S7E5 - Hand of God

When God's hand moves His will is done - on earth and in heaven. His authority backs up His intentions seamlessly. There is no hesitation. There is nothing that can stop it. He thinks and His hand moves and His will is done.

In Mary's prayer of praise to God in Luke 1:49-52 she says:
          “For the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is His name. His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who revere Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble." This is like a "brief movement" of His arm. His arm is powerful and mighty to save! (Isaiah 63:1).

Exodus 8:16-19 is interesting. "Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt. They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken." God's power is not limited.

Exodus 31:18 also comments on this thread:
          "When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God." Deuteronomy 9:10 indicates the same.

This culminates in Jesus' teaching in Luke 11. Wow.
          "And He was casting out a demon which made a man mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. Likewise, If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by the prince of the demons. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.

          “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it returns, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

          As we mentioned before the hand of God and the finger of God are mighty to save and do their Masters bidding. Here are a few things we learn from this central explanation given by Jesus concerning His authority over spiritual realms.

√   Demons impair humans
√   Jesus had authority to cast them out
√   The finger of God is righteous and true - it cannot be faked
√   Demons take our armor and overpower us
√   When we are with God we are with the arm and finger of God, right?
√   When a demon is gone, God must live where the demon was, or trouble ensues

          There are many positions taken regarding demons, satan, and spiritual warfare. As we observe what is happening around us it is important to recognize that Jesus took on demonic presence and backed it down. It is because He is the hand of God - the finger of God. When we encounter evil within people or cultures around us, it is Jesus' presence that is mighty to save. After all, satan will ultimately and most assuredly be cast into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:10). For now - we wear our armor and carry our weapons! (Ephesians 6).

Here is a great warfare song.
Here is an in-depth podcast series on Spiritual Warfare.

Fighting the fight with you!
Dave and Burnadette