Close Call

My mom has not been doing well this Christmas. She took a fall on Friday the 23rd and she hasn't walked since. Pat has ministered to her and I've been much less useful. The hospice care workers have stepped up their visits but we probably have days to weeks now rather than months. It is a time in which mortality and the importance of not wasting my life has been pretty clearly before me.

Vultures are often thought of as a symbol of death in our culture. Once I was riding to Albany and when I rounded a bend on a back road I noticed some movement on the side of the road. As I approached I saw a flock of vultures on a dead animal. The vultures really didn't have much time to get into the air as I was coming up and then I noticed that the trees were hanging over the side of the road. So the birds had to use the road to take off. They wanted my lane and I started moving farther and farther into the other lane. Pretty soon it was apparent they wanted both lanes for their little runway and we had a problem. It did flash through my mind that being killed by running into a vulture would be a pretty unfortunate way to go into heaven. I've got friends who would never (literally) let me forget that. Even worse, if it didn't kill me I would probably smell so bad I would wish I was dead. I picked what looked like the best path through the flock and then as I approached the ugly end of a really ugly bird I ducked. Suddenly I was through and I looked in the rear view mirror. The vulture was sitting in the middle of the road. I had sucked the air right out from under him and smacked him down in the road.

We naturally draw back from death. It isn't any more attractive than a vultures rear end. But remember 1 Corinthians 15:53-58

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

We may find ourselves suddenly before God someday or God may require great courage in our last days but in either case we will see death in the rear view mirror sitting helpless in the middle of the road.

Have a great New Years and I hope to see you on Sunday.

DWYL Chapter 2

Here are the questions for your consideration while studying Chapter 2 of Don't Waste Your Life.
The first comment for this post has the detailed notes for the Chapter Study.

• Why is objective meaning, and specifically the objective meaning of the Bible, so important?
• In the previous chapter (see p.13) Piper asked, “What is the meaning of life? How do I live my life well?” He came to the conviction in his early years that there is an objective answer to this question. What is the answer he discovers in this chapter? What two things seem to be in tension yet are solved with this discovery.
• Explain how Jesus is both the means to our joy and is himself our very joy.
• What is Piper’s definition of love (pp.33-35)? Why does Piper spend time explaining and defining biblical love in contrast to a modern conception of love?
• In light of the first two chapters, how does Piper answer the question, “How do I not waste my life?” Try to synthesize the numerous places where Piper explicitly talks about the wasted and not wasted life.

Merry Christmas

Jesus' life has so many facets that repeat the truths that God wants us to see. God knows how much repetition helps us learn. I was thinking a few years ago about Jesus' birth. I was also then thinking, for some reason, about the sacraments. We have two. Baptism and the Lord's Supper have been given to the Church by God to reinforce the truths of the Gospel.

When a person is born again they then seek baptism to testify of their rebirth into new life. Jesus was born into this world so that we could be born into the Kingdom of Heaven. His birth foreshadowed our new birth to move from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.

The other odd thing was the use of a manger for a place to lay Jesus. Having worked around farm animals I'm sure that Mary would have had to deal with curious sheep, goats, and cattle if they were still in the stable. Animals learn pretty quickly to keep a watch on the spot where their food is placed. I've seen my beagle run from the far end of the house because something hit her bowl and made that special little noise she loves to hear. Jesus was placed in the feed bunk. He was put where the food for the sheep goes on the day He was
born. There was a picture of Communion on the day of His birth.

I hope you were able to attend the vesper service on Christmas Eve. Communion is such an appropriate way to celebrate Christ's birth. It is wonderful to remember His place in the manger by celebrating His sacrifice. He said, "Take eat" of His body and "Drink of it" of His blood for our nourishment and to testify of our covenant with Him.

God, who knows the end from the beginning, pictured the end from Jesus' birth. The sacraments He was going to give to the Bride of Christ were hinted at there at the stable in Bethlehem. Don't forget where your nourishment comes from. He is the vine and you are the branches. Apart from Him you can do nothing and nothing is not a little something.

Telling the Truth

This week the update from Life Action Revival dealt with honesty. They stressed the need to be honest with God and with others. Isn't it odd that we have a tendancy to try to spin our behavior before God? He knows our hearts better than we do so honesty is certainly the best policy. We weren't the first to try to spin our behaviour. Remember Adam's response to God after the fall? He said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. (ESV)." Adam trys to spin it so that he can blame the woman first, then blame God's for giving her to him, then at last he admits that he ate it but who could blame him?

When we follow that path of being dishonest with God we buy into the lie ourselves. Once I was studying Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I was wondering what good being poor in spirit would do. Why would that be a key to the kingdom? I did a word study on "poor in spirit" and came to understand that it was a reference to those who ask and know they are needy. God was saying, "blessed are those who know their need and keep on asking for they will receive the kingdom of heaven"

Life Action Revival made the point that we can become like the Laodician church (rich and increased with goods, and in need of nothing). Of course they were naked, poor, and blind. The best way to keep honest about our need is to keep our vision of God fresh. I pray that God will use our current study of "Don't Waste Your Life" to keep this knowledge of your need awake in your lives.

New Mascot

Special thanks to Chuck for providing our new class mascot. I was thinking of Psalm 42:1 and Lewis wondered during class about the possible significance of the obvious mortality of our mascot. I really hadn't noticed that verse 2 of the same chapter seems to apply to the question of mortality. In verse 2 the psalmist asks, "When shall I come and appear before God?"

Thanks to everyone for a great discussion on Sunday. I think the contrasts raised are important in seeing the truth that God wants to work into our lives. As Bud was stressing, God is able to use our backgrounds so that our life will not be wasted. God always has a path for us. Some paths are pretty short. Piper's example of the gentleman saved late in life is one example of a short path and so it the thief on the Cross with Jesus. God has used both of these men as examples to us. They are negative examples that God uses to encourage us to run our race with patience. If we have wasted time and resources we should not feel despair but we may feel an appropriate sorrow for lost opportunities in our lives. Despair is without hope of restoration. Despair is stuck in defeat. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. God is able to use us from our point of repentance. As the Apostle Paul stressed, we can't view God's Mercy and Grace as license to sin or be slack in our pursuit of God (Romans 6:1-14). We need to center our lives on that passionate pursuit of our Savior. I pray that God's Holy Spirit would awaken a thirst in us the manifests Psalm 41:1 in our lives. You have been brought from death to life. All your skills and all your life are to be yielded to God as instruments in His hands for righteousness.

DWYL Chapter 1

My Search for a Single Passion to Live By

• What is the difference being highlighted between the “Nowhere Man” lyrics and the “Blowin’ in the Wind” lyrics (pp.15-17)?

• Why does Piper include his experience with these songs and other events in his early life?

• What is the question that Piper formed early on about life? How would you ask this question in your own words?

• What is the main point of the quote from C.S. Lewis on p.20? How does this relate to the questions Piper asks on the middle of p. 13?

• From John Lennon to C.S. Lewis, what is Piper arguing to be an essential and foundational step in not wasting your life? And how does this understanding affect your seeking after a life well lived?

Notes - Piper Video

Piper – Don’t Waste Your Life

Message delivered near end of 2003 after several disasters. When reflecting on the loss of life we question why something like that should happen.

Luke 13:2-5
And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” ESV

Our wonderment shouldn’t be at others have perished but rather that we haven’t been snuffed out from our sins.

Our lives are in God’s hands. We hang by a slender strand of God’s Grace.

Job 1:20-21
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ESV

When Job’s house collapsed and killed his children Job worshiped. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

As Job says later:

Job 12:10
In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. ESV

God has all our lives in His hand.

1 Sam 2:6
The Lord kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. ESV

Deut 32:39
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. ESV

When we live though the night it is because of God’s grace.

James 4:13-16
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ESV

Life is not about accumulation. It isn’t about getting stuff.

Luke 12:16-21
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ESV

This night your soul may be required of you.
Possessions aren’t comforting on your death bed (if you’re sane).

Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ESV

It is possible to waste your life
This culture is geared to making you waste your life in retirement.

So then, what does the unwasted life?

Phil 1:20-21
as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ESV

The unwasted life is a life that in everything puts Christ on display as supremely valuable.

How?

Phil 3:7-8
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. ESV.

By experiencing Christ as such a treasure that everything else in our life is as nothing.
Money, food, and all other things are given so that you can enjoy and live with them in such a way that it is obvious that they are not your treasure but that Christ is.

We treasure Christ above all things.

That is life, now what about death?

How do you magnify Christ in death?

John 21:18-21
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” ESV

Peter was probably crucified upside down and it was planned as a way of glorifying God.

Phil 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ESV

Phil 1:23
I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ESV

If death is to be gain in your life then Christ must be more precious than everything you leave behind.

The essentials of life that is not wasted are:

• Knowing in your heart that life and death are gifts given to you in order that you might use them to display the supreme worth of Jesus Christ.
• You must develop and display a supreme valuing of Christ above all things.
• The value you place on Christ is most clearly seen by what you are willing to gladly risk or sacrifice in order to have more of Jesus.

2nd Corinthians 12:8-10
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ESV

The passion of Paul’s life was any life or death that makes Christ more vivid for the world to see.

Will you work for the bread that perishes? Will you waste your life or will you see Christ as the treasure that He really is?

1 Peter 3:15
but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; ESV

This scripture will be active when we are sold out for Christ.

Your Enemy

The Enemy of Your Soul

Bibliography
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Escape from Reason by Francis Schaeffer
Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
The New Geneva Study Bible and the English Standard Version


As C.S. Lewis points out in the preface to the Screwtape Letters;
"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils.  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
(Gen. 3:1).  ESV.

The first thing that we should deal with is, “What do we need to know?”  Of coursed God will reveal to us what is necessary to maintain our Spiritual health but we may have a “prurient” interest that God will find it necessary to restrain.  God knows best how to heal and grow fallen men.  God could instruct us forever but His revelation to us is sufficient.  It is not exhaustive.  If it were then no library could contain all there is too know.  No exhaustive but adequate that we may be mature and effective in His kingdom.  

Since, in the beginning God “saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). It is reasonable to infer that the world, as created, did not contain any fallen angels.  But by the time we find Adam and Even in the garden we find Satan, in the form of a serpent (Gen. 3:1–5). Consequently, we infer that sometime between Genesis 1:31 and Genesis 3:1, there was a rebellion in the angelic world.

It is possible that a description of the Enemy’s fall exists in Isaiah 14.  This comes in a passage in which Isaiah is describing God’s judgment on the king of Babylon but then he seems to move on to a bigger issue than an earthly king.  

Isaiah 14:12-15 How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit. ESV.

Most of the detail we find regarding the activity of Satan, the leader of fallen angels, is found in the New Testament but certainly not all of it.  Satan is described as our “adversary” (opponent of God and His people) and the Old Testament describes him as such (1 Chr. 21:1; Job 1; 2; Zech. 3:1, 2.)

1 Chr 21:1-2 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.  So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” ESV

Here we see that Satan can incite or encourage disobedience to God and that is the core of Satan’s attack on us.  His goal is our disobedience.  He opposes us most often by encouraging disobedience.  

Other titles reveal additional characteristics or Satan.  For example, Devil meaning “accuser” (Rev. 12:9, 10); Apollyon, meaning “destroyer” (Rev. 9:11); tempter (Matt. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:5); and wicked one (1 John 5:18, 19); “Ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11); murderer and father of lies (John 8:44); the serpent who fooled Eve (Rev. 12:9 and 20:2) and “god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4).  Names such as Ruler of this world and god of this age emphasize the way in which Satan presides over mankind’s anti-God lifestyles (Eph. 2:2; 1 John 5:19; Rev. 12:9).

Satan’s nature is highlighted by Paul’s statement that he becomes an angel of light, disguising evil as good (2 Cor. 11:14).

2 Cor 11:14-15 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. ESV

The deceptive nature of Satan is also brought to light by Jesus when He stands against those who rejected Him and yet claiming that God as their Father:

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ESV.

The devil can’t live in the truth.  He is a liar in all that he does.  The fundamental lie is that the creature can be equal with God.  This was the devils point of rebellion and it is fallen mankind’s point of rebellion.  The following quote is from the book by C.S. Lewis the “Screwtape Letters.”  Screwtape speaking as a senior demon to a junior demon says of humans that:

“And all the time the joke is that the word “mine” in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything.  In the long run either Our Father or the Enemy will say “mine” of each thing that exists, and specially of each man.  They will find out in the end, never fear, to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong – certainly not to them, whatever happens.” Screwtape Letter XX1

Satan is destructive and is described as lion (1 Pet. 5:8) and as a dragon (Rev. 12:9).

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

He opposed Christ’s (Matt. 4:1–11; 16:23; Luke 4:13; cf. Luke 22:3) and he opposes the Christian by looking for weakness and misdirected strengths while undermining faith, hope, and love (Luke 22:32; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:3–15; Eph. 6:16).

Ephesians 6:16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

While we need to take the devil seriously, we should not have a terror of him.  As Calvin said, he drags his chains with him wherever he goes since his defeat has already been accomplished (Matt. 12:29) and we have victory in Christ as well as we resist with the tools He gives us (Eph. 6:10–18; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9, 10; 1 John 4:4).

Remember that although the devil is taken seriously, we are not anywhere close to some false teaching of a dualistic idea of a good god and a bad god caught in a struggle.  Satan is just a creature and not divine.  He is not omniscient, omnipotent, or omnipresent.  He is defeated and only has the power than God allows him and his end will be the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

Are Demons Active in the World Today?
Most people in the developed world have a strong naturalistic worldview.  They would argue that only what can be seen or touched or heard is real and therefore they deny that demons exist.  They would then argue that their belief is appropriate and that any belief in demons reflects an obsolete worldview taught in the Bible and other ancient cultures.

C.S. Lewis writing as Screwtape gives voice to the devil’s strategy:

“My dear Wormwood, I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence.  That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command.  Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves.  Of course this has not always been so.  We are really faced with a cruel dilemma.  When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism, and we make no magicians.  On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and skeptics.”  Screwtape in Letter VII

We certainly find a great divide on this topic in the world today.  I’ve lived most of my life in the naturalistic USA.  However, I’ve also been in places like North Sumatra in which a fascination with the spiritual world rises to the level of animism.  If we trust that God has given us a reliable guide in Scripture then it would be foolish to relegate the discussion of Spiritual warfare to superstition.

Not All Evil and Sin Is From Satan and Demons, but Some Is.

The New Testament spends relatively little time focusing on any discussion of demonic activity in the lives of believers.  The focus is on telling Christians to stop sinning and start living in righteousness. For example, in “dissensions” (1 Cor. 1:10); incest (1 Cor. 5:1–5); Christians going to court to sue other believers (1 Cor. 6:1–8); disorder at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:33, 28) the focus is on the sinner and not on any demonic influence.

We really don’t see a biblical unction for “strategic level spiritual warfare,” in which someone (1) summons a “territorial spirit” upon entering an area to preach the gospel or (2) demands information from demons about a local demonic hierarchy (3) says that we should believe or teach information derived from demons or (4) teach by word or example that certain “demonic strongholds” over a city have to be broken before the gospel can be proclaimed with effectiveness. In the New Testament, Christians preach the gospel and lives change.  Demonic opposition may arise, or God himself may reveal the nature of certain demonic opposition, which Christians would then pray and battle against (1 Cor. 12:10; 2 Cor. 10:3–6; Eph. 6:12).  The primary focus is on the choices and actions of people (Gal. 5:16–26; Eph. 4:1–6:9; Col. 3:1–4:6; et al.) and secondarily on demonic issues (1 Tim. 4:1; 3; 4; John 8:44; 1 John 3:8-10).  Here John characterizes all those who are not born of God as children of the devil and subject to his influence and desires.

We must exercise caution so that we fight a wise fight, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Eph. 4:26) ESV.

Our poor choices can give the enemy an opportunity.  Once again, from Satan’s point of view, he is as happy with any distraction as long as it keeps us from effective service.  We are called to run our race with patience but we can be easily distracted.  The following quote is from Screwtape.  I had it on the wall of my office for years.  I hope it doesn’t remind you of your difficulties in keeping your quiet times as much as it does me.

“And nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble the that man in only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off.” Screwtape Letter XII

Can a Christian Be Demon Possessed?
Grudem has a detailed exposition of the problems with using the term “demon possession.”  The New Testament speaks about people who “have a demon” (Matt. 11:18; Luke 7:33; 8:27; John 7:20; 8:48, 49, 52; 10:20) and makes it clear that some people may suffer from demonic influence but it suggests that a demon actually “possesses” someone.

For a Christian, Scripture guarantees that sin shall have no dominion over us since we have been raised with Christ (Rom. 6:14, see also vv. 4, 11) but a believer may come under attack (Luke 4:2; 2 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 6:12; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8).  So if we are trying to define how abnormal a Christian’s life can become all we can say is pretty abnormal.  We have been given authority by Jesus to end that situation.
  
How Can Demonic Influences Be Recognized?
In severe cases of demonic influence there is often bizarre and/or violent behavior (Mark 1:23–24; Mark 9:17–18, 20, 22; Mark 5:2–5)

In one case when Jesus healed an epileptic by casting out a demon (Matt. 17:14–18) but elsewhere epileptics are distinguished from those who are under demonic influence: “They brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them” (Matt. 4:24).   This was true in some other cases and shows the importance of discernment (which Jesus had in perfection).  

Demonic influence can lead to blatantly false doctrinal statements (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 John 4:2–3; 2 Cor. 11:13–15).

Jesus Gives Believers Authority to Rebuke Demons and Conduct Spiritual Warfare.
The authority to rebuke and command the enemy has been given to us (Luke 9:1; Luke 10:17; Luke 10:19; Acts 16:18; 2 Cor. 10:3–4; Eph. 6:10–18; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8–9)

The Scripture in Jude 9 is of special interest and says: “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”’  The context in Jude is not Christian encounters with demonic forces, but is addressing the error of immoral and rebellious false teachers.   Jude 9 doesn’t mean that it is wrong for human beings to rebuke or command demons but it means that we need to remember that our authority is a result of our position in proper submission to Christ.  

First:
We recognize that the work of Christ on the cross is the ultimate basis for our authority over demons (Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:15; Rev. 12:11).  The power to cast out demons comes not from our own strength or the power of our own voice, but from the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20).

Second:
Our membership as children in God’s family is the firm spiritual position from which we engage in spiritual warfare (Gal. 3:26)

Third:
We should not fear demons (1 John 4:4; 2 Tim. 1:7; Phil. 1:28; Eph. 6:16; Eph. 6:13; 2 Cor. 10:4).

Fourth:
The authority in practice is simply and generally briefly speaking a command and/or scripture to an evil spirit to leave when we suspect the presence of demonic influence in our personal lives or the lives of those around us (James 4:7; Eph. 6:17; Matt. 4:1–11; Matt. 12:28–29; Luke 10:17–19; 2 Cor. 10:3–4; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8–9; 1 John 3:8; 4:4; 5:18).

Appropriate Use of the Christian’s Spiritual Authority in Ministry to Other People.
First:
Use gentleness in ministry to others (1 Cor. 14:33). You may even gently ask questions of those who you are ministering to and ask them if they think they are under attack and let them know what you are doing.  

Second:
This doesn’t have to be a dramatic or emotionally charged event.  Rather than long and loud procedures Jesus simply “cast out the spirits with a word” (Matt. 8:16) although some showed a slight initial resistance (Mark 5:8; Luke 8:29; Mark 5:9–13; Luke 8:30–33)  

Third:
Focus on the person you are ministering to and the truths of the Bible. We simply practice the basics of exercising our authority and be “babes in evil” (1 Cor. 14:20).  Minister the Gospel if the person is not a Christian (Matt. 12:43–45)

Fourth:
Effectiveness can be related to our own spiritual condition (Matt. 17:18–20; Mark 9:29).

Fifth:
Expect the Gospel to Come in Power.
We can trust God to move in power when we obey (Luke 4:41; Acts 8:7; Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 2:4–5; 1 John 3:8).