Who has the power, God or the devil?
5-18-2010
We
declare to the Heavens,
“God is in control,” But do we really believe that statement?
Sometimes I am amazed by what others believe with regard to the Scriptures.
It has been my thought that we could gather every scientist from every conceivable discipline in to one room and they could more easily arrive in agreement and unity than 10 born again Believers attempting to agree on All the doctrines of the Faith.
Recently, I have heard a few men state, “the devil killed my family, spouse or friend.” By saying such things we somehow circumvent the Supreme Authority of the Universe and say some created angel who rebelled is now equal in power to our God and has the ability to take life from us anytime he wishes.
Perhaps what I am about to discuss, you will have already considered and it has become a forgone conclusion to you, a no-brainer. Maybe you have not really given it any thought, or you tend to believe that the devil does indeed have the ultimate authority to take life. It has always been my belief that only God holds the keys to life and death. It is He who says when our time on this plane of creation has been fulfilled.
Are we so willing to quietly say in our heart, “I don’t want to make the devil mad at me so there is no benefit for me to come against the devil, just keep quiet and maybe he will pass me by, I have enough problems. In the spiritual world this is a quiet submission and akin to surrender! God hears those conversations we have with ourselves and the devil though can not read our mind does observe our actions. The Saints have come to live in fear More than to walk in Faith. If we are walking in obedience, then perfect love will cast out all fear, if we are in submission to the Lord, the devil has to flee.
My belief and I hope yours as well agree with the Scriptures, Only God has life and death under His authority. While we know that the devil is out to steal, kill and destroy, he can only do those things that are given over to him; he is nothing more than a junkyard dog on a short lease!
God is no respecter of persons, so logic would tell us that, if one man’s death is under the complete control of the devil then ALL men’s deaths would also be under the control of the devil.
Let’s face it,
If the devil were able to take the life of man
without the expressed consent of Almighty God, then man would be extinct!
The devil hates God and since man was made in the image of God and since the
devil can not hurt God, the devil desires more than anything else to destroy man
and his future meaning the man’s eternity with God, thereby
hurting God.
We know, every time a man dies (in the flesh) and leaves this world, there is another world awaiting him, either the depths of hell or a glorious eternal coexistence with the Lord Jesus and all of those who have given their lives to Him.
Destruction (the taking of human life) by the devil may have originated with him but the “ultimate authority” and permission to carry out this taking of life must come from the hands of God.
The crux of the issue, to
the mind of man, we view the passing of this life (even though we are believers)
as a terrible thing that should be avoided at all costs. For that reason, the
survival mode of man will activate when threatened. I have a saying that I had
shared and it showed up on their Church sign last year.
“Everybody wants to go to heaven but Nobody wants to die.”
That is our problem, we all want to be with the Lord but the idea of leaving everything behind lends the idea of complete loss and failure and the thought of being an overcomer and being victorious is not recognized.
Victory is observed when the
Saint through death of the body enters Heaven and the Lord speaks and says,
“Well done my Faithful servant, come and enjoy the Kingdom.”
I am reminded of the story of the potter and the clay. He is the potter and we are the clay. The Lord said, “what business of yours is it I do with this clay, If I chose to do one thing of honor with this lump or dishonor the other? Unfortunately, on a deep level, this will offend many of us unless we have completely made Jesus Lord of our lives.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestine to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28-29
If we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, AND the devil had the ability to take our lives as some have suggested, then the devil would easily usurp the plan and purposes of God.
The Bible is full of circumstances whereby both the righteous and the unrighteous were observed by God and He spoke that their days had been measured out and their time for eternity had come. Hezekiah for example was told by God to get his affairs in order because God was going to bring him home. Was this defeat? Of course not!
“For All things do work for good.” God uses even the devils to “Perfect His Saints” and He also uses the devils to bring home His sons and daughters. If the devil was in total control of man’s life then the Saints would never have had the opportunity to become those sons of God.
Do not be deceived, God our Father has numbered each man’s days just as He knows the number of hairs on our head and has engraved our names on the palm of His hand. He is outside of time and eternity and sees the days of a man as a vapor and yet uses all things in conforming us to the image of His son.
Blessings to you and your house,
Steve Grable
http://jeremiah111.org/