Don Fredenburg
Jim Tucker
H.E. 'Hub' Bowen
Mike Coble
Ron Bowen4/10/2018
Satan wants to play with your heart like it's a sport. When you're about to sin, he aggressively defends against your better judgment and the Holy Spirit inside you. Then, as soon as you put some sin on the score board, He goes on the offense, attacking your heart.
Your accuser says, "You did it again—you'll never overcome this. It's just who you are. You're a loser and you'll always be a weak, loser of an addict." He calls you by your sin, not your name.
God is your gracious Father who hates sin and lovingly calls you by your name. You have a real defender, Jesus, sent by your gracious Father to pay the price for your sin. When your heavenly Father looks at you, He sees Jesus and calls you by your new name, son or daughter of God.
When you give your broken life to Jesus, He gives His eternal life to you. What does this mean for facing daily accusation from the enemy? How does this impact shame, guilt, misplaced identity, and the ugly names you believe about yourself?
Back to sports. Winning teams have a great coach, a playbook, and lots of practice. In life, you get lots of practice, a great coach (the Holy Spirit), and the Bible (a playbook with your plays and your enemy's plays). As you read today's Scriptures, watch how these examples below play out. And don't forget: you're on the winning team.
When you're tempted. If you hear, "You're a good person. You've earned this. You're strong enough to try it and quit later." That's the devil's accusation. If you hear, "What does Scripture say about this? How will this impact your heart? Who will this hurt?" That's the Holy Spirit's conviction.
When you fail. If you hear, "I'm a failure. I'll never get this right. This is just how I am." That's the devil's accusation. If you hear, "Pray. Come back to me. We can overcome this together. Don't be afraid to tell someone." That's the Holy Spirit's conviction.
When you cover up. If you hear, "If they don't know, it won't hurt them. If you tell them, they'll reject you. Keep quiet—they're probably doing worse anyway." That's the devil's accusation. If you hear, "You can't cover this up forever. I see what you've done, and I love you. You can heal from this if you open up." That's the Holy Spirit's conviction.
When you confess. If you hear, ���You're a sicko. How could you be so horrible? You're alone in this." That's the devil's accusation. If you hear, "I love you. I forgive you. I'm with you. Here's a new way to live." Those are the words of your loving heavenly Father.
Revelation 12:10-11 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
1 John 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Ephesians 2:1-9 Made Alive in Christ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
When the Devil Knocks
Lifechurch.com
