One of my favorite quotes is from Erwin Lutzer:
“Satan exists as God’s instrument of justice for the disobedient and God’s means of purification for the obedient. Our war with him teaches us about the nature of sin, the holiness of God and our own helplessness apart from grace.”
I’ve played chess maybe once in my life, but I know that there is a cosmic chess match going on as we speak between God and Satan.
The problem for Satan is that he can’t win, but he is insane to the point that he still thinks he can.
The reality is that he has been reduced to the role of a pawn in God’s hand.
As we encounter Satan and his minions in spiritual battle, it drives us to rely on Jesus to fight through us and to learn how to pray in a manner that overcomes their strategies.
In some recent discussions with clients, we have marveled at how few believers in our country have any awareness of the battle going on around them.
The vast majority of American and Canadian Christians choose to ignore Satan and even worse, dabble in darkness out of ignorance.
This leaves them vulnerable and easy targets for the attacks of the enemy.
A common strategy is for Satan to attack a believer who has no idea how to fight back in prayer and then accuse God for the hardship in their life.
This will often undermine their faith and lead them into further bondage.
However, for some believers the attacks of Satan wakes them up and leads them to clean house much like the Ephesian believers did when they burned their books on witchcraft.
In his letter to these believers, Paul exhorts them:
“Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them”
and in his letter to the church at Rome he writes:
“The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
So, let me shine some light on just one of Satan’s strategies that believers are falling for today.
Satan basically rules the entertainment industry.
He’s convinced folks that if something appears in the story line of a movie it’s either just fiction and okay or just plain harmless to view.
Not true!
The Harry Potter movies are a classic example.
Satan has used these movies to lure countless people included professing believers to play at witchcraft.
‘Oh, it’s not real. It’s just pretend.’
Nope. It’s very real and people get sucked into the lusts of the flesh as Satan shows them his power to give them fame, fortune and power over people.
Now, people can go to a major theme park and play Harry Potter.
Beloved, witchcraft of any form is participating in the deeds of darkness.
We carry Jesus around in our skin.
Why on earth would we subject Him to such foolishness?
I’m gonna make people mad with the next one which is a little more subtle.
Superheroes…yes, each one contains an element of deception.
These movies promote the ideas of trans-humanism and the return of the Nephilim (half human/half god beings), humanoid beings from other planets who come to save the day.
In each case, the enemy uses these movies to desensitize even believers to accept the lie that is coming in the last days…that we came from aliens and that we too can be gods (Superman, Aquaman, Thor).
Beloved, my whole point is that we need to wake up to the war that is being waged around us.
Even though we know that we are on the winning side, Satan still tries to take us out of the battle either by keeping us sidelined through ignorance or through trapping us in strongholds.
Ask the Spirit to show you anything you or your household are participating in or have allowed into your home that is of darkness.
Whatever he shows you, destroy it so that no one else can use it.
Then, confess, renounce it and reclaim the ground you gave to the enemy through it.
Use it as a teachable moment for your kids.
Beloved, the battle is intensifying.
We need to put off the deeds of darkness and walk in the light of Christ.
Blessings!
Robyn Henning