2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV) 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
-We are not to be ignorant of the enemies “devises”. Devises are carefully thought out plans, complex mechanisms, and in this case, that are used as strategies to defeat us. The devil is not just sitting around and carelessly causing trouble. He has a well thought out plan to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). He knows you very well; he knows your weaknesses, what makes you tick. The devil knows how far you are willing to go; he knows if he can just pile up enough on you and weigh you down he can stop you.
-One of the biggest devises of the enemy is what I call the Neutralizer. Look at the word neutralize:
Neutralize: render (something) ineffective or harmless by applying an opposite force or effect. Webster’s: to stop someone or something from being effective or harmful.
-There are many that will not let go of their faith that God is and that God loves them but with a big enough blast Satan can neutralize them and cause them to be ineffective. He can load something on them so big, in their eyes, and so massive that it stops them and they become dazed, so to speak. Yes, they may still love God and are still saved, but their faith is waning, their emotions are all over the place, they don’t feel like they can go on. They think “this is it, this is the last straw”. They say things like “I can’t take this anymore” fear kicks in. In their eyes this is the mother of all “bomb shells”.
Ephesians 6:11 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
o Ephesians 6:11Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the devil,
o Ephesians 6:11Living Bible (TLB) Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan.
o The message Bible: “And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.”
-Satan studies you. It is not his power that we are resisting. We have to get our thinking straight. We don’t stand against the power of the enemy in the sense that we are with-standing force. We are “standing against” his wiles or his strategies. These are the plans that have been drawn up since we were born to neutralize us and to make us weak and ineffective. If all goes according to Satan’s blueprint for your life, when you start gaining ground in God all he has to do is pull the cord and “bamb” you get hit with the marriage problem you can’t deal with, or the financial situation that overwhelms you. Your emotions go hay wire and suddenly “God’s not fare”, “this is too much for me to handle”.
-If we examine our lives and look at patterns we will see the things the enemy has been using against us. What can the devil throw at you to make you stop or to slow you down?
Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV) Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
-What are the fiery darts that get in there and start burning? They manifest as anger, rage, sorrow, panic and fear. Fiery darts change your appearance, they make your heart beat faster, they cause emotional pain or grief. If fiery darts if not extinguished quick enough they cause us to overreact, lash out or get depressed.
-Fiery darts come with the enemies thoughts. When you leave the dart in and let it burn, Satan feeds you lines and you will automatically start speaking what he tells you to say. Your thoughts become His. You start imagining the worst things happening.
-This is not God. This is the enemies attempt to neutralize you because you were on a course that stops his plan from working in your life.
In the Garden of Gethsemane: Luke 22:41-43 (NKJV) 41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
Luke 22:44 (NKJV) 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:45-46 (NKJV) 45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
Mark 14:38 account says: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
When Satan drops a “bombshell”
1. Stop and pray. I don’t mean a “religious” prayer. I mean stop immediately and get God’s mind on the situation. When something happens you say “alright Lord, what is your mind on this?” He said pray “lest you fall into temptation”. If you don’t stop and talk to God on the matter that fiery dart will continue to burn and you may be tempted to lash out in anger, say things you will regret, give into to fear etc. Why? “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. -We cannot afford to make a bad decision when it seems like all hell is breaking loose. You must get Gods mind on the matter and make the right decision. Not what looks the best or feels the best or what someone else told you was the best. But follow His leading. Decisions made from the flesh will always lead to your destruction. You must make decisions from your spirit. (Works of the flesh Gal. 5:19-21).
2. Follow Gods leading. John 18:10 tells us that at this time Peter made a decision from his flesh. Peter’s whole world is falling apart. The man he devoted the last three years of his life to is about to die. The Bible says they left all to follow Jesus. Instead of stopping and praying he pulls out His sword and cuts a man’s ear off. That’s flesh. He should
have stopped and asked Jesus “what do you want us to do?” What do we see Peter eventually do? He goes out and denies that he even knew Jesus. Fear! Flesh! That is where the flesh will lead you, away from God’s will. What was God’s will? That Jesus fulfill His call, to take on the sins of the world. Peter was fighting against that and wound up in the flesh. John on the other hand stayed on the path of peace. He stayed with Jesus. He was the only one. He followed Jesus all the way to the cross. He didn’t understand it all, but he trusted Jesus. God is always working good on our behalf.
John 19:25-27 (NKJV) 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
-Jesus entrusted John with His mother. That’s promotion and favor. God cannot trust the ones that surrender to the flesh every time things are going hay wire. God cannot trust the ones that lash out in anger and say things and do things contrary to His plan and purpose. We must build it in ourselves that no matter what happens no matter what comes this is the process we will take. These are the steps we will follow. Building these steps in us will bring us to victory every time and cause promotion in our lives.