The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Warfare by Neil T. Anderson & Timothy M. Warner

Author:Neil T. Anderson & Timothy M. Warner [Anderson, Neil T. & Warner, Timothy M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780830746019
Publisher: Regal
Published: 2005-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

Where Do I Get Power?

The lure of knowledge and power are two of Satan's most effective traps. In a sense, everything is a matter of knowledge or, more accurately, truth, even the truth about power. Yet the power issue is so prominent in the experience of people around the world that we treat it as a separate issue.

Satan is a powerful angel. For whatever reason, God did not withdraw the power delegated to him as an angel when he rebelled against God and attempted to establish his own kingdom. We can be sure that his power is limited. God is the source of all power, and He delegates that power as He sees fit. Satan tries to create the impression that he is as powerful as or even more powerful than God, and Hollywood often conveys the same lie. For instance, the poor priest in The Exorcist was no match for Satan. People who have been involved in Satan-worship bear witness to this deception among the followers of Satan.

Satan is like an animal on a tether. The animal can go as far as the tether allows, but no farther. He can act freely within the area defined by his rope, but the rope defines his area of activity. Satan is on God's tether, and while he can do many things within the limited area defined by God, he certainly cannot go beyond the limits God has established. If he could, he would have reduced God's creation to chaos long ago. He is not happy that "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1) and that God's children can live to the glory of God.

Because his power is limited, however, does not mean that Satan has no power at all. He is able to do supernatural things. God gave him permission to incite an enemy against Job, send storms to destroy his property, and cause Job to suffer physically, but he was not allowed to take Job's life (see job 1-2). He could give the Gadarene demonic strength to break every chain with which people tried to restrain him, but he could not resist Jesus' authority (see Mark 5:1-13). He could hinder Paul from carrying out some ministry he had planned, but he could not prevent the church from being planted (see 1 Thess. 2:18).

It is also true, however, that if God's people trust and obey God, they can live free from the control that Satan would try to gain over them. The covenant God made with His people in the Old Testament can be stated quite simply: If you trust and obey me, I will give you the Promised Land, with all its blessings, and I will give you victory over all the attacks of your enemies. If you do not trust and obey me, I will allow your enemies to conquer you and deprive you of the blessings of the land.

God told Israel through Moses:

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.

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