THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
FEBRUARY 6th
THE FIVE AREAS THAT SATAN USES IN HIS ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE CHILDREN OF GOD
[PART 1]
...."And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? And
how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these
are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown: and when they
hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in
them. And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the
rocky places, who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with joy;
and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary, then, when
affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall
away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are
the ones who have heard the word, and the worries of the world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke
the word and it becomes unfruitful. And these are the ones on whom seed was
sown on the good soil; and they hear the Word and accept it, and bear fruit,
thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold".....
Mark 4:13-20 NASB
The five areas are:
1. afflictions;
2. persecution for the Word's sake;
3. the cares [worries] of the world;
4. deceitfulness of riches;
5. the lust for other things apart from God [self-desire];
It is through these five
things that "all" of Satan's schemes against the children of God have
their basis [open door]. In other words, when Satan comes against us - in order
to separate us from the living Word of God, and remove that Word from our
hearts - his plan will be formulated through at least one of these five areas.
He may be attempting to try and cause one to take a thought for an affliction
that he is attempting to lay on them - perhaps symptoms of physical illness. He
may be trying to cause one to succumb to the persecution that will come for the
Word's sake - and which shall befall everyone who is seeking to live a godly
life in Christ Jesus [2 Timothy 3:12]. The problem is not found in the fact that these things
come against us - for it is certain that Satan shall come against us in an attempt
to "overcome" us. The key is: how will we handle it?
THE CARES OF THE WORLD ARE THOSE THINGS WHICH
ATTEMPT TO DISTRACT US FROM OUR TRUE SPIRITUAL REALITY - THE WORD OF GOD AND
THE KINGDOM
The cares of this world
cause us to take anxious thoughts for our own sustenance in the earth - and,
thus, they only serve to conform us to the pride and self-effort that dominates
those who live in "fellowship" with the "world" through
fear. In the area of the "cares of this world" the word that is used
for care in the Greek is "merimna" which comes from the verb
"merizo" which means to draw in different directions, to distract. So
then, the cares of the world are those things that attempt to distract us from
our true spiritual reality - the Word of God and the Kingdom. The deceitfulness
of riches is able to be used by Satan against us whenever we
"maintain" a greater love for the "riches" of this present
world rather than an "abiding" love for the Father and His Word [Luke 10:27]. The desire for
"other" things - that is, those things that are apart from God [the desire to be independent of (non dependent upon) God
and, thus, unknowingly remain content in sin and rebellion] - allows Satan to "remove" [cover up - smother]
the Word of God from our heart - on an ongoing basis. Thus, if self-desire is
"maintained" it will cause one to continually lean upon their
"own" understanding [because of their hard-heartedness] rather than
the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
[to be continued]
Related Scriptures: James 4:4; Proverbs
3:5-6; Ephesians 1:17-23;
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