You resist him with boldness and confidence.
If you are not bold you cannot get the devil to bow to you. It takes boldness and confidence in the Word and ability of God to command the devil. Where there is no boldness there must be fear, and fear is a weapon of the enemy. From 2 Tim. 1:6-7, we discover that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love, and of a sound mind. We also see that fear will stop you from maximizing God’s grace in your life. Not only that, in Josh. 1:6-7, Joshua was commanded to be strong and very courageous to fulfil the counsel and purpose of God. Why? Because the Lord was with Him. When you use His name, He is always there, He backs up His Word with signs following. (Mk. 16:20). He is with you until the end of the age (Matt 28:20). He is in you in the Person of the Holy Ghost (Rom 8:11, 1 Cor. 6:19). He is a very present help in the time of trouble, therefore we will not fear (Ps. 46:1-2). You must always carry that consciousness of His presence with you everywhere you go; it gives you boldness against the devil. Hallelujah.
This post is a continuation of How to stand against the devil (Part 3)
You resist in the consciousness of your righteousness.
What is righteousness? Right standing with God; the ability to stand in the presence of God without fear of guilt or condemnation, made available to us by the atoning and redemptive work of our Lord Jesus. Your righteousness – God’s righteousness imputed to you is what makes you able to approach the presence of God boldly. You must know that you have been made righteous by the sacrifice of Jesus. You cannot be righteous on your own (that’s why we were sinners, before we met Jesus) but, as Rom. 5:17 says you have received abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness. You need to know that if you are in Christ Jesus, you are no more an “old wretch” or a sinner of any kind; God sees you in the light of His Son Jesus Christ. Every believer is righteous, it is not by works or what they do or did; it is by grace. Being righteous is altogether different from doing righteous works. What makes you righteous is the nature of righteousness you have, and that is why you can practice righteousness. You are the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) and Jesus has made unto you righteousness, He is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). It is that righteousness in you that makes you practice righteousness. If you have the nature of God within you, you can only practice righteousness. That’s why in 1 John 2:29, the bible says, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him”; 1 John 3:7 says the same thing. No one that is a sinner can practice righteousness, because he does not have the nature of righteousness.
If you don’t know this, the devil will succeed in deceiving you. Remember he is a deceiver, a liar and the father of it (John 8:44, Rev. 12:9). He’ll tell you that you cannot resist him, he will tell you that you are not worthy, and he’ll rob of you of your boldness and confidence. Then, you will not be able to use the name of Jesus, stand your ground against the devil or resist him. So, know that you are righteous, in Christ. When you yield to that nature within you, sinning will be a thing of the past, you’ll only want to please God and you’ll do only those things that are pleasing in His sight, as well as you know how to. Again, you’ll be able to stand against the devil and resist him in Jesus’ Name. Our last point now:
This post is a continuation of How to stand against the devil (Part 3)
You resist him with the weapons of our warfare. We are in warfare against the devil, not to gain victory over him but to enforce the victory we already have over him in Christ. And we, as children of God, have weapons provided for us through which we stand against the devil. In Eph. 6:10-18, we see a list of these weapons. We aren’t going into details now, but I would like you to note a few things. One, these weapons are the armor of God – provided for us by God Himself. They are not man-made or carnal, so you are not going to see any carnal thing in that scripture. 2 Cor. 10:4 tells us that they are not carnal but are mighty through God. Second, God has already provided them, and it is up to you to put them on. And you can because God says to. Third, they enable you to stand against the devil and his hosts, and to pull down anything he’s planted – anything that’s not of God (Eph. 6:11-13, 2 Cor. 10:4-5). So get into the Word of God, read the scriptures that were referenced, know these weapons, and put them on – that’s how to use them.
One more thing. The way of Love. 1 Thess. 5:8 says we are to put on the breastplate of faith and love. And Gal 5:6 says that faith works by love. Love is the way to victory. Love is God’s way; God is Love. Love is an armor, love – knowing God’s love and understanding it -, puts you over. Love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom. 13:10) Hallelujah! So therefore walk in love
Now, you are ready to resist the devil. In what area has he cheated you, robbed you, put you in bondage? Open your mouth and resist Him in the name of Jesus.
This post is a continuation of How to stand against the devil (Part 3)
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