RESIST THE DEVIL

Text: John 10:10, 1 Thess 5:22, 1 Peter 5:8-9, James: 4,7

To resist is to strive against; to oppose; to abstain from; to make efforts in opposition; to offer resistance; or, to have nothing to do with. The devil was the fallen angel who rebelled against God and was sent out from heaven. One third of the angels followed him and they are known as demons. The devil is the personification of evil and an enemy of mankind. The Bible refers to him in various appellations depicting his varied characteristics and these include Accuser of Brethren, Beelzebub, Belial, Deceiver, Dragon, Father of lies, Lair, Lucifer, Murderer, Prince of darkness, Satan, Slanderer, Sower of tares, Tempter.

The devil has been in existence since the time Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden. His threefold ministry is to STEAL your joy through deception, to DESTROY you, your home, testimony, hope and future and to KILL your mortal body and debar you from making it to heaven. The devil is crafty and he performs these roles in clandestine ways to achieve his aims. He encourages you to mainly focus on your failures and faults.He instills fear in you and brings temptation to you. He distorts information so as to confuse you to make you fall.

The Bible says in John 10:10,"The thief comes only to steal and kill destroy; I have come that they 

may have life and have it to the full." The thief here is the devil and he goes about looking for people to destroy. The Bible admonishes in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Brethren, since the devil has no designated place other than roaming about the world to get disciples, he will use any means to populate his own kingdom. The Bible warns in 1 Peter 5:9a, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith." The devil is no respecter of person and if  he could tempt our Lord Jesus Christ, no one can be an exception.You must be well prepared and be ready to resist him at all cost. Matt 4:1, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." Three times the devil tempted Jesus and each time Jesus countered him by the Word as "It is written .......". Finally in verse 10, Jesus said to him, "Away from me satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." Then the "devil left him and angels came and attended him."

Unfortunately Adam and Eve could not resist the devil when he came as a serpent to tempt them in 

the garden of Eden. The consequence was so grievous that God sent them out of the garden; they lost their peace, joy and blessings. The devil much distorted God's Word to deceive Eve that she acquiesced, ate the forbidden fruit and encouraged Adam to eat it too. Thus, both fell and by this single event all mankind has fallen.They lost fellowship and relationship with God and no longer had the presence of God as they previously did. They were separated from God and died spiritually.

Also God pronounced as follows: that He would greatly multiply woman's sorrow and her conception, and in sorrow she will bring forth children, her desire shall be to her husband and her husband shall rule over her; that man will till the ground with all his energy to exhaustion. He also cursed the ground for his sake, stating that in sorrow shall he eat all the days of his life. In addition, in the sweat of his face shall he eat bread till he returns unto the ground. Gen 3:14-19. 

Brethren, be aware that the devil's work are as follows:

• Steal, destroy and to kill John 10:10
• Deceive and seduce the world Rev 12:9, 20:8
• Masquerade as an agent of light 2 Cor 11:14
• Remind you of all the sins you have committed so as to make you have internal conflict within
• Give you false hope Eph 5:6
• Take advantage of the time you are most vulnerable so as to attack you Mt 3:4
• Accuse you day and night before God and turn your joy to mourning Rev 12:10
• Win you to his side and rob you of eternity

Also, be aware that the unguarded appetite for this world's riches and the flesh are powerful and addictive tools of the devil. These involve craving for wealth, power, position, sex, drugs at all cost, perverting justice and wickedness. But is there a way out? Yes, Glory be to God. The Bible says in 1 Cor 10:13, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." Jesus came to counter and to destroy devil's work. However, for you to overcome, you have to submit yourself to God. The Bible says in James 4:7, "Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Other things you must do to resist the devil in addition to submitting to God are:

• Put on the armour of God. The armour enables you to assault the stronghold of the devil; it has divine power to demolish its stronghold and to protect you. Eph 6:11
• Stand firm in faith and be unwavering. Jas 4:7
• Rely on God's power for strength to pray ceaselessly; pray for wisdom to take the right decision when the devil distorts information and pray for steadfastness. Is 40:29
• Equip yourself with the scriptures so as to counter the devil with the word as "It is written........" Mt 4:4
• Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Jas 4:10
• Be pure, holy and walk with God. Lk 1:6
• Hide God's words in your heart and live according to it. Ps 119:9,11
• Avoid sin and walk in the light. 1 Jn 1:7
• Abstain from all appearances of evil. 1 Th 5:22

Brethren, the devil is no respecter of anybody. He tempted Adam and Eve and the consequences of this resulted in untold hardship for human race till today. He tempted Jesus but Glory be to God, Jesus conquered him. Matt 4:4-11 Jesus wants you to overcome the devil too. Hence the Bible says in Rev 12:11a: "They overcame him (devil) by the blood of the lamb,and by the Word of their testimony." You can overcome too.

Prayer

Father, enable me to be well armed with all the weapons you made available to resist the devil. Grant me the grace to be able to walk in the light and sin not against you in Jesus's name I pray. Amen.