Sermon Central
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Overpowering The Evil Prince
Contributed by Adeolu Akin-Abraham on Dec 2, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: God is not immediately and directly in charge of our lives! Surprised? Well, that’s the truth! There are constituted authorities in heavenly places assigned by God with the responsibility of overseeing our affairs. Unfortunately, these authorities and pow
Let us explore a little into this mystery. I said earlier that these hosts of heaven attend scheduled meetings with God. They are required to give accounts of their activities before the Supreme Overseer.
Now study these two scriptures from the book of Job:
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in It”.
“Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in It”.
Satan also attends meetings! Could he be a member of the council and does he bring petitions before the council? During the temptation of our Lord Jesus Christ after His forty days and forty nights “dry fast”, Satan made a claim before Jesus that “the kingdoms of the world belonged to him” which makes him a high-ranking member of the divine council! Let us examine at this claim:
“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine”.
We are now getting closer to the root. Further, Psalm 82 gives us a vivid description of a meeting of the heavenly divine council to which was given rulership over the seventy nations of the earth:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes
Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations”.
Thus, when God takes His place as the leader of the divine council, He complains. The gods or the rulers that have been assigned with the responsibility of overseeing our affairs here on earth are being unjust because the wicked are being lifted up. The oppressed remain downtrodden.
The afflicted do not get justice. The poor and the needy remain in their sorrow and misery. There is a lot of injustice taking place in the second heaven. God criticizes the "gods" for their unfairness and wickedness in carrying out the responsibilities He has assigned to them. The sin and rebellion of these “gods” have shaken the foundations of the earth. God is now warning these divine spirit entities, that their fate for being corrupt and disobedient will be to "die like men" for instance like the first Adam.
