NEW LEVEL, new devil

Pr. Geoffrey Kibombo

1 Corinthians 16:8-9 (AMP)

“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a wide door for effective service has opened to me [in Ephesus, a very promising opportunity], and there are many adversaries.”

Whenever you are told that God is taking you to another level, reflect on Paul’s words above. Why? Because for every new level of advancement, there is a new devil (attacks, enemies and obstructions); Paul was able to foresee the adversaries in the opportunity or blessing that had sprouted. We ought to learn from Paul to be able to discern the adversaries that encroach on our opportunities or blessings. As one musician sung that; ‘whenever you rise up, it hurts them’, but it does not just stop at hurting some of them (filled with jealousy and envy due to your success) because God is uplifting you and abundantly blessing you, but they also plot to prevent you from staying up there or be uplifted any more.

Be aware of Adversaries as you Advance

As believers filled with the Holy Spirit, we should be in position to discern what is likely to happen forth. When God uplifts or blesses us, we should also be in position to discern the spiritual atmosphere and act wisely. The bible talks of people being able to discern the seasons by studying the stars and the moon. Jesus told the multitudes in Luke 12:54-56 (NKJV) that; “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is.  55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is.  56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?” 
They were witnessing signs, wonders and miracles by the son of God but they could not discern that it was Him who the prophets had prophesied about. So if God says He is taking us to another level or is going to perfect us, there are some things that come along that we should be aware of and guard against.

Paul got a revelation about spiritual warfare and shared the same in many of the letters he wrote. If you internalize Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 16:8 above, you will realise that those who are born of God are victorious (1 John 5:4) but they cannot become victorious without engaging in spiritual battle against the rulers of darkness of this age. For instance, if you’re told that you will be victorious, it means there are certain evil forces that will attack you along your path to victory, and thus the need to prepare for spiritual warfare so as to dismantle every principality and power of darkness that tries to block your victory.

What Paul meant in the above scripture is that; God is taking us to another level (from dust to destiny) and He will perfect everything that He begun in us, but we have got to be aware of the devil’s tactics as we progress; In other words what Paul meant is that: whenever God blesses you or opens doors of opportunities, the enemies also increase. The lesson we learn from this scripture is that after you have been lifted, do not relax and forget that your adversaries have also increased - to every level that God takes you, you will find antagonists or enemies equivalent of that level. When God has lifted you or blessed you, never forget that at each level you soar to there is a devil you are going to encounter, and that is why I say that; ‘at every new level, there is a new devil’. Therefore at every level God has elevated you to (be it ministry, marriage, business or career), there are adversaries you are going to encounter. You should never sleep or relax whenever you advance from one level to another thinking that life is going to be a bed of roses, but be more ready and prepared to wage spiritual warfare to combat the devil at that level.

For instance when God lifts a ministry from one level (local level) to another (national level), the type of attacks at the new level are different from the ones at the previous level. Demons also have ranks and levels, and the type of attacks depends on the level of blessings of the subject to be attacked. Publicity and prominence come with its negativities and attacks especially when it comes to ministry; people or the media will scrutinize and twist every statement the servant of God makes. They will try to label the servant of God as spiritually illegitimate and tarnish the works of Christ in order to disperse the congregation (Math 26:31).

As Christians we should take note that whenever God begins to transform and advance us, antagonistic circumstances arise. When you believe and serve God, there are things you go through and one of them is persecution. Jesus cautioned His disciples in Mark 10:29-30 (NLT) that; “I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution……...” 

I used to think that persecution means torture or massacre like what happened to the Uganda martyrs, but that’s not the case. For example; if you get rapid promotions at your workplace, there are negative promotions as well; some work colleagues, friends and perhaps relatives will persecute you. How? They might bewitch you, talk extremely negative about you in order to tarnish your credibility before your bosses. All those are forms of persecutions aimed at rupturing your heart, so when God blesses you, persecution and adversaries usually come along. 

Private Victories prepare you for Public Victories

In order to get a good understanding of the church, the way the devil plots his attacks and how the church can overcome the devil, we have got to look at David (as a representation of the church). He represents our lives and how God is taking us from dust and lifting us. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 (GNT) says;

“When they arrived, Samuel saw Jesse's son Eliab and said to himself, “This man standing here in the Lord's presence is surely the one he has chosen.” 7 But the Lord said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”

David was always despised and many times neglected by his family. God sent Samuel to anoint David as king, but we should remember that before David was anointed, he was a mere despised shepherd. David’s father had even forgotten about him as they were inquiring about his sons (1 Sam 16:10-11). David symbolizes each one of us. You may have been despised and forgotten by those close to you to the point of them desiring to give your blessing to someone else because they think you are not worthy of that blessing or opportunity. Remember that at whatever level David was, even though he was despised, he had some things he was capable of even though he was always seen as just a mere shepherd. We have all read that whenever the lions came to prey on the sheep, David would kill them - at the level of tending to sheep, there were adversaries (lions and bears) that David encountered. People tend to think that David’s ability to kill Goliath came out of the blue but that wasn’t so. We should be aware that the adversaries we encounter at a primeval level, prepare us for the adversaries we are to encounter at another advanced level; the bear and lion attacks prepared David for Goliath.

Before one can gain public victory, there are private victories he or she should have attained that prepared him or her for the former. David had no claim to fame, however he had attained victories that no one knew of. For instance before helping your friends eradicate some bad habits, you must have been able to eradicate some in your life. David had never told anyone of his victories of overcoming the lion and bear. At the shepherd level, he had already fought and won battles before the Goliath level.

Several people desire to be instantly lifted up to the next level but that cannot happen until you have overcome the devil at the level you are currently at. David was able to first kill the lion and bear and this prepared and qualified him to encounter the Philistine - Goliath. Before David’s victory over Goliath, he had prior testimonies that fueled and lifted up his faith (1Sam 17:34-37). David’s private victories prepared and led him to his public victory – the private battles of the lion and bear prepared and equipped him for the public battle of the Philistine. In all this, God was preparing David for the kingship; because we can see that he went on to fight so many other battles even outside his kingdom. As believers, we encounter various attacks and problems when we are no bodies (and God gives us the grace and strength to overcome them) not knowing that He is nurturing our character and preparing us for life at advanced levels in the future.

Promotions and Persecutions

1 Samuel 17:25 (NKJV)

“So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”

From the scripture we see three things that David got after killing the Philistine - the king would reward him great riches; give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxes. For David to progress in life and society, he had to destroy the Philistine, and he thereafter advanced from one level to another - shepherd to warrior.  

David was now transitioning from the shepherded level to the kingly level; but he did not immediately become king because he again needed to be prepared. At that warrior level the king Saul picked interest in David (1Samuel 17:57). We read in Chapter 18 that as they were coming home from battle the women came out of all the cities and begun to sing. 1 Samuel 18:6-8 (AMP) explains;

“As they were coming [home], when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing, to meet King Saul with tambourines, [songs of] joy and musical instruments. 7 The women sang as they played and danced, saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed [only] thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” Saul looked at David with suspicion [and jealously] from that day forward. 8 Then Saul became very angry……...…"

We learn that once David defeated and killed Goliath, he advanced to the next level in the social strata – shepherd to warrior; and he met a different devil or adversary at that level. People were then celebrating him more than King Saul which angered the king. God has transformed and lifted our lives, and He is still advancing us from one level to another, but we should never forget that at every level He is going to take us, there is a devil or adversaries; you must therefore steer clear of the people that celebrate you because they can cause your downfall. When the women sang in celebration of David, King Saul was filled with rage and the words that were sung about both of them caused enmity between them.

Control Yourself As You Advance!

When you read about David, you will see that he was victorious at every level. By the time David was anointed as king, Saul (who was also anointed) was still reigning as King of Israel, and David knew the secret of not touching an anointed servant of God - he controlled himself and even though there was enmity between him and Saul, he ensured not to rise up against the an anointed person. David had numerous opportunities to kill Saul but he did not; we see this when he spared Saul’s life in 1 Samuel 24:6-7 (NLT) “……The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.”  7 So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.”

What we learn from this is that when God blesses you and elevates you from one level to another, don’t boast and start mistreating or despising people. David shows us a good example; for he never rose up against the anointed one yet he was also anointed and was capable of doing certain things, but he controlled himself until the time for Saul to be no more dawned.

Once God has divinely taken you from the dust to greatness, you should control yourself and guard against the vices at that advanced level like pride and disobedience (devil at that level). This is because the devil’s desire is to cause you to stumble and fall from the place of grace. Evil habits like pride and disobedience are some of the traps the devil uses to destroy people who have advanced. When one reaches in the place of rest, he or she may start exalting his wit, knowledge or experience and strength ignoring the Lord who made it happen, and forgetting that its blessing of the Lord that makes one successful or victorious. Thus as you advance, guard yourself against the evil habits at that level

Be mindful of those who falsely discourage you from seeking Godly counsel telling you that you are spiritually mature and not in need of it. The more you grow in knowing God, the more you should seek counsel. Whenever David planned to do something, he would go before God to seek His counsel first (1 Sam 30:8, 2 Sam 5:19, 1 Sam 23:4-5). Never become too busy for God (to stop praying and reading His word), the devil will overcome you at that level. Do not forget that at every level there is a devil you must fight – satan can use people, habits or situations to destroy that which God has given you. For what led to the downfall of Saul was disobedience (1Sam 13:7-14).

David was able to overcome the bad habits that come with fame after killing Goliath because he remained humble as he was in the beginning; even when he became king he was able to freely dance for the Lord to the disappointment of others (2 Sam 6:14). Our God is going to lift us but as He does so, you must not forget that there is a devil waiting for you at that level of advancement.

Whenever you overcome one devil, you will meet another at the next level whom you must overcome as well, and that is why you must never cease praying when God has lifted you because you will encounter an advanced devil (attacks and adversaries) at that level. The devil may at times use people close to you or those you confide in, but no matter which avenue he uses to attack you, you must be prepared to stand still. We should be informed that the devil cannot outwit us since we know his schemes as stated in 2 Corinthians 2:11 (MSG) that "After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!"

Humility at every level!

There are people God has brought out of dust to honour (1 Sam 2:8) but then eventually die after being lifted up. Why? They are negatively changed by their newly acquired status - they are not humble anymore and easily forget and forsake the Lord who lifted them up; it so happens because they were unaware of the devil at the new level and thus get consumed. God has blessed and lifted us but whenever He does, guard yourself and beware of the devil at the level you are ascending to. Sometimes the devil at the level you have ascended to can be in form of habits that God hates (Prov6:16-19) which drives away His presence.

Before Lucifer became disobedient and was cast down (Isaiah14:12-15), he encountered a devil at his level (pride) - He wanted to be glorified like his Master. His mindset got contaminated at that level and unfortunately he was cast down. If you do not overcome the devil at the level you are and he instead overcomes you, you will be cast down. We thank God who lifts us and sits us in the high places, because at every level He takes us, He gives us the grace to endure and, His grace is new every day because He knows that the devil is constantly roaming around.

Jesus was able to overcome the adversary at the pinnacle of His ministry on earth - He overcame death. At the apex level of His ministry, He defeated hell and death. We read this in 1 Corinthians 15: 55 (AMP) that; “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” We thank God that at that level Jesus was able to overcome the devil for our benefit - Salvation.

When you look at the magnitude of attacks or adversaries at a particular level you are at, you will have an idea of the new level God has taken you to, and know that you have got to fight (spiritually) because a great door of effective service has been opened. Our adversaries are many and they are at every level God takes us but we should also be aware of their existence and do the needful. God has blessed us and will continually bless and elevate us from one level to another, but we need to also play our part and combat the devil so that we do not perish after we have been elevated.

God knows you are able to defeat the devil at every level (the will of God will never take you where the Grace of God cannot keep you). You may not be able to defeat him at some other person’s level but if God has taken you from one level to another, He will grant you the grace to overcome every devil at that level. We should also be in position to differentiate between challenges and attacks or adversaries; some things may come as challenges to nurture us character-wise not as arrows released by the devil, and that requires maturity for one to discern the difference

When God elevates you to a new level, you must never forget that at that level there is a devil you need to guard against and combat.