The Strongman Series: Part 1

It's the classic scenario:

The big, muscle-bound school Bully accosts the skinny little Weakling kid every day. The Bully embarrasses Weakling in front of all the other kids, takes his lunch money, and leaves him with empty pockets. On a good day, Weakling is left with only a bruised ego... On a bad day, maybe a black eye.

After having suffered through this daily harassment for a full school year, poor Weakling  is fed up. He has had all he can take. Over the summer break, Weakling lifts weights, runs, and takes up boxing at the local gym. He is determined to put a stop to Bully's tyranny.

One the first day of the fall semester, Bully sets out to pick up where he left off before the summer - terrorizing Weakling. Only today, Bully is in for a surprise...

Bully finds Weakling, and is a bit surprised. Weakling looks a litter thicker, a little more solid. Weakling has a subtile confident air about him that was never there before. He isn't cowering and trying to find an escape route...

Bully walks up to Weakling and begins to berate him and demand money, as was the custom. Weakling hesitates, and then says "NO!"

At this point, bully - in total shock at this response - makes a move to punch Weakling in the eye. The kids are all gathered round watching, assuming this will go as it always has: Bully will knock Weakling to the ground, then make off with Weakling's cash.

But what an unexpected turn of events!!!!

Weakling ducks the punch then lands a solid blow to Bully's chin, knocking flat! Weakling stands over Bully and boldly announces, "Don't ever mess with me again!"

Consider this:

Just as there are bullies and brutes in the natural realm, there are also bullies and brutes in the spiritual realm. Moreover, there is one Big Bully, who is boss over them all, and his name is Lucifer, and Satan, and Beelzebub, and Belial – among others. He, together with his underlings – his demon army – seeks to terrorize mankind; and, especially, to antagonize Believers.

The Enemy will accost you on every hand for as long as you allow it. He will take your things. He will leave you bruised, and battered, and broke. He will have you living in a constant state of fear, and high alert; always looking over your shoulder trying to spot the bully before he spots you.

But this is NOT how Believers should live.

The Word of God says:

¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. – Luke 10:18-20

What does this mean for the Believer?

It means that the Believer DOES NOT have to accept nor suffer demonic activity in their lives, because:

1.       We have been given the power to stop this activity in its tracks

2.       We have been given authority to exercise that power

The Word of God says:

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. – Romans 8:37

Let’s look at the Greek text for the phrase “more than conquerors”, as found in the Strong’s Concordance (word number G5245);

ὑπερνικάω

hupernikaō (hoop-er-nik-ah'-o)

From G5228 and G3528;

to vanquish beyond, that is, gain a decisive victory: - more than conquer.

Let’s also look at the definition of “vanquish”

               

van·quish   [vang-kwish, van-]

verb (used with object)

1.       to conquer or subdue by superior force, as in battle.

2.       to defeat in any contest or conflict; be victorious over: to vanquish one's opponent in an argument.

3.       to overcome or overpower: He vanquished all his fears.

What does this mean for the Believer?

The Enemy will do everything he can to strong-arm you out of what you are entitled to through Christ Jesus (your lunch money). He will tell you “you might as well give up and go home, you don’t stand a chance!” He will bring to mind every time you have lost in the past, and use it to try to persuade you that you will lose this time, too.

The Enemy will repeatedly attack you and win, setting in your mind an expectation of defeat. He’ll have you scared to walk down the street (much as Weakling was afraid to walk the school corridors) because you never know when he’s going to pop up. But:

                The Word of God says:

               

                ⁷ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

– 2 Timothy 1:7

What does this mean for the Believer?

The Believer has no reason to fear the devil. The spiritually weak Believer need only build up some spiritual muscle. Spend some time in the “Jesus Gym” (yes I really said that) working out with the Word of God!

Weakling had to work on his body in order to build strength. He had to be trained in a form of hand-to-hand combat so that he could do battle with his antagonist. His newly gained strength and skills brought a fresh confidence when he next faced his nemesis.

It works much the same for the Believer in spiritual matters. You must have training, strength, and confidence when you face your spiritual bully (the devil and his workers) or you won’t win. But, through Jesus Christ and the Word of God (the Holy Bible) you have the necessary power to be victorious in battle.

                The Word of God says:

¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils… – Mark 16:17

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. – Romans 8:37

What does this mean for the Believer?

In whose name? Who is ‘he’ and ‘him’?

JESUS!

               

The Word of God says:

¹⁸  And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. – Acts 16:18

¹⁰  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. – Philippians 2:10

¹⁸  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All poweris given unto me in heaven and in earth.

– Matthew 28:18

What does this mean for the Believer?

Both the power you have over the Enemy and the authority (permission) by which you exercise that power are given and sustained by Jesus Christ; it is placed in your possession for you to use, but DOES NOT ORINIGATE FROM YOU.

                Consider this:

                Delegated Authority (as defined on Wikipedia.)

Delegated authority is an authority obtained from another that has authority since the authority does not naturally exist.

Typically this is used in a government context where an organization that is created by a legitimate government, such as a Board, City, Town or other Public Corporations to allow them to legally function in the name of the constitutional government.

               

               

                Consider this:

               

You are leasing a property from ABC Realty, but you don’t deal with the owner of ABC Realty, you deal with Bobby, a property manager. Bobby has the power to act on behalf of the Corporation to buy sell and lease properties. He also has the power to collect fees, such as rent; he also has the power to approve payments for insurance, utilizes, and fees for maintenance. Bobby doesn’t own the property, so he has no automatic authority to do any of this; he can’t just take it upon himself to start managing someone else’s property. (That would be like Average Joe walking into the local department store, then ordering products to stock the shelves and signing off on checks to pay vendors.)

Bobby had to be GIVEN PERMISSION by ABC Realty to act as representative, and to carry out actions in the name of ABC Realty.

If Bobby has to evict a tenant, he calls upon the authority of ABC Realty (entity that ACTUALLY HOLDS THE POWER over the property) in order to be able to legally evict the tenant.

Bobby acts ‘in the name of’ (under the authority of) ABC Realty.

Believers engaged in spiritual warfare ‘act in name of’ (under the authority of) Jesus Christ, because Jesus has given the Believer PERMISSION (authority) to do so.

SUMMARY:

1.       satan and his workers can be compared to ‘spiritual bullies’

2.       Believers DO NOT have to tolerate demonic strong-arming

3.       Jesus has delegated authority to Believers: He has given them both power to defeat demons and permission to exercise that power

4.       Jesus is the source and maintaining force of Believers’ power and authority over the enemy; the Believer is the vessel into which this power and authority has been placed.

5.       The Believer is empowered to gain DEFINITIVE VICTORY over the enemy