Nahum 2:1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.
Nahum got this message for Israel and they were in dire need of it. You can’t let your guard down a bit. The world is openly aggressive with its sin. The devil has pulled out every trick to destroy, bring down, and ruin your relationship with the Lord. The Bible tells us to draw nigh unto the Lord and he’ll draw nigh unto us. That means a moving forward and upward daily. If we’re not careful the devil will get between us and our God.
You’ve had someone get in your face. You don’t like it especially if they are angry. Those in our family, our neighborhoods, and at work will get in our face. When they do, remember the true enemy—Satan—is behind it. He tries to come between us and each other, us and the Bible, us and the church and the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said he’d never leave us nor forsake us. Don’t take that lightly. However, it is our duty to follow. Be more than a survivor. Don’t be a casualty of the devil. Move forward for the Lord.
Are you still growing, going, and moving forward with the Lord? Here is the warning—a caution—before us today. We’re aware of the devil. If you don’t recognize how he works, be careful. It’s easy to run right smack into him at home, at work, or in the world. I appreciate the understanding of my family. Because I’m a pastor I am somewhat unavailable to them. The devil tries to bring disunity and discord. It’s now a standard for most families. The devil has his way with many in the public eye and the media. That doesn’t mean he has to get up in your face. With all the new laws and regulations, doing right is almost a crime. It’s not a crime to be Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, but Christians are singled out and the enemy will get in your face.
We serve THE ONLY GOD and all adversaries are no match for him. We can move forward because the Lord is available. With the touch of his finger he can put the devil behind you. There is victory in Jesus. You are a child of God and greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. He knows what to do when the devil gets in your face. The devil uses surprising means that you’d never think. He’s a fox and is loose in the vineyard. He has a lot of imps around. It is literally the blind leading the blind in today’s society. What happens? They all fall in the ditch. Many think people go to heaven no matter what they’ve done with God. Every religion is accepted except true Christianity. Society likes them. They tolerate it all EXCEPT Christianity.
The devil has power to dash us into pieces. What do we do? Keep our eyes on the Lord. Peter sank when he took his eyes off Jesus. Pray every day that your eyes will be opened to see the devil. Ask the Lord to be there with you and give you what you need to defeat the devil. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 states for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Right here is the strategy to get the devil out of your face. You can’t fight the devil with physical weapons. Our enemy is a spiritual being. Are your spiritual weapons ready? We need to practice and build ourselves up in the faith. Be prayed up. Does the Word abide in your heart? The devil doesn’t respond to a gunshot. He survives those. He cannot survive the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Three Hebrew boys had a word for the king. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Their aim was to stick with God. The devil tried to get in their face but the Lord was there to shield them. The fourth man was there and that one man was big enough to protect the other three. Nebuchadnezzar knew that fourth man was the Son of God.
We do feel vulnerable. The devil doesn’t stay at a distance. He gets in our face, our life. He’ll use any means to dash us into pieces. Live a life of resistance. When they say you can’t pray, pray anyway. The devil will most likely get to us through little things not big ones. He’ll use murmuring, suspicion, envy, and idolatry. He cause disinterest in church. He causes us to lose courage and doubt God. He says don’t believe God, the Bible or the preacher. Remember, the house of God is an asset. Think what we’d do without the Bible, without prayer, without each other.
We have One more powerful than Satan. When the devil gets in your face he’s only a moment from getting in your heart and mind. Nahum said for us to keep the munition. God has given us plenty of ammo to use against the devil. Use it. Watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. How do we do this? We have no power against the devil but God does. We can let him keep getting in our face until he dashes our life apart or we can stand and let the Lord put the devil behind us. Pray. In your battles and struggles don’t be defeated and overcome. Turn it over to the Lord.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 