DEALING WITH THE ENEMY (Lenten 32)

I am sure you will never forget the day when you heard the Gospel preached, and the Holy Spirit convicted you of your sins and you became aware you were on your way to a lost eternity. We will be ever thankful that God gave us the grace to repent, and we were born again. That day began a journey that for some of us has been going on for nearly 70 years. We very soon became aware that we had an enemy that wanted to rob us of our forgiveness and peace.
Sadly, many Christians  were unaware (often for years) that Christ’s death and resurrection not only dealt with our sins but through Christ’s death we have obtained an inheritance to deal with every attack of the emeny. Paul tells us in Eph. 6:10-18 that there is a complete set of armour available to us to deal with every attack and trick of the enemy.
NKJV Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
I have written on these numerous times but will list the armour here again.

• The Helmet of Salvation
•  The breastplate of Righteousness
•  The Belt (or skirt) of Truth
•  The Shield of Faith
•  The Sword of the Spirit
•  The Footwear of Peace
•  Prayer

We must recognise what piece of armour we NEED, then PUT put it on and learn to USE it, we need all 7 pieces.
Paul expressly says in verse 11 NLT that if we do that THEN that you (we) will be able to stand firm against ALL strategies of the devil.
In my close to 1000 blogs, I have made little reference to the evil one or his assistants (demons) as I have always wanted to spotlight the fact the he is defeated, and there is total power for us to resist him and win.
The reality is though the evil one is real, and he causes many Believers to fall into sin. WE do not believe a Christian can be demon possessed, but there are many Christians who are demon, oppressed, demon depressed, demon  obsessed and we are to pray for them that they be set free.
Jesus told his disciples in Luke 10:19 NLT Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.
and in Mark 16: 17 NKJV And these signs will follow those who believe: In MY NAME they will CAST out demons.
Is Peter’s words in 1 Peter 5:8 NKJV  still relevant today “The devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”. yes, yes, yes.
We hear very little preaching nor see with our natural eyes, much demonic activity, but there is no doubt the devil and his demons are very  much alive and well in 2020.
We had the privilege of serving the Lord in Asia for a number of years, and you don’t have to convince Asians of the reality of the demonic as their activities  tend to permeate every aspect of Asian life.
The devil and his demons seem to be much more sophisticated and subtle in the West, and are experts and deceiving Believers of their activity. In the list of the Spiritual Gifts in 1 Cor. 12. there is the Gift of Discerning of Spirits, and we need to ask the Lord to help us to discern more clearly the evil one’s activities. Sadly, some Ministries seem more demon centred that Jesus centred and that is why I normally want to spotlight the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in the Believer’s life, but from time to time we need to mention his activities.
The words of Jesus are just as relevant (if not more) in 2020, so we need during our Lenten Journey to recognise the authority God has given us to deal with every attack of the enemy.
Let us not be demon chasers, but discern his activities, and know by revelation (not just information THE POWER AND AUTHORITY WE HAVE  IN THE NAME OF JESUS
Remember James’ words in  James 4:7
NKJV Therefore SUBMIT to God. RESIST the devil and he will flee from you.
MESSAGE YELL a loud NO to the Devil and watch him scamper.