1/25/13 - "GIVE SATAN NO PLACE" - PART 3

Eph. 4:27 Don’t give the devil any opportunity ‹to work›.

In this third and final part of our series on how we can make sure we give satan no place in our life we will cover the third way scripture reveals as to how satan comes. The first two ways we covered in part one and two revealed how he comes as an angel of light through false and deceptive teachings; and how he comes as a serpent, very sly and cunning. This week we will cover how he comes as a roaring lion.

1 Pet. 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Pet. 5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

The first thing we are told here in these verses is to be sober, be vigilant because of this adversary of ours who comes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The word “sober” here means to remain calm, in control of self. This has a lot to do with your soul. You should not be reacting to things based on your feelings. You should be grounded in the Word and walk in the light of who you are in Christ. The second word here “vigilant” means to pay attention. Simply put, you need to know how satan works and pay attention to what you are allowing in your life.

This is especially important when it comes to satan trying to take advantage of you as a roaring lion. You are to resist him, not people, steadfast in the faith. One of the key things that satan does to try and get at our life is to continually remind us of our past, or to get us involved with things of the past. Either one is not good. He has not changed, he is still the accuser of the brethren and if you don’t know who you are, he can get pretty loud and seem quite convincing all the while using his lies to devour your life.

Rev. 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Notice in verse 10 above that we see satan described as the accuser of the brethren. What is he accusing us of? One of the primary things that satan accuses us of is that we are not right with God. He will bring to us these thoughts and make them quite loud at times trying to convince us that we don’t deserve what God has for us. But the fact is he is telling some truth as he did with Jesus in tempting him. But he never tells the whole truth for he is the father of lies.

No one on this planet has done anything of their own merit or effort to deserve anything God has done for us. In fact, if we got what we deserved we would be going to hell and then eventually the lake of fire for all eternity. We are not redeemed because we deserve redemption. We are redeemed because of God’s mercy. Mercy means God is not going to give to those who are born again what we deserved. Because of Jesus we have received grace, which is getting something we did not deserve. But as a child of God you must know who you are in Christ if you are going to overcome this accuser who will try to convince you that you are nothing and certainly not deserving of what God desires for your life.

Notice it tells us in verse 12 above that the believers overcome this lying accuser by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and not loving their life to the death. These are three of the most important elements in keeping satan from devouring you from what you have already been redeemed from.

Rom. 5:9 Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.

One of the most important keys to not giving satan place in your life is to now know who you are in Christ. In Romans 5 here we see that we are now justified by Christ’s blood. This is very significant when you understand the importance of what that actually means. The term justified means to be declared right with God. As the Amplified here says, you were brought into right relationship with God. There are four very powerful truths that make up our right standing with God, and you must know these truths to combat satan’s lies when he is trying to devour your life by convincing you to find your worth in people’s approval, or in what you do instead of what Christ has done. He also works to convince people that they deserve punishment for what they have done, or that they are worthless and cannot change. The blood of Christ did something to change all of that.

The four foundations upon which our righteousness stand are, justification, reconciliation, propitiation, and regeneration. Justification means we are accepted by God, we can do nothing to earn our acceptance. Reconciliation means we are approved by God for we have been restored into an intimate relationship with Christ. Propitiation means Jesus bore the punishment we deserved, God is not punishing us, and regeneration means you are a new creation, and now old things can pass away and all things can become new. Because of this you are not hopeless for you can change anything about your life.

This is what you and I must know was accomplished when the blood of Jesus was shed for us. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb, knowledge of who we are in Christ because of our right standing with Him. What the devil will try to do as a roaring lion is convince you that you are not accepted by God, not approved by Him, He is punishing you for what you have done, and your situation is hopeless for you cannot change. These accusations must be confronted with revelation knowledge of what the blood of Jesus has done for you.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

We overcome by the word of our testimony. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. You must also recognize the importance of your words. James chapter 3 tells us that our words are what determine the course our life takes. The key to dealing with our words is what we are putting into our hearts. You are not going to overcome satan by feeding continually on all the worldly things around you and then defeat the lies of this roaring lion when he begins to fill your thought life with things contrary to the Word of God.

This is why satan has worked so diligently to take control of what you see on television, hear on radio, and listen to through the many forms of media and wrong friends. If your heart has an abundance of worldly things going in, then that is what is going to come out. Your words determine your future. Your words determine whether you are going to walk in the life of God, or the death of the world. We must realize that what we listen to has everything to do with what our outcome in life will be like. Remember we are supposed to resist satan steadfast in the faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Everything that is of this world is out to strip you of your faith in God by robbing you of the Word of God.

Whenever we face thoughts or challenges from this roaring lion that is trying to devour our life, we must respond with what scripture says. This is exactly what Jesus did every time He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Jesus responded each time with, “It is written”. He is our example. If you want to defeat this enemy of ours and give him no place in your life you are going to need the Word in your heart, and in your mouth, especially when you are under attack from this accuser of the brethren.

Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.Matt. 16:25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Last but not least we must not love our lives all the way to the grave. If we are unwilling to follow after Jesus, deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, we are going to be taken advantage of in this life. You must lose your life to find true life. This simply means you must lay down your old ways of thinking and doing, you must get focused on serving the Lord with your life, and developing your relationship with Him. If you don’t you are going to be mislead in life.

So don’t give satan any opportunity in your life. Beware of false teachers and doctrines that just tickle peoples ears, beware of the subtlety of satan working through the worldly things around us, and beware of this roaring lion who will try to falsely accuse you. We can keep satan out of our life if we just stay alert and pay attention to the way he works.

See You Again Next Week For More “Weekly Wisdom”

May God’s Best Be Yours!

Pastor Darryl Baker