YOU CAN RESIST THE DEVIL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JANUARY 28, 2022.

SUBJECT : YOU CAN RESIST THE DEVIL!

Memory verse: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (First Peter 5 vs 8.)

READ: James 4 vs 7 - 10:

4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

4:8: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

4:9: Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

4:10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

INTIMATION:

The Christian must remember that Satan cannot voluntarily consume anyone he so chooses. God has never given Satan the power to voluntarily subject people to his will. The Christian has the responsibility to resist the devil. If one desires to seek God, then Satan has no power to subjectively keep one away from God. The apostate Christian has simply given himself over to Satan because of his own ignorance of the word of God or willingness to forsake the fellowship of the community of God’s people. For this reason, each person will give account of himself or herself before God. 

Satan has no power over the one who voluntarily keeps himself or herself close to Jesus. However, Satan roams about as a nervous lion looking for his lunch. Those who are ignorant of his warning roars will fall victim to his hunger for the souls of men. Therefore, it is necessary that the Christian learn how the devil seeks to destroy the lives of men. One must be aware of how he stalks his prey. The sober and vigilant Christian is constantly listening for the roar of the hungry Satan. He can identify how Satan works. However, if he or she becomes ignorant of God’s word, or enticed by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, he will be ensnared by Satan and consumed. 

The Christian has the voluntary power to stay away from the consuming hunger of Satan to devour souls. The context in which one is more apt to fall is when he is under trials and persecution. Therefore, it is in such a state that one must be sober and vigilant to resist Satan. Christians can withstand the temptations that are presented by Satan by exercising faith in God through prayer, Bible study, and good works toward others.

Our power to resist Satan is exemplified in the fact that we can make him flee. Since God will not allow the individual Christian to be tempted beyond that which he is able to endure, then we must assume that we have the power to make the devil flee from us. Since we have the power, then we will all stand before God in judgement and be held directly accountable for our deeds. Our power to resist Satan makes us responsible for our actions. However, we must keep in mind that no man has this power within himself. God is the source of power to resist the devil. The individual must take the initiative to keep himself or herself in the love of God. It is through the power of the gospel and Christ working in us, that we are able to resist the devil. We must choose to unleash the power in our lives in order to flee all temptations that come to us through the work of the devil.

How can one come close to God and keep oneself in His love? (1) Submit to God; yield to His authority and will, and commit your life to Him and His control, and be willing to follow Him. Consistent faith is the way to defeat Satan. (2) Resist the devil; don’t allow Satan to entice and tempt you. It is Satan’s strategy to get us to doubt God at exactly our moments of trial and persecution. (3) Cleanse your hands and purify your heart, that is, lead a pure life. Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God’s purity. (4) Lament and mourn and weep. Don’t be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done (5) Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor. 

Humbling ourselves before the Lord means recognizing that our worth comes from God alone. To be humble involve leaning on His power and His guidance, and not going on our own independent way. Although we cannot deserve God’s favor, He wants to lift us up and give us worth and dignity, despite our human shortcomings. 

You must purify your heart. This is the problem with the materialist. His or her heart is seeking the things of this world. He or she must become pure with the wisdom from above in order to remain in the grace by which he or she is saved. Those who have made their hands dirty by becoming a friend of the world, must repent. One will not come to repentance if one does not recognize one’s sinful condition. One must recognize one’s spiritual poverty in order to seek the riches of God’s grace.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue with the wisdom to withstand the temptations and lies of the devil. And arm me with Your whole armor to resist the wiles of the devil, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!