The Dark Lord - The Lord Of The Ring Series

· Once again, this is talking about a person who submits to God

· This person has made up their mind to not give sin a “place” in their lives.

That’s why Ephesians 4:26-27 warns us "’In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

· You see - one of the ways in which Satan can get a hold on us is if (for example) we don’t control our anger…

o if we go to bed angry

o if we nurse the anger and wallow in it

o …and rejoice in how RIGHT we were and how WRONG the other person was.

· Satan just loves that… because he knows he can use it against you to tear you down and even destroy your relationship with God.

ILLUS: I once had a terrible argument with a close friend, and that friend said some things that hurt me badly. I don’t remember what we were fighting about, but I do know that I was right and they were wrong. Even after the argument, I found myself "replaying" that argument in my mind… recalling how right I was and how wrong they had been. And I did it again and again and again - because it felt so good. Have you ever done that? (I asked for a show of hands and almost everyone’s went up). Of course you have. I kept it up for the better part of an hour… Satan was having a field day.

And then God began knocking on my door. He reminded me that what I was doing was wrong. That it would destroy me and everything I stood for. I had to repent of that evil I had allowed to take hold of my heart. I mean, the other person was still wrong, but I had to repent.

When you sin in your anger – Satan gains the foothold in your life. BUT if you submit to God and learn to forgive those who have offended you, Satan has no choice but "flee from you" because you’ve resisted him by obeying God.

IV. Let’s revue… You have an enemy - he wants to destroy you

BUT, he can’t touch you…

… as long as you are obedient to God

… as long as you’re walking beside your Father

… as long as you are aware of his tricks and designs on your soul

1 Peter 5:8 tells us we should "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Be self-controlled and alert… pay attention… don’t take your enemy lightly

Satan may be defeated, but he’s still dangerous.

Therefore… “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

Do everything you can to beef up your Christian armor

… so that when the time comes that you’re faced with difficult decisions

… when the time comes that your faith is under attack

… or when your heart is so deeply troubled that you can’t hardly stand it

Then you’ll be able to stand your ground, resist Satan

V. Now, there’s ONE LAST THING we need to talk about this morning.

There’s a bit of "urban wisdom" going around that says that if you are clever enough or smart enough, or you’re good enough, you can whip Satan.

ILLUS: Any of you remember Charlie Daniel’s song: "Devil went down to Georgia"? The song tells the story of a Georgia boy who is challenged to a fiddle contest by Satan. If he wins he gets a fiddle made of gold. But if not, the devil gets his soul. Guess what happens?