The other Sunday I tackled about the “Authority of the Believers Against the Devil.” And through that authority we have a power of command against the devil.
The text yesterday was taken from the book of 1 Peter 5:8 – 9; NASB
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
During the time of Apostle Peter together with his fellow Christians suffered with tremendous persecutions. And Peter considered that the suffering they experienced was the work of the devil.
Persecution is the work of the devil. The devil attacked the believers of Jesus Christ because of only one thing that is very important in the life of the believers, that is FAITH.
Peter considered that the trial of faith is much more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). Faith is very important. We need to take care of our faith. We must protect our faith from the works of the devil. That is why he said, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.”
Faith is a dangerous thing to the devil.
The devil knows what faith can accomplish, he is very sure that Faith can accomplish great things.
The devil takes advantage using people to persecute the believers of Jesus Christ, because he had already been in great damage of what did the early Christians did to him and to his works, by the power of God. And it happened because of Faith.
Great things have done because of Faith. The New Testament of the Bible is more on faith. Many times Jesus said, your faith made you well.
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:34It is faith that many were healed at the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. In other words, faith destroyed the works of the devil. Sickness is the work of the devil. When people got healed from sickness.
And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” Luke 18:42
The work of the devil in their lives has been destroyed.
The Object Of Faith
Jesus Christ is the object of faith and vise versa, faith is the object of Jesus Christ.
People have faith in Jesus Christ. And because of that faith, they were healed. But people come to Jesus first before they were healed, because Jesus Christ is the object of their faith.
And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Mark 10:51-52But Jesus did not heal them. It was their faith that healed them. The object of Jesus Christ is in the faith of a believer. So he said “…your faith has made you well.”
The Devil Is Not Afraid Of You But He Is Afraid Of Your Faith
The devil never afraid of a weak Christian. In fact, he makes friends with a doubtful Christian and he had made unbelieving people his friends. Satan is not afraid of people.
But when a person come to Jesus Christ and become a believer of him, and when a believer has developed his faith in the power of God and in the word of God, then devil begun to get afraid not of a person but of their faith.
He is like of a criminal. A criminal is not afraid of the person in uniform but he is afraid of the uniform or authority and his gun.
It is the faith of the Christians why the devil comes and persecute them. He wanted that faith will be weakened. That is the reason why the Apostle Peter said, Be of sober spirit, be on the alert…
Because Christians have an enemy…
Whether we like it or not as believers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are involved in a spiritual warfare.
The Bible says,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11 NIVIn warfare we must know what to do. Although we have the weapons given by God and we have the authority in the name of Jesus Christ. It is not enough to have them but we must know how to use them.
Many Christians do not know how to use God’s weapons and the authority they have been given. Every time when they are attacked by the devil, they always run and go to God for protection and help, without using the weapons first.
Help comes only when we are helpless, when we have done our part and when seems we can do nothing. That is the time that we must ask God’s help. This is the principle of warfare.
Apostle Peter said, … be on the alert. He did not say, no problem there is the devil but God will protect you against the devil, just relax.
In this verse, it implies that we have to do our part. Our part is to be always alert. This is our part and this is our task. To be on alert is a hard work. To be on the alert, means we know the situation, that it is critical.
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