Overcomer #5 – Control Issues
Some people have control issues. They need to feel the need to maintain power over their relationships, family, and workplace.
As Christ followers, we give the control of our lives over to God. We invite the Spirit of Jesus to live through us in our relationships, family, and workplace.
Still, we can unwisely “give the devil a foothold” in our lives (Ephesians 4:27).
Before Christ’s crucifixion, Satan sifted Peter like wheat, as Peter proudly boasted that he would never deny Christ, which he later did (Luke 22:31-33, 54-62).
While the Church was in its infancy stage, Satan filled the hearts of a husband and wife, Ananias & Sapphira, to lie about the purchase price of a particular property (Acts 5:3).
Through repeated choices of sin and disobedience to God, we can unwittingly give control to the devil.
The path to freedom in Christ: Stop giving the devil a foothold. Stop sinful actions and activities. Repent thoroughly. Renounce secret and shameful ways (2 Corinthians 4:2). Realign yourself fully to the Holy Spirit’s control.
Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest expanded Ephesians 5:18 to read, “Be constantly, moment by moment, being controlled by the Spirit.”
I like that. The essence of the Spirit-filled life is control. And it’s persistent and continuous.
We are no longer under our own control. Rather, we are under living one moment at a time under the complete control of the Holy Spirit.
Theology students at a Christian college were given a one-hour exam to write what they knew about the Holy Spirit and what they knew about the devil.
One student became so engrossed in the first part of the test that he forgot all about the time. When the hour was up, he was still writing on the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Before turning in his exam paper, he hastily scribbled at the bottom of the page: “I have no time for the devil.”
I don’t know what grade that student received. But I do know this: when a child of God is filled with the Spirit and preoccupied with who God is and what God wants, they can honestly say, “I have no time for the devil.” And they will certainly receive God’s approval.
~ Pastor Dave
