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1. We give place to the devil when we listen to his evil suggestions. We do not begin by doing as he wants us, nor even by accepting his whisperings. It is the paying attention to what he says which is the root from which obeying him springs. This is seen clearly in the case of Eve. She parleyed with him before she took of the forbidden fruit. Contrast the Lord Jesus, who promptly rejected His evil suggestions by a verse from the Word of God.
2. We give place to the devil the moment we begin to compromise. Solemnly is this illustrated in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. Of them, we are told that they "sold a possession, and kept back part of the price." The remainder was laid at the apostles' feet. Then Peter said, "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part?" (Act 5:1-3).
What a solemn voice this has for each of us! Do we not realize that it was Satan who was filling our hearts when we only half consecrated ourselves to the Lord, when we yielded Him only a partial obedience, when we used on ourselves a portion of His tithe, when we refused to thoroughly go forth unto Him "outside the camp"? What is it that we are keeping back a "part" of?
3. We give place to the devil when we become self-sufficient and independent of God. It was being "lifted up with pride" which brought about the fall of the devil himself (1 Timothy 3:6). Pride is a subtle thing, for we are largely unconscious of its presence. Nevertheless, it can be easily detected if we take the trouble to examine our motives and trace our actions back to their source.
Pride is self-sufficiency. We are controlled by pride whenever we ask not wisdom and strength from God. We are moved by pride when we trust to common sense and "lean unto our own understandings." Contrariwise, the humble man is he who seeks help from the Lord for everything.
4. We "give place to the devil" when we put self's interests before the Lord's glory. This was exemplified by the Gadarenes. Christ had come into their midst and graciously delivered a demon-possessed man. The demons then obtained His permission to enter a herd of swine, which rushed into the sea and were destroyed. How awful the sequel, "And they began to beg him to depart out of their coasts" (Mar 5:17)! The demands of the Holy One were too strict for their liking. He interfered with their money-making. They preferred their swine to the Savior. Does this shock you, dear reader? Then ask God to reveal to you if there is anything which you are preferring (by your actions) above the honor and glory of His blessed Son.
5. We "give place to the devil" when we seek the company of and are friendly with his children. Satan knows full well that "evil companions corrupt good manners," therefore is he untiring in his efforts to induce God's children to take upon them an unequal yoke and become intimate with the ungodly. For this reason does God command us, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph 5:11). Disobedience to this inevitably leads to our being ensnared by the great enemy.
6. We "give place to the devil" when we knowingly enter his territory. God has expressly commanded us, "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away" (Pro 4:14-15). If we disregard this divine prohibition, then we deliberately expose ourselves to Satan's temptations and cannot count upon God delivering us from the same.
A solemn example of one who trespassed on the devil's ground is Lot. By settling down in Sodom, he deliberately courted the fearful disaster which overtook his family.
7. We "give place to the devil" when we allow him to use us to do his work. As a general rule, the devil works through human instruments, and happy is he when he can move a Christian to perform his bidding. It is a solemn consideration that every child of God is controlled, hour by hour, either by the Holy Spirit — or the evil spirit. Satan is using us to further his evil ends when he causes us to set an unchristlike example before the ungodly — encouraging them in their sins. He uses the Christian when he can get him to sow the seeds of discord among brethren. And how often has he used a Christian to undermine the influence of a servant of God by speaking evil about him to others!
2. We give place to the devil the moment we begin to compromise. Solemnly is this illustrated in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. Of them, we are told that they "sold a possession, and kept back part of the price." The remainder was laid at the apostles' feet. Then Peter said, "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part?" (Act 5:1-3).
What a solemn voice this has for each of us! Do we not realize that it was Satan who was filling our hearts when we only half consecrated ourselves to the Lord, when we yielded Him only a partial obedience, when we used on ourselves a portion of His tithe, when we refused to thoroughly go forth unto Him "outside the camp"? What is it that we are keeping back a "part" of?
3. We give place to the devil when we become self-sufficient and independent of God. It was being "lifted up with pride" which brought about the fall of the devil himself (1 Timothy 3:6). Pride is a subtle thing, for we are largely unconscious of its presence. Nevertheless, it can be easily detected if we take the trouble to examine our motives and trace our actions back to their source.
Pride is self-sufficiency. We are controlled by pride whenever we ask not wisdom and strength from God. We are moved by pride when we trust to common sense and "lean unto our own understandings." Contrariwise, the humble man is he who seeks help from the Lord for everything.
4. We "give place to the devil" when we put self's interests before the Lord's glory. This was exemplified by the Gadarenes. Christ had come into their midst and graciously delivered a demon-possessed man. The demons then obtained His permission to enter a herd of swine, which rushed into the sea and were destroyed. How awful the sequel, "And they began to beg him to depart out of their coasts" (Mar 5:17)! The demands of the Holy One were too strict for their liking. He interfered with their money-making. They preferred their swine to the Savior. Does this shock you, dear reader? Then ask God to reveal to you if there is anything which you are preferring (by your actions) above the honor and glory of His blessed Son.
5. We "give place to the devil" when we seek the company of and are friendly with his children. Satan knows full well that "evil companions corrupt good manners," therefore is he untiring in his efforts to induce God's children to take upon them an unequal yoke and become intimate with the ungodly. For this reason does God command us, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph 5:11). Disobedience to this inevitably leads to our being ensnared by the great enemy.
6. We "give place to the devil" when we knowingly enter his territory. God has expressly commanded us, "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away" (Pro 4:14-15). If we disregard this divine prohibition, then we deliberately expose ourselves to Satan's temptations and cannot count upon God delivering us from the same.
A solemn example of one who trespassed on the devil's ground is Lot. By settling down in Sodom, he deliberately courted the fearful disaster which overtook his family.
7. We "give place to the devil" when we allow him to use us to do his work. As a general rule, the devil works through human instruments, and happy is he when he can move a Christian to perform his bidding. It is a solemn consideration that every child of God is controlled, hour by hour, either by the Holy Spirit — or the evil spirit. Satan is using us to further his evil ends when he causes us to set an unchristlike example before the ungodly — encouraging them in their sins. He uses the Christian when he can get him to sow the seeds of discord among brethren. And how often has he used a Christian to undermine the influence of a servant of God by speaking evil about him to others!
