My previous article was
called “Reboot.” In it I discussed the fact that we can’t change
the bad things
we have said and done, even if we could give our right arm and make it happen.
To follow-up, I would like to look behind the reason we do “stupid stuff.”
Also, I am addressing this
article to true Christians, but anyone who would like to become a Christian and
join us is welcome. How?
“For I delivered to you as of
first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance
with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the
twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
“On the contrary, what does
it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the
message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is
Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one
confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says,
Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses
all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)
As a Christian, we should
constantly remind ourselves that we are in a spiritual war. Satan is always
seeking to destroy, not just us, but any influence we may have on others to
hear the Gospel and know Christ. Please read Ephesians 6:10-20.
Also, there is another passage
I have used often, as have others, but it drives home the point.
“Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the
family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of
sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Any Christian who has spent
much time in studying the Bible is aware that Satan cannot be but in one place
at a time. He is not God, who is omnipresent. However, he has an untold number
of demonic angels, his army, that work for him. We cannot see them, but they
are all around us, and they know us intimately. Let us understand that a
Christian cannot be indwelt by a demon, but they certainly can be influenced by
them.
So how does this “roaring
lion” prowl around looking for someone to devour. First of all, allow me to
differentiate between those of us who know Jesus as our Savior and those who do
not. Does Satan, by proxy through his army, attack both the saved and unsaved,
or just one or the other? He attacks both.
Unsaved (non-Christians):
Those without Jesus Christ
can be indwelt by demons. In my personal opinion, I believe that demon
possession is increasing significantly today as we draw closer to our Lord’s
return.
Satan will attack these folks
by indwelling them or influencing the decisions they make in life. Obviously,
he does not want any unsaved person to be saved. Because of this, he will use
every tactic at his disposal to keep them either from hearing the Gospel or to
influence their decision towards the Gospel.
He will use drugs, alcohol,
sex, greed, jealousy, ignorance, and ANYTHING else to drive them from the
Truth. Remember, he is the father of lies.
“You belong to your father,
the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer
from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.” (John 8:44)
Would you like to know why
this world is in such a mess? Why is there so much hate? Why is there such
widespread perversion of sex? Why so many murders and thefts? Why are so many
relying on illegal drugs and alcohol? Why are there so many suicides? Why are
families being ripped apart? Why are so many individuals mentally warped about
their sexuality? Why are so many children suffering because of the environment they
are forced to live in? These are just a few of the questions we might ask, but
what is the answer?
Mankind is being flushed down
the toilet because of a devil named Satan that hates men, women, boys, and
girls almost as much as he hates God. His goal is to destroy their lives, keep
them from coming to Christ and have them spend eternity in hell. He knows that hell
is his future eternal home and he wants to take as many of us with him as
possible. Maybe, somehow (he thinks) he might defeat Jesus after all.
Saved (Christians):
Since he cannot indwell a
Christian, since we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, how does he attack us,
again by proxy? Satan is a supernatural genius profiler. We’ve all heard of
criminal profilers. Satan and his fallen angels, demons, cannot be matched in
their ability to profile us. He knows our weak points and our strong points. He
knows what buttons to push to confuse us and get us off course.
When Paul and Peter warn us
of spiritual warfare, perhaps we should take note that this is real. It is
serious.
“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.” (Ephesians 6:12)
“Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
All Christians, because we
still have the old sin nature, have weaknesses, and Satan will attack us as
often as possible in our weak areas. I’ll list just a few to clarify.
Do you have a tongue you
can’t control? Maybe you gossip, for example. Satan will use that weakness
against you and others to kill your effectiveness for Christ.
Is laziness your weakness? If
so, he’ll keep you from what the Lord is leading you to in your life.
Is it pride? Satan is very
familiar with pride, since he is eaten up with it. Again, he will use it
against you.
Do you have a problem with
illicit sex? Satan has destroyed many lives by ignoring what God says about
sex.
The point is, whatever your
weakness is, and you do have one or more, Satan knows what it is and he will
use it against you to defeat your Christian influence with others.
Let us also take note that we
can’t defeat Satan, BUT he is no match for God. This is exactly why all
Christians should be in the Word and in prayer constantly. I’m sure this is why
Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” We should always be
in prayer, because the closer we stand to Him, the less victory Satan can have
against us.
Don’t think it will be easy.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “… If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” We can’t defeat Satan in our
power, but we can defeat him in the power of our omnipotent God.
In conjunction with this, the
more we try to live for Jesus, the harder Satan will fight against us. If we
are one of those Christians who look and act so much like the world, it’s hard
to tell us apart, Satan won’t spend much effort against us. Why? We’re already
producing nothing, so why should he waste his time. He’ll spend his time more
wisely on those who are trying to glorify their Savior by obeying Him.
Other areas, not associated
with our weaknesses, Satan can and will attack us, for example, in our home and
our job. He may bring dissension in our marriage or with our children. We may
have problems at work that drag us down, or we may even lose our job. There
could be problems which arise with our friends, neighbors or relatives that he
may have instigated. This isn’t to say that everything that happens to us is
caused by Satan or his influence. It is only to say, he “may” use these or he
will at least take advantage of these opportunities to defeat us.
As Satan prowls the earth, we
must remain alert to his schemes against us. Peter says to, “Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers
throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:9)
How do we resist him? Our best offense
is to stay close to our Lord, by being in His Word constantly and pray without
ceasing. Even though the spirit of evil is always against us, the Spirit of God
is our Comforter and is always there for us.
“So do not fear, for I am with
you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
