Notice, Paul pressed. He didn’t just wait for his spiritual inheritance to fall on him like an apple off a tree. He didn’t just sit down when he ran into hardships and trouble and say, “I think I’ll quit. The devil is putting too much pressure on me.”
No, instead of slacking off, when the pressures of the devil hit (and they hit all of us), Paul turned the tables. He put pressure on the devil by continuing to press into the excellence of the knowledge of the Anointed One and His Anointing.
The devil has no answer for the Anointing of God! He can try to pressure us to back off from it, but if we continue to press forward in faith to apprehend that for which Jesus has apprehended us, our pressure will win over the devil’s every time. If we take the attitude Paul did and say, “Forget the failures of yesterday. I’m pressing forward into my high calling in Jesus. I’m reaching for the prize of the Anointing of my King!” the devil doesn’t stand a chance.
That’s why he fights so hard to talk us out of pressing forward. It’s why he wants us to take the same that’s-good-enough attitude he’s sold to the world. As the god of this world, he’s “blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ…should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4); and now he wants to blind the Church. He wants to keep us from seeing the excellence of God’s glory that’s ours through the new birth because he knows what will happen when we do.
The manifestation of that excellent glory will increase in us and among us! People will see and hear about it and come in droves to hear about Jesus. That’s what happened in Jesus’ ministry. It’s what happened in Peter’s ministry and Paul’s ministry. And it will be the same with us.
When we step over into the fullness of the glory that God has planned for the Church, our only problem will be finding room enough for all the people. We’ll bring the final great harvest into the kingdom of God, wrap this thing up, and the devil’s day will be done.
“Brother Copeland, are you saying the devil is scared of us?”
BVOV : 7
