Theme of the Week: Living Out the Victory
Bible Verse: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. James 4:7 ESV
Scripture Reading: James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-18
When a quarterback calls a play for his team, he is trying to anticipate what the other team will be doing. It is vital that his teammates follow his calls, even when he changes them at the last moment. The team must submit to the quarterback so they can win the play. Of course, the quarterback may get it wrong. But God never does!
Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us that our battle is not with people but with spiritual forces of darkness that are hellbent on destroying lives. The preceding context in Ephesians is all about relationships and how we are to treat one another — husbands, wives, parents, children, to a degree bosses and employees, and community overall. Yet the point is made that the battle is not with people. It is easy to fall into defining victory as winning arguments or getting our way.
However, the real battle is a spiritual one that will determine whether or not we behave in a Christlike manner. Don’t make people your enemy.
The key to all of this is the first part of James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God”. There is no power to resist the devil without submission to God. Your greatest commitment is to be obedient to God, not to beat the devil.
The greatest victory ever won was when Jesus submitted to the Father and surrendered his life. In doing so he defeated sin and death — all through submission!
Our greatest victories over the devil will be when we commit ourselves to be submitted to the will of God. Then, we can resist. Then, the devil will flee.
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