Power And Victory Over Devils by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Two Equal and Opposite Errors

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Screwtape Letters: there are two equal and opposite errors the human race can fall into regarding demons. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe in them and develop an excessive, unhealthy interest in them.

A life under the devil's control is a life in constant reaction to what he does — a life that only sees warfare instead of victory, where everything is attributed to Satan. There is definitely a balance. Scripture itself is constantly paradoxical — God is revealed in love and in wrath, there is heaven and hell, grace and judgment. God is always trying to bring balance to how we think.

Three Kinds of Ignorance

2 Corinthians 2:11 — "Lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices." Ignorance is not just one thing. There are three levels:

1. Not knowing at all — this is caused by the god of this world blinding people's eyes. 2 Corinthians 4:4 — "The god of this world has blinded their eyes so they will not see the light of the glorious gospel."
2. Half knowledge — knowing, but only partially. The example is Apollos. He was eloquent, mighty in the scriptures, fervent in spirit, teaching accurately — but he only knew the baptism of John. He was preaching that the Messiah was coming, 20 years after the Messiah had already come, died, and risen. Half truth is no truth.
3. Ignored knowledge — knowing but not applying or acting on what is known. This is arguably the most dangerous form of ignorance, because the person has no excuse.

Wrong Teachers vs. False Teachers

There is an important distinction between a wrong teacher and a false teacher. Apollos was a wrong teacher — he was teaching what he believed, and it was not yet fully consistent with scripture. But when Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately, he received it and changed.

A false teacher is different: they are aware they are distorting the truth, often for personal gain. When confronted with the truth, they may say "you are correct" — but the next message will contain the same deception. The difference is intention revealed by response to correction.

Many people are not false teachers. They are wrong. Be careful before you apply that label — the Pharisees applied it to Jesus.

The Right Things Done the Wrong Way

If the devil cannot get you to do the wrong thing, he will get you to do the right thing the wrong way. Saul defeated the Amalekites — he won the battle. But he lost his throne because he didn't win God's way. The instruction was not just to win. It was to utterly destroy.

Being right is not enough. Be right God's way.

John 11 — Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. Yet he wept with those who were mourning first. Why? Because he did not just change things. He also met people where they were. Truth delivered without empathy is a different kind of wrong.

The Battle Is in the Mind

The entire 2 million Israelites who came out of Egypt were damaged with a slave mindset. They could not see possibility. That slave mindset destroyed them in the wilderness. God said: they cannot enter the promised land. Let them die. Their children — who did not experience slavery — are the ones who would possess it.

The battle is the mind. That is where the warfare is.

God told Abraham: "As far as your eyes can see, I will give you." The limitation was never the land. It was the vision. Peter stepped out of a boat and walked on water. The disciples in the boat who watched and cheered were under a greater influence than they realised — the devil was not on the water, because light and darkness cannot coexist. He was in the boat, keeping them as spectators.