You’re a child of God. You love Him. You serve as best as you know how. You would never think of walking away: you are really trying to do the right thing. Yet there is a gnawing, frustrating besetting sin that seems to always get the better of you; and Satan is bringing condemnation. How do you receive, live in and maintain victory over sin in your life? Understanding that the battle is against the world, the flesh and the devil, I can only go the way of the cross. The cross is what saved us and it is the cross that will keep us living victoriously over these enemies.
SHOUTING THE DEVIL OUT? Many Christians believe that deliverance and victory can be attained by bearing down and praying harder, prayer louder, fasting, reading your bible more and becoming more consecrated. While these things in themselves will not hurt us, they cannot in themselves bring deliverance. Here’s what I have learned: You can’t dance the devil out- You can’t shout the devil out- You can’t spin him out- You can’t jump him out- You can’t run him out- Playing the music louder won’t drive him out- Yes, all of these things may be associated with praise-and praise will confound the enemy-but the praise must come from a place of faith-faith in Christ and the cross…I praise Him because I trust Him…I praise Him because I believe Him. Praying louder and harder won’t drive him out– You have to CROSS HIM OUT!!! We are not saved by rituals, ceremonies or works…and neither will any of these things bring anyone any type of deliverance. If you are being plagued by your own sin…or you are living an Acts Chapter 7 existence, you will not find peace or relief by keeping law-that’s part of the reason why you are struggling now.
MORE MINISTRY? Ministry plays a vital role in the Christian life. We are all called into some segment of it and knowing that we are doing what God has called us to do, puts us at peace. Yet ministry must be done with the right motives–why am I doing it and what do I expect from it? A minister once told me that the reason he did so much in ministry was because he believed that it kept sin away. This should not be expected from ministry, and unfortunately, doing more stuff only arouses the sin nature. When you believe that the doing of external things will hush sin in my life, it will actually have the opposite effect.
THE KEEP OFF THE GRASS EFFECT We’re all familiar with signs telling us to do this or that. From speed limit signs to those of the directional variety, signs are all around us. What would we do without them? When you were young, did you ever see a sign that said ‘keep off the grass’? What did you do, or want to do? If you were anything like me, you wanted to take a romp through that grass. I call this the ‘keep off the grass effect’. What it actually does is illustrate the workings of the sin nature. Anytime a law of any kind is put in place, something within us rises up to rebel against. The sin nature says, ‘You can’t tell me what to do; I do what I want, when I want.’ This is why the doing of things can never cause sin to cease.
CREATING LAW Though it is done quite unintentionally, we create a law when we believe that some outward action on our part, will bring deliverance. When this happens it means that we have put faith in that thing to do what it cannot do. No matter how good or noble or righteous that thing may be, it can never release me from bondage and deliver me from sin.
THE DELIVERANCE Deliverance will come as you begin to place your faith in Christ and Him crucified. Christ cannot be separated from the cross. He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn.3:8). This destruction happened at the cross where Colossians says Christ spoiled (disarmed) principalities and powers, and made a show (spectacle) of them openly, and became victorious over them by doing so (Col.2:15). His victory is our victory. His victory provides the way of deliverance for us. This is what is true. This is what I must believe. Misplaced faith will only yield unintended results. Properly placed faith will yield the results we seek. Faith in Christ and all He accomplished at the cross is what is needed. Let’s cross the devil out! That’s the Word! Take it with you. God bless you.
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