Tucson Mountain Baptist Church

In the early 2000’s, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., writing for the World Almanac, identified the most influential people of the second millennium – the years between 1000 and 1999: William Shakespeare – Isaac Newton – Charles Darwin – Nicolaus Copernicus – Galileo Galilei – Albert Einstein – Christopher Columbus – Abraham Lincoln – Johannes Gutenberg – William Harvey.
Number 10 on the list, William Harvey. Who in the world is that? William Harvey was a medical doctor who practiced in the early 1600’s. Harvey was the first person to show in detail that the human circulatory system begins and ends with the heart. Everything we know today about cardiovascular health and fighting heart disease can be traced back to Harvey’s discoveries.
We can be intentional about removing factors that will harm us so we can live stressless lives through God’s peace. We’ve seen there are many areas that are prone to throwing stressors on our shoulders – our schedules, finances, relationships, decisions. We’ve also identified ways to remove these stressors so they don’t produce stress and we can instead be filled with God’s peace.
A. Keep Watch
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Rid yourself of a deceitful mouth and keep devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your fee, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left; turn your foot from evil.” Prov. 4:23-27
The New Living Translation phrases it this way: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (v.23)
If we want to experience the full measure of God’s peace, then we’ll need to guard and keep watch over our hearts.
The Hebrew word translated as “heart” is the seat of your mind, your will, and your emotions. It’s the sum total of your moral and spiritual life.
Proverbs says to “watch over your heart with all diligence.” Why? Because “from it flow the springs of life “and “it determines the course of your life.”
How to Find God’s Peace in the Face of Spiritual Attack
We’ve been given the opportunity to not just exist – but to participate in God’s eternal plans and purposes in the universe. We’ve been given the opportunity to live and find joy and purpose as members of God’s kingdom.
Remember that every time God commands us to do something in Scripture, it is for our own good.
The essence of who we are and the direction of our lives flow out of our hearts. Whatever influences us internally will impact the core of who we are, and the direction of our lives go– whether that impact is good or bad. When we allow harmful things to influence our hearts, we will be harmed.
You can prevent or reduce stress in your life by carefully guarding what you allow to influence your heart.
B. See the Enemy
What’s the biggest threat that I need to keep watch against to protect myself? Boiled down to one word: Satan. You are constantly under attack.
Satan is Real
Many people, especially Jesus followers, don’t realize they’re in a battle – they don’t realize they’re living in the middle of a war.
Several years ago a survey conducted by the Barna Group revealed that only 31% of Americans agreed with the statement that “Satan is not merely a symbol of evil but is a real spiritual being and influences human lives.” 69% of Americans disagreed with that statement; that’s 2/3’s of the country.
You cannot believe the Bible is true and not believe Satan is real and out to destroy you. In the New Testament alone, the word Satan is mentioned 36 times and devil is mentioned 34 times.
Who is he? What is he? Satan is a fallen angel. Ezekiel writes, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God.
How to Find God’s Peace in the Face of Spiritual Attack
And I have destroyed you, you covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” (28:15-16)
Many people view Satan as the opposite of God – with equal powers locked in eternal combat. That’s not the case. God is the Creator; Satan was created. God is all powerful; Satan is powerful but limited.
Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” John 12:31. Paul referred to Satan as “the god of this world.” (2nd Corinthians 4:4) Why does Satan have so much power over our world? Because of sin. Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12.
John MacArthur: “Satan’s forces of darkness are highly organized and structured for the most destructive warfare possible…they are a great and ancient multitude and constitute a formidable and highly experienced supernatural enemy.”
Make no mistake, if we’re seeking to live the life of a Jesus follower – and we want to experience God’s peace – Satan has us in his sights. Peter writes, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1st Peter 5:8
Scripture translate “devour” – as violent and vicious. And it always ends in total devastation.
The real causes of stressors and stress is the reality that we’re in the middle of a spiritual war. We’re under attack every single day of our lives.
C. Satan is a Liar
Deception is his default operating system. “Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
As we engage in our spiritual battle against Satan and his forces, we should never expect a fair fight. Our adversary will always fight dirty.
How to Find God’s Peace in the Face of Spiritual Attack
In Ephesians 6, Paul warned Christians to “put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (v. 11)
Have you noticed how some of the strongest temptations hit you right at your weakest moments? Some of your worst decisions were made when you were compromised in some way, when you were tired, lonely, angry, or even just hungry. Your spiritual enemies know when you’re most vulnerable to attack.
Our adversaries attack through distortion by twisting the truth in an attempt to use it against us. Our enemies attack us through doubt by working to make us question the truth. The attack may come internally and be connected to our failures. Our spiritual enemies attack us with distraction by trying to lead us away from the truth.
The temptation of Eve in the garden of Eden is a textbook example of our adversaries’ methods: “Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.” The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:1-6
Satan’s attack was timed to occur when God wasn’t physically present. Satan observed and exploited a moment of weakness. 1st the distortion: “Has God really said…?” Then doubt. “The serpent said, “You certainly will not die!” Last distraction. “it was a delight to the eyes”
You’re in the middle of a war, and your enemy is actively attacking you through all kinds of deception. The goal of those attacks is to harm you – to drive a wedge in your fellowship with God and to destroy you in any and every way possible. That includes increasing the number of stressors you face each and every day.