The Two Stages of Fighting the Devil!
There is a saying, “Practice makes perfect!” Oh, how I know this works but how I know too that I get bored practicing. I am practicing ASL (American Sign Language) right now but I am bored with practicing just like I get bored sometimes practicing knowing the Word of God, too! I can read the Word every day for a week with no output. My biggest problem is that I might not use it (like Pi2) and that makes me bored. Why practice what you might not use? I am not far enough along with my practicing to actually use the knowledge I have gained from it. I am learning the language but not ready to use it just yet!
There’s another saying that is appropriate, “I know just enough to be dangerous!” That is exactly where I am with ASL. I don’t know enough to converse but I know enough to make a big enough mistake to hurt someone with my signed words. This can also be true with our knowledge of God. We know just enough to hurt someone with our immature zeal but that little bit of knowledge is enough to fight the devil. This, my friends, is good news for every Christian everywhere! Without practice using these words against the devil will be ineffective. There are two stages of practicing that we need to perform in fighting the devil. We need to practice fighting the devil while learning the Word and when we get better we need to practice knowing the Word while fighting the devil.
Stage One: Practice Fighting the Devil while Learning the Word
We cannot fight the devil without practicing first, but we know by the way Jesus fought the devil, that there is only one way – the Word (Matthew 4:1-11). We will never be able to fight him effectively until we know the Word well enough to fight his tricks. Knowing the difference between the truth and a lie is imperative in this war against the devil because even the devil can disguise himself as the Light (2 Corinthians 11:4). Until we know the truth of the Light we can be deceived so we should practice fighting the devil with the truth from the Bible. Know this, the devil will come after you especially if he knows you are practicing so let God breath new words into you and make every word you breath out count.
Stage Two: Practice knowing the Word while fighting the Devil
The next thing we need to know is that the devil will not quit and he will step up his game the more you learn from the practice. We know that he is pretty and he will disguise himself as Jesus so to fight him best you must know Jesus Christ – the Truth. The devil IS the father of all lies (John 8:44) and the only way to fight a lie is with the Truth. John 1 tells us Jesus is the Word and that there is power in the Word, that is Jesus (Eph. 6:17; Heb 4:12). Do not be afraid to use Scripture in the fight for yourself, your family and friends because the devil is not afraid to use it. He uses the Word out of context so sweetly that you will actually believe it’s the Truth. To avoid this deception you need to know Scripture! Being able to use Scripture as a weapon makes you stronger than the devil because He who is in you is more powerful (1 John 4:4).
In the Bible practice does not make perfect, communion with other Christians makes perfect (Hebrews 11:40). Knowing just enough to be dangerous is hazardous in the world but it is encouraging in the Church. When we first start to study the Scriptures we become aware of Satan right at the beginning in Genesis. He deceived Eve into sinning who then encouraged Adam to sin. This is also how he does it in the world. He deceives one of us into believing a lie which leads to sin then we take that sin to the world and deceive them into thinking that it is not sin and before we know it sin is running rampant through that very first deception. If we do not want to be caught up in that we need to fight by practicing over and over again using the Word to fight then when are prepared for the fight we can continue to fight only by KNOWING the Word. The devil will come with signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). Do not let this be possible with you! Let Jesus reveal to you how to fight with the Power living in YOU through the Holy Spirit.
