THE DEVIL - THE ORIGINAL HATER!
I Peter 5:8
"Be sober, be vigilante; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
One reason we have problems is because we have an enemy. As the serpent, the devil deceives:
II Cor. 11:3
"But I fear, least by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
And as the lion, the devil devours. The word satan means - "adversary” and the word devil means - "the accuser, the slanderer." The Kingdom Believers that receives this letter of Peter had already experienced the attacks of the slanderer:
I Peter 4:4,14
"Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you;"
‘If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."
Now they would meet the lion their fiery trial Peter gave them several practical instructions to help them get victory over their adversary:
1. KNOW THAT HE IS DANGEROUS:
The devil is a dangerous enemy. He is a serpent who can bite us when we least expect it. He is a destroyer (Abaddon and Apollyon both mean destruction) and an accuser.
Zech 3:1-5
"And He showed me Joshua the High Priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
And the Lord said unto satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a band plucked out of the fire?
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and i will clothe thee with change of raiment.
And I said, let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the lord stood by."
(Rev 12:9-11)
Satan has great power and intelligence and a host of demons who assist him in his attacks against God's people.
Eph. 6:10
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might."
We must never underestimate his ability. We must "be sober" and have our minds under control when it comes to our conflict with the devil.
2. ALWAYS RECOGNIZE THE DEVIL:
John 8:44
"Ye are of your father the devil. and the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it."
II Cor. 11:13-15
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
And no marvel; for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works."
Because the devil is a subtle foe we must "be vigilant' and always on guard his strategy is too counterfeit whatever God does. According to the parable of the tares wherever God plants a true Kingdom Believer, satan seeks to plant a counterfeit (Matt. 3:24-30, 36-43). The devil would deceive us if it wasn't for the Word of God and the Spirit of God (I John 2:18-27).
The better we know God's Word the keener our spiritual senses will be to detect satan at work. We must be able to "try the spirit and know the true from the false I John 4:1-6)
3. RESIST HIM:
This means that we take our stand on the word of God and refuse to be moved (Eph. 6:10-13), tells us to 'stand" to "withstand ". Unless we stand we cannot withstand . Our weapon are the Word of God and prayer (Eph. 6:17-18), and our protection is the complete armor God has provided. We must resist him, "in the faith" that is our faith in God.
Just as David took a stand against Goliath and trusted in the name of the LORD, so we too should take our stand against satan in the victorious name of Jesus Christ. I think the problem with many of us is that we too often discuss things with satan or with his associates. Eve made this mistake and we all know the sad consequences. Net never try to fight satan in your own way. Resist him the way Jesus did with the Word of God (Matt. 4:1-11).
People of God Peter and James both gave us the same formula for success against the king hater.
James 4:7
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Before you can stand against satan you must bow before God. Our salvation is because of God's grace (I Pet. 1:10). God called us before we called on Him (I Pet. 4:10) and meet every situation of life so the "king hater" can hate all he wants (I John 4:4) says
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
I pray they are blessed by this word.
Love
Bishop T. W. Jackson I, ThM
