Resisting the Devil
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7(MSG) So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper.
Introduction: Salutations to all Beloved of the Lord through salvation at Calvary.
🙏 I pray for strength from the Holy Spirit as we journey through the wilderness of life in Jesus name.
We often talk about resisting the Devil in Christian journey. This is inevitable for anyone who receives offer of Salvation from Jesus Christ to be delivered from Satan.
🧖♂️ When I read message version of our text today, I remember some years ago when I had Block making industry. At about 6:30am while waiting for workers to start production for the day, a man in white regalia came to me and claimed God sent him to me that in other to succeed above others around, I should buy coconuts and other items. I told him I am a child of God who needs NO intermediary between me and my FATHER in Heaven. I Yelled a loud NO at him and watched him scampering away from me.
🛑 Perfect understanding of Salvation or Faith in Jesus Christ, which is the primary reason for becoming a Christian is very key in overcoming the Devil.
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
🛑 To overcome the Devil, there MUST be perfect understanding and revelational knowledge of Three things:
1️⃣. The efficacy of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Speaking about The Blood of Jesus Christ alone can take some weeks. But let us look at two fundamental aspects of the Blood of Jesus Christ that gives victory over Satan.
🅰️ Ephesians 2:13 (NLT) But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.
The Blood of Jesus Christ guarantees the Presence of God that comes with fullness of joy and everlasting pleasure.
Psalms 16:11(NLT) You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
🅱️ 1 John 1:7(AMP) But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
There is NO sin that cannot be cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ EXCEPT WILLFUL sin against the Holy Spirit after redemption.
Matthew 12:31(AMP) Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy (every evil, abusive, injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things) can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the [Holy] Spirit shall not and cannot be forgiven.
2️⃣ Word of Testimony.
There MUST be testimony in the life of any Christian to overcome Satan. Testimony is what is seen and known which has become the TRUTH to someone irrespective of what others think or feel.
🛑 You CANNOT be a genuine or enduring Christian based on others testimony, being a child of pastor or from Christian homes. There MUST be a personal encounter with God, an encounter which a Christian is NOT ashamed to share at any time and anywhere.
▶️ When David incidentally got to the battle front where Goliath was tormenting Israelites and challenging the Holy One of Israel, he told king Saul that he will face Goliath and overcome him because of the testimony he had as a shepherd boy.
1 Samuel 17:32-37(AMP) David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of this Philistine; your servant will go out and fight with him. And Saul said to David, You are not able to go to fight against this Philistine. You are only an adolescent, and he has been a warrior from his youth. And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father’s sheep. And when there came a lion, again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it. Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God! David said, The Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!
❓Do you have a personal encounter with God to face Goliaths of this world irrespective of others opinions?
⚠️ It is possible to see the act of God without knowing the ways of God. Most people come for His acts in churches and Christian gatherings without knowing HIS ways.
Psalms 103:7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
Psalms 103:7(AMP) He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
❗God wanted to show His ways to children of Israel but they stood afar and asked Moses to go and represent them.
▶️ Knowing HIS Acts without His Ways makes Believers to be far away from God and depend on what prophets and pastors say.
Exodus 20:18-19(NLT) When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the horn, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!”
Knowledge of God’s acts CANNOT overcome the Devil in Christian journey, it is the Knowledge of His Ways that defeats the Devil. The children of Israel who knew only His acts failed during wilderness experience and died without reaching the promised land.
▶️ To overcome Devil along the Christian journey, there MUST be personal testimony or knowledge of His Ways, that is Righteousness and Justice.
❓How close are you to the Redeemer?
🛑 Knowledge of His Ways guarantees submission to His Will that makes a Christian to Yell a loud NO to Devil’s temptation and makes Satan scampers away.
3️⃣ Willingness to Die for His sake.
Satan knows he has limited time and he is subdued anytime he encounters any Christian who carries Spirit of Christ and NOT afraid to die for Gospel sake.
Matthew 8:28-29 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
👂Hear the Master’s qualifications for His followers;
Luke 14:26(AMP) If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his [own] father and mother [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise] his wife and children and brothers and sisters–[yes] and even his own life also–he cannot be My disciple.
John 12:25(AMP) Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. [Whoever has no love for, no concern for, no regard for his life here on earth, but despises it, preserves his life forever and ever.]
👂Hear what Apostle Paul said pertaining to his life;
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God’s grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy).
Acts 21:13(AMP) Then Paul replied, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart like this? For I hold myself in readiness not only to be arrested and bound and imprisoned at Jerusalem, but also [even] to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.
▶️ To overcome the Devil, earthly life MUST be disregarded in preference to Christ life.
🛑 Now, as Believers, Christians or the Redeemed of the Lord, RESISTING the Devil comes in three faces.
1️⃣. Temptation.
▶️ Temptation is a situation where you feel you want to do or have something, even though you KNOW you should avoid it.
Devil is the Tempter from the foundation of the world, he uses the Flesh and the World to tempt Christians.
Genesis 3:1(AMP) NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?
This is the origin of the fall of Man that gave birth to Flesh or Adamic/Human nature that becomes instrument of temptation in the hand of the Devil.
Satan became the prince of this world and for now has power over to tempt the dwellers of the earth and put victims in his captivity.
🛑 Now, let it be known that Christians who are strangers in this world do NOT have immunity against temptation from the Devil. If Jesus Christ faced temptation, NO Believer can escape Temptations until Rapture or physical death.
👉 The Tempter came to Jesus Christ when He came in Human form to obtain salvation for those who believe.
Matthew 4:3(AMP) And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread.
⚠️ That is why Disciples or Christians who submit to God MUST Resist or Yell loud NO to Devil every time he offers something you know you should NOT have or do.
2️⃣. Battle of Life.
▶️ Christians are soldiers because of battles to be fought with the Devil, the prince of this world who hates righteousness and ready to battle anyone who loves righteousness and hates iniquity.
Psalms 37:32(AMP) The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.
Psalms 37:32(MSG) Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he’s out for the kill.
▶️ There was a battle at Gethsemane when Jesus was about to die a painful death of the Cross. He was able to succumb to the Will of the FATHER at the battleground.
Matthew 26:36-39(NLT) Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, ” Sit here while I go on ahead to pray .” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he began to be filled with anguish and deep distress. He told them, ” My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me. ” He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, ” My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
⚠️ This is why Disciples of Christ or Christians without the Whole Armour of God CANNOT Resist or Yell loud NO to Devil whenever there’s battle to possess our possessions as children of God.
3️⃣. Evil Imagination.
▶️ Imagination is the ability to form pictures or ideas in your mind that you have not experienced. Hence, Evil Imagination is to have pictures of evil occurrences in the mind.
🛑 Whatever that is NOT from God no matter how good or pleasant it looks is EVIL.
🤔 Remember the fruit introduced to Eve by Satan which was against God’s command, and brought death to humanity looked pleasant and desirable to Eve.
Genesis 3:6(AMP) And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.
▶️ When Jesus Christ was preparing to die for the Salvation of the world, Peter rejected the death which looked okay to ordinary eyes, but Jesus Christ rebuked the evil imagination.
Matthew 16:21-23(AMP) From that time forth Jesus began [clearly] to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and the high priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised from death. Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You! But Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.
👉 Satan is always against whatever pertains to nature of God but makes Christians to be encumbered with earthly things.
⚠️ Disciples of Christ or Christians without regular studying and meditation of God’s word CANNOT Resist or Yell loud NO to evil imaginations that will surely come to mind in any form.
✍ Finally brethren, we CANNOT Resist or Yell loud NO to Devil without revelational KNOWLEDGE of God NOT ACTS of God. Devil makes Christians to flip through (go through quickly) written words of God. This weekly Speaking Scriptures platform was initiated by God Himself through one of our beloved sisters during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. There will still be those that will flip or skip reading for whatever reason, it is also a diversionary strategy of Enemy of our souls to avoid resistance when he comes to attack.
⚠️ Let it be known that there MUST be Temptations, Battles and Evil Imaginations from the Enemy of our souls. These MUST be Resisted by Yelling loud NO to Devil and he will flee and scamper away while he waits for another opportunity.
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
✋ Maranatha
