Submit to God, Resist the Devil... and He Will Flee From You!

Posted: Friday, May 04, 2007

by Eve Juurik
The Spring of Life

(0, 0, 102);"> "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives]." (Isaiah 59:19)

All of You who read my previous articles and have been led to pray, I want each of You to know that Your prayers have made a difference in what is happening in Estonia. Literally each of Your prayer has been a weapon against the plans of the enemy. Russia actually counted on European Union to call Estonia to order, to disapprove of Estonia's actions... well, one has to try to figure out what they could find to disapprove of... but instead EU has condemned Russia's actions. No, Russians have not given up, they think they can and will form an independent Russian state in Estonia.

Physically our enemy is Russia. Physically we would have absolutely no hope of fighting and winning our enemy... for it is hundreds of times greater than we are. But from the Bible we know that our real enemy, an invisible enemy, is the devil. Ephesians 6:12 says: "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere." So, as Christians we do not fight against Russia nor do we hate Russians... we are fighting against our invisible enemy. 2 Corinthians 10:3,4 declares: "For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds."

Before we can fight our battles, we will always have to identify our real enemy. Only then can we win our battles. It is absolutely senseless for a tiny Estonia to start fighting physically against the humongous Russia. We would have no hope whatsoever. Thank God we know who is our real enemy and we will fight against him... well, Christians do... the world has still to discover it!

Lately I heard Gloria Copeland say something that really clicked. She said that she had heard so many testimonies of the heads of governments promising wonderful things before getting elected into the office... and then, after getting elected, they suddenly had like blinders on, forgetting all of their promises and oftentimes doing things that were dangerous for their country and nation. She said that suddenly she realized that the moment a government is elected, the evil powers are released to work on them and thwart the plans of God... hmmmm... makes sense to me! We as Christians are called to pray for our governments. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) They need our prayers big time!

The Body of Christ here is completely turning to God for help. We are also standing in the gap, repenting for our own selfishness and pride... and repenting for the sins of our country. I am learning a lot about spiritual authority. God started to really bring this subject up in my life again a few months ago. He does prepare us for the things to come. This Word has come to my heart over again:

"God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it). So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you." (James 4:6-8)

One thing that I have truly learned is that we cannot stand against the devil when we have not first humbled ourselves before God. If we try to stand against the devil and his schemes before submitting to God... we would be fighting in our flesh against the spiritual enemy who is thousands of years old and knows really well how to oppress a fragile human soul. He would beat us up in no time! ...and we would turn in defeat. That is WHY we need to turn from pride and self reliance and thinking that we can do it on our own. The truth is, we can't. We are living in a battlefield, all of us... whether it is just a spiritual battlefield or it is also a physical battlefield... but we are all living in a battlefield. John 10:10 declares clearly that the devil's plan with each human being is to "steal and to kill and to destroy"... and he uses spiritual weapons against us... so, we too need to rise up in spiritual power.

When we have a known sin in our lives and we try to stand up against the devil, we will fail... for we have not humbled before God which means that we can't rise up in God's power. We can use the name of Jesus against him but until we repent and turn from sin, he is still at us. Sure, God is merciful and He doesn't condemn us to hell for having this little sin in our lives... when we die we still go to heaven... but we will not have the power and authority to speak the word and change things. We have no spiritual authority without first submitting to God by admitting that He is right and we are wrong. We can't expect to live the way we want and then expect Him to move powerfully on our behalf. It is pride... and God sets Himself against the proud... for where there is pride, there is a foothold to the devil. He fell through his pride... and so will we.

Sometimes pride in our lives is so subtle that we do not even notice it. If we do not know the Word of God, we won't recognize the pride in our lives... for every thought and action that opposes the Word of God is pride... because every time we choose our way instead of God's way, we are saying, I know better than God. I think my way works better than His way. Of course we do not do it consiously, but this is what our actions say.

I am starting to understand WHY nations have had to first repent of their sins before they have been able to ask God to fight their battles! It is the same with individuals. If we expect God to fight our battles... which He is more than happy to do, we will have to repent first which means not just feeling sorry for our sins but really turning from our sins. All our battles and struggles are first in the spiritual realm and then only do they manifest in the physical realm. We will have to first fight the battles in the spiritual realm. Whether we are Christians or not, all of our enemy is the devil. And he doesn't care whether people worship him or not, he still has the same final plan with every soul - to kill and to destroy. We do not fight with our natural weapons against him. We fight with the name that is above every single name and at Whose name every knee shall bow in heaven and earth and under the earth, the name of Jesus Christ, Who won the perfect victory over the devil on the cross. When we declare His name, we declare His victory... we declare that we are not on our own, God Himself is backing us up.

Colossians 2:15 says that "[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross]." Christ through His death and resurrection broke all the power of the devil over us. He no longer has power over us, we have power over him in Christ. The only power he has over Christians is the power we ourselves give to him through our pride and not trusting His Word.

Colossians 2:10 says: "And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]." When we are saved, we are filled with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who is the Head of all rule and authority. We have God's own power within us. But in order to work God's power within us, we need to first submit to Him. Sin in our lives gives a foothold to the devil and greatly weakens God's power in us. The word "ECCLESIA" means RULING BODY... the church was originally a ruling body in a country. We need to rise up again and rule over situations and circumstances that are not right. We have been given the Name, the power and the authority. Think about it, Jesus Christ's name is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come." (Ephesians 1:21)... no one else's name will ever be exalted above His name. No one else's name will bring us victory over the power of the evil one. Every time we use His name, the enemy is reminded of the perfect victory that Christ won for each human being on the cross... and he will have to back off.

One thing we can be sure of, unless we know that we are right in God's sight only through the blood of Christ shed on our behalf, we will allow the devil to come and accuse us of multitude of sins, especially our past sins... but we will have to know that our past sins are all paid for and under the blood of Christ, completely forgotten by God. He has promised us in Colossians 2:13,14: "And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross." So, one thing is sure, if we have submitted to God: "Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit." NO condemnation! Perfect victory in Christ!

I think it is a time for the whole body of Christ all over the world to step out of our comfort zone. A lot of negative things are happening because we have been so comfortable and have not stepped out, using the authority given to us. I think it is time to change. We sure have no choice over here IF we want God to fight our battles... which we do. We are shaken out of our comfort zones... we are becoming alive! Hey, some shaking is not that bad after all! Our faith is becoming alive! We are not just going about our own daily business, we are becoming alive as a united body of Christ. Wow! And You know what, we will win and this victory is not just the victory of our little country, this is the victory of the whole body of Christ... for this victory will only come through our united prayers. Thank You all, who have been led to pray, for Your prayers. They ARE changing things. It doesn't matter in what part of the world we are, we ARE ONE BODY and we change things through our united faith, bringing Glory to God! Wow! God is Good!

So, whatever our battles may be, lets all "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from us." (NASB)

Many, many blessings to You all,

Eve Juurik

Body-Mind-Spirit Health, Fitness & Beauty in Organic Way

http://www.TheSpringOfLife.net

Eve Juurik is a writer and speaker. She has taught style and make-up to young models at a modeling school, written articles for health and beauty magazines in Estonia, including Style and Health Newspaper. At present Eve is a Health and Beauty Editor of a US based My Walk With Jesus newspaper and website. She is a regular speaker at women's events.

Eve has been invited to write for Recipes 365, Connecticut Herb Association’s Newsletter and US certified fitness expert Amy Lundberg’s Aim For It Newsletter. For 5 years she has been teaching the Bible through weekly spiritual-inspirational articles. Eve regularly writes for a US Christian newspaper and website My Walk With Jesus, website HandMaidens, and Estonian internet magazine The Voice of Victory.

Eve promotes and sells certified organic skin-, body-, hair-, oral-, men's-, home-care products through her website: www.TheSpringOfLife.net

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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)

» left by Eve Juurik 1 year 325 days ago.
4 fans.

Thank You, dear John, You are so very kind.

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» left by naomi
from west midlands the uk 1 year 270 days ago.

thank you!! Ive been having a hard day at school and reading this helped me to stand firm against the devil!! naomi 14 west midlands THE UK xx

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» left by Eve Juurik 1 year 269 days ago.

Thank You, dear Naomi, for Your kind comment. Many blessings & strength to You!

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