DIY ToolBox-Resist the Devil -2

 “My style was impetuous, my defenses were impregnable, and I was ferocious.” -Mike Tyson.

Tyson is considered one of the best heavyweights of all time. In his boxing career he won 50 of his 58 fights- 44 of the 50 won through knockouts. He was also a man of supreme self-confidence as the quote above implies.

When it comes to spiritual battles, I wish I had the faith and courage to match Mike Tyson’s confidence. How can I do this? How can I, a mere man, contend with this seemingly invincible enemy? Indeed, how can anyone on earth resist him? 

You see my friend, God has put in our hands, portent tools that we can use against the Adversary. Paul put it this way;

For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. II Corinthians 10:4-5

I particularly like the last part where he says; “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” but for now let us consider two examples of success and failure in the bible. Coincidentally the example of failure is to be found in the first book of the Old Testament while the example of success is to be found in the first book of the New Testament.

In Genesis chapter 3 an interesting interaction between the devil and the woman takes place;

 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

After reading this I feel tempted to prepare a whole series on the Devil’s dealings with man but in brief, Genesis 3 is the sad story of man’s first and greatest failure. In the conversation, do you notice the subtle lies, the twisting of God’s words, the aspersions cast on God’s character and the outright denial of God’s express commands? If you don’t, then ‘pole mpendwa’. We can, as they say here, ‘meet behind the tent!’

The consequence of Adam’s failure has been dire as the condition of every earthling illustrates. No one needs reminding that we live in a broken world though someone thought it’s a good idea to remind me of this. He sent me a clip by Chris Cuomo (American journalist), who on turning 50 posits that; “All of Life is about managing pain”. 

Our peace with God and with nature was shattered the very moment that Adam and Eve succumbed to the Devil’s wiles. Our enemy’s has not changed much. He steals your peace by keeping you from the word of God.

Some 4000 years later, another interesting interaction took place. Unlike Adam and Eve who were in a lush garden full of all manner of foods, Jesus had been praying and fasting in the Judean deserts for 40 days when he had a most unwelcome visitor.

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Matthew 4

Again, I am tempted to turn this conversation into a series on how to deal with temptation but for now let us consider some things that we can immediately glean from this success story;

First, Jesus identified the devil as the Adversary. This is a no-brainer but it is at this very point that Eve failed. It is no great surprise therefore, that even today Satan continues to deceive many people that;

-he does not exist

-he is not nearly as malevolent as he is made out to be.

-he can be blissfully ignored

Secondly, Jesus had a standard response to each of Satan’s unique attempts to tempt him; “It is written…” Jesus would say, and then he would go on to quote the word of God. And each time the devil was stumped. Surprisingly though, at some point the devil actually quotes the word of God to Jesus! How many Christians have fought all manner of battles but failed when Satan quotes to them a scripture or two that speaks to their ego or secret aspirations?

Let me say this now. There is nothing outside of the word of God that you can use to ward off the devil’s fiery darts. Scripture is described as the ‘sword of the spirit’ (Ephesians 6:16) and as ‘living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12). 

The word of God; studied, memorized and integrated in daily life is a veritable weapon of offense and defense. ‘Mpendwa’, if you are a true follower of Jesus, then read it and live it so that, when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

From the word of God we also learn that;

-      Satan is not the opposite of God. He is a creature acting within limits that God imposes. Job 2

-      God’s Spirit dwelling in Christ’s followers is greater than Satan’s power. 1 John 4:4

-      Christ has delegated great authority to His followers to overcome all evil powers. Matthew 16:18

-      Avoid ‘the lie’ and the ‘negativity’ by wielding the word of God properly in your thought-life. Philippians 4:8.

-      A battle-ready Christian is one who is well kitted with the full armor of God. Ephesians 6.13-18   

-      A spiritual transaction that removes you from Satan’s power and puts you in God’s kingdom takes place when you receive Christ in your heart (John 1:12) and turn away from sin. Colossians 1:13

-      Confess the word of God frequently and proclaim the righteousness of God in your life purchased by the blood of Christ. Revelation 12:11

God has given us great power to fight the war on this side of eternity. Like Jesus, the key is to have the word of God ready on your lips and being able to apply it in every situation. God commanded Joshua as he was taking over the reins of leadership;

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:8-9

Are you willing to do this to live a meaningful life; one that counts for all eternity?