Shut the Door on satan!
The Bible warns us to beware “less satan should get an advantage of us, for we are
not ignorant of his devices”. Things that open the door:
Fear – fear works the opposite of faith, therefore it contaminates our faith. God tells
us in Isa 41:10 “Fear you not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yea I will help you, yea I will uphold you with the right hand of
My righteousness”. Fear is saying you can’t trust God’s Word.
Unforgiveness – God’s forgiveness of us demands that we forgive others. (Matt 18:
21-35, Luke 6:37). A forgiving spirit shows that one is a true follower of Christ. (Matt
5:43-48, Mark 11:25-26).
Doubt & Unbelief – Remember that all things are possible to him that believes.
James warns in James 1:5-8. that they get nothing from God. The unbelief done
before we come to Christ is forgiven by the blood (I Tim 1:12-13). Paul warns in Heb
3:12-19, 4:1-11 that unbelief is sin. Some people believe that God doesn’t talk to
people anymore, because we have the written word, so they negate hearing God
because of unbelief. Some people believe in replacement theology (that Israel is no
longer God chosen, that the church replaces them). But Gen 12:3 “God will curse
those that curse Israel”. The book of Obadiah says in vs 15 “As you have treated
Israel, so will I treat you”. Roman 11:1-4, 11-12, 20-23).
Negative words –Jesus said “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”.
Proverb 6:2 states “you are snared with the words of your mouth, you are taken with
the words of your mouth. In Prov 18:21 states “there is life and death in the power of
the tongue”. In Mark 11:23-24, Gal 6:7-9 shows that the principal will work against
you. It’s what you say and believe. We need to wake up! We need to jar ourselves
and recognize that when be become negative, we become murmurers, and
complainers; and we see what happened to them in the wilderness.
Self-righteousness – trusting you can get to God your way, and not trusting that
Christ’s blood redeems you. Religion trust in doing certain acts to become
righteous, but the Bible says “we have been made the righteousness of God in
Christ.
Living in a sin conscience – We are not an old sinner saved by grace. We were an
old sinner, but we have been saved by grace. Paul says in II Cor 7:1-2 “Having
therefore these promises clearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Receive us, we have
wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man”. In Acts
23:1 he says “men and brethren I have lived in all good conscience before God until
this day”. In Acts 24:16 he says “herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offence toward God and toward men”. This is the same Paul who
persecuted Christians. In Rom 6:17-18, Heb 9:14, 10:1-2, 14-23 shows our
deliverance. We must remember as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. (Prov 23:7).
Jesus said “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out
of the mouth of God. This is how Jesus defeated the devil in the wilderness.
Keys to successful spiritual warfare:
Know your enemy and know yourself: the devil seeks whom he may devour (I Pet 5:
6-10). You have to know the wiles of the devil (Eph 6:10-18) unforgiveness,
bitterness see Matt 6:14-15, II Cor 2:10, satan rides into your life through thoughts,
but we are told to bring every thought into captivity (II Cor 10:3-5). You have to know
who you are in Christ. When you know who you are in Christ and know the tricks of
the devil, you will win all the time, when you know who you are in Christ, but don’t
know the tricks of the devil, you can only win part of the time. When you don’t know
who you are in Christ or the tricks of the devil, you will lose all the time.
Trust God and Praise God – Prov 3:5-8, Isa 26:3
The effects of praise on the devil. If we would change our attitude and begin to
praise God in every situation like Habakkuk and like Paul and Silas did in the
dungeon, we would experience the life of God. We can choose to be blessed. We
have a choice in the matter. That single act of praise begins to harvest peace, joy,
pleasure and contentment into every area of your life. Remember that your praise
brings pain to the devil, because the devil use to be the praise leader in heaven,
before he got haughty and fell, so when we praise God, the devil remembers when.
Say what God says: “It is written” will always put the devil to flight. (Matt 4:1-11). In
Prov 4:20-24 we see we control the issues of life by what we say.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: January 20, 2006