Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8
If he can’t get you one way, he’ll try another
He’s watching,
Listening
Paying attention to your weaknesses
Spiritual Pride?
False Doctrine?
Unforgiveness?
Bitterness?
Covetousness?
Lasciviousness?
Satan knows what to try
Just as there are God’s angels
There are other spirits around that are not good,
Satan’s demons
They are lurking about
Waiting for the perfect moment
He went before the throne of God about Job
Revelation says that Satan is the Accuser of the Brethren
We are warned about the spiritual battle we are in in Ephesians 6
and are encouraged to be protected with the full armor of God
What is the Full Armor of God? – StrongVoice
If we take our eyes off of Christ,
we can fall and there is no telling how deep that pit will be
Only God knows
Keeping clean hands and a pure heart often,
cleansed in the blood of Jesus
Remaining in His word
Asking God for forgiveness and strength to do what is right
Seeking God’s face and His will
and humbling ourselves before His word
Praying and watching
fasting,
walking in truth, the gospel of peace,
righteousness,
faith, salvation,
and the sword of the spirit
giving sin for to Him to cleanse
not trying to hide anything from God like Adam and Eve did
God does not look well to those
who try to hide things from Him
or who try to justify themselves
Putting the deeds of the mortal body into submission
by the power of His Holy Spirit will bring much victory
Let us not glory in the power
or that the demons are subject to us in His name,
but rather that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life
If we are battling with a fleshly lust or desire for the world,
whether it be sex, money, fame, power, prestige,
the act of bringing that passion
before the Lord is what will bring the victory:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh:
and these are contrary the one to the other:
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:17
Trying to conquer our mortal desires
with the strength of our own fleshly denial will never work
What is wrong with some of these things you may ask?
Anything that is not grounded in the Lord God is of no avail,
meaningless, worthless:
It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing:
the words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
If it is power or some other fleshly desire that exalts itself against God,
bring that desire before God as an offering,
asking for strength and wisdom
so that the vile thoughts can be clearly seen as God sees them
The ways that Satan can entice is endless
and he has a way to seduce us into the area he is looking to defile
Maybe he’ll tell you how knowledgeable you are in the things of God,
‘Why, you’re almost as wise as Solomon
and have more understanding of the word of God
than some of the disciples did’
‘Peter betrayed Jesus, you would never do that! Never!’
We can’t begin to think of all the ways we could be spiritually attacked
to harbor feelings of pride, but be sure, attacks will come
Whether they are subtle or booming,
there will be efforts made to get us off-task,
to turn our minds away from the Lord
Trying to please man
Getting along with others at the cost of not speaking up for the gospel because you don’t want to stir the pot
Stirring the pot is uncomfortable
and people won’t like us as much if we do that
Speak what God gives you to speak anyway and He will reward you
Don’t be ashamed of what Jesus said or of who He is
Be vigilant
Be watchful
Be prudent
Be prepared
And stay very close to God
Scriptural References:
Now there was a day when the sons of God
came to present themselves before the Lord,
and Satan came also among them.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said,
From going to and fro in the earth,
and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:6-7
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength,
and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night.
Revelation 12:10
But if the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ from the dead
shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Romans 8:11
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not,
that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven.
Luke 10:20
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts.
Galatians 5:24
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:6
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence,
and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Colossians 3:5
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation;
of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Mark 8:38