Doves On Distant Oaks

During the last days, Satan and his army of fallen angels will supposedly ascend to heaven and do battle. They will be defeated and sent back to earth to continue their evil work—perhaps with renewed energy. As if it isn't bad enough down here right now.

Yet, these verses from the book of Revelation show an important spiritual principle that we often forget or fail to apply. It's something that can show us the path to spiritual victory in the midst of our personal spiritual warfare. It's an extremely powerful thought: Satan is neither omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), nor omnipresent (everywhere at once). Only God is all three.

God is always aware of what's in every single person's heart. Satan is not. He is an angel—a fallen one, but an angel nonetheless. Therefore, he is a created being and without God's power. What he cannot hear is any testimony regarding our love of God and trust in Christ as our Master when they are said only in our minds or whispered in our hearts. He is not aware of what we think or feel.

The only evidence that Satan has of his destructive power in our lives is what he sees us do or what he hears us say (or write). Satan can see what entertainment we watch, hear what we listen to, what we say and the words we use, who we talk about, and so on. We may say in our hearts that we hate our sins as many times as we want, and while God may hear that, Satan does not.

He is wily and clever, one who knows human nature well. When he sees that what we do or what we say is of this world, then he knows he is winning. He has no need to leave us in peace. We can think as much as we want about sending Satan away, but he will not hear. In order for Satan to be overcome, we have to make it clear to him what we think and feel about him. That is where the actual words of our testimony are important.

Since he can be resisted and made to flee (James 4:7), we have to speak the words aloud. That's often disregarded in our daily Christian lives, often because we forget, but sometimes because we don't want anyone to notice. When I was taught to pray as a young child, my mother told me to say my prayers out loud. Many of us may have done so as children and then let that practice fade away. We may give a spoken testimony in front of other believers and feel we have fulfilled our duty, not realizing our spoken testimony is an ongoing activity.

The simple fact remains, we have to SHOW Satan what we mean by word and action. Only then can we defeat him. Yet, make no mistake, it's not any old words that can overcome Satan. It's what our words are based upon. Only Christ can defeat Satan. We certainly have no inherent ability to do so. It's only when we use our words of testimony invoking the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord that the enemy can be defeated. I cannot face down Satan and say, "Be gone." But I can by saying, "In the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, be gone." Satan will most certainly flee ... for a season.

Clearly, the spoken words of our testimony are just as important as what's in our hearts. Say it so Satan and all his followers can hear.




Keywords: God, Omnipotent


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