Jesus taught us a prayer... it was short, covered all the bases and can easily be memorized, millions of His followers recite this prayer weekly.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 6v9-13. ”
He taught us to pray... "deliver us from the evil one." Spiritual conflict is real. We need deliverance from the "devils schemes." Do you know how the devil works? Are you aware of his tactics?
As promised here are the notes from Sundays sermon on "spiritual conflict"...
Here is a list of 10 tactics of the devil...
1.He is a liar and he will lie to you John 8v44
2.He blinds peoples minds to the truth 2Cor.4v4
3.He disguises himself as a messenger or light & righteousness 2Cor.11v13-15-- Paul referred to the doctrines of demons 1 Tim.4v1, Jesus and Paul referred to wolves in sheep clothes Matt.7v15, Acts 20v30.
4.He can perform signs & wonders 2 Thess.2v9
5.He tempts us to sin Matt.4v1-11, 2Cor.11v3
6.He steals the word of God out of our hearts & strangles out our faith Mark 4v1-9, 1Thess.3v5
7.Satan even causes some sickness & disease Luke 13v16, Acts 10v38
8.He is a murderer John 8v44, 1Jn.3v12
9.He interferes with our plans to minister to people 1Thess.2v17-18
10.He brings accusations against us Rev.12v10
Of all the forms spiritual conflict takes, behind each one is a lie. Devil means to lie or slander. He lies to us. He lies in two basic ways temptation and accusation. From Thomas Brooks work on spiritual conflict “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices” here are several ways these lies can sound.
Temptation Lies:
Immediacy: He shows me the bait and hides the hook. My thoughts are turned to the immediate pleasure that could be mine and I give little or no thought to the longterm consequences that will also be mine.
Rationalization: I spin my sin as virtuous, telling myself “I’m not a gossip; I’m concerned” or “I’m not an alcoholic; I’m sociable.”
Discontent: He focusses my attention on sinful people who are living seemingly great lives and I begin to think “I might as well…look how far being the good guy has gotten me.”
Piety: He keeps a list of all the good I do and reminds me of it when I’m tempted. And I say to myself “I’ve done so much good that this one bad thing isn’t a big deal.”
Anonymity: He denies the existence of God by telling me “no one will ever know.”
Showing you the sins of Christian leaders: so you say he/she did it, no one is really walking in purity
Using Grace as a license for sin: over stressing God will forgive you, thats what Grace is for
Accusation Lies:
Regret: He causes me to obsess over the consequences of past sin that I cannot repair –lost jobs, estranged children, broken friendships, bad reputation earned.
Punishment: When life is difficult he tells me I’m being punished by God.
Desertion: He tells me the reason I can’t resist temptation is because God has forsaken me or He’s not real.
Secrecy: He convinces me that “they” won’t love me anymore if they know the real me. My sin becomes a secret I keep at all costs & the secret becomes a wall that separates me from others.
Effort: He tells me my sin is proof that I’m not really a Christian (or not anymore), so I pray again, get baptized again, study again, try harder again.
The call to action is threefold:
1. Identify the tactics of the devil in your life
2. Tell Jesus about it
3. Tell a trusted friend or mentor about it
Brothers and sisters don't let lies win. Don't give the Devil a foothold in your life. Speak truth. Believe truth. Pray "deliver us from evil."
Amen!