201 - Resisting the Devil

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, NKJV). In my prior life, I didn't resist the devil at all. But now I resist the devil in everything. In James 4:7, we are told there is something we have to do before we gain the power to resist the devil. And that is very simple: "Submit yourselves therefore to God" (KJV). If you are submitting yourselves to God, that means that you are submitting yourselves to God's Word and to what it says. It's the Word of God that gives you the power to resist the devil, then he will flee from you. When you submit to God's Word, you submit to Jesus, Who is the Word made flesh [John 1:14]. You also submit to love, because "God is love" (1 John 4:8). This gives us the power to resist the devil, because "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18).

Submit means "to commit to the decisions of another." Another definition is "to surrender." Therefore, submitting to God means we are to commit or surrender ourselves to God's Word, to His decisions. The Scriptures are what God has chosen to reveal about Himself, and they make up a guidebook for our lives. When cars are manufactured, the company puts out an owner's manuel. It's a guide to care, maintenance and operation of that particular vehicle. The Bible is the guidebook for us and our lives. Follow it and thrive. Ignore it and perish. 

Then we are to "resist." Resist means to oppose, to stand firm against, and to fend off. This takes place in our words and actions. We are to work against the devil and oppose him by agreeing with God and speaking His Word. We resist the devil when we overcome temptation through faith in God's grace.  Which leads us to the armor of God as the apostle Paul outlines in Ephesians 6:10-19. In this message, I go over the armor of God and many other things He gives us so we can resist the devil. A really big one is the power in the Name of Jesus. When you wrap yourselves in these truths, the devil won't come around you much. He'll look for easier prey. Join me as we find out these things.

Let me hear from you - Charles

https://www.aboundinglove.org/

Subscribe and share with someone you love.