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James 4:7 - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Psalm 144:1 (NLT) - Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.
John 10:10 (AMP) - The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
We are in a war. Whether we want to be or not, we are.
We need to recognize that fact and face it head on.
The purposes of Jesus and Satan could not be more opposite of one another.
Jesus comes to bring us abundant life and the ability to enjoy life.
Satan comes for no other reasons except to kill, steal, and destroy.
One of the most sobering facts about life is that all of us have a supernatural enemy who’s aim it to use both pain and pleasure to make us blind, tear down, make us miserable and to cause us to lose our relationship with God Almighty.
Satan is evil. His wickedness knows no limitations. He is brutal and has absolutely no love, compassion or sympathy. He has no remorse for the pain and suffering he causes.
He will cause incredible damage, fear, terror, and destruction and miserably enjoy every part of it.
He leads us to sin causing issues between us and God. He causes immense personal anxiety, cheapens the life that God values so much. He destroys marriages, corrupts nations, accuses each person of things true and untrue until we can’t even stand ourselves. He condemns us to death until we agree with him.
Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, although He is the only one who can as the righteous judge.
He came that the world though Him might be saved.
Satan attacks you and me and then tells us that we are crazy and that nothing is actually happening and even if there was, there is nothing that we can do about it, he is the original gas lighter.
I want to look at a few things to remember while we are fighting this good fight of the faith.
There are two main parts to spiritual warfare – Submitting and Resisting
James 4:7 - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
When it comes to spiritual warfare many people only quote half of this verse. – Resist the devil.
I believe that this is a trick of the devil because it is an incomplete strategy and it is incomplete obedience to God’s word.
~ To Submit means to yield, obey and to follow. – One definition - accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person. To Surrender.
The reason that so many people have a difficult time resisting the devil is because they have never fully surrendered their life to God.
Someone needs to hear this – resistance is all about not surrendering, it is about opposing. If you have already surrendered to one, the battle is already won because you cannot surrender to both sides.
For many the warfare is difficult because they have not chosen a side. Now as Believes we have obviously chosen a side. We are on the Lord’s side.
In order to fight effectively against our enemy, we must be fully committed to the will and ways of God.
~ To Resist - to exert force in opposition. to fight against or oppose something or someone: to refuse to accept or be changed by something: to withstand, strive against.
There is no such thing as passive resistance. Even being passive aggressive is still actively being aggressive with attitude and not actions.
Satan has come to kill, steal, and destroy. All of these actions must be actively resisted in every area of our lives. Our walk with God, our marriage, our health, our finances, our relationships with others.
Titus 2:11-12 (NIV) - For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
The grace of God teaches us to say yes to Jesus and No to the devil. The start of resisting the devil starts with us using our voice for a resounding NO. No more, No further, Not on my watch, Not in my family, Not in my Life.
Jesus came to give us abundant life – Choose life and choose to live. – It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.
Deuteronomy 30:19 - I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Choose – Someone needs to hear this – resistance is a choice. It is a choice to obey God and to choose life.
It is choosing to live and to thrive. Not just to survive. It is rejecting the devils attack and his lack and choosing the abundance of peace, provision and protection that God offers.
We have been conditioned to believe that resistance can be done with very little thought and very little effort. – That is a lie.
True warfare is resisting the lies the devil tells us and actively choosing to believe the Word of God and His truth.
I choose to believe the Word of God over the lies of the enemy. I want to remind you that we are not fighting for victory but from a position of victory. Jesus has already won!
Remember that you are loved. Have an amazing September!
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gioele Fazzeri from Pixabay