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Sunday 10 August 2003 - "Ruled by enemy power or God's power?"

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

2Kings 18:11-12: The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 18:12 This happened because they did not obey the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord's servant, had commanded. (later various verses were read until the end of the chapter: click here to read the whole chapter)

No Christian needs to be afraid of the devil's power. God completely protects His children and satan has no power over them. That is, unless a person gives the devil authority by allowing condoning sin in his life. This results in the removal of God's protection. We see this in our text.

The king of Assyria arrived with a mighty army, utterly destroyed Israel and carried them into captivity. Israel refused to obey the Word of God. Assyria had power over them, because they allowed sin in their midst. Satan will have power over the children of God if they are not completely devoted to God and part from all sin in their midst.

As an example, if we are unfaithful with money (even in the smallest way), God will not entrust His Holy Spirit to us. There is the story of a man who walked across the USA, from the west coast right to the east coast. He endured cold and heat but said that the most difficult thing for him was having grains of sand in his shoes. They were so irritating that at times he felt like giving up. So too you may have things which you consider very small but they are important enough to distress you and to bring you to a standstill. More importantly, you may lose God's protection through allowing "little things."

Judah suffered from the awful influence of Assyria. Hezekiah turned to God in His need (read his prayer in chapter 19). Even though things were so bad for Judah and they were enslaved by debt to King Sennacherib, Hezekiah still pleaded with God in repentance and faith. Then God Himself intervened. He slew 180,000 of the enemy in one night! (see chapter 19:35). So too, even if you've failed and the enemy has power over you and you find yourself enslaved by his persistence and mocking, God is more than able to rescue and deliver you. He is able to show Himself powerful on your behalf. Jesus Christ has the victory over the devil. Come to Him, confessing your sin, and let Jesus show His power over the devil, in your life.