Deadly Darts (February 2, 2025)

Ephesians 6:10–18 ~ “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

In 2 Samuel 18, David sends out an army into the field against his own son, Absolom. David gives the command to the three commanders not to kill his son, Absolom, and bring him back alive, whom they are fighting against. Joab, one of the commanders, took three spears and pierced them through the heart of Absolom.

Today, there are present day Joab’s in our own lives. The devil has a plan to destroy your life. It is my opinion that ignorance is not bliss and is also one of the most terrible things that can happen in one’s life. You have heard the saying “What you don’t know won’t hurt you”, the fact is what you don’t know can kill you. We need to know the treats and schemes of the devil and how he plans to try to destroy our lives. Look again at Ephesians 6:11.

The devil’s schemes or tricks are built around the fact that people are ignorant of needed facts. That’s why a scheme is a scheme. The one performing it is counting on hiding information from the individual to who it is directed. There are several things the devil doesn’t want you to know about him. He doesn’t want you to know that his power is limited, that he’s limited in location, that he’s subject to the believer’s authority, and that his strongholds can be brought down. He also doesn’t want you to know about the weapons in his arsenal.

Satan delights in using three deadly darts on a regular basis; let’s look at them now:

Disappointments

• A disappointment can be defined as the “undoing of an appointment”
• We appoint for ourselves many things:
  • relationships
  • jobs
  • money
  • children
  • retirement
• Life can hand us unexpected bumps in the road:
  • layoff / fired
  • death
  • child goes astray
  • sickness
  • feel of betrayal of friends
• Satan uses these disappointments and more to play with your mind. This can cause you to believe that God has left you in the middle of nowhere.
• Our defense – TRUST IN GOD!

Proverbs 3:6 ~ “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Discouragements

• All discouragements are of the devil
• Discouragement is the opposite of courage
• STORY I READ ~ “Martin Luther was discouraged. The Pope was trying to kill him and most of his friends had forsaken him. He noticed his wife wearing mourning clothes one day. She said that she was going to a funeral. “Whose?” he asked, and she replied, “God’s”. Luther was irate at her answer. It was bad enough that the rest of the world was against her, now it seemed that his wife was too. “Who told you God was dead?” he asked. “You did, Martin,” was her reply, “by the way you have been acting over the last few weeks, I was sure that you found out that God had died.” Upon hearing this, Martin Luther went to his knees and asked for God’s forgiveness.
• We would never say that God is dead, but how our actions must contradict what we say we believe at times.

1 Samuel 30:6 ~ “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

Despair

• To despair is to lose and give up hope. It is the final stage of discouragement and disappointment.
• Despair is the place of panic, irrational decisions, and jumping ship.

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 ~ “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 ~ “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”

We can overcome disappointment, discouragement, and despair. As we throw things from our lives into the Spiritual Trash Can, these three will try to come up more and more in our lives. BUT we need to Trust in God in all things, give it all over to Him, Worship Him during the storms of lives and remember, If God is for us, who cares who is against us! We are in a Spiritual Warfare, but in the end, we win!!!