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Trouble was all around Jesus. Satan stalked Him the whole time He was on earth, waiting for the moment he could arouse the people to overcome Him and shout for Him to be crucified.
When the Roman governor, Pilate, was trying Jesus in court, each time he would say he could free Jesus because He had not done anything wrong, a crowd of people would shout, “Crucify Him. Crucify Him.” (Ref. Mark 15.) It’s hard for us as believers even to hear those words, “Crucify Him. Crucify Him.”
How could they feel that way towards the Man who had shown the power of God. Performed miracles. Healed people. Cared for them. Relieved their anguish. Taught them how to serve God and have a better life. But you see, when the devil stirs up trouble, it doesn’t make sense. That’s because it’s always a lie.
He stirs up crowds to come against principles that are from God. They cause so much trouble in the name of their cause. So believers have to be able to overcome that trouble. How? We one-up it. We rise above it. Get the advantage over it.
The devil thought trouble had overcome Jesus when He cried out on the cross, “It is finished.” It was finished all right, but trouble had just begun for the devil. Jesus didn’t stay on the cross and He didn’t stay in the grave in the tomb. He rose from the dead and conquered the power of Satan over us. He one-upped him in a big way.
He went to the place of Hades where He announced His victory over sin and death. In Revelation chapter 1, He said, I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead). Another version says, Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and My life is now forever. See these keys in My hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates. (Ref. Revelation 1:17-20.)
The devil thought he had put so much trouble on Christ that He could never overcome it. He had put Him down in the grave, so people would not believe Him and follow Him. But Jesus rose above that grave.
Instead of just trying to run from the devil, and being happy He escaped, He did a one-up on him. He took the keys of death and hell in His hands. He took control! I wonder if He took those keys and just shook them in the face of Satan. Shook those keys in his face and said, “You thought you controlled death and hell but now people can escape hell and have life for eternity. I one-upped you, devil.”
The devil sent trouble, but he also received it. He received trouble from the hand of the resurrected One. The One who could not be put down, held down, pushed down and kept there.
The devil had created a storm around Jesus on earth. He had people come against Him; He was mocked, ill-treated, beaten, and crucified. But our Lord overcame trouble and gave us the gift of salvation. What was the purpose of Satan destroying the body of Jesus? To stop Him from taking over the power of death and hell and giving us salvation and eternal life.
But instead of being overcome by trouble, Jesus overcame it and gave a powerful one-up to the devil by giving us salvation and miracles and blessing. We have eternal life because of Him. He didn’t just overcome trouble but He MADE TROUBLE for the devil and his powers.
There is a song by the group called CAIN and the name of it is “Trouble.” I ran across it when God gave me this message. The lyrics are,
“Jesus purchased the victory, but in this world there will be trouble. And it’s coming for me. If it’s coming for me, I’m gonna BE trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble. Trouble for the enemy. Trouble I guarantee ‘cause the Son of Man who conquered death is living inside of me.”
My friend, you can overcome trouble because you ARE trouble for the enemy. You can one-up him and everything he sends into your life, because the very One, the precious powerful Jesus of Nazareth who conquered death is inside you. You don’t have to rely on human power or ability, or human ingenuity or provision. You HAVE IT. You have all you need not just to overcome trouble but to BE trouble for the enemy.
So, in this time of Easter, when you are being thankful for the cross and resurrection, for what Christ did, go one step further. Be thankful that the very power that He used to overcome the devil is the very power residing in you to overcome the trouble that comes to you. You can one-up the enemy and be victorious.
Spiritual powerline to say out loud:
“I OVERCOME THIS TROUBLE!”
Here is a powerful prayer to say out loud:
Thank You, Father, that I can overcome anything coming against me. You have placed within me the same power that raised Christ from the dead. He conquered death and hell and everything the enemy can try to do to me. So I can always have victory in the name of Jesus. Amen and amen.
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