Early in His ministry Jesus takes on Satan in the wilderness temptations. Satan is no earthly match for the heavenly Son of God. After Satan threw three of his best punches at Jesus (and landed none of them) He is cast aside as Jesus tells him, “Be gone, Satan” (Matthew 4:10). The mere words of Jesus defeat Satan.

I love the recorded events in the gospels in which Jesus takes on the demons who are terrorizing people. It’s amazing that as powerful as the evil spirits are against us, they are nothing but wimps against the God-power of Jesus. When Jesus comes face to face with demons who are possessing people the demons shake in their boots against God the Son. Mark 1 says, “They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach.  And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, ‘What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are the Holy One of God!’ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee” (Mark 1:21-28). Jesus does not have to lift a finger against the evil spiritual forces. He defeats the demons simply by speaking.

Satan is the tempter, a snake in the grass, a liar, a deceiver, an accuser – he’s a real jerk! He has no hold on us…unless we give him an “in” to our life. We need to lean on the blood of the Lamb and call on the powerful name of Jesus to protect us against the wiles of the devil. The name “Jesus” to Satan and the demons is like kryptonite to Superman – they lose all power and have to flee. James says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7)

Read Ephesians 4:25-27 and 6:10-18. Then listen to No Hold on Me by Matty Mullins. After that tell Satan “in the name of Jesus” to get away from you and enjoy a beautiful day close to Jesus in the “Sonshine”.

Ephesians 4:25-27

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.