Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 174
TRANSCRIPT
In today’s podcast, we are going to highlight one of the scriptures that the devil, our enemy, hates. These are more than nice words; these are weapons of warfare against him and his minions.
Today’s Scripture: James 4:7 “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.
Do you want the devil to flee? This promise that he will flee isn’t automatic; it is conditional on our submission and resistance.
Submission isn’t a popular concept in our world; it means yielding to legitimate authority. Many people resist submitting, especially when it challenges personal or cultural values. In James 4:7, we are to submit to God—that means doing what He says, even over our own desires. We have to choose. Am I going to do what God says, or am I going to do what I want?
The word “submit” comes from “hupo” (under) and “tasso” (to place), meaning to place yourself under authority, like a soldier under a higher rank.
If you drive a car, you have the opportunity to comply with the legal driving speed every day. If you are caught exceeding the speed limit, the legal authority, the police, will stop you and may issue a ticket. Speeding is an example of not submitting to authority. Pulling over to the side of the road when the red lights of the police car flash is a sign of submitting to authority. Not submitting has a negative consequence. Submitting is a much better choice with a positive outcome.
In Genesis 22:2, we see an example of submission to authority regardless of understanding why. God asks Abraham to do the unthinkable. Gen 22:2 says, Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” What? Can you imagine God asking you to do this? What thoughts went through Abraham’s mind? What did he tell Sarah? Wouldn’t you have loved to hear that conversation? Maybe it sounded like this: Hey, Sarah, Isaac, and I are going to go camping for a few days. We will be back soon. I can’t imagine him telling Sarah that God said to take Isaac and sacrifice him. Isaac was the “son of promise” that they had late in life, years past normal childbearing age. Now God was telling Abraham to sacrifice him? I don’t think he told her where he was going or what he was doing.
Abraham left early the next morning. Notice he didn’t take a few days or weeks to think about it. He didn’t talk it over with his friends. He obeyed immediately. He packed up some wood, took two servants, a couple of donkeys, and his son Isaac. There’s a well-known quote by Joy Dawson: “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” Abraham didn’t delay. He obeyed.
“DELAYED OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE” by Joy Dawson
It was a three-day journey to Mt Moriah. Don’t you wonder what the conversation was like in Abraham’s head? What about Isaac? What was he thinking? Wouldn’t he be wondering where they were going and what they were going to do? He knew they had wood and that his Dad said they were going to worship at Mt. Moriah. He would’ve known that a significant part of worship includes a sacrifice. They had the wood, but where was the sacrifice? I can imagine Isaac saying, Hey Dad, we have the wood, but where is the sacrifice? Did Abraham answer, or was he silent? Did he simply say, “God would provide”?
One of the most amazing scriptures in this story is Gen 22:5. Abraham tells the servants to stay at the bottom of the mountain. He then says to them, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.
Did you catch that? We will come back to you. How is this going to happen if Abraham is going to sacrifice Isaac? Abraham’s faith in God was so strong that he knew that either God would provide a substitute sacrifice or that he would raise Isaac from the dead to fulfill his promises! That statement of faith amazes me. Abraham didn’t know how it would work out, but he trusted that God would provide.
Jehovah Jireh—The Lord Will Provide. This is one of the names of God, and it is first used in the Bible in Genesis 22.
Abraham and Isaac continue their journey alone to the top of Mt. Moriah. When they got to the top of the mountain, Abraham instructed Isaac to get on the altar. This is where Isaac’s age is important. Often, the Sunday School version of this story depicts Isaac as a young boy of 8 or 9. Several commentators have weighed in on the question of how old Isaac was when he was to be sacrificed; the consensus is that he was between 18 and 33 years old.* He was not a helpless little boy that Abraham could physically pick up and put on the altar. He was at least a teenager or young adult. He could have easily refused his father’s request. However, Abraham was submitted to God, and Isaac was submitted to his father’s will. He had to willingly submit himself to crawl on top of the altar. He lay there as his father tied him to the altar and then raised his arm with a large knife to kill him. In the nick of time, the Angel of the Lord cries out, Abraham, Abraham 2 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
This was a monumental test for Abraham. Abraham was willing to obey God even though he didn’t understand and when it would be at a great personal cost. He hadn’t seen a substitute sacrifice. He didn’t know how God would provide, but he believed that he would. Abraham passed the test! He was fully and completely submitted to God. He was committed to obeying what God instructed him to do. He didn’t ask why. He didn’t demand an answer or explanation. He didn’t delay. He obeyed God before seeing the ram in the thicket. Mother Teresa is quoted as saying, “God is seldom early, but never late.” This was one of those “in the nick of time” moments, Abraham knew the prophetic promise that he would be the father of many nations and that Isaac was his only son. He trusted God that if Isaac was killed, God had another plan.
Most of us will face a moment in our lives when God asks us to do something difficult. It tests our ability and willingness to submit to Him. Submission isn’t easy. However, when God asks us to do something, we have a choice to make. Are we going to submit, or will we choose our own way? He won’t force us. Just like Isaac could’ve removed himself from the altar, or Abraham could’ve refused to take Isaac to Mt Moriah, we can say no to God.
In 2012, God asked us a difficult question. It wasn’t anything to the level of sacrificing our son, but it was challenging. At the time, we lived out in the country on 34 acres. I could be on the back porch and not see any neighbors. We had built our dream home and had raised our children there. I loved that property. There was a pond behind our house where many different animals would come. Deer came regularly to drink from the pond. In the spring, the geese and ducks would make their home on the small island, and soon we would have little ducklings and goslings swimming around. I would sit on our back porch for hours studying my Bible, watching the wildlife, and communing with God with a symphony of crickets and frogs.
After we were trained as RTF ministers, we dreamed of building a few small cabins on our property for people to stay in while being trained or receiving ministry. The Lord spoke to us through a book we were reading and asked us if we would sell our property, give up our vision, and embrace Chester and Betsy’s vision. I wish I could say that we immediately said yes and obeyed like Abraham. However, it took us some time to obey. The thought of giving up this special place was very difficult. However, we obeyed and sold our home and property, not having any idea what it meant to “embrace Chester and Betsy’s vision”.
Two years later, the Kylstras said they wanted to come and see us in Tennessee, but they didn’t want us to tell anyone they were coming. What would you think? Well, we thought we must be in big trouble if the Kylstras were coming to see us. They also said that they had a question for us. In the days leading up to their arrival, we had plenty of time to reflect on what we might have done wrong. We asked the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what it was. Nothing came to mind. We finally decided that whatever we had done was out of ignorance, and we would just ask them to forgive us. After all, forgiveness is a key part of RTF ministry; they would have to forgive us, right? The day they were to arrive, we were sitting on our back porch talking and praying. It wasn’t anything like the back porch with the 34 acres. We could just about spit to our backyard neighbors’ fence. We remembered that the Kylstras said that they were going to ask us a question. So, we asked God, What do you want us to say when they ask the question? ” He said, “Do you remember the title of the message I gave you for the conference in September?” We said, “Yes, Lord, we remember.” “Well, I want you to do that. “We had the answer to the question before they even asked us. In all of our imaginings of what they might ask, we had never anticipated or even considered that they would ask us to take over the mantle of leadership of RTF. The title of the message God had given us was “Just Say Yes. ”
James 4:7 is a powerful scripture. “Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee.” The first part is for us to submit to God. Abraham submitted to God. Each of us has the opportunity to submit to God daily. Submitting means doing things that we might not want to do. Submitting means trusting God even when you don’t understand or know the outcome. Submitting often requires sacrifice. We all want the devil to flee, but it begins by submitting. If you don’t submit, he won’t flee. You certainly don’t want to resist before you submit because you’ll be resisting in your human strength instead of with the authority you have as a believer. We must submit first, then resist, and he must flee!
I want to encourage you today to submit to God daily. As you submit, he gives you the power of the Holy Spirit that you need to resist, and the devil will flee. If you see areas in your life where you are struggling, ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you have failed to obey him. If he shows you something, then repent and ask for his forgiveness and submit and obey. Receive his forgiveness.
I think back to when God asked us to sell our home and property. What would’ve happened if we hadn’t obeyed? Would we be the leaders of Restoring the Foundations today, or would he have chosen someone else? We will never know until we get to heaven, and I don’t think it will matter then! By obeying and submitting to Him, we have had an adventure we would never have imagined.
When you submit to and obey God, you will experience God as Abraham did. Abraham came to know God as Yahweh—the One Who Provides. There is a big difference between knowing in your head that God provides and knowing by experience! Knowing God by experience is a game-changer. If you don’t submit and resist, you can’t expect the devil to flee.
In James 4:7, the Greek word for “resist” is anthistemi, which means to “stand against” or “stand in opposition”. It means to fiercely oppose or stand against. The attitude is to do everything possible to prevent the enemy from succeeding. I happen to like watching football. The picture that comes to mind is when the defensive line, made up of very large, strong men, has one goal. They are determined to prevent the other team from scoring, or they stand in opposition to it. Usually, the offensive line, receivers, quarterback, and running backs are more agile but much smaller than the defensive players. We need to be determined like the defensive line, not to allow the enemy to “score” in our lives. We fight FROM a place of victory not FOR
We must be aware of the enemy’s tactics. We have to know how he operates and what tricks he plays. He knows when we are weak, and he attacks when we are tired, lonely, sick, or struggling. He whispers thoughts into our ears, making them sound like our own. He throws temptations at us when we are weak. It’s not an accident, it’s intentional. He reminds us of our past failures. He tries to shame us, and he is a master manipulator at using accusations against us. It is so important that we are daily submitted to God so that we are empowered to resist, and then he will flee.
In the RTF ministry, we refer to James 4:7 in our wrap-up at the end of the ministry time. Walking in freedom isn’t a one-time event. It is a lifestyle that requires us to be actively engaged in our ongoing healing and freedom. There are daily opportunities for us to be tempted. We must know how to wield the weapons of our warfare. Submission is one of our key weapons. Standing in opposition by resisting the enemy’s lies and the accusations he throws at you is vital to his fleeing. He reminds you of your past. God focuses on your future. Your past does not define you in the kingdom of God!
I want to encourage you today to make it a habit to submit to God daily. As you submit, he gives you the power you need to resist the temptation, and the devil will flee. If you see areas in your life where you are struggling, ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you have failed to obey him by submitting to his will. If he shows you something, then repent and ask for his forgiveness. Receive his forgiveness and obey. If you just can’t seem to overcome the temptation, there could be other factors at work. Reach out to Restoring the Foundations ministry team for help in identifying the open doors or the landing strips in your life for the enemy. Together you will shut the doors the enemy has had access to, you will learn to identify his lies, you’ll receive heart healing, and you will be reminded how to stand in your authority and command the enemy to leave you alone!
PRAYER
Join me as we pray today:
Father God,
I submit to you today. Please show me any place in my heart and life that I’ve not submitted and obeyed you. I want to know you fully and experience you fully. I repent of every way that I have delayed in submitting and obeying. I want to obey quickly and completely like Abraham. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to resist the enemy so that he will flee from me. Thank you, Lord, for co-laboring with me. Thank you for your provision and protection. Thank you for causing the enemy to flee as I submit to you and resist the enemy.
In the name of Jesus,
Amen!
Thank you for listening today. We are here for you. Please reach out to our ministry coordinator if you are experiencing areas of defeat in your life. Our RTF ministers are highly trained to help you experience greater healing and freedom in your life.
For more information and resources please visit our website at RestoringtheFoundations.org. You’ll find ministry teams that can help you and information about learning how to become a RTF minister on our site.
Note: *(18 to 20 years old (Leupold, 1:625); 25 years old (Josephus, 1.13.2); about 33 years old (Adam Clarke, 1:140); and over 20 years old (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, p. 29).