Christianity revolves around the love of Jesus onto humans. If that is the case then why generally in every sermon we get to hear war/fight against Satan/devil? The simple answer to this question is - As Jesus defeated the devil, who was tempting Lord after 40 days of fasting to surrender to him; similarly, we are being tempted by Satan on daily basis.
Matthew 4:1-11
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
This is a fantastic anecdote of Jesus, where we get the clear message that when Satan did the daredevil act of tempting Jesus then who are we to escape his vicious game plan. That is why we are in constant war with Satan to kick him out of our lives and heart and thoughts. This war is important to stay close and always in the vicinity with God. Our ultimate goal is to have a strong relationship with the Lord and making sure that our life is a pleasing life in his eyes. Satan’s main weapons in the war are the temptation, jealousy, pride, ego, material possession and hatred whereas our weapons in this war are Faith in Jesus, prayers and the Word of God i.e. the Bible. These three weapons we possess can easily overpower the enemy in no time provided we know which weapon to use and when to use. For the same as an army of any country does, so should we do our daily drillings. We should never leave our thoughts unguarded as Satan is vigilant enough to catch us off guard. It’s a perpetual battle which if not won, the consequences would leave us in the hell.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Temptation presented by Satan should be resisted to ameliorate our life. As the saying goes “No pain, No gain”. The resistance we give by not falling into the temptation requires tremendous faith, courage, and determination. If it would have been so simple than everybody would have been able to achieve the feet. Generally, we all are phlegmatic when it comes to spiritual awakening and spiritual battles. We hardly give any competition to Satan and that’s why we see that the world is getting corrupted. There is absolutely no harm is acquiring money, materialistic valuables, and luxuries in life, but one should be aware of the threat attached to it and also the sins we get accounted for enroute achieving the sadistic pleasures of life. So, the question arises whether or not to acquire them? The answer to this question lies in the path - whether the road map we are following to reach our dreams is in adherence with the Lord’s wish or not. If the answer is yes then we should go all out and give our best to reach it because Lord’s blessing is upon it but if the answer is No, we shouldn’t even dare to think of going in that direction as a dangerous journey would be awaiting us.
So, what is this eternal life that the Bible talks about of which our life revolves around?
John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
That’s how Jesus Christ himself has defined what is eternal life. Knowing our heavenly father and his son Jesus which he gave for the atonement of our sins. There is no definition beyond these words from Jesus himself. When we would know our heavenly Father and his Son Jesus we would come to know of the love and kindness and mercy they have bestowed upon us. We would come to know the war with Satan that we go through on regular basis. We would come to know that by following Jesus commandments only we could book a berth in heaven which ultimately would give is the eternal life.
So, to have a place in heaven with Jesus we need to build on our faith in him on daily basis and also we should fight our war with Satan on the daily basis who would throw all his options wide open in front of us.
The Bible talks about raging this deadly war and guides us as to how should we be prepared -
Ephesians 6:13-18
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all , to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
This is how we should be ready to go on the battlefield. Our daily life is a battle field and we should take care that we have approached it with all the precautions and weapons required to fight the war. We need to be loaded with ammunition and should be vigilant as our enemy is a shrewd enemy.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
Unlike our Lord; he is merciless and ruthless; all he wants is to create a chasm between God and humans. Always, remember that faith in Jesus will overtake you of your afflictions. Don’t get lost in the constant war that we have with Satan because life in Jesus is far more valuable and wonderful than life without Jesus. Therefore, as the Bible says wear your armory of faith, prayer, and scriptures and defeat the enemy to have an everlasting life in heaven with Jesus.
Ephesians 6:13-18
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all , to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
This is how we should be ready to go on the battlefield. Our daily life is a battle field and we should take care that we have approached it with all the precautions and weapons required to fight the war. We need to be loaded with ammunition and should be vigilant as our enemy is a shrewd enemy.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
Unlike our Lord; he is merciless and ruthless; all he wants is to create a chasm between God and humans. Always, remember that faith in Jesus will overtake you of your afflictions. Don’t get lost in the constant war that we have with Satan because life in Jesus is far more valuable and wonderful than life without Jesus. Therefore, as the Bible says wear your armory of faith, prayer, and scriptures and defeat the enemy to have an everlasting life in heaven with Jesus.
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