Standing Firm against Satanic Schemes, Part 2

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul didn't pull any punches. He clearly told his friends about their common enemy used a number of terms to describe the devil and his demons, such as spiritual forces of wickedness today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll helps us understand the old warnings from Paul Christian should gear up for a spiritual battle that is beyond our human capacity to win.

This is a good day to be jotting notes in your Bible. Ephesians chapter 6 as Chuck gives us clear direction on standing firm against Satanic scheme. The Scripture says put on the full armor of God, that you may be able firm against the schemes of the devil. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, says the Scriptures, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm changes are good, you have never studied the strategy of the enemy being supernatural in nature. You cannot see him.

He does not touch you. You cannot measure him and you will not feel him except within when we walk we leave footsteps on soft sand when he walks. There are no footsteps when photographs were taken of us. The negative reveals are image photographs of him come out blank. You can't photograph it. When we talk there audible sounds that can be heard by human ears when he talks with his enemies and to us. There are no sound but there is great communication.

All of this falls in the category of two words, and I hope you will become a student of it not become so preoccupied with it that's that's all you think of but did you become a student of the two words are spiritual warfare. My advice to you if you wish to be informed as you should be is to read authors you admire and respect who are biblical to the core and teach you what they have learned from the Scriptures about spiritual warfare.

The best step toward dealing with the enemy is being informed of key praise on ignorant Christians. He blinds the unsaved, but he prefers the ignorant Christian because without even realizing it is you think you are walking in the testimony for Christ. You may very well be playing into his hands and not really seeing the world around you is you should be seeing. It is one vast conspiracy is a game plan designed to work against us and to break us and to ruin the cause of Christ.

Our strength is in the Lord. Please observe our stances stronger than his. There is an urgency in these verses is not passivity and there is a knowledge, as he says to stand firm against the schemes of the devil does not ignorant if you are Christian medicine touched, and you understand your stronger, not weaker that there was an urgency in this conspiracy. It is a passive you are to be discerning up in an alert to it, even when you read today's newspaper, even when you watch today's media.

This is interesting of the entertainment world has found delight in turning the subject into something funny or a horror movie or leaving us on the edge of our seats concerned about the hollow man for a half-dozen others we could name and invariably as they put their films together.

The whole mix is put together.

Apart from biblical truth in your left believing a lie. Another example of his strategy of having surveyed the battlefield.

Let's get more specific. First, verse 10. Our strength is in the Lord our strength, be strong in the Lord in the strength of his might. Our strength is in the Lord what it what is it, Luther wrote did we have our own strength confide, our striving would be losing were not the right man on our side.

The man of God's own choosing.

Just ask you this may be Christ Jesus. It is he Lord Savio's name from age to age the same and he must win the battle he must win the battle history. It's his armor.

Our strength is in the Lord and we put on his armor as a child of God, you have living within you the Holy Spirit that's the third person of the Trinity call. We will call eternal coal powerful having all the attributes of the living God living resident within you and resident within you. The Holy Spirit lives every day to take control of your life and waits for you to turn the controls over to you to begin your morning with simple words like Lord. This is your day I come up walking in my own strength I cannot face the things that I must face today on my own. I cannot do my own battles, I cannot protect myself from the attacks I cannot ready myself for what will happen and so Lord I give you my mind.

My emotions, my will. I am yours and I ask that you give me in return. Your strength so that I may make it through the day on the side of victory and defeat. You see, every military person going up battle not only must have the right weaponry must he also must also have the right mentality.

I call it the mental attitude of victory you do not begin your day, fearing that you will be defeated. You begin your day knowing that you are winning and you will win because he is the one if you will, who plays the game through you. He is supernatural and you were not you were not equipped to stand against an invisible foe.

You cannot see him. You cannot measure him, you cannot know when the attacks are coming so his strength must be your salvation. We are strong in the Lord. That's where the strength comes from verse 11.

Our protection is the Lord's armor will look at that next time it's listed for us and 14 through 20 of the passage that follows, six, 14 to 20.

So we will go there right now but he says put up, put on you that the whole panoply of God. The full armor don't leave a piece off. It's the full armor and observe it is not your armor. It's the Lord's arm. It's something that you can't provide for yourself. Most officers of the law who I am, I know who live in uniform where a Kevlar vest.

We call them bullet proof vest, they put it on before the day starts and they don't take it off until they come back to the headquarters where they change closer to their own home where they prepare themselves for the night but they wear that through the day.

You can't see it. If you ever put your arms around them for whatever reason you have felt it and you feel the thickness of the Kevlar because it is a protection that keeps them from the bullet of the of the criminal or the microtech or whatever you are to put on the armor. He doesn't put it on you. You put it on yourself. The Lord does not clothe us with the armor he has prepared it and said you put it on just as a soldier would put on the the protection for the day in front of him. Why do you do it. Look at verse 11.

You put the armor on so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the treating word schemes. I'm going to give you the Greek word, and you will know immediately. The English term which is at the root, drawn from the root of it method Daya, it's in the plural stand firm against the methods of the devil. Chuck, are you telling me that the enemy has methods I'm telling you he has methods he knows that what touches you will not touch your wife in the same way.

So he comes a new one way and hurt another he knows and what attacks this part of the family will not affect that part so he shakes his methods to handle both sides and to bring weakness in disarray and conflict within your family, and he knows the impact of a conflict in family. The strength and the warfare was in the Lord and the protection is in his armor and with it with them both. We stand against the schemes of the devil. Could you put on a 3 x 5 card two or three of his schemes. Could you fill out that answer for the quiz today.

Name two or three of the schemes that he regularly uses and get specific and say he uses these on me and I can usually tell this from him and that sensitive. The third thing I want to say after saying that our strength is in the Lord and our protection is in his armor is are strays that our strategy is based on the knowledge of his scheme. Our strategy is based on the knowledge of his scheme. He operates with a game plan. Let me give you a few of them surprise unexpected assaults attractive and appealing moment tempting thoughts designed to trip us up. And yet, to draw us in so as to trap us making us think one way realizing at all the while he is doing something completely different.

Working from another angle altogether.

He is brilliant he is cunning.

He knows what it takes and he's relentlessly at it was replace go to second Corinthians chapter 2 will show you an example of his schemes of his method. Second Corinthians.

My first second Corinthians chapter 2. Quick word about the context. The Corinthians had one in their midst, who was sinful. They disciplined him. As a result of Paul's advice and chapter in the first letter, but some of them would let the discipline end and so they stayed at it and they kept him under their thumb and they wouldn't forgive him after he had forsaken that lifestyle and Paul comes in the second letter saying you must forgive the brother you must let it go. Here's the reason you have to let it go and not linger with an unforgiving spirit to 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan was that if I read this correctly, in context, it means that if I lived with an unforgiving spirit I leave myself open to satanic or demonic involvement. I open the door to some way for him to wedge his way into it. Can you imagine in the group this size have many moments of unforgiving have gone on in one week. Can you even imagine. Don't answer out loud. Please, and some of you have Dragon name in the back of your mind four months. In fact, some for you. You don't realize it, but that is that blank that thrills him to know that you're doing that. It breaks down the garden within your mind for him to insert thoughts, ideas, suggestions, plans that would never get in if it weren't for the unforgiving spirit that's just one thought.

Look at the end of the verse that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan.

For we are not ignorant of his schemes. There's the word again in English, but it's not. Method Daya, this is in OEM may not aim from Neuss, which means the mind stay with me here.

Don't let your mind drift.

We are not ignorant of his attack on the mind.

That's where he comes. If he gets the mind and sufficient part of the mind.

He gets the emotions and the will will follow. We are not ignorant of his attack on the mind of mine that is full of unforgiveness, resentment and even revenge, to the point of rage is a mind open for the sinister attack of the enemy and it will be surprising how severe it will strike you and how deeply it will change you. He's waiting for that open door show you another one. Look at chapter 10 of second Corinthians stay in second Corinthians chapter 10 verse three for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, sounds like what we just read Ephesians, he goes further, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful, why for the destruction of fortresses we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is the mind game that's going on. Think of it, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, they are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. There are fortresses within the mind there are speculations verse five within the mind there are lofty things.

The ancient cities were built with such bulwarks walls of protection and tall buildings are structures to see over the wall and he is portraying. This is the mind and the hope is to bring the whole line captive not to the enemy but to the what is he putting how he put it to the obedience of Christ. Why else would we suggest people memorize the Scripture. A mind filled with the Scriptures is equipped to stand against the attacks on the mind show you how subtle the attacks are. Stay with me in Chapter 11 same book verse 13.

This may surprise you.

He's describing now those who are emissaries of the enemy.

Second Corinthians 1113 such men are false apostles, deceitful workers distinguish disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Did you know that you don't think he's some hooded beast hiding out behind the barn. Do you he's rolled with the Bible in front of him preaching at churches around the world. He has seminary training and he's he is without even realizing it. An emissary of the enemy. He is an apostle who is falls in that volume I mentioned by Lewis Sperry chafer now in my library faded with age.

I found these words here is a remarkable revelation of the possible extent of satanic, counterfeit, false apostles, deceitful workers, yet these are shown to be agents of the great deceiver, Satan who is himself transformed into an angel of light. Another surprise he isn't someone who is disgusting. He is someone who is appealing. Think of the most fabulous beautiful glamorous attractive image that you can possibly put into your mind multiply it by 100 and you haven't come far enough. He is the highest of God's creations and in that state pride led him to fall and then this fall, he left heaven and the surrounding presence of God and the third of the heaven fell with him and became the fallen angels. The demonic forces in these demonic forces that worked alongside their master.

The sinister Satan himself with a plan designed to thwart the plan of God. At every point.

If you and I could see with supernatural eyes, the presence of demons in this very place we would be shocked if you and I could know how often they are present in the most sacred of places we would be amazed I worn our students at Dallas seminary all the time that they have not entered the most dangerous place on earth at the seminary. If the enemy can get in there. He has got it made for getting into the church because it's the training ground for the church. If you are underway in your study of the Scriptures, and you're making a serious study of the Scriptures. I will tell you, you are again in the crosshairs of his scope.

He despises everything you love and he embraces everything you despise, but he will make his plan look so attractive and appealing.

You will play into his hands in the process of doubting, questioning and little by little turning against the things that are right. He'll even have your question before you doubt and before the doubt runs its course.

He'll have you entertaining that with other people questioning alongside you.

He never runs out of help when it comes to carrying out his strategy back to Ephesians.

Let me show you a word that will miss in our new American Standard Bible. Our struggle second Corinthians 11 go back to Ephesians 612. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood to the word struggle. It's probably PAL Leesville like our English word pail, but the it's the only time in all the New Testament use this word comes from a verb below which means to sway SW a Y to sway, but this word is not about swaying.

It's about wrestling A better rendering our wrestling is not against flesh and blood you guys who love sports or gals to you.

You love sports know that there's no more close contact in sports than wrestling not talk about that dumb stuff that comes on world Federation today work you laugh at all the nonsense I'm talking about true high school, true college true Olympic wrestling you're all over each other.

You're sweating on each other and at times were bleeding on each other. Charlie, a part of the body. You don't touch with each other, you are up close and really personal, and that's the word he uses here are wrestling dozen operate from some distance demon is upon you. I'm around you and over you and under you.

When working you, and following behind this. Believe it. It's a wrestling mat not with flesh and blood. We do ourselves absolutely no favors by ignoring Paul's teaching about Satan or by overlooking the realities of spiritual warfare. Please stay with us because Chuck Swindoll will continue this message on Friday's edition of Insight for living in these prepared a closing comment for today's program as well. To learn more about this ministry. Visit us online at insight world.or is important to remind our loyal listening family that these programs are available to a global audience because of the generous support that arrives during the month of December. To that end, we are calling on friends like you to join us in the all-out effort to bring God's message of grace to all 195 countries of the world at this very moment while you're enjoying this program in your own hometown church teaching spans the globe not only in English but often translated into local languages as well. We've given a name to our growing passion its vision 195 through this prayerful effort, and together with friends like you. We can implement the great commission of Jesus by making disciples to radio our website. The mobile app, CDs, books, DVDs, the podcast are live stream, feed, and more. Even in the face of challenges that have confronted us all in 2020. We are not deterred from this desire to pursue vision 195 is hardly a nation in the world and hasn't suffered from the complications of this coronavirus the 2020 pandemic spread like wildfire has become truly global. The insidious blog is crossed every border broken every barrier humanity is placed in its way. In spiritual terms. Clomid has spread like humans sinful nature without prejudice.

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The preceding message standing firm against Satanic scenes was copyrighted in 2000 2001 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited