Dear Reader,

If you really consider yourself as a true believer in Christ Jesus and that you have been enrolled in the army of God to fight against your three powerful enemies Satan, the flesh, and the world, I have a very timely and urgent message for you.

Do you know that the main reason why many Christians fail in their Christian life today is due to the fact that deep in their hearts they don’t believe or realize that in every moment of their life in this world they are engaged in a spiritual warfare against Satan and the forces of darkness which are very active in our world today?  The Apostle Paul makes this very clear for us in the letter that he wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 6: 12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  According to Paul, what you really need to know and understand is that the moment you became a believer and the follower of Jesus Christ, you were marked by Satan and all his agencies in this evil and perverse world for spiritual attack and assault.  Remember, Satan, the world, and the desires of your sinful nature hate Christ and you his follower.  Our blessed Lord himself has told us in his Word that if the world hated and persecuted him it will revile and persecute us on the account of us being identified with him.

Let me refresh your mind with what our Lord told us in that portion of the Scripture: ”Remember the Word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

You see, if you are a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you are and will be under a constant attack of the devil. Your great and powerful enemy cannot take away your salvation or destroy your eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus in heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ has already given you that sure and unwavering assurance in His Word when he said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and who-ever comes to me I will never cast out,” John 6:37.

Yes, your salvation is eternally secured not by your own righteousness or any kind of ability of your own but by the blood of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the devil can still attack you to make you a miserable and unhappy Christian so that you become useless and unproductive with your Christian life. If you as a soldier of Christ would not resist the devil by the strength and power that God gives you, Satan can manage to make you forfeit the joy of your salvation.

And it was for that very reason that the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:27 exhorts you with these words: “And give no opportunity or room to the Devil” which means if you do, then he will exploit the situation and deceive you to fall in to sin or act contrary to what is the will of God for you. The clear and alarming warning that the Bible gives about this real spiritual warfare is found in 1 Peter 5:8, and it says, ”Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around you like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

You see my friend, Satan and our spiritual warfare against him are real. Do not be deceived by any voice or notion that tells you that Satan is not real (does not exist), and there is no such thing as a spiritual warfare between a Christian and the devil.  To prove that, you only need to remember your Lord Jesus Christ and all his spiritual battles against the devil. Jesus had to meet this enemy. So did the Apostles and our Church Fathers in the history of Christ’s Church. If all these people including our Lord Jesus Christ encountered the devil and all his schemes, you are not exempted from this spiritual warfare. In fact, it was for that main reason that Paul in Ephesians 6:10 calls you to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

And how do you do that? Well, according to the inspired apostle, you do that by putting on the whole armor of God. And what is this Whole Armor of God that you should put on upon you to enable you to stand against the schemes of the Devil? I will start sharing the whole armor of God–piece by piece with you as of next week.

With you in the army of Christ,

Zecharias Weldeyesus ( Pastor)