Our two Collaborating enemies: Satan and our Flesh...

Chapter Eight:

In his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:10-18), Paul was revealing to them the reality that there is a spiritual war upon the Church of God and the need for them, as believers, to understand its importance.  He was teaching them that Satan is a very crafty enemy, and that one needs to be constantly on the alert, on their guard and continually asking God for His strength.   

Gurnall warns us of our first enemy, Satan.  Satan's favorite maneuver against a believer is the surprise attack, of which he uses two main strategies.  These strategies are temptation and accusation. Temptation is his attempt to get us to sin and we never know when He will try to tempt us. Satan is extremely devious. He especially likes to tempt when the Christian is newly converted as a new Christian is on unsure footing and can be easily swayed by trouble, especially if he has been told that becoming a Christian will be an end to his difficulties. Another time is when a Christian is dealing with an affliction or great stress. Gurnall warned, "If you wish to stand firm in the midst of suffering, forewarn yourself of this fact: Temptation is never stronger than when relief seems to dress itself in the very sin that Satan is suggesting."

Satan is always looking for an avenue to tempt us.  It may even happen when you are doing some worthy endeavor for the Kingdom. Also, his job is that much easier if he can find some object to reinforce his temptation. "Do not look on temptation with a wandering eye if you do not wish to be taken by it, nor allow your mind to dwell on that which you do not want lodged in your heart."

Satan is also calculating in how he tempts us. It can be in the guise of something seemingly harmless, or through a friend or someone we look up to, such as a pastor. Satan is very subtle in how he approaches us.  He has studied us, he knows our weaknesses, our desires, what upsets us and what makes us joyous. He will use what he knows about us when we let our guard down, even if it's  just for a moment. And he is the most dangerous of all when he can get us to question God's character and plant a seed of doubt in our hearts about our Heavenly Father. Paul reminded the Corinthians (Second Corinthians 2:11) that they needed to understand the enemy's methods, when he said, "...in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." 

The second strategy Satan uses are accusations, as a way to cause a break in your relationship with God.  Accusation is his attempt to get us to feel guilty about something we have done that may or may not be true.  Some of the methods of accusations he uses are as follows:  First, he plants his own thoughts or inclinations into our minds in order to convince us that we thought them ourselves. This is why it is so important that we are conscious of our thoughts and don't just accept anything that comes into our mind. 

Second, he likes to exaggerate any sin we do commit. He seeks to discredit us as a child of God. He will act as if he's the Holy Spirit, and bring condemnation, in order to wound us deeply as we think about the terrible thing we have done. He knows we don't want to displease our Heavenly Father and he relishes seeing us suffer, as we think we have sinned against God. He knows that we will sometimes slip up in our walk as Christians, and he closely observes us so that he can pounce at that very moment. 

Third, he attempts to steal your hope and joy as he would rather see us in worry and despair. He may try to convince you that you are not worthy to be a Christian, or that you are not humble enough, or any other thing he can concoct that will cause you to lose your sense of peace and closeness to God.  "Allow Satan's accusations to make you more careful, as this is God's purpose in allowing Satan to spy on you", says Gurnall.  "Let them make you more humble, by acknowledging your sinfulness and the overriding mercy of God."   

This leads us to the second enemy that Gurnall warns us about, our fallen nature.  This enemy comes from within, and it is that part of us that still loves the world and wants to retain control, namely, our flesh.  Our flesh seeks to dominate our spirit for supremacy in our lives and, regretfully, it often wins if we are not wise to its schemes or have little desire to reign it in.  We need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us how we allow it to affect our lives, and be obedient in dealing with it.  

 If you are truly desirous of getting your flesh under control, He will show you the ways it works in your life.  It may be one thing at a time or He may show you several areas that are somehow tied together.  But be prepared, because what you are shown will be some very unsettling things about yourself. What God will reveal to you may take you by surprise due to the ugliness that resides within each of our hearts. Just remember that it is out of His love for us that this needs to be made known to us.

 In Psalm 139:23,24 David said, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  I believe he said this as he didn't trust himself to discover what was in his heart and he was asking God to show him.  While the symbol of the heart is usually used to mean love, God warns us that our heart cannot be trusted and is at odds with Him. We are warned in Jeremiah 17:9 that "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" 

We all like to think of ourselves as being kind, patient, and loving,  but in actuality there is a side to every one of us that is selfish and evil .  And sadly, we may even secretly enjoy allowing our flesh to have its way.   We need to be totally honest with ourselves and acknowledge where we allow our flesh to have its way.  For example, do you put others down so you feel better about yourself, do you enjoy feeling sorry for yourself because of how you believe life has treated you, are you judgmental or critical and think you know best but disguise it as only wanting the best for another, or do you say unkind things to other people that you say are just in humor, but secretly you mean them?  

These are but a few examples of what a serious self examination may expose, and it is of the utmost necessity that all the ways we allow our flesh to operate in our lives are exposed.  Until the love of a sin is quenched in the heart, it will never die. It is our love for Christ that must put a stop to our love for sin. 

It is only when we seriously HATE those things that we know reside within our heart, and pray for the Lord to help us overcome them, that we will start to seal up those holes they've created in our armor.   We will have no one but ourselves to blame for the consequences if we choose to do otherwise.  As Gurnall said, "Know your heart. Be intimately acquainted with yourself, and you will better know Satan's design against you. He takes his method of tempting from the inclinations he finds there. As a general walks about the city and views it well, then directs his assaults where he has the greatest advantage, so Satan surrounds and considers the Christian in every part before he tempts."   If we don't become aware of what actually lurks in our hearts, we will continue to allow our flesh to have its way, and we will remain walking in self deception.

There is a remedy for dealing with Satan's temptations, and that is to walk close with the Holy Spirit so that He can warn you when the enemy is getting ready to tempt you. Use the Sword of the Spirit (God's Word) to drive him away when he tempts you, just as Jesus did in the Wilderness.  If you're already caught up in a temptation, you still have time to ask the Lord for His strength and resolve to stop yourself. 

If you struggle with either thoughts that trouble you, or your flesh (i.e. pride, arrogance, self-pity, lust), ask God to show you their origin.  If they come from the enemy (it is usually a thought that you wouldn't think or you know God wouldn't have you think), use the Sword and drive them away. A good way of seeing how others have dealt with temptations is to study the Scriptures and see how others, who have gone before us, have had to deal with these same temptations and learn from them. If it's origin is your flesh, you have to ask God for His strength to help you restrain it, as this will be a day of learning, out of many.

If you actually have done something wrong, ask God to forgive you, receive his forgiveness and let it go.  Remember, God convicts you of a specific thing you have done wrong.  Satan's accusations usually come in the form of an overall feeling of your having done something wrong, but you can't pinpoint it.  His purpose of accusations is to make you feel bad about yourself and to cause a rift in your relationship with God and others. God's purpose of conviction is so that you realize your error, ask for forgiveness and then you move on, having learned from your mistake.  Satan wants to keep you entrapped, whereas God wants you to walk in freedom. 

If you have allowed the second enemy, your flesh,  to cause trouble, you may need to not only ask the Lord to forgive you, but you may need to ask the recipient of your flesh's actions to also forgive you. It's important to remember that our flesh will be with us until we go home to be with the Lord, so identifying how our flesh affects us, and learning to keep it under restraint by being constantly on guard, and asking the Lord's help, is something we learn to do better as we practice it. We'll discover that we're becoming quicker in recognizing when it's trying to raise it's ugly head, and can  make the choice to walk in the spirit and keep our flesh restrained. It is actually encouraging when we realize that we're getting quicker at noticing when our flesh tries to rise up as it shows we are making progress and don't have to be ruled by it!

By being aware of both of these enemies of our spirit, Satan and our flesh, and keeping them both under control by not allowing them to get the upper hand in your life is the key to walking with a clean conscience before the Lord.  And you will joyfully discover that the Fruit of the Spirit is better able to  operate in your life.

Gurnall reminds us, "Satan, with all his wit and wiles, will never defeat a soul armed with true grace, nor will the contest ever end in a stalemate.  Look into the Word. You will not find a faithful servant sifted and winnowed by this enemy, who did not come off with an honorable victory....the glory of the (saint's) victories is attributable to God alone, in whom the weak are as strong as the strongest. "   It is so reassuring to remember that the devil cannot tempt anyone unless God allows it.  Everything must pass through God's hands before it affects our lives. If we are  His children, endeavoring to walk close with Him and doing our utmost to do His will, we can be assured that everything will work together for our good (Romans 8:28).