Felix Ngunjiri Gichuri

Reading: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 [KJV])

The Devil Will Flee When You Resist Him Only When You Apply The Word Of God

Many Christians when confronted by the devil or some form of evil or challenge often resist him by binding him in Jesus’ name. What is frustrating in most cases is that you might think that the devil is very powerful or stubborn as the problem does not go away, sometimes even escalating. They then plan how they are to persist in resisting him so that he goes away but nothing seems to be work. They plan how to attack the devil so that he flees but he seems to be a stubborn spirit. They decide that no more will they fight the devil in their home ground but they decide to attack the devil in his courtyard but the war seems to intensify. They attack the devil in his den as they arm themselves with quotations from the Bible: “I bind you demons in Jesus’ name.” “I curse you devil and cancel every evil plan you have against me right now and I command you to flee from me in Jesus’ name.” They command the devil to flee according to the word of God found in James 4:7 which says that “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” They engage the problem facing them in what they think is a spiritual battle of ‘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 Cor 10:5). With such scathing attacks on the devil himself, how come the devil does not flee? Is the word quoted in that verse of James 4:7 not true? Not at all. The word of God is true and it is forever settled in heaven. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” (Ps 119:89 [KJV]) It does not change. God said that “I change not.” Jesus the word of God is the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father. (Isaiah (9:6) “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb 13:8) The secret lies in applying every word of God written in that verse which states that for you to resist the devil, submit yourself first to God. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”(James 4:7 [KJV])

Involve God When Attacking the Devil and the Devil will Flee

The problem with the approach shown above is with the person using that tactic of attack. If you are the one who prays in the manner shown above, then you are very wrong in the letter, in the spirit and in the approach and the devil will not take you seriously.  The devil will know that you do not know what the word of God says in what you are saying and that your approach is wrong. The devil may as well ask you who you are the way sons of Sceva some self styled apostles who they were. “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/command  you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 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.” (Acts 19:13-16 [KJV])

You will be trying to bind sicknesses and diseases using your own strength and they will be getting worse because you are doing it in your way, not doing it God’s way. God’s way of doing things requires you to believe in a miracle working God, who is well able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can think or imagine. First of all “give glory to Him who is able to do immeasurably, exceedingly, above all we think or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20) The followers of Paul did not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and God who went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Paul preached to the Gentiles “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38 [KJV])

Jews still thought of Jesus as the one who could save them from the Roman rule. Even after being with Him for over three years and seeing Him heal the sick, cast out devils, set the captives free, raise the dead and rise from the dead, even His disciples still thought that He was the Messiah who would restore the kingdom of Israel by wrenching it from the hands of the tyrannical Roman rule. “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:6-9 [KJV])

The disciples of Jesus did not cast out demons the way they had seen the Lord casting them out because they did not believe that the demons would submit to them. They were not able to cast out a stubborn demon of a lunatic boy. “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matt 17:14-20 [KJV])

You need to believe that because the Lord said that you can move mountains with the words of your mouth, then His word is true and no demon or mountain can stand up against the word of God. You need to have the Holy Spirit in you to help you cast out devils. The Christian who resists the devil without the Holy Spirit will continue getting frustrated because of trying to cast out demons using the word of God selectively. He wants God to do His part of helping him cast out the devil while he is not ready to submit himself to God. He omits the first part of the verse which has the command from God of being required to submit to God first. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” After you submit yourself to God in obedience, then God will be with you and on your side giving you power to resist the devil and the devil will flee from you. You cannot fight the devil on your own because the devil is a spirit: an evil spirit. You need the Holy Spirit of God in you and He will fight for you in this spiritual battle for the battle belongs to God.

You do not Need to Fight in This Battle for The Battle Belongs to The Lord

When Israelites were faced by a great army of Ammonites and Moabites to battle, the Lord said “Listen all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” (2Chr 20:15, 17 [KJV])

 For God to be on your side, you have to submit yourself  therefore unto Him. Humble yourself before Him. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10 [KJV]) Obey diligently unto His commandments. Obeying God is a pre-requisite to receiving His blessings, provisions, good health and victory over your enemies. “Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. Your descendants will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the newborn of your flocks. Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. “The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.” (Deut 28:1-7 [HCSB])

You Need God to Help You to Obey Him

You cannot obey God on your own without asking God to cause you to obey Him. When Israelites reached Sinai the mountain of God, God talked to them through Moses. “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.” (Exod 19:3-8 [KJV]) (Exodus 24:3) From past experience they might have known that without God’s help, they could not be able to keep the law. Yet they promised to do so; though not many days afterward they were dancing around the golden calf. The law forbade worshiping idols, and they had promised to keep the law; yet here they were worshiping one of the idols they used to worship in Egypt! In their worship of the golden calf, they gave a demonstration of their inability or unwillingness to do that which they had agreed to do. They had broken the law which they had promised to keep, and now it condemned them. It left them hopeless and discouraged. God had a purpose in permitting this. He wanted Israel to know that in and of themselves, there was no possible hope of their ever keeping the law of God. You need God to cause you to keep His law. Ezekiel 36:26,27 says, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.” The reason why it is not possible to obey God without Him helping you to obey Him is because God is a Spirit and we are in the flesh. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 [KJV])

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Rom 8:5-11 [KJV])

If God be on Your Side, Who Can Be Against You in the Battles we Shall Face Throughout our Lives

In this life, you will have to fight all your battles throughout your life but the secret is being obedient to God and submitting yourself to him day and night, meditating upon His word. Meditate upon His word day and night and you will succeed in whatever you do. The Bible says that “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but thou shall meditate upon it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Josh 1:8-9 [KJV])

God Can Give You Power Over All the Powers of the Enemy

As you try to cast out demons, have faith in God. Believe in Jesus that He is the Son of God, that He came from God the Father and is Himself God and He will give you power over all the powers of the enemy. Jesus told His disciples that He gave them power over all the power of the enemy. “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19 [KJV]) He told them that “these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons;” (Mark 16:17)

 Jesus Christ Will Fight All Your Battles if He Dwells in You

Submit your thoughts, your will, your desires and your needs unto Jesus and He will fight for you only if you believe in Him, the Son of the living God who is Himself Lord, God, King of kings, the one who created everything in heaven and on earth. Receive Him in your heart and He will fight all your battles against the devil for He is Lord God Almighty and is greater and much more powerful than the devil. Behold He is standing at the door of your heart knocking. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20 [KJV])

Jesus will give you power to cast out demons only if you do it in His name. Power to cast out devils is determined by whether you believe on who Jesus is. Knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord is paramount in receiving God’s promises.“May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.” (2Pet 1:2-4 [HCSB]) If only we can know who God is and know Jesus His Son as our Lord, He is promising to multiply upon us His grace (God’s favour upon us when we do not even deserve it) and peace of God that surpasses human understanding so that by His divine nature, He gives us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Knowledge That Jesus is Both Lord and God Will Help You Overcome the World

The disciples did not know that Jesus is both Lord and God until it was revealed to Thomas who exclaimed that Jesus is both Lord and God. “Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me (that I was dead and now I am alive), thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:26-29 [KJV]) The one who could not believe anything until he touched it finally touched and realized that he had touched God and believed that Jesus is both Lord and God and he instantly exclaimed “My Lord and my God!”

Knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord is knowing that Jesus is the creator of everything in heaven and on earth. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation  (the firstborn of all creation means that He is above all creation; that He is God’s beloved),  for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Col 1:12-20 [NET])

The Gospel of John also reveals to us that Jesus is the creator of heaven and earth. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 [KJV]) Begotten means one and only. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:10-12 [KJV])

God is reassuring you that after you receive Jesus in your heart as your Lord and Saviour, He will give you power to be called a son of God because the Spirit of God will dwell in you and be leading you into all truth so that you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Rom 8:14-17 [KJV])

After you are adopted as His son as a result of receiving Jesus in your heart and believing that He is your Lord and your God, God Himself will definitely help you to overcome the devil. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome the world: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1John 4:4 [KJV]) The above text can be paraphrased, without doing violence to its meaning, to read, “When you have Jesus, then you are a child of God as well as a son of God and you have overcome the world (having overcome the world with all its lusts) because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” The one who is in the world is the devil, “the god of this world.” (2 Cor. 4:4). You shall have overcome the devil and nothing shall stand in your way. Nothing.  Demons will flee when they see you because you have Jesus in you in form of the Holy Spirit, they will scream with terror when they see you, plead with you not to bind them or cast them out before their time and if they come to you in one way, they will flee from you in seven ways.

“Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.” (Ps 68:1 [KJV])

“The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.” (Deut 28:7 [KJV])

For “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Rom 16:20 [KJV])

Amen.