14MAR16

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In yesterday's sermon I was able to preach about standing against the evil in your life and putting on the armor of God so that you can hold your ground. But, a part of that is understanding that it isn't our fight against the devil. That war has already been won. That fight already has a conclusion. Our job is to submit and resist. Submit to God and resist the devil.
You would think that would be an easy task. In the words of Kevin Nealon in Happy Gilmore, "In with the good. Block the bad. In good. Block bad. It's the flow Happy." You would think that would be so simple. The problem is that we are totally prepared to resist the devil when he comes at us looking like a demon. What we aren't prepared to do is submit to the LORD. If we aren't submitted to God then we end up not being able to even see the devil until he's already won. We can't put up a fight because we've invited him into our lives in the form of greed, or lust, or idolatry. Yes, it's easy when he looks like a demon but, it's hard when he looks like a friend or romantic interest.
This verse is a package deal. You can't have one without the other. You cannot resist the devil without submitting to God. You can't fight this fight your own way. Are you willing to do what God wants with your life? Are you willing to submit your stuff so that you can resist the devil? The battle is won. Easter is coming.