======================================================================== DON'T BE AFRAID, SATAN HAS BEEN DEFEATED by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of not engaging in spiritual warfare with human beings but focusing on battling spiritual forces of wickedness. It highlights the victory of Jesus over Satan and the need for believers to trust in God's power and promises. The speaker encourages listeners to seek peace, trust in God's deliverance, and live in victory over the attacks of the enemy by standing on God's truth and love. Topics: "Spiritual Warfare", "Trust in God's Power" Scripture References: Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 16:28, Exodus 14:13, 2 Chronicles 20:15, Romans 8:37 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of not engaging in spiritual warfare with human beings but focusing on battling spiritual forces of wickedness. It highlights the victory of Jesus over Satan and the need for believers to trust in God's power and promises. The speaker encourages listeners to seek peace, trust in God's deliverance, and live in victory over the attacks of the enemy by standing on God's truth and love. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I want to read a verse in Ephesians in chapter 6. Ephesians 6 and verse 10. So many years ago the Lord gave me this or spoke to me through this verse and showed me one of the secrets of overcoming Satan. I want you to look at this verse carefully. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. I'm sorry, verse 12. This whole section is about spiritual warfare and I want to say something before going into that verse. There was no such thing as spiritual warfare under the old covenant. If you read all the way from Genesis to Malachi, you never read of anybody who is battling with Satan. You never see anyone confronting Satan directly. I mean you read indirectly of Satan in the book of Job. Job never confronted Satan directly. You read once about Satan tempting David but there was no direct confrontation. And even when Zechariah saw, it was a vision that he saw Satan with the high priest Joshua, but there was never one single case from the time of Adam. Adam and Eve, they confronted Satan directly and they were defeated. But then the next person in history who confronted Satan after Adam and Eve was Jesus. And he overcame. Now the reason why God did not allow Satan to go and have warfare with the Israelites was because they would all have been defeated. They didn't have the Holy Spirit within them. Jesus hadn't died. Satan had not been defeated on the cross. So how in the world could they battle Satan? So God does not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability. Now today we're not in the condition of those Israelites. We are living post Calvary and the resurrection. We're living in a time when Satan's already been defeated and we're living in a time when the hearts are cleansed and clean in the blood of Christ. We're living in a time when the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us. So it's a completely different time. And that's why in the New Testament you read a lot about spiritual warfare. For example, casting out demons. You never read in the Old Testament about any godly man casting out demons. Jesus is the first person you see casting out demons. And then of course followed by Paul and the others. That is all an establishment of victory. Jesus once said, you can see that in the Gospels. If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, Jesus said, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. And so when Jesus came, his casting out demons was an indication that Satan was going to be defeated and the kingdom of God had come. And when the apostles cast out demons after the day of Pentecost, the kingdom of God already came. The kingdom of God came to earth on the day of Pentecost. And today it is found in the church. That is how we understand. Let me show you one verse in the Gospels before we proceed to Ephesians 6. In Matthew's Gospel and chapter 16 and verse 28. Matthew 16 verse 28 we read, Jesus said, some of you standing here will not taste death till you see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God is the same thing. So there were people who are living at that time, people living at that time in whom Jesus was talking to. Right then he said, some of you will not die till the kingdom of God has come. So what is the meaning of that? It meant those people would live. So it was not referring to the second coming of Christ. Referring to the day of Pentecost and some of those people living there would see the kingdom of God come. So we are living in that kingdom now and Satan attacks the kingdom of God. And now we turn to Ephesians 6 and Paul says here, our struggle is not against, Ephesians 6 and verse 12, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, powers, world forces of darkness and spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies. See Satan is not in hell. People who don't read the Bible think that Satan is in hell. Satan and the demons are not in hell. There were only certain demons who sinned sexually in some way through men in the days of Noah. You read about it in Genesis 6. Those were the ones whom Jesus the Lord confined to some deep place and were punished. But all the other demons are free. They're not in hell. And you know when Jesus was casting out demons from a demon-possessed man called Legion, those demons pleaded with Jesus, don't send us into the pit. It also indicates they were not in the pit. Jesus said okay, it's not yet time for you to go into the pit. So you can go into those pigs over there. So Satan is in the heavenlies. You know there are three heavens. Second Corinthians 12, Paul says I was caught up to the third heaven. And he also says he was caught up to paradise. So paradise is in the third heaven now after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so the first heaven is what we read in Psalm 8, behold the heavens I see the work of your hands. This is this universe. The physical universe is the first heaven and that's a huge space, way beyond what we can even imagine. And the third heaven is where God dwells. So in between I presume is the second heaven. And when Satan, before he became Satan, was a the anointed angel who had access into God's presence in the third heaven. He was cast out from there when he sinned and he rebelled and became proud and wanted to exalt himself. He was cast down where to? To the second heaven. And we read one day in the book of Revelation, you read he'll be cast down to the earth. It's not yet come. He'll be thrown out of the second heaven. Then you read in Revelation 20 that he'd be finally cast into the lake of fire. So that's where he finally goes. But right now he's in the second heaven, but he can move around on the earth like he told Job. Like, sorry, like he told God in the book of Job chapter 1. The Lord asked him where are you coming from? God knew but he wanted Satan to admit it, perhaps for our benefit. And Satan said I've been roaming around the earth looking at people, observing people. And there we see what Satan does. He goes around the earth observing especially God's children. And that's why God could tell Satan, hey you've been going around looking around a lot of people on the earth. Have you seen my servant Job? Among all the people you've met, you've met a lot of hypocrites who claim to know God, but Job is different. He's a man who fears God and turns away from evil. And boy, Satan really knew Job. And he tried his best to bring Job down, but he didn't succeed. Job loved God more than he loved his wife, more than he loved his children, more than he loved all his property, and ultimately more than he loved his own health and his life. Amazing testimony. And what a wonderful thing it was that God had one person on earth whom he could boast about. I remember as a young Christian when I read that. And I read the book of Job and I heard Job, God boasting about Job to Satan saying, have you considered my servant Job? There's no one like him on the earth who fears God and turns away from evil. I read that as a young man in my 20s and I said, Lord, I want to be like that. I want to be a young man. I was still working in the Navy those days. And I said, Lord, I want to be a young man like that, whom you can, as Satan goes around the world and looks at all the different believers, that you can point me out, not me as the only one, one among many, who fears God, reverences God, and turns away from evil, turns my eyes and my tongue away from evil. Yeah, I sought for that testimony. It took me quite a few years to get there because it's like a child learning to walk. And I fell many times in those early years after I was born again, but I was determined. And finally God brought me to that place of victory over Satan and all his attacks. And I remember the Lord telling me some years ago that as you were afraid of Satan for many years, from now on Satan will be afraid of you. That really blessed my heart, that not only I don't have to be afraid of Satan, but Satan is going to be afraid of me. I don't believe God can say that about every child of His. A lot of God's children are afraid of Satan. And they don't have power over Satan because there's secret sin in their life. They don't control their tongues. They don't purify their thoughts. And then Satan gets power. They can't fight him because they don't have the weapons to fight him. However, here's something that there are many weapons mentioned in Ephesians 6, you know, the breastplate of righteousness and the sword of the Spirit and many, many things there, shield of faith. But before we get to the weapons, here's something that all of us can take heed to. And if you want to, you can begin here. In this battle against Satan, Ephesians 6, 12, our struggle is not against human beings, but against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. That is in the second heaven. And what the Lord showed me in this verse is, that first part, our struggle is not against human beings, but against satanic forces. And the Lord showed me and told me from that verse, if you want to overcome Satan and his demons, as the way they attack you and your family and your thoughts and everything else in your life, you must determine today that from now on, you will never again fight with a human being about anything. You will never fight with a human being about anything. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and forces of evil. So what the Lord showed me was, if you fight with human beings, you wasted all your energy and your ammunition on them, then that's exactly what Satan wants you to do. Because then you'll be weak when you fight him, and you will not be able to overcome him. That's why Satan instigates so many Christians, husbands and wives, to fight with each other. Argue, quarrel, don't settle the matter, go to bed with all these grudges in your heart. Who's the one who's rejoicing? The devil. Every husband and wife who quarrel and fight, the devil is in that home rejoicing. And when they go to bed without settling matters, the devil's delighted. He says, ah, there's another home I have complete power over. The Bible says very clearly in Ephesians 4, don't let the sun set on your anger, verse 26. In the olden days, sunset was the time when people went to bed. So Ephesians 4, 26 is saying, don't go to bed with anger in your heart. Do you know the thousands and thousands of Christian husbands and wives who go to bed with unsettled quarrels in their heart, unsettled wrong attitudes towards one another. At least they should settle it before they go to bed. I mean, the wholehearted spiritual person will settle it like that in a moment. He doesn't wait till he goes to bed. If a thorn gets into your foot, you don't take it out before you go to bed, you take it out immediately. And the wholehearted Christian settles a matter with anyone immediately, as far as he's concerned. We can't have peace with everyone. The Bible says in Romans 12, 16, as much as lies in you, live at peace with all men. Because peace is dependent on the other person cooperating. I'm willing to be at peace with every human being in the world, but if somebody doesn't want to be at peace with me, what can I do? And that's why, that's the only verse in the Bible, by the way, Romans 12, 16, which says, if possible, as much as it lies in you. Why does it say that? Sorry, Romans 12, 18, not 16, Romans 12, 18. If possible. You know, there's no such command in the Bible. It doesn't say, if possible, don't commit adultery. If possible, don't get angry. If possible, don't lust with your eyes. If possible, don't love money. No! Those are all absolute commands. Don't get angry. Don't lust with your eyes. Don't love money. Don't be anxious. There is no if possible there. It's not if possible, rejoice always. No! It's rejoice always. That's it. But when it comes to peace with all men, if possible. Because it depends on the other guy as well. There's peace in my heart. That's always there. But peace with another. There are lots of people Jesus never had peace with. There are lots of people in the world today I don't have peace with. From my side, I'm eager for it. But they don't want it. What shall I do? It's not because I've done them any harm. They just don't like me. Because I stand up for the Lord. Especially because we stand for seven principles in our church. A lot of Christians don't like me because of that. A lot of preachers and pastors don't like me. That's fine. But I've got nothing against anyone. It's very very important. Keep your heart at peace with all human beings. If possible, be at peace with all men. And it also says in Hebrews and chapter 12, similar words, Hebrews chapter 12, it says, verse 14, pursue peace with all men. There's no exception. Your enemies, your neighbors, your mother-in-law, all your in-laws, everybody. Pursue peace with every single person. That means as far as you're concerned, seek for it. If they don't want it, then it's up, their responsibility is theirs. Your responsibility is over. And so it says here, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. And the Lord said, you must make sure that you never get into argument or controversy or a fight with any human being about anything. And that includes doctrine. I never fight with people about God's Word. I proclaim God's Word. And if somebody comes to my home and says, Brother Zach, how do you teach this? It's a wrong teaching. How do you teach this particular doctrine? I said, if you want me to explain it to you, I can spend any length of time, and sometimes I've sat with people for two hours. I'm willing to spend any length of time to explain to you from Scripture why I believe and teach this. But I say, if you come here to argue with me and to prove that I'm wrong, God bless you, brother, but I have no time to discuss. Because I'm absolutely convinced I'm right. Sin shall not have dominion over me, because I'm under grace. I'm not going to argue on that. So if you don't believe in such victory over sin, okay, that's up to you, but I'm not going to get into a discussion on that and get into an argument. There are people who come to argue with me about, if you pray, you can be healed of all sicknesses. You don't have to take medicine. I say, I don't believe that. Paul was not healed of his thorn in the flesh. Timothy had to take a little wine for his stomach aches. So I don't believe what you're saying, but I'm not going to argue with you. And then I remember one man who came like that and wanted to keep on arguing. I said, listen, let's talk about cricket. Because he was an Indian, and we Indians love cricket, and since he was an Indian, I was an Indian, we're on the same side, so there's no need to argue, right? Okay, so, but let's, because then we won't argue. We're on the same side. So I said, I will not argue with you, because the Bible says, you're not to strive. Pursue peace. So I have been very strict on this, that I will never struggle with flesh and blood. And I'll tell you this, it has produced tremendous results in my life, in the sense that it has made me strong against all the attacks of Satan. Some of you, if you feel you're being harassed by the devil, let me recommend to you, stop fighting, first of all, with your wife or husband. Make that zero. I don't mean bring it down to five percent. No, your aim should be zero. Don't fight with your brothers and sisters in the church. Don't get into arguments about anything. Be at peace. People say, how can you live in the world, because the world is full of people who want to strive. I say, okay, let them strive, but I'm not going to fight with them. Now don't misunderstand me. If somebody steals your car, you've got every right to report that to the police, and try and recover it. You're not going there for a fight, you're just trying to claim back what is yours. And if somebody, you know, used your credit card and stole your money, by all means report it. That's righteousness. I'm not saying you shouldn't be righteous, but don't get into a fight. Very, very important to understand this. I will not fight with human beings. I believe in righteousness. In fact, Micah chapter 6, verse 8 says, be righteous and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. That's what God requires of you. Micah 6, verse 8. Be righteous and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. So there's nothing wrong in being righteous and loving mercy. So Ephesians 6 says, what happens is when we stop fighting with human beings, our heart is at rest. And it's very important for our heart to be at rest, if God is to give us victory. I want to show you some Old Testament examples of this. See, the Old Testament is very instructive, and we see a lot of word pictures there. See, for example, Jesus taught many things with stories and parables. Think of a story of the prodigal son. How beautifully that illustrates the love of God for a sinful, rebellious child of his. Or the story of the one sheep that went astray. Beautiful stories like this that speak of God's love for us. In the same way, we have to look at many Old Testament stories as having lessons for us today, just like the parables of Jesus. And that's why I found tremendous profit from reading the Old Testament. For example, entering the land of Canaan, all the giants in Canaan are like all the lusts in our flesh, which are always trying to drag us down. And God's will was that every one of those giants must be slain, and I see from that that God's will is that every lust in my flesh must be put to death, and even a Goliath can come beneath my feet. So I learned something from there. It's like a parable for me. David versus Goliath is a parable for me. About my fight with the strongest lust in my flesh, whatever it is. I don't know what is the strongest lust in your flesh, which is overtaking you and defeating you. Do what David did. I come against you in the name of the Lord. You have defied the armies of the Living God, David said. I come against you in the name of the Lord. Go against that lust that's defeating you, whether it's anger or sex or pornography or any wretched thing. Come against it in the name of the Lord. And like David brought Goliath under his feet, not with his power, but with the mighty power of God, he can do the same with you. So I want to show you a few examples like that. It was not by struggling against Goliath that David won. It was by faith. You know, we tell the children that it was with a stone in a sling that David killed Goliath. That's okay at the children's level to believe that, but the real truth is he overcame Goliath by faith, not with a stone. A million stones wouldn't have been any use. One stone was enough when he had faith. It was faith in his God that enabled David to overcome Goliath. Don't forget that. So turn with me first of all to Exodus in chapter 14. These Old Testament battles are a picture of our battle with Satan. Exodus 14. The children of Israel had just put the blood outside the door of their houses and been delivered from the plague of the death of the eldest, and they came, and Pharaoh with his chariots was pursuing them. Two million Israelites were walking, and Pharaoh and his chariots were coming on horses. There was no hope for them. They knew that, and they got all upset, and they said in Exodus 14 to Moses, is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us here to be killed in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? They forgot the years of slavery. Moses is trying to deliver them. It says in verse 10, they saw Pharaoh and Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened, and they cried out to the Lord, and they got angry with Moses, and Moses said, listen to this. My brothers and sisters, please take this as a word from the Lord for you, for you, particularly you, in your battle against Satan, when you feel that Satan is pursuing you in some way, and you're getting frightened. You know, in this time of pandemic, there's a lot of fear in people's hearts. What's going to happen? How long is it going to last? Will I lose my job, or I've already lost my job? Will I get enough money to take care of my family? Numerous fears. I'll tell you one thing. In every generation, ever since Jesus spoke those words 2,000 years ago, this promise is true. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all that you need will be added to you. Food, clothing, shelter, housing will be added to you. That's Matthew 6, verse 33. And Philippians 4, 19. My God will supply all your need. My God will supply all your need. Philippians 4, 19. According to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Yeah, so that is true. We don't have to live in fear. Do not fear. Exodus 14, 13. That is the most common word that Jesus spoke to His disciples. If you read the Gospels, He always used to come to them and say, fear not, don't be afraid. The two things Jesus spoke against was, do not sin, do not be afraid. Do not sin, do not be afraid. Do not sin, do not be afraid. And we need to hear that today. Do not sin, do not be afraid. Equally important. And here, okay, Egyptians are coming. For us, it's maybe the devil is coming at you in some way or the other, harassing you with his demons or through his agents on earth. Doesn't matter who he comes through. Listen to this. Verse 14. The Lord will fight for you and you can keep silent. You don't have to fight the Egyptians. You don't have to wrestle with flesh and blood. The Lord will fight for you and you can be at rest. That's what He was saying. Be at rest. The Lord will fight for you. My dear brother, sister, is this a specific word for one of you today? I feel it is. The Lord is saying to you, don't be afraid. Whatever is bringing fear into your heart today, the Lord will fight for you. You can be at rest. And we read that's exactly what happened. The Lord, you know the story how the Lord buried the Egyptian army under the Red Sea. And we read in chapter 15, they sang a song of praise to the Lord. Then I want to show you another passage of scripture in 2nd Chronicles. In 2nd Chronicles, we read about another battle like this. But before I go there, maybe I should show you this other passage before we go there in 2nd Kings. In 2nd Kings, we read about Elisha the prophet who was sitting in his room in Israel with his servant. I was sitting against Israel. I was upset with Elisha because Elisha was telling the king of Israel where the enemy was coming. God had told him where the enemy was coming. So always the Israelites would escape because they were forewarned by the prophet Elisha. So the other king of Aram, 2nd Kings chapter 6 verse 8, got very upset. And he said who is the one who is telling all this to the king of Israel, verse 11. One of his servants said no, it's Elisha the prophet. What you speak in your bedroom, he can hear in his house. God tells him. And thus the Israelites are protected. So he said okay, let's take my army against Elisha. So they went and surrounded Elisha's house. 2nd Kings 6 verse 14. In the morning when Elisha's servant got up and he saw horses and chariots circling the city, he got scared. He said what can we do? And the same old words, 2nd Kings 16, don't be afraid. How often God has to say that. Because those who are on our side are more than those who are with them. Gehazi couldn't understand what Elisha meant. Who's on my side? We don't have any soldiers here. And then Elisha prayed and said Lord, please open the eyes of this man so that he can see who are on our side. And the Lord opened that servant's eyes and saw that the mountain where Elisha was living was full of heavenly horses and chariots and angels surrounding Elisha. Millions of them, way more than the enemy's soldiers. Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are far more than those who are with them. Statistically, do you know how many angels there are? The Bible speaks about 7 billion human beings on earth. There are many, many more angels than that. I want to show you something interesting in the book of Revelation. We'll come back to 2nd Chronicles 20 in a moment. In 2nd Revelation and chapter 12, you read about Satan pictured as a great dragon in verse 3. In Revelation 12, 3, Satan is pictured like a great dragon. And it says here in verse 4, with his tail, he swept away a third of the stars of heaven. And the stars of heaven are a symbol of the angels. They are referred to as stars. You remember, the book of Revelation is full of symbols. So the stars represent angels. And here's the devil when he fell way back in the beginning before Adam's time. He dragged along with him one third of all the angels in heaven. Of all the billions of angels, one third of them joined Satan. And those are the demons today who roam around the earth and possess people. So simple mathematics. If one third of the angels became demons, how many remain there as angels? You know the answer. Two thirds. So for every one demon, there are two angels. Got it? If you want a mathematical way of being comforted. For every one demon, there are two angels. You don't have to be afraid. Anyway, let's turn to 2nd Chronicles 20. In 2nd Chronicles 20, we read of another time where a lot of enemies came against King Jehoshaphat. King Jehoshaphat was a relatively God- fearing man. He was not extremely God-fearing man because he joined up with that wicked King Ahab once. But he was a relatively God-fearing man and he heard a message one day in 2nd Chronicles 20. A great multitude is coming against you. This is like all the hosts of evil coming to attack a child of God. Many things, many people, so many circumstances coming against you. And Jehoshaphat was afraid. And he did what is the wisest thing to do when you are afraid. He turned his attention to seek the Lord. And he proclaimed a fast. And he called the people together. And if you read that prayer of Jehoshaphat's all the way from verse 6 to verse 12, I'm not going to go into the whole prayer. I just want to say that first of all, he reminded God of his promises. Lord, did you not say, first of all, he said, are you not God in the heavens? He proclaimed God is the ruler of the heavens. And that's what Jesus taught us to pray. Our Father who art in heaven. Now we don't have to repeat that. But whenever you pray, there are two things you must remember. Beginning, one, you've got a father who loves you. And second, he rules the universe. He's in heaven. Our Father who art in heaven. One who loves you. One who rules the universe. Remember those two facts whenever you pray. Otherwise, you won't have faith. You must know your father who loves you is the one you're talking to. And secondly, he rules the universe. He's almighty. Jesus said, remember those two things whenever you pray. So that's the first thing. Oh, God, aren't you in the heavens? You're the ruler, power and might in your hand. Nobody can stand against you. That's like today our saying, our Father who art in heaven. That's what he says. And then he quotes the Old Testament examples. He said, didn't you help the people of Israel in the past like this and like this and like this? Whenever you're in a problem, look back and think of the times when God rescued you in the past, when God answered your prayers in the past. Every child of God has got a history of some prayers God answered in the past, and you should not forget them. You know, I have sometimes told parents to keep a diary. And nowadays, when you have, when you can open a folder in a computer, you don't even have to write it down in a paper. Keep a folder in your computer where you write down significant events in your life where God did something close to a miracle for you. I'm sure we all have some significant events. And maybe after 20 years, you have a book. If you print it out, maybe there are 20 pages. Give that to each of your children to keep when they get married. It's one of the greatest wedding gifts you can give. A history of what God did for you. But if you don't write them down immediately, you'll forget them. If you write them down immediately, you'll know the date and the time and exactly all the details of what happened. The very good thing to do. Keep a record. Nobody told me to do that. I wish I had done it. But I didn't do it. And I remember many years ago, when a brother from our CFC church in South India said, Brother Zach, can you please write a book of events in your life where God helps you? I said, boy, I don't know what I'm going to remember all that. Anyway, God helped me and he asked me to write just two pages, two to four pages every month for his magazine. So I did that. And I did that over a period of every month for four years. And then he compiled it into a book. And that's the book on our website called The Day of Small Beginnings. My testimony, but it was such a struggle for me to remember. So I would say, remember whatever, as soon as you remember, write it down. So he quotes that, Lord, didn't you do this in the past? Didn't you do this in the past? Because that's a great help to faith. That when you're in a real trouble, you glance over this booklet and turn over the pages and say, hey, he did this for me then and he did this for me then and he did this for me then. Well, he's certainly going to help me now. Then you have another book, in addition to the Bible that tells you about what God did for you in the 21st century. And then the next thing he did was, he claimed God's promises. That's another thing. We must know God's promises. Lord, didn't you promise verse nine, that if evil comes on us or judgment, you will do this, this, this for us. And then tell him the problem. Now Lord, here's the problem. Verse 10, the sons of Ammon have come to invade us and see how we treated them nicely. They're treating us badly. And so verse 12, this is the climax. Second Chronicles 20 verse 12. Lord, you judge them. See what he says. Three things. When we come to God in prayer, three things. Second Chronicles 20 verse 12. One, we have no power. I cannot solve this problem, Lord. It's too big for me. I don't know how to find a solution to this problem. It's a wonderful thing when God brings us into situations where we have no solution ourselves. If you read the Old Testament, it's full of stories where God brought the Israelites into difficult situations with their enemies. They had to look up to him. And when they looked up to him, they won the victory. When they did not look up to him, they were defeated. And sometimes they were defeated for years. So God allows these trials to come so that we look up to him. And so what's the first thing? We look up to him and say, we have no power. This is too much for me, Lord. I don't, I don't have the strength to handle it. I'm too weak. I'll get a nervous breakdown if I try to handle this alone. I don't have the power, number one. Number two, I don't know what to do. I don't have the wisdom. That's the second point. I don't have the power and I don't have the wisdom as to what to do here. It's too complicated a situation for me. I don't know how to handle this. I don't have power. I don't have wisdom. I don't know what to do. Even young folks who are considering marriage come into situations where they say, Lord, I don't know who in the world I can marry because I don't know what people are like. I don't have wisdom and I don't have anybody to help me. We are powerless. We don't have wisdom. I don't care what the problem is. Each person's got a different problem and the solution is the same. Like I told you, claim God's promises and say, I have no power. I have no wisdom. And the third important point, don't stop there. But verse 12, we are trusting you. Our eyes are on you. So those are the three things he said. I don't have power and I don't have wisdom, but I have absolute confidence in you that you will solve this problem. I don't know how. Can you say that? Whatever problem you're facing right now and stop fighting with human beings. Let me repeat that. Make an end today to fighting with your marriage partner. And if you do slip up, then immediately apologize and ask forgiveness. Cleanse that in the blood and never, never, never go to bed with unsettled disputes with your marriage partner. And what happened? The spirit of the Lord came immediately, verse 14, and gave an answer. And the answer was, again, verse 15, don't be afraid. Middle of verse 15. That's always God's answer. First of all, don't be afraid. Because same words as God, Moses spoke by the Red Sea, the battle is not yours, but the Lord's. Verse 17, you don't have to fight in this battle. You just stand still and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf. Exactly similar words to what Moses said way back in Exodus 14, which we saw. You stand still and see what the Lord can do for you. Boy, I have experienced that a number of times in my life. And I would not have experienced it if God had not allowed me to come into extremely tight, difficult situations. If I had had an easy way through life, right from the time I was converted, I would never have experienced all these promises. I tell you honestly, I thank God more for the difficult situations I faced in my life than for the easy times I've had in my life. I'm not just trying to be spiritual. That's the absolute truth. Because it is in those tough times, in the tight spots, that I got to know God intimately. And my whole life and ministry has not come just out of studying the Bible. I would have been an academic teacher, but it's come out of my life. So you thank God for all the situations that come into your life, where God wants you to know Him better. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Don't be afraid. The ones who are with us are more than the ones who are against us. For every demon there are two angels. You know the verse for that, right? Revelation 12. Don't ever be afraid. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Before Jesus went to the cross, what did He say to His disciples? John chapter 16. John chapter 16. Very true words. He had just finished the Last Supper. Just finished a meal. Given them a wonderful message. Long message. The Sermon on the Mount was one long message. Matthew 5, 6, and 7. And here is another long message. John 14, 15, 16. Something like that. And what is the last sentence in this message? Chapter 17 is a prayer. That's a concluding prayer. Forget the prayer. What is the last sentence of Jesus' long message before He went to the cross? Take courage. Don't be afraid. John 16, 33. I have spoken these things to you so that you can have peace. Peace in your heart. Don't be afraid. Take courage is the same as saying, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Be bold. I have overcome the world. You're not going to have an easy time in the world. That's also there. His last sentence to His disciples was, you are not going to have an easy time in the world. Have you heard that? That's the last sentence Jesus spoke before He went to the cross. How many of you know that? The last sentence in His message. Many Christians think, I'm going to have an easy time. No, Jesus said, you will not have an easy time in this world. But in me, you'll have peace. In the world, you'll have tribulation and trial and conflict and difficulties. Serious difficulties. How in the world did you get the idea that being a Christian, life is going to be smooth sailing all along without any problems? It's not in the Gospels. In the world, you will have tribulation. If you don't want it, don't be a Christian. Because the Prince of the world hates the agents of Jesus Christ, who is His enemy. In the world, you will have tribulation. But Jesus says, I have overcome the world. And not only the world, even the Prince of this world. See John chapter 14. John chapter 14 and verse 30. The middle. The Prince, the ruler of this world comes, but he's got nothing in me. The ruler of this world tried for 33 and a half years to put something in me. He never succeeded. He was defeated at every point for 33 and a half years. I overcame him. And now I'm going to finish with him on the cross. And he defeated Satan once for all on the cross. Be of good cheer. Take courage. Don't be afraid. Jesus says, I have defeated Satan in my life. And now I'm going to crush him on the cross. Just like God told the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The seed of the woman will crush your head. You will bruise his heel. Genesis 3. Yeah, Jesus' hands and heel were bruised on the cross. That was the work of the devil. And he's going to have those bruises for all eternity. But that is the way by which the serpent's head was crushed. We've got to believe that. I have overcome the world. I've overcome the Prince of the world. And now you don't have to fight Satan. You stand on my victory. But if you want to stand on the victory, here is a fundamental rule. Never fight with flesh and blood. Ephesians 6.12. Don't struggle with flesh and blood. Don't struggle with human beings. I tell you from my experience of a number of years now, if you decide today that you will never again struggle with human beings, you don't even want to get in an argument with people. I've had so many Christians who come to argue with me. And I say, please, let's close. Let's close this discussion because it's not going anywhere. It's getting into an argument. And I hate arguments. If you want to discuss something where we are trying to come to a conclusion and you want to express your view and I express my view, I don't mind sitting hours with you in discussion. But if you're going to get into with a bad spirit and an argument, I retire. I don't yield to you. No, I retire. I will not get involved in this discussion because I hate controversy and strife. I'll tell you why. Because I want to be equipped to fight the devil. My enemy is not you, brother. I would tell that brother. My enemy is Satan. You can never be my enemy. Even the non-Christians are not my enemies. I don't have any enemies in the world. Not even one. I mean, they may consider me as an enemy, but I don't have any enemies at all. My only enemy is Satan. I will not struggle with flesh and blood. And when I took that decision years ago, it made a world of difference in my life. It is God's will that you should be an overcomer. Let me close with Romans chapter 8. Now you can understand this verse better. Romans 8, a few verses here. Romans 8 31, first of all. What shall we say? If God is for us, who can be against us? All the enemies that fought against Israel, if God was on the side of Israel, the enemies were defeated. It's the same today. All the demons of hell can't touch us. And why do you doubt that God will help you? Verse 32, Romans 8 32. If he did not spare his own son, but gave him up for you when you had no interest in God. He sent his son for you when you had no interest in heavenly things. And now that you have an interest in heavenly things, how much more he will do for you. And so in all these things, verse 37, we are more than conquerors because of him who loved us. And I'm absolutely convinced, Romans 8 38, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, things present, things to come, anything that happens in the future, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing on earth or in heaven, will be able to separate me from the love of God, which encompasses me in Christ Jesus. I'm in a little capsule like these men who went to the moon. They did not breathe the atmosphere of the moon, because that would have killed them. To me, it's a beautiful picture of the Christian life. I'm in a capsule, surrounded by Christ, where I breathe the atmosphere of heaven and think the thoughts of heaven, because the atmosphere of this earth will kill me. So I'm protected. Nothing can separate me from this capsule of the love of God in Christ Jesus. I live inside this breathing the love of God in Christ every day. How can you be afraid? How can you be scared when you're inside this capsule? You're living in a wicked earth. Those people could have lived forever on the moon, because they had this oxygen cylinder, and they could breathe. So, I mean, not forever. The oxygen would end one day. But for us, we can, our heavenly oxygen never ends. We're all the time in this capsule, where we are more than conquerors. Dear brothers and sisters, these are not theories. I have proved them in my life for a number of years. And I wish it for every one of you. It can be yours. If you will wholeheartedly, seriously, take God at his word from today, and say, Lord, there's one thing I can do. You do the rest. I will stop fighting with human beings. I will not struggle with flesh and blood anymore. I trust you to deal with my enemies. My duty is to love them, to be at peace, and be good. May God bless you all. Let us pray. While I head about in prayer, please, whatever burden is on your heart or mind, my brother, my sister, cast your burden upon the Lord. Cast it on the Lord right now. In nothing be anxious. Put that on the Lord, and the peace of God, which is beyond our understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ. Lord, I pray it will be true for everyone who has heard this word today, or who will hear it in the days to come. Let your name be glorified. Help us to honor you and glorify you by the way we live on this earth. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. For more information visit www.fema.org ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/jhFbUAnrp2Y.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/dont-be-afraid-satan-has-been-defeated/ ========================================================================