Detecting and Destroying
The Roots of Our Sins # 3
“Putting On the Full Armor of God”
Ephesians 6:10-13
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
Sooner or later, every Christian will encounter the attacks of Satan. Therefore, we must know how to resist Him, not in our power, but with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
- In Ephesians 3:20-21, the Apostle Paul wrote: “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
- Satan is like a lion that prowls around, seeking a spiritually weak or undisciplined believer whom he may devour. Satan watches for those moments of fatigue, fear, isolation, or spiritual carelessness, when we let our guard down and forget who, and whose we are.
- Even Satan knows he cannot take away our eternal salvation, so his goal is to discourage us, to crush our joy, and then trap us with some kind of temptation that would destroy our witness.
- In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” While Satan cannot keep us from being saved, and he has no more power over us than we give to him, his goal is to sabotage our salvation to destroy our witness to others.
The Bible outlines three levels of Satanic activity:
- Demonic Influence – where evil spirits exert their power upon a person’s thoughts, emotions, or actions to lead them away from God.
- Ananias and Sapphira were deceived into lying about how much money they were giving to the church.
- Eve fell for the demonic influence when she believed Satan’s lie.
- King Ahab said a “lying spirit” influenced his prophets to lead him into a fatal battle.
- David admitted that it was Satan who incited him to take a census.
- Demonic Oppression – where evil forces try to discourage the believer through the normal frustrations of life, such as health, wealth, accidents, disasters, or catastrophes.
- Paul referred to this as his “thorn in the flesh – a messenger from Satan to harass him and keep him from being conceited.”
- Job was tortured by Satan – he lost his health, his wealth, and his family, but he never lost his faith in God.
- Demonic Possession – where an evil spirit directly inhabits and controls a person, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
- In the Bible, those who were demon-possessed manifested both physical and emotional abnormalities: muteness, blindness, seizures, extreme physical strength, and self-harm.
- When Jesus proved His authority by casting out demons, the people were restored to their physical, mental, and emotional wholeness.
- Demons are disembodied spiritual beings that must inhabit a physical body, which is why we should avoid anything that offers them a “foothold” in our lives.
- Those who have been “born again” are “sealed with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13-14) and, therefore, they cannot become demon-possessed.
- However, that does not mean they are immune to spiritual warfare, temptation, and harassment, especially in those areas that have not been fully surrendered unto the Lordship of Christ.
- “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14
Ephesians 6 outlines the three spiritual steps a believer must take when faced with a satanic attack.
- Understand that our enemy is not the people satan uses to attack us, but rather it is Satan himself, and his demonic influence behind those normal, daily events that plague us all.
- We must take up the armor that our Lord has prepared and provided for us, and not try to face these attacks alone, i.e., in our own spiritual strength.
- We must be “Strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” So, each morning, as we put on our regular clothes, we also, by faith, clothe ourselves with God’s armor.
So, having done everything we know to do to stand, Paul said, now STAND!
- In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul wrote: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
- When we have done all that we know to do to stand, the only thing we can do is to stand.
- Stand in the Lord! Stand in His strength! Stand in His armor and allow Him to fight for us.
However, here is the greatest news: The war between good and evil is already won.
- By His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave, Jesus Christ has fully and totally defeated Satan.
- Therefore, if we are in Christ, having received Him as our Savior and Lord, and Christ is in us, while we will still face the battles, we will face them “from victory unto victory, till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.”
When Satan buffets your soul, quote this scripture to him.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
