Overcoming the Deadly, Thieving Destroyer
David W Palmer
Jesus’s parable of the sower is found in Mat. 13, Mark 4, Luke 8; it is his key parable:
(Mark 4:13 NKJV) And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
(Mark 4:34 NKJV) But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
In his key parable, Jesus explains that God’s kingdom rule on earth depends on his word being received into human hearts, taking root there, and growing to harvest—until expressed in faith through the mouth and obeyed in human actions. In training his apprentice leaders, the Master then explained the three internal and six external combatants; their sole aim is to prevent God’s word from coming to mature harvest and producing abundant blessing.
In his wilderness battle with the devil, Jesus shows us how to prevail over the first of the six blessing-blockers—Satan. He resisted Satan’s thieving approach by fending him off with God’s word. He declared, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of God’s mouth’” (Mat. 4:4 DKJV).
The devil tried twice more to steal the word, but Jesus successfully repelled both assaults using God’s word as a weapon. Read these passages thoughtfully, noticing how Jesus gained victory:
(Matthew 4:5–11 DKJV) Then the devil took him into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, {6} and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written (in Psalm 91:11}, ‘He will give his angels orders about you’, and ‘in their hands they will lift you up, so that you do not [even] hit your foot on a stone.’” {7} Jesus said to him, “But it is also written (in Deut. 6:16}, ‘you will not test the Lord your God.’”
{8} Again, the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, {9} and said to him, “I will give you all these things, if you will fall down and worship me.” {10} Then Jesus said to him, “Get away [from me], Satan! For it is written (in Deut. 6:13}, ‘You will worship the Lord your God, and you will serve only him.’” {11} Then the devil left him, and angels came and ministered to him.
Jesus’s approach to Satan’s attacks is the strategy we must employ, if we are successfully to resist the first of the six blessing-blockers—the enemy’s relentless attempts to steal God’s word from our hearts before it can take root; we need to ward off Satan by resisting him with God’s written word.
God’s Holy Spirit further clarifies this through the apostle Paul in his teaching on successful spiritual warfare:
(Ephesians 6:11–18 DKJV) Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the devil’s tricky schemes. {12} For we wrestle [not against flesh and blood, but] against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. {13} Therefore, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. {14} Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; {15} and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; {16} above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. {17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: {18} Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and seeing to it with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Here, the Holy Spirit is very precise when he says that we “wrestle,” but that we do not wrestle “against flesh and blood”—that is, not against each other or physical things like the weather, the elements, or animals. He is clear that our wrestling is against very evil, and maliciously wicked spiritual beings.
In saying that we “wrestle,” the Holy Spirit is showing us that the fight is an intense, close up, personal struggle. Our modern equivalent is not the “impersonal” aerial bombardment of stealth bombers, or the safety of remotely controlled drones: it is hand to hand combat; it is a face to face grapple in a life-and-death struggle with a lethal opponent, who is desperate to steal God’s word from our hearts before it has a chance to take root and grow.
So threatening to his kingdom is God’s harvested word that the devil knows that he has to put a major effort into thwarting it. The best time for him to do this is when it is first sown—while it is still lying on the surface; this is when he throws his resources into stealing it as quickly as possible. This strategy is the primary driver behind the design of his world system.
The “god of this world” has a multi-faceted approach to his most exigent defense mechanism—that of stealing God’s word before it can take root. Not only does he fight church attendance, quiet times with God, and all ways of receiving God’s word; he employs any and every means at his disposal to steal the word from being the “apple” of our eye (See: Prov. 7:2 KJV), including: distractions through entertainment, sport, social titillation, relational complexities, gossip, etc. Basically, he can steal the seed if he can get our focus onto anything else that stops us meditating on, giving heed to, and digesting God’s word. Don’t let him steal it from you.
My Farming Observations
My parents raised me on a dairy farm. I can vividly remember the first time we tried to grow a crop of oats. We needed to store food for the winter months to supplement the milking cows’ usual diet of fresh grass. Dad was right in predicting that they would love the oats, but so did many other living things.
We were relatively poor, so we didn’t have a lot of farm machinery. My father taught us how to sow the old fashion way—the way they did it in Bible times—by hand. As we sowed the oat seeds, tossing them by handfuls onto the freshly prepared soil, a chorus of expectant crows surrounded us. Even while we were still sowing, and before my brother had sufficient opportunity to plough the seeds under the soil, every crow from the entire region descended on our field for a feast of oats.
Eventually, we had the surviving seeds covered with soil; we finally thought the battle was over. Yet when the first green shoots began to appear, the crows were at it again; pulling up the green shoots and eating the sprouted seeds.
Despite the erecting of a scarecrow and the random firing of a rifle, the crows prevailed until the remaining seeds completely metamorphosed into tiny self-sustaining plants that took root in the soil—losing all resemblance to the original oat seeds.
Finally, our battle with the thieving crows was over. Yet, a whole new wave of larcenists was to come once we had harvested the vastly multiplied seeds—a plague of mice. Thankfully, they weren’t able to steal the entire harvest either, and the next winter, our cows enjoyed oats every morning for breakfast when coming to the milking shed.
Remembering the enthusiasm and persistence of those “oat thieves,” is a continuing reminder of the enemy’s desperation to steal God’s word from the soil of our hearts before it can take root. He will not give up his attempts to steal the seed unless and until that word has thoroughly taken root, and has transformed from any resemblance of a seed into a soil-dependent plant.
We certainly need to know how to resist the enemy, and how to quickly “plough in” the precious seed God sows onto the soil of our hearts.
The Holy Spirit is so aware of the critical outcome of this fight—both for us and for God’s precious seed—that he clearly instructs us in battle strategy. He first lists the armor Jesus made available to us—God’s armor; then he urges us to put it on and to leave it on. Let’s review it:
(Ephesians 6:14–17 DKJV) Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; {15} and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; {16} above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. {17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The Holy Spirit also coaches us in how successfully to use our indomitable weapon: He says, “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and seeing to it with all perseverance and supplication.” (Eph. 6:17–18 DKJV).
The invincible weapon Jesus offers us is God’s word. In the hand-to-hand combat of spiritual warfare, it works for us like a sword. The Holy Spirit says to wield it in “prayer and supplication”—with “perseverance.” This explains why Jesus stayed for forty days praying and fasting in the wilderness—successfully brandishing God’s written word in the enemy’s face with accuracy and persistence until it fully prevailed:
(Matthew 4:11 DKJV) Then the devil left him, and angels came and ministered to him.
There is no time like the present to take up arms against our spiritual enemy. Today, I encourage you: “Don’t let your shield down for a second; do allow God to refresh the power of his sword in your hand by making his word the “one thing” that is “needful” (Luke 10:42 KJV); have it as your personal “pearl of great price” (Mat. 13:46 KJV). Constantly fill your heart with God’s word—especially his promises. Then, when the enemy comes in like a flood, watch God’s living Word explode out through your mouth as an indomitable, irresistible, sharp two-edged sword. Persevere in this, and the enemy will leave you just like he retreated from Jesus; and “angels” will come and “minister” to you.
(James 4:7 CSB) Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
