You Can’t Defeat the Devil Until You Understand This About the Cross | E.W. Kenyon Teachings — Transcript

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1. 0:00At the very heart of the gospel lies a
2. 0:02truth that determines whether a
3. 0:04Christian walks in victory or remains in
4. 0:06constant defeat. That truth is the
5. 0:09meaning of the cross. Too often the
6. 0:12cross is spoken of only as a place of
7. 0:14suffering, a place of shame, a place
8. 0:16where Jesus bore our sins. And while all
9. 0:20of this is gloriously true, many have
10. 0:22stopped there and never stepped into the
11. 0:24deeper revelation. The cross was not
12. 0:27only a place where something ended. It
13. 0:29was the place where something new began.
14. 0:32The cross is not simply the evidence of
15. 0:34Christ's death. It is the foundation of
16. 0:36your life in him. Until you understand
17. 0:39this, the enemy will continue to mock
18. 0:41your prayers, resist your authority, and
19. 0:44remind you of your past. Paul declared
20. 0:47in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with
21. 0:50Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I,
22. 0:54but Christ liveth in me." Notice
23. 0:58carefully that the cross is not
24. 0:59something only Jesus endured. By faith,
25. 1:02it became our cross. You were nailed
26. 1:05there with him. Your old man with all
27. 1:08its weakness, sin, and bondage was put
28. 1:12to death. This is the great transaction
29. 1:14of Calvary. Jesus did not merely die for
30. 1:18you. He died as you. And when he rose
31. 1:21from the grave, you rose with him into a
32. 1:24new kind of life. EW Kenyon said it with
33. 1:28great force. When Jesus died, I died.
34. 1:32When he conquered Satan, I conquered
35. 1:34with him. His victory is my victory.
36. 1:38That is not religious poetry. That is
37. 1:40legal fact in the spirit. Here is the
38. 1:43tragedy. Many Christians see the cross
39. 1:46only as forgiveness of past sins. They
40. 1:49believe it gets them into heaven, but
41. 1:50not into victory. They accept pardon,
42. 1:53but not position. They know Christ bore
43. 1:56their sins, but not that he stripped the
44. 1:58enemy of authority. Colossians 2:15
45. 2:01declares that Jesus having spoiled
46. 2:04principalities and powers, he made a
47. 2:06shoe of them openly, triumphing over
48. 2:09them in it. Where did he do this? At the
49. 2:13cross. The very place that looked like
50. 2:15defeat was God's triumph. The cross was
51. 2:19not Satan's victory. It was his
52. 2:22humiliation.
53. 2:23When you truly see this, fear begins to
54. 2:25vanish and boldness takes its place. Let
55. 2:29us make this plain. Imagine a prisoner
56. 2:31shackled in a dungeon. The chains bite
57. 2:34into his wrists and darkness surrounds
58. 2:36him. One day, a king enters the dungeon,
59. 2:39breaks the locks, strikes off the
60. 2:41chains, and declares him free. The
61. 2:44prisoner falls on his knees, grateful
62. 2:46beyond words. But then he stays in the
63. 2:49dungeon. He thanks the king for removing
64. 2:51his chains, but he never walks out the
65. 2:53door. That is the picture of much of the
66. 2:56church. Jesus has broken the chains. Yet
67. 3:00many remain inside living as though
68. 3:02still bound. They do not realize the
69. 3:05cross not only forgave, it delivered. It
70. 3:08not only paid the debt, it destroyed the
71. 3:11debtor. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this,
72. 3:15that our old man is crucified with him,
73. 3:17that the body of sin might be destroyed,
74. 3:20that henceforth we should not serve
75. 3:22sin." Notice the words knowing this.
76. 3:26Victory begins with knowing, not hoping,
77. 3:30not wishing, not struggling, but
78. 3:32knowing. The devil thrives in ignorance.
79. 3:36He blinds the minds of those who do not
80. 3:39see what happened at the cross. If you
81. 3:43do not know the chains are broken, you
82. 3:45will live as if they remain. That is why
83. 3:49the word must saturate your
84. 3:51consciousness until you see yourself as
85. 3:54God sees you. Kenyon wrote, "When Jesus
86. 3:58cried, "It is finished," he meant that
87. 4:00the work of redemption was complete.
88. 4:03Satan was defeated. man was redeemed.
89. 4:07The claims of justice were satisfied.
90. 4:10Think of that moment. The darkness
91. 4:12trembled. The veil in the temple was
92. 4:14torn from top to bottom. Access to the
93. 4:18very throne of God was opened forever.
94. 4:21That cry was not one of despair. It was
95. 4:24the shout of a conqueror. Every demon in
96. 4:27hell heard it. And from that hour, their
97. 4:31dominion over man was broken. Yet if you
98. 4:34do not understand this, you will still
99. 4:36fight as though Satan has the upper
100. 4:39hand. Let us go further. Hebrews 2:14
101. 4:43declares that through death he might
102. 4:46destroy him that had the power of death,
103. 4:49that is the devil. Jesus destroyed, not
104. 4:53tolerated, the one who held men in fear.
105. 4:57But notice how he did it. Not by
106. 4:59displays of angelic might, not by
107. 5:02overwhelming force from heaven, but by
108. 5:05death. The very weapon the enemy thought
109. 5:08would guarantee his reign became the
110. 5:10tool of his undoing. The cross was a
111. 5:14trap sprung on the devil himself. In
112. 5:18killing the prince of life, he sealed
113. 5:20his own defeat. That is why the cross
114. 5:24stands forever as the dividing line of
115. 5:27history. On one side lies bondage, fear,
116. 5:31and condemnation.
117. 5:33On the other side stands freedom,
118. 5:36authority, and peace. Picture a
119. 5:40courtroom scene. The law demands
120. 5:43justice. The evidence of guilt is
121. 5:45overwhelming. The judge lifts his gavl
122. 5:48to pronounce sentence. Suddenly, another
123. 5:51steps forward, bearing in his own body
124. 5:55the marks of punishment already endured.
125. 5:59The judge declares, "The debt is paid."
126. 6:02Case dismissed. That is what the cross
127. 6:05accomplished for you. Romans 8:1
128. 6:08declares, "There is therefore now no
129. 6:11condemnation to them which are in Christ
130. 6:15Jesus." No condemnation, no accusation,
131. 6:19no lingering penalty. The case is closed
132. 6:23forever. Yet the devil continues to
133. 6:26whisper, continues to accuse, continues
134. 6:30to drag Christians into shame. Why?
135. 6:35Because they have not yet stood in the
136. 6:37boldness of what the cross secured. Hear
137. 6:41me carefully. You will never defeat the
138. 6:44devil in your daily life by pleading
139. 6:47your weakness or by recounting your
140. 6:50struggles. You overcome by standing in
141. 6:53the finished work of Christ. Revelation
142. 6:5712:11 declares, "And they overcame him
143. 7:00by the blood of the lamb and by the word
144. 7:03of their testimony." The blood is the
145. 7:06fact. The testimony is your confession
146. 7:09of that fact. What Jesus accomplished at
147. 7:12the cross is a settled reality. Your
148. 7:15part is to declare it, believe it, and
149. 7:18act upon it until every thought bows to
150. 7:21that truth. The victory of the cross
151. 7:23becomes real in your life only when you
152. 7:26identify yourself with Christ in his
153. 7:29death and resurrection. Paul said in
154. 7:32Romans 6:11, "Likewise, reckon ye also
155. 7:35yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
156. 7:39but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ
157. 7:42our Lord." To reckon is to count it as
158. 7:46true, to consider it settled beyond
159. 7:49debate. You do not wait to feel dead to
160. 7:52sin. You accept it as fact because God
161. 7:55has declared it. Feelings will lie.
162. 7:58circumstances will resist, but faith
163. 8:02lays hold of what God has spoken. The
164. 8:05enemy is silenced not by your emotions,
165. 8:08but by your confession of the word. This
166. 8:11is why many prayers against the devil
167. 8:13seem powerless. Christians cry out for
168. 8:16deliverance without realizing
169. 8:18deliverance has already been secured.
170. 8:21They ask God to break chains that were
171. 8:23shattered 2,000 years ago. They beg for
172. 8:27victory when Christ has already
173. 8:29triumphed. The prayer of faith is not
174. 8:32asking God to do what he has done, but
175. 8:34thanking him for it and enforcing it
176. 8:37with authority. Kenyon put it plainly,
177. 8:40"When Jesus sat down, his work was
178. 8:42finished." When you take your place in
179. 8:44him, you rest in that finished work. The
180. 8:48cross moves you from pleading to
181. 8:49reigning, from begging to declaring.
182. 8:53Consider again the imagery of battle. An
183. 8:55army fights, bleeds, and finally secures
184. 8:58the field. The enemy surrenders. The
185. 9:01general of the victorious side raises
186. 9:04his flag, and the war is over. Now
187. 9:08imagine the soldiers continuing to fight
188. 9:10shadows, swinging their swords against
189. 9:13an enemy already defeated. That is the
190. 9:16picture of much of Christianity today.
191. 9:19The war was won at Calvary. Christ
192. 9:22raised the banner of victory. Satan is a
193. 9:26disarmed foe. Yet if you do not know
194. 9:28this, you will keep swinging at shadows,
195. 9:32exhausted and uncertain. Knowledge of
196. 9:35the cross brings rest, and from rest
197. 9:37comes true authority. Authority is the
198. 9:40key. Luke 10:19 declares, "Behold, I
199. 9:44give unto you power to tread on serpents
200. 9:47and scorpions, and over all the power of
201. 9:50the enemy." That word power means
202. 9:52authority, delegated right to act in his
203. 9:56name. The cross is the legal ground of
204. 9:59that authority. The blood of Christ is
205. 10:03the seal of that covenant. When you
206. 10:05confront the devil, you do not come in
207. 10:07your own strength, but in the authority
208. 10:10of the crucified and risen Lord. The
209. 10:13devil knows when a believer speaks from
210. 10:15that ground. He also knows when a
211. 10:17believer speaks only from mental
212. 10:19agreement without revelation. Revelation
213. 10:23makes authority real. Let me give you a
214. 10:26picture. Imagine a policeman standing in
215. 10:28the middle of a busy street. Cars rush
216. 10:31toward him at great speed. Physically,
217. 10:33he cannot stop them. But when he lifts
218. 10:36his hand in uniform, every car halts.
219. 10:38Why? Not because of his strength, but
220. 10:41because of the authority he represents.
221. 10:44The cross is your badge. The
222. 10:46resurrection is your commission. When
223. 10:48you stand in Christ, every force of
224. 10:50darkness must recognize the authority
225. 10:53you carry. They may test you. They may
226. 10:56press against you, but they cannot
227. 10:58ignore the mark of the cross upon your
228. 11:01life. Now, here is the sobering truth.
229. 11:04If you fail to understand this, you will
230. 11:06live beneath your privileges. You will
231. 11:09pray from fear instead of faith. Fight
232. 11:12from weakness instead of strength, and
233. 11:14yield to temptations that no longer have
234. 11:17power over you. Romans 8:37 declares,
235. 11:20"Nay, in all these things, we are more
236. 11:23than conquerors through him that loved
237. 11:26us." More than conquerors means we are
238. 11:28not merely survivors of battle, but
239. 11:31sharers in the victory of another. The
240. 11:34cross has already determined the
241. 11:36outcome. Your part is to walk in the
242. 11:40light of it daily. Kenyon wrote with
243. 11:43deep conviction, "The substitutionary
244. 11:46work of Christ is the very heart of
245. 11:49redemption. Until the believer knows
246. 11:52that he was included in Christ's death,
247. 11:55burial, and resurrection, he will never
248. 11:58live the overcoming life." This is why
249. 12:01the revelation of the cross is not
250. 12:03optional. It is not advanced doctrine
251. 12:06for a few. It is the foundation of every
252. 12:09Christian life. Without it, the devil
253. 12:12will always seem larger than he is and
254. 12:14you will always feel smaller than you
255. 12:16are. With it, you rise in the
256. 12:19consciousness of your union with Christ
257. 12:21and speak with the boldness of one who
258. 12:24knows his standing. So, what is the
259. 12:27practical step for you today? Begin to
260. 12:30renew your mind with the word until the
261. 12:32reality of the cross is more real than
262. 12:35your memories, your failures, or your
263. 12:38fears. Declare with your mouth what God
264. 12:41has said. Say, "I was crucified with
265. 12:44Christ. My old life is gone. Sin has no
266. 12:48dominion over me. Satan has no claim on
267. 12:51me. I am alive in Christ, raised to walk
268. 12:55in his victory." Speak it when you wake.
269. 12:59Speak it when the enemy tempts you.
270. 13:01Speak it when condemnation whispers. The
271. 13:04word in your mouth is the sword of the
272. 13:07spirit, and it enforces what the cross
273. 13:09has secured. The secret of overcoming is
274. 13:12not striving harder, but resting deeper
275. 13:16in what Christ has done. The cross
276. 13:18stripped the devil, and the resurrection
277. 13:21enthroned Christ. You are seated with
278. 13:24him in heavenly places far above all
279. 13:27principality and power as Ephesians 2:6
280. 13:30and 1:21 declare. You do not fight for
281. 13:34the throne. You fight from the throne.
282. 13:36You are not trying to win what Christ
283. 13:38already secured. You are enforcing the
284. 13:40victory of Calvary in your daily life.
285. 13:43This is the life God intends for you. A
286. 13:45life where fear is replaced by faith.
287. 13:47Where guilt is silenced by
288. 13:49righteousness. where weakness is
289. 13:51swallowed up in union with Christ. But
290. 13:54to walk in it fully, another dimension
291. 13:57must be grasped. The cross did not only
292. 13:59deal with your past. It opened a new
293. 14:02kind of walk in the spirit that most
294. 14:05believers have never entered. If you
295. 14:07want to move from occasional victory
296. 14:09into consistent triumph, you must see
297. 14:11what comes after the cross. It is there
298. 14:14that the secret of daily overcoming
299. 14:16unfolds. And it is there that God is
300. 14:19calling you