John 10:10-The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Satan is a bully.
He is always coming for you. He is always hiding somewhere to try to pop out and scare you. He is always “prowling around like a roaring lion” looking to take you down (I Peter 5:8). He is coming for you to destroy your confidence. He is coming for you to try to get you addicted to things that steal your mental focus, that ruin your relationships, that destroy your body, that disrupt your peace, and that harm your relationship with Jesus. He wants to get you thinking about things that cause you anxiety, worry, and fear. He wants to disrupt your peace. He wants to push your buttons so that you say and do things out of emotion that you will regret, that will hurt your reputation and hurt the people you love. That is how he steals from us. He does things to try to get us to be our own worst enemy. He tries to get us to sabotage our own success. Don’t let Satan turn you against yourself! Don’t let Satan turn you against God!
Satan is an accuser.
He is called the “accuser of the brethren” in Rev. 12:10. This is one of his bullying tactics. He likes to dredge stuff up. He likes to throw stuff in your face. He likes to resurrect sin that is already under the blood and has already been forgiven. He does it so he can make you feel guilty. He does it so he can get you to doubt your worth. He does it so he can get you to doubt your salvation. He wants to mess with your mind so that he can mess with your faith. If he can confuse you, he can move you out of the realm of faith into the realm of fear. He dispenses condemnation and shame that weigh you down and depress you so that you see no way forward. You can’t let him accuse of you of that which has already been forgiven.
You can defeat the devil today. You can stand up to the bully today. I Peter 5:9 says, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” In James 4:7, James says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you!”
We need to Resist him, rebuke him, and remind him of his position. He is under our feet! He was defeated at the cross!
Draw nearer, nearer, and nearer to Jesus because He has come FOR you. He is FOR you. He will fight FOR you against your enemy.
Jesus is our Brother and Backer.
He has shown us how to obey God. He has shown us how to resist temptation. We can follow in His footsteps. He backs us up. He has all power. He has all authority. He sends us out with His power and authority. We aren’t just left out there on our own to face the enemy and to deal with temptation. His Holy Spirit is always with us to guide us and to counsel and comfort us. We always have back-up when we walk with Jesus. We are never alone. Hebrews 13:5 tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. We also have His name to use whenever we are in trouble. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe! (Proverbs 18:10)
Jesus is our Advocate.
Jesus is our Advocate, I John 2:1. This idea about Jesus being our Advocate is like Jesus being our attorney. He pleads our case before the Judge, Father God. He speaks to God on our behalf. When Satan tries to throw us under the bus to God, Jesus sets the record straight. If we are in Him, we are covered. We are good to go. Attorney Jesus, always wins His case! He is constantly representing us before God.
Run to Jesus. Rest in Him. Remain in Him.
It’s time to wake up. Satan comes for you to steal from you and to destroy your life. Jesus has come for you because He is FOR you. He wants to give you life; real life. Will you let Him be your Big Brother? Will you let Him be your Backer? Will you let Him be your Advocate? He has done all of the hard work, but you have a part to play. Will you start resisting Satan. Will you rebuke him today? Will you remind him of his position? If you will, run to Jesus. Rest in Him, and remain with the One who is truly FOR you this morning.
