One of the things that anger me the most is the influence Satan has had over the church. He has convinced many of his great power and that he is to be feared. Jesus so created fear in the enemy in an overwhelming way.
"Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons." John 18:3
It is easy to quickly zip through this verse and not realize the impact. John uses the word that means a military cohort. Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the word meaning a great multitude of soldiers. The Pharisees knowing the stories of Jesus were afraid of the power He might use against them as they came to arrest Him. The military cohort sent after Jesus was an elite trained unit from the tower of Antonia, they were the Army Rangers, Navy Seals of their day, 300-600 of them were sent to arrest Jesus. Add to that the elite guards, the equivalent of the Secret Service of the temple were also sent. The religious leaders were trying to contain God! They were truly afraid. They had been riled up by Satan through their jealousy, envy, pride, and fear that they actually believed with enough force they could contain God.
We know no one put Jesus on the cross or forced Him to endure all the torture leading to it, He chose to go there for you and I. Jesus' going there was not just for our redemption but was also so that we would have the power to enable others to hear the story. We might have the power to defeat the enemy so that others could hear about God's great love for them. He destroyed the works of the enemy, and we must begin to believe it and live it and continue that work in the lives of others.
That is the key, when you see the enemy rising against you, remind him of who you are but more importantly whose you are. Please take a moment to look up and read 1 John 4:4 and 5:4,5. You are not called to be defeated but to be an overcomer. You are called to be a serious threat to the devil.
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