Four ways to build spiritual strength below the waterline:
1. Thirst After God- (Ps.42:1) ” As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2. Relinquish Your Will to God’s Will- “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” –Ephesians 5:17
3. Leave No Place Undefended- “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” –1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
4. Throw off Everything That Hinders- “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” –Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
TITLE: FENDING OFF THE FLAMING DARTS
TEXT: 1 PETER 5: 8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
EPH. 6:16 “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”
In this verse we see that Satan is attacking something specifically in the believer’s life. They are “flaming missiles,” “fiery darts” (KJV) and are dangerous in the hands of Satan. He has a target, and that target is your faith. In warfare, a dart would be lit so that when it hit its target, the fire would spread and destroy, thus a flaming dart.
A dart is something external, from without. Satan orchestrates circumstances to attack your faith. A dart suggests speed. Satan attacks suddenly, without warning. He shoots his darts at you during those times when you least expect it, at times when you are most vulnerable or most victorious.
Why does he target your faith? Faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Satan doesn’t want you to please God. It is your faith that overcomes circumstances and brings victory. Satan wants you to be defeated. It is your faith that brings answer to prayer. Satan doesn’t want you to pray and get answers from God. Faith brings hope. Satan wants you to be discouraged. Faith invites God into your situation. Satan doesn’t want God to be involved. That’s why he attacks your faith. Faith here is practical. It speaks of your dependence upon God. Faith is standing on God’s Word believing that He will do what He said He would do.
I. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FLAMING ARROWS?
1. Worry- (Phil. 4:6-7) “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
2. Fear- (Isa. 41:10) “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
3. Doubt- (James 1:6) “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
4. Discouragement- Josh 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
5. This one is more than an arrow, it’s more of a nuclear bomb… Offense
II.THE SPIRIT OF OFFENSE IS A MAJOR WEAPON THE ENEMY USES TO DESTROY OUR FAITH AND TO DISRUPT RELATIONSHIPS.
.What is the spirit of offense?
A spirit of offense is feeling resentful because of an actual or perceived insult. Sometimes it is an actual insult and other times it is an unintended slight that we misinterpret. Regardless of intent or not, we still have to deal with the issue of our hurt feelings.
There are many opportunities to offend others and be offended. Offense becomes a problem and moves into a spirit of offense when we don’t process the hurt and let it go; we begin to nurse our offense. At some point it can start to consume our thought life and affect our ability to walk out our God given purpose.
B. What causes a spirit of offense? There are too many factors to list that cause us to be hurt and develop a spirit of offense. Here is a list of four that contribute to people feeling hurt or offended.
1. Unrealistic Expectations- Dr. Bill McRae states that unrealistic expectations lead to many hurts in relationships.
2. Our own Wounded Spirit- When we understand who we are in Christ and surrender to a life following Jesus, we are able to start working through our wounds and not use them as a filter to judge others.
3. Holding on to Things too Long- Sometimes we are insulted and we just have to shake it off. Keep things in perspective. Friendships are valuable and it is helpful if we acquire the skill of letting things go.
4. Assuming a Negative Intent- I have gotten better at not assuming another person’s intent. I am trying to believe that they did not mean what I interpreted. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.
C. How to overcome a spirit of offense? Overcoming a spirit of offense takes intentionality and a humble spirit willing to surrender the right to stay hurt. There are steps we can take that help us move to releasing the person and avoiding a spirit of offense from taking root.
1) Acknowledge that we were hurt by something someone said or did even if it is an irrational hurt. God is ready and willing to hear our cries and help us walk through our pain.
2) Don’t use your offense to try to turn others against the offender. (This causes others to carry your offense.) That one person I care for doesn’t like another person I care for is not my problem. My only concern is to do my best to remain at peace with all people, no matter whether they can get along well with each other or not. Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” I cannot fulfill that when I allow myself to be drawn into others’ squabbles with each other.
3) Pray for your own grieving spirit and for the other person.
4.) Resist! (James 4:7) “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
5) Walk through forgiveness even if you don’t feel it. That means if we see the person who hurt us, act graciously. This can be difficult, but such an important step in healing. “Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.” (Proverbs 29:11)
D. How did Jesus Forgive and Overcome Hurt? (What would Jesus do?)
When the apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times are we to forgive others, Jesus said, we are to forgive 70×7…that’s a lot of forgiving. Jesus’ point was to never tire of forgiving others.
Forgiveness should become a natural emotion as we walk out our transformed life in Christ.
Jesus forgives everyone! There is nothing we can do to separate us from His love.
It is hard to develop a spirit of offense if we are good forgivers, and as Christians this should be our motto…”I forgive well”!
“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3
APPLICATION: Years ago, Tony Campolo wrote a book about Christianity called “Who Switched The Price Tags”
He told about the time he and his best friend decided to break into the basement of the local five-and-dime store. They didn’t plan to rob the place (Sunday School boys after all); instead, they planned to do something that was far worse for the owner. Their plan was to break in and change the price tags on everything. I don’t think they actually got beyond the planning stages… but they imagined customers arriving and discovered that radios were selling for a quarter and bobby pins were priced at five dollars each.
Campolo wrote: “With diabolical glee, we wondered what it would be like when… nobody could figure out what the prices of things really should be.” In a store the price tags tell us the value of what we want to buy. But if someone switches the price tags, it’s hard to know how valuable something is.
In the book of James, God rebukes Christians who seemingly can’t read the price tags. They’ve lost the understanding of how valuable things should be. But now… how does God know they’ve misread the price tags?
James writes: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:1-2
I CLOSE WITH THIS SCRIPTURE: (1 John 4:4) “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
