him into the lake of fire and he'll have no power whatsoever left.
So here's what you need to know, child of God: Satan and all the powers of hell. have no power over you as a child of God because they have no accusation left to make over you. This is why Jesus says, Nevertheless, verse 20: Do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice. That your names are written in heaven. He wasn't saying, oh, you should not be excited about the fact that the demons were subject to you.
He's not saying, oh, it's unimportant to heal people, it's unimportant to help. He wasn't saying, he was just saying, as exciting as that is, As invigorating and enthralling it is to see that kind of power. There's something more wonderful, and that is that your names are written in heaven. That there is an indelible ledger, there is a Lamb's book of life, there is a place where your name has been written and it cannot be erased. This is the thing you should be most excited about and is being proven out by the fact that I gave you this authority.
The devil is named Satan because it means adversary or accuser. It's not really a proper name. It's just the devil is the accuser or the adversary. And he's like a prosecutor pictured in the scripture where he's bringing accusations against people, saying this person deserves to suffer. This person deserves to be cursed.
This person deserves that I would be able to inflict pain upon them. Because, as if reminding the Lord of his own word that the wages of sin is death. If God's holy and a righteous judge, then sin must be punished.
So that's what the accused are saying. Alan has sinned, therefore, he shouldn't be blessed, he should be punished. And when we listen to that accusation, Apart from the gospel, it has this terrible weight upon us. where we feel that shame and we feel that condemnation because we know we have failed. We know that we have failed over and over, and if we see ourselves and we see as if Satan is in that courtroom and we don't have the gospel, we'll feel burdened and we'll feel defeated.
That's why Jesus wanted those 72 and every one of us to see this with Him. He's inviting us into his vision. I saw Satan fall like lightning. Your names are etched. into the book of life.
For the Christian, There is no legal ground for hell's accusations because In Christ, justice has been served. Through the cross, God made him who knew no sin to become our sin, so that we who had sinned so much would be reckoned as the very righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. It means that for the Christian, the prosecutor's case is thrown out of court. It means that the whole case is dismissed. You see what I'm saying?
It means you're not in a big conversation with the devil or any demon. It means instead that the more that you know who you are and what God has done for you and Jesus Christ, you don't even get into that. You just recognize your stand. That's what exousia is, that's what authority is. It would be unjust for a judge to require two people to pay for the same crime, and Jesus has already paid the full debt on your behalf.
And because your sin, Child of God has been removed as far as the east is from the west. And because Christ has taken it and paid all of the debt, we are utterly immune to all of hell's accusation. We just need to know it and walk in it. The devil has no case, he's been thrown out of the discussion.
So, like in a flash, like lightning, Satan lost all his power against the Christian because of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're just exploring the gospel and you're just hearing this and you're just wondering, is it true or demons real or angels real? And what should I do about it? Here's what you do. Run into the arms of a loving God who died in your place so that you would be utterly set free and know this, that the Lord and your Maker loves you infinitely and wants you to be utterly set free and to give you this authority over evil.
For the rest of your days on earth, until you reign with Christ forever in glory. How? Marvelous. How victorious How wondrous. There is a spiritual battle.
If we think the demons aren't real at all, we will not be prepared. We will not have our armor on. We would not take our rightful place of authority. The spiritual battle is real. The disciples, they faced the demonic when they went out.
Whether we recognize it pointedly or not, we too are. But every single Christian, just like those 72 ordinary disciples. Every single one. of us has been delegated by Christ. His authority by His name.
We Act on his behalf. That's who we are. as the people of God. And the greatest joy of our lives. is not That we could do the ministry.
or that we could have a moment in which we saw evil flee. The greatest joy. Is that the reason that's possible? is that we belong to God. That He has secured for us A place so sure and so beautiful That we're already seated with Him in the heavenlies and declared to be co-heirs with Him.
and nothing could ever snatch us. from his hand.
Well, we drove over. I killed the snake, got rid of the snake. I said, honey, come on, let's go. This is many years ago. I said, I got in the car, and now I'm kind of, you know, having killed a snake, I felt like I had some, you know, masculinity chips.
And I was like, I just looked at her and I said, Killed one snake. Let's go get another. She said, We're riding over. She said, Well, do you know how to cast out an evil spirit? I said, Not really.
She said, Have you ever done it? I said, No, never.
So, you don't really know what you're doing? No, I don't.
Well, what are we going to do? I said, I don't know. We're just going to go over there. We're going to do it. And so, I'm completely novice at this.
And I went in, and this precious woman. Her father was there, Anne and I were there. And she had been getting increasingly depressed, extremely anxious, and you could see it all over her. She wasn't able to do much by way of participating with us. And so I finally just said a prayer, Lord Jesus, just cover this precious daughter of yours.
and our time together. because we make our appeal. to the finished work of Christ. and to His shed blood. And when I just mentioned the blood of the Lord Jesus, I saw her move in a strange way.
And I just thought, well, I might as well just try it. And so I just said, whatever unclean spirit. is afflicting this woman. I tell you, you must come out and you must leave. And she shook.
and nothing else happened. And so I said it like you would to some child that wasn't obeying you. I said again, you must come out and you must leave. and she shook a little bit more. And the third time I said it, I felt a kind of confidence that Jesus was with us.
This really was our position and any fear of Evil in that place left because I was just aware of the goodness and the power of God. And I said a third time, you must come out and leave this. woman now. and she shook again and she exhaled and suddenly she just smiled. And She said it was gone.
And I said It is. It was a first experience, and I did also refer her to a psychiatrist I knew. who not only was an excellent doctor, but understood spiritual things. And over time, she needed counseling as well. As well as some medication.
I realize it's usually complicated. We're spirit, soul, and body, and sometimes it's all intermixed. And that was my first experience, but I never have since ever doubted for a single moment. That in Jesus' name, Christians have authority over evil. You, child of God, have power.
over evil spirits. And that's the gospel. Bye. Alan Wright, our good news message, Power Over Evil, from the series Empowered. Please stay with us.
Pastor Alan is back joining me in the studio, sharing his parting good news thought for the day in just a moment. Do you ever feel stuck? Stuck in old fears, old failures, old patterns, or the feeling that you're never quite measuring up? Many Christians know God has called them to something greater, but they wonder if they'll ever have the power to live it out. The good news is that God doesn't just give instructions for Christian living.
He gives power for Christian living. Right now, our featured resource from Pastor Alan is the Empowered Bundle, Living in the Power of the Promise. This digital download includes a complete study guide along with full uninterrupted audio messages from the Empowered Teaching series. You'll discover that the power of God isn't something you have to earn or achieve. Jesus has already paid the price.
Through the Holy Spirit, you can receive freedom from guilt and shame, victory over strongholds, and confidence to walk in the fullness of God's promises. You are qualified because of Christ and God wants to clothe you with power from on high. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer.
We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-5444. five four four four four four four four four four four four four forty eight sixty Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Back here now with Pastor Alan in the studio at the conclusion of today's teaching, Power Over Evil.
And Pastor Alan, for the one listening right now who is really leaning in close on this teaching, and what's your word of encouragement for that person today? Jesus Christ has already defeated Satan. has already, through the cross and the resurrection, made a public spectacle in the heavenlies of the demonic realm. And what this means for us is that now we're in an entirely different position. In Christ, we share His name, we share His name.
what he's accomplished, it has been reckoned to us as if our own righteousness, and it has put us, in a sense, onto the victorious team. And so you still have a spiritual battle. But you're There's not a question about where you stand in it. You stand in authority and you stand in the very power of God Himself.
So. Be aware of the demonic, but be not afraid of the darkness, because you are victorious in Christ. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860.
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