29 Mar Shut the Front Door! (Learning to shut the door to the enemy in your life) PART 11
Over the last few months we have been sharing how to “Shut the Front Door” to the enemy in your life!
A few weeks ago we began to share “Six Entry Exhibits”:
- Worry (I Pet. 5:5-8)
- Internalized anger (Eph. 4:26-27)
- Strife (James 3:14-16)
Last week we shared…
4. Pride (James 4:5-7)
Let’s review what we covered last week…
James 4:5-7 tells us, “Do you think that the scripture says in vain, The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy? But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
At first glance, these verses are a bit difficult to understand until you grasp the Greek language. The Greek word for “lust” is “epipotheo.” “Epi” means “over” and “potheo” denotes an “intense craving.” The Greek word “envy” means jealousy.
What could the Spirit of God possibly have such an “intense craving” and “jealousy” about?! The answer is…YOU! In context (James 4:1-4), there are Christians who have walked away from God and He has intense craving to get them back…that is how much He loves people!
In verse six, we find the word “resists.” This is the Greek word “anti-tassomai” which literally means “to arrange against.” Why would God arrange Himself against the proud? Pride goes before a fall…and God is always against His kids falling!
Now notice in verse seven, the Greek word translated “submit” means “to arrange yourself under.” From that position (a position of humility) and only that position, can we successfully resist the devil. The Greek word “flee” here is “pheugo” which means “to run in stark terror.”
You can clearly see from these powerful verses that in order to shut the front door to the enemy in our life, we must shut the door to pride!
This week please allow me to share with you “4 Humility Happenings”:
- Humility is not self-abasement, it is self-adjustment.
- Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is simply thinking of yourself, less!
- You must get under what is over you, in order to get over what is under you!
- If your “resister” is not working…check your “submitter”!
From time to time, I will hear things like “Pastor, I resisted the devil and he did not flee from me.” To which I lovingly say, “If your resister is not working, check your submitter.”
Like never before, it is time to shut the door to the enemy in our life!
Next month we will continue our series!