Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was numbered among the Twelve. He went away and discussed with the chief priests and temple police how he could hand Him over to them. They were glad and agreed to give him silver.
Luke 22:3-5 HCSB

“Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  Luke 22:31-32 HCSB

In these two scripture passages we see two of Jesus’ disciples. Judas Iscariot agreed to betray Jesus for profit. Back in Matthew 16:26, Jesus told His disciples, “What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul?”

Our scripture passage tells us that Satan entered Judas Iscariot. It doesn’t say that the devil asked God’s permission, it just says he entered Judas. Pay attention, we are going to talk about this in a minute.

Now let’s look at Simon. Jesus renamed him Peter, meaning rock. When we think of a rock, we think of something solid. But in our scripture passage Satan had asked to be allowed to sift Peter like wheat. But I love what it says next. Jesus Himself prayed for Peter. Jesus knew that Peter’s foundation was solid. He knew that Peter would return to Him even stronger and says to Peter, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Peter had his flaws but Jesus saw him as what He knew Peter would become through testing.

If you will look back to Job chapter 1, we see that the devil likes to mess with those of us who are sold out for Jesus. We are a challenge to him. He can only do what God allows, so he has to get permission to test us. But remember even Jesus was tested. When Jesus was tested, he whipped out the sword of the Spirit. He defeated the devil with Scripture and the devil went away. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we need to be alert because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. James 4:7 instructs us on how to defeat the devil. It’s a two part solution. First we must submit to God. We need to be sold out. Our foundation needs to be rock solid. Secondly, we need to resist the devil. No matter how good his offer sounds, we need to resist him, then the devil will flee.

If you have sold out to the devil, don’t worry. He has no need to bother you. He’s got you right where he wants you. But, if you are sold out to Jesus, the devil is going to do his best to sift you like wheat. He is going to go as far as God will allow to test you to see what you are made of.

If you are sold out to God, you may be sifted. Now some of you may be wondering what this means. If you bake, your instructions may tell you to sift the flour. Sifting flour is a method of straining it through a net and removing lumps or large particles.

When we are a child of God, Satan has to ask permission. Why might God grant Satan permission to test us? Well, Tony Evans said that God allows Satan to test us for his own holy purpose. Testing produces endurance (James 1:3). It removes the impure particles. It sifts out the bad stuff. It makes us stronger. And if you read on about Peter’s ministry after Jesus ascended to heaven, you know he came back with great strength. He also followed Jesus’ command and strengthened his brothers by boldly preaching the gospel.

Note that the devil didn’t ask permission to enter Judas Iscariot. This is because Judas was a false convert. He never was a child of God. He never sold out to Jesus. When Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was full of remorse, but did not repent. He didn’t change his life and sell out to God. He simply hanged himself. Not a good ending for him. This is why it is said that sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay and cost more than you wanted to pay.

So, I ask you today are you sold out? If you are sold out to the devil, he will take over and do as he pleases with you. But if you are sold out to God, the devil can only go as far as God allows. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and will always provide a way of escape.

One of these men literally sold his own soul to the devil, the other went through testing and came out stronger. You have to choose which road you will take. Choose wisely. Your eternal life depends on it.

Have a great day!