Victory Over Satan

I grew up in the 80’s in a time when many of the horror icons were conceived. I had a big Freddy Kruger poster on my wall when I was in the 5th grade and had seen all the Friday the 13th, Exorcist, Hell Raiser, Phantasm, Puppet Master and Child’s Play films. These films seemed truly terrifying because of the way evil was portrayed. 

For the protagonists in these films, evil was such a prevailing force that there seemed little to no chance of overcoming. There simply was no hope. Even when a hero or heroine seemed to beat the bad guy, there was certainly a surprise at the end to show that evil made a way and that all hope was lost. 

When it comes to true demonic forces, this simply isn’t the case. In fact, we see all throughout Scripture that whenever Jesus would show up on the scene where there was a demonic presence, there was no real struggle for power. We see that demonic forces were terrified of the Christ and subject to His authority… Every time. 

In fact, there is one account when Jesus sends some of His followers out in His name to share the Good News of the Kingdom to various cities and when they returned, they said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” But look at Jesus’ response:

 “‘Yes,’ he told them, ‘I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions [this is a metaphor for demons] and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.’” - Luke 10:18-20 (NLT)

This weekend, we are focusing on the idea that in Christ, we have victory over Satan. I believe this to be absolutely true. Yes, there is darkness and evil all throughout the earth, but when the people of God are sent into the darkness, our true enemy (Satan) has no choice but to submit to the power of Christ. 

Yet, this is not to be the sole focus of our celebration as the people of God. We are to rejoice that we are God’s. He calls us His own. 

This weekend we are singing Build Your Kingdom Here to start with. I can’t think of a more intentional prayer we could sing out together to intercede for our city! We are called to engage in the battle to win souls back to God. Next, we will sing The Great I Am to remember that we are not fighting in our own strength, but in the strength of He who sends us out. Finally, we will sing No Other Name to celebrate the promise that we see in Scripture:

“…At the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.” - Philippians 2:10-11 (NLT)