Please note that there is a Part 2 of this video at the bottom of this e-mail.
…quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. Ephesians 6:16b
If we have made a commitment to God, we have made ourselves an enemy of Satan (1 Peter 5:8). Isaiah 59:15a says, “He who departs from evil makes himself a prey.” This is not saying we will be killed, but hunted. It is like we have a target on our backs to Satan. The enemy / Satan is now strategizing against us. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Part B in the amplified translation says, “that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.” The purpose of his strategies and deceits are to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). We are in a spiritual battle!
Satan is shooting fiery darts at us (Ephesians 6:16), the amplified calls them flaming missiles. Picture it like the board game, Battleship. Battleship is referred to as a strategic, naval warfare game. We place our boats on a water grid and our opponent does the same. We take turns calling out squares on the grid to fire missiles to hit and sink our opponent’s battleships. If our opponent fires a missile and misses us, a white peg is placed in the grid. We are clean, pure, and holy in that area (James 4:8). If our opponent hits us [our battleship], we place a red peg there. This is an area in our life that we need to repent of. It needs to be covered in the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7). Like Battleship, if one of Satan’s missiles hits us, he keeps firing around the original missile strike to sink us. If Satan sees we are weak in an area of lust, he will keep firing in that area until we are destroyed or we deal with it by applying the Word. For example, standing upon Job 31:1, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman / man.” If Satan has had successful missile strikes in areas of your life, search for “scriptures on (lust, forgiveness, greed, envy, etc)”. Memorize one or more of those scriptures and quote them any time temptation arises. Make an affirmation and quote it every morning. As you practice the Word, those missile strikes from the enemy will turn into misses.
…we are not ignorant of his [Satan’s] schemes 2 Corinthians 2:11b
Battleship is a 2-person game, but our spiritual battle involves more than just 2 people. Satan is working with his cohorts / demons to devise and execute a strategy. Do not fear though, the Lord tells us in 2 Chronicles 20:15b, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” The battle is God’s and Jesus has already won (John 16:33 and 1 John 5:4-5). We just have to walk in agreement with God and our helpers, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). If we are obeying God and His Word, we can stand upon Isaiah 8:10. “Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.” In righteousness, we can also proclaim 2 Corinthians 2:11, “No advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” As we obey the Word, Satan’s plans will be thwarted. No weapon formed against us will prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Satan will form weapons, but they will not prosper!
Obedience to the Word of God is the key to our defense. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Christ here is the Word (John 1:1). We quench the fiery darts with our shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The Word is also the key to our offense. After all, we are not firing flaming missiles. Our weapon is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17b). If the Word is the key to our offensive and defensive attack, it is no wonder that Satan’s main scheme is to get believers out of God’s Word. God’s Word brings light (Psalm 119:105). If Satan can keep us out of the Word, then we will remain in darkness stumbling and getting hit by the flaming missiles. Proverbs 4:19 says, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” Do not fall into this trap! Set time aside every morning to read the Word of God. Then apply and obey what you have read.
