(Ephesians 4:27) “And give no opportunity to the devil.”
The Apostle Paul affirms that they were not ignorant of the devils devices, he was aware of his enemies warring tactics. Many great victories have been won by first studying ones opponents and then once their weakness has been exploited, half the battle is already won. We have an enemy like no other; he is far greater in statute than the greatest of war generals you could ever imagine. “Alexander the Great” conquered countries and kings but Satan has affected every man ever born from Adam, barring our great Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why nothing outside of His power will ever defeat Satan and his cunning tactics. The standoff between the devil and man is a foolish matchup; there will only ever be one winner, the devil! Now before it seems like I would be singing his praises, I will state that he is a liar and a cheat and has one ultimate goal and that is to get men and women to sin against God. He knows no other way as he was a liar from the beginning and he is the father of lies; “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) - Sin all started with him and it will also end with him; “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)
Once we understand the potential of our enemy, we will then not war against him hopelessly, we will now arm our minds with what God has given us to overcome, Jesus Christ our Lord and King, praise His name now and forever more.
You see how the Galatian church started their spiritual journey. They received the Spirit of God as they were given life, they were born again, and they were now children of God. But having begun in the spirit they now turned their attentions to being perfected by the flesh; “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-8)
In other words they had started correctly but now had lost their way and began to find justification through works nullifying the work of Jesus on the cross. A gross slap in the face to our redeeming King. But before we run away with ourselves and be the first to cast a stone at our brothers may we look inward and repent where needed.
How then did I lose my way over the years? It is obvious; I was deceived into believing the exact opposite, Licentious became a way of life as I reigned myself to my many weaknesses in the flesh and excused them away. The devil had found out my weakness and he helped me exploit it. This is why “sound doctrine”, correct bible based teaching is crucial to every believers life. Why did the Apostle James emphasis this point; “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1)
Every instruction in scripture is out of love to help us be on guard against our roaring enemy and it would be good to heed its council. So to all my beloved sisters in Christ, who find a need to always hanker after woman teachers I say in love and out of great concern, be careful that you are not being led astray by the fiery darts of the devil. Paul is very clear with his teaching and the reason for it; “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” (1Timothy 2:12-14) – Can you see what has happened through time and the conditioning of our mind-sets, how Satan has brought in his wedge to deceive. God cannot change and His Word will never change. This is just another one of his many tactics to lead us astray. Please Father I beseech you give us eyes to see, so that we would be operational for you. This is a word of comfort and should be seen as such, it is for one’s own protection. It has nothing to do with the opinions of men or woman but all to do with the Word of God and its instruction, nothing more or nothing less.
Let me conclude with one of the greatest stories ever told, the account of David and Goliath… “And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" (1Samuel 17:37) – David never doubted that he would lose to this giant, he knew in whom he believed. Do we hold the same measure of faith in our hearts? We must!
Let us be sober in our reasoning but let us also stand upon the finished work of our Saviour throughout today and it will be well with our souls, come what may. Let us never forget why we are capable of overcoming trial in our lives, it is all because of our great redeeming King, praise His glorious name! It is when we stand upon Him that we will be the victors and nothing else will quite cut it; “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
Signing off
Tyrone
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