“FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH #2-SATAN’S FIERY …



“FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH #2-SATAN’S FIERY DARTS”

EPHESIANS 6:16; 1 JOHN 2:15-17

INTRO: Last week we begin this series by exploring “Satan’s Attack.” We saw

that the saints of God are in the midst of a spiritual warfare and that

our Adversary, the devil will do anything with his power to keep us

from fulfilling God’s will for our lives. Tonight, we will be looking at

“Satan’s Fiery Darts.” In this spiritual warfare we are engaged

Ephesians 6:16 tells us, “Above all, taking the shield of faith,

wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

I want you to notice the words “fiery darts.” “The fiery darts” that

were used in war were small, slender pieces of cane, which were filled

with combustible materials, and set on fire; or darts around which

some combustible material was wound, and which were set on fire,

and then shot “slowly” against a foe. The object was to make the

arrow fasten in the body, and increase the danger by the burning; or,

more frequently, those darts were thrown against ships, forts, tents,

etc., with an intention to set them on fire. (Albert Barnes’ Notes On

The Bible. e-Sword. Version 7.6.1. Copyright 2000-2005. Rick Meyers.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide). Charles Stanley in his book, When

The Enemy Strikes, wrote: “In the natural, the flaming arrows to which

Paul referred were arrows common to Roman battles…In the spiritual,

flaming arrows refer to the bombardment of the mind with thoughts,

impressions, and impulses that are contrary to God’s purposes…Any

thought or impulse that entices a person to fall victim to the ‘lust of

the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life’ is a fiery dart!”

(Charles F. Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. pp. 71, 73).

“Joe Gutierrez tells five stories from his 42 years as a steelworker in

the book, The Heat: Steelworkers’ Lives and Legends.” In one story

called “Snow Danced in August,” he describes a scene of silvery dust

flakes that frequently floated to the floor in an area of the mill where

steel strips rolled over pads in a tall cooling tower. For years, workers

and visitors alike flocked to the sight, which was especially

picturesque at night. Then they discovered that the dust was

asbestos. “Everybody breathed it.” “Who am I? I’m everybody. Can

walk too far now, I get tired real fast and it hurts when I breathe,

sometimes. And to think we used to fight over that job.” How many

things in our culture resemble the silver flakes in that steel mill?

Enchanting but deadly (Preaching ).

Friends, the devil makes temptation look attractive to us! John tells

us in 1 John 2:16—“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,

and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is

of the world.” John says that “all that is in the world” falls into one of

three categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride

of life. This means that all temptations that the devil entices us with

comes in one of these three forms:

(1) A DESIRE TO HAVE (TEMPTATIONS FROM WITHIN)

1 JOHN 2:16a—“…the lust of the flesh…”

A. SATAN’S APPEAL. Our Adversary appeals to our physical desires, the

desire to “do” something. Our world’s philosophy is “if it feels good do it,”

or “if it makes you happy do it.” Satan tempts us with things that will

pamper our appetites and indulge this old flesh’s passions. “All people

desire what they believe will make them happy. If a person is not full of

desire for God, we can only conclude that he is engaged with another

happiness…” (William Law, Christian Perfection (a contemporary version by

Marvin D. Hinton). Christianity Today. Volume 36, Number 6). “The devil

focuses on our strongest need and desire…He observes the way you live! In

observing your life, he can see where you are weak by the choices you

make, the things to which you gravitate, and the things which you

habitually show an interest in or express an interest in doing” (Charles F.

Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. p. 97). We often desire most what we

ought not to have. Friends, Satan knows your desires and feeds your

desires! Many times the things we desire are not bad in themselves. But if

our desires dim our vision of Christ or lessen our devotion to Him we must

avoid them!

ILLUS: An example of the Holy Spirit's guidance can be seen in a

statement by J. Wilbur Chapman. He said, "My life is governed by

this rule: Anything that dims my vision of Christ or takes away my

taste for Bible study or cramps my prayer life or makes Christian

work difficult is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn

away from it."

Believer that should be the rule of our lives also!

B. SATAN’S APPROACH. The Lord speaking of Satan in John 8:44 tells us,

“…He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,

because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his

own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Satan approaches us with

temptation basically in two basic ways concerning the needs in our lives:

← The Devil Tells You That You Have Need A That God Can’t Meet. The implication is always, “God is holding out on you. He is failing to give you something. He has something that you need, and He isn’t providing it…The devil won’t tell you the full consequences of the sin he entices you to commit…he holds out only the immediate self-gratification” (Charles F. Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. pp. 97-98). The devil shows us only the pleasure of sin not the pain sin causes. Satan shows us only the happiness of sin for a season not the heartbreak we endure in the aftermath of sin!

← The Devil Tells You That He Is Capable of Meeting Your Need. He never tells us that he can fully meet our need but only that he can he can meet our need. The devil never claims that he can meet your need fully for the rest of your life without any negative consequences. He doesn’t tell you the full truth about his capability to meet your need. Rather, he holds our evidence that he can meet the need. You need more excitement? Here, try this. You have a physical need to be met? Here, this is for you. You need to feel more important? Here, this’ll do it. (Charles F. Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. p. 98). Folks, listen once again to Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:10-11—

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the

wiles of the devil.” “…Satan does not carry on an open warfare. He does

not meet the Christian soldier face to face. He advances covertly; makes

his approaches in darkness; employs cunning rather than power, and

seeks rather to delude and betray than to vanquish by mere force.”

(Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible. e-Sword. Version 7.6.1. Copyright

2000-2005. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide).

Satan’s first fiery dart is A DESIRE TO HAVE (TEMPTATIONS FROM WITHIN) but also let us see the second fiery dart he employs…

(2) A DESIRE TO SEE (TEMPTATIONS FROM WITHOUT)

1 JOHN 2:16b—“… the lust of the eyes…”

*Satan offers us:

A. A DESIRABLE VISION. Notice that our Adversary appeals to our

psychological desires, “the lust of the eyes.” The desires that are aroused by

appeals made to our eyes. (B. W. Johnson. The People’s New Testament. e-

Sword. Version 7.6.1. Copyright 2000-2005. Rick Meyers. All Rights

Reserved Worldwide).

← The Fall in the Garden began with a look. Genesis 3:6-7 says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and

that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one

wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her

husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were

opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig

leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” When Eve was

tempted by the forbidden fruit she saw “that it was pleasant to the

eyes” (Genesis 3:6).

← Lot. In Genesis 13:10 we read, “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.”

← David. The man after God’s own heart succumbed to temptation through “the lust of the eyes.” We read in 2 Samuel 11:2—“And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.”

Satan will bombard our minds with “Lust—‘You need to have your needs met, and this is a fine way to get your needs met.’…Greed or covetousness—‘You should have that. You deserve it. You need it.’” (Charles F. Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. p. 72). Friend, Satan will offer you a desirable vision but Satan’s offering is always…

B. A DISTORTED VISION. Satan’s offering will always lead us to an

unhealthy desire than can be disastrous to us physically and spiritually!

Folks, we must have our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus or else we fall the

temptation of Satan given to us by “the lust of the eyes.” Hebrews 12:1-2

encourages us, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so

great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which

doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set

before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the

joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is

set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Our daily prayer must be:

“Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy

way.” (Psalm 119:37).

ILLUS: N2H2, an Internet content filtering company, reports that Internet

sites dealing with pornographic material are multiplying

exponentially. The number of porn sites in 1998: 71,831. In 2001:

311,652. In 2003: 1.3 million (“It Figures,” pe.. 6-27-

04).

Not only is sexual sin a major problem in our society today, but also selfish

is a major problem because of “lust of the eyes.”

ILLUS: In an Atlanta Journal Constitution article by Jim Auchmutey, the

writer quotes comedian George Carlin as saying, “The essence of

life is trying to find a place to put all your stuff.” Auchmutey writes

that there are 32,000 self storage businesses nationwide (or the

equivalent of 1.3 million feet of rentable space), 620 in Atlanta

alone (twice as may as 10 years ago), and 100 million storage

containers are sold by Rubbermaid every year. This “stuff”

explosion peculiar to Americans has led to a new profession: the

professional organizer. “Some P.O.’s charge as much as 75 dollars

an hour to help people get organized in this culture of clutter” (Jim

Auchmutey, “Our Overflowing Lives,” Atlanta Journal Constitution,

1-20-02).

A USA Today article, The Danger of Hoarding (2-18-04), says,

“Hoarding is now considered a symptom of obsessive-compulsive

disorder. Hoarders don’t just save stuff, they continually acquire

new stuff…According to Randy Frost, a psychology professor at

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, 2 to 3 percent of

the population has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and up to a

third of those exhibit hoarding behavior.”

Folks, there is nothing wrong with having “things” but let us not get so wrapped up in acquiring more “stuff” that we forget those less fortunate than us who need a helping hand. The selfishness and greed of our society today surely is contrary to the Biblical mandate which says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have…”. (Hebrews

13:5a).

“The devil often follows this pattern: You can have this…should have this…must have this…There is something wrong with you if you don’t do your utmost to have this…Here’s how you can have this…Now, go get this” (Charles F. Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. p. 78).

Satan’s first fiery dart is A DESIRE TO HAVE (TEMPTATIONS FROM WITHIN), the second fiery dart is A DESIRE TO SEE (TEMPTATIONS FROM WITHOUT) and the final fiery dart is…

(3) A DESIRE TO BE (EXALTATION OF SELF)

1 JOHN 2:16c—“… the pride of life…”

A. THE APPEAL TO SELF. Our Adversary appeals to us spiritually and

tempts us to “be somebody.” “The pride of life” refers to the vain glory of

this world. It refers to the world’s foolish appeal to “be somebody.” Daily

our senses are bombarded with advertisements leading us to believe that if

we wear a certain brand or style of clothing and jewelry or if we eat at a

certain restaurant or if we know a certain person or group of people that we

will be more important. The devil when he tempted Eve in Genesis 3:5 told

her, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall

be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” In other words,

he said, “Eve, listen to me, do what I say and you will be somebody!”

B. THE ADORATION OF SELF. The apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy

3:1-2—“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For

men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,

blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.”

ILLUS: “The Internet provides opportunity for people to put themselves on

display—and they do so in a variety of ways. At one site alone, over

four million people have posted a photo asking others to rate their

appearance. The question is, why, especially when the exposure is

often less than flattering, even degrading. A woman named Angela

exemplifies the behavior. She subjected herself to brutal comments

and a low rating of 1.0 on a 10-point scale, trading it for the joy of

finding an admirer or two. Angela said, “It really picked up my

esteem to know that there are still some people out there who find

me beautiful.” A New York Times article suggests the reason for

this “is that the world is crowded with people so hungry for

attention that they will submit to any number of indignities for

even a small bit of it” (Preaching ).

ILLUS: Halley Barry, one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People, in

an interview for the opening of her film Catwoman, commented on

physical beauty. “Beauty? Let me tell you something, being

thought of as ‘a beautiful woman’ has spared me nothing in life, no

heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is

essentially meaningless, and it is always transitory. I can’t believe

what people will do to themselves (to make themselves look

beautiful), the excess, and then they end up distorted. Worse, they

still have that hole in their soul that led them to change themselves

to begin with” (“Beauty’s Beast,” 8-2-04).

Friend, let me say to you tonight that if Jesus is your Savior, YOU are SOMEBODY! You are part of a royal family, you are special in God’s eyes, you are rich in spiritual blessings, and you are beautiful because you belong to HIM!

CLOSING: Friend, I want you to realize tonight that “There is nothing wrong

with having a desire…with having physical need and sexual

desires…with having strong ambition…God built all these desires

and drives into you as a human being…Temptations are

enticements to meet God-given desires and drives in an ungodly or

wrong way (Charles F. Stanley, When The Enemy Strikes. pp. 94-

95). All our temptations, Satan’s Fiery Darts, come in the form of

one of three areas: A DESIRE TO HAVE (TEMPTATIONS FROM

WITHIN), A DESIRE TO SEE (TEMPTATIONS FROM WITHOUT),

and A DESIRE TO BE (EXALTATION OF SELF). The way to answer

temptation is to find our significance in Jesus Christ and the fact

that we belong to HIM!

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