1 Peter 5:8 – Satan’s Tactics: Discouragement and Beyond – Bible study

1Peter 5:8 Satans Tactics: Discouragement and Beyond I started a series of messages some weeks ago entitled, Satans Tactics. In the last message, we noted that Satan does not use new tactics when the old ones are working. Satan is old fashioned. He sticks with what he knows will work and while he has many lures in his tackle box, he favors some because they are the tried and true. I also told you that I would discuss with you five of his lures, those that he merely reloads and repeats. Perhaps it will make it easier for you to remember them by remembering that all five start with the letter D." The first lure that Satan uses to tempt people and pull them away from righteousness is DESIRE. Satan uses the desires that we have within us to cause us to hurt ourselves. This evening, I would like to share the second lure that Satan uses. He uses DISCOURAGEMENT. I. Elijah was a man with discouragement. 1Kings 18:22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baals prophets are four hundred and fifty men. A. I dont mean to throw off on Elijah. He was a great man of God living in a very difficult time, but the devil almost got Elijah with discouragement. 1. Notice the phrase, "I only remain." 2. Elijah repeated a similar phrase in \#1Kings 19:10, 14\, "I, even I only, am left." 3. It seemed to Elijah that all the prophets and all the people had turned from God, and that he was the last one holding out. a. He was not; There were 7,000 that God had reserved for Himself; but even if he was the last, that would not have given him permission to quit. b. Yet, he almost did because he was discouraged! 4. No one can doubt Elijahs walk with God. a. Just read the Bible. (1) The man talked to and heard from God on a regular basis. (2) He performed 8 miracles in the Bible. (3) He prophesied future events that came true. b. Yet, he became discouraged enough to almost quit on God. B. Understand what these means. Anyone and everyone can be discouraged and even depressed. 1. Discouragement and depression are not signs of weakness. 2. They do not mean that you are not a Christian. 3. They do not mean that God has forsaken you. 4. They do mean that you are a human being with a sinful nature, experiencing a human condition. 5. However, Christians can defeat discouragement. 6. Christians can even defeat depression. 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. a. Who is "them" in that verse? b. "Them" is anyone or anything, including the devil, that wants to attack you. C. We need to understand some truths about discouragement and its bigger brother, depression. 1. Both are battles of your spirit. a. Discouraged comes from the prefix "dis" and the root word "courage." To be discouraged means that your SPIRIT lacks courage or zeal or zest. b. Depressed is discouragement on steroids. (1) The word comes from the prefix "de" and the root word "pressed." (a) The prefix "de" means down. (b) The word "pressed" means to be put under pressure, to be pushed upon. (2) The two together mean your SPIRIT is being pushed or pressed down. (3) These are attacks against your SPIRIT. They may have physical or mental causes, but the battle will produce either a spiritual victory or a spiritual loss. c. A tire or balloon can illustrate the effect of both of these attacks on our spirit. (1) Discouragement is a like slow leak in a tire, Your spirit is gradually losing courage, strength, zeal, zest. (2) But at some point, the tire has too little air in it to carry the automobile. Now you are not just discouraged, but you have lost so much courage that you cannot function. 2. You can be discouraged and depressed because of physical reasons. a. Being excessively tired, a tired that reaches beyond the body all the way into the spirit, can cause discouragement and depression. (1) Some think that is what happened to Elijah. (2) He had been fighting the devil and all of his forces and he was tired through and through. (3) Whats the cure? (a) Its actually very simple. Rest. (b) It may not sound spiritual but it is for God commanded man to rest one day out of every seven. (c) \#Ex 20:8-11\ Thats one of the Big Ten. b. Mental and physical problems can cause discouragement and depression. (1) Chemical imbalances and physical failings and breakdowns of the body can cause them. (2) There are medications, diets, and supplements that can correct or at least help most of these conditions. (3) Whether there are cures or treatments for our bodies, we must still do what we can to conform the flesh into the image of Jesus Christ. (a) Every human being has three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. (b) For each enemy, God has given us a command on how to defeat it. i. For the world, God said flee and separate from it. \#2Tim 2:22\ ii. For the flesh, God said to conform and subdue it. \#Romans 12:2, 1Cor 9:27\ iii. For the devil, God said to resist and fight him \#James 4:7\. (c) The key to overcoming our bodies is to, as best as the Spirit of God will empower us, to make it obey. (d) That is what good parents try to discipline into their children when they are young, and it is what we must discipline into yourselves after we are grown. c. Sorrow can cause discouragement and depression. (1) Sorrow can be caused by loneliness and too many setbacks. (2) God has promised to never put more on the Christian that he can bear, but His confidence in us often exceeds our confidence in ourselves. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (3) What is the cure? Put some joy into your life. Pro 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. d. But the biggest cause of discouragement and depression is what the devil does against us. (1) No matter the cause of our discouragement may be, the devil will make it infinitely worse. (2) In dealing with causes, we must always deal with the devil. II. We Must Defeat Discouragement. A. Find out why you are discouraged and depressed. 1. I have listed four causes for discouragement and depression , but I am sure there are probably more. 2. When you are discouraged and especially when you are depressed, you need to find out why. 3. Three times in the book of Psalms, David asked the question, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" (a) \#Ps 42:5, 11, 43:5\ (b) Why did he ask that? Because he needed to know the answer. (c) If you do not know why are "cast down" or "depressed," you will have a far more difficult time overcoming itand it can be overcome. 4. How do I find out? (a) Pray (1) Even before you go to the doctor, pray. (2) Christians need to quit making prayer their last resort and make it their first. (3) If there is a God in heaven who died for you, loves you, saved you, and wants to have a relationship with you, then He ought to be willing to at least talk to you. (4) He can certainly show you whether you are tired or filled with sorrow. (b) Assume (1) In most cases, to make assumptions is dangerous, but no matter what the root cause of your discouragement or depression may be, you can assume that the devil is making it worse. (2) Why? Because Satan is a roaring lion, walking about to destroy you! (c) Treat (1) Please notice that my most recent thought was, "Find out WHY you are discouraged and depressed," and my last recommendation to you was to "Treat" the problem (2) You should be asking, "How can I treat a problem if I do not yet know what caused the problem?" (3) You need to remember that despite what the "professionals" may say, dealing with spiritual problems is not an exact science so try the process of elimination. (4) Treat whatever problem and all the problems that you can even remotely imagine causing your spirit. B. Treat all of the possibilities: 1. Rest – Since exhaustion can cause discouragement and depression, take some time off to rest. 2. Do something different. Do something fun. (a) This is difficult for people who are discouraged or depressed; but since being in a rut and being alone can cause discouragement and depression, change things up. (b) Find someone to do things with. (1) In a church of almost any size, there are others in the same condition as you, heading towards your condition, or in worse shape than you. (2) If everyone would quit hiding what they are going through, the members of the body of Christ could actually help one another to deal with the attacks this world makes on our spirit. (3) We need to hold one another accountable to better thinking and better use of our time; and the best way to do that is to spend time together. Ge 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (4) If that were true of the sinless man, Adam, how much more is it true of the sinful men and women that we now are? i. By the way, I am not saying that those who are desperate to get married should run out and marry the first thing that comes along. ii. I am speaking of friendships to battle discouragement and depressions not romantic relationships. iii. If you are desperate to find romance, you will likely find that the romantic process will lead to more discouragement and depressions instead of less. iv. Besides that, you dont want to marry a person you are not first friends with. v. One of the most important proverbs in the Bible is: Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (aa) Quit being hungry and desperate and just be friendly. (bb) Find people that will stick with you no matter what. 3. Take better care of the body you live within. a. Spiritual attacks can come through physical means. b. Most likely, we could all do a better job in our diet, exercising, fasting, and taking vitamins and supplements to make up for what our body doesnt get or what our body can no longer pull out for itself. c. We are living in the 21st century. We should use some of what is available to us to help strengthen our bodies and our spirits. d. Dont just do and take everything, but try some healthy alternatives and see if it helps. 4. Listen to good, Christian music. a. \#1Sam 16:14-23\, Saul had an evil spirit afflicting him. b. The story is a bit complicated but the short of it is that Saul was disobeying God so God allowed a demonic spirit to attack Sauls spirit. c. Some wise men near Saul realized what was happening and advised the king to find someone who could play the right kind of music to minister to the king. (1) Through Gods hand, the young man they selected was David. (2) Listen to what happened: 1Sam 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (3) Please understand that I am speaking here of music that drives always demons and draws you to God not music that drives away God and draws demons to you. (4) A lot of what parades even for Christian music today is nothing but the devils music with a few words changed. (5) If it was the music you loved when you were lost and backslidden to God, it must NOT be the right kind of music to attract God and drive away demons. (6) If it didnt attract God and drive away the demons when you were lost and backslidden, why would it attract God and drive away demons now? 5. See a doctor. a. Everyone needs a doctor who understands that humans are body, soul, and spirit; but especially those who are experiencing the spiritual symptoms of discouragement and depression. b. Discouragement and depression can be rooted in a physical problem. c. If you are praying and the first things have not helped, it may be time to see a doctor to explore the physical possibilities. 6. If you have been prescribed medicines by a qualified, Christian doctor who understand the attacks of the devil on your spirit, take them. a. Even until you find such a doctor, I would recommend you take whatever the doctor you trust has recommended you take, but Christians NEED to find doctors that understand that there is a spiritual warfare being waged against their spirit. b. Every Christian needs to understand what pills can and cannot do. (1) As far as my limited mind can understand, medications do primarily two things: (a) They can provide what our body needs until we and our bodies can heal itself. i. In some cases, that healing may not be possible so we may have to take medication the rest of our lives. ii. But our goal should be to heal the body not to medicate it. (b) They can sedate our spirit. If you need rest and that is the only way you are going to get it, medicine can certainly help; but sedating ones self through drugs or liquor is only delaying a problem that is still going to have to be dealt with sooner or later. (2) However, medications also do some things against us. (a) They can give us the sense of being healed when we are not. This can cause us to rely on a pill instead of helping our bodies to heal. (b) Our bodies and spirits can become dependent upon them. (c) They can cause unwanted side-effects. (d) When we sedate our spirit, we just delaying dealing with hurt, pain, and attacks that we are going to have to deal with sooner or later. 7. As you do everything else you can, do not neglect to resist the devil! James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. a. God does not command us to run from the devil or to conform him. He commands us to resist him. b. How? (1) Memorize, meditate, and mention Bible verses. (2) Pray (3) Attend church, listen to sermons and Christian music. (4) Contact Christian friends who will pray for you, with you, and will do things with you. (5) Dont give into the abyss. (a) The tendency of the discouraged and depressed is to isolate themselves and pull the cover over their heads. (b) Fight it. i. The more isolated you are, the more you have nothing to do but think on how bad things are. ii. The more you think on how bad things are, the more depressed you become. (6) Associate new habits with the devil’s attacks. (a) When you feel discouragement and depression trying to pull you in, find something physical to do for Jesus. (b) Pass out tracts; read the Bible to someone who cant; visit the hospitals (waiting rooms are usually always full); write poems, sermons, letters to others and yourself. (c) Find something to do for Jesus that will make the devil regret attacking you. One of the most powerful tools the devil uses against people is discouragement and depression. If it worked on Elijah, it can work on anyone. To save Elijah, God intervened. To save you, you will have to let God intervene as well. I pray you will allow Him to do so tonight.