Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Recognize the Enemy. Satan is real. Demons are real. There are spiritual battles all around us. These verses talk about the “schemes” of the devil. He isn’t just waiting around, hoping that we mess up. Satan and his demons are out to get us. In the book of Revelation, we are told of Satan’s ultimate defeat, but right now, God has given Satan dominion over the earth. “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Satan’s goal is to stop people from believing in the gospel. He uses demons to toy with our emotions, tempt us to sin and keep us from living the life Christ has for us.
If you have never given your life to Christ, Satan is winning the battle for your soul and you will end up in Hell.
If you have given your life to Christ, Satan is not going to leave you alone. In her book, I’m Not Good Enough, Sharon Jaynes says “Satan lost the battle for my soul… And while he knows that I am forgiven and set free, his only recourse is to try to make me feel unforgiven and captive to my old ways.” The enemy uses every tool at his disposal to make us feel like we are worthless, unloved, unforgiven, a failure, not good enough and the list goes on. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) He does anything he can to beat us down.
Satan does this because he doesn’t want us to tell others about Christ. If we live defeated lives, unsaved friends or family won’t see Christ in us and we become ineffective. Don’t give Satan that victory.
Silence the Enemy. Satan is the father of all lies. He twists the truth. We cannot live victorious lives if we let Satan keep running his mouth. We will start to believe his lies. “If you hear a lie long enough, it'll begin to sound like truth.” -Pastor Josiah (Easter message) To make sure we don’t let the lies start sounding like truth, we need to silence the enemy.
Satan knows no limits. He even tried to defeat Jesus by tempting Him.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you, 'and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:1-11)
We can learn how to silence the enemy by seeing how Jesus responded to him.
Jesus responded to each of Satan’s lies with Scripture. He didn’t just try to ignore Satan, roll His eyes at him. He quoted Scripture to him; Scripture that specifically addressed what Satan was tempting Him with.
We need to know the truth so that when the enemy starts telling us lies we can recognize it is a lie. Speak the truth about the lie. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32 When the enemy tells you that you are unlovable, quote God saying “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). When the enemy tells you that you are unforgivable, quote “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). Whatever lies it is that the enemy tells you, find Scripture to combat it. Memorize the Scripture. Write in on notecard or make it your facebook status. Do whatever you need to so that you can be reminded of the truth and silence the lies of the enemy.
Notice, Jesus also just told Satan “Be gone!” and he left. Ultimately, God is in control. Part of silencing the enemy is getting him to go away, in Jesus’ name.
Prepare for battle. Don’t forget in the passage we read in Ephesians, it also tells us to “put on the full armor of God.” We need to be prepared for the spiritual battle because we are in it whether we want to be or not. Here is the next part of that passage where it gives us a description of the armor:
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:14-18)
We’ve talked a lot about our need for the sword of the spirit (the word of God). Notice that is the only offensive weapon, everything else is defensive. We need to be ready for the attacks of the enemy because they will come! Salvation, faith and trust in God are all pieces of the armor we need to put on for battle.
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Have you given your life to Christ?
- What lies does the enemy use against you the most?
- What can you do this week to start silencing the lies of the enemy?
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This is the first of four messages in the Silence! Series I wrote for my church in Hawaii, New Hope Leeward.
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