Passage: Deuteronomy 31:1-8

INTRODUCTION

The saying is true that if you want peace, prepare for war. No weak nation will go out of its way to challenge a known stronger nation when not confronted. In our spiritual life we need to prepare for success by preparing for war. Our preparation is by putting on the whole armour of God and this can only be when we have him always with us Romans 8:31. When we are fully armed with the presence of God the Devil will think twice before striking. God has promised us victory/success only be strong and courageous.

THE ENEMY PLAN:

The very day you declare your stand for Jesus, a battle line is drawn between you and the devil. He sees you as a defector to “enemy camp”, that is as a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, in an illegitimate manner and he begins to treat you as such. During the Cold War, many people who illegally emigrated from the Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc to the West were called defectors. Westerners defected to the Eastern Bloc as well, often to avoid prosecution as spies. These defectors had serious ransoms placed on them, they were wanted dead or alive. In like manner the state controlled by the devil desires to have you back dead or alive. All manner of tricks, weapons and strategies are used in order to get you. His plan is to; snatch you from the love of God by enticing you with worldly goods, power and positions, and when those fail he tries discrediting you – the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). With these, he creates conflict within you. Your heart becomes a battle ground between the flesh and the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). The enemy plan is to depopulate the Kingdom of God to populate HELL.

THE GOD PLAN

God’s plan is that those whom he has taken from the devil and given to Jesus none should be able to snatch (John 17:24). In other words these ones are to overcome every device of the devil and his cohort. God’s plans for overcoming the devil are:my. Whenever God shows you an area in your life where the enemy is attacking or likely to attack you, that is not the time to sit back  and do  nothing. It is time to get serious and fight back against Satan (resist the devil). God’s plan is for us to be more than conquerors in Christ. We don’t have to live enslaved to the enemy’s plan. You can decide right now to do what you need to do. Get serious with God, follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and stay on guard against the enemy. Choose today to follow God’s plan for your life, not Satan’s, and you will defeat the enemy at every turn.

YOUR ROLE

God used the Israelites physical war life as example for us to know what he will do with our physical and spiritual enemies and what he expects of us. In Deuteronomy 31where Moses was giving a hand over note to Joshua, in verse 3, Moses confirmed these things:

– God will go before you

– God will defeat your enemies

– You will posses your possession

It is important to know that even though he said that the victory is sure and won by God, verse 6 say we need to take some actions:

– Be strong

– Be of good courage

– Do not fear or be afraid

– Believe the presence of God with you.

This is affirmed by Paul when he addressed the Corinthians  Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. (1 Corinthians 16:13, 14). If indeed you believe God is with you, then you need to take Peter’s advice in 1 Peter 5:6-9 Be humble always as in the sight of God for He opposes the proud yet he receives the humble that He may later raise them up. Listen to what God has to say and do it. You have been covered by Gods grace for all eternity and you belong to him no matter what the devil says, He loves you in spite of all your flaws and mistakes. But let this be an encouragement for you to be straight and sober and forsake all sins, declaring your stand for God against the enemy, who is clever and will try to strike you down at your weaknesses.

CONCLUSION

Take a lesson from  Jesus who has been tempted through all the things you are being tempted to do. He is the only one who can help you overcome these temptations because He defeated not only these temptations but even death so that you may have a free life. Put on the whole armor of God; Be vigilant at all times for sin and Satan are always out there to turn our hearts away from God. Be strong in the Lord and know that you are not alone; the family of Christ followers are going through the same things. Rejoice in this, that you who were alien to the kingdom of God has been adopted by  the Most Holy and Beautiful, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You are therefore without excuse any longer to continue in sin. It is truly our choice now and the Blood of Christ is the power the devil will flee from. The Blood of Christ is our strength to say no to our true enemy, … our selves. Let your resolve today be Lord I cannot and will not do anything without you.