A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – June 29, 2020
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11)
Over the years, I have discovered many things about the devil and I have narrowed them down to three main categories. (1) The devil does not give up attacking you. (2) The devil never quits attacking you. (3) The devil always continues to attack you
The reason I am making the point is this. The solution to your problem does not come through changing the character of Satan. In John 8:44 Jesus said that Satan was a murderer and a liar from the beginning and that when he speaks his lies, he speaks from his own resources because he is a liar and the father of lies.
In Hebrews 13:8 the Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot lie because He is the truth. But likewise, we could say that Satan is the same yesterday, today, and forever. From the moment iniquity was found in him, his character was established. According to the Bible, that character will never change and because his character will never change, he has been judged and has been sentenced to the pit forever.
The Word tells us that our shield of faith will extinguish all of the fiery darts of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16). Some people believe that if they stand in faith that the enemy will quit shooting the fiery darts. But that is not what the Word says. We must understand that our deliverance does not come from stopping the fiery darts from being fired, but from extinguishing them with our shield of faith.
Faith is: (1) Hearing God’s Word. (2) Believing God’s Word. (3) Speaking God’s Word. (4) Doing God’s Word.
Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. In order for faith to develop, you must expose yourself to the Word of God and allow that Word to become alive (rhema) in your heart. When the Word lives in your heart, your words will automatically speak your heart. Jesus said out of the abundance of your heart that your mouth would speak (Luke 6:45). Likewise, your actions will follow your heart. When your lifestyle is such that there is a continuous flow of the Word of God into your heart, there will be a continuous flow of the Word of God out of your mouth and you will be compelled to act on His Word. That lifestyle is called walking by faith. That lifestyle will create a shield that extinguishes the attack of the enemy.
We must understand this. Jesus said that offenses would always come. We know that the enemy is relentless. He always has and he always will attack those who follow God. The question is not, “Will he attack?” The question is, “How do we react to the attack of the enemy?” It doesn’t matter what the weather is outside if you’re inside-protected. To react in faith yields protection. To act in fear secures defeat. Actually, his attack is designed to create fear because fear is the opposite of faith and he knows that one spirit-filled Christian walking in faith can deal a severe blow to his kingdom. That is his fear.
