DEFEATING THE DEVIL
(This is blog 4 in the series “Names of Satan.”)
In the last blog we talked about how Satan slanders us to God and God to us. He even tells us lies about ourselves to discourage and defeat us. What can we do to have victory over these? When Satan slanders us to God we depend on Jesus. Jesus is our Advocate (Greek “paraclete”), one who pleads the cause of another. Jesus is our Advocate (1 John 2:1) as is the Holy Spirit (John 14;16; 15:26; 16:7). What a blessing He is! Imagine having Jesus in heaven now defending you before God by pointing out your sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus (Isaiah 43:25).
Not only does Satan slander us to God, he also slanders God to us. Like with Eve (Genesis 3:2-5), he feeds us lies about God’s love, power, justice or goodness. Often, we have an inaccurate picture of Who and what God really is. That’s why it is important to read and study the Bible, especially the life of Jesus, to fully comprehend and appreciate His love and care for us. Time spent in worship also helps us remember what a great and merciful God we have. Reading the Gospel of John is a good place to start.
Doing those can help have victory, but there will still be a battle. So, what do we do? Whenever a sports team is struggling, they go back to the basics. When a business is foundering, they need to make sure they are following the basic economic and business principles. It is true of a marriage. Where we need to start in spiritual warfare is with the basics as well. That will stabilize your foundation and you will grow through the other things. These are the basics:
- Spend time with Jesus every day, preferably in the morning when you first wake up. Read your Bible. Start in Luke 1:1 and read from there, keeping on going to the end of the book. Then read John. Ask God to teach you about Himself as you read. Then spend some time in prayer. Confess any sin you are aware of in your life which you haven’t confessed before. Confession means agreeing with God it is sin. Spend some time praising Him for who and what He is and thanking Him for what He has done for you. Then pray for the needs of others and finally for your own needs. If you can, do this in the morning and evening.
- Make sure there is no sin in your life. We all sin and continue to sin, that’s why we confess it. But if there are any sins that are ongoing and you aren’t stopping, they must be removed. Sin breaks our fellowship with God and opens us to attack by the enemy. Ask God to give you the strength to overcome these things. They may be hard at first for they are long-time habits and the enemy doesn’t want you to stop them, but they are important to stop. Commit to stopping. If you do fail confess it and don’t’ do it again.
- Make sure you regularly attend a church that preaches the Bible. It is important to worship and fellowship with other Christians. Make sure you do this as often as you can. If you work Sunday mornings try to change your schedule or go other times during the week when you can. This is a great way of growing and sharing strength from others.
Start working on these 3 each day and you’ll build a solid foundation with God. It took you a long time to get into this place you are in and it will take some time to grow out of it as well. If God just quickly removed everything and made your life perfect you would soon be tempted to get back into some of those things, or something else. That’s why it’s important to grow spiritually and get stronger so as these things fade you stay close to Him.
Where are you strong in doing the things mentioned above? Keep doing them.
Where are you weak? What can you do to strengthen them? What can you do today to being? Do it right now!
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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