THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
FEBRUARY 7th
THE FIVE AREAS THAT SATAN USES IN HIS ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE CHILDREN OF GOD
[PART 2]
...."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
From this scripture we see the five areas which Satan uses in his attempt to
control the children of God.
Again,
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);
IF
THE CHILD OF GOD IS FAITHFUL TO LOVE IN THE FACE OF EVERY ATTACK - AT ALL COST
TO THEMSELVES - THEN SURELY THEY WILL ADVANCE IN THEIR SPIRITUAL WALK
Affliction [in the form of anything that we have already been redeemed from in
Christ - sickness, poverty etc.] and persecution [for righteousness' sake] are
geared to "wear down" the child of God over a period of time - with a
view to keeping them in a weakened state spiritually. Disappointment,
discouragement and, ultimately, disheartenment [an entire letting go of
revelation knowledge through a heart-decision rooted and grounded in
discouragement and unbelief] are the aims of the Evil One and his forces while
the Father's aim when these attacks arise is for his children to continually
resist the "affliction" until breakthrough [the "physical"
manifestation] comes, and continually resist the persecution - through intimate
fellowship with Him and prayer, and a continual blessing [love] of all those
who are used by Satan to come against them. If the child of God is faithful to
love [at ALL cost to themselves] in the face of EVERY attack then SURELY they
will advance in their spiritual walk - all the time being perfectly prepared by
the Holy Spirit to walk in the "fullness" of their Kingdom-position
in Christ [on a daily basis].
AS WE LOVE THE
LORD OUR GOD WITH ALL OF OUR HEART, THEN WE SHALL NOT SUCCUMB TO A LUST FOR
OTHER THINGS
All of these areas are geared to distract us from keeping our eyes
"fixed" [focused] on Jesus. But as we consistently choose to keep our
eyes "fixed" on Jesus all of these things shall pass away before us -
having been overcome by our faith. It is certain that Satan will indeed attempt
to use these five areas to cause us to worry and fear, but as we diligently
"maintain" the Word of God that has been "revealed" to our
heart he and his forces will be stopped cold! In other words, as we obtain a
revelation of the fact that "by His stripes we were healed", and when
we understand and have a revelation of the fact that ALL those who seek to live
godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, and when we understand that we
are called to walk in love and pray for those who persecute us and to love our
enemies, THEN every one of his attempts will be cut short and stopped! As we
gain a revelation of the fact that we are to be anxious for nothing; as we gain
a revelation of the fact that the love of money is the root of all evil - and,
thus, become obedient in money matters [operating in a spirit giving rather
than "hoarding" and selfishness] THEN we shall be enabled to walk
above his schemes in that area. As we are diligently faithful and obedient to
all of the commandments of God, and as we love the Lord our God with all of our
heart, THEN we shall not succumb to a lust for other things - that is, a desire
to be independent of Father and His will for our life and ministry, at ANY
time.
REVELATION KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY TO OVERCOMING SATAN IN
ALL THINGS!
So again, from these things we are able to see clearly that "revelation
knowledge" is the key to overcoming Satan in "all things"! That
is precisely why Jesus said, that the gates of Hell will not stand against the
revealed knowledge of God's Word [Matthew 16:18]. Because many children of God have not "received"
the authority they have been given in Christ, they leave themselves wide open
to attack by Satan when, in reality, he should be "constantly
fleeing" before them in stark terror! We, as children of God and servants
of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been given "all "authority - and as we
take that authority we shall be found "controlling" and devastating
Satan and his strongholds at every turn. The "only way" that he is
able to control us is through fear. In other words, if we have no ground for
fear to work within us then he can have no control over us!
Related Scriptures: Hebrews 12:1-2; Isaiah
53:4-5; 2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:44; Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 6:10; Luke
10:27; James 4:7; Luke 10:19; 1 John 4:18;
*****