Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
1 Peter 4:12-13
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.2 Corinthians 10:3-6
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.2 Corinthians 12:7
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, *the messenger of Satan to buffet me*, lest I should be exalted above measure.1 Peter 5:8-10
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you]. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is rewarder of them that diligently seek him
Satan is real. He is more powerful than our flesh alone. If you think you can stand alone against Satan without God’s strength, His armor and His word then you obviously haven’t had the pleasure of Satan’s company or you are fooling yourself. I have a healthy respect for the protection of God from Satan and his co-workers. The only way they are defeated is through a total reliance on God and His word.
We are told that Satan often works through people and sometimes through the people closest to us. But I have found from experience that it’s easy to discern what is happening because it’s coming from outside of us and not inside. The most devastating war comes from within . . . the battlefield of the mind. When this happens to us, and it will if we start to seek the face of God, the most important thing to remember is that Satan cannot separate us from God.
Romans 8:38-39Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He comes against us at times directly with those lies. These lies are actually spirits that influence our thoughts or feelings in a certain way. I’m not talking about possession but an attack on our mind. Sometimes we don’t realize what is happening to us. Because our flesh is weak against Satan’s deceptions, we can never rely on our own thoughts and feelings; we must have another means of discerning between the truth and a lie. I think you probably know what it is and I’ll explain more later but let me assure you it’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s natural for us to rely on our flesh and we must be trained otherwise. Be not wise in your own conceits and have no confidence in your flesh. We do not use carnal weapons against a spiritual enemy. We are only beating our fists in the air if we try.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thank God that Satan is only a tool in God’s hands (one of many tools) and if you realize this then you know that God is using him to strengthen and spiritually mature you to a point where you rely on the spirit rather than the flesh and dominate the flesh. Paul had a messenger from Satan buffet him so he didn’t get exalted above measure (whether it was a spirit or a person is not the point; the point is that God uses Satan as a tool). God uses these tools in different ways to accomplish a work in His children but be assured that God is in control and He knows what He is doing. The only thing you can do in battles of the mind are to read God’s word, believe it, pray and stand on it. You can’t ‘feel’ your way through the situation because your thoughts and emotions are being influenced. You need FAITH. We walk by faith and not by feeling or emotions or sight. Everything you see, hear, touch, feel and taste in this world is filtered through your senses and these physical senses are corrupted. That’s why when the Word of God is preached we listen with our “spiritual ears.” Your spirit witnesses with God’s spirit when the truth is taught and you judge what you hear by your spirit. When you read the word of God and pray you are using your spirit and communicating with God’s spirit and these things are not influenced by Satan. Your spiritual senses are the only reliable faculties you have because they are not of the flesh.
I didn’t know until recently that there were different kinds of spirits that war against us. You can actually put a name to these spirits by how they influence you. I didn’t realize how many of our thoughts ( These thoughts don’t necessarily have to be self-degrading just self-reliant.) and how easily our emotions are influenced by Satan. I don’t think we realize how close to the edge of walking outside of God we come and how easily and naturally we do it by relying on our flesh. I want God to open my eyes to this. Every time we think ‘I can’ . . . then we’ve started on the slippery slope and if we don’t catch ourselves in time we end up falling flat. Before we start our day we must pray and ask God to guide our thoughts and feelings and order our steps, put on the whole armour of God and continue through the day to meditate on God and His word. This type of life requires training and discipline so that it comes as natural to live by the spirit as it was to live by the flesh. We must read His word everyday and esteem it more than our necessary food.
A Sample of What You May Come Against
2Tim1:17Just to name a few of the spirits that can influence us . . .
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
The spirit of suicide
The spirit of jealousy
The spirit of lust
The spirit of loneliness
The spirit of anger
The spirit of paranoia
The spirit of fear
The spirit of pride
The spirit of inadequacy
The spirit of confusion
The spirit of rebellion
The spirit of depression
The spirit of oppression
These spirits influence your mind and try to turn your heart from the knowledge of God. Part of the deception is that you may believe these things are in your heart. Actually your thoughts and emotions are being influenced by these spirits. If you’ve repented, been baptized, have the Holy Ghost and are living a pure life before God and suddenly you start feeling any of these things strongly then you know it is a spirit influencing you. I really shouldn’t say "suddenly", because if you are fasting, praying and seeking His face or being led by God into more work for him, you can bet that Satan wants to stop you and he’ll use anything within his means that God allows. God allows the attack but only so far as we can stand and God makes a way of escape for us. Being tempted does not mean that you have sinned although our flesh is the weak link. Something in our flesh allows the influence. The only way you can fight is through faith in the Word of God. Don’t allow these feelings to take root in your heart. If that happens then you have sinned in your heart. These spirits, if you allow them to take root in your heart, will veil it to the word of God and even bring you to the point of physically sinning.
Let’s take the spirit of suicide for an example. That spirit is very dark. You feel like you are in a bottomless pit of deep, dark despair and it gets darker and darker. Everything that happens shows to you your total uselessness maybe to God, to your family or to your ministry. Then a whisper - ‘You don’t have to feel this way. Just take something and go to sleep and never wake up. No one will miss you. You’ll awake in the arms of God.’ It’s almost a feeling of relief - a way out. What do you say to that? Normally you would know right away when you are not being influenced that this is a ridiculous thing to consider but now you are in despair and there seems no way out except through ending your pitiful life. This is when the Word of God must be used and faith exercised. You know the Bible tells you that God loves you and that you are a light to the world. You know Satan will do everything in his power to snuff out a light. You know that you do not belong to Satan, you don’t belong to yourself, you’ve been bought with a price and now you belong to God. You don’t have a right to take your own life because you’ve given yourself to be used of God. Say it out loud and read the actual verses from the Bible. You have rebuked that spirit as the Bible says. Jesus himself said “It is Written:”. God allows this to show you something important you may miss otherwise. You can’t depend on being useful to God through the flesh.
For every spirit of Satan that comes against you there are scriptures that you can stand on before it. The word of God is truly the most important thing in the life of a Christian. Jesus rebuked the devil three times at one point with the Word of God when the devil tempted him. Jesus had just completed a forty day fast. He was weak in the flesh but strong in the spirit. All Jesus did was stand and speak the Word. All you can do is stand and speak the Word. Stand on the Word. We cannot rely one moment in the flesh but be truly weak in our flesh and rely on God. Through our weakness God can show His strength and defeat the enemy for us. What happens to you during this time? You get weaker in the flesh but stronger in the spirit. You rebuke the spirits using the Word of God and faith and not the strength of your mind.
These situations are where the rubber meets the road - as my Pastor likes to say. This is where your faith is put to the test. You can’t think your way out or physically fight your way out. You can’t depend on your feelings. You have nothing left to help you but God and His word. Can you stand on God’s word against Satan as he attacks you? Stand or be defeated?
When you’ve done all, stand and see the salvation of the Lord. The battle is not yours to win through your strength - the battle belongs to the Lord.
Maura
Maura Hart E-mail:
maura.hart@dal.ca