Do You Make The Devil Nervous?
I. There is a somewhat humorous account given in Acts 19.
Acts 19
13. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to
call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of
the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and
overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded.
Is the devil afraid of you? No way!
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
But He is afraid of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus beat him at the beginning
of his ministry in the wilderness temptation; He beat him throughout
His ministry when the devil sent temptation and opposition his way;
He beat Him at Gethsemane when He chose the Father's will over His
own; And He beat Him when He rose from the grave.
The only way you can beat the devil is to cling closely to Jesus.
It's not the name of Jesus, but the person behind the name that counts.
The sons of Sceva tried to use His name like a magical password. It
doesn't work that way. You have to be in relation to Him like Paul was.
The name of Jesus is powerful - a name above all names - but only for
those who know the Savior behind the name.
1 John 4
4. 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.
1 Peter 5
8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same
afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The devil trembles at the name of Jesus. He should tremble at our
names, too. How can we beat Him? Be alert - resist him - remember who
is in you! Satan may not tremble in fear at the sound of my name, but
I want to at least make him nervous.
II. Committed Christians make the devil nervous.
Luke 17:32-33 Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his
life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve
it.
When someone asked William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, the
secret of his success, Booth remained silent for several moments.
Finally, with tear-filled eyes, he said, "There have been men with
greater brains or opportunities than I, but I made up my mind that
God would have all of William Booth there was."
Several years later when General Booth's daughter heard about her
father's comment regarding his full surrender to God, she said, "That
wasn't really his secret--his secret was that he never took it back."
In essence, Booth's secret was total commitment. He never looked back.
Too many people are going one way and looking another. And they end up
just going in circles.
Christians who are totally committed to the end - those who are
radically saved, sold out, bone deep, washed in the blood, filled with
the Spirit, and schooled in the Word, pose a threat to Satan. They
will pay any price to live, and if necessary, to die for Jesus. They
have no other allegiances but to Him.
Those kinds of Christians make the devil nervous, and he will do
anything he can to draw them off the path.
III. Praying Christians make the devil nervous.
Ephesians 6
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Ralph Neighbour tells about meeting with well- known Korean pastor
David Cho in Seoul several years ago. He had an appointment, and they
talked for some time. Then, says Ralph, "his secretary entered the
room to inform him it was time for his next appointment. I dismissed
myself and sat in the waiting room outside his office to wait for a
friend who was coming to meet me. Curious about who his next visitor
would be, I observed his office door to see who would follow me.
"Fifteen minutes later, no one had entered that door. Tactfully, I
said to his secretary, 'Has Dr. Cho's next appointment been delayed?'
"She smiled and said, 'Oh, no. They are together now. You see,
each day he uses this time to talk to the Lord.'
"The secret of his church's phenomenal growth (it is now the largest
church in the world) was revealed to me by this experience. Dr. Cho
has learned the priority of prayer in his life and ministry."
The time you spend with the Lord is much more effective than the time
you spend for the Lord. Satan doesn't too much worry about your
working for God. It's your prayer time with God that He can't stand.
He would much rather have you work, for work can be done in the flesh.
True prayer can only be done in the spirit.
That's why Paul said, "Pray all the time with all kinds of prayer and
keep on doing it. Pray that every time I open my mouth the Lord will
fill it with words that effectively communicate the gospel. Paul knew
that prayer was the real key to effectiveness. That is why his gospel
. . . "came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we
were among you for your sake." 1 Thessalonians 1:5
The devil doesn't care how many people talk Christianity, he cares how
many life it on their knees. He fears when the saints get in contact
with God.
IV. Forgiving Christians make the devil nervous.
Unfortunately, forgiveness has not been one of our strong points. It
seems we have been perceived, and thus portrayed, by the world as
harsh and judgmental. And again, unfortunately, the world is probably
more right than wrong in that assessment. The church has been described
by some as the only army in the world that shoots its wounded. Why?
Because we are largely intolerant of one another. We are intolerant
of any view that differs ever so slightly from our own. Each one
thinks that God is on his side and his side alone.
.
And what does that do to our gospel? It discredits it. How can the
followers of the one who came for the purpose of achieving our
forgiveness be so unforgiving?
One of Satan's best tools is to get the Christians working against
each other. Bitterness and grudges will destroy us. United we stand;
divided we fall. Pride and judgmentalism will paralyze our efforts to
evangelize the world. But forgiveness will tear down the roadblocks
and frustrate the devil's plan.
1 Peter 3:9 not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling;
but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should
inherit a blessing.
Colossians 3:13 forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if
any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you,
so also do ye:
In the year 1818, Tamatoe, King of Huahine, one of the South Sea
Islands, became a Christian. He soon discovered a plot among his
fellow natives to seize him and other converts and burn them to death.
He quickly organized a band to attack the plotters, captured them
unawares and then set a feast before them. This unexpected kindness
surprised the savages, who burned their idols and became Christians.
What won them over? Forgiveness! Mercy in action!
1 Peter 2:15 tells us, "For so is the will of God, that by well-doing
ye should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:"
If we will begin to exemplify what Jesus taught and practiced, we will
win over more converts to our faith.
Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery; he had no condemnation for
the woman at the well; he held no malice toward those who crucified
him.
Again, 1 Peter 2 tells us:
21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered
threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth
righteously:
V. United Christians make the devil nervous.
The eleventh chapter of Genesis reveals something that's just amazing:
Genesis 11
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower
that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves
and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
5. But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men
were building.
6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they
have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible
for them.
7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not
understand each other."
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and
they stopped building the city.
God saw the sheer power of man in unity and confused the languages
and scattered them all over the earth in order to break the unity,
because they were united in an evil purpose. Think of it. The power
of people united for a common purpose was so dynamic, they just might
have succeeded.
Think what could happen if we were to unite to that degree for a good
and godly purpose! God's Word encourages us to do so.
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there
be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together
in the same mind and in the same judgment.
There is no doubt about it. There is great power in unity. That is why
Satan will cause division any way he can in the body of Christ. If he
can divide us, he can conquer us. And there is so much division among
us. We'll choose up sides over just about anything.
Author John T. Seamands tells about a powerful working of God in some
villages around Calcutta in response to the preaching of a Congregational
minister. Within a short time, hundreds of people had confessed faith
in Christ. Then something happened. One group of missionaries told
the converts that their ministers had to be ordained. Another group
insisted that they be immersed. Still others claimed that theirs was
the only true church. The result? Seamands said that the work came
to a complete halt.
What a tragedy! Satan got his victory and stopped the flow of God's
work by dividing the body of Christ over minor issues. What might have
happened by now if the church were not divided so often throughout its
history? Think how frustrated Satan might be if we would refuse to
allow things to come between us. Instead, the church is frustrated,
because we are defeating ourselves.
Let us remember, we are here for one purpose - to exalt Christ. No
lesser motive will do, and there is no greater motive. Just how we do
it is not the essential issue - that we do it is. God help us to learn
to tolerate our differences and focus on the task at hand and how we
can best get that job done.
VI. Believing Christians make the devil nervous.
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand.
Satan is threatened by believers who know God's Word and stand on it,
expecting it to work. He is shaken by those who know who they are and
where they stand in Christ. He is unnerved by believers who believe
in spite of what is going on around them. He is beaten by those who
know where their hope and their power is.
Pliny, the Roman Governor in Asia Minor in the early Second Century,
wrote this complaint to the Emperor asking his advice concerning the
persecution of the Christians.
"A certain Christian was brought before him, and Pliny
proceeded to threaten him. "I will banish thee," he said.
"Thou canst not," was the reply, "for all the world is my
Father's house."
"Then I will slay thee," said the Governor.
"Thou canst not," answered the Christian, "for my life is hid
with Christ in God."
"I will take away thy possessions," continued Pliny.
"Thou canst not, for my treasure is in heaven."
"I will drive thee away from man and thou shalt have no friend
left," was the final threat.
The calm reply once more was, "Thou canst not, for I have an
unseen Friend from whom thou art not able to separate me."
What was a poor, harassed Roman Governor, with all the powers
of life and death, torture and the stake at his disposal, to do with
people like that?
This believer stood his ground and trusted Christ no matter what the
world threw at him. His faith in God was not determined by what
blessings he had, or by what pain or inconvenience he was shielded
from. His faith was determined by the truth of God's Word. He believed
the words written in Romans 8:38-39:
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Satan cannot fight the Word of God. He can twist it, distort it, and
abuse it if we let him, but he cannot overcome it. Remember, Jesus
battled Satan with the Word of God when he was tempted of the devil.
(Matthew 4:1-11) Ephesians 6 calls it the Sword of the Spirit. If you
will read it, remember it, and believe it, you will have the upper
hand.
Conclusion:
I repeat the words I began with -
The only way you can beat the devil is to cling closely to Jesus. The
name of Jesus is powerful - a name above all names - but only for
those who know the Savior behind the name.
1 John 4
4. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
If the devil has been beating you up, I want you to come to this altar
tonight and let's turn the tables. We have the upper hand, because
Jesus has the victory, and everything that Jesus has is available to
us.
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