We are at the turning point from the days of futility to the new day of the believer’s victory.
We are coming to trust the Lord for every breath we breathe. It is a time of utter dependence upon Him. There is a renewal and a refreshing coming from the Lord. As much as we loathe the battle, we know we must endure it; and we do, eager to enter into the victory. It is the anticipation of the victory that makes the time of battle endurable. The Lord endured the cross, despising the shame for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).
You can go through almost anything as long as you realize that it is God’s good pleasure to bruise Satan under your feet shortly (Romans 16:20). I do not know of anything that I dislike as much as that old rascal—whatever his name is. Do you feel the same way about it? There are many Christians who do not think like that. The reason they do not have downright hatred toward Satan and his activities and are not anxious to see him disappear from the scene is that he doesn’t really disturb them very much. He does not have to. He holds them in a state of spiritual suspension so that they are not able to move ahead. But those who have a living word from the Lord and who receive direction from God are moving right into the battle.
I think that God sees (just as Uncle Sam has seen) that after a man has been in the battle for a time, he needs a period of rest and recuperation, a spiritual R and R. We feel as if a little R and R would help right now. For just a short time we will linger in this battle and breathe its smoke, then our immunity will come.
The enemy is trying to slow things down. He is furious because he knows he has only a short time to assault us before the immunity of the remnant is established—the immunity from demonic assault and the beginnings of that penetration into all the blessings of the Lord.
The immunity is already coming. Though the enemy is battling us harder than ever, there are fewer areas where he can touch us. In more and more areas he can no longer reach us. This means that although he is furious, he can no longer do very much that is effective. He has no real place where he can grapple with us.
Just before the cross, the Lord made a significant statement when He announced to His disciples that Satan was coming. Of course, Satan and the human beings involved with him could do only what the Father had beforehand determined they could do. No one could touch Christ; that was established. Jesus said, “When the prince of this world cometh, he shall find nothing in Me. There is nothing in Me that he can get a grip on” (John 14:30).
Most likely you cannot make a statement such as Jesus made. Maybe your temper is the button. At a time when you are doing fine—in fact, you are doing a little too fine—Satan pushes the button to make you blow up. You have (or you have had) a certain point where the enemy knows exactly how to “get your goat.”
“When the enemy cometh, he shall find nothing in Me.” When Satan brought the mob against Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked, “Whom seek ye?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” When He said, “I am He,” they all fell backward to the ground (John 18:6). They could have done nothing to Him if He had not allowed it. He said, “I lay My life down. No man taketh it from Me” (John 10:17, 18). That was an established fact. There was not a single thing in the human nature of Christ that was full of sin or iniquity; therefore, no one could touch Him. In fact, there were more than twelve legions of angels at His beck and call (Matthew 26:53). When the people scoffed at the foot of the cross saying, “Save yourself,” He could easily have done it and wiped them out with just one word (Matthew 27:40). He did not do so because He wanted to die for our sins. He wanted to die. The enemy could not seize upon Him in any area to create any kind of havoc. I would like to come to that place, so that when the enemy came against me, there would be no place at all where he could touch me.
1 John 5:18 says of those who are born of God that the wicked one toucheth them not. This does not mean that he does not try; it means that the sons of God will soon reach the place of immunity, that as mature sons, the wicked one will not be able to touch them. We will welcome that. There will be an end to the day in which afflictions and accidents, the spoiling of our funds and health, the harassment of circumstances and situations make us the victims instead of the ones controlling the situation. That shall end. The wicked one will no longer be able to touch us because he will find nothing in us.
The catching of a greased pig is one of the exciting events at county fairs throughout the farm states. A lively young pig is completely covered with axle grease and turned loose in a large pen. The man who can catch him, hang onto him, and carry him out of the pen is entitled to keep him. A good pig is worth quite a bit and is a prize worth catching. But it is hard to hang onto a greased pig! When a contestant grabs the pig, the pig lets out a squeal, gives a kick, and flips right out of his hands.
The prince of this world cometh; and when he cometh, may he find you like a greased pig. You must have nothing in your spirit or nature on which the enemy can get a hold. You do not want any area where he can press the button and bring a repeated defeat. For this reason the Lord keeps putting His finger on all the sore spots. He finds the tender areas, and then He keeps working on them. He wants to remove them from you so that there is nothing in you of the old nature that responds to the antagonism and the assault of Satan. Believe me, in his devious way, old Split-hoof knows just how to come against you. He knows just what to do. But the areas in which he is able to penetrate your defenses and reach you are becoming fewer and fewer all the time.
If you think the Lord has not allowed many of the things you have gone through, you are mistaken. He has allowed them, because only through conflict has your strength been developed and your ability to appropriate the fullness of the Lord increased. You can worship and lay hold upon His fullness because you have been in a position where harassment was constantly coming against you and you needed His fullness desperately.
The Lord is giving us a time of refreshing; never again will we see the days in which we are as susceptible to satanic attack as we are now. We are rapidly entering into days of immunity, and they have already started. We are narrowing down the areas of conflict. More and more Satan cannot touch us, unless he confronts us directly when we are doing the will of God. More and more we are choosing the place, the time, and the area in which the conflict takes place. This means that Satan is on his way out as the accuser of the brethren, and we are becoming the accuser of Satan. We are entering into the judgment of him, rather than being oppressed and harassed by him. This reversal of position is taking place very rapidly.
Most of the battle we face is the result of the fact that we have made a significant advance in God. We hear a word and position ourselves in some significant step that we have never taken before. Then the battle starts, and we have actually asked for it. We have already won victory in the area in which we are, and we can stay there and be relatively free, but we keep forging ahead into new levels. With every new level, the assault and the harassment come because Satan has to back away from areas that he has usurped in the spirit realm. We are taking over. We are the ones who will be seated in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Satan is the one who is cast down (Revelation 12:10). He is the one who is raging because he knows his time is short. He is the one of whom we read that there was found no place for him in heaven, so now he is down on the earth raging (Revelation 12:8, 12). We are busy crowding him out of the earth, changing the whole scene. Soon there will be only one place for him to go. When there is no place in heaven and no place on earth, we know where he is going—down into the bottomless pit.
We must not be discouraged because of the battle we have been in. There will soon be significant little evidences of the first phase of the manifestation of the sons of God. That sounds bold, yet the prophecies before us have been very audacious, and the Word of God has been emphasizing that we should lay a foundation for this. Since we are close to our liberty, let us take courage. Let us lift our hearts to the Lord and rejoice in Him. Let us not be discouraged. The enemy may have known just where to push the button; he may have known the weak point where he could get to us, and we may really have reacted to it; but soon we will be immune to it.
There are various pressure points located on the human body. Hitting a person or applying pressure on these points can affect the nervous system. I remember one time when I was a boy, a friend and I were roughhousing. Before long the play was getting a little too rough and I started hitting him on the pressure points. Soon he gave up, but the amazing thing was the fact that he did not sleep all night. He kept jumping and squirming all night long. I had known where to hit him and how to hit him.
Some people need to realize that they are jerking all the time because the devil knows where to hit them, where their vulnerable points are. He knows how to get at the areas in their old nature that have habitually defeated them. Repeatedly he comes back. He does not need to use any new tricks; he has many good, old ones that work all the time.
God is bringing Satan’s wiles to an end. Through the work of the cross, you have come to the place where Satan can hit you and you no longer jerk or respond. An immunity is being built up, and soon it will be said of the sons that the wicked one toucheth them not. You will come into that place of complete defenses, complete immunity against everything the enemy can bring against you. You will know that you are the conqueror. Then the situation will be reversed.
The enemy has a few pressure points, too. Here is one of them: the devil has power, but he has no authority. All authority has been taken away from him. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to us, through Jesus Christ who inherited it (Matthew 28:18). As we begin to use the authority and the power of His name, as we come relentlessly in the will of God, proclaiming the Word of God, as we begin to bind the strong man and plunder his house (Matthew 12:29), it will not be long until that satanic camouflage of deceit that has rested over Christianity will be removed. Then many will hear the voice of God, saying, “Come out of her, My people. Come out of her. Be not a partaker of her sins” (Revelation 18:4).
As we move into this place of victory, we will see the greatest exodus out of Babylon that has ever taken place. What a tremendous release will come! God is preparing us. We are being rooted and grounded in the essentials, because when the people come out of Babylon, wondering where to go, we will be able to show them the order God has for their lives.
God gives us a promise in Psalm 68:9: Thou didst shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was parched (the King James version says “weary”). The Lord will confirm us because we are weary, a little battle-weary. We need this spiritual R and R. We are the Lord’s people, and He will give us the rest and the refreshing that we need.
Hath not the Lord made thee an able soldier? Hath He not equipped thee with His armor? Hath He not given thee thine orders? Hath He not said, “Lo, I lead thee. I am the Captain of your salvation” (Hebrews 2:10). Ye shall not turn to the right hand nor to the left. Ye shall not fear the host against which thou art pitted, but ye shall believe in the Lord who giveth thee the victory. Ye shall enter into the things that are set before thee. Thou art not as a new cub in the battle. Behold, thou art a veteran who has borne the heat of the day, and ye know how the enemy has come against thee.
Rejoice, because the Kingdom is closer than ye know. Behold, we are already far into the days of the Parousia. The preliminary events are already the history of the remnant. Already hath the Lord brought the pure word. Already hath the Lord laid before thee amazing things of divine order that were not even realized by the early churches in the early centuries. Already the Lord hath brought to thee the principles of the Kingdom and hath taught thee to live and abide by the principles of the Kingdom.
Dost thou not know how far thou hast penetrated into a new age? Therefore rejoice! Be not dismayed in your heart. Be not discouraged. If the host cometh against thee, the Lord will make thee to stand. When the enemy cometh in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. Be not dismayed nor downhearted, but prepare your heart for that which the Lord hath ordained for thee to inherit. Prepare thy heart in expectation. Great things doth He set before thee.
Hearken, and let thy hearts perceive and bear witness that this is the Word of the Lord. This shall be a time like unto which thou hast never known before—a time when thou shalt no longer be the thirsty that drink, but thou shalt become the fountains, rivers of living water. Thou shalt not be those who are on the defensive, but thou shalt be entirely on the aggressive. Thou shalt literally possess the place of rule and authority. No longer shalt thou cry out for deliverance, but thou shalt smite and none shall deliver from thy hand. Behold, the enemy that would come against thee shall flee from thee seven ways. The Lord hath said, “Behold, I will make thee the head and not the tail. I shall make thee those who shall penetrate into a new age and others shall follow thee” (Deuteronomy 28:13). Thou shalt not be those who follow after man, but thou shalt be those who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
Instead of thirsting from season to season, thou shalt be satisfied and not thirst. Thou shalt become the source of living waters unto those who are thirsty. The living word that hath been thy satisfying portion shall in turn become within thy mouth a sword that shall smite and a fountain that shall quench the thirst of the multitudes. It shall be a living fire that shall burn up chaff. It shall bring judgment and blessing. It shall tear down and build up. It shall create within the Body of Christ the mighty Body that shall move in power and authority. It shall bring confusion unto the enemy until they are utterly divided and there is none to help. They shall find no release, and they shall find no help as the enemy is cast at thy feet. Behold, the days are upon thee in which a mighty army shall be resurrected out of bones, yet the slain at the feet of the Lord shall be multitudes.
We have been in a wilderness, but we are coming out. “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon the arm of her beloved?” (Song of Solomon 8:5). We leave the wilderness, leaning on the Lord more completely than we were capable of before. Though we have tried to trust Him and lean upon Him in the past, now there is a greater dependence upon the Lord than ever before. We recognize the weakness of the vessels God is using. We feel the humbling—but a humbling without degradation, a beautiful humbling.
The wilderness was divinely imposed. Christ experienced the wilderness before He entered into three and one-half years of ministry. After His baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist, immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness (Mark 1:9–12). Only after the wilderness did He accomplish three and one-half years of ministry.
Now Christ is moving, not in one Man’s flesh, but incarnate in a many-membered Body. His moving is preparatory to the fulfilling of the seven-year cycle of the perfect ministry of the Messiah’s deliverance. Now another three and one-half years of ministry must begin—three and one-half years in which judgments will fill the earth. It is only fitting, then, that we experience deeply the wilderness experience. We are driven by the Spirit of the Lord into it, sometimes despairing and not understanding what is happening to us. Peter describes it, “As though some strange thing has come upon you” (1 Peter 4:12). Now we perceive we are leaving the wilderness. We are preparing ourselves for the greater works, for the manifestation of the sons of God in the earth.
Oh, let there be no more heaviness voiced. Let there be no more defeat voiced. Let there be no more of the mourning and the moaning of the wilderness. Let there be everlasting joy upon our heads. Let there be a rejoicing of our hearts, for the Lord bringeth us out of the wilderness. Instead of thirsting and being tempted to perform a miracle to satisfy our own thirst, we become living miracles that shall satisfy the thirst of the earth.
When the Jews left Babylon after the exile, they did not all return at once; but there were successive groups that returned. This, too, was in the will of the Lord. Of the first ones that came, Isaiah prophesied: “Before Zion travailed, she brought forth.” Then the travail starts: “ ‘But shall I bring forth and close up the womb?’ saith the Lord” (Isaiah 66:7, 9). Others were to follow.
God has a whole host that He is going to bring forth in this day. We were born without much travail, but others are born with much travail on our part. Some may continue in the wilderness for a time. We are not all destined to come out at the same moment. The Lord does not allow us to know fully what He is doing, for that would take away from its effectiveness. It must appear like a strange thing is happening. The fact that revelation ceases and we walk by pure faith, faith without sight, through the wilderness—that very fact makes it a wilderness.
I believe that the tide has definitely changed. I am voicing complete victory for every one of us. This is a turning point! We are the witnesses of the beginning of a whole new thing that God is doing, a completely new level that He is bringing to God’s people. This was definitely the announcement of an entirely new period of this age, a whole new phase. The release has come. “The Lord hath torn, and He will heal us. He has smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us, and the third day we shall live in His sight” (Hosea 6:1, 2).