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Don’t Expect Instant Deliverance

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Breakthrough

Next Part Conclusion,,


When the all-powerful Son of God was gloriously victorious over a temptation in the wilderness, Satan did not slink away in defeat. Undeterred, the Evil One moved straight on to trying to seduce the Holy One with a completely different temptation. And when Jesus again delivered a crushing defeat on the enemy, he pounded the Son of God with yet another insidious temptation. Finally, after being beaten yet again, Satan left – but only, as the King James Version puts it, “for a season” or in the words of the NIV, “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

Demons leave only with great reluctance. Like naughty children, they will test us to the limit to see if we really believe we have authority over them or whether they can bluff their way into staying by pretending to be stronger than us. Don’t be surprised or think it indicates you are weak when demons put up a fight.

When we read, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), let’s not get so carried away with the final result (him fleeing) that we forget that the key word is “resist”. If we have to resist, it must be because he and his minions will put up a fight.

You can expect quite a battle of wills. But even when they finally leave, that is not the end of the story. Jesus spoke of a demon who left a man and then returned. The man happened to have his defenses down and so the demon not only re-entered the man but invited seven other demons to join him (Matthew 12:43-45). The point I must emphasize is that it is typical of demons to keep coming back, checking one’s defenses to see if they can re-enter.

As I so often find myself reminding Christians: Satan and his evil hordes are sore losers. Once they find something that shakes you up they will keep trying it over and over relentlessly until they are absolutely convinced that their tactics will never again work with you. When, finally, they seem to leave, it is only to bide their time for a surprise attack. Their persistence is so very unpleasant for you. The positive side, however, is that this will make you stronger and stronger as you keep resisting his lies.

The enemy of our souls is the master deceiver because that is all he can do. The devil cannot change reality. He cannot change the fact that God loves you with all of his unlimited love and that Christ died for the sins of the entire world, which has to include every sin you have ever committed. So all he can do is mess with your feelings, hoping that you will start to believe them rather than believe in the power of Christ and the love of God.