08 Feb Shut the Front Door! (Learning to shut the door to the enemy in your life) PART 6

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Over 30 years ago, I was a youth pastor.  At that time, I had two nationally known youth pastors that I really admired.  I considered them role models and mentors in youth ministry.  One of these youth pastors eventually started his own church and was fairly successful.  After a few years this pastor committed adultery and resigned from the ministry.

Last year I saw a video that he put out.  This video described his spiral into sexual addiction, the consequences it eventually brought and his eventual restoration.  This video was so impactful we showed it first to our staff.  Then we showed it to our college and career group, and finally we played the video for our department head leadership team (about 150 people).  

In this video, this pastor revealed where this horrific spiral all began.  It began after an out of town ministry session.  He was tired and alone.  There was a small box on top of his hotel television set (this was all before the internet) and a little yellow button.  He knew if he were to just press that button it would allow him to view “adult entertainment” (notice how the world’s culture has re-branded pornography to make it more palatable).  He gave in to temptation and watched it for an hour or so.  He then wept, repented and swore he would never do it again.  However, he opened the front door to something very insidious in his life that day.  

Six months later he found himself viewing porn once again and something lodged in his soul.  His life spiraled ever downward to the point of literally living a double life with a separate identity.  As always, his secret sin eventually was exposed (see I Corinthians 4:5).  It cost him his marriage and his children.  Thank God today he has been restored and has been free for over a decade now, as God has picked up the shattered pieces in his life.

However, there is no sense in you and me going through what he did…let’s shut the front door to the devil in our lives!  Over the last couple of months we shared with you our key verses from this series:

Let’s review before we continue…We recently began sharing, “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.

We then shared 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.  

 “Six Entry Exhibits”:

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

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.”  

     2. Internalized anger (Eph. 4:26-27)

Here the Word of God tells us, “Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath.  Neither give place to the devil.”  In these powerful verses the Greek word translated “wrath” is “paragismos” which denotes “an explosive rage.”  The Greek word “place” is “topos” which means ground (we get our word “topography” from it).

Here the Scripture is very clear that we can give place or ground to the devil when we internalize anger.  Just because I sweep the dust under the rug doesn’t mean the dust isn’t there!  Remember this:  Anger that is internalized eventually becomes wrath that is verbalized!  

The Bible describes this in Hebrews 12:15, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”  If we continually internalize anger it can eventually grow into a root of bitterness that grows up and “troubles us” and will eventually defile (the Greek word means “stain”) many.

If you have been hurt or offended in life, Jesus tells us very clearly to go to that person (and him alone) and communicate (see Matthew 18:15).   Remember this:  Communication disarms the devil.  The devil has a hard time hiding in a place called communication!  Shut the front door!

This month let’s continue:

  1.   Strife (James 3:14-16)

Here the Bible tells us, “But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.  This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and EVERY EVIL WORK.”

The Greek word translated “strife” is “eritheia,” which is a political term that means partisan or factions.  It is to put yourself over the family, church or country.  It describes a person who simply wants what they want and will fight others to get it!  Notice this type of wisdom is “devilish,” the Greek word “daimoniodos” which means demon-like or “proceeding from an evil spirit.”  Strife opens up the door to confusion and every evil work!  Strife literally opens the door to the devil in our lives!

Join us next week as we continue our series…