“We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.” - Paul’s statement in 2 Cor. 2:11
Is it not interesting how often scripture addresses a subject matter that for the most part is left untouched or barely addressed today in our modern, educated and refined culture…like here in America?
I think you’d be astounded to just sort out and begin writing down or making note of all the verses…just in the New Testament alone…from the Gospels through Revelation, that deal with Satan, the devil, demons, etc.
Peter tells us to be alert and sober-minded and vigilant as our adversary, the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking to devour. (1 Pet 5:8)
Talk like this can make folks uneasy…and for good reason. It would probably send you in to cardiac arrest if our eyes were truly opened to just how prevalent they are and exist and operate in the world today. Especially in our very own churches.
We read in Acts 10:38 that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good an healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with Him.”
That ministry was then commissioned to The Church to carry out.
Remember how Jesus told those 70 disciples in Luke 10 that He was also giving them power to tread or trample over all the power of the enemy, and that nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Let that sink in for a moment. Jesus did acknowledge though that demons did indeed have ‘power’, but it is limited and constrained.
And may I also add here that we are not to fear them. When we fear God alone, we need not fear anything else.
So when Jesus commissioned the church to carry out His ministry, they did just that. We see in Acts 5:16 where they “brought sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.” This happens in our churches today…all the time, right?
Oh…for those of you who seem to believe that those things, or spirits, don’t work like that anymore….can you show me in the bible when they ceased to exist?
We know that our enemy, Satan, the thief, comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy.’ (John 10:10) When we enter in to a covenant relationship with God, through our faith in Christ, our ‘enemies’ become His ‘enemies’. And He promises us security and protection provided we continue to walk in obedience to Him. When we enter into this relationship with Him, God sets a hedge of protection around us as he begins to cultivate His vineyard. (Matt 21:33) Might also look at John 15:1-7 & 1 Cor 3:9.
As long as we are cooperating with Him…since He is now our Lord , He promises to make even our enemies to be at peace with us. (Prov 16:7) In other words, they can’t do anything to us other than tempt us to ‘come out from behind that hedge’.
I’ve touched on this in the past but the first two chapters of Job give us amazing insight as to how this hedge and Satan work. And I’m pretty confident that the story of Job was more for our benefit than it was to teach Job a lesson. We can revisit that again later.
This may not set well with many… but this you can be assured of…Satan (powers of darkness) can do Nothing without His permission. God does not have a problem with them. We do. And when we sin, God lifts the hedge of protection as we have now just ‘given place to the devil’. You might say it’s His way of ‘chastening’ us.
Now, don’t entertain that thought that wants to accuse me of suggesting that if you are driving down the road and you flip someone off for cutting in front of you that a tornado is going to drop out of the sky and destroy you.
But make no mistake about it, when we sin, we open the door for the enemy to slither in and often times it can be subtle. He comes to build ‘strongholds’ in us over time. Wrath can be like a ‘moth’ or ‘rottenness’ where slow decay eats away over time. (Which can be to your advantage if you recognize what is happening)
Take the issue of bitterness or unforgiveness. Jesus does not hide the fact that when we don’t forgive others as He forgave us, we get turned over to the ‘tormentors’. Want to guess who they are? (Matt 18:33-35)
I would also be willing to ‘bet the farm’ on this belief that many prayers have gone unanswered by God, not because He didn’t hear or care, but rather it was an act of mercy and protection. I simply offer up Matt 12:43-45 as proof. If God did answer a desperate prayer removing the source of suffering or pain and we are clueless as to how ‘they’ got there to begin with or how we are to keep ‘them’ out, what would be the condition of that person in the end?
You know…this whole ‘Christian faith’ thing is all of a sudden sounding a bit more serious and…involved than perhaps how we have taken it?
All these scriptures clueing us in on all this serious stuff…and we are too busy to study for ourselves because….well…you know…we have to find out what single lady will ‘get the rose’ or how our favorite show will end this week or…all the other tantalizing distractions that occupy our minds and hearts. There is literally a flood of distractions that cause us to ‘fall away’ or be ‘carried away’ these days. Is that not apparent? (What did Revelations 12:15 imply?)
We’ve been lulled to sleep. We’ve grown complacent. As someone said years ago, there’s a war going on and the church has failed to show up. No wonder God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).
Amos’s warning rings true today: “Woe to them who are at ease in Zion.” (6:1) People have been lulled into a ‘false peace’ or false security that ‘all is well’. I would beg to differ.
Let me close out this morning with this challenge to you. All this talk of wrath, and demons and powers of darkness and judgment, etc…has nothing to do with God being disgruntled and bored and wanting to destroy everyone.
He is trying to get it through to us that yes, His judgments are on the earth, being carried out by the enemy, but God’s purpose in bringing judgment is with the hope that people will repent and turn to Him.
He wants no one to suffer or be lost. (2 Pet 3:2)
But even more importantly…Know this: He is not out to ‘get you’. You and I were ‘already gotten’ – by Satan. And that is because of sin. He came on a ‘rescue mission’ to save us, not condemn us. And contrary to popular opinion, Jesus is your only hope of being rescued from this world of darkness and sin. He is the ONLY Way out.
There is no other name given among men whereby we can be saved. (Acts 4:12)
You…can have Peace….Today! When you turn to Him with your whole heart…you can enter in and experience a peace and a freedom that will blow your mind. Now, that doesn’t mean you are ‘complete’ or ‘perfected’. The work will just begin when you turn to Him. But regardless of all the ‘work’ that needs to be done within your defiled heart, does not mean you will continue to walk and sin. If you do, you will lose that peace real quick which hopefully will prompt you to turn and run back to Him.
He keeps those in perfect peace who have their mind fixed on Him. (Isa 26:3)
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