By: Dale Weckbacher
John 10:10
A thief comes only to
steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life
and have it in abundance.
(CSB)
While this may come as a surprise to some, not everyone accepts
the loving gift of salvation offered by a loving and gracious God. One reason for this is that the Gospel
message has an enemy who has one purpose, to steal its message from those that
need it, so he can kill and destroy them by having them continue to live in
their sin. However, as the second half
of John
10:10 reminds us, Jesus came to give those accepting Him as their savior
abundant life. This is exactly why we
need revival, so others can experience eternity with God and escape the penalty
of eternal death.
In the Art of War, Sun Tzu states, “If you know the enemy
and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you
know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer
a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every
battle.” (1) While our salvation is secured through the
finished work of Jesus on the cross, the work of spreading the Gospel and bringing
about revival involves engagement in a spiritual war (Ephesians
6:12) and as such requires not only knowing our identity but also knowing
our enemy. To know our enemy we must
understand His,
1)
Tactics – Beginning in the Garden of Eden, Satan
has used the tactic of deception, causing doubt in God’s love for humanity and
instead creation of a belief God is withholding the good stuff from us (Genesis
3:5). Even today, Satan plants the belief
in people that becoming a Christian means the end of any fun or enjoyment in
life. The truth, however, is that Christians
still enjoy sports, a good movie, good music, and even time with friends. What changes is that as God transforms our
thinking (Romans
12:2) the types of entertainment change with us no longer finding enjoyment
from vile forms of entertainment offered by the secular world, replacing them with
more wholesome forms of entertainment. Christians
also learn how to treasure God more than anything else and while not completely
eliminating secular entertainment from their lives, learn how to make God the
number one focus of their lives while still enjoying life. God gave us His best, His only Son (John
3:16) and is not withholding any good thing from His children (Psalm
34:10).
2)
Power – There seems to be an uptick in
television programs and movies on the paranormal with paranormal activity now
finding mainstream acceptance. (2) Paranormal television programs and movies
show the power Satan can have over the lives of individuals but these secular
programs fail to remind us of the words of 1
John 4:4, reminding us that God’s power within us through the Holy Spirit
is greater than any power of the enemy. As
we become participants in the work of sharing the Gospel, we will encounter the
power Satan has over the lives of people and may experience doubts about our
power to overcome it. 1
John 4:4 reminds us that while we do lack the power within our own
abilities to overcome Satan’s power, we have within us the power of the Holy
Spirit and as we rely on that power, can overcome Satan’s power. These paranormal programs make discovery of paranormal
activity within the supernatural realm but do not mention the solution to
ending Satan’s power over individuals, the introduction of the presence of God
into one’s life through acceptance of Jesus as their savior.
3)
Desperation at knowing his future – While we
find comfort and peace in knowing Scripture, Satan also knows Scripture but
instead of finding peace and comfort, shudders (James
2:19). Satan knows his ultimate fate,
leading to the question, why doesn’t he just give up or go away? The truth, however, is that Satan is the
ultimate egomaniac and even though he knows his future, wants to egotistically
make the lives of Christians he is powerless over miserable, (3)
relegating them to the sidelines in the work of spreading the Gospel instead of
engaging as participants. Satan is also
working to insure as many people as possible join him in his eternal prison of
hell which is where we as willing participants in the spreading of the Gospel
enter in.
We have an enemy in our efforts to bring revival through
sharing the Gospel message. Our enemy
knows of his defeat at Calvary but still egotistically tries to use fear and
deception to prevent the Gospel message from going out. As children of God, called to make disciples
of all nations (Matthew
28:18-20), we must not give in to Satan’s devious tactics and instead understand
and rely on the greater power within each of us (1
John 4:4, John 10:10). However, for
one to experience this power in their lives, they must accept God’s gift of salvation
by accepting Jesus as their Savior. If
you have not already done so, I invite you to pray with me know and accept Jesus
as your savior,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my
sin is death (Romans 6:23).
I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your
Word (1 John 1:9).
I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
You now have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, a
power that overcomes any power of Satan over your life. I now encourage you to learn more about this
wonderful power by study of the Bible and by finding a church that teaches the
Bible. I also encourage you to share
this post with others as well as telling others about what has just happened in
your life.
May God bless everyone reading this.
1. Tzu, Sun. Sun Tzu > Quotes > Quotable
Quote. www.goodreads.com. [Online] [Cited: May 13, 2018.]
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/17976-if-you-know-the-enemy-and-know-yourself-you-need.
2. Saldi, Henry
Hanks and Nicole. Paranormal activity finds mainstream acceptance. cnn.com.
[Online] CNN, October 27, 2010. [Cited: May 19, 2018.]
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/27/ghosts.go.irpt/index.html.
3. Alcorn, Randy.
Why Does Satan Bother Us When He Knows the Ultimate Outcome? www.epim.org. [Online]
Eternal Perspective Ministries, February 2, 2010. [Cited: May 19, 2018.]
https://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Feb/2/why-does-satan-bother-us-when-he-knows-ultimate-ou/.
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