THREE ENEMIES OF BELIEVERS – ENEMY # 1 – SATAN
As long as we live in the world, we are going to have temptations from three different sources – the world, the flesh, and the devil. First of all, let us notice the temptations which come from the devil, and see how God would have us deal with them.
SATAN A PERSONAL BEING
The Word of God makes it plain that Satan is a living personality and not just an evil influence, as some would have us believe. The Bible refers to Satan by name 66 times, and calls him the devil 34 times, and in the 100 mentions of him as Satan and the devil, he is shown to be a personal being with personal attributes. Satan is more than evil. He is a person with mighty power.
Now what does Satan look like? Let us turn to 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 for the answer. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”
Here the Bible tells us that Satan is an Angel of Light. Is there any wonder that millions of people are deceived? There are very few people who think of Satan in that way and that’s the very thing Satan wants. Satan isn’t ugly. Satan is one of the most beautiful of God’s creation when you go back to read about him in Genesis. Satan is beautiful. Satan will actually come to you as an angel of light. By this illustration we might say he poses as a minister of the gospel, wearing religious clothing, and standing in the pulpit of a fashionable church. He uses religious words such as God, Jesus, and the Bible. He deludes his hearers, teaching that salvation is by good works or by human merit. He does not preach redemption through the blood of Christ.
SATAN AND THE BELIEVER
Now what does Satan do to the Believer? We read this in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because Your Adversary (your enemy) the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
The Scripture here clearly tells us that Satan is our enemy and that he walks about as a roaring lion persecuting the people of God. There’s nothing so terrifying as the roar of a lion. Well, that’s what Satan does. He goes around terrifying God’s people. He makes good souls turn back in the day of battle. He makes people of little faith give up the battle and fall beneath the burden in the day of the conflict. He is bent on terrorizing God’s people through persecution.
So far, we see that Satan is described in the Scripture as an Angel of Light and as a Roaring Lion. As an angel of light he deceives; as a roaring lion he persecutes.
If you are a born-again believer, Satan can never take you out of the hand of God (John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 John 5:18) but this is what he can do:
(1). He will try to deceive you (2 Cor. 11:14).
(2). He will tempt you in your weakest points (2 Cor. 2:11).
(3). He will try to kill your testimony as a believer (1 Peter 5:8; Luke 22:31).
(4). He will try to get you to compromise on spiritual lines (Eph. 6:11-12).
(5). He will attempt to hinder your prayers (Daniel 11:12-21).
In short, he will try to bring to nothing the plan of God for your life.
SATAN’S DEVICES
It is important that we know something about Satan’s devices and his tactics and how to deal with them if we as believers are to live victorious lives. Here is what Paul said concerning Satan in 2 Corinthians 2:11. “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
Often Satan causes believers to use their energy in activities other than in direct service to God. For instance, sometimes fundamentalists become so absorbed in fighting or contending for a cause that they forgot that souls are lost and dying without Christ. We should “contend for the faith” as we are told in Jude 3, but we should never become contentious. Otherwise, we unwittingly become tools of Satan.
Another device of Satan is keeping God’s people so busy with church programs that they have no time to pray or get along with the Lord. One has to understand that the strength of our spiritual life is our personal communion with the Lord. There is nothing that pleases God better than for us to take time just to sit at Jesus’ feet. We read in Luke 10:42 that “Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her.” Yes, Mary took time to pray and sit at Jesus’ feet. However, Satan keeps many believers so busy in church activities that they have no time to set at Jesus’ feet.
Another way that Satan gains victory in the lives of God’s children is to lure them away from God’s Word. As an example: when it’s time to read the Bible at night Satan will whisper, “You’re too tired; wait until morning.” Then when morning comes, Satan says, “You’ll be late for work, don’t read it now.” Even when prayer time comes, Satan causes all manner of interruptions. The telephone will ring, or the children will get in a fight or something will go wrong in the kitchen. You see, if Satan can cause us to have broken relationship or fellowship with the Lord, he knows he has gained a victory.
When God’s people fail to pray and have communion with the Lord, they become easy targets for the fiery darts of Satan. Many church squabbles or disputes between believers would never have happened if the parties concerned had been in close communion with the Lord.
You see, Satan is quite the enemy – not just a little tin soldier. Satan can even cause a saint to lie to the Holy Spirit. We read this in Acts 5:3: “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.” We also read in 1 Thessalonians 2:18 that Satan can hinder the most consecrated saint. “Therefore, we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again, but Satan hindered us.”
Believers need to understand that once you start serving God, the devil will be against you every time you raise your voice for God or try to do anything for the Lord. It’s hard to explain because we’re dealing with spiritual things, but I can remember in my earlier days when I first started writing and feeling the heavy resistance and pressure from the forces of darkness.
WHERE SATAN WORKS
There are some people who have the idea that Satan works in gambling dens, houses of prostitution, the honky-tonks or other similar places. One needs to understand that Satan already has these people – he owns these people. Satan is not keen on drunkards, gamblers, or loose women. People like that injure Satan’s purpose in the world. If Satan had his way, he would do away with these types of people. Why? They are a bad advertisement for him.
A lot of things that we attribute to Satan are really the works of the flesh. In Galatians 5:19-21 we are told, “The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…” Often we focus on the drunkard, thief, or vile woman and miss out on what the real work of Satan really is.
Look, Satan’s one purpose, aim, and goal is to lead man to worship him. He deceived our first parents in the Garden of Eden to do this very thing, and he’s been deceiving people ever since.
Now, in order to accomplish his end, Satan works primarily in the spiritual realm. Satan loves to operate in the field of religion – that’s his forte. That is why we have so many false sects and false religions in the world today. Most people would never think that Satan works in the field of religion, but that’s exactly what the Bible tells us: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder. For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Cor. 11:13-15).” You can see from this verse that Satan has used false preachers and false religions to damn more souls to hell than anything else.
Believers have to understand that not every preacher that stands behind the pulpit and preaches the Bible is saved. The Word of God makes it clear that Satan has his ministers who pose as angels of light, who act as ministers of righteousness. Listen to what Jesus had to say: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ (Matt. 7:22-23).”
Believers need to understand that this is a prophetic statement regarding preachers in the last days. Christ said, “Many,” which when referred to a class or group means “The Vast Majority.” If we are living in the last days and no doubt we are, then the vast majority of the preachers in the pulpits of today are called to preach by Satan, placed in the pulpits by Satan and are bringing Satan’s message. We are living in a day when Satan has many followers and worshipers.
It is very important for believers to be able to distinguish between the true and the false. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15).” The apostle John also wrote about this when he said, “Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).”
HOW TO RESIST THE DEVIL
We have to realize that Satan is no friend to the born-again believer. The word “devil” means “slanderer or accuser,” and that Satan works overtime to oppress God’s children. Satan likes nothing better than to kill the testimony and influence of a child of God. Many Christians are living defeated lives because they don’t know how to cope with the fiery darts of Satan.
According to Scripture there is only one way that we can defeat the devil. God’s Word tells us to “Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).” There are only two things in the Bible that we are told to resist. One is sin (Heb.12:4) and the other is Satan. We are not to resist anyone else who may do is evil. (See Matthew 5:39).
The question is how do we resist the devil? First of all, let me say – never argue with the devil or reason with the devil. The only way to overcome him is to resist him. The word “resist” literally means “to stand up and fight.” Now, it’s quite obvious we cannot fight Satan with our fists because we are dealing with a spiritual being. The Scripture clearly says that this is a fight “…against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12).”
Then how can we resist the devil? God gives us the secret of victory. For the answer turn to Revelation 12:11. “And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives until death.” In this chapter and in particular in this verse we read how the devil is going to persecute God’s people during the coming tribulation period. But we also notice how the saints of God will overcome him.
First, they overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb. When Satan comes against you, just say to him, “I am protected by the blood of Jesus, and the same blood which protects me has broken your power; now get behind me Satan.” You may have to repeat this over and over again, but the time will come when you will realize the victory.
Secondly, they overcame the devil by the word of their testimony. We can defeat the devil by giving him the Word of God. This is the way the Lord Jesus overcame him at the time of His temptation. Three times Jesus said to the devil, “It is written ”and quoted from the Word of God, and Satan fled from Him (Matthew 4:1-11).
Thirdly, they loved not their lives until death. In other words, they stood their ground. There is no use to try to make a peace treaty with the devil, nor to compromise with him. We must always resist him with the Word of God and the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
IN CLOSING
In Scripture we have the Word of God to overcome Satan (1 John.4:4) and the evil spirits of fear (2 Timothy), insecurity (Phil. 4:19), anxiety (1 Peter 5:7), depression (Lam. 3:21-23), worry (1 Peter 5:7), stress (John 16:33), weakness or addiction (Phil. 4:13; Psalm 27:1; Daniel 11:32) plus many other conditions.
Here is just one example of God’s Word that can be applied to all conditions – Satan and the evil spirit of fear. When Satan comes at you, you can say to him, “Satan in the name of Jesus I command you to get behind me for it is written, ‘Why should I allow Satan supremacy over my life when He that is in me is greater than he that is in this world’ (1 John 4:4). Satan, I command you to get behind me.”
Now, when the evil spirit of fear comes at you, you can say this: “In the name of Jesus I take authority over the spirit of fear and I command it to leave me now for it is written, ‘Why should I fear when the Bible says God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and the sound mind’ (2 Timothy 1:7). Satan, I command you to get behind me.”
God’s instruction to every born-again believer is this: “Put on the whole armour of God (God’s Word), that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11).
If we pray, use the Word of God, and plead the blood of Jesus Christ over our lives…. Satan will not be able to overcome us.
Oscar
Comment:
Many Christians often think, at least subconsciously, that the mere fact that their belief in Christ is enough to protect them from demonic attacks. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Someone once said, “If you never meet the devil on the road of life, it’s probably because you’re both headed in the same direction.”
THREE ENEMIES OF BELIEVERS – ENEMY # 2 – THE WORLD
As long as we are in the world, we are going to have temptations in three different sources – the devil, the world, and the flesh. This second part deals with the second enemy we have to contend with – the world. While the devil attacks us from above (in the spiritual realm), the world attacks us from AROUND.
Nothing is more important in the life of a child of God than that he know his relationship to the world. Jesus said that we are in the world, but not of the world. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world (John 17:15-16).”
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE WORLD?
In Scripture the word “world” can mean three different things according to the way it is translated from the original Greek:
1. Sometimes the word “world” means the material earth. Of course, this world is not our enemy, but our friend, for out of the earth we receive our food, our clothing, our drink, and all other necessities for life.
2. Then again, the word “world” sometimes means “a dispensation” or “a period of time.” This too, is in no sense our enemy.
3. The third meaning of the word “world “comes from the Greek word “Kosmos” which means this “WORLD ORDER” or this “WORLDS SOCIAL ORDER.” This is the world which is the believer’s enemy; this is a world that crucified our blessed Lord.
When we speak of the world as being an enemy of the believer, we need to understand that we are not talking about the trees, the flowers, or the grass. God made these things for us to enjoy. God wants us to enjoy the beauties of His creation, but God does not want us to love this “present world system.”
THE WORLD – AN ENEMY OF GOD
The Bible makes it perfectly clear that Satan is the god of this world. We are told in 1 John 5:19, that “We (believers) are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (Satan).”
Three times Jesus referred to Satan as the “prince of this world. (John 12:31, John 14:30, and John 16:11).” Do you remember when Satan took Christ to a very high mountain and offered Him the kingdoms of this world with all their glory? (Matthew 4:8). In verse 9, the prince of this world, Satan, said to Jesus, “All these things (the world) I will give You if you will fall down and worship me.” Clearly, Jesus did not dispute the devil’s ability to give him this world because our Lord recognized Satan as the prince of this world and knew that he had not yet been removed from rulership of this world. Later the cross crushed Satan’s head for good and he became a defeated foe.
Yes, this is Satan’s world. It is a world that is in rebellion against God. This world hates God and His Son. Jesus said, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that it’s works are evil (John 7:7).”
We can talk to people about work, business, the weather, etc. In fact, you can talk to people about almost anything but when we start talking about Christ being a wonderful Saviour then the fight is on. If there is anything that this world hates it’s the message of our crucified, buried, and risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Jesus said that we can expect nothing but hatred from the world. He said, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 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…. (John 15:19-20).” Also, in 1 John 3:13 we read: “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.”
From the above verses we can clearly see that the world is an enemy of God because of its attitude towards Christ and Christ’s body of believers.
AS BELIEVERS WE ARE TO BE SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD
When we are saved God expects us to make a clean break with the world. We are not to love the world or the things of the world. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world… (John 18:36).” It is true that we have to live in this world, but we don’t have to run with the world.
The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 2:11 that we are STRANGERS and PILGRIMS here in the world. In other words, this world is not our home. We are in the world, but not of it. Our aims, desires, ambitions, and hopes are all different than those of the world.
God is always commanded His people to live a separate life from the world. The Scripture has a great deal to say about separation. Notice these few verses:
- “And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… (Romans 12:2).”
- “Therefore, come out from among them (the world) and be separate, says the Lord and do not touch what is unclean (2 Corinthians 6:17).”
- “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (James 1:27).”
- “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).
It is plain to see that God wants His people to be separate from the world. We are not to find our satisfaction in the things of the world, but in the things of the Lord.
Perhaps you’re asking the question, “How can I tell whether something is of the world or if it is of God?” This is a good question and there are two verses of Scripture which give us the answer. In Colossians 3:17 we read: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Then again in 1 Corinthians 10:31 we read: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We need to understand that anything you cannot do for the glory of God is of the world. Any place where you cannot take the Lord Jesus Christ is of the world.
Paul tells us in Titus 2:11-12 that the grace of God that brought our salvation also teaches us to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. We are not to wait until we get to heaven to start living pure and holy. We are to try to live that way here and now in the midst of all the filth and pollution of the world.
Perhaps you may be saying, “But how can we live in the world and not partake of these things? Wouldn’t we have to get out of the world completely? Well, let’s listen to the prayer of Jesus: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one (keep the world out of them).” (John 17:15).
It is as simple as a ship. It is all right for the ship to be in the water, but it is all wrong for the water to be in the ship. Likewise, a believer is to be in the world, but not let the world get into him. As long as we live here, we will have temptations from the world… but God’s Word gives us the way to victory – “And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… (Romans 12:2).”
Oscar
THREE ENEMIES OF BELIEVERS – ENEMY # 3 – THE FLESH
Strange as it may seem, the worst enemy of the believer is neither the world nor the devil. Both are terrible enemies which make it hard to live the Christian life but the believer’s greatest enemy, according to God’s Word is the flesh.
We read this in Galatians 5:17: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Then again in Romans 7:18 we read this: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells…)
Now, it is not difficult to understand why the flesh is our greatest enemy. The world attacks us from around, the devil attacks us from above, but the flesh attacks us from WITHIN. This is the reason why the flesh gives us so much trouble.
WHAT IS THE FLESH?
The Bible calls the old or Adamic nature “flesh,” and tells us what it is like. Romans 8:8 says, “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Now, the term “flesh” does not mean just the skin and bones that we have on our hands. No, the word “flesh” means the natural man we are by birth. It is used to describe all that we are by nature.
When we were born into the world, we received a sinful nature. We are all descendants from Adam and Eve. The moment Adam and Eve sinned they died spiritually, and they became fallen creatures with a fallen nature. Now, since we are all descended from Adam and Eve, we all partake of their sinful nature. Why? For the simple reason that like produces like.
Did you ever wonder why it’s so hard to do good and so easy to do wrong? Well, it’s because every generation that has come from Adam has a fallen nature. You were born with a sinful heart and nature, and it is just natural for you to sin because you were born in sin. Here’s what Scripture has to say: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5).” Psalm 58:3 goes on to say: “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.”
This is why children tell fibs. You don’t have to teach children to lie; you have to teach them not to lie. You don’t have to train children to steal; you have to teach them not to take someone else’s things or steal.
Now, it is this nature that we received from the first birth which is referred to in the Bible as “the flesh.” Jesus made this crystal clear when he told the self-righteous and religious Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh (John 3:6).” Now, this nature is not taken from us when we are saved but remains a part of us as long as we are on this earth.
Believers need to understand that the worst enemy we have to keep us from growing in grace is our old fleshly nature. We read this in Romans 7:24: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
FLESH NOT ERADICATED
Don’t let anyone tell you that your old nature is dead, or that it has been eradicated. This is not what the Bible teaches. If your old fleshly nature were actually dead, the Bible wouldn’t say in Romans 3: 14, “…. Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts.” Then again, if your old nature were dead or eradicated, the Bible wouldn’t say in Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh…”
It would be very nice when we are saved, if God would take away our old nature, but He doesn’t do it. Instead, He gives us a new nature. Peter tells us in 2 Peter: 1: 4 that we are “partakers of the divine nature….”
Christians have tried all kinds of religious schemes and joined all kinds of fanatical movements to get rid of their sinful natures. Some have even deluded themselves into believing that their old nature is gone and claim that they don’t sin anymore. This is a lie, for God’s Word says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).”
Yes, we all sin in some way or other and if we say we don’t sin, we make God a liar. God doesn’t want us to sin, but we are all subject to sin and that is the reason for the advocacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we weren’t subject to sin, Jesus Christ would just be wasting His time sitting at the right hand of God the Father. We read this in 1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
THE TWO NATURES IN CONFLICT
When God saves us He doesn’t guarantee us a perfect life in this world without any failures because we still have the old nature to contend with. All the restlessness, discontentment, and unhappiness which each of us experience comes as a result of this old nature. Listen to what Paul says: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:15-24)?” Quite simply the body dominated by sin endures a “living” death.
The intensely personal character of these verses indicate that this was Paul’s own experience as a believer. This is his diagnosis of what happens when one tries to be sanctified by keeping the law. No unsaved man ever delights after the law of God. And furthermore, only a saved person has the inward man, which is the new nature…. So, this shows that Paul was a saved man when he had this experience. Clearly in this wonderful passage of Scripture, Paul tells us that there is a constant warfare going on in the heart and life of every believer. The flesh fights against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
Now, every honest believer must admit that they have this same experience. How often we fail to accomplish the good we set out to do! In shame we must admit that the evil we don’t really want to do, we find ourselves doing. I am not thinking merely of immortal acts. What about pride, prayerlessness, indifference towards the unsaved, failure to study God’s Word, etc. We struggle to do these things we know we ought to be doing every day of our lives, and the struggle never ceases. Therefore, we have the fight between the old and new natures. Unfortunately, these two natures will continue to be at war with each other as long as we live in this world. This is what the Bible teaches.
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FLESH
Every honest person must admit that the flesh (our old sinful nature) presents us with quite a problem. Now, what are we to do with the flesh? How should we deal with this incorrigible enemy.
There are some who say that we should use self-control and try to curb the desires of the flesh. That is like putting “Jack in the box.” It works fine as long as you can keep “Old Jack” in the box, but at the most embarrassing moment, he is always jumping out with all of his hideousness.
There are others who say that we should try to improve the flesh. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, a well-known preacher in the mid-20th century said, “Think beautiful thoughts, think lovely thoughts, think noble thoughts, and eventually you will be able to bring your mind into subjection to God.” Really? Here is what the Bible says, “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Romans 8:7).” This idea that we can improve the flesh and bring it into subjection to God is just not so, because the Bible says “the carnal” mind cannot be subject to the law of God.
As you can see there is no use to try to reform or patch up the flesh, or to try to improve it, or make it better because the flesh cannot be changed. Yes, it may be cultured and refined but it is still flesh. So, the question is “What should we do with the flesh?” We know we have to live with it, but the big question is “How should we deal with it?”
Here’s what the Bible says: “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11).” Now our old nature is not actually dead, but God says that we are to reckon it as dead – we are to count it as dead. Paul further goes on to say: “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:13).”
Here you have the secret of victory. The secret of victory lies in yielding to Christ. As long as we live in this mortal body, we are going to have temptations from the flesh, but the Scripture says that we are not to yield our members to sin (the old nature), but we are to yield them to God (the new nature). And this has to be continual, yielding day by day (Luke 9:23).
You can work yourself to death until you’re blue in the face but you’ll never have victory over the flesh (your old carnal nature) until you learn to yield yourself to God. Yield to God daily, hourly, and moment by moment. Send up an SOS of prayer and read your Bible when temptation comes. We can pray at any time or place. We have constant and instant contact with God when we need victory.
Last, but by no means least – we must depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to give us daily victory over the flesh. Notice what the Bible says in relation to the flesh and the Spirit: “…Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust (desires) of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).” One thing you need to understand is that if you read God’s Word, pay attention to God’s Word, and do what God’s Word tells you to do, you will not walk in the flesh but rather in the Spirit – and your life will be filled with the Spirit and controlled by the Spirit.
This is the way to victory. Yield to the Holy Spirit and never make a move, or never make plans without His leading. Yield everything to the Holy Spirit and you will be victorious, happy, and fruitful.
Oscar