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Have you ever had anything stolen from you by the Devil? Well, if you’ve ever had any contact with him, then he has undoubtedly stolen something from you at one time or another.

In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus said, The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy (v. 10). We know that the thief to whom He is referring to is Satan. Since Satan is a thief by nature, he steals. That is the nature of a thief.

Jesus says that Satan is a thief, so it shouldn’t be uncommon for him to go around trying to steal things, nor should it be surprising to us that he does, He is after something. The Bible says he is after the Word in your heart (Mark 4:15). He is after your joy, your power, your peace, your courage, your faith, and your comfort. But not only that, he is after your goods!

One way Satan discourages many of God’s people is through affliction and persecution. If that doesn’t work, he attacks their material and physical possessions. He will attack their car, or their finances, or their physical bodies.

We need to realize something about healing and divine health. Many people are struggling with healing because they see healing as something to be attained, something “out there somewhere” which they are trying to get. But, in reality, healing is not “out there somewhere.” As far as God is concerned, we already have healing. It was given to us through the work of the Cross!

Divine health is something we already possess. When symptoms come, it is nothing more than the thief trying to steal the health which is already ours. In other words, divine health is not something we are trying to get from God; it is something the Devil is trying to take away from us!

As long as people are trying to get health, they can’t see themselves with it; and until they see themselves with it, they won’t experience it. Let me explain it this way, When the Devil tries to put a symptom of sickness or disease on my body, I absolutely refuse to accept it.

Keeping What is Yours
A short time ago he tried to put symptoms of the flu on me. My nose and eyes started to run. I began to sneeze and ache all over. I haven’t had the flu since 1969, and I’m not going to have it now. I’m redeemed from the flu! Immediately I began to confess God’s Word that I’m healed by the stripes of Jesus. I rebuked Satan and refused his lying symptoms. I wasn’t trying to get something I don’t have; I was keeping something I already have. I am healed!

Those symptoms were an intimidation of the adversary. The thief was trying to seal one of my possessions, my health. I have health and I stand protective over what is already mine. Let me give you an example to illustrate my meaning. Suppose a stranger walked into your kitchen, loaded your refrigerator on a dolly, and started wheeling it out the door. What would you do? You would probably stop him.

You wouldn’t start saying, “It certainly would be nice to have a refrigerator. One of these day, in the sweet by and by, I’m going to have a refrigerator. “No, you already have a refrigerator, but somebody is trying to steal it. No one in his right mind would open the door for a thief, stand there and watch his refrigerator being rolled away, then say, “You know, I remember when we used to have a refrigerator. One of these days, we’ll have another one.”

He is going to step in front of that thief and say, in no uncertain terms, “Where do you think you’re going with my refrigerator? Get your hands off my property and get out of here!” he wouldn’t be trying to get a refrigerator; he would be keeping the one he has.

So it is with healing. I am healed. When symptoms come, I just brace myself tell the Devil, “Hold it right there, bud! In the name of Jesus Christ, that’s as far as you go. You’re not getting my health. I’m healed, and you’re not going to steal my health! Get out of here now!

I’ve learned to do this where my money is concerned, too. Have you ever believed God for a hundred dollars to pay off a note? Then when you got it, the car broke down. You had to spend the hundred dollars to get it fixed and you still didn’t pay of the note.

Do you know why that sort of thing happens? Because the Devil is trying to steal our money. He’s a thief. As Jesus said, he comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. If he is a thief, we shouldn’t be surprised that he tries to steal form us.
In this study I don’t want to major on stealing. The message I have to share with you is not negative; it is positive. The only reason I mention Satan’s stealing is to make us aware of his devices so we can recognize them and overcome them instead of letting them keep us form victory and success.

…He Can’t Keep Your Goods

To defeat the Devil and live the abundant life, you need to know how Satan operates. The Apostle Paul said, “We’re not ignorant of his devices, lest he get the advantage over us” (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan has the advantage over people who don’t understand how he operates. Once we are aware of his intentions and his methods, however, let’s not major on them. Let’s not major on the Devil or demons. Let’s major on the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus!

Satan Steals the Word
“But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with afflictions; Partly, while you were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, while you became companions of them that were so used. For you had compassion of me in my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Therefore cast not away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need for endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”(Heb. 10:32-39).
Notice verse 32 once again: But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated (or enlightened NAS), you endured a great fight of afflictions. You see, when you receive the Word, you are illuminated or enlightened. Psalm 119:130 says, The entrance of Your words gives light. When the Word enters your heart, it gives light; you are illuminated and enlightened. Glory to God!


Source: If Satan Can't Steal Your Joy, He Can't Keep Your Goods by Jerry Savelle
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International

Author Biography

Jerry Savelle
Web site: Jerry Savelle Ministries International
 
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
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