Satan is the enemy, but this is not a fleshly war; it is a spiritual war. It cannot be won by man-made methods. None of us in ourselves are capable of defeating this enemy. However, we must know the enemy, respect his ability, and recognize how dangerous he is. The Bible portrays him for what he is in a way that ought to cause us to seek a weapon powerful enough to stand a charge from him. The Bible calls him a murderer, deceiver, liar, seducer, corrupter, accuser, blasphemer, roaring lion, wicked one, adversary, and beguiler. If we knew a criminal described by these terms was terrorizing our neighborhood, would we be content to stand alone against him with a slingshot; or would we call the police to come and bring in their most powerful weapons? The more danger that we feel, the more help we would seek from those with greater powers; so it should be with God’s people. We must see Satan for the power that he possesses and call upon a greater power than ourselves for our victory. Our methods are but BB guns against him. Peter warned us against feeling secure and admonished us to be vigilant; in other words, be on the lookout for Satan and his attempts against us.
SATAN’S ATTACKS ARE OFTEN SUBTLE ATTACKS.
It is important for the Christian to be on the lookout because Satan uses everyday life to attack us. There are many weapons that he has at his disposal which can be used against the Christian. The demons are tuned and ready to go at us with full fervor knowing the weaknesses that we have in our lives. They also have the opportunities to divert us from our more important purposes. We must realize that some of the things in our lives that are not wrong are filled with potential temptation. For example, it is not wrong to love the water, but Satan can use the water as a temptation for us to do what we know is not right. It is not wrong to fish, but Satan can use fishing as a lure to keep us out of church. There is nothing wrong with a vacation, but Satan can use a vacation to cause us to get away from doing the things of God. There is nothing wrong with hobbies, but Satan can cause hobbies to divert our energy and time away from things of eternal value. Sometimes, Christians fall away from the things of God, not into sin, but just away. We do not have to go into sin to backslide. We simply have to be diverted from doing that which is the greater thing. Christians need to be on the lookout all of the time for things that Satan is using which are not bad things but things that keep us from doing better things.
GOD’S PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER FALL ASLEEP CONCERNING SATAN AND HIS POWER.
There needs to be research among God’s people concerning Satan and his powers. Way too many Christians are not paying close enough attention to what Satan is capable of doing in our lives. We have become complacent and lazy because we do not recognize how powerful he is and the tools that he has at his disposal to control us and to divert us from that which God would have us to do.
Vigilance is an unusual word because it means to do something on purpose. It is something that we need to put into the consciences of all of God’s people. We need to be more on the lookout for the tools that Satan is using to hurt us and to keep us from being effective Christians. The Devil is real, and we need to be on the lookout. He is seeking to swallow us up.
Lookout! See him for what he is and be vigilant.
Pastor Neal, through his preaching and his counseling, displays the compassionate heart of a pastor, follows the true leading of the Holy Spirit, and expresses a fervent desire to see lost souls come to know Christ. It is his ultimate desire to see the greater Jacksonville area reached for the cause of Christ and for revival to come to Northeast Florida.
