The Devil Made Me Do It

HOW MUCH AUTHORITY DOES THE DEVIL HAVE?

Last week we introduced TWO THINGS that will KEEP IT REAL. The first is to understand that the WAR IS OVER. It is FINISHED!
Hosea 4:6, KJV My people are DESTROYED (fail, are silent, cut off) for LACK of KNOWLEDGE (discernment, understanding; to ascertain by seeing)..
Matthew 28:18, NIV Then JESUS came to them and said, "ALL AUTHORITY in heaven AND on earth has been given to ME."
Colossians 2:15, NIV .having DISARMED ("spoiled" - KJV) the powers and authorities, HE (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the CROSS.
The DEVIL has NO real AUTHORITY-Jesus STRIPPED him bare! Our Savior vanquished him at the Cross! Satan is a defeated foe, a mouse with a microphone.
The word for "AUTHORITY" in Matthew 28:18 is exousia, and it means, "executive privilege, capacity, delegated influence; the liberty of doing as one pleases." Don't mistake me. If you do not know the Lord, the devil will chew you up and spit you out. But if you are a child of the living God, then "GREATER is He that is IN YOU, than he that is in the WORLD (1 Jn. 4:4 with Jn. 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4)!
Ephesians 4:27, KJV Neither give PLACE ("no opportunity" - RSV; "a foothold" - NIV; "a loophole" - NEB) to the devil ("You must not give a devil a chance" - Goodspeed).
I John 3:8, KJV .For this PURPOSE the Son of God was manifested, that He might DESTROY (luo - loosen, undo, dismantle; do away with) the WORKS of the devil.
As a Christian musician, I stand back and shake my head when I hear born-again, Spirit-filled believers singing songs about going over to the "enemy's camp." There is NO enemy's camp-Jesus "DESTROYED" and dismantled it! The devil has no "PLACE," so why do ignorant preachers and people continually try to give him one?
The word for "PLACE" in Ephesians 4:27 is topos (English, "topography"), and it means, "a spot, location; figuratively, condition, opportunity, power, occasion for acting." Let's heed the wise words of the seasoned apostle and just "STOP" that mess! Stop binding demons that He already bound. Stop praying the problem; prophesy the answer!
Stop worrying about the devil. He has to FIND you first! We are so high up in Christ that our adversary gets a nose-bleed trying to search out our "HIDING PLACE" (Psa. 32:7; 119:114). You have died, and your life is "HID with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3).
The strategy for this kind of living is simple. When you think that you hear the devil knocking, send Christ to the door! Let HIM fight your battles. He already has!