Taking Back Lost Ground

Taking Back Lost Ground

August 26, 2005

Ephesians 4:25-31 Monte T. Brown

November 3, 2007 Sunday Morning

Heart O’ the Hills

Introduction

Not long after my wife and I got married, we moved to

Oklahoma City where I went to work for Mac Signs. One

of the company products that they where well known

for were Martin houses.

Martins are a purplish black bird that consumes many

mosquitoes and other flying insects. They are a great

bird to have around you back yard.

So, How do you catch the Martins? You just have to

create the right atmosphere, and they will come. You

need to get a specific kind of birdhouse put it up on

a long pole; and then you will have purple Martins.

They will nest in our yard because you have put out a

welcome mat for them.

Many Christians have unwittingly given a place to

Satan by creating an atmosphere where he feels at

home. It’s as if they’ve put out a welcome mat for

Satan. Don’t be discouraged; you are not a helpless

victim. Satan can never take any ground that you do

not give him.

And there is a way you can remove Satan if you have

given him a place. You can take back lost ground.

Scripture

[25]Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man

truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of

another. [26]Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the

sun go down upon your wrath: [27]Neither give place

to the devil. [28]Let him that stole steal no more:

but rather let him labour, working with his hands the

thing which is good, that he may have to give to him

that needeth. [29]Let no corrupt communication

proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to

the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto

the hearers. [30]And grieve not the holy Spirit of

God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of

redemption. [31]Let all bitterness, and wrath, and

anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away

from you, with all malice: Ephesians 4:25-31

Prayer

1.Remove Sin

Remember Satan wants an atmosphere in which he can

live comfortably, and that atmosphere is sin.

Look at Ephesians 4:25, and begin reading about some

of the sins Paul mentions specifically that make a

welcome place for the devil in your life.

Therefore, putting away lying, Let each one of you

speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of

one another. Ephesians 4:25

Lying - Paul says, Wherefore putting away lying,

speak every man truth… Satan is very comfortable in

a person who is a liar. John 8:44 calls the devil a

liar and the father of lies.

Every time you tell a lie, you are acting like the

devil; and you’ve given a place to him.

Anger - In both Ephesians 4:26 and 31, anger is

mentioned. The devil is filled with anger (see

Revelation 12:12).

And if you are an angry person, you have definitely

given Satan a beachhead and a campground in your

life.

Stealing - Verse twenty-eight says, Let him that

stole steal no more... In John 10:10, Jesus

referred to Satan as a thief. And if there’s a

spirit of thievery in your life, you’ve built Satan

a nest.

Filthy Speech - And then look in verse twenty-nine:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your

mouth... In Ephesians 5:4, Paul adds, Neither

filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting...

Filthy speech is a haven for the devil.

Bitterness - Paul warns of bitterness.

In verse thirty-one, he admonishes, Let all

bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and

evil speaking, be put away from you, with all

malice

Few things will make the devil feel more at home

than bitterness.

Slander - Evil speaking is just another way of saying

slander or gossip. Satan is a slanderer. He’s even

called the accuser of our brethren in Revelation

12:10. Slander is a vicious tool Satan loves to

use.

Malice - Malice is the desire to hurt someone. Is

there somebody you want to get even with? Then, the

devil is sitting in the corner smiling. You have

given a place to him, and you need to take it back.

2. Renew Your Spirit

After the removal of sin, there must be a renewal of

your spirit. Verse twenty-four instructs us to, … put

on the new man, which after God is created in

righteousness and true holiness. While Satan feels at

home in sin, the Holy Spirit does not. The Holy

Spirit is just that — the Holy Spirit of God.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you

were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

Therefore, holiness makes him feel at home, but

unholiness grieves Him. Put away those things that