And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan...

Zechariah 3:2

Introduction: As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, uncertainty has become the predominant word throughout the world today, and endemic fear runs rampant in many hearts. Yet, you must be reminded that our God is big, all-powerful and He’s on top of it. Nothing can overrule God or set aside His great agenda for the ages (Habakkuk 2:14). May we all be alive long enough on the other side of the crisis and be able to say, “we never had it so good”, in Jesus Name.

We expect that the pandemic threat will soon fade, just like Ebola and SARS viruses did in recent years. However, between now and then, we need to learn how to overcome Satanic resistance so as to truly enjoy full rest, even in the midst of the panic.

Today, many people who should have advanced further in life have unfortunately had their progress stalled because of demonic resistance. Some started out with greatest promises, but along the line, they floundered, hit the rocks and fizzled out like smoke. Many young people who grew up with brilliant hopes of becoming future stars somehow got derailed, dropped out and simply lost focus. All of these and many such experiences in life are traceable to demonic resistance.

Demons like resisting destinies so that God's purposes can be derailed, but only dummy Christians allow them. You must show determination in your faith’s fight against the devil so as to make your dream a reality and truly enjoy your full inheritance in Christ Jesus.

One wise man observed that warriors generally fight much more ferociously when they believe they are fighting to the death. Friends, this is your life, and you must make the most of it, not permitting any ugly demon to overrule your destiny. And, if you are prepared to do anything in order to reach your goal in life, one course of action is to burn all your excuses, hold the banner of Jesus Christ and give the devil the proper-fight he deserves.

The word, ‘resist’ means to hinder, to oppose progress, and to block advancement. Demonic resistance, therefore, is the foundation of spiritual stagnation and retrogression.

In Zechariah 3:1-7, we see Joshua the High Priest in an ugly experience of Satanic resistance. He was the Lord’s High Priest and he was standing true to his calling. Moreover, his name Joshua means “Jehovah the Deliverer”, which strikes a very close identity with Jesus, yet Satan stood audaciously to resist him.

Satan has no respect for your social or spiritual standing once you don’t speak the language he obeys. And, to be sure, the language Satan respects is not that of self-pity, regret, worry or bitter cries, but that of force and rebuke with the Word of God.

Again, it is in the nature of demonic resistance to look for right hands to resist. Right hands symbolize the place of strength, talents, treasures and very important relationships. So Satan looks for advantages and crucial abilities within you to resist. Yes, he always tempts people at their weakest points, but he generally attacks strongest endowments in people.

The filthy garments Joshua had on were the legal ground of Satanic charge against him. We must learn wisdom from here, look inwards and accept responsibilities for our own possible roles in the resistance we suffer. The spiritual garments we wear may make our liberty elusive if they hold  affinities to satanic resistance. Remember, it is the enemies within that usually pull the invite for the enemies without.

‘Filthy garment’ in this case may not necessarily refer to open sins, otherwise Joshua wouldn’t have qualified to stand before the angel of the Lord in the first place. The garments may represent human dispositions and outward personal human attributes, which wicked knees usually rely upon to challenge and resist the progress of destinies. These include but not limited to the following: unbelief, failure mentality, small goat mindset,  attitudinal problems, unfriendliness, laziness, more-talk-less-action, prayerlessness, wrong confession, wrong association, bitter moods and unhappiness.

These above can open doors for demonic resistance, and the results are always very predictable: failure, confusion, stagnation, frustration, unfulfilled dreams and, sometimes in the worst scenario, untimely death. By their nature, these results should serve as hot-buttons to propel us to take our courageous stands against every demonic resistance in our lives.

The devil is permitted to corrupt covenant violator, but not the people that know their God (Daniel 11:32). Standing in the light of God’s Word and standing with the full compliments of covenant sacrifice yield no ground for Satan to resist you (Psalms 50:5).

As it was apparent in the experience of Joshua, only God can help us to overcome resisting demons, but He will not do so without our cooperation. The way we stand in prayers determines how positioned we become to withstand the Evil One (Ephesian 6:10). When we constantly rebuke the devil firmly in prayers of faith with the Word and in the name of the Lord, we shall, no doubt, breakthrough unto the other side of every satanic manipulations (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Finally, you must choose to speak the Word of God regularly. Sound is a sign of life, and the purity of your sound determines the quality of your life. Sounding God’s Word is working God’s Will, which is very crucial to your victory against Satanic resistance.

Satan is the Adversary. He has not changed his name over the ages, and he won’t change it any time soon. So, you must deal with him decisively, neutralizing every ports of his resistance in your life (Luke 21:15). And, when you start speaking God’s Word, Satan, sicknesses and failure also start to leave you alone. Alleluia!

 

• Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bishopakinola

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

Instagram: www.instagram.com/bishopakinola

YouTube: www.youtube.com/rhemaworldonline

Website: www.rhemaworldonline.org