"Resist the Devil" by Pastor Gabriel Ogunbayeje

“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom to devour. Resist him, steadfastly in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9.

To resist is to oppose and to fight against someone or something. The Bible did not ask us to compromise with the devil but to stand against him; there are many reasons why the children of God must not beg or try to persuade him to leave them alone or to stop him from tempting them. Some of these reasons are:

1 He is an enemy of God Revelation 12:7-8
2 He is an enemy of God’s children and the accuser of brethren Revelation 12:10
3 He is the enemy of the Church of Christ 1 Peter 5:9
4 He constantly fights the Christians and seek their destruction
5 Christians have their own roles to play to live a life of complete victory over the devil
6 Satan is an arch enemy, he is dubious, manipulative and destructive 2 Corinthians 11:14
7 God does not want us to compromise with him   James 4:7b
8 We are to stop him from carrying out his deadly mission which are to kill, to steal and to destroy. John 10:10
 
Despite the fact that Christians are to stand against the devil, his works and kingdom, resisting him does go with some challenges which sometimes stop us from confronting him, and even make us to back off. Some of these challenges are:

1 Fear- Fear is one factor that makes people cringe and think that Satan is stronger and powerful than they are. This is also one of the tactics of the devil to carry on with his devilish works, he roars like a lion but, he is not a lion 1 Peter 5:8

2 Persecution- In the course of resisting the devil and his wicked works; in the course of standing on the truth and what is right, one may be persecuted by the authority or people, it is possible to be unjustifiably punished  or even imprisoned e.g Joseph was put in prison for refusing to sleep with his master’s wife Genesis 39:20; Paul and Silas were also thrown into the prison  Acts 16; the three Hebrews were thrown into the furnace for refusing to bow down to the image made by king Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 3; the  pit of hell also relentlessly fights against God’s children Ephesians 6:10-12

3 Lack of patience - Satan is stubborn; he does not quickly give up as we do. Often time, when   problems or our challenges persist longer than we expected, we tend to lose hope, doubt, fear or give up, we resign to fate thereby giving Satan the chance to carry on or to rob us of our blessings.  But with persistency and steadfastness, Satan has no choice than to let go. Satan must be resisted to the last point e.g Jesus in Luke 4

But, In spite of these challenges, the devil must be resisted. He must not be allowed to be at large or to carry on with his evil works. There are dangers in not resisting him. Some of these dangers are:

1 Complacency/Luke warmness- Satan is cunning, if he were to come deceiving people in his real colour, most of the time, he will be discovered , but he is so tactical that it is easy to be at ease with him, not recognising his whims and caprices, that is why Christians are to be sober, to be vigilant, so they do not slip to deep spiritual slumber and become welcoming to his lies like the Church in Laodiceans Revelation 3:16

2 Falling into sin and disobedience- what the Bible calls sins, Satan calls pleasure; what God calls sin, Satan calls fun. If he were to present sin in the real colour, perhaps many people will see how disgusting it is and run away from it but Satan is deceptive, he disguises sin in attractive coats of many colours, only those who can discern these can  tell the difference. Sin is disobedience to God; it must not be coloured, or sugar coated because the consequences of sin are bitter e.g Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.

3 Hampering progress, success, effectiveness and even the preaching of the gospel- Satan hates the gospel. He is happy standing in the way to stop the ministers of God from reaching out to the sinners because he wants to keep the sinners in perpetual bondage   1 Corinthians 16:19 etc.
   
   Satan should therefore not be allowed to carry on with his evil works. Despite the challenges of resisting him, there are benefits in            standing against him and his cohorts. Some of these are:

1 Standing upright in the Lord’ s will e.g Joseph. Genesis 39: 9
2 Being focussed on God and God-given assignment e.g Paul
3 Becoming successful e.g Paul 2 Timothy 4:7
4 Being fruitful spiritually etc.

          HOW TO RESIST THE DEVIL 

To resist the devil, one should not rely on one’s power or intelligence but on the power of God Zechariah 4:6. Some of the things that can help us to resist him are:
1 Being born again John 3
2 Being bold and courageous to stand on the word of God, to stand against him and his works Daniel 10: 32
3 Being prayerful 1 Thessalonians 5:17
4 Using the blood of Jesus to nullify his work.  Revelation 12:11
5 Having faith in God and standing on one’s conviction e.g the three Hebrews in Daniel 3
5 Being sober and watchful i.e. being on guard all the time. 1 Peter 5:8
6 Using the name of Jesus to destroy his work and subdue his kingdom Philippians 2:9-10
7 Getting knowledge in the word of God and refusing to be in the dark in regards to the tactics of the devil Hosea 4:
8 Daily renewing one’s mind with the word of God. Romans 12:1 etc.

The result of resisting the devil is that he will flee. He likes darkness but when the light is switched on, he runs away when there is no hiding place for him. James 4:7. We must not fear the devil because he is a defeated foe. Instead of running from him, we must take our stand, we must be prayerful and vigilant, the devil has no option than to flee and bow to the mighty God in us. Finally, we must take the whole armour, not part of it but the whole armour of God and take our place of dominion in Christ Jesus. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole Armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil...Therefore, take up the whole Armor of God, that you may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13.


Pastor Gabriel Ogunbayeje
Christ Apostolic Church United Kingdom
gabbytoyin@gmail.com
+44(0)7988672933