Winning Your Personal War With Satan (3)

'...Resist the devil...he will flee from you.' James 4:7 KJV

Just a reminder to our parents of teenagers, that tonight is Youth Group here @CFW. I hope you'll make spiritual discipleship a priority in your children's lives...starts @6:45 @CFW...Also Men's Conference (May 17-18) early Registration deadline is this Sunday; $57 early bird special.

Yesterday we looked at applying self-control to our daily lives. That seems funny to put it that way but once you become self-controlled, alert, and submitted to God, your next step must be to: 'Resist the devil...he will flee from you' When you are properly aligned with Jesus, His power and authority are behind you and at your disposal. Then when you act or speak you do so, not on your own, but as His representative. Think about it this way; when a police officer orders you to stop because you're driving too fast, the entire force of the law comes into operation. If you refuse to stop you are taking on the whole police force, the court, bringing down the full weight of their combined authority on your head. Some of you understand this totally because you've put this to the test. Others have never had the full authority of the law on them and so its harder to understand. In some ways it's also harder to understand in the spiritual realm. Think about this for a moment; as long as that policeman is aligned with and submitted to those who are over him when he speaks and acts - they speak and act through him. Are you getting the idea? In God's Kingdom the submitted life represents the King. So when you speak and act according to God's will, He speaks and acts through you. Even Satan cannot break this chain of command! Nor can he withstand it. 'Behold, I give you the authority...over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.' (Luke 10:19 NKJV) When you are submitted to God you can resist the devil as Jesus did when He said, 'Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." Then the devil left Him.' (Matthew 4:1011 NIV) And when you speak those same words to the devil, '...he will flee from you.' (James 4:7 KJV) You are loved...