"When you were dead
in your sins, God made you alive with Christ. And having disarmed
the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them by the cross" (Col. 2,13+15). There is so much that Jesus accomplished
through His death and resurrection – forgiveness of our sins, making us right
with God, and victory over the forces of evil. On this post, I would like to
focus on the last one of these.
Couple of years ago still in Turku,
Finland, I came back home after a prayer conference. Still full of the anointing
received at the event, I was getting to a very special place in prayer. I was
near reaching out to a deeper place in the heart of Jesus and entering inner
courts of His holy presence. Suddenly, however, I was disturbed by an ugly
image in my head which totally snapped me out of the place I was in the spirit.
I opened my eyes, distraught with a disturbing feeling, and could not get back to
where I was any more. This is one example of evil interference, and there have
been more similar like this one and also different other kinds, such as
persistent strongholds in relationships with some of my closest people.
As I have been looking for some
answers for my own life and that of my loved ones, recently God was directing
me towards the literature on breaking free from bondage. It is a heavy topic in
some ways dealing with the strongholds in mind from the past and the works of the
devil. It is not something I was taking on enthusiastically, but I did so out
of obedience to God’s leading. At times I did not want to continue reading, as
the spiritual battle in my mind was getting more intense and some old fears
reviving. However, in midst of that I saw an encouraging vision. Jesus was
standing opposite to me and took my hands in his. Then we were lifted up and I
saw the forces of evil going crazy in a big tumultuous mess under our feet.
However, me and Jesus were above that and only felt them occasionally touching
and titillating our feet. Evil is already put under the feet of Christ (Matthew
22, 44), and since Christ lives in us (Col. 1, 27), also under our feel.
When we look at the end of Mark 16, it’s
clear that the gospel, believing, freeing from evil, healing, and being
victorious over various circumstances go hand in hand. Jesus won at the cross the
devil and his schemes, but this victory does not come into our lives
automatically, it needs to be appropriated. The Holy Spirit needs to quicken us
to understand this authority and the victory which is ours through Him. We need
to deal with the doors of entry of the evil one into our lives by confessing possible
past involvements with the occult, our sins, and the sins of our ancestors. The
battle is already won for us, but we still need to take up our sword. To
experience His fullest for us, we need to learn to take our position in Jesus
and not to be passive. We are the instruments that God wants to use in the
process of deliverance and we must actively co-operate with Him. Recently He spoke
to me clearly: “Don’t wait for help from aside. YOU are the answer. I will use
YOU. Your loved one will be delivered through your prayer guided by my Holy
Spirit in you.” And as soon as He is showing the next steps, I need to take
them in obedience. It is not yet done, but I am in the process of the Holy
Spirit working in me for a change and breakthrough, and I start to see the way
out of the situations that have been stagnating for many years. I once told Him
I don’t want the things to remain the same, and Jesus answered He doesn’t want
that either! Jesus is eager to destroy the works of the devil, just as when He
was on the earth. Now He is using us for that purpose. Glory to Jesus for these
revelations and all the victories ahead!
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