Welcome to the In Touch podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, November 10th. Is there a spiritual stronghold in your life, a thought pattern, attitude, or habit that seems to have a powerful hold on you? Don't miss the conclusion of our series on spiritual warfare as we learn to recognize, resist, and overcome a satanic attack through the power of God and the truth of His Word. The title of this message is "Extinguishing Satan's Flaming Arrows." How do we do that? What's that all about?
Well, it's very evident that the Apostle Paul believes that somehow you and I can have victory in our life because he says four times, "Stand firm, stand firm, stand firm, stand firm." And oftentimes we don't realize why we keep on being defeated. And there's the verse-specific reason why we are. Paul very graphically explains that in this simple verse, when he says in verse 16 that Satan is sending these flaming arrows. That is, he says we'll be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.
So we know what the source is. The source is Satan himself. Flaming arrows. What does he mean by that?
Well. If you'll think about it for a moment, what he's doing—he's taking the imagery of a Roman soldier, which he knew very well. And here's what he says: He says these soldiers were dressed in a certain fashion, armed in a certain way, in order to be able to deflect, in some fashion, those flaming arrows.
Now, what they would do is simply this: they would take an arrow and dip it into pitch, and then light it with fire.
So that it had a twofold weapon, that is, not only would the arrow penetrate whatever it hit, but it would also splatter that pitch, which was a flame, and so there was fire wherever it hit. And so, what he's saying to you and to me is simply this: So I want you to go back, if you will, to Second Corinthians chapter ten. Turn there for a moment. Second Corinthians chapter ten, and let's notice what the apostle Paul says in this passage. Chapter Ten.
He says in verse four, "For the weapons of our warfare, acknowledging the fact that our Christian life is a warfare, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." Now, what does he mean by fortress? I am coming to that. He says we're destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we're taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And in essence, here's what he's saying: He says we're in a warfare, and we're going to be in this warfare until the day the Lord calls us home. And then he says our weapons are not of the flesh.
That is. The kind of warfare we are fighting is not a physical war, and so therefore our weapons are not physical. Though he uses the image of the Roman soldier, the sword and shield, helmet, breastplate, and all the rest, he says we're in a spiritual warfare. This is a spiritual battle. Our weapons are spiritual, faith, for example, in the Word of God.
And so he said they are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, which simply means this. That the weapons God has given us has made it possible for you and me to be able to withstand the onslaught, the assaults of Satan upon us individually, and oftentimes in groups. But it's always ultimately individually. We have to resort to the proper armor and the proper tools of the proper weapons in order. To overcome the kind of assaults he makes on us, because they are very, very carefully designed.
Satan doesn't cast some evil thought our way at random. He knows exactly where to hit us, where we the weakest, and when to do it. And listen now, watch this. Satan can't make you think anything. He can't make you think about anything.
He can't force you hand as a believer.
Now, if you're not a child of God, he's got all kind of power over your life. But a child of God, listen. Satan can't make you as a child of God do anything.
So when these flaming arrows come to your mind, you have within you the power to turn away and say no. If you look and you know it's wrong, then don't keep looking. If you listen and know what you've heard is wrong, don't keep listening. If somebody makes you some big deal offer. Or something that you think, and they said you just there's no way you can turn this down.
You listen. You know what he said? Bring every thought to obedience to Christ. Every thought, and listen. This can happen instantly.
Any man, no woman knows, and women are just as guilty. Any man or woman knows, the look of lust is wrong. That is a look with the intention to do something about it, and therefore you stop now. Are you entertain the idea, and the next thing you know, you are in trouble. For example, oftentimes when it comes to finances, Satan will offer you an opportunity that looks fantastic.
When you hold it in the light of God's words, God says to you, "Don't go there, don't do that." Well, what's wrong with it? Then Satan says to you. Listen. It's the opportunity of your life. This is your opportunity to be have security in your life.
And you know what? He's going to pile on the arrows. You ask yourself the question: Does this fit who I am? Is is there anything in Scripture that says this is a violation? It's what I call the critical moment of decision (CMD).
The critical moment of decision is this: when it first hits you, that's the time you deal with it right now. You don't. You don't say.
Well, you know, I'm gonna think about that for three or four days. You know what? When you do, all you've done is you've allowed Satan to do what? He's firing one hour after the other. Toe hole becomes foothole.
Foothole becomes what? A strong hole or a fortress in your life.
Now he has a place in your thinking to govern your conduct because you have allowed him. Listen, you have allowed him to set up a train of thought in your life. You've listened to his lies. You've been deceived by him. It can never come out right.
You can't ever make wrong right. You can't convince God to do something different that is His will. This is the way Satan operates. This is what warfare is all about. And you're wondering how you got in the position you're in, why you feel this bondage in your life.
You can be delivered. What I want you to see is how you got there, and I want you to see that because you're not going to get delivered, and remain delivered. If you don't know how you got there and how to defend yourself against it, because I can tell you, Satan is not going to let up on any of us. He hates what we're doing. He hates the believer.
He hates the praying person. He hates the godly person. He hates those who are honest and want to do the right thing and walk and do the will of God. He hates that.
So, what does he do? He's this invisible force. Who is extremely powerful but not omnipotent, extremely knowledgeable but not omniscient, and he knows our point of weakness? And when we yield in that point of weakness, all he does is build a stronger fortress, a stronger stronghold in our life from which to operate.
So we have to deal with that.
So you need to ask yourself the question: Lord, is there some area of weakness in my life? And it can be one, as we said, of a number of things. We just mentioned some, and there are many others. But what is it that's there that keeps defeating you? You want to do what's right, but in spite of your best efforts, you come up failing.
And so finally, you've said, "Well, I guess this is just the way life is. I guess that you really can't live an obedient life in this world. I guess this is just part. Nobody's perfect, and this is just part of living, and sin's just part of living, and." Therefore, I'm just going to accept the way I am, and I'm not going. I'm not going to get all bent out of shape.
Listen, why do you think God put scriptures like this in the Bible? Let's say, for example, let's take an example of fear, because that's a major problem a lot of people today. Fear about their future security, all these things. Fear about their health. Fear about decisions they're about to make.
Fear, fear, fear. Go back to Isaiah chapter 41. Isaiah chapter 41. Let's say that Satan has really fired a missile at you, and he's got you afraid about your future, your security. Let's say, for example, that you've lost your job, and Satan is just pouring the arrows on.
And here's what he's saying. He says, "You know, you lost it. You don't have a job." You don't have any security now. What are you going to do? What are people going to think about the fact that you lost your job?
And what about? No, it's he just goes on and on and on. Listen, when that thought hits you, you don't invite it, you don't dwell on it, and you don't entertain it. You come to the Word of God and you read this verse: Do not fear. For I am with you.
Do not anxiously look about you. For I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
That's a godly person's answer to Satan's fiery missile. My God will take care of me. And the shield of faith says, "I believe that I do not have to accept Satan's lie that I have to be afraid of anything." For example, suppose he fires. The flaming missile of pride at you. What do you fire back at him at this?
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. You know what? You do not have to entertain thoughts of pride. Humble yourselves before the living God by faith. I am trusting God to bless me the way He wants to, to deal with my life the way He chooses, and I acknowledge, Father, that listen, everything that comes my way, you are the source of it.
Satan hates that because he wants to replace God in your life.
Okay, let's say that, for example, you get tempted morally. Satan throws; he fires one at you. All right, turn to First Thessalonians chapter four for a moment. First Thessalonians chapter four. When Satan fires one of these at you, listen to this verse: It is the will of God that you abstain from sexual immorality.
No question about it. That he says the will of God that you abstain from it. Then he says in verse seven: God's not called us for the purpose of impurity, but sanctification—that is, holy living. Verse eight, he says, "So he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives His Holy Spirit." So, see us what Satan does. He fires one of these arrows of some kind of seductive immorality, and so.
If you entertain the thought, the next one's going to be, well, nobody's perfect, and you're this, and you're normal, and you're natural, and you have your needs, and God understands. Listen, this verse: this is the will of God, your sanctification, a holy life, that you abstain from sexual immorality. And he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives you the Holy Spirit. Very simple, very clear. Satan will do everything, and he has convinced millions and billions of people that a little bit of this, a little bit of that, is okay.
What does he say in his word? God knows. Listen, the sword, the sword of the spirit. Listen, the word of God. Is part of our defense against Satan's attacks.
The shield of faith. I'm trusting God to meet my needs. Trusting God to give me wisdom. Trusting God to give me direction. We don't have to yield because remember this: every single fiery arrow that comes your way originated in the mind of a liar, the chief liar who is the devil himself.
Jesus said he's the father of lies. He's the evil one, so that everything that comes from him is bad. It's all bad. It's ultimately bad because anything that good he may allow or send into your life is a form of manipulation to get you to enjoy his good and all that you would yield to his evil. That's the way he operates.
And you wonder why you're in the bondage you're in because you opened your mind, you entertained the thought, you didn't deal with it instantly. Listen, that moment in time. Critical moment of decision is when the when the thought first comes. Is this of God or is it not? Most of the time, you and I know it's not of God.
We know enough to know it's not of God. We don't have to piddle around and say, "Well, you know, there are different views." That is another one of Satan's errors.
Well, there are different views. The truth is, when he says, "Thou shalt not steal," there are no other views that are worth listening to, or anything else he says, "Thou shalt not." It is Satan's way. It's just one more fiery, flaming arrow to say, "Well, you—you know, this is a different day. This is a new society. This is a different time in history." All of this is mental jargon to get you to think the way Satan thinks, because he knows if he can get you to think a little bit that way, he's got you sooner or later.
Now, in a very practical way, how do you do two things? Number one. How do you deal with these satanic attacks? And secondly, how do you deal with this stronghold if it gets in your life? Let's look at the attack first of all.
Before you get out of the bed tomorrow morning, you dress first. You say, "Father, I want to thank you today." As I put on the helmet of salvation, that you'll protect my thinking. I put on by faith the breastplate of righteousness, that you protect my emotions, how I feel. I put on the belt of truth today to be able to know the difference between truth and error, right and wrong, in every aspect of my life. I put on my boots of preparation to be able to stand today to face anything that comes my way.
Father, I take the shield of faith. Today, I'm going to trust you. I'm going to trust you in every aspect of my life. And today, Father, I take the sword of the Spirit, your Word. And through your word, I'm going to check everything that comes my way to see if it fits who I am and your will for my life.
And what you've done is you have prepared yourself for any fiery dart that comes your way. Because listen to what Paul said. He said, extinguishing all the flaming fiery darts of the evil one. He says that you are equipped today. You say, well now.
If you do that once a week, let me ask you a question: Does Satan work on you once a week? No. How many arrows? Listen, if you take this sermon to heart, and you go to work tomorrow morning, you just count how many times tomorrow you get one of those flaming arrows. If you'll think about it, negative, wrong, evil, seductive kind of thoughts—all those came from the evil one.
And every single one of them can be deflected by faith, the Word of God. Suppose you already have one of those strongholds in your life, and I mean it's it's just got you. You you know it. You know it's you you just you fight it all the time, and you're thinking. And you know what?
You know why a lot of people do a poor job in their vocation. They have a divided mind. The stronghold is always working. And what's happening is that while they're trying to do that job over here the way they ought to, this stronghold is dividing their mind. If it's something they look at, something they think about, something they want, whatever, it always divides their mind.
How do you deal with that? The first thing you do is you acknowledge it. God, here's a weakness in my life. There's a strong hole I've allowed Satan to get into my life. He's got me in bondage, and God, I can't do anything about it myself.
But I do believe that because you said this poor man cried and the Lord delivered him, I'm crying out to you in genuine repentance. That means I am genuinely, truly sorrowful for the fact that I have allowed Satan to get such a hole in my life. Genuine repentance, and asking God to set you free of that fear, set you free of that jealousy, set you free. Listen, of that doubt, set you free of this of this discouragement that just clouds your life. Set you free, crying out to God to set you free in genuine repentance, and asking Him with the power of the Holy Spirit, not your energy, the power of the Spirit of God, set me free.
And accept is done exactly what he said. You say, "Well, well, is it that easy?" I didn't say it was easy. He said, "He who comes to me, I will no wise cast out." Do you think God would refuse that kind of a prayer? No, He will not. He will answer that petition.
Do you think Satan's going to let up on you? No, He's not. He's going to keep firing away. The difference is this: now, now you understand. What's happening?
And you now you understand you have the power of God within you to be able to say no. I'm telling you, my friend, Almighty God, who is the sovereign of this universe, will set you free. No matter what it is, He will set you free. If God can't set you free, He's not God. If He can raise somebody from the dead, He can set you free.
Create this world, set you free. Keep everything in balance, set you free. Take you to heaven one of these days, set you free. If you want to be free, if you cry out to be free, you choose to be free. That's the kind of God He is.
You may have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior. You're saying, "Well, I'm not a Christian. How's all this gonna work in my life? It's not gonna work." Until first of all, you make this decision to be willing to confess your sins to God through His Son Jesus, and acknowledge your sinfulness, your rebellion, your waywardness, and say to Him, "Father, by faith I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I don't understand it all." But I know that I've sinned against you.
I do believe that He went to the cross. He died and took my sin debt in full. I'm accepting His death as payment for my sin, and accepting Him as my personal Savior by faith in the truth of the Word of God. And my friend, that's all it takes to transform your life, to change your eternal destiny from hell to heaven. And to begin setting you, listen.
Once you do that, you simply take the truth that you've heard today. No matter what bondages in your life, God will set you free. No matter who you are and where you are, He'll set you free if you'll trust Him. Thank you for listening to Part Two of Extinguishing Satan's Flaming Missiles. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by in touch.
dot org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
