Do you have Power or Authority over the Devil?

When it comes to facing up with the devil most people either run in abject fear of who he is or underestimate what power he does have in this world.  The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ defeated the devil at the cross.  He stripped him of all his power.  What this is saying is that the devil does not have authority over a believer because we are now seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20-23).  If we face the devil without Christ we have no power in of ourselves to defeat him.  But because Christ stripped the devil of his authority, and authority that the devil gained because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we now have been given back that authority through the shed blood of Christ.  It is like we have been reborn to live a life that God intended before the fall. 

What God wants the Church to be able to do is to reclaim the territory that the devil stole from mankind.  The devil is like a squatter on a land that does not belong to him.  We have the right to enforce the defeat that he took at Calvary. Why did Jesus not finish the devil at Calvary?  Because He wanted us, His children, to learn how to overcome the adversary in much the same way He did.  Christ showed us how to live for God and how to bring the Kingdom of Heaven into the earth.  We are called to bring redemption to the planet.  Don't fear the devil.  Respect his power, but when you know that he is messing with the people you love drive him out.  Bind him with the authority that Christ gave you in Matthew 16:18-19.  Loose the angels of God to minister unto people by speaking God's word over the situation, for God's angels hearken to God word to preform it.  Remember we are an army in the Lord.  We need to advance the Kingdom of God where ever we go and with whomever will listen.  Cast out devils, speak with new tongues and lay hands on the sick. Tell the poor they don't have to be poor anymore.  This is the message we carry and this is the message the devil doesn't want preached.  Be a solider under God's command.