When I was a teenager and new to my faith, I remember having thoughts that bombarded my mind from the enemy trying to get me to believe that I wasn’t saved. The devil was trying to get me to doubt my salvation. Each day I would have this nagging thought attacking my mind and trying to get me to believe it.
Now thankfully I had been taught to use God’s word as a sword against the lies of the enemy, and so I found a verse that spoke the truth to this situation.
John 5:24 was what I landed on. Here is what it says, straight from the mouth of Jesus:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
I remember reading that verse and thinking, ‘I have heard His word. I have believed in the one who sent Jesus. So therefore I have passed from death to life.’ This verse applies to me.
I wrote the verse down on a piece of paper and stuck it to my bedroom wall where I could see it every day. Over the next few days I managed to memorize it word for word. Every time I had doubts come into my mind telling me I wasn’t saved, I would confess this verse out loud and declare it as the truth.
I continued this practice for the next several days. Within the space of a week those doubting thoughts were gone, never to return again. The lie of the enemy was thwarted by the truth of God’s word.
Maybe you have unwanted thoughts bombarding your mind constantly. Maybe they are trying to get you to believe a lie, to believe that you are no good, that God doesn’t love you, that he can’t use you after what you have done. If this is the case for you, grab a hold of God’s word and start memorizing and declaring scripture. Find his truth and use it as a weapon to tear down every plot and scheme of the devil.
The devil is a liar. When he lies, he is speaking his native language. And his goal with the lies is to get us to believe them so that we will act in a way that is not in line with God's truth for our lives. Yet God has given us a powerful tool in His word to refute the lies of the enemy with the truth.
In Ephesians 6:17, we are instructed to take up ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’ This verse is part of a larger passage talking about the armor of God, and how we battle not against human adversaries but instead demonic principalities and powers in the heavenly realms. (See Ephesians 6:12)
In Matthew 4, we see firsthand the power of scripture to refute the lies of the enemy. Jesus, having spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting, is then tempted by the devil. The devil comes to him and quotes scripture, trying to tempt Jesus to take matters into his own hands.
In response to each of the lies of the enemy, Jesus quoted scripture that he had previously memorized. ‘It is written’, Jesus said, quoting scripture. In the end, the devil left him, having been cut through with the sword of the spirit, God’s word.
God’s word is far more powerful than the lies of the enemy. The enemy cannot stand against the truth of God’s word spoken through the lips of redeemed sons and daughters of God!
Memorizing scripture and knowing what God’s word says is so important in our Christian lives. The devil loves to attack our minds with lies. In fact, John 8 tells us that when the devil lies, he is speaking his native language because he is the Father of lies. (John 8:44)
He will lie to us and tell us things that are just not true. He will try to condemn us or beat us up with our failures. He will try to deceive us or get us to think thoughts that are not in line with God’s truth. It’s in these times that we need the word of God in our hearts and minds to combat those lies with the truth. Jesus spoke verses and passages of scripture that he had previously internalized by memorization, and which the Holy Spirit reminded him of when he needed it.
When we take the time and memorize scripture, the Holy Spirit will use it when we need it to overcome the lies of the Devil.
One of the Holy Spirit’s job descriptions is to bring to our remembrance the things that Jesus has said. (see John 14:26)
Yet you can’t be reminded of something that you never knew in the first place. That’s why it is so vital that we memorize God’s word.
God's word will set you free from the lies of the enemy.