Day27                      God’s kids,  the Devil’s kids  -  Who is stronger?                      4:4-6

1 John 4:4   Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

         Boys are different from girls.  Boys have to find our who is stronger.  Boys seem to always be competing in something.  They have to find out which things they are best at,  in which things that they are stronger.

         When I was a youth pastor,  my youth group would always challenge me to an arm wrestle,  to a race,  to a wrestling match.  There was one time I thought they were going to kill me by trying to get me under water.  It was what boys are like. 

          The world does not see the Lord.  They only see the natural things that are around them.  They don’t understand where we get our strength.  They call us names.  They make fun of us and they criticize us for being ignorant.  But for all of their attacks,  a child of the devil can never overcome a child of God.  We have a strength that they can’t understand.  Our strength is able to overcome the spirit of antichrist.  The one that dwells in us (the Holy Spirit), is greater than the one that dwells on this earth (the devil). 

         No Christian can be indwelt by a demon because all Christians have the Holy Spirit.  As Christians we can’t be controlled by the devil or his angels unless we give Him our permission.  We do not need to be afraid of the devil or his power.  We only need to fear the one that we pray to.  John wrote in the book of Revelation,

Revelation 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

          We are told and we are promised,  “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  The only possible way that we can overcome the devil is with a power that is greater than his.  Jesus said, 

Matthew 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

29  Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

          In that illustration we understand that since Jesus cast out demons,  He had to be stronger than the devil  (the strong man)  in order to spoil his house. Since we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us,  we have the power that created the universe,  the power that raised our Lord from the dead.  It is not our power,  but nonetheless,  it is available to us.