(Church Leadership) 11. Satan Has Been Defeated — Zac Poonen

Building New Testament Churches Without Compromise

Our purpose of this seminar is to be more effective servants of the Lord to build his church. If you look around at all the famous, or not famous, well-known Christian preachers in India today, most of them are just preachers.

They are not building churches. Because once you start building New Testament churches, everybody becomes against you. So people prefer to be inter-denominational. So inter-denominational means you have to keep quiet on all the things which other people disagree with you on.

Otherwise they can't join you. So, no, I don't judge them. Maybe that is their calling. They should do that. I thank God I don't have to judge anybody. I don't even have to judge you. I've only got to judge myself.

A lot of people are unhappy because they go around judging others. They lose the blessing of God in their own ministry. Because they curse the darkness everywhere. There was a time when I did it and my life was dry and heavy.

I finished with it long ago and it changed my life, my ministry and everything. So I didn't change my convictions. But I allowed other people to do what they like. And I see that's how Jesus was. He didn't go forcing people to change.

He didn't waste all his time criticizing Annas and Kayapas and all the rest of the people. He had a task to do. He focused on that and he did it. Those who don't have anything to do, they spend their life criticizing everybody else.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So if our mind is focusing on all these other things, wrong here, here, here, wrong, wrong, then that's it. See, yesterday I said about a Lucifer ministry where people go around trying to gather together those who are disgruntled and unhappy.

Standing Alone Like Daniel and Elijah

The opposite of that is the Daniel ministry. See, when Daniel went to Babylon, he was the only one who decided, I'm not going to compromise with the matter of food. It was one man. And when he took a stand, then three others joined him, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were later known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

But those three would have been thorough compromisers if they had not seen Daniel take a stand. There are three types of believers in India, like you see in Babylon there. One is like Daniel, who will stand alone no matter who is compromising.

And who says, if I have to stand alone, I stand alone. They don't criticize all the others. I mean, if you want to compromise, you compromise. They stand for God, like Elijah. And then there's another group, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who will take a stand if somebody else takes a stand.

They don't have the courage to stand on their own. And then there's a third group who are just compromisers, like the other Jews in Babylon. It's like that in Elijah's time. There were three groups. There was Elijah, who stood, doesn't matter who stands with him or not.

See, most of such people like Elijah and Daniel stand alone for some time. And most Christians just kind of don't have the ability to stand alone. They need somebody to prop them up. Because they don't know God sufficiently.

That's why the most important thing is to know God. Daniel 11 .32 says, the people who know God will be strong and will do exploits for Him. So, in Elijah's time, there was another group of 7 ,000 who didn't bow the knee to Baal.

And an Obadiah, who feared the Lord but was manager in Ahab's palace. Now, you can't be a manager in Ahab's palace without compromising. And then there was a third group. The rest of the Israelites who were just compromisers.

So, very often in history, you find these three groups. It's like the tabernacle. Those who live in the most holy place, those who live in the holy place, those who live in the outer court. And as you move towards the holy place, the number gets less and less and less and less.

And the number in the most holy place, usually one or two who really want to live before God. Now, the strength of your church is not the number of people in the outer court. The strength of your church is those who are in the most holy place.

Not in the holy place or the outer court. So, don't be excited by more and more people coming to the outer court. But we ourselves have to be people who live in the most holy place. Where do you say you are living today?

Where do you live today? Don't imagine that you are in the most holy place. The one who lives in the most holy place is the one who can honestly say to God, God, I want nothing and no one but you. If you have ambitions on this earth, you may be an elder brother, but you are in the outer court.

And you will be able to lead people only into the outer court. If you love money, you are certainly in the outer court. Think of these things. Can you say like the psalmist in Psalm 73, 25, Lord, whom have I in heaven but Thee?

There is no one on earth I desire beside Thee. There is nothing on earth I desire beside Thee. I tell you, India needs young people like that, for whom their job is only a means of earning a living, but for whom God is primary.

We are not looking for promotion and advancement and increment and all that. In a lot of jobs today, you have to tell lies, you have to compromise in order to get that promotion. Think of some of you who were in secular jobs or who are in secular jobs.

Look back over your life. Haven't you had to compromise somewhere in order to get where you got? Did some slight wrong? I know you repented of it. But at that point, God tested you and saw you were a thorough compromiser.

Nobody in your church knows about it. But God knows and that's the only thing that matters. And unless you radically repent and say, Lord, if I were to do that again, I'd never do that. There's hope for everyone if you radically repent.

But whether the repentance is radical or not, I don't know. Like I've often said, if people are choosing aluminium to make children's toys, it doesn't have to go through much testing. But if aluminium is being used to make an aircraft, it goes through severe testing over a long period of time before they put it for use in an aircraft.

So, God tests us. He wants all of us to have the highest ministry possible. But if He failed the test, He won't reject us. He'll just use us for children's toys. That's all. And you will get into eternity one day and the Lord will show you what a fantastic ministry you could have had on earth for Him.

And how the devil fooled you to choose something of earth. And like Esau, you sold your birthright for a little bowl of porridge. Don't do it, brothers. There's a lovely verse in 1 John chapter 4. I believe it should be true of all of us.

It should be true of all believers. But I think it is true of less than 1 of believers. And I don't know what percentage of us live in this verse. It's possibly a very small percentage. It's 1 John 4.

And verse 17, the last part. As Jesus is, so also are we in this world. The authority, the dignity which Jesus manifested on earth, that's how we are to live. How did He have that? Because He lived in perfect purity, in total surrender.

Living in the Authority and Purity of Jesus

He didn't even want to say anything which the Father didn't want Him to say. I showed you in John 14 the other day how the words I speak, the Father gave them to me. One who lived a pure life for 30 years, can't he say something on his own?

No, his submission was total. You think Jesus had time to sit around and gossip like some of us do? He'd just get up and go away. Let the others continue their gossip sessions. We can never, in a thousand years, have the authority that Jesus had, if we are not careful in these areas.

His attitude to money is so radical. Purity towards women, total radical. There was none of this wishy-washy type of thing. Oh, we can always ask God to forgive me if I sin. Why was there such tremendous authority that the Father would back Jesus no matter what He did?

There was no fear in Jesus. People came to capture Him, they'd fall back themselves. What was the reason? It wasn't the terror of terrorists and criminals that was seen on His face. His was the gentlest face this world ever saw.

Women caught in adultery are not attracted to terrorists. They came to Jesus for forgiveness because there was a gentleness, humility. But there was an authority that made Roman soldiers tremble. As Jesus is, so can we be in this world.

But there's no fear in our hearts. It says here in the next verse, there is no fear. Perfect love has cast out fear. That means the perfect love of God for me has cast out all fear from my heart. Because fear involves punishment.

It says here. That means I am afraid that God will do something to me. Always this feeling, God is not very happy with me. Something God is not happy with me. You think it's the Holy Spirit putting those thoughts into your heart?

100 the devil. Of course, if we love the world. I wouldn't say God is angry with you, but He's just sad that you're ruining your life. See, if your children don't study properly, you'll still give them food at home.

If they come last in the class, they're careless and play the fool, you'll still take care of them. You'll take them to the hospital if they're sick. You won't kick them out of the house, but you'll be very grieved.

So the fact that God provides for you and takes care of you proves absolutely nothing. No, that doesn't prove. That's one of the things God showed me. The fact that I answer your prayer and provide all your need proves absolutely nothing of whether I'm happy with your life.

That's a matter of conscience. It's just like you provide everything for a child who is disobedient, careless, lazy. God makes the sun to rise even on evil people, Jesus said. He sends the rain on the field of the atheistic farmer.

So we must not be like those foolish Christians who say, God has blessed me, so He's happy with me. God has blessed my children and my family. He's happy with me. No. That only proves that God is a good God.

That's all. It doesn't prove anything about me. It's your conscience that tells you. Witness of the Holy Spirit. That'll tell you whether you're right with God or not, and not even your wife may know that.

So how can we walk on this earth as Jesus walked? That's one of the things John was so eager to emphasize. You know, earlier on in chapter 2, verse 6, he says, if you say you're a Christian, you've got to walk as Jesus walked.

And here he says, as Jesus is so are we in the world. Demons tremble when Jesus came. I've thought of this. Jesus would move towards a certain town, and all the demons in that town would say, hey, he's coming here, he's coming here, and they'd be scared.

They were not scared when Annas and Caiaphas came there. What about when you're going to a town? The devil hears that you're going to some place for meetings. Okay, you can announce and tell everybody meetings are going on.

It's not the number of people who come to your meetings that matters. Do the demons tremble? Something's going to happen here if this guy comes. I want it to be like that. I don't care if five people come to my meeting.

I once traveled all the way to Australia just because three people were meeting together there. Not numbers. If God leads you to go somewhere, you go. God has some plan. The point is, can something, some stronghold of the devil be broken there?

I believe that's very important. The church is in a place for that purpose, to break the strongholds of Satan. It's not just witnessing to people. When Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me in the uttermost parts of the earth, to whom are we to be witnesses?

Who must hear our testimony? The world? Yes. But in Revelation 12, verse 11, it says it's the devil who must get our testimony. Have you ever connected Revelation 12, 11 with Acts 1, 8? You shall be my witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

The only thing that a lot of people think of is distributing tracts and making sure that everybody gets the message. But Revelation 12, 10 speaks about the accuser of the brethren and Satan, verse 9, the deceiver of the whole world.

Verse 9 and 10, the accuser of the brothers. And verse 11, these overcomers overcame him by the word of their testimony. All over the world they were a witness. A witness to what? That Jesus Christ is Lord.

That he defeated Satan on the cross. He doesn't like to hear that. You heard me say this before, how once some sister brought another lady to my house for prayer. She was not a believer. And she said, I always fall down when somebody prays for me.

I said, don't worry, you won't fall down here. I said, make sure that you sit on this chair. And then I went, spoke to her and asked her to pray the sinner's prayer. And like I always tell believers, new converts to say, now you've asked Jesus to forgive you.

Now speak to the devil. I always tell new converts to say that. I don't belong to you. Jesus Christ defeated you on the cross. So I told her to say, tell the devil, Jesus Christ defeated you on the cross.

She turned around to me and said, I've not been defeated on the cross. Oh, I didn't know there was a demon here. I thought it was only an unbeliever. So I said, well, you're a liar, you demon. You were defeated on the cross.

Get out in Jesus name right now. I don't believe we have to tell a demon more than once if you have faith. And your conscience is clear. And you believe only in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ.

You don't have to shout. You don't have to say it more than once. It says in the book of Mark, he cast out the demons with one word. That's what came to my heart. He always cast out a demon with one word.

We don't go around doing it all the time. We have to be led by the spirit. There was a demon possessed woman harassing Paul for many days in Acts 16 and he never had any leading to do anything. But one day Paul was led by the spirit.

He said, get out in Jesus name. Gone. If you have to say it more than once, it's a waste of time. You need to go and fast and pray then. Not yell and scream. So, of course, the demon left her. And then I said, now tell the devil you were defeated on the cross.

He said, Satan, you were defeated on the cross. I learned something that day. I learned that the devil does not like to hear that he was defeated on the cross. And those 15 or so years ago, I decided I'm going to tell the devil that regularly.

And I'm going to tell the world wherever I travel that Satan was defeated on the cross. There were three or four things that happened on the cross. It's all written in the New Testament. But only one of them is preached.

Christ died for our sins. That's preached. Christ became a curse for us so that there'll be no curse on us. That's not preached enough because there are believers who think there's a curse on them because of what their great grandfather did.

You mean that small part which my great grandfather did was not taken by Christ on the cross? What a deception. There's something else that happened on the cross which is not preached. Our old man was crucified with Christ on the cross so that I might never serve sin for the rest of my life.

I need never lust after a woman. I need never get angry because my old man was crucified on the cross. I don't have to love money anymore. It's the old man who loves money that's crucified. Can you imagine what would happen if these truths were preached?

Faith comes by hearing. Hearing by the word of Christ. There would be no faith if people don't hear. And another thing that happened on the cross we read was Satan was stripped of his armor, Colossians 2 .15.

He was not killed. The terrorist was not killed. But all his armor were taken away. You know we live in a world of terrorism. And terrorists frighten people not by their face or their hands or anything.

It's because they got guns and grenades. They got weapons. You take away their weapons, they are like any other person. They may be alive. Every terrorist in the world knows his power is in his weapons.

No terrorist goes anywhere in the world without weapons. Grenades, bombs, guns. What happened on the cross? Was Satan killed? No. Were the demons destroyed? No. The Bible doesn't say that. Colossians 2 .15 is so clear.

His armor was taken away. And Hebrews 2 .14 and 15 in the NASB says he was rendered powerless. His power is gone. We need to know that. I am facing a terrorist who has got no power. And to use an illustration, he is a powerless terrorist.

And I have got the mightiest machine gun in the world in the name of Jesus. Why am I scared of him? Why is it so many believers are afraid of the devil? Or afraid of the devil's agents? Jesus was as much against fear as he was against sin.

Overcoming Fear, Sin, and Broken Relationships

Some people say he was also against all sickness. It's true. Wherever he met sickness, he healed it if people had faith. But he never told people, don't get sick, don't get sick, don't get sick. I never hear him saying that.

But I do hear him saying, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, fear not, fear not, fear not, so many times. I also hear him saying so many times, don't sin, don't sin, sin not, sin not, go and sin no more.

So I see that Jesus was basically against people sinning and people being afraid. You read that in the Gospels. I gave you a little homework yesterday. Read through the Gospels. See the things that Jesus spoke about.

I tell you, if you take it seriously, it will revolutionize your life and your ministry. Don't be afraid. Don't sin. I don't want to sin. And I don't want to be afraid. Because my Lord has commanded me never to sin.

And if I slip up accidentally in a moment, I want to get out of that pit immediately and confess it and cleanse myself. Immediately confess to anybody else whom I have hurt. If a slight strain has come between me and another elder brother, I want to set it up right immediately.

If I sense that a brother, one of my fellow elders is, I don't know, for some right or wrong reason, has gone a little distance from me. God is my witness. I'll never wait for one day. Do you look like that with your fellow elders in your locality?

When you get a thorn in your foot, how long do you take to pull it out? I know you won't die if you keep it there for a few days. But we've got more sense to take a thorn out of our foot. You know, a thorn in your foot can never damage God's work as much as a strain between you and your fellow elder.

But if you take out a thorn from your foot immediately and you don't take out a strain from your fellow elder immediately, that proves like all the people in the world, you love your body a million times more than you love the body of Jesus Christ.

We need to get light on these things and admit it. Now, you hear a message like this and say, ah, that's right, yeah, yeah, I saw, now I realize. If that's your reaction, you won't change in a hundred years.

But if it brings you down on your face in the dust and say, oh God, I'm sorry, I never realized this, then there's hope for you. I've seen many people, even elders, who come for our conferences for years and years and years and years and they never change.

They say they hear something in the meeting, really convicts them. And it's like hearing some news. Oh, so the Congress won the election, is it okay? Oh, that by-election those people won, is it okay?

I didn't know that, I just read it in the papers today. Yeah, they got some information. It's not brought radical repentance. It's not brought a mourning. And that's why even after year after year after conference, they are just the same.

Leadership Without Partiality or Personal Ambition

Why was Jesus' life so authoritative? How did he accomplish so much? How did demons tremble wherever he went? Because he lived before the Father's face. The devil had no power over him, no place where he could put a foot.

I want to ask you, is there a place in your life where the devil can put a foot? It's not the impression you've given to other people in your church or in others around that you're a very holy man. And it's not even saying, well, I sort of preserved my position as an elder for so many years when many others have fallen away.

That's like King Saul sitting 38 years after God has rejected him and saying, I'm still here as the king. He reigned for 40 years. He got rejected after 2 years. But he reigned there. But he reigned over there.

It doesn't mean a thing. How much is God backing me up? Can I honestly say that there's nothing on earth I desire but the Lord? Can I honestly say that there's no partiality in me? Many elders are very partial when it comes to their own children.

In the church, when it comes to their own children, things are a little different. Protect them, defend them. Till then they were not with others. They don't treat others like that. God will never back such a man.

He may remain as an elder like Saul. But God tests us in all these areas. He tested Saul. Saul was trying to promote his son. The Christian world is full of people who are trying to promote their sons.

A man has built up a ministry with a lot of money coming from America. And he says, why should I hand it over to these brothers? I'll hand it over to my family members only. They may have many co-workers in that ministry, but not one of those co-workers has a chance to lead that ministry.

When this guy's son comes of age, his son will take over that ministry. You see it in all the big ministries in America. You see it all in the big ministries in India. And what when the children grow up?

They grow older, grandchildren will take over. It's not only in the political world in Delhi, it happens in Christian circles too. Do you think God, are you deceived by all this? Do you think God doesn't watch all this?

Saul trying to promote Jonathan. And God did not want him. Be careful, brothers, that you don't show partiality. In any way, if your children are wrong, they are wrong. I remember when my children here were in Sunday school and the Sunday school teacher said they did something wrong, I'd say, listen, I don't want any Sunday school teacher to say you misbehave in the church.

Yeah, teach them to respect these other brothers. Otherwise, your children will be ruined. Don't show partiality to your close friends. Oh, this is my close friend, I have to protect him. If he's wrong, he's wrong.

Whoever it is. I don't have any close friend other than Jesus. Even my wife is after that. And the closest elders of mine are after that. And if Jesus says that's wrong, I say, Lord, I accept that. I don't care if my closest elder says something.

He's wrong. God will test you in all these areas to see whether you're fit to build this church. Let's pass the test. If you have partiality, the devil's got a foothold in your life. The sad thing is not that God won't back you.

The sad thing is the devil's got a foothold in your life there. Ah, the devil says, I know this guy will be partial towards his children or to this brother. I've got a foothold in him. Let him say whatever he likes in the pulpit.

We have to say to God, Lord Jesus, there's absolutely no one on earth I desire but you. That's why he said, you've got to hate your wife, children, brother, sister, everybody, if you want to be my disciple.

It's the first condition of discipleship. And if the elders have not fulfilled it, where in the world are they going to build a church of disciples? Adam produced a son in his own likeness and you'll produce children in your likeness.

Say, Lord, there's no partiality in my heart. Nobody is special to me. If a person is anointed, I don't care who he is. I will put that 30-year-old above the 50-year-old. That 50-year-old has been in the church 20 years, but there's no anointing on him.

He's a compromiser. But this 30-year-old came two years ago, but he's wholehearted and there's an anointing on him. We're going to promote him. He's no relative of mine. Look for the anointing. God looks for the anointing.

Are we like that? Or do we go by seniority? Who shall we make elder like in government service? Who has been longest in the church? And the devil says, these fellows, they'll never build a church. They go by seniority.

They are offended. What will this senior brother think if I promote this junior brother? Jesus wasn't bothered. He didn't care about all the old people selected these 27-year-old people. And I'll tell you something.

If one of your relatives is wholehearted, don't be bothered what people think if you promote him. Jesus selected two of his own first cousins, James and John, to be his closest disciples. His mother's sister's children.

And he took them always with him, along with Peter. And people could have said, aha, cousins he's taking along with him. Do you think he was bothered? Let people say what they like. There was a wholeheartedness in his cousins which the others didn't have.

And he was not going to try to show, I've got no partiality, I will not choose them. He was not bothered what they thought. Only a legalist would do that. He lived so much before the father, the anointing.

It didn't matter who it was. I tell you, it requires something to be a servant of God. I'll tell you what it requires. You must desire nothing and no one but Jesus. That's all. Nobody's approval. Only God.

And God means more to you than all the created things of earth. All the pretty women, all the promotions, increments, money, wealth, property. If you can really say, Lord, you mean more to me than all this, then God will back you up.

Jesus' Temptation Before Entering Ministry

Otherwise, you'll wonder why we can't live as Jesus lived. We read in Matthew chapter 4, as soon as Jesus finished his baptism and was anointed for the ministry, before he could go into the ministry, he had to confront Satan.

He was tempted by the devil for 40 days. And the last three temptations on the last day only are mentioned there. What all Jesus faced the other 40 days, we don't know. But he had to face Satan and conquer him and then go into the ministry.

Meditating on Scripture for Firsthand Revelation

Now, when you read the Gospels, please be alert. Don't read in a sleepy way. That's why the Bible says, meditate. Think, think. Now, when I read this, I think. Was there ever any other man since Adam, who had to first confront Satan before going into the ministry?

That's the meaning of meditation. And I think of Noah, Moses, Abraham, Elijah, David, all the way down. Nobody. So, this is something new. This must be something to do with the new covenant. David killed Goliath and then went into the ministry as a king.

Human enemies. Now, it was the real enemy. Now, if I am to follow Jesus, I see, this is all the result of meditation on Matthew 4. I'm just teaching you how to meditate on God's word. You'll never get all this if you rush past, OK, I've finished Matthew 4, now I've got to go to Matthew 5.

The Bible says, meditate. God never rewards lazy people. I don't believe I've discovered anything in scripture which you cannot discover. If your conscience is clear and you seek after God and you meditate and you spend time with his word and obey his word, the things that are hidden from the clever and the intelligent God will reveal to you.

But if you're lazy or you rush through scripture, you won't get anything. Then you'll have to get everything second hand. That's good. But there's nothing like getting it first hand from God. Tell me one thing.

Supposing Jesus was here and then the breaking of bread. Would you like to get the cup, the bread from me or from Jesus? You can get it from me too. It's the same thing. It won't taste any different in your mouth.

I love you brother, but I still would like to take it from Jesus. Say that about the word as well. I always tell people here, I say, listen, what you got from me today was second hand. Now, take that before the Lord and say, Lord, make it first hand now.

Otherwise, the manna that came from heaven will stink in your heart. You know, that's one thing about heavenly bread. Earthly bread does not produce worms in 24 hours. I've never seen earthly bread producing worms in 24 hours.

But heavenly bread does. You think heavenly bread should be superior? No, the distinctive feature about heavenly bread is, they took a little bit of that manna and kept it in the most holy place for 40 years and it lasted.

Not only 40 years in the wilderness. They took it into Canaan for hundreds of years. It was inside the Ark of the Covenant in Canaan. Imagine, five, six hundred years, that manna is still not stinking.

But some fellow kept it in his tent and in 24 hours it started stinking. Heavenly bread is like that. You keep it in the presence of God, it will never stink. Soul is fresh. Word of God is fresh. That's how your ministry must be every single time.

Richer and richer as you grow older. Why is there so much staleness and stinking? It's because we're not living in the most holy place. You keep the manna in the outer court, it will stink. You keep the manna in the holy place, it will stink.

The table of showbread had bread there, it had to be replaced regularly because it got spoiled. You know that in the holy place they had a table with 12 pieces of bread kept there? That began to stink.

But the manna in the holy place, hundreds of years it just stayed there. I have believed with all my heart that if one mark of my living in the presence of God is my life is always fresh. His mercy is on you every morning.

There is no stale water in the river of God. The manna always tastes the same as it was on the first day. Take a simple test. A simple test. Do you remember the first time, the first time when it really hit you that Jesus died for your sin?

Keeping the Wonder of Christ's Sacrifice Fresh

When you were a rotten sinner weighed down with sin and you realized Jesus died for you. Oh, what tears it brought into your eyes. What joy it brought into your heart, my sins are gone. How is it today when you hear the same message?

Even today there are tears when I sing about the cross. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, wretched, unclean. God is my witness that manna is fresh.

It's a new song like it is in heaven. It's always a new song in heaven. That means a fresh song. Jesus died. He redeemed us with his blood. How is it a new song as it says in Revelation 5? Because in the presence of God, it's as if I'm hearing it for the first time.

When you are not in the presence of God, it's like hearing about the Second World War or something like that. I heard that long ago. Do you know that the Germans were defeated in the Second World War?

You don't get excited? Really? I mean, but when it first happened in 1945, do you know there were people jumping and dancing on the streets? Do you know the devil was defeated on the cross? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that.

No wonder our life is in this state it is. These are some of the clearest proofs that we are not living in the presence of God. If we were, these proofs would be fresh that Jesus died for a wretch like me, that he gave his life.

I should have been crucified. I should have hung on the cross in shame. And they were coming to take me away. But a voice from heaven said, let him go. Take me instead and crucify me. I said, Lord, let me never lose the wonder of that in my heart.

Let me never lose the wonder that a criminal like me you set free. That will make me very compassionate towards other sinners. It will give me authority when I recognize every day Satan was defeated. So Jesus had to confront Satan, overcome him and then go into the ministry.

Jesus' Victory Over the Strong Man and the Fear of Satan

Jesus once said, how can you take away the strong man's goods? Luke 11, verse 21. A strong man, fully armed, 1121, guards his house, his possessions are undisturbed. That's how the devil is. But a stronger one than him comes, attacks him and overpowers him.