VICTORY OVER DARKNESS
From: Pastor Dr. Theophilus Ajadi
GOFAMINT
Australia
Topic: VICTORY OVER DARKNESS
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:5-8 ESV)
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12
The first thing to see is that Satan’s first assignment was deception. (Gen.3)
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceivedwas in the transgression. 1Timothy 2:14
So the first weapon God tells you to put on is Truth. Ephesians 6:12-14
The very first thing you find Satan do in the bible was to deceive and manipulate.
No wonder the first equipment given you by God to stop him is Truth.
Truth
What is Truth? Truth here means,
– openness
– sincerity
– trustworthiness
– straightforwardness
The bible says you have to put it on. You cannot live a lie and hope to stand against the wiles of Satan.
Satan is a trickster. He’s very cunning and deceptive. You can’t beat him to the game.
Any area of your life where you’re not open, sincere, straightforward…becomes your disadvantage and defeat.
Any area of your life that is dark, covered, hidden, unknown…becomes an access point for your enemy arrows
This is why many children of God can’t seem to gain the upper hand and enjoy the victory they already have in Christ.
The Battle of Ai
When Israel confronted Ai in Joshua 7, they were defeated. Joshua was confused. Covenant people aren’t supposed to be defeated. They aren’t supposed to turn their backs before their enemies. He cried. He fasted. He layed in dust and ashes from morning till evening. Then God showed him the darkness in the camp. There were holes in the armour.
Somebody in the camp had moved out of truth and was walking in deception. This created an opening for the enemy to strike and 36 men died.
You are way stronger than your enemies. The Greater one dwells in you. Clear off the deception and every manipulation so that your victory can shine forth.
You may need to fast and pray the whole day until God shows you the darkness hiding and protecting your enemy.
Any darkness in your life, any lie and deception…will provide strong covering for the enemy. It is the lie and deception that provide a stronghold for Satan. Those things you’re hiding, that double life you’re living are the materials building a castle for Satan.
So Satan is dwelling in very a strong castle and all your prayer arrows aren’t reaching him.
Then maybe you come to a meeting like this and an anointed man of God prays over you. You sense victory but before you know what’s happening, you’re back to square one.
Your enemy is dwelling in a powerful stronghold. And guess what, you built it for him!
How did you build it for him? By living a lie and not walking in openness, straightforwardness, sincerity and truth.
And that Castle gets fortified by the day. As you continue to live a double life, the castle gets stronger.
The First Sin In the New Testament Church
The first open sin in the New Testament t church is found in Acts 5. That sin was met with a very harsh judgement of death. Ananias and Saphira lied against the Holy Ghost. God purged the sin immediately because it’s the first manifestation of Satan in the first creation and after God formed the New Testament church, his new creation, Satan came again as in Eden. The Holy Ghost dealt with it immediately.
Many homes are built on lies.
Many families are run by lies.
The husband lies to the wife and vice versa. This is the darkness fighting your home. Not the witches. No witch could do their job if you didn’t open the door.
Some children of God lie with the tithe. They don’t bring ALL the tithe. Just a part. This was the sin of Annanias and Saphira.
If your life is opened and played on a big screen TV, would there be some things you’re ashamed of?
Would there be skeletons in your cupboard?
How can we cast out the powers of darkness when there’s darkness in our lives?
How can we cast out darkness when many children of God act like MANIPULATORS?
Sin is stronger than Satan. It was sin that legitimized Satan on earth. Satan was illegal. He was like Cain, the nomad roaming from place to place. God gave the earth to man. And Satan wasn’t an issue. Man was in charge. He had dominion. Satan had to go through sin to enter the world and operate legitimately. This is why God’s focus was man’s redemption from sin.
Satan is not in the equation at all.
Sin gave Satan his strength. Sin gave death his sting. Sin brought man out of fellowship with God.
Sin ejected man from his garden of delight
Sin turned man into a wanderer
Sin locked man out of prosperity
Sin turned man into a slave, a servant.
Sin degraded man. Sin made man a servant of animals.
Sin brought man to humiliation, disgrace and shame.
Sin killed man. God told him, the day you eat of the fruit, you will surely die.
Adam died. He fell short of God’s glory.
Sin turned him into a slave. Adam became an employee in his own company. He became a hired servant on his own property.
Sin dragged him in the mud.
It wasn’t Satan that did all that. Satan was just a usurper of authority. He took advantage of Adam’s sin to come in and set up his own authority.
Sin empowered Satan.
Sin authorized him
Sin legitimized him
Sin legalized him
God fixed the problem of sin by one sacrifice.
The sacrifice of Jesus dealt a blow on sin.
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God
It is through the blood of Jesus that your FELLOWSHIP with God is restored. God wants it. He loves it. He desires it. Because of the blood of Jesus, you can have perfect FELLOWSHIP with God. The blood of Jesus has removed the sin barrier. Because the blood has removed the barrier, fellowship is restored. As you walk in the light of his glory, darkness has no grip over you.
