The Devil Has No Right to Take What God Has Given You

Have you ever heard the words, “Take back what the Devil stole?” Over the years since I became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ I have heard many teachings regarding this subject. What exactly does that mean? Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief comes to steal…” Who is the thief? 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

WHAT DOES A THIEF DO? A thief TAKES what DOESN’T belong to him.

Naturally speaking, a thief takes personal possessions; things we have worked hard for; things that have been given to us. It’s no different when it comes to spiritual matters. The thief, our great enemy the Devil, comes to take what God has given to us; what Jesus paid for in His own body on the cross.

I have GOOD NEWS! For the Believer, for the Follower of Jesus who obeys Him – The Devil no longer has a RIGHT to take WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU! And, we’ve been Given Authority and Dominion over him. How? Because Jesus is the Son of God, and because He believed and Obeyed the Father, He was given complete authority and dominion over the devil and his demons. And for those who believe in Jesus and love their neighbor, we have been given that same Authority and Dominion.

In the earth, in this natural realm, what happens to a thief when he is caught? They’re put in jail, and if they’re caught red-handed, they must Give Back what they’ve stolen. In the Kingdom of God, the way we stop the thief from taking what does not belong to him is found in the Word of God. Jesus Name is the most powerful weapon given to us to stop the enemy, and take back what he has stolen. Jesus says in Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;” For a long time I thought that meant someone who is possessed by the devil (demon or demons,) and although that is true, that’s just one way,  such as the two men who Jesus cast out demons in Matthew 8:28-32:

28When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.

29They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?”

30There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. 31So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

32“All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.”

In another case, Jesus Heals a Woman whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, Luke 13:10-17, 

10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.”

Continuing in Luke chapter 13 and verse 31 – 33 the Pharisees tell Jesus to leave and to go somewhere else, informing him that Herod wants to kill him, and in verse 32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 

In the above verses,  we see that casting out devils includes not only those who are possessed, but also those who are sick. In many accounts throughout scripture, wherever there was sickness and disease, Jesus healed them. What many don’t understand is that sickness and disease is evil, and there is NO EVIL in God, therefor when Jesus would come upon those who were sick or when the sick came to Jesus to be healed, he healed them. Acts 10:38 says, 38And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

What we must understand is that Jesus paid a huge price, not only for our sins, but also that we might be adopted into His Kingdom and Live as He lived in the earth, operating in the same Authority that He had as a man in the earth. He has been given complete authority over the enemy, the devil and He has given us His NAME to exercise that Authority and the principalities and the powers of the air (the Devil and his Demons) must obey Jesus Name. But, we must understand that he will fight back. He will try to convince us that we’ve not been given authority over him. The scriptures say that we are to “resist the devil and he will flee” we are to use the Name of Jesus and the Word of God, but we must also understand that the enemy, the thief, the devil and his demons will also resist, that is why we are to stand firm and stand our ground (read the Armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6:10-18). Brother Kenneth E. Hagin said in one of his teachings, “Reigning With Our Authority in Christ” said, “The enemy the devil Resists your entrance into his domain, because he’s exercising the authorities of the powers of the air, and he will continue to exercise them and he resists interference. He will concentrate all of his forces against you in an intense warfare.” 

How do we stop the thief? Jesus Name, and the understanding that we’ve been given powerful weapons as found in Ephesians 6:10-18, “

10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.f 17Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

The enemy doesn’t want you to know that he is the source of all evil, which includes sickness and disease. He wants you and many others to believe that God is putting sickness on people. This is where we must become knowledgeable of the Word of God, and that if we look at Jesus life on the earth, we see that he never said to anyone, God is doing this to you for a reason. Never did he say anything of the kind, ever! As stated in Acts 10:38, he went about DOING GOOD AND HEALING ALL!

The enemy; the thief also does not want you to know, as a believer and follower of Jesus (obeying his commands) that you have been given by God, and Jesus, power and dominion over him. He doesn’t want you to know that Jesus destroyed the works of the devil, 1 John 3:8, Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

He also does not want you to know that your Faith becomes detrimental to him and his powers when the church; the body of Christ begins to Love their neighbor (including giving to the poor) because according to the teachings of James chapter 2, it clearly states that our Faith is made Alive when we love! What we must understand is that in James 2, the Word of God says, that our “Faith is DEAD and USELESS” without love. In Ephesians chapter 6, we’re instructed to “hold up our shield of Faith, wherewith we will quench ALL the Fiery darts of the wicked one (the devil and his demons). That is why there is so much resistance against Love. That is why the enemy deceives us into thinking that Love is NOT important, that caring for the poor is unnecessary, and it’s also why he works hard at trying to keep people in an offended state of mind, and heart, when others hurt them, by tempting them to not forgive. Why? Because Forgiveness sets us free and we are able to walk in the Love, and that Love and Faith working together has the Power to Heal the Sick and Cast out Devils, just as it did in Jesus life on the earth. And He said, “Behold I GIVE YOU POWER to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy (the thief) Luke 10:19-21.

Another verse says, Faith Works by Love, and another says, Add to Your Faith Love. Why? Because Faith and Love together is a powerhouse, Love makes our Faith Alive to heal the sick and cast out devils, and without Love, our Faith is dead and useless. James 2.

Now these three remain, Faith, Hope and Love, but the Greatest of these IS Love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

{So many people including the body of Christ (the church) has been taken captive by the evil one with sickness and disease. The Lord has recently been leading me to ‘renew my mind’ with the Words of Jesus and the Father, and the Authority we have been given in Christ Jesus to cast out devils and heal this sick, and how the importance of Love for our neighbor plays an essential role in our Faith being active and alive to set the captives free!}

For more, read my book: LOVE AWAKENS