"HOW TO OVERCOME THE ATTACK OF SATAN"
By Pastor Rick Bickelhaupt

Text: Matt. 3:17-4:11

At the end of Oct. 1978, (I believe it was the 31st.) at a Revival Meeting at Trinity Baptist Church in Findlay Ohio, the Holy Spirit of God brought me to a place of conviction, and there under the preaching of the Word of God by Dr. B.R. Lakin I trusted Christ as my personal Savior. It has been over 24 years sense I have been saved. During this time I have witnessed many who have professed to be saved fall by the wayside and quit serving the Lord.

During my life as a believer, there have been times when I have been very discouraged. There have been times when I felt like getting out of the pastorate. But I cannot remember I time when I wanted to quit serving the Lord and go back and serve the world! But, as I look around, see many who claim to be saved, not in church, not reading their Bibles, not praying, not witnessing and winning souls to Christ, not tithing, just plain not living for God! So why have so many fallen by the wayside? I believe there are two real, and Biblical reasons for it.

First, some were mere professors and not real possessors of genuine saving faith, (I Jn. 2:19; Matt. 7:21-23). These fall away, and cannot endure because they never were saved! They had a knowledge of God, but no relationship with Him. 2 Tim. 3:5, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: ..."

Second, there are those who are truly saved, that unfortunately never endure the attack of Satan, and therefore never achieve God's desired potential for their lives. When they fall, do thy loose their salvation? ABSOLUTELY NOT (John 6:37, 10:27-30)!!! However they will lose their testimony for the Lord. They will lose their opportunity to be an effective witness for the Savior! They will come under the chastening hand of God. And they will loose their rewards in heaven! (Luke 9:62; Matt. 5:I3, 16; Heb. 12:6-7; I Cor. 3:8-14; 2 Jn. vs. 8; Rev. 3:11). These are saved people that have never added the "Christian Graces" listed in 2 Pet. 1:4-10. These are saved people that have failed to put on the "Whole Armor of God" according to Eph. 6:10-18. THESE ARE THEY THAT HAVE NOT OVERCOME THE ATTACK OF SATAN!!!

God help all of us to be "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!" If we are going to overcome the attack of Satan, we need to know a little about our adversary! First, he is real. He is more than what Hollywood depicts. He is more than "a dark force." The Bible states that Lucifer was a created being, Eze. 28:15; John 1:1-3. Lucifer, now called Satan is a created being that is real; he has a desire, a plan and a goal. The Bible describes Satan as someone who is very subtle, remember Eve in Gen. chapter 3. Here Satan tempted Eve with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. Adam and Eve fell for his deception, and mankind's spiritual fall began. Throughout the Bible we find the devil working in the lives of the lost, blinding their minds so they would not believe the truth of God.

Throughout the Bible we also find Satan tempting believers into sin in order to make them grieve the Spirit of God dwelling within them. He temps them to sin to discredit them before the world. And he tempts them with sin to make them unprofitable in the service of God. Remember Lot, King David, the Apostle Thomas, Peter, James and John. Remember Ananias and Sapphira. Were there not times in their lives when Satan was victorious? Not only those mentioned, but many others, and if we were honest with ourselves, we would have to admit we've all lost a few battles along the way.

The Bible states that Satan is a liar, a thief and a murderer, John 10:10. He is a deceiver, II Cor. 11:14. He ensnares mankind, I Tim. 3:7. He afflicts man, Job 1:12. He desires to sift us as wheat, Luke 22:31. He is actively seeking who he may devour, I Pet. 5:8. He accuses us be for the Father day and night, Rev. 12:10. And he is blinding the minds of them that believe not, II Cor. 4:4. SATAN IS ON THE ATTACK!!! HE HAS ATTACKED, DOES ATTACK AND WILL ATTACK!!!

The question is, just how can we overcome the attack of Satan? I believe the greatest passage in the Bible concerning this matter is given in Matt. chapter 4. Here we see our Lord Himself being attacked and tempted by Satan. I believe if we will apply the principles that the Lord gives us here, when Satan comes on the attack, we can have the victory!

First, if we are going to overcome the attack of the devil, we must remember who we belong to, Matt. 3:17. In the context of this passage, Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized of him. Upon His baptism, a voice from heaven declaring: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Before the satanic attack of Matt. Chapter 4 began, the voice of the Father declared who Christ was! He was the Father's "Beloved Son." Likewise, before any attack comes, you better understand just whom you belong to.
When a person gets saved, the Bible emphatically declares that they "become the sons of God," John 1:11-12. As a son of God, we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us, Eph. 1:13, 4:30; Rom. 8:9; I John 4:4. As a "son of God" we now have a new nature, II Pet. 1:4. As a "son of God," we now have access to the spiritual armor necessary to overcome the attack of Satan, Eph. 6:10-18. As a "son of God," not only do I need to put on the "whole armor of God," but in order to properly access this armor, one needs to apply the "Christian Graces" given in II Pet. 1:4-11. Here we find in order to keep us from "falling," and to be an over comer, it must begin with our faith in Christ, I Jn. 5:4. To keep us from falling, one must "add to his faith" certain virtues or graces without which victory is impossible. To "faith" we must add "virtue," "knowledge," "patience," "temperance," "godliness," "brotherly kindness," and "Charity." The Scripture states when a believer "adds" these and they "abound in them, vs. 10 states: "for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." As a "Son of God" this is what I have access to. The lost can never have victory because the victory comes through Faith in Christ, I Cor. 15:58. The saved also will never have victory until they come to the realization of whose son they are! Thank God as a believer, I am a "son of God," John 1:12, and a "joint heir with Christ," with access to all the benefits that the Father offers.

Second, if a believer is to have victory over the attack of Satan, he needs to walk in the Spirit before the attack. As we look at the text of this article, Matthew 4:1 states: "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." Here we find that Jesus was "led up of the Spirit..." Before the temptation, before the attack, we need to be walking in the Spirit of God. That means born of the Spirit, John 3:6, 6:63 and controlled by the Spirit of God. A lot today is done supposedly in the name of the Spirit of God, yet in contradiction to the Word of God. This cannot be! They must go hand in hand. You cannot be led of the Spirit and living in sin. The thief, the liar, the blasphemer, the adulterer, the covetous etc. are not let of the Spirit; they are "led of the flesh." Galatians 5:16 states: "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Every time the believer refuses to "walk in the Spirit," he opens himself up to the attack of Satan.

Third, if a believer is to have victory over the attack of Satan, he must be prayed up and spiritually ready. Matt. 4:2 states that when He was in the wilderness, before Satan came to Him, and He spent 40 days and nights fasting. Throughout the Bible fasting and prayer goes hand in hand. While our Lord was fasting I believe He was also praying and communing with the Father. Before the attack comes, and it will, we better we prayed up and ready. I believe too many believers loose the battle because they are not prepared and it takes them by surprise. The Bible states we are to "Pray without ceasing," I Thess. 5:17. In Luke 18:1 our Lord commands us to "pray and faint not." The Bible states that we are to "pray that ye enter not into temptation," Luke 22:40, 46; Matt. 6:13. Too many times a believer will have something happen in their life and instead of the circumstance making them a "Better" Christian, it makes them a "Bitter" Christian. This bitterness eats away at their spirituality and they quit praying. As a bitter, non-praying Christian, victory over the world and the devil is not possible. The next step is the bitter, non-praying Christian stops going to church, and stops tithing, and they wonder just why everything is falling a part. Satan has them right where he wants them (I Pet. 5:8; Luke 22:31), and they are under the curse of God (Mal. 3:8-10).

Fourth, the believer needs to know how to properly use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, Eph. 6:17. When our Lord was being tempted by the devil, the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God was used to combat the enemy. Every time Satan tempted Christ, the Lord quoted Scripture, Matt. 4:4, 7, 11. If we are going to overcome the attack of Satan, we need to have the Word of God abiding in us. The Bible commands us to hide God's Word in our heart, Deut. 6:6; John 5:39; Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 2:15. The Word of God, it is for our cleansing, Ps. 119:9, 11. It is for our protection, Ps. 119:105, Heb. 4:12. It is necessary for the service of God, I Tim. 3: 6, 9, 4:12-14. It is necessary for answered prayer, John 15:7 "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." The believer needs to read the Word, study the Word, memorize the Word, share the Word, and be able to quote the Word during times of temptation and Satanic attacks.

Next, the believer, if he is going to overcome the attack of Satan, he must seek eternal things not temporal things. As I look at Matt. 4:4-11, I find with every temptation of Satan came an attachment to earthly and temporal things. Like Christ, we need to seek manna from heaven, not earthly bread. We need to seek to serve God faithfully, not seek a license to sin. We need to seek heavenly honor not the laud, praise and honor of the kingdoms of this world. Jesus over came the attack because He had no earthly attachment. Unfortunately some believers acquire more attachment to this short, temporary earthly life than their eternal heavenly life, which is to come. What has Satan used to hold you back from serving God? Why don't you surrender to preach? Why don't you surrender to go to the mission field? Why don't you surrender to go soul winning on visitation with your church? Why don't you surrender to do a church bus route? The harvest fields are ripe for the picking. Lost souls need to hear the Gospel! Sunday School classes need to be started! So what are you doing to help? The fact is, the average Christian is too busy working, making money, buying new homes, cars and expensive toys to take time to serve God and get the Word to the lost. If we are going to over come the attack of Satan, we must get our eyes off of what this world has to offer!!!

Finally, when the believer comes under fire, when Satan attacks, he needs to be reminded that after the attack, the Lord will strengthen and minister to him again, Matt. 4:11. This is what happened to our Lord in Matt. 4:11. Remember Job? Yet in one day he lost all his earthly possessions. Also remember, that when Satan's attack was over, the Bible states: Job 42:12-13, 16, "So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. [13] He had also seven sons and three daughters. Vs. 16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. "

How can I over come the attack of Satan? # 1 Make sure you are saved, # 2 Make sure you are living right, # 3 Be sure to follow these Biblical principles. 2 Peter 1:10 "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:"

Love in Christ,

Pastor Rick Bickelhaupt