Are you tired of being
"overcome" by satan and his lies?
“For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong
holds.” (2 Corinthians 10:4)
Keith, with
such lawlessness coming at us from all levels of government, the oppression in the land, the depression people are feeling that is leading to
financial brokenness and broken families all over the world, the wars, and
rumors of wars (as the scriptures have told us), how do we, as believers, not only
protect ourselves from all of it, but stand steadfast against the enemy and his wicked spirits that
come against us?
Find this, and more, in Keith's book OVERCOMING
INTIMIDATION.
Truth #1 We must always keep in mind that we are at war, and wicked spirits
never, I repeat, never show up to play.
Wicked spirits show up
to try to steal, kill, and destroy the great things that God has for each of
us. On this very crucial point, the Apostle Paul wrote the following warning,
“Lest
Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)
In this verse, the Greek word rendered
“devices” is usually translated “mind.” The important thing here is to not be
ignorant of the way our enemy thinks. Concerning this, Jesus said: “The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10)
Therefore,
our enemy is constantly thinking of ways to accomplish those goals. Jesus also
said this regarding those who follow the father of lies, that is, the Devil.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is
no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a
liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Truth #2 Wicked spirits will work
on a person until that person either believes their lies, or fights back in the
Spirit using the Whole Armor of God.
Combining the two passages above, we see that Satan and his demons steal,
kill, and destroy using lies. In order to achieve their goals, they attempt to
persuade a person or persons to take up their cause by manipulating them with
lies. Since the Truth makes us free, believing lies makes us prisoners of war. This fight against all that is false is why
the Armor is made up of Truth, Righteousness, Faith, and so on.
When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit of
Truth and are clothed in God’s Armor, we can quench the fiery darts of
falsehoods. Conversely, if we believe the enemy’s lies, then we have set
ourselves up as a means by which the enemy may bring harm to ourselves and even
to those around us. That is why it is imperative that we diligently and
earnestly pursue the Truth, so that our hearts and minds will be protected from
all deceptions and the destruction they bring.
For in this pursuit is to be found the
Liberty of Christ, and from this knowledge comes the victory of the overcomer. The
Apostle John teaches us this concerning overcoming:
“For whatsoever
is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the
world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes
that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)
From this passage we learn that faith is
essential for overcoming the world, including the wicked spirits. This should
come as no surprise,
“For
whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
Moreover, it is THE FAITH that is needed! We
must believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Truth #3 We must be born again by
the Spirit of the Living God. There is no other way to overcome the world and
the wicked spirits.
There is, of course, much more to the subject
of overcoming. In addition to being saved, the Apostle John reveals to us this
three-part means by which we overcome wicked spirits,
“And
they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11)
The three essentials are the blood of the
Lamb, the word of our testimony, and not loving our lives unto the death. Not
surprisingly, each of these require the proper use of the Whole Armor of God.
However, before proceeding with those discussions, let us first consider the
more general topic of overcoming Satan, because this lays the foundation for
the other three.
Read one of Keith's life-changing encounters in Overcoming the
Devil.
"When this truth became alive in me, it
changed my life. I was working as an outside sales representative for a
Maryland-based graphics company. I was scheduled to do a presentation before a group
of wealthy corporate executives; and frankly, I was terrified!
Satan knew full well that landing this
account would mean a nice increase in my monthly income, and I could tell that
he was not going to let me walk out of there without a fight. As I was on my
way to the conference room, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, 'before you enter the
room, pause for just a moment and bind, in Christ’s name, all spirits of
intimidation.' All I could say was wow! When I entered the room after binding
the spirits, even though I did not know a soul there, I felt as if I were among
friends. I did my presentation without a hitch and left the meeting with a new
and rather lucrative account."
Notice how this exemplifies the Great Partnership?
God and I walked to that room together, and as we did, He instructed me what to
do. I obeyed and He brought the victory. The Apostle James described this in
his General Epistle: “Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
Regarding overcoming the Devil, the Apostle
Paul included the following in the passage on the Whole Armor of God,
“For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Here, the Apostle uses the Greek word that
refers to the type of fighting we call “wrestling,” which is a form of
hand-to-hand combat. In the same passage Paul prefaced those words with these,
“Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)
Notice that this form of fighting also includes
“stand against.”
Truth #4 In order to overcome the
Devil, we must stand against him and wrestle against him and all the wicked
spirits in the heavenlies.
This war is real. And the stakes could not be
greater. The words “wrestle” and “stand against” imply that the battle is not far
off, but rather that the enemy is an invader, bringing the struggle into our
very midst. We must not turn back in the face of ridicule, the taunts of those
who are the enemy’s witting allies or who are themselves prisoners of war.
Part of his strategy is to mask this
reality behind caricatures of demons, legends of vampires and werewolves,
stories of haunted houses, etc., to frighten people or to belittle those who
are engaged in true spiritual warfare.
We must always be mindful of the fact that we
can never win this fight in our own strength. The Apostle James wrote similar words
concerning spiritual warfare,
“Submit
yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
(James 4:7)
This, then, is the proper order: first we
submit to God, then we resist the Devil. So what does this Scripture mean
by submit? Strong’s provides this explanatory note for the Greek
word rendered “submit”: “A Greek
military term meaning 'to arrange troop divisions in a military fashion under
the command of a leader'. In nonmilitary usage, it was 'a voluntary attitude of
giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden'.” In
the context of spiritual warfare, submitting to God means to assume your proper
place within the ranks. This also means you are fully prepared to execute your
assigned duties faithfully and without hindrance or distraction.
“Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth
entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who
hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Truth #5 Being entangled in the
affairs of this life will prevent us from experiencing the success of the overcomer.
In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus stated
plainly that the cares of this life choke out the Word of God and prevent it
from bearing fruit in a person’s heart (see Matthew
13:1-23 and Luke 8:5-15). The crucial question before us then is this, "What must we
do to extricate ourselves from the affairs of this life?" This should not
be taken as a call to a monastic way of life, nor should it be understood as a
condemnation of mundane or earthly activities. Nevertheless, it is one thing to
engage in earthly activities, such as, work, sports, or hobbies, and it is quite
another to be entangled with such pursuits. Indeed, there are very few people
alive who are not entangled in earthly matters.
“Because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there
be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14)
To begin with, submitting to God must
become our lifestyle. Otherwise, we will easily fall back into our old ways.
Instead of becoming overcomers, we will be undone and overcome ourselves. To avoid this trap, we must submit to the Lord so that His will
would be done on the Earth in answer to the Lord’s Prayer. His will includes having
our souls transformed into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This
involves the working of the Great Partnership. As God’s partners, one of our
most urgent responsibilities is to examine our hearts, and to repent of any sin
that we have allowed into our lives.
Truth #6 We are
the ones who must have our eyes opened concerning the reality of our souls.
Examining our hearts includes comparing our
thoughts and actions to the Scriptures, listening as The Person of The Holy Spirit gently
corrects us, and accepting the correction of the Lord. For God will not reject
us nor condemn us. He already knows everything about us. We then must humbly
acknowledge the errors of our ways before Him and accept His mercy through the
cleansing of our souls.
“If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We cannot experience lasting victory apart
from the transformation of our souls, and this means we must be cleansed from
all unrighteousness. So if we want to experience the power of God operating in
and through our lives, if we want to be true overcomers, then we must pursue
purity!
Truth #7 We must
first draw close to God, and then He will draw close to us! Once
we have done this, out of a pure and passionate love for God, it becomes
tremendously difficult for Satan to convince you that you are not all that God
says you are, and that you cannot do all that God says you can do in Christ’s
name.
The pursuit of purity includes meditating on
God’s Word day and night. This means continually being in a state of prayer. As the Scripture says,
“Pray
without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
In using the Whole Armor of God, prayer
involves pressing INto God’s presence. When we are one with Him, we can see
ourselves through His eyes, the way that He sees us! When we do this, it is
totally amazing what we see! (For more on this, see our book Keep the Faith -
Keep Your Vision.) As James also wrote,
“Draw
nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:8)
I must add that most Christians to whom I
have ministered, who struggle with intimidation, do so because they do not know
who they are in Christ Jesus. Why do they not know? Simply because they do not spend
their time with Jesus and His Word. They are not abiding in Christ, and His
Word is not abiding in them. That is why so many in the church today are living
lukewarm and defeated lives.
For this same reason Satan does not want us
anywhere near God and His Word! One of the popular questions I've been asked
is, "Can the devil follow us into the
presence of God?" Satan
knows full well that once we are abiding in Jesus, with His Word abiding in us,
that we will be infused with the power and the strength to fight through
anything that the wicked spirits can throw at us. Consequently, we must be
prepared to encounter stiff resistance as we press INto God’s presence and
endeavor to study the Scriptures!
For instance, we can expect intimidating or
distracting thoughts as we start to study or pray. There will be thoughts such
as, “I must call so-'n-so,” or, “I have to run to the store,’” etc. Perhaps the
most obvious form of deterrence is extreme sleepiness as we attempt to study
the Scriptures and spend time with Jesus. Remember,
the cares of this life are like thorns that choke out God’s Word, keeping it
from bearing fruit in our lives. The cares
and entanglements of this life are also the means of subduing and imprisoning
those who do not press through distractions and who do not persevere in
pursuing the Truth.
Truth #8 The victory
comes through submitting to God, and those who have done so stand in their
rightful place within the ranks of the forces of Heaven ready to resist the
devil.
So what does the Scripture mean by
“resist the devil”? Webster's defines resist as “to withstand,
fend off; to oppose actively, fight against.” The Greek word for “resist” is anthistemi, meaning “to stand
against, to oppose, resist, withstand, to resist by actively opposing pressure
or power.” The word anthistemi is made up of two words. The first part is ant, a form of anti
which means “opposite, instead of; often used
to denote contrast.” The second part of the word is histemi, meaning “to stand, used in various
applications literally or figuratively.” It is translated as “abide,”
“appoint,” “bring,” “continue,” “covenant,” “establish,” “hold up,” “lay,”
“present,” “set (up),” and “stand (by, forth, still, up).” To “stand” means the
opposite of sitting, reclining, or moving. To “resist” would mean that we are
not only not to stand with anything that Satan and his hoards are remotely a
part of, but that we are to aggressively fight against them using the spiritual
weapons of God.
In sum, resisting the Devil according to
James, and wrestling against the Devil according to Paul, both describe
spiritual warfare. It should be obvious that this warfare requires spiritual
armor, because the opponents are wicked spirits. Furthermore, according to both
Apostles, the battle is set within the context of the Great Partnership.
The “Great Partnership” of which Jesus spoke
certainly include being made conformable unto His death that His life would be
revealed through loving and serving others. For “whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister.” Jesus, even though He is Lord of lords and King
of kings, did not come for others to minister to Him. He came to minister to
others. He came to be the servant of all. Greatness, then, in the eyes of God
means expressing His love through selfless service to others. We can only do
this by being conformed to the image of His dear Son, and as we are so
transformed, the service of true love characterizes our being.
Truth #9 Then we
live by the faith of the Son of God, we are able to stand in the Victory that
the Lord Jesus Christ has won for us. Love is the essence of that Victory. And
we know that Love never fails, because God is love!
So, when you love
someone, you are not intimidated by them. When you have died to your old
nature, you are not afraid of death. Examine
your heart and your relationship with God, repent of anything that has
separated you from Him (namely, the old flesh nature), trust in Him, rest in
Him, and wait on Him, and BE an OVERCOMER! Selah.
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Scripture-based truth, unveiling God's Word on real-life matters - what the
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