As we approach the Feast of Pentecost, we are encouraged because we are reminded of all God has done for His people on this day, down through history.
The Ten Commandments were spoken by God to His chosen people on the day of Pentecost — a law, which defined sin and distinguished right from wrong — a standard to live by.
God gave His Spirit of Power to His Church on that first Pentecost following the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whereby, it would be possible for those God calls, to live by that standard He had established.
And, God established the New Testament Church on the day of Pentecost, at that same time, so that people of like mind could assemble together as a help to one another as they worked toward the goals established by the Almighty.
We are thankful for these wonderful gifts from our Father.
However, there is a god of this world. His purpose is totally contrary to God and His perfect Way of Life. And, he injects himself into the lives of those God has called, with the express purpose of thwarting the plans God has established.
In Genesis 3: 1-4, we see Satan as he came to Eve in the garden. Through his lies, he convinced Eve to go contrary to God’s Way, thus causing her to reject God’s Spirit (Genesis 3: 24). Satan has not changed his ways. He has been able to influence mankind throughout man’s generations.
In Job 1: 6, we read that Satan came among the angels of God, as they presented themselves before the Lord. His express purpose was to attack and destroy God’s servant, Job, whom God described as “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and shuns evil” (Verse 8).
To add to our problem of having to deal with this spirit being, we are told he is a liar (John 8: 44) and that he walks contrary to our calling (Ephesians 2: 1-3). Yet, he transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11: 14). He is our enemy.
We must become even more cognizant of his strategies and of his tactics, since we are living in the end-time. We are warned in 1 Peter 5: 8, to “be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Our admonition in James 4: 7, is to “Submit to God and resist the devil.” We must draw near to God (James 4: 8). And we must hold fast, as Paul instructed Titus, to “the faithful word” we have been taught, “that we may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict, those who contradict (Titus 1: 9).”
If we do these things, God tells us in 1 Peter 5: 6, that “He will exalt us in due time.”
Let us keep these things in mind as we approach this season and realize that we have the power to overcome Satan and those who walk in his way, if we will obey our God and stay close to Him.
