The Last Step Toward God
Notes
Transcript
The Last Step Toward God is to Resist the Enemy (Spend less time talking about the devil and more time talking about what Jesus had done.)
James 4:1-10
Steps Toward God:
1. Repent
2. Confess
3. Believe
4. Seek/Enter the Kingdom of God
5. Resist the Enemy –
6. Learning to Love
7. Fasting?
Be certain if the Kingdom of God exist then so does the kingdom of His enemy. There is a spiritual realm; one of good and one of evil.
The question would be, where is it that you are residing?
What spirits are influencing your day to day decision? The one you dwell with, of course.
Turn in your Bibles to James 4
Perhaps our last step toward God might well be one of resisting the devil.
How better to resist him than the run to the Father? “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.
Now this is one of those verses of Scripture that is often quoted but without the first part; Submit yourselves therefore to God.
I would suggest that we submit according to the relationship that we have with the Lord. Total submission comes with total surrender. Meaning He is Lord. HE is the means by which we resist the Devil.
So, we’ve repented, we’ve confessed, we’ve believed, and we’ve even entered into the Kingdom. But have we made Him LORD?
If Christ is not Lord, then we attempt to resist the Devil under our own power. Is it any wonder we fail?
Resist - Literally, to stand against; to withstand; hence, to act in opposition, or to oppose. a dam or mound resists a current of water passively, by standing unmoved and interrupting its progress. An army resists the progress of an enemy actively, by encountering and defeating it. (Webster 1828)
How many people would move into a neighborhood knowing there was a murderer living there? How many of us would let a known thief in our home, let alone spend the night? How many of us have a close relationship with a known liar? The answer to all of these should be, none of us.
Yet we are constantly allowing Satan into our lives. We don’t resist him, we welcome him.
So, How Do We Resist the Devil?
Jesus showed us how.
In resisting the Enemy/Satan/Devil, we resist sinning. (When we sin, we sin against God and God alone.)
Who is the enemy; more pointedly, who is our enemy?
· Satan is of course the enemy of God, for he desired the throne of God. The enemy of God seeks to destroy us; thus he is our enemy as well.
· “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12. Resisting requires that we wrestle against.
· “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
· “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4. The ruler of this world is the enemy of God and if we are friends to the world then we are friends to the Devil himself. So, are you friends of the devil or friends of Jesus?
Your future is greatly determined by your immediate response to the fiery darts of the enemy of God. You must be prepare to resist him.
1. If you go with him, know that he is a liar and a thief, and he will lead you to self-destruction. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:” John 10:10. Who is the thief but Satan himself.
a. He leads you to lust, fornication, adultery
b. He leads you to bitterness, anger, even murder. Rage!
c. He leads you to sin, (this is the only place he will ever lead you). He is not your friend; he seeks only to kill, steal, and destroy. His plans are to destroy your hope and your future.
2. If you engage him, you may be devoured. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8. Who among us would take on a roaring lion… or even on that wasn’t roaring? Who among us spends time speaking with our enemies?
a. Jesus used the word of God against Satan; Eve tried to use the word of God against Satan but messed it all up. Jesus prevailed; Eve failed. Now, you tell me, which one are you most like, Jesus or Eve?
b. Yes, the Word of God is the Sword of the Lord, but seeing you are not the Lord, how well can you wield the sword? Indeed, some are gifted to do just that, but are you one of them? Have you even trained yourself to wield the sword? Have you spent time reading, studying, and memorizing the word of God that you might be better armed? NO You have not! Few have.
i. Wield - To use with full command or power, as a thing not too heavy for the holder.
c. If we are going to resist the devil me must first learn to wield the Sword of the Lord.
d. Peter goes on to say, “Whom resist [speaking of the devil in verse 8] stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:9 We are to resist him. You are not the only one he is attacking.
3. Your immediate response to the enemy must be an act of submission; “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. You too must flee, flee from sin and the temptations the enemy lays before you. Fleeing sin and resisting he devil are two different things. We flee sin by resisting the devil.
a. Submission to God comes first! “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.” Psalm 121:7.
b. In submitting to God, we draw ever nearer to Him.
i. Look at verse 7-10, Submit, draw, cleanse, purify, be afflicted, humble yourself.
c. Who is it that you are submitting to?
d. Sadly, today we find too many – “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Acts 7:51. Resisting God; submitting to the devil.
e. When possible Don’t engage him, ignore him. He’s a liar, therefore nothing he has to say matters. When the enemy is harassing you, engage the Lord, communicate with Holy Spirit. Resist the devil by going for a walk with Holy Spirit; allow Him to lead you away. (Galatians 5, walk, led, live)
4. You must stand in order to resist – “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quiet ye like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 13:6.
a. Watch – be on the look out for the enemy but keep your eyes on the Lord
b. Stand – stand with God through faith knowing that HE is with us
c. Be men / be women – be who God created you to be.
i. Men are courageous – God created us to be that way, to be warriors
ii. Women are known to be fierce – Debra comes to mind as does Joan of Arc.
iii. Be Godly men and women, leaning on the Lord.
d. Be strong – where does our strength come from but from the Lord. But He must be Lord!
Standing, Heads bowed, eyes closed:
When we resist the enemy of God, we are ever closer to Him – we have to be – otherwise we would not survive the attack. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
The Devil is a liar. Replace the lie with the truth. Jesus over came Satan with the truth. Remember, the just live by faith, not by the lies of the devil.
You decide, will you spend more time this week with Holy Spirit or with Satan? One leads us in the way everlasting, the other leads us to destruction.
So, how do we resist the devil? By communing with God, by walking in the Spirit, by being led by the Spirit, and by living in the Spirit.
c
Resist:
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Hebrews 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
If I am going to be led by the Spirit and live in the Spirit, I’m going to need to spend more time walking with the Spirit; chatting Him up, not often but, all the time.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may ABIDE WITH YOU FOR EVER; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for HE DWELLETH WITH YOU, and shall be in you. John 14:16-17.
If Holy Spirit is in us and dwelling with us, should we not use Him to resist the enemy?