Don't Give The Devil A Foothold

Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil .

If a Christian harbors sin in his life, he is giving the devil an opportunity to get a foothold in his life. The Devil will use this opportunity to invade and take over other areas of his life. The devil is like a cat we had when I was a little boy. We first, let him stay on the back poach, then in the den, and finally he was sleeping on the bed. The word "place" means an opportunity or a foothold or a beachhead. Let us look at some ways in this Scripture that Paul says that may give the devil a

foothold in our lives.

I-PAUL SAYS THAT WE ARE TO PUT AWAY SENSELESS LYING:

Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

1-Since the devil himself is a liar, it is no surprise that lying opens for him an opportunity to work in our lives.

2-When you believe the truth, the Holy Spirit can work in your life, but when you lie, you allow the devil to work in your life.

3-What is a lie? It is anything less than the truth. It is either truth or it is a falsehood.

4-Famous American Fibs: The check is in the mail. I’ll start my diet tomorrow. We service what we sell. Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back. Money cheerfully refunded. One size fits all. This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in. Your luggage isn’t lost; it’s only misplaced. Leave your resume and we’ll keep it on file. This hurts me more than it hurts you. I just need five minutes of your time. Your table will be ready in a few minutes. Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit. Let’s have lunch sometime. It’s not the money; it’s the principle. 1

5-The book The Day Americans Told the Truth says that 91 percent of those surveyed lie routinely about matters they consider trivial, and 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lie regularly to parents, 75 percent to friends, 73 percent to siblings, and 69 percent to spouses

6-Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all."

7-Kim Duk-Soo was found by North Korean soldiers in their cellar on November 20, 1950. He and his father, a Presbyterian pastor for 42 years, were taken to prison and told they would be executed in the morning. His father told him they could not tell a lie to save their lives. That evening, a captain approached Kim. "Are you a Christian?" For a fleeting moment, life for a lie seemed the only logical way to go. But the young boy remembered his father's instruction. "I am a Christian," Kim said. The captain drew closer, and whispered, "I am a Christian too. I used to be a Sunday school teacher before the war. You must escape tonight. I will help you." Kim fled that night, having to leave his father under heavy guard awaiting his eventual death. Kim made it to an American base and played the organ for the chapel. If he had lied, what would have happened to him? 2

8-Lying is always wrong.

II-PAUL SAYS THAT WE ARE TO PUT AWAY SINFUL WRATH:

Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

1-Remember, this is one of the devil traits according to Revelation 12:12.

2-The devil wants us to be like him and have angry in our hearts. He knows if we do, we are causing our fellowship to broken with God.

3-We see angry and wrath displayed in all areas of our society.

4-In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles’ John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. Someone set fire to the stands and the entire ballpark burned to the ground. Not only that, but the fire spread to 107 other Boston buildings as well. 3

5-Someone has said, "He who goes to bed with angry in their heart has the devil for a bedfellow.

6-Abilene, Kansas: October 1900. It was Halloween night, and ten-year-old Dwight Eisenhower was so angry his face turned crimson. His older brothers were allowed to go trick-or-treating, but he had to stay home. "You're too young to go out," his father, David, told him. Young Ike burst into tears, ran into the yard and began punching the trunk of an apple tree. He later recalled: "My dad suddenly had me by the collar and I was getting a tanning." Then he sent Ike to bed. The boy's mother, Ida, came into his room with a word of advice from the Bible: "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city." (Proverbs 16:32, NIV) When he was 76, Ike wrote: "I have always looked back on that conversation as one of the most valuable moments of my life." 4