“AND ANOTHER THING” (unfriending the devil)

From time to time I plan to post a blog that fills in a point that I have skipped in a recent sermon.  Yes, even with a 40-45-minute sermon there are often items that I skip.  When I blog in this way, I will post it under the name - “And Another Thing”.

Last Sunday I preached on Spiritual Warfare. I did a 4-week series on Spiritual Warfare back in 2009 (“In the Crosshairs”) and this series is available on the Journey website. The single sermon that I did on this topic last Sunday was designed to help us in our current series on “Pursuing Holiness”.  It was a brief overview to raise awareness of the element of Spiritual Warfare in our pursuit of holiness.  I mentioned several specific issues but skipped one that I would like to mention here.

In Ephesians 4:26-27 it says “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil.”  “Opportunity” has the sense of “room” or “place”.  When we fail to deal with anger in a timely fashion, the devil seizes the opportunity to move in and wreak havoc in our lives.  He finds a base of operations from which to extend his work.  The anger intensifies.  Bitterness sets in.  Plans for revenge are considered.  Relationships are destroyed.  Peace is lost.  And on and on the damage goes.

Of course there is a principle here that goes beyond the specific issue of anger.  This passage has application for any area of sin. There are always consequences for not dealing with any sin in a quick fashion.  And by “dealing with” I mean “repenting of”.  Repentance is the maintaining or restoring of a place for the Holy Spirit to do His work in our lives. Instead of the devil doing his work, the Spirit does his work of maturing.  And repentance is the ultimate unfriending of the devil.  It removes the devil from a place to do his work in our lives.  It sweeps the ground right out from underneath him.

So, I urge you to consider where you’re inhibiting the work of the Spirit in your life and inviting the work of the devil into your life. It may just be time to do a little unfriending.