GROWING IN CHRIST 4
Confronting Our Enemy
Thus far in this study, we have noted the importance of growing in Christ. We have discussed the proper attitude and in our last lesson some “spiritual indicators” to help us determine if we are growing as we ought to. Today, we want to approach this study from a different direction – we want to discuss our enemy – Satan. As we strive to grow in Him, we can rest assured that Satan is going to do everything he can to distract us. We have to be aware of this and take some steps to prevent him from hindering our efforts. That will be our lesson today.
A. A big mistake many make is to underestimate the power of Satan. His goal in life (your life and mine) is to distract us as we strive to grow in Him. If he can convince you to be complacent he will be happy.
B.
He is powerful
John 12:31 – Jesus referred to him as the ruler of this world
1 John 5:19 refers warns us the world lies under his sway
2 Corinthians 4:4 – he is the god of this age
C.
He is shrewd
1 Peter 5:8 – Satan walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour
2 Corinthians 11:3 – he is crafty, considering the way he deceived Eve.
D.
He will rule your life if you let him!
He will stop at nothing to keep us from serving God as we ought to – he will
lie, cheat, deceive, tempt, distract, persecute and do whatever he can to keep
you in his service.
2 Corinthians 2:11 warns us to be aware of his devices.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 says he transforms himself into an angel of light.
E.
Before we can do anything, we have to be aware of
these things.
Ephesians 4:27 – don’t give place to the devil
1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant because of Satan
A.
We need righteous indignation?
Indignation – “1. The feeling excited by that which is unworthy, base or
disgraceful; anger mingled with contempt, disgust or abhorrence. 2. The effect
of anger, punishment.” (Webster)
“an intense, passionate desire of an overwhelming and possibly destructive
character; intense desire” (Louw & Nida)
“Passion, angry heat” (Thayer)
Righteous indignation – the above passion directed toward that which is right
and godly.
For example – John 2:13-17 when Jesus cast out the moneychangers. Later his
disciples realized as it was written, “zeal for your house has eaten me up”
(Psalm 69:9)
Also when Moses broke the tablets of stone, you find this anger (Exodus
32:19-20).
B. Brethren, it is time to become indignant with Satan. It is time to become angry with intense feelings.
1. Have you ever wondered why your desires to serve God are not as fervent as they ought to be? IT IS BECAUSE OF SATAN!
2. Why do we not do right when we want to? Why do we give into temptations? Why is it that when we try to do right, some obstacle is always in our way? IT IS BECAUSE OF SATAN!
3. We need to become indignant and despise him because of everything he has done to us in our lives.
4. Anytime you suffer, it is because of him. When we say goodbye to our loved ones it is because of Satan.
5. When the church has to withdraw from someone it is because of the devil. When we lose our children and loved ones to the world, it is his work.
6. BRETHREN, if you have not grown the way you ought to IT IS BECAUSE OF SATAN.
7. BUT, DO YOU DESPISE HIM ENOUGH TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?
A. September 11, 2001 changed the way America operates forever. Because of the evil, cowardly and underhanded way our terrorist enemies attacked us, we had no choice to declare war against terrorism. I remember our president addressing the nation and pointing to the fact that this war would be unlike any other war ever fought. We could not simply sit back and do nothing. So we
1. We declared war on our enemies
2. We took steps to cut off their resources and limit their ability. We cut off their bank accounts and tightened our borders to make their efforts to attack us here more difficult.
3. We went to our allies and presented our case to build up support against these enemies of freedom and Jehovah God.
4. Then we went to the enemy and engaged them on their own soil.
5. We launched EVERY weapon at our disposal and spared no expense to defeat them.
6. Since then much has happened, some good and some bad. We have seen success in many areas and failures in others. But this is a war we are still engaged in and we know that we CANNOT allow them to win.
7.
My goal here is not to address political issues in
this lesson.
BUT as Christians we need to declare war on the devil and the strategy just
mentioned is a good pattern.
B. Declaring war on the devil
1.
As Christians we must wake up to the fact that WE
ARE AT WAR! Ephesians 6:10-13 tells us this. Satan is our enemy and he has
launched an assault against us. The question is: WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT
IT?
WE ARE AT WAR!
2.
We need to cut off his resources in our lives
While it may be painful, if we want to overcome the devil we have to give him
less of our resources.
At the same time, we need to invest MORE of our resources in serving God – i.e.
attendance, giving, prayer, benevolence, study, etc.
We need to take steps to avoid whatever tempts us and distracts us from serving
God.
3.
We need to plead our case before God.
While Satan is powerful – God is MORE powerful – 1 John 4:4; 1 Corinthians 10:13
If we truly believe that He is greater than the Devil (AND HE IS!) we need to go
to Him in prayer asking for His help. Matthew 6:13 – “lead us not into
temptation, deliver us from evil”
4.
We need to go to our brethren for strength
Our brethren ought to be a source of strength against the devil. When we have
problems we ought to be able to turn to them for help and prayers. One reason
Satan gains such a grip in the lives of so many is because we don’t spend enough
time together as Christians, whether it be worshipping God or simply preferring
one another.
In our next lesson we will address this in more detail.
5. We need to put on our gospel armor and unsheathe “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-18). If we to overcome Satan in our lives, we need to use every strategy and resource we have at our disposal to drive him away.
6. Finally, we need to engage him on his territory. We cannot sit back in our buildings and wait for him to come before we start fighting. If he makes it to the church we are in great trouble. Our goal is to keep him out.
7. We CAN win! While we have seen failures and setbacks in our “war on terror”, we can fight this battle with confidence that we can and will win, because we know God is in control. If God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)
A. We have to CARE!
1. Why is so much of this world lost? Because they don’t care about the devil’s influence in their lives or about God. And until we convince them to care, there is NOTHING you can say or do to make them.
2. Often we do not do more because we do not care enough. We are concerned and we would love to see change, but do we CARE ENOUGH to really do something about it?
3. Until we care deeply about our current situation, we are just simply not going to be motivated enough to do what needs to be done, either in our own lives or in the lives of others.
4. Philippians 3:7-9 – consider Paul’s attitude – he was willing to give up everything earthly to be with his Lord. He cared enough to suffer for His cause and to do without.
5. And caring is something that others notice. If you want to greatly improve your chances of reaching others, learn to care about them. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
B. We need to make up our minds whose side we are on
1. We cannot straddle the fence and win the war. In fact we cannot straddle the fence and be pleasing to God.
2. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; He who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30)
3. Matthew 6:24 – you cannot serve 2 masters. Friends, you CANNOT defeat sin while still trying to hold on to some of it. You will not conquer evil in your life if you try to COMPROMISE with the enemy. If you are not fully committed to serving God, you will NOT grow as you ought to. It just won’t work and God will NOT accept it.
It is my hope that in this lesson, we have been made more aware of the challenge we face as we strive to grow in Him as we ought to. It is certainly not something that is easy to do. But it is also my hope that we have seen there is hope and help available. Don’t let Satan hinder you in your efforts to put God first. In our next lesson we will discuss how we can build each other up. AS I close it is with this observation, If you are not growing in Him, you are growing in your service to the enemy – NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN!