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CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
1 John 3:8b NIV
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
CONSIDER THIS . . .
Our church would often set up shop at a local gas station near the high school where we were meeting to give out cold drinks on hot summer days. Here is a story from one of those times.
The couple was clearly struggling as they walked up to our team. Our church was giving away free cans of cold soda on a hot summer day, and this man and woman had been walking by. “We’re living in our car,” she said. “Yes,” he said, “it’s been really hard.” As we stood in the gas station parking lot, I prayed with them.
They began to come to our church meeting in a high school just a few blocks away. After a few Sundays, they gave their hearts to Jesus. The Enemy planned to devour them; Jesus planned to make them whole. Our team was partnering with Jesus in undoing the devil’s work in the lives of those in our city.
If you have the strength to look at the news today, take a few moments and do so. Do you feel it? The goodness and hope, running right alongside the tumult, the struggle, the despair, the anxiety, the chaos of our time?
John the apostle, reaching back into what he understood Jesus to be doing in his all-the-things ministry, said that Jesus had come to “destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8b). Jesus came to undo the works of the evil one, to unravel them, to turn all of what the Enemy intended for evil to work for the good (Rom. 8:28).
Think about the woman caught in adultery in John’s gospel. The devil wants to bring shame, condemnation, and destruction to her. What does Jesus do? He steps into the middle of it, puts himself in harm’s way at her side, and writes in the sand (John 8:1–11). With a simple act of solidarity, he aligns himself with the accused and dispels the taunting of the scapegoat-hungry crowd.
He undoes, subverts, and diffuses what the accuser is doing. Jesus only does what he sees the Father doing, and he resists what he sees the devil doing.
When Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector, is seen by Jesus up in a tree, Jesus names him like a friend, publicly before his detractors, and invites him into table fellowship (the best kind!) (Luke 19:1–10). The Enemy wanted to isolate Zacchaeus, to keep him in bondage to rejection by his fellow Jews. Jesus will have none of it. He faces down the adversary of Zacchaeus’s soul and offers fellowship and friendship, publicly, to a man despised by others.
He destroys what the devil was doing to destroy Zacchaeus.
When Mary is being ridiculed by Judas for pouring perfume on Jesus’s feet, the Lord of hearts speaks blessing over her, shielding her from the accusations of the perhaps well-meaning, but decidedly wrong, disciple (John 12:3–8). Mary didn’t need Judas’s affirmation; she was functioning from her fellowship with Jesus. Jesus, in affirming Mary’s action, puts to shame the accuser who wants to belittle her. When we say yes to partnering with Jesus in undoing the works of the evil one around us, we are partnering in the great resistance to the crushing of human hearts. We may do this through prayer ministry or the ministries of encouragement, leadership, or healing, or we may simply stand or sit with someone who is believing the Enemy’s voice in their lives more than the voice of their loving heavenly Father.
What is the devil, the accuser, the adversary, doing in the lives of those within your reach? How can you partner with the Holy Spirit in destroying the devil’s work to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, the work of the Enemy seems so powerful at times, confusing even those who have put their faith and hope in you. Give me the courage, by your Spirit, to enter those circumstances with love and an expectation that your gifts of power will be available to set the captive in front of me free. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
What do you see the Enemy doing in the lives of those you will work with or meet today?
How can you partner with Jesus in undoing the works of the evil one?
ACTIVATION
With an eye to see God’s will be done and his kingdom come, watch for signs that someone is under the control of the Enemy’s narrative in their life. Ask God how you can participate in seeing his narrative overtake the narrative the person is believing. If appropriate, share that new narrative with them in person or in written form. Tell them the story you believe God would tell them.
SING
Today, we will sing “Christ Is Risen from the Dead” (hymn 262) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt
Dan Wilt is an author, communicator, pastor, and practitioner. With roots in the Vineyard stream of churches, Dan has served the development of followers of Jesus internationally and is part of the Seedbed Farm Team.
One Response
How to let Jesus train you to undo the devil’s works (1 John 3:8)
When thoughts in your mind accuse and abuse you, refuse to passively suffer their torment. Refuse to let the devil’s thoughts misuse and confuse you. Use your spiritual weapons to cast down thoughts from the devil and bring them captive to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
* Open up to God’s spiritual gift of the discerning of spirits. Learn to recognize and use it as a key weapon against the devil. (1 Corinthians 12:10)
* Devour the Bible and let it train you to recognize the difference between your thoughts, the devil’s thoughts, and God’s thoughts. (Hebrews 4:12)
* Resist the devil’s thoughts and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
* Repent, draw near to God, and fully submit and surrender your will to the Lord and He will draw near to help and empower you. (James 4:8)
* Quickly confess your sins to God and receive His forgiveness.” (1 John 1:9)
* Recognize the difference between sin and temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13) A thought from the devil that passes through your mind is a temptation. A thought from the devil that you allow to linger in your mind is a sin. Ask God to show you how you can escape from sinful thoughts and actions.
* Walk in the light. (1 John 1:5-7) Confess sinful thought to another Christ-follower and ask him or her to pray for you and hold you accountable to resist the devil’s thoughts. (James 5:16)
* Continually ask God to search your heart (Psalm 139:23) and purify it. (Matthew 5:8)
* Rely on the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6) In all your ways acknowledge the presence of the risen Lord Jesus and let His Spirit live you and continually direct your paths. (Romans 8:14)
* Pray for one another that you may be healed. (James 5:16) Focus on helping other people fight the devil. Ask people if you can pray for them. When they say yes, let God the Holy Spirit give you the words to set them free from the devil’s thoughts, sins, and inner torments. When you do that you, yourself, will receive some healing and inner freedom.
* Christ can be counted on. Put and keep your confidence in Him. Continually rely on His presence and power! (Acts 1:8)
* Train other people how to practically, daily, and faithfully hear, follow, and obey the risen Jesus by helping them learn to do the things Jesus has taught you to do. (Matthew 28:20)