Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez ,Elder, The Lord's Flcok Catholic Charismatic Community

“ Taking What the Devil has Stolen”

An Abundant Life for God's Children

G od wants us, his children, to have an abundant life. Jesus said, “ I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. ” (John 10:10).

The Devil Steals from Us

O ur enemy, the devil, tries to prevent us from having an abundant life. He is a thief who comes to steal and slaughter and destroy. (John 10:10-first part).

? The devil steals from us our peace. We become anxious, worried, and troubled.

? Satan robs us our joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength and if this joy is stolen from us, we become weak.

? The devil steals our faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and if faith is stolen from us, we turn away from the Lord.

? The enemy may also be stealing our finances, our health, our love, our relationship, and our blessings. He is a thief and a deceiver.

God Gives Us Authority and Power Over the Enemy

G od has given us authority and power over the enemy. “Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19). Serpents and scorpions are the principalities who steal our physical and mental strength and who destroy our abilities and power.

O ur Lord Jesus is the source of our authority and power. Jesus assigned this authority to us as his believers and assured us of greater things than what He had done. “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these…” (John 14:12).

P ower is the ability to perform effectively and exercise control. The power that we receive is from above; we can do everything in Jesus Christ who empowers us.

God Is a God of Restoration

T o restore means to mend or to bring back something to its original state. It also means to give back to us goods stolen from us.

G od is a God of restoration. He originally created us in his image and likeness. He has brought us to life. He restores us in the original state He intended for us. He wants us to have an abundant life.

G od restores whatever the devil may have stolen from us. He gives us authority and power over the enemy. He trusts and asks us to use this power.

How We Can Take Back What the Devil Has Stolen from Us

G od is ready to restore to us what the devil has stolen from us. However, we must be ready and faithful to do our part in this process of restoration.

1. K NOW GOD'S WORD AND COMMANDMENTS

? We must know God's word. People may perish for want of knowledge (Hosea 4:6); they may perish for they do not know the word of God.

? We must treasure in our heart God's word and commandments. We should give great importance and value on them.

? “Let your heart hold fast my words: keep my commands, that you may live!” (Proverbs 4:4). We should keep and hide God's words in our heart in order that they may not be stolen by the devil. [Parable of the Sower – Matthew 13:1-3].

2. K EEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS

? We must keep God's commandments by taking hold of God's work and promising to obey them. “In my heart I treasure your promise that I may not sin against you.” (Psalms 119:11).

? We must keep God's commandments to show our love for God. “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). We should obey God at all cost and in every moment of our life.

? We must keep God's commandments as an act of obedience – doing what God says, when He says it, how He says it, as long as He says it – until what He says has been accomplished.

O BEDIENCE – When we practice obedience, we bring our mind, our actions, and our goals in line with God's will. When God gives us a word of direction, wisdom, knowledge, or warning, we must heed completely to what He is saying us until it is accomplished. We should obey even if we do not understand the command completely. The Lord offers us two paths: life or death, blessing or curse. Let us choose life. Let us choose blessing. (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

Biblical Personalities with Complete Obedience

A mong biblical personalities who had complete obedience to God are the following:

? Noah – he built a huge ark on top of a mountain (Genesis 6:9-22);

? Elijah and the widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-16);

? Joshua – the Fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-21);

? The Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26 -38).

Consequences of Disobedience

W e are sometimes disobedient for different reasons. We may be afraid of what other people might say; that they might laugh at us; that they might see us as ridiculous; that they might criticize us. We disobey when we experience a crisis of faith. We disobey when we fear becoming unpopular if we obey the Lord.

D isobedience may lead to painful consequences as in the cases of Saul (1 Samuel 13:8-14) and of Moses (Numbers 20:7-12). Saul and Moses did not follow God's exact instructions and suffered the consequences of disobedience.

W e must not disobey God. God wants to give us blessings but when we disobey the Lord, these blessings are easily stolen by the enemy. We must be wary of the devil's deceptions.

? When we disobey in big and even in small matters, we cause disorder and we disrupt unity. The flow of God's graces stops.

? Satan can steal from us in many ways. We should be wise and not ignorant about the devices of Satan “…so that we might not be taken advantage of by Satan, for we are not unaware of his purposes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

? We should not delay in obeying God when He wants to use us [as He did to Jonah]. We should immediately answer “Yes, Lord.” In case of our delays, there might be misfortunes.

? When we obey God, we will receive blessings; but when we disobey, we show irreverence to God. We give our trust to Satan and to ourselves instead of giving our entire trust to God.

The Many Ways Satan Steals from Us

S atan steals from us every time we disobey God. He robs us when we do not go to our community and join the activities. He steals when we do not forgive others. He robs us when we do not observe tithing. He steals from us when we do not trust God completely. We risk that our own peace, joy, faith and love are stolen by the devil when we do not hear, study, and follow the word of God.