Tuesday,
June 5th, '18
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message by Kris Jackson
HE
WILL FLEA FROM YOU
"Resist
the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7)
All right, so I didn't spell flee right. But
"flea" seems to fit just as well. The Greek for "flee" is antihistemai from
which we get the pharmaceutical word antihistamine. That drug makes
allergens flee. In other words, the devil is no more than a microbe, an
allergen, a virus on society, a flea. Why do we fear a flea? Someone says,
"Don't say that out loud, the devil might hear you". I respond, "Say it all the
louder. Take your stand!" Note, James didn't say, resist the devil and he will
strike you with cancer. That's his bluff. Greater is he that is in you than he
that is in the world. The devil can harass you but not harness you, annoy but
not destroy, aggravate but not annihilate, accuse but not abuse, oppress but
not possess. Quit fleeing from the flea.
The first half of the verse urges, "Submit
yourselves therefore unto God..." It does no good for us to resist the devil if
we haven't first submitted to God. But when our relationship is right
vertically, our authority is right horizontally. "When the righteous are in
authority, the people rejoice..." (Proverbs 29:2) Are you in authority? Then the
proof is in the joy. After submission comes resistance. Defeat is the path of
least resistance. To resist means to stand up to, face off, square your jaw and
walk into the ring. Remember, the armor of God listed in Ephesians chapter six
is all frontal. The sword, shield, belt, breastplate, etc. all cover the front
of the warrior's body. No provision is made for the backside. So we must never
run from the conflict. Of course, Paul said to "flee fornication" and John
added, "flee idolatry", but such fleeing is not the cowardice of a flea. We are
equipped with both fight and flight navigational gear. When dealing, however,
with depression and fear, etc. the proper response is always to face it. David
"ran toward the army to meet the Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:48). Don't poke
around when you go to poke a giant.
He submitted, he resisted then he stood.
After knocking the giant to the ground David "stood on the Philistine" (vs 51)
then grabbed Goliath's own sword and lopped off his head. The whole armor of
God account continues, "...and having done all to stand. Stand therefore..."
(Ephesians 6:13,14) When James says the devil will "flee", he is not simply
acknowledging retreat. To flee doesn't mean simply to back off or let down. It
implies total withdrawal and removal, better yet, panic, like a whipped pup
scooting out of a room with his tail tucked. Resist the devil and he will flee
from you and flea from you. The legion of spirits controlling the madman
of Gadara fell at Jesus' feet begging, "Don't send us into the Abyss". They
were begging, groveling; pathetic. With one word, "Go!" Jesus chased Legion
from the region. And those spirits didn't just retreat, they ran for their lives.
So next time you face spiritual assault, don't give in to fear. Stand up, stand
straight, stand true, stand tall. David didn't face the giant alone and neither
will you. The Almighty stands over your shoulder and will empower your sling
and stone. Your job is to resist; His, to assist.
