This is a serious battle so you better get your gear on.
Ephesians 6:10-13 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Our world has seen wars come and go, the battle between men can last for months or a few years and then it is over, there are estimates that there have been over three thousand wars in recorded history.
There is a different kind of battle taking place that has been raging for a long time, it is a battle that has caused many casualties and the enemy has taken captive a lot of prisoners, it is a battle that many people don't realize is happening or they just don't care. We are in a fierce war with a powerful enemy but we have no reason to be afraid if we are on the Lord's side.
The Enemy: Satan
1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.Satan is seen in different forms in scripture, as a deceiving serpent, as an angel of light that wants to trick us and also as a roaring lion that is ready to devour and destroy. He resist every effort that we make to do something to please God and he wishes to destroy us by violent opposition, persecution, and death.
The Battle: Against Demons
Ephesians 6:12 warns us that one of Satan's most effective strategies is the delusion that everything is fine and that there isn't any serious threat in the supernatural realm. This is a very big danger and it is very naive and it leads to apathy, and indifference.It is very dangerous to be a part of paganism, the occult, and various other things that Satan uses to trick people into his schemes. It looks harmless and it looks like a lot of fun to some people but the danger is real.
The Provision: The Armor of God
2 Corinthians 10:4 We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.The Greek word translated "put on" (enduo) carries the idea of permanence. The full armor of God is not something to be put on and taken off, there isn't a casual day where you can choose to wear part of the armor and you can't rely on a friend that is using part of the armor that you are missing.
We already know that we aren't fighting mankind and the enemy is in the spirit world so we should realize that we cannot rely on man's weapons any more than David could rely on Saul's armor.
The Victory: Standing Firm
1 Peter 5:9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.The way to gain the victory is to stand firm. At the beginning of Jesus ministry he stood firm for forty days in the desert and and as his time on Earth came to an end he was bombarded by Satan again in the Garden of Gethsemane until he was sweating drops of blood. (Luke 4:2, 22:44)
| Victory in Jesus |
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| 1 John 5:4-5 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. |
Thank you Lord for giving me the tools that I need to be able to live in this world and to be able to stand firm against Satan's attack.
