As we come to the end of the book of Ephesians Paul instructs his readers on the spiritual battle that is raging in the unseen world. It is here are reminded that stepping into the Christian life by faith in Jesus Christ isn’t a playground, it’s a battleground!
The Bible teaches that life has a dimension that goes beyond the material & physical environment. This is the area that centers on the immaterial part of you, the real you, and your relationship to God. In opposition to God is Satan and a vast army of immaterial, rational demons, that have given their allegiance to him. They have all been sentenced to eternal condemnation in the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41). Yet, that sentence has been postponed until the end of human history. Between the verdict of their judgment and the execution of the sentence is the panorama of human history. In His sovereign plan, God has allowed Satan to have a certain amount of freedom, power, and influence throughout human history.
We live our lives in an arena in which we are virtually blind to all that is taking place around us, in terms of the unseen spiritual battle. We see the effects of evil, but we typically don’t see the players behind the scenes. This spiritual war between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light has been raging for millennia and every human is in danger of imminent attack.
Remember these key points from our passage in Ephesians 6:10-12
~ Satan is on a leash – God is sovereign over Satan. He can only act as allowed by God by His sovereign purposes. ~ Our strength is in the Lord, not in ourselves – This requires a personal relationship with the Lord and a recognition that we can have victory over evil because of the power within us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. We need to start our day asking Hi
m to control our mind, emotions, and will. We do not need to have an attitude of defeat but a mental attitude of victory!
~Our protection is in His armor
~ His schemes are brilliantly designed to cause confusion, conflict, compromise, temptation, and defeat. Satan wants our hearts to beat for anything but His strategy demands anonymity – he works best in secrecy.
~ Our strategy is based on the knowledge of his schemes – God wants our obedience. He wants our hearts to beat only for Him. He wants us to stand up as agents of truth and righteousness in a dark world.
When was the last time you really stopped to consider that the cause of the conflict you are experiencing in your life could be satanic opposition?
Friends, please remember that Satan is powerful but nothing is stronger than the Spirit of God living within us, so STAND FIRM.
“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” – 1 John 4:4
I would encourage you to read through the whole chapter of Ephesians several times this week to help you see how it all fits together.
Pastor Brian
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