A soldier in Armed Forces who is placed in the battle can receive personal or distant attacks from their enemy, LIKEWISE the child of God. The difference is even though in worldly battles one may receive bodily harm from distant or personal attacks from their enemy, it's not so in God's army.
1. Distant Attack
A person who has submitted them self to God, the Evil One and his followers can ONLY attack them from a distant-meaning from a position of being far away. For James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The word "flee" means "to run away, take flight or take off". Satan's ONLY objective or intention is to destroy a person's faith in God-to destroy their faith in believing God's word. When a person submits to God, their act of obedience closes EVERY door to disobedience, which is the door Satan ALWAYS use to enter into a person's life; and the LORD give the person strength to resist or counterattack the devil. This is when Satan flees or run away from the person. Now Satan does his attacks or warfare against the person from a distant-meaning from a position of being far away. This is known as "distant" attacks. EVERY child of God should expect this type of attack from Satan. Jesus Christ did and so should we.
Examples of Attacks in Jesus' Earthly Ministry
afflictions = troubles, sufferings, problems, burdens, pains
Psalm 34:17 and 19, "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. John 14:30-31 (MB), "I'll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don't worry-he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father's instructions right down to the last detail. "Get up. Let's go. It's time to leave here." Luke 4:28-30. "And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way."
Distant attacks are NOT attacks from Satan where a person has and is experiencing bodily harm. This type of attack falls into the next category known as a personal attack.
2. Personal Attack
Personal attacks from Satan stems from an individual's failure to submit to God, which includes but not limited to, bodily harm (e.g., hearing voices, seeing or hearing demons in the spirit realm without the leadership of the Holy Spirit, receiving scratches and/or bite marks on the body, feeling movements in the body, bones being broken in dreams, and more). Rather knowingly or unknowingly, the person opens the door to disobedience for Satan to come through to personally afflict harm upon them. 1 John 3:8, "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." During Jesus' earthly ministry, Satan could not get close enough to Jesus and personally harm Him because he NEVER opened the door to disobedience. Therefore, Satan, His Enemy could ONLY attack Jesus from a distant, which is from the position of being far away. When the day came for Jesus to finally fulfill His ministry according to 1 John 3:8, it was ONLY then Satan was allowed to get close enough to Jesus and afflict physical and bodily harm to Him. Why? Jesus Christ knew no sin. He NEVER disobeyed His Father. So in order for Him to save or prevent Satan from not only stealing or destroying us; but to prevent Satan from also killing us, Jesus became "sin" in our place.
Sin is rebellion and disobedient toward God-against ANYTHING and EVERYTHING He say. Sin is "the door" Satan ALWAYS use to enter into this realm. So when Jesus Christ became "sin" in our stead, even though He knew no sin, this gave Satan's permission to finally touch Him and to personally afflict EVERY type of affliction onto Jesus' body and to finally kill Jesus. This was the ONLY time Satan could grab onto Jesus and it was by the Father's will for Satan to do so. Now I say that to say this. Because of Jesus' actions, we have been given access to God by the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus NOW lives in us-born again Believers. Therefore, IF we continue to live a lifestyle submitted to God, then Satan CANNOT hold his grip onto us. For God says in Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
IF you are born again and are experiencing personal attacks-which are attacks where Satan has and/or is bodily harming you, then there is an "open" door to disobedience in your life. I know you know what it is because even before a person commits the open act to disobedience, the Holy Spirit ALWAYS warns them. The LORD says, "Repent and sin no more." James 5:16 (MB), "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with."
Video message can be seen at https://vimeo.com/243905755. Shalom †
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