18 Jan Shut the Front Door! (Learning to shut the door to the enemy in your life) PART 4

Posted at 17:18h in Uncategorized by

Before we jump into more from our series, let’s review our key verses:

  • John 5:14 “Afterward Jesus finds him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you.”
  • I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.”
  • John 14:30 “Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.”
  • I John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not.”

Last week we also gave you “Four Biblical Balances to Opposition”:

  1. If you’ve never had a head-on collision with the devil…chances are you’re walking with him!
  2. With divine opportunity comes demonic opposition.
  3. When you experience opposition, don’t just assume you are doing something wrong…it may be you are doing something right!
  4. Many times the tallest trees experience the harshest winds.

This week please allow me to share with you some entry points the devil endeavors to use as cracks in the doors of our life.  If we can identify these, we can shut these doors tightly and thereby cut off his access points to us.  

Let me share “Six Entry Exhibits”:

  1. Worry (I Pet 5:5-8)

One of our key verses was obviously I Peter 5:8.  However let’s back up and see the context of this powerful verse:  “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.  Yes, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:5-7)

Notice the words “submit” and “resist” in verse five.  The Greek word for “submit” is “hupotasso” which means to “put under.”  The Greek word translated “resist” is “antitassomai” which means “to arrange against.”  In verse six, the Greek word translated “exalt” is “hupsoo” which means “to exalt to the sky with dignity.”  In verse seven the Greek word translated “casting” is “epirhipto” which means “to make a quick toss.”  The Greek word translated “cares” is “mermina” which means “worry or anxiety.”

So, you can see in context that worry is something that can be an entry point to the enemy.  In Job 3:25 the Bible tells us, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” 

Worry is simply a glorified form of fear.  Worry and fear open the door to the devil in our lives.  Remember this:  Worry is simply pulling tomorrow’s clouds over today’s sunshine!  You can shut the door to worry in your life by simply doing I Peter 5:7… “Casting (again the Greek word “epirhipto” which means to make a “quick toss”) your cares (your worry or anxiety) on the Lord because He cares for you.”  

So, when you are tempted to worry, quickly toss that worry or anxiety on the Lord.  When worry tries to come my way I will literally say out loud, “No I am not taking that care and I cast that on you, God…you care for me!”  I will immediately roll my care over onto the Lord because He can handle it and He loves me.  I may have to deal with the responsibility of a situation but I don’t have to deal with the anxiety of the situation!  Cast your care on the Lord and shut the door to the devil in your life!

Join us next week as we continue our series…