(2Corinthians 2:11) “So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
It is nights like last night that helps me remember that without salvation and the protection of our great God that we would be left to the dogs and the bulls of Bashan and be ripped to shreds. Have you ever stopped to consider the spiritual warfare, which rages on in the heavens; how it unfolds and although the devil has been defeated on Calvary, he is still a player of substantial influence in that unseen territory. I agree that he needs permission for all that He does, He always has and for many years to come will still need permission until he is chained for a thousand years in the bottomless pit and then he will be let loose and roar once again deceiving as he is prone to do for a short while until he will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire; “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)
The devil’s destiny with all his allies will suffer torment for all eternity for their defilement to God and for the blood of the saints that they have feasted upon. But as his time is not yet ended, he persistently endeavours to get the child of God stumble. Whatever God hates he loves! “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)
These are the areas he often will look to trip up the child of God, be on guard against this.
“Those things which God hates it is no thanks to us to hate in others, but we must hate them in ourselves. 1. Haughtiness, conceitedness of ourselves, and contempt of others - a proud look. There are seven things that God hates, and pride is the first, because it is at the bottom of much sin and gives rise to it. God sees the pride in the heart and hates it there; but, when it prevails to that degree that the show of men's countenance witnesses against them that they overvalue themselves and undervalue all about them, this is in a special manner hateful to him, for then pride is proud of itself and sets shame at defiance. 2. Falsehood, and fraud, and dissimulation. Next to a proud look nothing is more an abomination to God than a lying tongue; nothing more sacred than truth, nor more necessary to conversation than speaking truth. God and all good men hate and abhor lying. 3. Cruelty and blood-thirstiness. The devil was, from the beginning, a liar and a murderer (Joh_8:44), and therefore, as a lying tongue, so hands that shed innocent blood are hateful to God, because they have in them the devil's image and do him service. 4. Subtlety in the contrivance of sin, wisdom to do evil, a heart that designs and a head thatdevises wicked imaginations, that is acquainted with the depths of Satan and knows how to carry on a covetous, envious, revengeful plot, most effectually. The more there is of craft and management in sin the more it is an abomination to God. 5. Vigour and diligence in the prosecution of sin - feet that are swift in running to mischief, as if they were afraid of losing time or were impatient of delay in a thing they are so greedy of. The policy and vigilance, the eagerness and industry, of sinners, in their sinful pursuits, may shame us who go about that which is good so awkwardly and so coldly. 6. False-witness bearing, which is one of the greatest mischiefs that the wicked imagination can devise, and against which there is least fence. There cannot be a greater affront to God (to whom in an oath appeal is made) nor a greater injury to our neighbour (all whose interests in this world, even the dearest, lie open to an attack of this kind) than knowingly to give in a false testimony. There are seven things which God hates, and lying involves two of them; he hates it, and doubly hates it. 7. Making mischief between relations and neighbours, and using all wicked means possible, not only to alienate their affections one from another, but to irritate their passions one against another. The God of love and peace hates him that sows discord among brethren, for he delights in concord. Those that by tale-bearing and slandering, by carrying ill-natured stories, aggravating everything that is said and done, and suggesting jealousies and evil surmises, blow the coals of contention, are but preparing for themselves a fire of the same nature.” (Matthew Henry)
Our bodies need rest and sleep to help rejuvenate our cells and help us function with some form of normality. If the body is derived of sleep, it cannot repair itself and sluggishness becomes part of my mornings, it takes me at least half an hour to begin to function with any constituent normality. A good soldier is fed the right balance when it comes to food and sleep, give him to much and he will become lazy, give him to little and he will have to draw unnecessarily from the bodies recourses leaving him short of his optimum fighting capabilities. Obviously, when we walk in the spirit and with deliberation go out to deny our flesh these necessities, food and sleep, we will enter a realm of strength in the spirit. Fasting and prayer has their place in a believer’s life. Do you remember what the Lord Jesus was doing prior to being tempted of the devil? That’s right he had been fasting for forty days and nights. It is important to see that He was not only fasting throughout the days but also throughout the night; He fasted day and night for forty days! The bible then tells us that He was hungry. He was in a state of weakness, His brain was receiving signals that it needed to eat or He would surely die. He was hungry for food, His body needed sustenance but there was something He held with higher regard, He proves this to us by His response to the devil. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” Everything about the Lord seemed to be balanced and well thought out, but that would surely go without saying. Bread is important to sustain the body, but the Word of God is of far more importance and it must be view as such. We must begin to reason with the correct understanding; by default we eat when we are hungry and even sometimes when we are not. Have you placed as much emphasis on the Word of God as you do on food? I know I haven’t, but I should as my life depends on it. The Lord Jesus was full of understanding, He is teaching us through His spirit and his Word to reason with His understanding, and may we have an earnest desire to learn from him!
It is nights like last night, where war raged on in my dreams, as restlessness paid me a visit and I tossed and turn looking to my Saviour to help in time of need. He is faithful, and always proves His faithfulness, some nights are worse than others but He is my safeguard, in Him will I trust! I cannot with any certainty explain why I have nights like I do, but I am convinced that the Lord Jesus is teaching me to become more dependent upon Him and not to try get through these nights on my own ability. It is not about me squaring up to my opponent and saying “let’s get it on”, like I may of done as a as a young teen. The battleground is with the unseen enemy and yet he has a phenomenal influence on our lives. Winston Churchill was a great leader as he would anticipate his opponent’s next move. He made it His business to study His foe. It would be wise of us to study our adversary. Before we can do battle and come out as victors, we must understand our enemy. Come on brethren; let us stand as men for the days of childishness have run their course. Firstly we must not be under any delusion that we do not have an enemy and then secondly we must understand his tactics and how he lures us to walk in sin. Sin is a state of unbelief, which leaves us doubting our salvation. Faith is a gift of God; daily, we need to fall to our knees, asking for more faith and in doing that we must take the Word of God more seriously than we take our daily bread. Let us not be ignorant of the devil’s devises! Look at what James instructs us to do; “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
We must always under trial submit ourselves to God, because if we don’t then the opposite will happen, the devil will not have any reason to flee from us.
Michael the archangel teaches us the greatest of lessons; “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." (Jude 1:9)
We must always remember that it is only through the victory of our Saviour the Lord Jesus that we have victory over the devil and all his demons. That seems like an obvious statement, but we are reminded to remember this more than once in scripture and I believe the reason for this is that we tend to forget this simple truth.
We must remember to put on the whole armour of God; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
Study the Word, understand your opponent and remember who it is that has had the victory and stand in Him. There is nothing he can do to the children of God without permission and he is working within the Sovereignty of God’s rule for our well being. But let us not be ignorant of his devices; “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2Corinthians 2:11)
How I long to kneel in the presence of my Saviour, until then!
Signing off
Tyrone
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