“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
How big is the devil to you? Is he as big as God? Be honest with yourself. In the everyday matters of life, who seems to have more power? If you're like most people, you'll say with your head and even with your heart, that God is bigger than the devil. But do your actions line up with your head and your heart? Most people I know give the devil far more credit than he is due. They say things like I'm no match for the devil, he's too big, he's too strong, he's too powerful, and on and on the excuses go.
Of course, it's true that the devil has some power. But he's no match for you if you're a born again, blood-washed saint of God. This is what my Bible says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” When we can learn to apply this truth personally, then we can have confidence that no matter what the devil throws our way, our God is bigger and greater than every situation or problem there is. I have news for you, fellow warrior–your enemy is limited. God and the devil are not on equal planes trying to battle over your soul. Many people think of God and the devil standing on level ground battling it out, but that's not the case at all. God is omnipresent–He is everywhere at the same time, while the devil is limited in time and space. God is also omnipotent–He does whatever He wants to do, but the devil is not all powerful. He must operate under the rules God has set for him. He can do no more or no less.
Now if Christ lives in us, then the One who sets the rules for the devil lives in us. And if He lives in us, then the devil can also only operate within the parameters that the Body of Christ gives to him. That's a critical point for you to understand. The devil only has the opportunity to operate where you give him a place to operate. That's why the Apostle Paul said, “Do not give place to the devil.” In other words, don't offer the devil any space in your life. Don't hang out a vacancy sign in any area of your life. If you do, he'll take over that territory every time. But, when you have the power of God in your life, when you have Jesus ruling and reigning on the throne of your heart, then He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
I want you to be able to recognize your enemy. I also want you to be able to recognize what he can and cannot do. There are, in fact, four things that your enemy cannot do that I want to bring to your attention.
- The devil cannot penetrate the Blood of Jesus - In Exodus, we are told about the first Passover. It was when the death angel was sent by God throughout the land of Egypt, to destroy the first born of every living thing. The only place that death angel couldn't go was into those homes where the blood had been applied to the doorpost. That kind of protection is ours today. The devil cannot penetrate where the blood of Jesus is applied. The blood of Jesus has already broken the power of the devil, and it is a force, a power, an entity in this universe that is available to every child of God. It is available for deliverance and salvation from every situation or circumstance. The devil cannot cross the bloodline of a blood washed saint of God, but he can go to every place the blood has not been applied. It is up to us to appropriate the blood of Jesus to specific situations in our lives. We must plead the blood of Jesus over our lives each and every day. If we do that, then we won't give the devil any place to operate in our lives.
- The devil cannot harm you if you put on the whole armor of God everyday - The Bible clearly tells us in Ephesians 6:10-11 to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” It says that when we put on the whole armor of God, we'll be in a position to “stand against the wiles of the devil.” You wouldn't think of leaving your house in the morning to go to work without first putting on your clothes. Neither should we think about leaving our homes in the morning without putting on our spiritual clothes, the whole armor of God. Fully clothed in this armor, we’re able to stand tall against the powers of darkness. Only when we're dressed in the armor of God this way are we in a position to be victorious over the enemy. As long as we're wearing the whole armor of God, the devil will not have a place to harm us. But if we don't put on the armor every day, or if we leave off a piece or two of it every now and then, then we become sitting ducks for the attack of the enemy.
- The devil cannot read your mind - As well as being omnipresent and omnipotent, God is also omniscient. That is, He knows everything. But the devil is limited in what he knows. He only knows what he hears you say. Satan cannot read your mind, but he knows your words. So we need to watch what words we allow from our mouth. We need to follow Paul's advice and Hebrews 13:15, “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” What am I saying? I'm saying don't give the devil anything to use against you. Stop him dead in his tracks by praising God. Praise God for what He's done for you. Praise God for what He means to you. God wants us to walk in continual praise because God knows that the spirit realm operates through our words. In other words, what you say is what you get.
- The devil can’t (won’t) leave unless you cast him out - The Pharisees once confronted Jesus with the accusation that He cast out demons by the name and power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Jesus responded to them by saying “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” In other words, satan won't cast out satan. The devil is not going to leave any place he has set up house in. That's the reason we must bind him and cast him out ourselves. It's up to us, to you and me, to fight the devil. It's up to us to cast him out of the territory he presently holds. Before we attempt to do that, though, we better make sure our lives are right with God. We better make sure that everything is under the blood of Jesus. Why? Because you can't reason with the devil. You can't convince the devil to leave voluntarily. He won't leave his strongholds peacefully. He must be cast out, and we must have the power of God to do that.
Are you getting the picture? Are you starting to recognize your enemy a little better? The devil is building strongholds of lies, doubt, deceit, and terror. He’s causing sickness in every form, not only physical, but sickness of heart, of emotions, of mind, and of spirit. Unless you resist, the devil will run right over you. He'll move in on every area of your life where you don't apply the blood of Jesus. Our enemy is not a laid back enemy. The Bible says that he is constantly stalking like a roaring lion. He's on the prowl. To combat him, we need spiritual warriors to volunteer in God's army. We need mighty warriors of God that will step out in faith and defeat this enemy.