Ministering: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
Satan will not come to you directly, he will come through someone close to you. The serpent accommodated Satan and allowed him to use his vocal cord to speak. Satan is always behind what man do (Psalms 2:1) and God always has a million ways to deal with the schemes of satan. When Joshua, David and others went to war, they were confronting the devil and not just men. David knew about the spiritual scheme of warfare when he came into battle with Goliath. Satan will keep on coming until you wrestle him down. In every conflict Jesus went through, He was confronting demonic entities hidding behind men. For instance, remember when the Pharisees asked Jesus if they should pay tribute to Caesar or not. That question could have landed Him in trouble because it was from Luciferian wisdom. However, by God’s wisdom Jesus answered the question and silenced the demon forever.
Luke 22:1-7
In Genesis, it was the serpent that made itself available to Satan, while in this story it was Judas that made himself available. 1 Corinthians 2:8 – The crucifixion of the Lord of glory was attributed to the princes of darkness but with the cooperation of men. Without the cooperation of human beings, Satan cannot operate here. His operation is in the second heaven (heavenlies), therefore, without human permission, he cannot work on earth. The demons in the mad man of Gadarenes (Luke 8:28) told Jesus it was not yet time for Him to torment them. The man accommodated them and gave them the platform to operate here on earth. But they also quickly challenged Jesus that as the Son of God, He also does not have the right to operate on earth. This is why Jesus is referred to as the son of Man. The title gives Him permission to operate on earth.
Again we see satan hiding behind human personalities when he used Peter’s voice to dissuade Jesus from dying on the cross just after Peter declared who Jesus was! That should teach us that a person prophesies today does not mean the devil cannot use him tomorrow. That is why we need to judge all spirits. Satan is a strong man and you must bear this in mind as you work towards advancing the kingdom.
Another point that we need to bear in mind is taken from the story of Jesus sending out his disciples to go out and preach the gospel and devils were subject to them. However, Jesus cautioned them not to rejoice in the fact demons were subject to them and shifted their attention away from their ability to cast out devils to the relationship they have with the Father. Demons are not as powerful as they make you believe they are. Intimidation is a tactic of satan but know this, there is a greater power in you (Colossians 2:15).
Matthew 16:16-18
Peter was not the rock, the rock was the revelation and declaration of Peter in verse 16. In Jesus’ times, gates represent the place where decisions are made and programmes are decided. Therefore when Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail, He meant that all the strategies and agenda of hell will not work against the church.