24th Feb 2013 by Tony Dibble-
Satanic attacks are not a new thing but we are so used to daily life that we are often unaware when we are under attack. The devil is so deceptive in his approach that we, at times, mistakenly believe that life’s problems are something that we just have to live with and attempt to make the best of them.
The devil is the prince of this world (Jn 12: 31, 14:30; 16:11). The whole world is under the power of the evil one (1 Jn 5:19) and the devil leads the world astray (Rev 12: 9).Christ called the devil a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies (Jn 8:44). The spirit of the anti-christ is in the world (1Jn 4: 3) and the world’s splendid kingdoms can be given over by the devil (Matt 4:8&9), who holds the control to them. The devil works in those who are disobedient to GOD (Eph 2:2) because they have presented him a foot in the door. Such is the controlling power of evil in the world.
Christ said that the gates of hell shall not stand against the church (Matt 16:18). This means that the church must move forward spiritually and not remain at a standstill, neutralised. The church is to march and storm the gates of hell the way Joshua and the army of the Lord’s people did when taking Jericho. They obeyed GOD faithfully, marching and preparing themselves for the attack on the city. The walls of Jericho fell down after the trumpet blast and the shouts. GOD was with them and they were disciplined spiritually for the attack (Josh 6:2-5, 20). The church and the Christian should not be spiritually defensive, living with obstacles viewed through earthly spectacles; they should take the spiritual offensive.
The Bible says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against all kinds of wicked spiritual forces (Eph 6:14). Christ said that His Kingdom is not of this world and violence in the world is not His trademark (Jn 18:36). He is greater than the devil (1Jn 4: 4), and the devil is not a divine power.
Our weapons are not made of flesh but are mighty in GOD for pulling down the spiritual controlling centres of the enemy. They are for destroying arguments that deny GOD and every exaggerated thing that puts itself against knowing GOD. If any idea does not permit obedience to Christ, it is to be discarded (2 Cor 10:4&5).
We are soldiers in the LORD’s army (2 Tim 2:3). We have been equipped from head to toe for this purpose (Eph 6:10-18). The armour we have is both protective as well as offensive. We have the helmet of salvation. Our mind is protected by the saving work of Christ. The Holy Spirit renews our mind as we have been born again. Therefore, we are not going to give in to the attacks and criticisms of the world and mentally, the devil cannot torment us. We have the breastplate of righteousness protecting our hearts. Christ has become unto us, amongst other things, righteousness (1 Cor 1:30) and we cannot be harmed spiritually if we have accepted Him completely as Saviour.
We have the shield of faith in one hand and this protects us from the fiery darts of the enemy. Those darts were poisonous, soaked in oil with fire on their stems and were deadly. All those numerous repeated attacks one after the other would be of no effect as the darts would be “quenched” by water and shielded off. Our faith will throw off those attacks. In the other hand, we have the sword, the single offensive weapon that is used to cut through the enemy in battle. That sword is the word of GOD, called the Sword of the Spirit.It is GOD-breathed and is not just a collection of words when written or when read. It is a weapon; or the weapon of the born-again Christian. The belt of truth protects us from the lies of the devil, the father of lies. The gospel of peace is what we walk with to present the peace with GOD that Christ has obtained (Rom 5:1) for us.
Whilst we are well-equipped, we have to ensure that we have the right spirit. We do not have a spirit of fear but a spirit of love, power and a stable mind (2 Tim 1:7).Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (2 Cor 3:16) and we are asked not to make the Holy Spirit sad (Eph 4:30). So we must always be alert like the committed soldier. We must ensure that we are not caught off-guard and fall into the enemy’s trap. All the devil needs is for us to fall outside the cover of GOD, “to act in our own energy” said Watchman Nee, and that is the devil’s victory. When we want to do things and overlook or downplay the position that GOD is to have in our efforts, this is enough for the devil to beat us to pulp or to neutralise us. That then gives us the fear, panic and anxiety we sometimes experience because without knowing it, we have left ourselves to be on our own, outside the Holy Spirit. It is therefore important to surrender all things to GOD, no matter how insignificant things may seem to be. This was the case with five loaves and two fish (Matt 14:17&18) that fed five thousand persons. Paul concludes that we must pray always with all prayer and submission in the Holy Spirit, being alert and to pray earnestly for Christians.
Note: Tony Dibble worships at Endeavour Christian Gathering in Mullaloo Perth, Australia for about 7 years. Prior to this, he was at Church of Our Holy Saviour, Labuan, East Malaysia. When he is in Kuala Lumpur, he now worships at Faith Oasis Fellowship Subang Jaya, Selangor.
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Reference of pictures:
http://www.reformation.org/en-walls-of-jericho.jpg
http://adventbiblestudy.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/armorofgod2.jpg
http://www.craigsnyder.us/blog/image.axd?picture=2010%2F2%2FPeace+in+Jesus.jpg
http://andrewroebert.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/30145.jpg
http://files.myopera.com/BackFromTheGrave/blog/Jesus.light.jpg
http://sleepersawakened.com/wp-admin/images/victory.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii240/vernonsayers/l_3e04b809307547d99cd17f9535613245.jpg
http://italkgodlistens.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/surrender.jpeg
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