Christ defeated satan at the cross, but in our daily lives this remains a provision until it is appropriated. We also know that in the fullness of time God sent His Son to be born of a woman and to be our Savior (Galatians 4:4–5). It was something that had been provided for in the heart of God from the foundation of the world, but it had to happen at a specific time (1 Peter 1:20). The spiritual warfare we are in at the present time has to be understood in light of one simple fact: this is the time when the manifestation of Christ’s victory, His total defeat of satan, is to be appropriated and exercised.
This is the hour of the Kingdom in which the defeat of satan will be manifested. Christ has given us authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:17–19; Mark 16:17; 1 John 3:8). That means Yeshua (Jesus) did it and we execute it. There has to be that time when you know that “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).[1] It is the pleasure of God for His manifold wisdom to be “made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).
Get this in your mind and heart: you do not overcome satan yourself, but in this hour of destiny you manifest the victory of Christ over him. We are not struggling for victory; we are struggling with all our hearts to walk in the faith that appropriates and manifests the victory of Christ. To that end, we travail to bring forth the Kingdom of God and see the sons of God come forth according to the Word that God has promised us.
The sin of the Kingdom is that we have not claimed all that God has provided. We have not become all that Yeshua has promised and prophesied. Your problem is not that you have fallen short; it is that you have not appropriated everything that is yours. Somewhere in that process arises an unbelief, and you become frustrated and blame everyone else. But the truth of the matter is that those who have a Word from God burning in their hearts have a responsibility to say, “It will never happen until I believe it!” You cannot go through the motions of prayer, intercession, and travail if you do not believe in the victories that God has for you. You are not travailing to conceive; you are travailing to give birth to what the imperishable seed—the Word of God that lives and endures forever—has put in your heart (1 Peter 1:23).
The Lord is putting His Word in our hearts to say, “Oh devil, it is the time for you to be cast out!” (see John 12:31). This is similar to what happened in the book of Revelation; there was no longer a place found for satan in heaven (Revelation 12:7–9). During our time, this will be duplicated. There will no longer be a place found for satan in the earth and he will be cast out. This has to really work in our hearts, and it has to work now. We have to turn it loose. This is not some doctrine or theory. The Word is true and the provision is there. Faith is an action. It is our provision and we lay hold of it, in the name of the Lord.
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[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).