Man yields to the devil by going his own selfish way. Satan's nature is characterized by exalting "self" through fleshly will power. This is exactly what "humanism" is--man seeking to be independent of the power of God. Thus the sins of pride, lust, greed, covetousness, and all other "self" interests are part of Satan's nature. The nature of God is love. Love is characterized by giving all. (John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.") We are taught in the Scriptures to "deny self". This means we are to disown, or refuse to acknowledge our "self will power," which seeks only for "self." We are to give all of our being to God and love Him with all of our heart, mind, body, strength, and soul. The degree to which we worship or serve "self" reflects the degree to which we are yielding to the spirit of Satan. He is a deceiver and epitomizes self-seeking. Let us look at another aspect of his work as deceiver. After we have come to the Lord and committed our lives totally to God, we no longer wish to displease Him, so we flee from the obvious works of darkness. The devil then ceases to come to us with the usual temptations because we have learned to resist and not yield to him in those areas. He must now come in another way to get us to believe that what he proposes is God's will for us; otherwise we would rebuke him. He comes imitating the Holy Spirit, attempting to make us receive his plan instead of God's plan for our lives.
Endurance and Discipline Good soldiers must learn how to endure hardness. 1 Timothy 1:18 says, "War a good warfare." War is hard work; any war requires enduring some hardness. First there's boot camp. Here soldiers learn strict obedience, discipline, and strategy of war. Can you imagine a boot camp trainee saying, "Officer, how about breakfast in bed?" Some Christian soldiers act like that when they cry out, "O God, give me this, give me that. A new Cadillac automobile, Lord, and a new house. I claim this; I claim that." Such Christians, expecting God to serve their every want, are not true soldiers. They mistakenly treat God like a bellhop that they can signal, "Come wait on me, God, come wait on me." They seldom, if ever, say, "What would You have me do for You, Lord? What would You have me do today?" We'll never be good soldiers until we have the attitude, "Here I am, Lord, use me in service unto You." We're to serve God, not vice versa. Of course, if we have a valid need, we can ask and God will surely respond. A battlefield soldier might ask for more ammunition. God will certainly supply more ammo if we ask for it God will make sure we're equipped to serve Him. He's the perfect boss, the best we could ever work for. He has a good expense account, meeting all of our needs. In everything He has called me to do, He has always furnished a way, given me favor, and paid for it. He's always there to take care of His soldiers. God, the captain of the army, is concerned about us as His soldiers. He'll show us how to attain victory in our personal lives. As we learn how to win our personal battles, He then wants us to start winning battles for others. Our purpose is to help others attain victory in their lives, too. We help others, and others help us. Many times I've felt, "Lord, I can't fight this battle any longer. Raise up intercessors, Lord. I need prayer support." If you reach that place where you can no longer battle alone, ask God for the intercessory help. He may tell you to call a certain fellow soldier. I've done that and received the necessary reinforcement. As we stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit, He'll provide the necessary ammunition. We're guaranteed victory in every battle we go through, if we obey God. That's an important "if." If we obey God, we can't lose. It needs to be so real to our spirits that we're on the winning side. The devil is the loser. We only lose if we fall into disobedience or rebellion. As we engage in spiritual warfare, our heart attitude must be one of faith and victory. We can't be saying, "O God, why have You left me here in such a difficult spot?" Instead, the faith attitude says, "Lord, I'm growing weary, but give me Your strength and reinforcements. Help me because I want to be Your overcomer." See the difference? When pressure mounts, we have two possible responses. One of complaining, whining and wanting out, or one saying, "Lord, give me Your help and strength to overcome." The choice is ours. Let's say, "Although I can't do it, Lord, I know You can do it through me." I've had sessions like that, crying out on the floor before God. But God always made a way through His power and His might. Ephesians 6:10 points out that it's His might, not ours: "...be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." 2 Timothy 2:3 says, "...endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." The trying of our faith takes place when our situations become difficult to bear. God knows when we're being tried. And if we're still praising and trusting Him, our attitude is precious to Him. "...The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold..." (1 Peter 1:7). As we stand strong through a rough battle, God knows we're doing it because we love Him. When the road has been rough, I've sometimes said, "Lord, I've never had it as rough as You did. You had nails in Your hands, a spear in Your side, and a crown of thorns on Your head. My suffering is so little compared to Yours." Remembering what the Lord endured always makes my load lighter. Then too, consider the suffering church; in certain foreign countries, Christians are heavily persecuted, crammed into filthy prison cells, tortured for Christ's sake. Few of us have had to endure such hardships. We're fortunate our sufferings are so light. Considering that, we can pray, "Lord, we'll not complain about our situation. Thank You that we have it as easy as we do." That grateful attitude will bring us through our battles even more quickly. Rather than our being grateful, the devil wants us deep in depression. His plan is to get us to cry out, curse God and give up. As circumstances go from bad to worse, most people at least feel like giving up and abandoning God. Job's wife advised him, "Curse God and die." But Job still followed God. Later he realized God wasn't the one afflicting him; it was Satan. Through it all, he learned he had a problem with self-righteousness and pride. When he repented of standing on his own righteousness, God restored to him double what the enemy had taken. We can easily fall into spiritual pride or self-righteousness, thinking, "Why is this happening to me? After all, I've done absolutely everything God's required of me." Christians have said, "I don't have any sin in my life." This very attitude can reflect pride that blocks what God wants to do. We need to say, "Lord, I've done everything I know to do, but if I'm blind to something more, then show me. I know You have full wisdom and will give me Christ's victory over this." As we have faith, God will give any additional information needed to win the battle.
Endurance and Discipline Good soldiers must learn how to endure hardness. 1 Timothy 1:18 says, "War a good warfare." War is hard work; any war requires enduring some hardness. First there's boot camp. Here soldiers learn strict obedience, discipline, and strategy of war. Can you imagine a boot camp trainee saying, "Officer, how about breakfast in bed?" Some Christian soldiers act like that when they cry out, "O God, give me this, give me that. A new Cadillac automobile, Lord, and a new house. I claim this; I claim that." Such Christians, expecting God to serve their every want, are not true soldiers. They mistakenly treat God like a bellhop that they can signal, "Come wait on me, God, come wait on me." They seldom, if ever, say, "What would You have me do for You, Lord? What would You have me do today?" We'll never be good soldiers until we have the attitude, "Here I am, Lord, use me in service unto You." We're to serve God, not vice versa. Of course, if we have a valid need, we can ask and God will surely respond. A battlefield soldier might ask for more ammunition. God will certainly supply more ammo if we ask for it God will make sure we're equipped to serve Him. He's the perfect boss, the best we could ever work for. He has a good expense account, meeting all of our needs. In everything He has called me to do, He has always furnished a way, given me favor, and paid for it. He's always there to take care of His soldiers. God, the captain of the army, is concerned about us as His soldiers. He'll show us how to attain victory in our personal lives. As we learn how to win our personal battles, He then wants us to start winning battles for others. Our purpose is to help others attain victory in their lives, too. We help others, and others help us. Many times I've felt, "Lord, I can't fight this battle any longer. Raise up intercessors, Lord. I need prayer support." If you reach that place where you can no longer battle alone, ask God for the intercessory help. He may tell you to call a certain fellow soldier. I've done that and received the necessary reinforcement. As we stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit, He'll provide the necessary ammunition. We're guaranteed victory in every battle we go through, if we obey God. That's an important "if." If we obey God, we can't lose. It needs to be so real to our spirits that we're on the winning side. The devil is the loser. We only lose if we fall into disobedience or rebellion. As we engage in spiritual warfare, our heart attitude must be one of faith and victory. We can't be saying, "O God, why have You left me here in such a difficult spot?" Instead, the faith attitude says, "Lord, I'm growing weary, but give me Your strength and reinforcements. Help me because I want to be Your overcomer." See the difference? When pressure mounts, we have two possible responses. One of complaining, whining and wanting out, or one saying, "Lord, give me Your help and strength to overcome." The choice is ours. Let's say, "Although I can't do it, Lord, I know You can do it through me." I've had sessions like that, crying out on the floor before God. But God always made a way through His power and His might. Ephesians 6:10 points out that it's His might, not ours: "...be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." 2 Timothy 2:3 says, "...endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." The trying of our faith takes place when our situations become difficult to bear. God knows when we're being tried. And if we're still praising and trusting Him, our attitude is precious to Him. "...The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold..." (1 Peter 1:7). As we stand strong through a rough battle, God knows we're doing it because we love Him. When the road has been rough, I've sometimes said, "Lord, I've never had it as rough as You did. You had nails in Your hands, a spear in Your side, and a crown of thorns on Your head. My suffering is so little compared to Yours." Remembering what the Lord endured always makes my load lighter. Then too, consider the suffering church; in certain foreign countries, Christians are heavily persecuted, crammed into filthy prison cells, tortured for Christ's sake. Few of us have had to endure such hardships. We're fortunate our sufferings are so light. Considering that, we can pray, "Lord, we'll not complain about our situation. Thank You that we have it as easy as we do." That grateful attitude will bring us through our battles even more quickly. Rather than our being grateful, the devil wants us deep in depression. His plan is to get us to cry out, curse God and give up. As circumstances go from bad to worse, most people at least feel like giving up and abandoning God. Job's wife advised him, "Curse God and die." But Job still followed God. Later he realized God wasn't the one afflicting him; it was Satan. Through it all, he learned he had a problem with self-righteousness and pride. When he repented of standing on his own righteousness, God restored to him double what the enemy had taken. We can easily fall into spiritual pride or self-righteousness, thinking, "Why is this happening to me? After all, I've done absolutely everything God's required of me." Christians have said, "I don't have any sin in my life." This very attitude can reflect pride that blocks what God wants to do. We need to say, "Lord, I've done everything I know to do, but if I'm blind to something more, then show me. I know You have full wisdom and will give me Christ's victory over this." As we have faith, God will give any additional information needed to win the battle.
