2 Corinthians 10:3-4
Under Attack
June 3, 2012
Have you ever had anything stolen from you? Maybe it was money, or it was material possessions, it could have been a friend or family member. Or maybe you had something destroyed in a fire or tornado. Or possibly someone destroyed something you really loved and cared about. Maybe it was a family heirloom or someone special gave you a special gift and now it’s gone. Do you remember how you felt? There was that sinking feeling in your stomach, the heart ache, the pain and anguish of losing something.
You should be experiencing that same pain every time you think of satan attacking you. Remember, Jesus told us satan is the one who is wants to steal, kill and destroy you. Jesus offers life; satan offers destruction.
Folks, we’re in a battle for our very souls. And our battle is against satan. If you know how it feels to lose something, then you should know how it feels to have satan try again and again to rip out your heart, mind and soul. His greatest pleasure is to destroy you and me. Unfortunately, most of us don’t realize satan is alive and active and seeks to destroy us.
Let me make one thing very clear. I am not saying anyone here is filled with satan or that he dwells within you. I believe you cannot have Christ and satan within you at the same time. What I am saying is that it is very easy for satan to influence us and make us his tools so that we can destroy one another and the church.
Two weeks ago we began to talk about spiritual warfare. It’s not a pleasant topic, it’s not something we chit-chat about over coffee, but it’s something we need to understand and be aware of. Two weeks ago, I spoke about the passage from Revelation 12:17. It should open our eyes wide open. John wrote, The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Simply put, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then satan is after you. He wants to destroy you. It should sound scary, and, it is.
Do we believe satan is real and exists. Is satan simply a figment of our imagination? Is he just another way to say we messed up and made mistakes, not sinning, just slipping up? Is satan just a funny looking guy in a red suit with horns?
The question is not ‘do you believe in satan?’ The question is, do you believe satan is real?
There was a study completed by a Christian Research Group which is headed by George Barna. Listen to these amazing conclusions ~~
62% of people believe satan "is only a symbol of evil."
53% of born again Christians believe satan is real.
The religious group with the strongest belief in the existence of satan
72% of Catholics say satan is non-existent.
64% of women reject satan’s existence
59% of men reject satan’s existance.
59% of Mormons believe satan is real.
We don’t take this topic very seriously, and that plays into satans hands.
There are 2 scriptures I want to focus on. The first passage comes from 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 ~
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
In this passage Paul tells us that even though we work and go to school and shop and overall live in the world, we cannot fight satan as the world fights. We cannot fight with the weapons of the world. They will be useless. It would be like putting a band-aid over someone’s broken arm. Or someone comes at you with their machine gun, and you’re going to defeat them with a rubber band. It just won’t work. So Paul tells us, we can’t fight with the weapons of the world, we have something far better.
We could use tanks and machine guns; hand grenades and atomic bombs against satan, and that wouldn’t stop him. What we have at our disposal is something that is so much better, it is something that satan cannot stand against . . . what we have at our disposal is divine power. And what can we do with this divine power? WE CAN DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS.
So, what is a stronghold? It’s a word taken from a military context. And it’s used only here in the Bible. It describes a castle or fort with its moats, walls, turrets and towers. It’s defended by a handful of resolute, determined people. History records that many times a castle like that withstood years of attack because it was so difficult to dislodge its defenders. In essence that’s what we’re up against. BUT, as Paul tells us WE CAN DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS. BUT, we can’t do it on our own. We must use the divine power that’s at our disposal.
For a few moments I want to talk about satan. It’s not something I want to do, but we need to understand our enemy a little. But satan is an active player in our lives and if we don’t understand the way he works, then how will we know how to defeat him.
Today the Miami Heat will be playing the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs. There will also be 15 MLB games. The goal for each team is simple, score more points or runs than your opponents, and you win. It’s that simple. But it really isn’t as simple as it seems, is it? The coaches and players go over scouting reports, they prepare themselves to find the weakness in their opponents.
They’re trying to determine how they could expose their weaknesses. Where’s the weak spot, or player, so we can attack. The goal is to beat the other team. The players get themselves in shape and study their opponent.
In the business world, companies examine the market conditions and make their strategies accordingly. We look at what’s working and what’s not working and we make our moves. It’s all about winning, and when you win, someone else loses. That sounds harsh, but that’s the world we live in.
The point is that every game is a battle, and if you don’t know where your opponents strengths and weaknesses are, you’re going to be in trouble; and the chances of winning grow slimmer and slimmer. It goes to the point where we just try to survive, not thrive; and that’s not winning.
Winning is living the life, the abundant life God offers us. It’s the life Jesus tells us is available if we would only trust in Him. It’s the second half of John 10:10. It’s the antithesis of what satan offers us. Satan offers destruction, Jesus offers us abundant life.
Yet, we’re surrounded by the struggle to be good, to win! It’s difficult, isn’t it? We try, but we seem to stumble over ourselves. Temptation after temptation gets thrown in our way and we just seem to blindly walk right into it. It’s like it never existed and boom, smack . . . we do the unthinkable, and then justify our actions, like there was absolutely nothing wrong!
Think about what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10 ~ 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
But when you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Let’s take a quick look at what Paul was talking about.
I love verse 12!! It tells us that if we think we can’t be tempted, that we can’t do wrong, then we’re wrong! We can and will be tempted. Don’t ever say ‘oh, I’ve never been tempted.’ We’re all tempted. So, Paul reminds us don’t think you’re so tough that you can’t be tempted, that you can’t fall, because you know what? You can! And if you think your standing firm because you can’t fall, you will!!
Next Paul tells us that when we’re tempted, not if, but when we’re tempted, those temptations are common to all people. Don’t think you’re unique, and that your temptation is all about you, it’s not. It’s simply satan’s way to try to get you. Temptation is common and it’s common to all people.
So, Paul has given us the bad news — — we’re all going to be tempted. Now, he gives us the good news in the midst of the bad ~~
God is faithful and He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. God is faithful to His children, me and you; and He will not allow the temptations of satan to be more than we can handle. That’s great news, so if you think you’re really being tempted and it’s a struggle for you, know that God has great confidence in you that you can handle it. Not on your own, that’s not part of the plan, because on our own, we can’t, so God gives us the final bit of great news . . .
When you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. That’s great news, because God will provide a way out. You don’t have to provide the way out, God will. BUT, you need to follow God’s way in order to get out of what you’ve been tempted to do.
Most of the time, can I tell you what God’s answer is to the temptation which comes before you? It’s really a simple answer, but so difficult to do. God tells us
No!
That’s it! NO! We make lots of excuses, but most of the time, it’s simply saying NO! Let me tell you I’ve seen it way too many times, when adults do things to kids that are unbelievable! I’m not talking about heinous crimes. I’m talking about everyday events which adults commit, which we commit against kids we don’t like, or against parents we don’t like, so we take it out on their kids. I’ve experienced it, and I’m sure I’ve done it . . . and it’s wrong.
We do things to one another and act like we were totally unaware of what was happening. “Oh, I didn’t know you were there. . . I didn’t see you . . . Oh, our car is full, we can’t take little Johnny.” It’s all around us, and it’s sin, it’s a temptation which is put right before us, and we have the opportunity to say YES to God and NO to satan, but will we?
We can list injustice after injustice. We can list the everyday tragedies we see. We know all about them. We’ve all been guilty, we’ve all given in to the temptations and said YES to the temptation to do wrong and sin. There are those times when we have that breakthrough, and we say YES to God. It’s difficult to make those decisions. They’re split second decisions, where we choose right or wrong!
The call is clear. We’re in a spiritual war. Are you prepared? Is our team, the FBC team ready and prepared to go to war? Will we give in to the enemy or will we fight the good fight and bring glory and honor to God for doing what’s right.
God equips us! Why? Because He loves us and wants us to do what’s right! Will you?
