We have been talking about the subject of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and its importance in equipping Christians with the supernatural power necessary in fulfilling the Great Commission.

In our last lesson, we discussed the first reason we need to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The first reason is found in John 14:12 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

In this passage, Jesus is talking to his disciples and to everyone who believes on Him. Jesus said to every believer, “The works I do shall he do also.” I believe Jesus wants every believer to carry on the works that he started nearly 2000 years ago.

Today we want to continue by looking at the second reason every believer needs to be supernaturally equipped and empowered.

Luke 22:31-32 – And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Ephesians 6:12 – For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

When reading the New Testament, it becomes apparent there is a spiritual enemy, whose name is Satan. Jesus was aware of Satan. Paul was aware of Satan. Peter was aware of Satan. And John was aware of him. The writers of the New Testament were well aware of the enemy of God and the enemy of the Church.

As Christians, we must understand that Satan is still very much active in this world. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul called him the God or ruler of this world. In Ephesians 2:2 he is called the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. In 1 John 5:19, we read, "And we know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness."

Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Our battle is not with other people. Our struggle in this life is the direct result of spiritual forces that are opposed to the plan and the will of God.

Fortunately, the Bible also teaches us that Jesus Christ, when he rose from the dead, defeated Satan and gave spiritual authority in His Name to the Church so the Church can successfully resist every strategy of Satan.

We can be confident that we have everything we need in Christ to stand strong in life. We have been given the Name of Jesus, We have been given the word of God, and We have been given the Holy Spirit. We have not been left alone in this world.

Remember what Jesus said in John 14:18 – I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. Two verses earlier, John 14:16, Jesus said this – “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”

We understand what Jesus meant. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, to empower us, and to supernaturally equip us to accomplish God's will on this earth.

There is no question that we have a supernatural enemy in this world. His name is Satan. He is here to kill, steal, and destroy the lives of people. The good news is that we are equipped with supernatural ability, and when we allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and work through us, we can overcome any situation in life.

There is a wonderful passage of scripture in 1 John, chapter 4. I want to read verses 1 through 4.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that Spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

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.

In these verses, John is revealing the fact that there are individuals who pose as true representatives of God. But in fact, they are not speaking for God; they are motivated by the Spirit of Antichrist. The Spirit of Antichrist is representative of the work of Satan in this world.

Any spiritual force that opposes God's work and the work of the Church can be classified as the Spirit of Antichrist, which is the direct influence of Satan.

As Christians, we must live and function in this natural world. Even though we have been taken out of the kingdom of darkness and placed into the kingdom of light, we still live and operate in this physical world. Our heavenly Father knows that, and the spiritual forces working in this world know that as well.

We serve a supernatural God; we have a supernatural enemy; it only stands to reason that we have supernatural power to overcome the enemy.

John says in 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.

The Holy Spirit that is in you is greater than any force, any power, any obstacle, any problem that you face in this world.

You have the greater one living on the inside of you. Who is that greater one? He is the power of God – He is the anointing of God – He is the Holy Spirit.

What is He doing on the inside of you? He is there to help you, to strengthen you, to give you direction and wisdom. He is there to help you exercise your spiritual authority in Christ.

Not only is the Holy Spirit living in you, if you are baptised with the Holy Spirit, He has come to give you additional supernatural power. That power will help you identify the cause of spiritual attacks and will empower you to overcome them.

My wife and I have had the privilege of living in 5 different nations of the world. I remember a particular incident that happened in one of these nations. This particular country was almost entirely controlled by witchcraft and voodoo.

We were missionaries living in this country, and we were assigned to help oversee and direct a mission's outreach there. One of the many programs we were responsible for was a bible school outreach.

Every week we would take our bible school students to one of the most impoverished areas of the city. It was a slum built upon raw sewage and trash. The residents of this slum lived in small huts built from cardboard and other articles of trash and waste.

Our students were required to go to this slum every week to pray for sick and to pray for the people, and to preach the Gospel. I recalled one occasion we were walking through a very poor area, and three witch doctors confronted me.

These witch doctors looked very strange. They were wearing very unusual clothing. They had wire wrapped around their bodies and other objects on their bodies. They also had strange markings on their faces.

I remember walking down a pathway when, suddenly, my wife and I were confronted by these three men. They were shouting wildly and making threatening gestures to us.

We had nowhere to go. We could not run away or redirect our route. I remember praying quietly and asking God for wisdom concerning what to do. Almost instantly, the three witch doctors stopped, their eyes became very large, they stopped shouting, and suddenly they turned around and ran away.

I am not exactly sure what they saw that made them afraid and caused them to run away. I believe the Holy Spirit demonstrated himself in some way that was visible to them. I was thankful that God helped strengthen us and demonstrated His power so that these men who were resisting us and the Gospel, and wanted to hurt us, turned and ran away.

We serve a supernatural God – we know we have a supernatural enemy – the good news is we have supernatural power in the person of the Holy Spirit. That power is there to help us, to protect us, to empower us, and to bring us through any situation in life.

I want to remind you again the verse we read in 1 John chapter 4 – Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them. The “them” in that verse means any spiritual force in this world that is against you, that is opposing you, that is opposing the work of God and the plan of God for your life. Because greater is He that is in you. I want you to focus on that - greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.

This week, I want you to meditate on that verse. I want you to say that verse out loud. Every time you think about it, any time you face with a challenge, any time a problem comes into your life, I want you to say “greater is He that is in me, than He that is in the world.” The greater one is in me. The Holy Spirit is in me. He is greater than any problem, he is greater than any sickness, he is greater than any situation in life that comes against me. I want you to say that over and over and over until the reality  of what God’s word says about you becomes real in your life.

So when we come back next time, we will begin looking at the third reason we need to receive this power from Heaven, which is called the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.