DO NOT GIVE SATAN an INCH OF GROUND

 
DO NOT GIVE SATAN an INCH OF GROUND
by David Wilkerson

Jesus told His disciples, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath
nothing in me" (John 14:30). He was saying, in essence, "When
Satan comes at Me, he can´t find any place where he can get a
foothold. I am totally under the authority of My Father."

Likewise, Satan cannot enter the body or spirit of any believer
whose life is totally submitted to God´s Word. He has to be given
a place in order to gain a foothold. And that happens only when
a person holds back "part of the price." Let me explain.

In Acts 5 a couple named Ananias and Sapphira sold a portion of
their land and gave the proceeds to the new church in Jerusalem.
Yet, when they laid the amount at Peter's feet, the apostle was
perplexed. He asked, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to
the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?"
(Acts 5:3). As soon as Peter spoke these words, Ananias fell
down dead on the spot and just a little later, so did his wife.

What is the lesson God wanted to teach the Church through this?
I don´t believe it had anything to do with the physical piece of land
Ananias and Sapphira owned. Rather, it had to do with the inner
territory of their hearts.

This couple believed they could be 95 percent obedient to God but
remain safely disobedient in one small area. They had heard God´s
pure Word preached but they rebelled against what they knew to
be true. They convinced themselves, "We can serve the Lord yet
hold on to this one thing." That was a lie to the Holy Ghost.

So, the part of the price they held back had nothing to do with
money, but a small bit of ground of covetousness in their hearts.
It was a patch just big enough to give Satan a stronghold, and
with their one stubborn disobedience, they allowed the enemy to
fill their hearts.

This is why Paul warns, "Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians
4:27). The example of Ananias and Sapphira is clear: The price of
an overcoming life is no small matter. It means subjecting our lives
wholly to God´s Word, with no more dark places, hidden lusts or
rebellion. Do not give Satan one inch of ground. That´s all he needs
to gain entrance and establish a power base

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/27568

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