Dearly beloved in Christ,
I express my loving greetings to you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this life we have different sorts of enemies. Here in the quoted passage the reference is to the adversary the devil. The devil operates and schemes to make man suffer, to get him entangled in his evil designs and inflict pain. David prays in Psalm 27:11. “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.” The devil strives hard to devour us through his wretched acts at all times.
Some years ago, there was a war in Vietnam. The American soldiers were involved in the warfare. But the people were not certain whom the Americans supported and as a result many innocent people lost their lives. First, we should know who our enemy is. It is the devil. In the Bible, we read about Balaam who went to Balak, the enemy of the Israelites, because he offered him a lot of money, if only he cursed the Israelites. This angered the Lord God. The Bible says, “Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.” (Num. 22:22).
Thus, the Lord Himself might stand against us. The Israelites sinned and grieved the Lord and so he fought against them. Isaiah 63:10 records it: “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.” The Lord says in Isaiah 50:8, “He is near who justifies Me; who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me.” The Lord challenges the devil.
The purpose of the devil visiting us is given in the words of Jesus Christ: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). Yes, the devil comes to steal peace, joy, health, blessings, and loving fellowship and, finally, to kill and destroy us. He makes tears and bitterness to abound in us. Today, the devil operates in the family life of so many people to steal unity in the family. He brings about destruction in the lives of many. He kills even. He wants to do that in our lives too. He roams about seeking people to devour.
In my younger days I was interested in taking care of the young chicks. I used to let out the hen along with the chicks to eat food together. The young ones instead of being with their mother would go astray a little further here and there. The eagle would keep watching them from some tree. All of a sudden, it would carry away a straying chick. Today, there are many children of God who forsake the church and the fellowship of saints. They live in self-righteousness. As a result, they lose their exaltation and life. We should not give room for the devil to operate in our lives. We should be sober-minded and diligent.
I THE WAY TO BE SOBER
1. Being Delivered from the Devil
“Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid” (Luke 8:35).
Jesus Christ reached the country of the Gadarenes, that was located opposite to Galilee. As soon as He got down from the boat, a man tormented by the devil for a long time came to Him. He had been living without clothes in the midst of graves. He belonged to that place. He saw Jesus and fell at His feet and cried: “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to leave him. The unclean spirits begged Him not to send them to the abyss, but to send them into the swine. Jesus listened to their request and sent them into the swine. The herd of swine got into the lake and got drowned. The man who was delivered clothed himself and was in his right mind.
2. Whom in lark with unmet needs
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (Luke 15:17).
The younger son who left the fellowship of the father and his brother lost his wealth and was ignored by the society. He was living in shame. He was not given even the food that was given to the swine. Then he remembered his father’s house. He came to his senses.
3. Look To the Lord in Heaven
“And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me...” (Daniel 4:34).
Nebuchadnezzar was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. He said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” In no time he was dethroned. After the said days passed, he looked up to heaven and his understanding returned. Then he praised the Most High and honoured Him who lives forever.
II WHO WILL OVERCOME THE DEVIL?
1. Those with Faith
“who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33).
Today to overcome the devil and to bind the mouths of lions, we need faith in Christ. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). When you believe in the fact that Jesus Christ shed His blood for us and gave His life for us, you would have the strength to bind the mouths of lions and to overcome the designs of the devil.
Once, a lady brought her 14-year-old daughter for prayer. When we prayed for her, the spirit of harlotry (Hosea 4:12) began to manifest and began to demand her for its ownership. The lady was grieved at heart and was terribly afraid. It began to say how it led her astray and spoiled her. It mentioned the name of a gentleman with whom she was made to speak, smile and go to wrong places. After a time, to spoil her name, it made her snap all relations with him and was made to move with another gentleman. Thus, it was bent on spoiling her life. So, it demanded her to be in its ownership. I told the devil that the Lord Jesus Christ has shed His very blood and given His life for her. It did not like the prayer and demanded her for itself. It began to shout. When she came to her senses, I instructed her to keep saying to Jesus Christ that she believed in Him and to plead for His mercy in her heart. When she began to do that, the spirit tormented her much. After three hours of tormenting, the evil spirit that had dominion over her left her shouting. Then she had peace and joy that she had never had. She realized her sin and hugged her mother and cried. As the girl had faith in Christ, she had victory over the devil.
Dear child of God, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). As you meditate on the Word of God and search the scriptures, faith sprouts in you. The disciples saw the miracle in the wedding house of Cana in turning water into wine and His disciples believed in Him (John 2:11). As we are filled with the spirit of faith, we are strengthened (2 Cor. 4:13). 1 Cor. 12:9 speaks about faith as a gift of the Spirit: “to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit.” This gift of faith makes us vessels of grace to speak boldly about several things in the life of a person and help him to accept Jesus Christ and so into righteousness. This gift of faith is also needed to cast out devils. Through it, we are enabled to annihilate the works of the devil.
2. Those Living as witnesses
“My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:22).
When our lives are transformed to be acceptable as witnesses to Christ, we are saved unhurt from lions. There was an evil design against Daniel to prevent him from exaltation in his workplace and King Darius who loved him was made to act against him. He was thus put into a den of lions. The King himself could not save him. The den was sealed so that he could not escape.
Dear Brother/ Sister, there may be people who work against you in your workplace, or in your family or dwelling place. They may think and exult that this is the end of you as they thought of Daniel. What happened that day? The Lord sent His angels to bind the mouths of the lions so that they could do no harm. It is the powerful act of the Lord to guard Daniel who was present always before Him. Early morning the King went to the den asking: “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, ”O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Daniel did nothing wrong before the king. Let this be the witness of all Christians. Before Jesus Christ was taken up to heaven, He asked His disciples to gather in Jerusalem. He told them: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). We need strength, faith and righteous life to stand against the evil forces which work against us and for destroying the work of the enemy.
David sinned. He gave himself to the lust of the eye and sinned against God. He wrestled in prayer for the child born in the sinful relationship to live. Nathan the servant of God pointed out his sin. Then he realized his sin and confessed that sin against God. ‘So David said to Nathan, ”I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die” (2 Sam. 12:13-14). With sin we would submit ourselves to judgement of God. But in the case of Daniel the lions were not able to do any harm to him, because the Lord was pleased with him.
3. Those Who Make the Lord Their Dwelling
“Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,
“You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot” (Psalm 91:9,13).
When you make the Lord Jesus Christ as your dwelling place and refuge, you would have wonderful answers to your prayers. He will give His angels charge over you. They will bear you up from your foot dashing against a stone. “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot” (Psalm 91:13). You would have strength to trample your enemies under your foot. He will exalt you. When you rely upon Him at all times, the Lord will protect you as the apple of the eye. Nothing that arises against you shall prosper. You will be thus blessed in the name of the Lord. In your day-to-day life, there may be certain sufferings and shortcomings. But when you make the Lord your dwelling place, you would, with the help of the Lord, overcome them. The enemy cannot work against you to harm you.
Some seek role models for their lives in cine actors and actresses, or sports stars. They do not know the Lord as their strength. When you have the Lord as everything to you, you will be transformed to be one with authority and blessings.
When I was in hospital with fear in my heart and weakness in the body, my wife who was with me read a passage from the Bible. I was under sedation and was sleeping. I woke up with fear at night and asked my wife the time. She told me that it was 12 O’ clock. I told her that the weakness I had in the body was not physical weakness, but that of the devil. I was worried that I might die and leave my children with no support. I was pondering how my wife would bring them up. At that time, my wife read Psalm 91 loudly. I was touched by verses 9 and 10. Those verses gave me hope that I would live. I asked her to read it again. Then I prayed and made a vow to serve the Lord after resigning my job if the Lord gave those verses as a promise to me. As I accepted the Lord into my life as everything to me and made a vow to serve Him, the Lord gave a miraculous healing in my heart. All the fear left me. From that day, all the attacks of the devil at night and fear left me. When we came back from hospital, both of us began to pray together for long. That night we started praying at 11 pm. As said in Ezekiel 28:18, the work of Satan against us became ashes by prayer. Malachi 4:3 says, ‘“You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the Lord of hosts.’ This happened in my life. From that day onwards, I began to seek and praise Him more and more. As a result, the Lord enabled me to have the anointing of the Holy Spirit that day. I did not know anything about anointing. I thought that my nervous system was breaking down. But the Lord filled me with joy and peace by His grace. Besides, I was led to win many others for Christ with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
4. The Redeemed of the Lord
“No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there” (Isaiah 35:9).
The Redeemer Jesus Christ delivers us from wicked acts of strife, hurdles, weaknesses and other works of the enemy. He assures us, “I have redeemed you.” The Lord of lords delivers us from the wicked works of the devil. He redeems us from our sins, curses, and the fear of death and blesses us. This work of redemption has been done on the cross for all on earth. Let us know about it and accept it in our hearts with faith. Then no evil can overcome us. The Lord has also assured us: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned” (Isaiah 43:2). This is an exalted life in Christ. By shedding His blood and sacrificing His life on the cross, He has saved us from the burning fire of Hell. When you are filled with the love of the cross of Calvary, thinking of the sufferings He had for you, realizing your unworthiness, you are redeemed and blessed. When you come to Zion, there is no lion in your lives; nor are there any ravenous beasts.
5. Those with the Holy Spirit
“And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done” (Judges 14:6).
The birth of Samson was foretold by the angel of the Lord. Whenever the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he was filled with great strength and would destroy his enemies. Samson insisted that he should marry a woman of the Philistines. On his way to Timnah, a young lion came roaring against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily. He had no weapon with him. Yet he tore it apart as if it were a young goat.
Loving child of God, when you are filled with the Spirit of the Lord, He will bestow upon you the strength to overcome the cunning schemes of the devil; thus He will bless you. Once, we had been to Sri Lanka to do ministry there. Six of us were staying in a single hall. We were in bed. One of us was praying. When he was thus praying, he saw a lion coming against me in a vision. As he was terrified, I woke up from sleep all of a sudden and was filled with the Spirit and I began to praise the Lord talking in tongues. The lion that appeared in the vision fled away, and this he reported in the morning. When we live being filled with the Spirit, He helps us to annihilate and destroy all the works of the lion.
The blessings of the Lord be with us all.
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul