Today is Your Day, part 52

Warriors Arise: June 30, 2021

Matthew 4:8-11 (NKJV) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

In this confrontation, I find it odd that the devil is called by three different name but only one spoken by Jesus. He is referred to as the Temper, the devil and now in verse 10, when Jesus addresses him by name, he is Satan. When Jesus addresses Satan it isn't with a description of who he is but his name since he was thrown out of heaven. Calling him the devil or tempter is a description of Satan. Jesus calls him by his name, Satan. There is no mistaking who Jesus is talking to. There was no need to leave the door open for Satan to mince words. Even though Satan is shifty in the confrontation, a moving target, Jesus shoots His arrow straight and pins Satan. Satan must obey. He is probably baffled by the authority in which this Jesus spoke to him. I see him shuffling away thinking, "How did he know my name? Why didn't my temptations unnerve Him? I'm going to have to watch this One."

God knows the name of all He created. He created the angels, even Lucifer and the demons who were cast out of heaven. They can disguise themselves with new names but He knows what He named each one of them. In Job 1, Satan enters heaven to talk with God. He is no longer called by the name God gave him. God refers to him as Satan.

Job 1:7a (NKJV) And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

Jesus had heard His Father call Satan by his name. It makes me wonder how Satan didn't recognize who Jesus was. When someone uses your name when addressing you there is a shift in the atmosphere. Something changed at this point in the confrontation. Maybe it was the tone or the command but it should have caused Satan to look into Jesus' eyes, "Who was this mire mortal addressing me with such authority." And when Jesus delivered the final verse it was as if he turned him around and gave him a spanking before sending him away.

Jesus was not afraid of this confrontation. It is as if He is bored with it, "Satan, you have wasted enough of my time and I am done with your games. If you can't figure out why you are here before me and who I am, it isn't because I haven't given you clues."

Jesus knew the war would not end here. This was not the place and it wasn't the time. He had too much to do before the war was over. This was the first battle. Jesus is about to go and dismantle more demons and remove their authority from the atmosphere, territories and individual lives. There was a shaking about to cause a rumble at over Israel.

• In three and a half years Jesus healed ALL who came to Him. Not one who came to Him left without being free from their sickness or disease.

• In three and a half years, Jesus delivered all who were oppressed by demons. Not one who came to Him left without being free from those tormenting devils.

• In three and a half years, lepers were cleanse by Jesus. Not one who came before Him left without their restoration beginning.

• In three and a half years, the dead were raised when God permitted it. The little girl, the young man whose mother was a widow and Jesus' friend Lazarus.

• In three and a half years, principalities were dismantled in Luke 10.

• In three and a half years, the blind see, the lame walk and the captives are set free.

You see, the war had just begun on earth. For three and a half years Satan would feel the threat of defeat. He thought he was in control but there was absolutely nothing he could do about this Jesus he tried to tempt in the wilderness.

What went wrong? How did he know my name? Why did I do what he told me to do? This is all mine, how can He be thwarting my plans of destruction?

Today is your day to know how the real enemy is. Today is your day to call him by his name. Today is your day to stand with the authority of Christ in you and tell the Satan to go away.

James 4:7 (NKJV) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Father, help me to recognize when Satan is tempting me. I know I can also be tempted by my flesh. I am human but I desire to keep my thoughts in line with Your Word. I want my flesh to submit to Your ways. Where I need to take responsibility for a change I want to have the integrity to be responsible. However, I want to recognize when Satan comes to tempt me and lure me into captivity. I want to know You so deeply that I can take a stand against each temptation Satan throws at me. I want to know Your Word and Your love. I want to know if I am battling my mind, my flesh or Satan. Then I ask for Your Word to come forth, for the Holy Spirit to give me the verse I need to resist Satan. Then give me courage to stand in Your strength and tell him to go. You are my God and I will no longer entertain the torments of Satan. I will pull out the Word of God, resist the devil and he will flee in Jesus' name amen

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy Hand

My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus, riots, and lies. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.