[God's Plan] [Jesus Christ, our Life] [Up]

SECTION 2 - SATAN’S PLAN—WHY WE SO OFTEN FAIL
TO LIVE LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY

  Part 5—SATAN AND DEMONS OUR ENEMIES

Satan and his demonic forces want to deceive us and move us off of a simple child like dependence in Jesus as our life to trust in our own ways. The word pride in 1 John 2:16 implies self-confidence - a life of doing our own thing operating independently of God and exalting others, things or ourselves above God. The entire world system gravitates toward the control of Satan, (1John 5:19) Yet, as Christians we are instructed to be in the world but not of this world. Satan and his forces try to destroy this balance as they battle against us. The attractive lure of the good things of this world can entangle us and thwart our spiritual growth and prevent us from moving on to maturity (Luke 8:14) The pursuit of fleshly pleasures, power, prestige, money, possessions, leisure, approval of man and many other things can derail us from God’s purpose for our lives. Some of these things are not wrong in themselves but our strong desire for them can turn even good things into idols.  Therefore, as Christians we can turn our freedom in Christ into an opportunity to please ourselves.  If Satan can get us to trust and rest in anything other than God as our life source then we can be spiritually neutralized in our growth. . The list is endless: indulging in external gross sins of flesh, ( idolatry) love of anything greater than God), trusting in the wisdom of other men religious or not, good works , spiritual experiences, religious self righteousness, dependence on our self effort to produce Godly character, even dependence on the Bible versus Jesus the living word of God( John 5:39-40). Psalm 62:5 tells us to rest in God alone. Resting in Jesus as our life by a child like faith is our only source of power against Satan and his forces to overcome the pull of our flesh and use the things of this world according to God's unique plan for us.

Bible verses to read and think about

  A. Read Genesis 3:1-11. Satan  deceived Adam & Eve with half truths and he will use the same tactic on us.  Read Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:13-17. These verses give insight  regarding the probable origin of Satan and his aspirations. In Isaiah 14:13-14. Count the number of times “I” is used.  These verses imply that the flesh (self life) focuses on ourselves Read John 6:63.  This verses tells us that the flesh profits nothing from God's perspective but it is the Holy Spirit that gives life..

B. Read the following verses: Eph 6:10-13,   2Corinthians 4:4, 2 Corinthians 11:2,3.  We  battle against powerful Satanic forces.  In  2 Corinthians 11:3 implies Satan tries to beguile (rob us) of the abundant life and move us from a simple life of dependence on Jesus as our life. . Read Rev 2:2-5.These were His words to the church at Ephesus.  Rev 2:4 KJV “thou hast left thy first love” relates to 2Cor 11:3.  Jesus is interested in an intimate love relationship--a life of trust. We are in union with Him and He wants us to continue to rest and trust in His life to work thru us.

C. Read Matt 4:1-11. Jesus filled with Holy Spirit was still tempted. Notice how Jesus uses the word of God to counter Satan's temptations. As we practice walking by the Holy Spirit we will experience temptation. Read Eph 6:16, James 4:7, Jude 8-9, Romans 13:14, Hebrews 4:15, 2Corinthians 12:9, John 5:29.  Jesus wants us to draw off His life within and trust in the promises of the bible to counter the attacks of the enemy. 1 Peter 2:11  tells us fleshly lusts wage war against our soul.

D.  In the Old Testament names often reflected the character of the person. Satan means adversary. The name devil means slanderer. A reference to Satan as Belial means worthless. Read 1 John 5:19,  John 8:44. Satan, the god of this world,  is described as a murderer and a liar  Read Colossians 1:13, 2:8-15. When we receive Jesus we are transferred from Satan's kingdom to God's kingdom. Jesus has given us the victory! Satan's power has been neutralized by the power of Jesus but we must by faith access that power to overcome Satan and pull of our flesh. The pull of our flesh is like gravity and the power of Holy Spirit is like the law of aerodynamics which allows an airplane to fly overpowering  the law of gravity. Yet, the gravitational pull is always in effect to pull us down just like our flesh always has a  bent toward evil.

E. Read 1 John 2:15-17, James 3:13-18, James 4:4, 1 Timothy 6:1-12, 1 Corinthians 3:18 - 23, Romans 12:2, 1 Timothy 6:17-19. The bible describes the wisdom of this world as satanic and  in direct opposition to the wisdom of God.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit and the deeds of the flesh ( self life) are exact opposites. If a child of God practices living by the power of his  flesh he is living in opposition to God's plan. Pray that God will give us insight to help us know when we are walking by flesh so we might repent and begin anew practicing walking by the power of the Holy Spirit.

PART 6—OUR SELF THE ENEMY WITHIN

As we learned in part 5, Satan is a master of deception and half-truths. One area that he can cause great confusion for the Christian is misleading us regarding the nature of our flesh (self- life). Every Christian experiences an inner struggle between doing what is right versus doing what is wrong. Rom. 6:6 implies that our flesh (self- life) was crucified with Jesus on the cross, put to death, and we were raised up with Jesus with a new sinless nature. How can the flesh that is supposedly dead give us so much trouble? Watchman Nee in his book “The Normal Christian Life” explained that the Roman government would sometimes punish a murderer by strapping the dead body of his victim to the murderer face to face and then guard him until the dead body decayed killing the person. Watchman Nee pointed out that this is the dilemma of the Christian as the apostle Paul laments in Romans 7:24 “ Wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death?” It is important to clarify that by the flesh we are talking about our natural bent toward wrong doing. Depending on your bible translation the flesh sometimes is referred to as the old man, sinful self, sinful nature, carnal nature, self life. We are not saying the body itself is inherently evil. Also, we are not referring to our different gifts, personalities, temperaments but that natural pull toward evil which every believer experiences. Our flesh can even mess up good things and seeks to justify ourselves that we okay spiritually by our self effort.  The flesh is part of us until the day we die but is no longer our true identity. We are saints who have the ability to sin. The flesh is the root of all sinful behavior for the Christian.  We have Jesus living in us yet we have a lifeless body due to indwelling sin, which works against us! Only by abiding in Jesus as our life can there be any hope of subduing the flesh!

Bible verses to read and think about

A. Read the following verses Romans 7:7-25, The apostle Paul blames his inability to keep the 10 commandments on indwelling sin (flesh)  Paul is saying even though he is a new creation in Christ, he still can't produce a Godly life in his own strength because of indwelling sin in his flesh! In Romans 7:25 tells our only hope for victory is Jesus Christ. Galatians 5 :16 tells us the only hope of controlling our flesh is the power of the Holy Spirit which is the life of Jesus.

B. The  flesh (self) can manifest itself in many ways.   From the following verses  the deeds or works of the flesh (self) can include our natural bent toward evil or an attempt to satisfy God by our good deeds. Read Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:3-12, Romans 1:29-32, 2 Timothy3: 1-5, Philippians 3:3, 7-9. Galatians 5:13 tells us not to use our freedom in Christ to indulge the sinful passions and desires of our flesh. Galatians 5:1 tells us we are free in Christ but not to go back to a law of self effort in attempt to produce a Godly life. In 2 Corinthians 12:12 the apostle Paul lives his life by drawing from God's grace. 

C. Read Romans 8:1-4, Rom 3:27, Gal 5:16-18,Rom 7:6, Gal 3:1-5. The only solution  these verses offer regarding overcoming our sinful flesh (self) life is the practice living  by faith in order to access  the power of the Holy Spirit. Trying to overcome the power of the flesh by self effort is referred to as walking by the law. No matter how hard we try in our own strength it doesn't work!

D. Read Colossians 3:1-10, Ephesians 4:17-24, Galatians 5:24, Romans 8:12-13, Romans 13:13-14. Only as we practice putting off the old flesh (self life) and by child like trust resting in Jesus as our life can be begin to control our flesh.  Colossians 3:3-4 implies Jesus is to be as our life Read Romans 8:13  We are to daily practice putting off the self-life and putting on Jesus as our life thru child like trust in Jesus to live thru us. 

PART 7 - THE BATTLE FOR OUR MIND AND HEART

Satan’s strategy is to tempt us in the weakness of our flesh at our weakest moment. Each of us has individual weak points in reference to our flesh. Fortunately, we learned Jesus power is perfected in our weakness. Therefore, our human inadequacy offers an opportunity for God’s adequacy (2Corinthians 3:5). Our mind and hearts are the battlefield which the enemy tries to exploit, tempting us in an effort  to win control of our thinking, emotions and ultimately our will. Many theologians define our soul as the center of our thinking, emotions and will. Our senses especially our eyes and ears are the inlet into our souls. What we see, hear and think about and talk about can ultimately affect our behavior. Our thoughts can affect our emotions. Our emotions can affect our thoughts. They both can affect our will and ultimately our behavior. When we become a child of God our spirit is made alive and God resides in us. It is important for us as Christians to consider what we allow into our minds and what is happening in our hearts. The friends we choose, music will listen to, books we read, TV. programs/movies we view and where we go and what we do have a huge impact on shaping our behavior. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the apostle Paul strove to bring even his thought life captive to Jesus! Beware that Satan’s goal is to neutralize our spiritual growth by getting us to defile our mind, hearts and consciences rendering us ineffective and  unable to be used by God. It is very important that we walk by faith being sensitive listening and submitting to the leading of the Holy Spirit so we can use the world but not be entangled and bound together in the thinking and sinful behavior of the non believing world.

 Bible verses to read and think about

 A. Read Proverbs 23:7, Ephesians 4: 17,Philippians 4:8, Titus 1:15,16, 1 Peter 1:13-16. These verses help us realize that how we think affects the way we act.  We are to set our minds on God's will but depend on God to work with and  thru us to carry it out. How might these bible verses affect your decisions regarding which TV programs, movies, books etc. that you view? 

B. Read 2 Timothy 2: 19-22, 1 Timothy 1: 5, Hebrews 3:7-12, Mark 7:20-23, Matthew 15:18-20, James 1:26. These verses encourage us to practice trusting God by faith and abstaining from sinful behavior. Sin is generated from within by our flesh. Whatever is filling our heart at the time is reflected by our speech. Our heart has to filled with the Holy Spirit constantly so our tongue can be controlled. This is a daily battle! 

C. Our close friendships and close associations can be a major influence on the way we think and ultimately the way we behave. 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1. We all need to pray that the Lord will lead us to friendships that will cause us to grow in His grace.

D. If we find ourselves as believers soiled by improper thought life, setting our hearts or minds on wrong things and violating our consciences in questionable areas then what do we do to correct this problem? Read 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 9: 14. We have a great privilege  as a child of God regarding forgiveness of your sins. Because of Jesus, we have bold access to God's throne for grace and mercy in time of need.  Satan would want you to fear coming to God and stay away causing you to commit another sin of unbelief! Don’t listen to his lie! Jesus beckons us to enter the forgiveness that He has provided! Keep short accounts with God to maintain a sound mind, pure heart and clear conscience before God! He loves us and will not break off His loving kindness or faithfulness when we fail.

PART 8 -  THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF THIS LIFE

The trials and tribulations of this life can wear us down. The enemy wants to use them to destroy us while God wants to use them to drive us deeper into dependence on Him as our very life. In John 16:33 Jesus said: ...In this world you will have trouble. But  take heart! I have overcome the world. God wants us to  realize that His power is perfected in our weakness. Therefore, since we all have the flesh, we will all find ourselves powerless to carry out God's will unless we practice depending on Jesus as our life source. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 we are told that we have the treasure of Jesus presence living in us to show that the all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. Exodus 33:14 tells us that God's presence will go with us and He will give us rest. The purpose of the trials of this life are to move us to maturity. The troubles of this life often overwhelm us and can lead to brokenness so are our hearts may be prepared to trust God as our source of life and rest. Many of us may wish there was an easier way. We sometimes wish there was a spiritual growth vitamin pill! Yet, God uses the old fashion way of allowing our deep needs to drive us to Him our loving, faithful savior and friend.

Bible verses to read and think about

A. The Apostle Paul reminded the Christians in Act 14:22 that we must go thru many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. He was reminding Christians of the same message Jesus told us " In this world you will have trouble" Psalm 34:17-19 reminds us that God will go thru our trials with us. In verse 17 the righteous have many troubles but the Lord delivers him from all of them.

B. In James 1:2-8 tells us the purpose of our trials is to move us to maturity. When in the midst of overwhelming trials we need wisdom. If we pray believing God will give us wisdom, He promises to do so since He is faithful to help us in our time of need. 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to humble ourselves and cast all our anxiety upon Him for He cares for us.

C. Romans 5:1-5 tells us that we access God's grace by faith. In the midst of our trouble as we trust God to deliver us He pours out His love and strength upon us. God promises to accomplish what concerns us Psalm 57: 1-2. He is our stronghold and refuge in time of trouble and will help and deliver us. Psalm 37:39-40 Psalm 68:19 tells us God will bear our daily burdens. God is interested in helping us in all aspects of our life.

D. As God’s children, the trials and tribulations of this life can lead to trust God or tempt us to rebel against God? Psalm 62:8 tells us to pour our hearts out to God. The psalmist acknowledges his problems and deep emotional upheaval but continues to trust God expectantly for His help. As we deal with difficulty in our lives we can be honest with God and still submit our wills to Him expecting He will work thru us and empower us.  Read Hebrews 4:1-3 and Hebrews 4:10-11  As God's children, we can not enter into God's rest if we don't practice trusting Him. Read Matthew 11: 28-30 Jesus tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest in the midst of our difficulties. .