Based on “Standing Strong” by Pastor Dave Folkerts; 7/7-8/12,
Message #DF166; Daily Devotional #4 - “Choose Your Weapon!”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): There is a long Christian tradition of employing military imagery when speaking of resisting the lies and temptations of Satan. When I was a boy, we frequently sang the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” in our church services. In my second grade Sunday School class, we were taught the song “I’m in the Lord’s Army,” complete with marching feet and saluting hand motions. Although many churches now avoid such terminology, the Bible is full of warfare and battle comparisons. One clear example is the Ephesians 6:10-18 passage from this week’s sermon where Paul describes the various pieces of a Christian’s “armor of God.” As Christ followers, we may not think of ourselves as participants in spiritual battle, but the Bible is clear that we are constantly engaged in one.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): The Bible says this about spiritual warfare: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Who then are these powers and forces? Who is our enemy? In one sense, our own sinful nature wars against us, an ever-present inner pull towards our own selfish desires rather than God’s will. Yet, it is Satan and his fallen angel followers who relentlessly seek to exploit our sinful nature, always looking for points of weakness they can attack to bring us down. Satan hates God and wants to drive a wedge between Him and every Christ follower. Even more, he wants to mislead, distract and deceive everyone else in the world to prevent them from ever following Christ. We may not be actively resisting Satan, but the Bible makes it clear that he is always aggressively fighting us. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): With such a powerful adversary, how can we possibly defend ourselves? First, as Christ followers we are already on the winning side—praise God! Satan is no match for our God in any area or aspect. God not only defends us without our even knowing it, but has also graciously provided us tools, spiritual weapons if you will, that we can employ to defeat Satan. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Our first weapon against Satan, as outlined in this week’s sermon, is to live life with a Godly purpose. That purpose is to grow ever closer to Christ and to draw other non-believers to Christ also. Remember that soldiers not only fight against an enemy, but also strive to liberate those the enemy has already imprisoned. Next, we must always be on guard--there are no timeouts in spiritual warfare! We must be ever-vigilant, never allowing ourselves to wander into situations where we leave ourselves vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Therefore, we must guard what we watch, where we go and who we allow to influence us. Best of all, to accomplish this, God gave us two weapons of immeasurable value—His Holy Word and the ability to communicate directly with Him through prayer. Too many times we bypass these wonderful gifts for our own instincts, logic and determination--all poor substitutes. Through prayer and reading the Bible, we are reminded of God’s wisdom, are renewed by His strength and best of all, drawn closer to Him for our ultimate protection against Satan.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 26:36-45
SPC
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.