Keeping Yourself Safe!
Keeping yourself safe
Topic: Guarding your heart and mind
“Ephesians: A Summary of the Gospel and what it means to live as a Christian”
God's Plan and Spiritual Blessings - Ephesians 1
Life and Reconciliation in Christ - Ephesians 2
You Belong. Be Rooted in Christ’s Love. - Ephesians 3
Your Identity in Christ and Your Behavior - Ephesians 4:1-5:20
Living God's Way in Our Relationships - Ephesians 5:21-6:9
Spiritual Attacks and the Armor of God - Ephesians 6:10-24
Many believers give place to the devil unconsciously because they are ignorant of his devices. But this ought not to be.
1. He aims to inject doubts into our minds
2. He aims to discredit God in our esteem.
3. He aims to puff us up with pride.
4. He aims to destroy full dependence upon God.
5. He aims to induce reckless living with God.
6. He aims to fix our hearts on worldly things.
7. He aims to prevent the denying of self and the daily taking up of the cross.
8. He aims to blind the mind and cloud our judgment.
9. He aims to snatch away the Word of God out of our hearts
You and I never have to fall prey to the devil!
If we can shut every door, close every window, and seal every place in our lives through which the enemy would try to access us, we can prevent him from getting into the middle of our affairs.
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Other versions say:
And do not GIVE WAY to the Evil One.
And don't GIVE THE DEVIL A CHANCE.
Don't GIVE THE DEVIL A WAY TO DEFEAT YOU.
AND DO NOT GIVE THE DEVIL AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK.
(Berean Study Bible) and DO NOT GIVE THE DEVIL A FOOTHOLD.
Paul encourages the believers in Ephesus to live as redeemed, empowered Christians.
Because they have new life in Christ, they should live like new people, not like they did before they were saved. Paul gives several examples of what it means to live in Christian community.
One of those examples involves our anger and the devil. “‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil”
NEITHER GIVE PLACE TO THE DEVIL or “foothold” literally refers to a physical location.
In the Greek-speaking world, it came to metaphorically mean “opportunity.” The sense in Ephesians 4:27 is metaphorical. We are not supposed to give the devil any opportunity to influence our lives. He should not have any place in our lives because he is an enemy of God and wants to destroy God’s people
FOOTHOLD OR ENTRY POINTS SUCH AS CONFLICT POINTS IN OUR LIVES IS RELATIONSHIPS.
If there is an unresolved issue or an ugly conflict with a loved one or friend, these conflict points often become entry points through which the devil tries to get a foothold in our relationships with those we love.
Once the enemy is able to slip in through one of these “cracks” and build an offended place in our minds, then a wall has already begun to be constructed that will eventually separate us from the people we need and love the most.
We often throw open the door and give him a foothold:
· Refuse to let go of old hurts and wounds.
· Refuse to acknowledge what we did wrong.
· Refuse to forgive others for what they did.
· Refuse to admit we were wrong too.
· Refuse to say, “I’m sorry” when we’re wrong.
FOOTHOLD OR ENTRY POINTS SUCH AS our anger has the potential to give the devil an opportunity.
Even righteous anger, if held too long, can become bitter and divisive. The longer we remain angry, the more opportunities we are giving the devil to sow hatred and discontentment.
That is why Paul tells the Ephesians Christians not to let the sun go down on their anger, so that they do not give the devil any opportunities to twist the situation with his lies and deception. We must dispose of our anger as quickly as possible, so that we do not give any place to the devil.
How do we apply this passage?
We must recognize that remaining angry with people gives the devil an occasion to wreak havoc in our lives.
Anything that gives the devil an opportunity to influence our lives is bad for us by default. We should follow Paul’s advice, just a few verses later, to be “kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you”.
Keep yourself safe / Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Don’t listen to his evil suggestions.
Don’t compromise.
Don’t become self-sufficient and independent of God.
Don’t put self's interests before the Lord's glory..
Don’t seek the company of and are friendly with his children. Satan knows full well that "evil companions corrupt good manners,"
KICK HIM OUT AND SHUT THE DOOR AND PROTECT YOURSELF. LET GOD RENEW YOUR STRENGTH
Jesus is our defense and victory
Evil spirits have to be given an open door to come into your life, and they retain their grip through strongholds. But the Bible tells us to pull down strongholds through the power of God (2 Cor 10:4).
A Christian who has given place to the devil in the past, though he may currently not be sinning, may still have demons lurking waiting for the perfect time to entrap him.
The reality is, there is a high likelihood that if you have lived a normal Christian life, you have some level of spiritual hindrance which needs to be eradicated
“How do you resist the devil?”
“By submitting to God!” By submitting to God, you are resisting the devil. Submitting to God is submitting to His Word. The devil can’t stand the Word of God and he will flee from it every time.
If you don’t let go of what you’re holding on to it can become a stronghold.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; …”
Submitting to God is bringing every action and thought into captivity and to the obedience of God and His Word.
THAT IS HOW YOU GIVE NO PLACE OR ROOM TO THE DEVIL.
