- [Narrator] Five signs to know the devil is attacking you.
As we face life each day, our core adversary is the devil
and his attacks are often well-planned with the sinister aim
of weakening our spirit, soul, and body.
However, he remains the sneaky and sly serpent
from the beginning of time.
So he prefers stealth attacks instead of confrontation,
that way we will not be fully aware
of his devices till it is too late.
Therefore, we must be sensitive
and alert to the different seasons in our lives.
When any of these happenings are consistent,
it shows we are under attack and need to rise up
in offense or defense to win the war ahead.
Number one, when we have no desire to pray
or study the word of God,
this is the most obvious pointer that there is danger.
Before Satan and his cohorts can sneak
into our lives to wreak havoc in different areas,
they must first attempt to take away
our defense and strength,
because then we have no inner ability to resist.
Jude 1 verse 20.
But you dear friends, by building yourselves up
in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 6 verse 18.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind,
be alert and always keep on praying
for all the Lord's people.
Number two, when temptations pummel you at every turn,
the sole objective of temptations
is to get us to fall into sin.
For this reason, we need to lean on God more
by running to Him for strength to be victorious.
It is usually a battle of faith,
because when we hold on tightly to Christ's finished work,
we will have supernatural strength to resist temptations.
See what Jesus said in Luke 22 verses 31 to 32
Amplified Bible.
Simon, Simon, Peter, listen.
Satan has demanded permission to sift all of you like grain,
but I have prayed, especially for you, Peter
that your faith and confidence in me may not fail,
and you once you have turned back again to me,
strengthen and support your brothers in the faith.
The temptation of Christ is described in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke's Gospels.
According to the Bible,
after being baptized by John the Baptist,
Jesus fasted in the Judea desert for 40 days and nights.
Satan appeared to Jesus during this time
and tried to tempt Him to sin.
The word tempted can mean either tempted or tested.
Scripture is clear
that God never tempts anyone to do evil.
But He does allow circumstances
to test a person's character.
The true adversary is the devil who opposes God's purposes.
Temptations are Satan's devious attempt to derail God's plan
for the redemption of humanity.
There was a time that the devil tempted Jesus
by standing firm in the truth of God's word.
Jesus repels the devil's assault.
This sets the tone for His and all spiritual warfare.
Whatever the circumstances
or temptations Jesus must remain focused on
the father's will.
Resisting the devil's assault by standing firm
on God's truth will cause Satan to flee.
So Jesus clearly was tempted.
The tempter, you see, requires the tempees cooperation.
That's what we're talking about.
And in order for that temptation to work,
we must desire and want what is being offered to us.
I'd like to ask you a quick question.
How many of you have been tempted by sin?
Does the fact that you resisted imply
that you are not tempted?
No.
It implies that you made the correct decision, correct?
Jesus fought back.
He did not succumb.
But he did feel the pressure and presence of temptation.
So Jesus was tempted as we are.
But why?
Why did he even go through this?
Here's the answer.
Hebrews 2 verse 17.
It was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us,
his brothers, his sisters.
So he could be our merciful
and peaceful high priest before God.
Since He himself have gone through temptation and suffering,
He's able to help us when we are being tempted.
So Jesus understands what it's like to be in your shoes.
So don't say anything like,
nobody understands what I'm going through right now.
Nobody has ever suffered as much as I am right now,
and no one has ever faced the kinds of temptations
that I am currently facing.
Because someone has, and His name is Jesus.
Though no one else can say,
I know exactly what you are going through.
Jesus can, and now He is here
with you in your times of temptation.
The devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness
for 40 days to see what he would give up,
and how he would trust God to provide.
Henry Newman reminds us in his book, "In the Name of Jesus"
that the three temptations of Jesus correspond
to three temptations that leaders face today.
First, the temptation to be self-sufficient.
Even with legitimate needs,
Jesus did not become controlling.
He had faith in God.
Second, the temptation to be spectacular.
Jesus refused to become a stunt man.
He didn't perform in order to become a celebrity.
Third, the temptation to be powerful.
Jesus would never cheat his way to power or worship.
How do you deal with the leadership temptations?
Examine Jesus' strategy for dealing
with the common temptations of legitimate
needs, gifting and fame.
Jesus is our model for overcoming temptation.
He was never defeated.
Number three, when your mind is under serious attacks.
Our minds benefits God and the devil.
So whoever controls the mind, controls the person.
The agenda of God for our lives
cannot be fulfilled without the mind
and the devil knows this.
Proverbs 4 verse 23 says,
keep your mind with all diligence,
because out of it are the issues of life.
When we notice that the mind is under attack,
trusting God at that point to fill it with truth
is necessary or else Satan will capture it,
and then begin to control us.
This is why we must regularly subject our minds
to the word of God to block every loophole created
through our ignorance of the devil's antics.
This ensures that we can stand firm to fight
until we gain control of what goes on in our minds.
When we think of the busiest places on the earth,
we may think of the marketplace or an airport,
but none of these places can compare
in terms of activities like the human mind.
Even if the devil suggests all kinds of lies,
we must remain utterly focused
on God's word and His unfailing promises.
So many situations will confront us
as we journey through life,
but if we can hold onto the Lord and build strength
by meditating on his word or speaking to ourselves,
we will live as conquerors.
The question is, how do we resist the devil?
Our enemy, the devil, has never needed the invitation
to come our way.
As a matter of fact, the devil still needs no invitation
before he comes your way.
He's ready, alert and prepared
to move in at the slightest chance.
No wonder he's known as the prince of the power of the air
as he's always going about to and fro
looking for who or what to steal, kill, and destroy.
One Peter five, verse eight to nine also says,
be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that the family of believers
throughout the world is undergoing
the same kind of sufferings.
The devil only flees and will continue to flee,
only when you resist him.
It takes a certain strength for him to bend or bow.
You never see wrestlers begging one another
in the ring, do you?
According to scripture
the instruction is to resist the devil and he will flee.
It does not say, beg him or beg God, and he will flee.
No, it says, resist him and he will flee.
It's about time you took charge
and refused to let Satan have his way.
Stand against him.
Take charge now, you are the boss.
Show him that you are.
Many Christians do not have any form of resistance in them.
Neither God nor your pastor will resist the devil for you.
Now, let's look at the weapons
of our resistance made available to us by God.
A man who values the word of God
will earn great respect for himself.
He will be respected in the kingdom of darkness.
We are not talking about religion,
but about living a spirit filled
and dominant Christian life.
Every prayer without the word of God
cannot do any harm to the devil.
The more darkness there is, the more light is shining.
For this reason, the devil has no answer to the light.
The devil cannot hang around your life
if the word of God has the upper hand there.
So all you have to do is be intoxicated by the Word of God,
to be ready every day to release, it is written.
Let us pray.
Lord of my life, my rock and strength.
Thank you for your steadfast love that has made me a victor.
Thank you for opening my eyes to the different ways
the devil attacks every believer,
and showing me various ways to escape
the adversaries' arrows.
In the name of Jesus,
I choose to be aware and sensitive to the schemes of hell
against all areas of my life,
so that I can live far above defeat.
Amen.