Beware of the Flaming Arrows of the Evil One

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In the 16th verse, we read, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." In this study I will be discussing what some of those arrows are and how we can stand against them. I have listed 12 flaming arrows and share ways to stand your ground against them. I'm sure you can think of others so I hope this study will get you thinking about the arrows of Satan and how to avoid them.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>1. Satan lies about his existence.</b></div> <div> Every hunter knows the importance of disguising himself before going to the wilds looking for the prey. Satan, also knows the value of disguising himself. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light," (2 Corinthians 11:14). In fact, I am convinced that Satan has fooled many people into believing that he doesn't even exist. What better way to have a great opportunity to cause trouble, sickness, and even death in someone's life than to convince them you don't exist. Since they don't believe he exists then they are not standing against him--they are allowing him free entrance into their lives. Now, that is some good camouflage. </div> <bR> <div> Yeshua says in John 8:44, while speaking to the religious leaders of his day, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Satan is a liar and has always been a liar. Why do we think he would tell the truth about anything especially his existence and appearance. </div> <div> We must seek the face of God in order to be able to recognize the lies of Satan. Satan is very crafty and will fool us if we do not have our eyes fixed firmly on the Savior. Through faith in God and the truth found in His word we can learn to recognize the lies of our enemy and extinguish the flaming arrows as they come.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>2. Satan rises up against God's people to keep us from doing God's will.</b></div> <div> 1 Chronicles 21:1 reads, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel." In this act of one man the Bible says that Satan rose up against the whole nation. How many times do you think Satan has risen up against the nations of this day through the actions of men and women? Satan will bring people against you. Satan will use the actions of friends, relatives, and even spouses to shoot a flaming arrow in your direction. We must stand strong in the faith which God has given us and be faithful to the directions we have received. When Satan rises against us we must have our shield of faith firmly in place and we must stand our ground. </div> <bR> <div> We must be ready to stand against Satan's schemes by spending time on our knees in prayer interceding for those in our life, neighborhood, church, community, state, nation, and world. Satan can use any person or situation to rise up against us. I believe Satan hates it when we are on our knees, humbling ourselves before God, and seeking His intervention. In addition to having the shield of faith ready we must be ready to spend as much time as it takes to pray through any situation of need.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>3. Satan divides.</b></div> <div> Satan knows the spiritual principles of division and unity. Yeshua says in Mark 3:25, "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." One of the ways Satan attacks us is by causing division. If we can be divided then we are weakened. As we stand together in unity then we stand as a strong force that cannot be defeated. In unity, our strength comes through mutual support and encouragement and focused prayer on a specific goal. In division, we are weak through bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, and hatred. A house divided will not stand. Through faith we must stand together in unity as the Lord of Grace enables us. No matter what our differences of opinion or doctrine we must remain unified in the body of Christ.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>4. Satan tricks us into holding grudges and not forgiving.</b></div> <div> Through unforgiveness Satan has outwitted many people throughout time. Paul is very aware of the tricks and ploys of the evil one. In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 he writes, "If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, {11} in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." We, like Paul, need to be aware of his schemes. Through unforgiveness he will try to drag you into bondage--the bondage of sin. It takes a lot of faith to forgive someone who has hurt you. Just like it takes faith for us to receive the forgiveness that God offers freely. Unforgiveness is bondage; forgiveness is freedom. As we give freely the forgiveness that God has shared with us then we strengthen our faith and once again, take away the power of one of the enemy's flaming arrows.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>5. Satan wants us angry. Anger keeps us from God.</b></div> <div> Anyone who has lost their temper understands why they say you have lost something. In anger you will do things that you wouldn't normally do. You have truly lost something. If Satan can keep us angry then he can keep us from thinking clearly about love, forgiveness, our relationship with God, and avoiding sin. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul writes, "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, {27} and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27) In our anger we do things we would not normally do. In anger we sin in ways we do not normally sin. In anger we give a foothold to Satan. We give him consent to enter into our life in some area. People don't like to think about it that way but that is exactly what it is. Through sin that comes from anger we are opening the door for Satan and giving him the right to come in and make himself at home. Very few people would do this on purpose. But, there are many who do this because they have not learned how to control their temper and anger. Living a life of faith helps us keep a tight reign on our anger and therefore keeps us safe from the arrows of the enemy.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>6. Satan wants to keep us from loving.</b></div> <div> God tells us to love even when it defies reason. That is exactly what God did for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Yeshua. He loved us even though we were unworthy and unlovable. Loving our neighbor is not simply a good thing that some do--it is the expectation of a Holy God of His people. It is the command of God. Yeshua says it very clearly, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. {38} This is the first and greatest commandment. {39} And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37-39). Yeshua calls loving God and neighbors the two greatest commandments. Love is the expectation of God.</div> <bR> <div> In 1 John 3:10-11, we find this: "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. {11} This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another." Love is the fruit that will show whether you are a child of God or not. Satan wants to keep you from loving God and yourself and everyone else in the world. So I tell you, love everyone for this is the command of God and it repels the flaming arrows of Satan.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>7. Satan defies authority of God through sin and rebellion and tries to get us to do the same.</b></div> <div> Satan is very crafty. I have recently realized that I have been involved in rebellion to God and the authorities that God has placed over me. This rebellion started out innocently and seemingly insignificant. It started with complaining and criticizing the place in which God has put me to minister. What I have realized is that every word of complaint and criticism was a word of rebellion. I was saying that I did not trust God to put me in the ministry that was right for me. I was saying that I did not like His decision in my life and I was looking to leave and go elsewhere. I was on the verge of defying the authority of God in my life through this rebellion. Satan had me tricked into believing that I deserve better and that I knew what was right for me--that I knew better than God. How ridicules. God is sovereign and all-knowing. Satan had me right where he wanted me. When I realized my rebellion I immediately repented and submitted to the will of God for my life. The act of submission was one of the most joyful and spiritual moments in my life. What I learned is this: there are two extremes--rebellion and submission. There is nothing in between. If I am not submitting to what God wants for me then I am rebelling. The parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32 illustrates this completely. The son who does not do the will of the father is rebelling against the father in the parable.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>8. Satan oppresses people.</b></div> <div> Yeshua makes an interesting statement in Luke 13:16, "Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" The point Yeshua is making is that the religious leaders of His day were more interested in the day on which Yeshua did miracles than the miracles themselves. Yeshua is confronting the legalism in the religion of His day. The thing I find interesting is that Yeshua says Satan is the cause of the woman's affliction. Satan had her bound. I can relate to this. I was bound by a spirit of lust for many years. I was truly in torment. I don't know how many times I cried out to God to take the thoughts of lust away from me. I could not stop on my own. While at a Team Ministry Training conference I was delivered from the demonic affliction of lust. Praise the Lord. </div> <div> What I have learned about this is that Satan and his demons cannot enter into your life without you opening the door through some act of willful sin. I believe this is one of the reasons we are admonished so many times in the Bible to keep ourselves from sin. If there is an area of affliction in your life make sure that you denounce Satan and any spirit that you might have allowed access into your life. Demons come in through many ways. The obvious are anything to do with the occult but any willful sin can lead to a demon being able to pester you. </div> <div> In our society, where people are so modern many don't want to acknowledge the presence of demons and, for that matter, Satan. As I stated before this is one of the tricks of Satan--disguising his presence allows him to sneak around you without your knowledge. Through prayer and Bible study you will become more knowledgeable of Satan and God will open your spiritual eyes to the works of the devil.</div> <bR> <div> The way to extinguish this arrow is to keep ourselves from willful sin and all things that have to do with Satan and the occult. Rebuke any spirit that you sense through the Holy Spirit and it has to flee. Bind it in the name of Yeshua and loose it from it's assignment in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you completely and take away anything that is impure and might allow access to evil.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>9. Blinds the minds of unbelievers.</b></div> <div> In the world of business you must learn to delegate authority in order to survive and produce on a long term basis. Satan has learned this skill of delegation. The way he does this is convincing the people who do not believe to stand against those who do believe. Let me explain. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul writes the following words: "The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Since they cannot see the light of the gospel many of them come against believers--sometimes in very aggressive ways. They are working against us because they are blinded to the truth. I believe many in this category are good and sincere people, but, since they have been blinded they do see the error of their ways. This is a very effective arrow that Satan has learned to throw quite well. We must constantly be on guard and ready to love and pray for those who are being used by the evil one. Many make the mistake of fighting back in ways that go against the basic teachings of our Lord. The problem with this is that it brings division and discord and hatred and anger--none of which bring glory to God. The paradox here is, we must love, with the love of God, the messengers of these flaming arrows. This is the only way to extinguish the flame of hate that burns so brightly in their lives.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>10. Undermines the authority of God's word.</b></div> <div> In the previous paragraph I discussed that Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers. Now, let's talk about how he confuses the minds of believers. One of the greatest weapons Satan has is his ability to bend and pervert the truth. An example of this is found in the book of Genesis. In the story of the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden we read this verse: "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman" (Genesis 3:4). The perversion of the word found in this example is that even though Eve did not die that day or week, through this act of disobedience to the direct command of God all people suffer physical death. This is a classic example of the Satan's ability to undermine the authority of God's word. In our lives, Satan is at work looking for opportunities to undermine God's word and steal the truth from us. This is the reason we must stand firm in our resolve to hold up the Bible as the inspired word of God. The world will fight this with all it's might. Anything that does not make sense to the scientific minds of the world will be discounted as myth or fantasy. God has given us mind with which we reason but even more important, He gave us faith which is spiritual. We are spiritual beings created in the image of God who is spirit. We must stand on the word of God even though it may not might make sense to our physical minds. As we grow spiritually, we will understand the mysteries of the Bible because we will have more of the mind of Christ revealed to us. Stand on the word of God and your faith will be rewarded 30, 60, or even 100 fold.</div> <bR> <div> <B>11. Satan tempts us.</b></div> <div> "Then Yeshua was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil" (Matthew 4:1). Just like Yeshua, our Savior and Redeemer, we are tempted by Satan. Satan exploits the weaknesses he knows of in our life. When Yeshua was in the desert he was hungry for he had been fasting for 40 days. Immediately, Satan tried to tempt him with using his power to transform rocks into bread. Satan tried to get him to break his fast--to weaken in his resolve to worship God the Father. We are no different, Satan will observe us and then pick on an area in our lives where he perceived a weakness. Whn we were talking about this in a Bible study at my church one of the men mentioned something interesting. He said, we always here of being tempted to do bad, why aren't people tempted to do good things. As I have thought about this statement it occurs to me that this is one way to combat Satan and take the sting out of this arrow. When tempted to do something bad stand firm in your resolve to serve God and stay away from sin. Then in response, do something good according to the love and grace God </div> <bR> <div> <B>12. Satan quotes scripture to trick us.</b></div> <div> In Matthew 4:6, we see another his fiery darts at work: "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Satan knows what God teaches us and as a result he spends a lot of time trying to keep us from reading and learning the truth found in the Word. You must remember that Satan will quote scripture any way he can. He will take it out of context and pervert it. He will do anything he has to to kill, steal, and destroy in your life. We must know the Scriptures in order to not be tricked. Yeshua quoted Scripture back to Satan and through His knowledge of Scripture He defeated Satan.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>13. Satan identifies our weaknesses.</b></div> <div> When I played football in high school, when we had one available, we always watched a video of the next team we were preparing to play. The coaches would watch closely for any patterns of weakness in the offense and defense of the other team. They would spend all aof our practice time after that preparing us to play the other team through aggressively attacking the weaknesses they had identified. This is the way Satan works. He will watch us and notice any weaknesses and then he will attack. The only defense we have against this is the Blood of Yeshua and repentance which covers our lives with the Blood of Yeshua. We cannot fight back by being better. If that were the case then Yeshua death on the cross was in vain--no, we must confess our weaknesses and allow the mercy of God to wash us clean from the stain of whatever weakness Satan tries to use against us. Peter tells us to "be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, ..." (1 Peter 5:8-9). We must be self-controlled and alert to his schemes and his attempts to use our weaknesses against us. We must resist him and stand firm in the faith. We must stand firm in the faith that God has saved us and will protect us. God is Sovereign and He is in control. </div> <bR> <div> Tim Gray</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <HumanClick> <script language='javascript' src='http://hc2.humanclick.com/hc/71415766/x.js?cmd=file&file=chatScript&site=71415766'> </script> </HumanClick>  </div> <bR> <div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Honoring God Ministries"><U>Home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ministry Vision"><U>Our Vision For Ministry</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Whats New"><U>What's New</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Evangelism"><U>Evangelistic Ministry</U></A>  |</div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Ministries"><U>Our Ministries</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bible Study Articles"><U>Articles and Bible Studies </U></A> |  <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Store"><U>Online Book Store</U></A>  |  </div> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A>  | <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U> Links</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How Can I Help?"><U>How Can I Help?</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Guestbook"><U>Guestbook</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forum"><U>Forum</U></A>  |  </div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Got Jesus?"><U>Believe in Yeshua</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" "><U>Monthly Survey</U></A>  |  <A HREF="subscription.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Honoring God in Community Newsletter "><U>Free Newsletter</U></A></div> <bR> <div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Ministries"><U>Our Ministries</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Waters Edge Enrichment Center"><U>Retreat / Training Center</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life MAP"><U>Youth Program</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PATHWAY to Unity"><U>PATHWAY</U></A>  | </div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Publishing House"><U>Publishing House</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Irish Connection"><U>The Irish Connection</U></A>  |  <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FAQ"><U>FAQ about Our Ministries</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>   <script language="JavaScript"> var pageName = ""; var code = " "; </script> <script src="http://code.superstats.com/code?u=HonoringGod"> </script><script language="JavaScript"> document.write(code); </script><noscript><a href="http://stats.superstats.com/c.cgi?u=HonoringGod" target="_top"><img src="http://stats.superstats.com/b.cgi?u=HonoringGod&z=1" border=0></a></noscript>    <IMG SRC="https://members.tripod.com/bin/counter/id37.htm?FFFF00" ALT="[Tripod Counter]">  </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>