One of the favorite verses of many believers is found in the Book of James where he says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). James was the biological half-brother of Jesus.  The gospels reveal that none of his siblings, including James, believed Jesus was the Messiah until their older brother was raised from the dead.  Let’s face it, it might be hard for any of us to see one of our siblings as the Savior of the world after rolling in the mud with him as children.  I would be interested to know how much time Jesus spent with his family during the forty days he walked on the earth after his resurrection.  James became the leader of the Church in Jerusalem and was eventually martyred for his faith. That suggests Jesus may have spent some significant time with him and, perhaps, one of the things they talked about was the confrontation between Jesus and Satan in the wilderness after he was baptized by John.  That may have painted a clear picture for James of what it meant to resist the devil. 

Sometimes, when we think about resisting the devi, we think of strong believers commanding the devil or his demons to leave after afflicting an individual for years.  Maybe we picure Jesus commanding Legion to leave the Gerasene who had been so demonized that he lived among the tombs and broke chains when the people in the region tried to restrain him.  However, James doesn’t seem to be talking about a moment when someone else resists the devil for you, but a moment when you resist him.

The word translated “resist” means to stand against, outweigh, oppose or be hostile toward something or someone.  It has the feeling of not just enduring but active opposition.  In the wilderness temptation, Jesus opposed Satan with the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. He actively declared God’s truth over each of Satan’s half-truths and lies.  Satan came at him three times and then departed.  In his public ministry, Jesus commanded evil spirits to leave and they did so…sometimes immediately and sometimes after a bit of resistance, but they left. On numerous occasions, they manifested genuine fear in the presence of Jesus.   We too can resist Satan with the Word of God and the authority of Jesus.

The essential key to resisting Satan however, is stated in the verse just before the one we have been discussing.  There James declares, “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.  Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Ja. 4:6-7).  What we need to understand is that the first step to successfully opposing Satan is submission to the Father.  The power and authority if Christ must flow through us as we engage in any spiritual warfare.  We fight in his authority not our own.  We wield his sword of truth not our own philosophies. 

The very first battle for conquest of the promised land was Jericho.  In this famous story, God directed Israel to march around the city in silence day after day which made no strategic sense at all.  Then on the final day, after marching around the city seven times in silence, the priests blew the rams horns and the people shouted. The walls of Jericho collapsed.  Israel rushed in and totally defeated the enemy.

In the very next battle, Israel had only a small city. named Ai, to defeat.  But sin had infiltrated Israel through a man named Achan.  All of Jericho had been dedicated to God.  Israel was to take nothing from that city for themselves. But Achan had taken gold and fine clothing for himself and hidden it in his tent. As the army of Israel confidently attacked Ai, they were routed and thirty-six Israelites were killed.  Joshua was stunned that the small city had won the day after they had totally defeated the great city of Jericho. God then revealed that sin among the Israelites had cost them the victory.  

Where sin and rebellion are present, God restricts the power and authority that he would otherwise provide. We are not the source of power and authority, but are only conduits for the power and authority of Jesus.  Unrepented sin creates a crimp in the flow of the Spirit like a crimp in a water hose.  Even though there is a great volume of water at the source, only a trickle is available at the end. 

When we resist Satan with the full flow of God’s power and authority available to us, then he flees.  When our lives and hearts are submitted to God, his presence and power are not restricted.  Satan knows he cannot stand against that. James goes on to say, “Come near to God and he will cone near to you.  Wash your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you doubleminded…humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up” (Ja. 4:8-10).

The first step to prevail in spiritual warfare is to align our hearts, our minds, and our actions with the Lord. The Word of God is powerful and the authority of the believer can overcome the enemy, but only when we are submitted to Jesus. Before the battle, Paul instructs us to put on the armor of God which includes truth (the Word of God), righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:13-17). We are arming ourselves with God, but only if we are a good for him.  Remember, “The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1). Before the righteous, Satan flees.

Some of you may remember Muhammad Ali in his boxing prime. One his most memorable quotes is, “I am the greatest!” Sometimes Ali used hyperbole to hype his next fight, but it is not unusual among athletes and other celebrities to find a few that cross the line from confidence to arrogance. Something within each of us tends to always compare ourselves to others. That is one driving element of competition. In order to feel good about ourselves, we want to outscore everyone else. On a field, a court, a track, or in the gym, we have raw numbers to keep the score. But in life we also keep score. in doing so, we tend to highlight all the deficiencies of others while devaluing their gifts and achievements. We do so to raise our own “grade.” It’s like grading on the curve and we want to push ahead of everyone else by pushing them down…at least in our own minds, so that we can feel good about us.

The Pharisees had a grading system called the Law. They believed God graded them on how well they kept it in even the smallest matters. Jesus confronted them about their legalism one time we he declared, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” (Mt. 23:23-24).

In this text, Jesus cuts to the heart of the problem. These men believed their righteousness was based on externals..what they did, what they gave, how admired they were, or who they hung out with. What they missed was that God looked at the heart, not the appearance. Too often our cultural heroes gain that status through performance or based on physical beauty, but in terms of caring for anyone but themselves, they often fail miserably. In the case of the Pharisees, they didn’t give much thought to justice, mercy and faithfulness. They only thought about looking good in their actions. In various places, Jesus warned about being like the Pharisees who fasted to be seen by others, who prayed in public to impress, and who made a show out of their giving. Image was everything. There is something in our fallen nature that wants to do the same. Yet God is clearly not impressed by image, but suggests that it may be the ultimate self-deception.

The apostles fell into the same trap at times. Mark records a moment when James and John asked Jesus to let them sit next to him when he came into his glory. The others were indignant that James and John had asked such a thing…because they thought they should have those seats of honor. Jesus responded, “Whoever wants to become great among you, must be your servant and whoever wants to be first, must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:43-45).

In the kingdom, whoever would be the greatest would never think of himself that way. We may actually be surprised by those the Father designates to sit next to Jesus when he come in his kingdom. They may be people who had absolutely no fame on earth but were famous in heaven because of their servant’s heart. If I’m honest, every time I think I might be developing that heart, I find myself resenting someone who has taken me off my agenda for a while to do something for them. I, like the Pharisees, may be doing the “servant” thing on the outside, but my heart is far from it and it is the heart that God examines.

Believe it or not, in the kingdom many spiritual leaders still struggle with pride; still jockey for position at major conferences; still keep tab of how many books they have sold, and still highlight the faults of others while excusing their own. We, like the apostles, have not yet arrived at a true servant’s heart. I think the key to turning that around, may be counterintuitive. We often think that I can be a true servant if I only convince myself that I have no importance at all. However, Jesus was the true servant and yet was well aware that he was the Son of God and Savior of the world. It is when we know who we are in Christ and how much the Father loves and values us that we can let go of trying to convince ourselves of our worth by always moving up in the pecking order around us. It is when we are convinced of our value that we no longer have to prove it to ourselves or others.

Perhaps, our constant prayer should be that the Holy Spirit reveal to us how much we are loved, how much we are valued, yer how much of that is not something we have earned, but is simply something that has been given to us by a gracious Father. If I continually compare and keep score with others, I am not yet convinced that I am loved apart from my performance. In the religious world, that is called legalism. Perhaps, our prayer should not initially be to make me a servant, but that the Lord give us perfect security in his love so we can finally be comfortable and satisfied wearing the skin of a servant.

Blessings in Him