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Steve Brown: Wait and watch. You'll be better for it. Let's talk on Key Life.

Guest (Male): That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown, and this is Key Life. We're all about radical grace, because of what Jesus has done. God's not mad at you. Keep listening and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. We're talking about the ways that a Christian deals with Slyfoot, the liar, the father of lies, Satan or the devil. And we have seen that you deal with it with prayer, with faith.

Let me show you something else. The Christian aids in the appropriation of Christ's victory over Satan with watchfulness.

Listen to what Peter said. This is First Peter 5:8. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Because the reality of Satan is often thought to be a myth, and because in a sophisticated time, we don't believe in wizards that peep and mutter anymore, it's easy for even a Christian to decide that he or she has too many real problems to confront without having to think about something seemingly so remote as Satan.

That is a really bad mistake. Marshall W. Fishwick, in his book, *False Revisited, Some Thoughts on Satan*, points to the problem of people who underestimate the power of Satan.

Let me tell you his advice. And this is a quote: "No one who does go out should underestimate the task. Evil is active, eternal, omnipresent, contiguous. We must expect to encounter it wherever we go, whatever we do. Satan never sleeps. He never even rests on his arms."

"When we think he's gone, he is most there. When we are proudest, we most readily betray ourselves."

One of the safety slogans used quite often is "defensive driving saves lives." That slogan is applicable for the Christian life. Don't assume that you're too spiritual to be attacked by the tempter. Nobody is.

Don't think that because you've read your Bible and prayed, you are now free from the possibility of evil. Nobody is. Don't think that there is some magic formula which will exempt you from the devil's plans. There isn't.

The closer you draw to Jesus, the closer Satan will try to draw to you. If you know that, you'll watch, you'll be watchful. After almost every spiritual victory in your life, you will be open to depression, and doubt, and pride, and anger, and evil thoughts.

If you do what evil wants, or what the evil one wants you to do, he'll have no reason to bother you. So, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Expect it. Be watchful. Think about it. Understand the means of grace that have been given to you to fight that particular battle.

Be a Christian who is aware that this is not a safe place. You hear about college students demanding a safe place at their university or their college. And I understand that. I want a safe place too. But sometimes I want to say, "Are you crazy? There is no safe place."

The world is not fair. The world is a dangerous place, and the sooner you find that out, the better off you will be. And that has a spiritual application too. This is not a safe world.

It's people supernaturally with evil. And that lion is looking to devour you, the Bible says. So, be watchful and be careful.

Then there's another way to appropriate the victory which was won for you on the cross, and that is be prepared to resist. Listen to what First Peter 5:9 says: "Resist him, the devil, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world."

The Apostle James has given us a clear promise in this regard. James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

One of the most dangerous heresies for any Christian is the belief that one need do nothing to resist evil because Jesus does it all. Now, there's a real sense in which Jesus does do everything. Any Christian living the Christian life knows, as he looks back on his experience, that Jesus called him, led him, empowered him, and changed him.

However, within the experience itself, a Christian needs to resist. Now, I want you to notice, I didn't tell you to fight the battle yourself. Or your heroic effort would have to be what defeats Satan. That isn't what the scriptures mean when they talk about resistance. If they did, we would not be able to do anything.

Have you ever seen those displays of cans in the supermarket, which are arranged so that if someone accidentally removes one can from the bottom of the arrangement, the whole display will fall in a pile?

If you have seen that, you see a good example of what resistance to Satan implies. It implies moving the one can. The resistance you offer is the symbol which will bring to your aid all the power necessary to defeat Satan.

Satan flees, not because you have resisted, but because he knows your resistance is what enlists the mighty power of God's legions.

A man who is tempted by Satan to commit adultery, for instance, can very easily yield to that temptation. But when he resists, when he says to himself, "I will not indulge myself, even in that thought of an act so harmful to me and my family," he finds that something strange happens.

He finds that the mere act of resistance provides a power he didn't know he had. He finds he isn't the only one doing the resistance. He finds First John 4:4, "He who is in you is greater than the devil who is in the world."

And then there's one final method, and we're going to talk about it maybe a little bit more tomorrow. But the final method of the appropriation of the power that is available to the Christian is the use of truth.

When Paul is talking about how Christians ought to resist Satan, he says, "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth." Ephesians 6:14. Again he says, "And take the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:17.

In other words, Paul is saying that there is a way to counter lies, and that is always with the truth. If someone told me my mother didn't exist, how do you think I would answer that person? I certainly wouldn't compose a philosophical treatise on the existence of my mother.

I would point to the fact of my existence, and then very simply explain the birds and the bees. I would have him taste some of my mother's banana pudding. I would take him and introduce him to my mother. The truth would be the very effective weapon in dealing with the foolishness of that doubt.

It's the same way with the Christian faith. God has given the Christian a body of truth, the Bible, with which he or she can encounter the lies. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Guest (Male): And that was Steve Brown, continuing in our series called Welcome to the Family. For the last little while, we've been talking about dealing with the enemy, how to identify him and resist him. I trust these messages will bless you as you put them into practice. But tomorrow, we'll shift gears a bit to explore the idea that Christians are human too. Do join us for that.

Well, happy New Year. Yeah, I say it throughout all of January. What are you going to do? And in this season of new things, I'm happy to tell you about the brand new Key Life print magazine. This edition features an article from Steve about what to do when we feel lonely. There's also pieces from Matt Heard, Barry Smith, and Justin about the voice that changes everything.

Plus, info on a whole bunch of new and exciting features and products. It's yours when you call us at 1-800 Key Life. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at keylife.org to ask for the magazine, or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada. Just ask for your free copy of Key Life Magazine.

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