May 16, 2004 1Thess#15-What To Do When Satan Thwarts You 0510604 GFC am
SERIES: Making A Difference—Studies in 1 Thessalonians
SUBJECT: "What To Do When Satan Thwarts You"
SCRIPTURE: I Thessalonians 2:14-20
MAIN POINT: every believer must realize he has an enemy that seeks to thwart his efforts for God’s kingdom
NEEDS AIMED TO MEET: unfortunately, many believers fail to recognize their enemy and his tactics. Oblivious to him, they mistake others for the enemy and wind up dividing the body of Christ, utilizing inappropriate strategies in dealing with being "thwarted", and failing in advancing God’s kingdom
OBJECTIVES (by the end of this message each one will be able to:)
AFFIRM that the enemy is Satan not other Christians or people around them
IDENTIFY the tactic(s) that Satan has been using in his/her life
DETERMINE a strategy(ies) that s/he can use in overcoming the enemy
HOOK/APPROACH (How will I capture and keep their attention?)
**During the Second World War, C. J. Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Force, wrote the following order to all commanders and chiefs of staff under his authority: "There exists a real danger that our friend Rommel is becoming a king or magician or bogey-man to our troops who are talking far too much about him. He is by no means a superman, although he is undoubtedly very energetic and able. Even if he were a superman, it would still be highly undesirable that our men should credit him with supernatural powers. "I wish you to dispel by all possible means the idea that Rommel represents something more than the ordinary. The more important thing now is to see that we do not always talk of Rommel when we mean the enemy in Libya. We must refer to "the Germans" or "the Axis powers" or "the enemy" and not always keep harping on Rommel. "Please ensure that this order is put into immediate effect, and impress upon all commanders that, from a psychological point of view, it is a matter of the highest importance."
1. As we continue our study of 1Thess, Paul reminds us that 1) We have an enemy; and 2) He is out to get us
**You have a target on your back!!
2. Satan wants to thwart/hinder your efforts to serve the Lord. He wants to thwart your efforts to obey and follow Jesus. He will thwart you in your marriage, in your relationships with your kids, and in your experiences with others around you.
3. The Apostle Paul experienced the deep frustration of having his ambitions and efforts hindered/thwarted too...
BOOK/EXPLORE (What does God have to say about this?) What do you do when Satan thwarts you?
1. YOU MUST RECOGNIZE WHO YOUR ENEMY IS
**Professional ball team fighting among themselves; Kobe vs Shaq; G Payton vs Phil Jackson; My dbls tennis strategy;
**church members holding grudges, fighting, arguing, gossiping. . . new bldgs, new ministries, care for us vs reach out to them
**Gen. G Patton- strong sense of rivalry with Britain’s Field Marshall Montgomery that he took unnecessary risks with his men in order to "best" Montgomery and reach a military target/objective before him
A. Paul saw the behaviors of the Jews: caused physical sufferings, killed Jesus & prophets, drove Paul & team out of city, not please God, hostile to men, hindered Paul’s message (v14-16)
B. Paul knew the result: "fill up the measure of sins" and "wrath comes upon them" (v16b)
C. Paul faced a great deal of frustration: "bereft of you...tried to come to you...more than once" (v17)
D. YET . . . he knew the real enemy (v18)
-Thwart= (NIV- “stopped”; KJV- “hindered”)= to cut into; impede, detain; military use= tactic of cutting up or destroying a road so as to make it impassable; obstacles preventing the accomplishment of an intended movement
-Satan= the adversary (1Pet 5:8) "a roaring lion"
** powerful influence over the affairs of those promoting the kingdom of God: Job, David (numbering the people), Daniel (blocked his prayers), Peter (to Jesus re: the cross), Judas’ betrayal, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, Mk 4- he takes away the seed; 2Cor 11- he blinds the minds of those who do not believe, 2Tim 2-he traps us to do his will
Eph 6 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood..."
conflict with wife? wife=/= enemy! struggle with your teen? teen =/= enemy!
angry with your boss? boss =/= enemy! Kids: conflict w/ parents? parent=/= enemy!
2. YOU MUST REALIZE YOUR ENEMY’S TACTICS
A. Deception (lead you to embrace error/falsehood) 2 Cor 11:14 “Masquerades as an angel of light”
**What American’s Believe, George Barna: 35% of US adults strongly believe that the devil is just a symbol of evil; another 25% agree somewhat (60% total); Evang Chr= 47% agree
You stand in one of 6 places today:
-Fantasy= red suit/pitch fork . . . NO RESPECT
-Fatalism= "he’ll do what he will do" . . . NO STRENGTH
-Fear= look for him behind every bush . . . NO CONFIDENCE
-Fault= **Flip Wilson “The Devil made me do it” . . . NO RESPONSIBILITY
-Fooled= been tricked/deceived; have embraced error/falsehood . . .NO AWARENESS of it or danger that results
-founded in Scripture= the only guard against deception (Jms 4 “resist…he’ll flee”; Eph 4 “put on armor”)
You might consider these indicators of where you stand::
1) enemy= others, boss, wife, neighbor, elders, staff, ch people
2) see him at work in events rather than in thots about events (Eg Job cursing God)
3) ministry is fruitless, efforts don’t matter, why bother
4) think partial commitment= total commitment; some obedience= complete obedience; giving most= giving all;
reading= doing; intention= obedience
**gal believing God is leading her to marry a non Christian
Compare thoughts with scripture (2 Cor 10:5 cast down imaginations…bring every thought captive)
B. Distraction (causes you to lose focus)
-focus on wrong priorities/issues . . . on lesser things . . . good rather than best things
**"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing"
**I serve on the board of directors for a ministry created to feed the homeless. The ministry is facing a huge shortfall of donations. Time to re-evaluate scope of ministry and cut out things that are not part of core mission to feed the homeless
**Mom & boy to ice cream store, only had vanilla and chocolate. "How come you don’t have more flavors?" "Lady, if you knew how long it took people to make up their minds between chocolate and vanilla, you’d only have two flavors too." Satan offers 31+ flavors to distract and deceive; all boils down to choc & vanilla, right and wrong, God and Satan
C. Discouragement (moves you to a place of ineffectiveness)
**student at my daughter’s school was critically injured in car accident coming back from Lake Havasu. Created quite a stir at the school and in our youth group… discouragement and questions about God and his workings. What does Satan want to do through this?
**Many circumstances used of the enemy to bring discouragement: unemployment; too many bills, relationship gone south; illness & disease; tragedies (floods, fires, etc)
3. YOU MUST RESPOND WITH THE APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES AGAINST THE ENEMY
**my son David, a Marine Corp medic serving in Iraq, covering over the red cross on his truck to reduce visibility as a “target”
A. Correctly ID the enemy and his tactics- take time to do it; pay attention to what he is saying (v18)
B. Focus on the good and positive things like Paul did (vv19-20) ask others to help! **Paul sent Timothy
C. Keep your eye on the goal (3:1) be clear on where you’re headed
D. Find another way/an alternate plan to reach goal (3:2-8) Ask God for creativity
E. Keep praying (3:9-11) This, after all, is the most important thing!!
Eph 6:10-18 put on your armor and stand against him in prayer
LOOK/LIFE/SO WHAT?? (How does this relate to their life this week?)
**Jay Rathman was hunting deer near Red Bluff: climbed a ledge on the slope of a rocky gorge, raised his head to check out the ledge above, caught a movement to right of his face, instinctively pushed back, rattler struck, just missing right ear, the four foot snake’s fangs got snagged in Jay’s turtleneck sweater, the force of the strike caused it to land on his shoulder and then coil around his neck. He grabbed the head with his left hand and could feel the warm venom running down the skin of his neck, the rattles making a furious racket. He fell backward and slid headfirst down the steep slope through the brush and lava rocks, his rifle and binoculars bouncing beside him. "As luck would have it," he later said, "I ended up wedged between some rocks with my feet caught uphill from my head. I could barely move." He got his right hand on the rifle and used it to disengage the snake from his sweater but the snake had enough leverage to strike again. "He made about eight attempts and managed to hit me with his nose just below my eye about four times. I kept my face turned so he couldn’t get a good angle with his fangs, but it was very close. This chap and I were eyeball to eyeball and I found out that snakes don’t blink. He had fangs like darning needles...I had to choke him to death. It was the only way out. I was afraid that with all the blood rushing to my head I might pass out." When he tried to toss the dead snake aside, he couldn’t let go. "I had to pry my fingers from its neck."
1. Satan is just like that snake . . . he will keep after you, he wants to thwart you
2. Have a circumstance where you feel thwarted and frustrated? NO? You will!
**Rocky marriage? think about splitting? Discouraged at work? Can’t get through to your kids? Ministry efforts seem wasted? want to quit? $ problems? Physical probls?
3. Where are you standing today? Which of the ‘F’ words describes you? Fantasy? Fatalism? Fear? Fault? Fooled? Founded?
4. How should you respond? What should you do?
• Recognize who the enemy is . . .
-Confess to God your blame of others
-ID them as enemy
-Embrace scriptures truth about your enemy and make a study of him
• Realize your enemy’s tactics . . .
-analyze how he attacks you;
-ask God for wisdom
• Respond with the appropriate strategies . . .
IICor 10:5; eye on goal; grab the snake by the throat if you have to!!
TOOK/DECISION/NOW WHAT? (What do I want them to do about this?)
1. How’s your perspective on the enemy? Out of focus?
Affirm/reaffirm the right focus!! Get it back in focus this morning . . . confess, reaffirm, commit
Commit to resisting him and putting on your armor!!
2. Do you know Jesus? Satan’s ultimate deception is for you to miss the whole purpose of life on this planet...
what if the purpose of life was for you to know God personally and you missed it?
3. Prayer: for energy/commitment to not quit but to continue on as Paul did
-I’ve been thwarted/victimized/deceived pray for me
-I’ve been distracted/side-tracked, I need to recommit self to obedience/following, pray for me
-I need to know Jesus, pray for me
4. Remember: You have and enemy . . . YOU are the target!!
