Being a Man the Devil Knows

Being a Man the Devil Knows

“Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure 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?”

(Acts 19:13-15)

That would have been an interesting sight.  Name forgers had an evil spirit insult them, jump on them, beat them up, and they escape by running down the street naked and wounded.

Dutch Sheets, in his book Intercessory Prayer, related a story concerning a bodybuilder who visited Africa.  The village chief asked him what he did with all of his muscles.  He proceeded to give the chief an exhibition of his strength by flexing his biceps, triceps, and his bulging calves and thighs.  After admiring this muscle man for a few moments the chief asked, “What else do you use them for?” 

“That’s about all,” answered the muscular man. 

“That’s all you use those huge muscles for?” inquired the chief, visibly puzzled.

“Yes,” replied the man flexing his bulging muscles.

“What a waste,” muttered the chief in disgust.  “What a waste.”

We have been well equipped to deal with the devil and should never be like this bodybuilder. 

Spiritual Bodybuilders Needed

“...And exercise thyself rather unto godliness.  For bodily exercise profitteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things...”            (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

We need to develop spiritual biceps, triceps, and muscles by completing our spiritual exercises.  Once building up our muscles in the Spirit we cannot just stand around flexing our muscles in competition and never attack the adversary of our souls.

Spiritual Exercises

1.    Be born again (Acts 2:38)

2.    Wrestle (Ephesians 6:12)

3.   Put on the whole armor of God

     (Ephesians 6:11-17)

4.   Prayer (Ephesians 6:18)

5.   Fasting (Matthew 6:16;17:21; Mark 9:29)

6.   Faith (1 Thess. 5:8; Hebrews 11:1)

7.   Challenge Satan by using Jesus’ name. 

      (Acts 4:12; 16:16-18)

8.   Study the Word of God and use it.

      (Ephesians 6:17; Psalm 119:11,16)

9.  Pray in the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 14:15)

10. Cast out Devils . (Matt. 10:1; Mark 16:17;

      Acts 5:16; 16:18; 19:12)

11.  Plead the blood of Jesus.

12.  Pray for the Gifts of the Spirit to be   

manifested in your life.  Remember, they are the power tools of the church. (Acts 4:29- 33; 10:38; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

13.   Use spiritual weapons. (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

14.   Resist the devil; submit to God. (James 4:7)

15.  Live your life committed to truth and

       righteousness. (Romans 12:1-2)

Please Beware: After completing these exercises one will become a man the devil knows and fears. “Devil, my life is a danger zone!”

“Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”  (Psalm 144:1)

Through these spiritual exercises and disciplines we will make sure that our names are written in heaven and also are recognized by the devil.

We will be a man that both God and the devil know. 

We Have an Enemy

The name “Satan” is used 52 times in the Bible and means “adversary.”  Satan is our enemy.  There are three enemies that we must overcome and conquer.

q  The Flesh

q  The Devil (god of this world)

q  The World

We Are Not Ignorant of His Devices

“...For we are not ignorant of his devices.”       (2 Corinthians 2:11)

A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare highlights a personal experience of co-author Ruthanne Garlock.  She had visited an ancient city in Antigua, Guatemala.  The Mayan Indians had inhibited this area years before.  These Indians had fought with bows and arrows and were considered to be very fierce.  Spanish soldiers had an advantage because they wore armor, had horses and used guns.  Horses were unknown to the Mayan Indians and when they saw the swift animals with the armored soldiers on their backs, they thought it was all one creature.  They aimed their bows and arrows at the horse, not knowing that their real enemy was on the horse.  They were able to kill a lot of the horses with their arrows but the soldiers just jumped off and shot the Indians with their guns.  The Mayans were killed by the hundreds.  They did not realize that the real enemy was riding on the horse’s back.

Today, Christians do the same type of thing.  We shoot at each other instead of fighting the devil.  The devil is crafty (Genesis 3:1); a deceiver (Genesis 3:13); a liar and father of lies (John 8:44); the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10); and the tempter (Matthew 4:3; I Thess. 3:5).

The enemy in battle would not like for you to understand much about him and his location.  He will use deceit, lies, and tricks to create a false understanding of his position and battle plans.  We are not ignorant of the devil’s tactics, plans, and his weaknesses.  He would like to deceive us, tempt us until we fall, and then accuse us.

1.  What is the opposite of “up”?

2.  What is the opposite of “light”?

3.  What is the opposite of “good”?

4.  What is the opposite of “God”?

In question number four did you answer “the devil or Satan?”  Satan is not the opposite of God.  God is distinct and has no opposite.  Satan is the opposite of angels like Michael and Gabriel.  He lost his job because he wanted to exalt himself to be like God.  He wanted to enter God’s office and sit at his desk and control everyone.  (Isaiah 14:14)

I have another question to ask, “Where is the devil at right now?”  Did you say “in hell”?  The devil is not in hell.  Many people believe that Satan goes down into the fire and burns there for awhile and comes back up to check things out on the earth.  He is not in hell now, but he is going to hell.  Hell was created for the devil and his angels.  Satan is the “god of this age”              (2 Corinthians 4:4); “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2); and is walking around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour.    (1 Peter 5:8) 

We Are in a Battle

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  (Ephesians 6:12)

However, many of us stop the Scripture at, “We wrestle not!”

“Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man?  And then he will spoil his house.”  (Matthew 12:29)

We learn in Mark 3:27 and Matthew 12:29 that spiritual conflict against Satan involves three aspects:

1.  Declaring War against Satan.

2.  Entering Satan’s house (anywhere he has a stronghold). 

3.  Carrying away his possessions and setting            the captives free.

We Will Win the Battle

“And it came to pass, when they brought those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings, And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.  And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage, for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.”  (Joshua 10:24-25)

The armies had been defeated and their five kings had hidden in a cave.  They were captured and brought to “Joshua” (the Hebrew equivalent to the name of “Jesus” in the New Testament).  Joshua is an Old Testament type of Jesus whose job was to bring “many sons unto glory.”  (Hebrews 2:10)  Tradition dictated that those captured lie down on the ground, and that the victor would place his foot upon their necks in order to symbolize the victory.  In this case, Joshua called for his captains to place their feet upon the necks of the Canaanite kings.  He was transferring the authority to his captains much like Jesus has done to us.    “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  (Genesis 3:15)

“And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15) 

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly...”  (Romans 16:20)

“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.  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”  (Luke 10:19-20)

It is time to declare war.  One man said, “Mr. Devil, I have some thoughts for you to think about.

The Lord is going BEFORE ME, the blood of Jesus is OVER ME, the everlasting arms of God are UNDER ME, and His goodness and mercy are BEHIND ME, following me all the days of my life.” 

“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 John 4:4)

Don’t Give an Inch to the Devil

It is sad when we allow the devil to be the one to place his foot upon our neck.  “Neither give place to the devil.”  (Ephesians 4:27)  Don’t allow him to have a foothold in your life!

Our Ultimate Goal

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God...” (Acts 26:18)

To be spirit-empowered you must first be spirit-filled

(Acts 1:8)