Satan isn’t going to come to us looking like the devil. Some people think that Jesus automatically fought back because He could SEE that He was dealing with the devil. They think that they could do a better job of responding if they always knew whether or not it was the devil talking to them. Spiritual warfare isn’t just dealing with who is saying something. It is also dealing with what is being said. Gal 1:8 (NIV) But even if WE or an ANGEL from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!

Galatians 1:8 is a very clear statement; it doesn’t matter WHO we think is talking to us. We are responsible for WHAT they are saying to us; we must either know or find out whether or not WHAT is being said to us is Biblical. If we start trying to take shortcuts on this and start believing everything CERTAIN people say, we set ourselves up for failure.

Mat 16:22-23 (NIV) Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Your friends will tell you that things aren’t your fault when Jesus is telling you, through the Bible, that they are. Your friends will accuse you of things that Jesus is saying aren’t true of you. Even your spiritual leaders can get off sometimes and you will have to go with the Bible rather than what they think. 2 Cor 11:13-15 (NIV) For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. You must have a close and intimate relationship with Jesus and His Word. HE won’t allow you to get off track for as long as you DON’T WANT TO get off track.

Phil 2:12 (NIV) Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

If the Bible doesn’t agree with something someone is saying, it is wrong no matter WHO said it. If it isn’t Biblical and we believe it, our entire armor and especially our shield of faith and sword of the Spirit are going to suffer. They will suffer if we don’t constantly search the Scriptures to see whether or not the things we hear and read are true. We don’t get exempt from this and our favorite ministers don’t get exempt from this either.

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

Phil 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet ALL your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Now we are back to the issue of source again. A lot of people don’t like God as their “only” source. He requires sacrifice, service, love to others, godliness and holiness, obedience to His plan, and things like that. If we go Jesus’ way, everything will always have to be in His timing. Often we want things now. Jesus may say “no” to some of the things we know we can get with money. If we ask Jesus, He may have plans for us that we don’t like. So, Satan offers us a “better” way, a shortcut to getting your needs met. All you have to do is bow down and worship him.

If You will bow down and worship me: That sounds like something we would never do. We would have to become a Satan worshipper and join the satanic church. But, that isn’t the only way to bow down and worship Satan. Mat 6:24 (NIV) No one can serve two masters. Either he will HATE the one and LOVE the other, or he will be DEVOTED to the one and DESPISE the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. What is our faith in; what do we trust to protect us and meet our needs; where do we spend most of our time; is it with Jesus or is it with the world and the obtaining of money? It is that simple.

Where is our shield of faith; is it in the Word; is it looking to the existence of God and to His rewards that come through earnest seeking; or, is it laying on the ground while we look for a “better” source? Once again, if we get our job, choose our career, plan our day, or decide how we are going to get our needs met without talking to Jesus, we will end up being slaves in a rat-race that dominates most of the hours in every day of our lives. We must allow Jesus to help us get the money we need to live the life He has picked for us.

Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” This time it is block/strike/strike. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” came immediately to His mind for the shield of faith. This powerful Scripture blocks or shields off all possibility for worshiping Satan. Then Jesus strikes Satan with the same Scripture as He uses His sword of the Spirit. But, just before He strikes Satan with the sword, He strikes him with a Scriptural principle that we have already looked at. “Away from Me, Satan!”

James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. This isn’t Scriptural quotation. This is Scriptural application. Both the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit can and must use Scriptural application along with Scriptural quotation. Scriptural application is doing or obeying what a Scripture tells us to do. James 4:7 tells us what to do. We can tell people about it, teach it, preach it, explain it, and study it. But, ultimately we are going to have to obey it.

First, the Scripture He is going to use pops into His head to block the attack. Then Jesus strikes with His sword by simply saying: “Away from Me, Satan.” This is Jesus applying the Biblical principle of resisting the devil like we are instructed in James 4:7. “Away from me, Satan!” is the James 4:7 sword of the Spirit Scriptural resistance strike. Then, “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” is the sword of the Spirit Scripture strike. He is resisting the devil. That is a strike from the sword of the Spirit. Then He uses the same Scripture to strike with that He used to protect His mind and heart.

These three skillful exercises of Jesus in spiritual warfare have unlimited amounts of dynamic power and success. His warfare skills are awesome to behold. Where they relate to us is in the fact that He and the Holy Spirit are making themselves available to us. They aren’t expecting us to ever be this good. They are offering to work through us as we allow them to fight these battles in complete collaboration and cooperation.