Resisting satanic attacks

Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  

Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesian church by describing the warfare each Christian faces every day, warfare that involves daily attacks by the main enemy of the Christian faith—Satan and all his demons.  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote a 373 page book entitled “The Christian Warfare”, an exposition of Ephesians 6:10-13.  The book deals with the character and all the strategies of the devil to defeat Christians from being effective for God and demonstrates how discouragement, anxiety, false zeal, lack of assurance, and worldliness are the mainstays of the devil’s schemes. 

Right now as you are reading this, if you are dealing one or more of the following:

§ faith problems (e.g. God is not answering my prayers, doubts)

§ money problems (both having it or not having it where money has become an idol)

§ moral failure problems (think of former Christian leaders whose immoralities were exposed)

§ relationship problems (e.g. conflicts becoming exaggerated, jealousy and envy)

§ psychological problems (e.g. excessive worry and fear, frustration, addictions)

§ spiritual problems (e.g. apathy, discouragement, deception)

§ confusion (e.g. your life is filled with uncertainties and you are paralyzed by these)

§ depression (e.g, I’m not any good, I’m not useful, no one cares for me)

you are being attacked by the schemes (strategies) of the devil.   He will attack you daily, persistently, and especially when you are most vulnerable to his attacks.  No Christian escapes these attacks, you have to be on guard all the time ((I Peter 5:8).   

Satan’s main goal is to remove you from being an effective Christian.  Pastor Scott Luke preached about the “Christian Atheist”, people who say that they are believers in Christ, but don’t act like it, are people who have been removed as effective Christians.  They have been knocked out of the match, the game, the combat zone.  Nominal/casual Christian people---Satan won’t waste much time on you.  Who Satan really is interested in attacking are Christians who are effective in their ministries and in their walk with the Lord.  The more effective you are as a child of God, the more you should expect to experience major attacks by the enemy. 

So, how do your defend yourself against Satan’s attacks?  You cannot win if you rely on your own strength.  Examples of relying on human strength include making resolutions, using human therapists, reading self-help books, and trying to ignore the attacks.  Likely any mature Christian will admit that at some time in his/her life he tried to resist these attacks without the help of the Lord and failed.  Note that Paul writes that Christians must be strong “in the Lord and in His mighty power”. The sooner the Christian realizes that he/she cannot fight satanic attacks on his/her own, the more successful you will be in overcoming these attacks.

The Lord’s mighty power involves five defensive and one offensive weaponry written in Eph 6:14-18.  You need the whole armor of God (“put on the full armor”) not just one or two pieces. Basically, think about the power of God when you think of the resurrection of Jesus Christ where God’s power is so great that He can bring people back from the dead.  Think of God’s power when you witness forces of nature.  Think of God’s power through the realities of all His creation, the beauty and majesty and order of it.  You need this kind of power to help you overcome the attacks of Satan currently in your life and will occur throughout your life.

What do you need to do resist and defeat the attacks of Satan in your life?