Satan’s Battle Tactics Part 5
Scriptures: Mark 4:18-19; Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 8:10-18
This is part five of my series on Satan’s ballet tactics. This morning we will examine how our desires for other things (fulfilling the lusts of our flesh) will choke the Word of God out of us. I shared with you last week that the deceitfulness of riches was one of the tactics that worked well against Christians who were both weak and strong in the Word. This morning we will examine the tactic that is probably the most powerful one that the devil has at his disposal. Let’s me refresh your memory of what Jesus said in Mark 4:18-19. “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” The word translated as “desires” in this verse comes from the Greek work “Epithumia.” This word means to lust after. It especially means to lust after something that is forbidden, something we should not have. The second part of this word is the Greek word thumos, which describes “an urge, a longing, a craving, a passion, or something that is excited.” The word epi usually mean over, but when combined with the word thumos, it means “to get extremely excited for or over something.” In fact, this excitement is so vigorous that it becomes a fervent passion, almost like an obsession, a mania, or very strong desire. I want you to keep this in mind today.
Do you know that when we lust after other things, those things can begin to replace God in our life? Things can actually destroy us, especially when it is coupled with the deceitfulness of riches. Think about it, most people desire riches so that they can purchase whatever they want for themselves and those in their lives. They have a dream list of things they would buy from the new car to the big screen TV. The lust for other things works hand in hand with the deceitfulness of riches, but oh it goes so much farther than that. Our desire for other “things” will have us lusting after the possessions of someone else to include their spouse/significant other; their job; their home; their car, and the list goes on and on.
You remember the story of David and Bathsheba from Second Samuel chapter eleven? David arose from his bed one evening and went out on his terrace which was on the roof of his house. As he walked along the terrace looking out over his Kingdom, David saw Bathsheba bathing on her roof. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah, one of the soldiers in David’s army. David could have chosen any woman that he wanted but he desired after Bathsheba. David sent his messengers to go to Bathsheba and to bring her to him. David slept with Bathsheba (by force as she had no choice in the matter because he was the King) and she became pregnant. When this was discovered, David tried to hide his sin by bringing Uriah home from the battle so that he could sleep with his wife and in due time would think the baby was his. But Uriah, being a righteous man and not desiring to be comforted by his wife while his men were on the battle field, did not do it. David was now in a bind so he made the ultimate decisions to have Uriah killed on the battlefield and then he took Bathsheba as his wife. When Samuel revealed David’s sin to him, David repented. We recall this story as one of David’s greatest sins against God and his fellowman because in this act alone David committed adultery and murder. With that in mind, let me take you back to First Samuel where Samuel tells Saul about his kingdom being removed from him and how God described his replacement as king. First Samuel 13:14 says, “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has appointed Him a ruler after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” This was also referenced in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Acts. I point this out because David was really a good man and a worshipper of God. Through him we have the book of Psalms. But David was also a man who in one moment of time allowed his desire for other things (Bathsheba in this case) to lead him into sin. David repented and God forgave him, but this shows us one example of how lives can forever be altered because of our desire for other things, especially forbidden things.
Several weeks ago when we read from Mark chapter four about the seeds, we read about how affliction and persecution causes the Word of God to be taken from the person who has not firmly planted that Word within them. Afflictions and persecutions are external. These are things that come against us from the outside. These are external influences that attempt to get us so unnerved that we forget Whose we are and who we are in Him. The security of knowing our place only comes through the Word of God and when that Word is taken from us our security is shaken and/or lost. Now, contrary to afflictions and persecutions which are external, deceitfulness and lusts are internal; they come from inside us. These are the toughest to stand up against because they come from our flesh – the inside. Do you realize that the flesh has stopped more men than anything else? Wars have been started because of the flesh and one person’s desire for what another person had. When we walk in our flesh, we desire the things of the flesh which are often contrary to the will of God for our lives. Paul told the Galatians, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Galatians 5:16-17)
The word “walk” in verse sixteen comes from the Greek word peripateo. It appears in the New Testament ninety-five times and it has a very clear meaning. This word is a compound of the words peri which suggests the idea of something that is encircling; and pateo which means to walk. When these two words are compounded into one as Paul used it in the Galatians 5:16 it means “to habitually walk around in one general vicinity.” For this reason, this word peripateo was often translated as live. This means that when Paul said “walk in the Spirit” it could be translated as “live in the Spirit.” This is a very good rendering of what Paul was telling the Galatians. This word paints a picture of a person who has walked in one region for so long that it has now become his environment, his place of daily activity, the sphere that encircles his existence. One writer said the word peripateo could best be explained by thinking of a person who has walked one path so habitually that he would be able to walk that path blindfolded because it is his path, his sphere, the place where he has habitually lived and functioned. I understand this fully. There are several walking trails near our home. When we first moved here I walked on the sidewalks that followed the streets so I couldn’t get lost. After hearing the kids talk about the trails, I decided one day to take one of them and enjoy the scenery. Well sure enough, I got lost of the trail and ended up coming out on a street that I did not recognize. It took me a while to get my bearing and make my way home. Now nineteen years later, I have walked all of these trails long enough that I can’t get lost on any of them. This happened because over time I began to live within these trails. They are like my home.
Let me give you another example that will demonstrate how the Spirit will guide us as we learn to live within Him. When we got our dog I took him for walks on the same trails that I walked. He came to know those trails as well as me as they became a part of his home too. One day Jackie was over at the house and she offered to take Eli for a walk. She asked me where she should take him. I told her to just start walking and he would take her. About 20 minutes later Jackie calls me because Eli took her on one of the trails she was unfamiliar with. I told Jackie to just keep walking and that Eli would bring her back to the house. Jackie said okay and about 25 minutes later she was back at the house. Eli knew where he was because he had walked those paths for years. Jackie did not know them so she had to fully rely on him to get her back. When we start living in the Spirit and not following the lusts of our flesh, we might get lost sometimes, but we need to just hang on and keep walking. The Spirit knows what He is doing and all we need to do is walk/live with Him. This is a process that takes time. This is the message that Paul was delivering to the Galatians and also to each of us.
In the secular Greek literature of New Testament times, the word peripateo often meant to stroll. In fact, Greek scholars suggests that the best way to translate Galatians 5:16 is “stroll in the Spirit.” To stroll is a leisurely walk. A person who strolls is not an anxious, frustrated person who is fighting to do something or get somewhere; rather, he is restful, relaxed, unhurried, peaceful, and calm. This person reminds me of Mr. Ernest and how he is living his life today – not hurried, relaxed and just taking a stroll. This is what it is like to walk in the Spirit. You see, when we walk in the Spirit the stress and anxieties of life are removed and we move over into a realm where we can stroll along in continual rest, peace, and calmness. Riches does not give this to us and neither does constantly seeking other things to add to our lives.
This is important to understand: Paul said if we walk in the Spirit “….we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Remember, before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we walked in our flesh. We were born with a sin nature and we fulfilled the lusts of that nature. Paul told the Ephesians “….Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:3) Again Paul was stating the fact that before Christ we lived in a state of lust, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and mind. We fulfilled the thought and desires of our minds. In short, our flesh has a mind of its own and it is warring against our spirits. Through Christ we have the power to overcome it but we have to recognize that it is a war. It is the Word of God that enables us to win and if we are trying to war against our fleshly desires without the Word, we can’t win! The only answer to our flesh is to walk in the Spirit – live in the Spirit! By walking in the Spirit we nullify the yearnings of the flesh so that we do not fulfil them. Think about it; it is our relationship with God that keeps us in check. It’s that relationship that provides boundaries for us to know what is acceptable and not acceptable to God. In our desire to please God, we refuse (are empowered) not to fulfil the lust that are continuously flowing through our minds. It is through the Spirit that we are empowered to crucify our flesh (beat it into submission.)
Turn to Romans chapter eight and we will begin reading at verse ten. “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:10-18)
If we want to stop allowing Satan to choke the Word of God out of our life through our fulfilling our lusts/desires for other things, these verses tell us how to do it.
1. Recognize and accept as fact that through Jesus Christ even though our physical bodies are dead because of sin we are alive in our spirits because of righteousness. (Vs. 10) This is important because it is the foundation for everything else that follows.
2. Because the Spirit of God dwells within us, He has revived our physical bodies from the sinful death. (Vs. 11) Through the Holy Spirit we no longer have to allow our physical bodies to fulfil its desires, we can just say no!
3. We are now under obligation to Christ, not to our flesh, and when we accept this we put to death the deeds of our flesh. (Vss. 12-13) When our commitment and focus change, so will our behavior.
4. Those who are led by the Spirit are the true sons/daughters of God as they have been adopted by Him. (Vs. 14-15) That word “led” means that we choose to submit and follow. We stop trying to lead and go our own way, we follow the way the Spirit is going. If we are following the Spirit we are not turning sideways to fulfil the desires of our own flesh.
5. Confirmation of our standing with God through our spirit by the Spirit. (Vs. 16-17) When we know our standing as heirs, we live like heirs. I knew what my parents expected of when when I was growing up and I attempted to fulfil those expectations so as not to disappoint them and sometimes be punished. It’s same when we know and try to fulfil God’s expectations.
6. The suffering of we face because of our decision to follow Christ does not compare to the glory which will be revealed to us. (Vs. 18) When we say no to our flesh we suffer. When we deny the flesh what it desires (longing for) that hurts. When we refrain from doing what is natural and common in the world we will suffer. People will call us names. They will accuse us of thinking that we are better than them. We will be faced with constant peer pressures. But when we sell out to Christ and we focus on the glory to come, it minimizes the suffering we experience on this side.
Roman 8:10-18 is about empowerment. It’s about understanding what we have received and what we have given up in order to have it. It’s about acceptance that to walk in the Spirit truly means that we can overcome our flesh. Jesus said in Mark 4:19 that our desires for other things choke the Word out of us. While Satan may be behind some of those desires, our desires are truly internal. We control our desires and what we do with them. The Word of God contradicts the desires of our flesh. So we can either fulfil the desires of our flesh or we can fulfil the Word of God. If we choose to fulfil the Word of God, we have to protect it within our hearts. That means when it battles against the desires of our flesh, we do not give in to our flesh – we protect the Word!!!
In two week I will return with the final two messages of this series. The final tactic that I want to cover is how Satan will threaten us to keep us quiet followed by the closing message with encouragement on how we need to protect the Word within us.
Until then, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
