I am more and more convinced today, in the practice of counseling, what we wrestle with is not simply disorder or disease. Or if you would, flesh and blood. 

I echo the same idea Paul said, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12). 

In the conflict of marriage, 

In the brokenness of homes, 

In the church split of churches, 

In the national outrage of country,

In the terrorist crimes of the world  

I am more and more convinced and am a firm believer that we are in spiritual warfare. There are two extremes that I see in evangelicals when they respond about the devil. 

(1) “The devil is not real. Only scaredy cats believe them!” 

(2) “Could you come and cast demons out of my house?” 

I believe it is in the right middle there. The devil comes to, “steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10). The Bible further says that, “Accuser” (Rev 12:10), “Enemy” (Matt 13:39), “Liar” (John 8:44), “Murderer” (John 8:44), “Serpent” (Gen 3:4), “Tempter” (1 Thess 3:5). 

So how are we to fight the good fight? How are we to wrestle against him? What does it practically mean to arm oneself with spiritual armor? Here are the four tactics of the devil that you need to be aware of based on 1 Corinthians 10:13. 

1. Common to Man 

A lot of times while people are being under spiritual temptation they say, “Man, this is so complex, no one can understand or help me in this situation!” 


The tactic of the devil just so you know hasn’t changed even a bit. 

Let’s go back to the garden where we find the 1st temptation that we encounter. The Bible says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Gen 3:6). 

We see here the three major areas of sin that are triggered.

(1) Lust of flesh = Find all the way what is going on. 

(2) Lust of eyes = Gateway of the eye. 

(3) Pride of life = Going after significance, approval from others, the fear of man.

Yes, this is directly from the Bible where John says, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16). Isn’t it amazing that there’s nothing new under the Sun and God lays this out in Scripture for us?


As we see even Eve in the Garden, we must ask the question “Where is my sin coming from?” (1) “Delight to the eyes” (v. 6: Lust of the eyes). (2) “Good for food” (v. 6: Lust of the flesh). (3) “Desire to be wise” (v. 6: Pride of life).

Fast forward even to the New Testament, Jesus our Lord and Savior experienced the same sort of temptation on the Mount of Temptation in Matthew 4:1-11. (1) Loaf of Bread (v. 3 Lust of the flesh). (2) The Kingdom (v. 8: Lust of the eyes) (3) The Holy City (v. 5: Pride of life).


As the Reformer, Martin Luther said eloquently, “The God of this world is riches, pleasures, and pride” In the modern term we see (1) Power, (2) Sex, (3) Money. 

Beware of these specific sins. I have witnessed countless not only men and women taken down by these sins, but ministers and pastors taken down. Pray to God for a hedge of protection that lurks around the corner. 


2. God is Faithful 

So often, the fastest way to lose track of me is when I focus on the opinions of others rather than the thoughts of God. 

We start turning the volume of our voices higher and turning the volume of God low in our lives. “God can forgive that guy, but me? Oh no. He cannot possibly forgive me for what I’ve said and done” I often ran into people while doing prison ministry people said. 

Some of us need to be reminded like I was reminded this morning. God’s Word is what the Psalmist says to our soul. “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” (Ps 19:10). 


Can I suggest if you don’t know God’s voice, then spend time soaking up His Word? I promise you, I have not met yet a single person who said, “Man, I regret I spend so much time on God’s Word” I do meet quite a few of the opposite! I promise you, you won’t regret it! As Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preacher said it well, “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture.” 


Scripture after Scripture promises God’s faithfulness unto us! 

• “He does not deal with us according to our sins. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Ps 103:10-12).
• “His mercy is new every morning; Great is His faithfulness!” (Lam 3:23).

As the old hymn was written by Thomas Chisholm in 1923 who suffered ill health most of his adult life and had a smaller-than-average income. I echo his words, “Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed thy hand hath provided- Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!” 

3. Able to Endure 

People who feel like they are going to be crushed under pressure and are not able to endure are living in “fear” FEAR by definition is this, (1) False, (2) Evidence, (3) Appearing, (4) Real. The Bible specifically says that “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7).


As Christians, let us NOT live in the spirit of fear any longer. Let us live in the spirit of truth on this day.

Now I want you to listen for a second. Just because you walk according to God’s plan doesn’t mean you’re going to be exempt from difficulties in life. It is possible to be smack in the middle of God’s will and still face a storm. That can be a storm of the financial crisis, a storm of a marital crisis, a storm of bankruptcy crisis, a storm of joblessness crisis, a storm of argument crisis, or a storm of gossip crisis. 

What are you to do? Trust the one who is the anchor and caption of your ship at all times. You may feel like you’re barely hanging on, but don’t worry, he’s got your arms. 

4. Way of Escape 

So often, habits have become such a part of our lives, we don’t feel like we can get out of the cycle of sin. Someone told me once, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” 

The way it begins is the battle of the minds! You see, the mind is a worship where the important decisions of life and eternity are made. Spiritual strongholds always begin with thoughts. That is why we find in Scripture says, “Take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). 

Yes, habits can be broken. Thank God, unlike the secular world that tells us that “you cannot change” God says you can change! There’s a way out of this. It is not born as a disorder, disease, or some sort of illness. 

God calls this the practice of “put off” sinful habits and you can take heart in what God is doing in and through your life. The new pattern that we create may seem “impossible” but it is not according to God’s Word. Yes, a difficult road ahead, but not impossible! As long as you got a pulse, God’s got a purpose for you. 

Grateful that there is always a way of escape for every single person. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, but there’s a way out. No one is ever beyond the reach of God’s grace. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re 10,000 miles away from God; it only takes one step back in God’s presence. That is called “repentance.” Come to Jesus. As Mark will put it, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Today is the day of salvation! 

The Four Lies of the Devil 

I find this over and over again where people exchange the truth for a lie. 

• “No one else has ever gone through anything like this before!”
• “God’s not there for you; He’s left you on your own for this one” 
• “This is too much; no one can endure this” 
• “There’s no way out; you’re stuck forever”

The truth of the reality is that Scripture provides a different way. 

• “Your trial is not unique – ‘common to man’” 
• “Your God is faithful – ‘but God is faithful” 
• “It’s not more than you can handle. ‘…not leave you to be tempted beyond what you are able… that you may be able to endure” 
• “There is a way out of this” 


I’m thankful God has left this up to us to figure out. Amid present helplessness that so often leads to future hopelessness, God gave us glorious promises. 

Are you struggling today? Are you living in hopelessness? I want to give you hope today. This verse gives you four promises that combat the four most common lies that Satan tells us when we’re struggling in a trial. 


“But, I just don’t feel that way” Let me ask a few questions as we go forward today. 

• Do you realize that your thinking is influencing the way you are feeling right now? 
• Have you noticed that your thinking is ultimately contributing to your actions that follow through? 

God has not called us to walk by sight or walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7). Trust God amid your pain and circumstance. He will direct your path! (Prov 3:5-6). 

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