Spiritual Warfare 9

One of my most respected friends was Bill Bright, president of Campus Crusade for Christ. While serving on Crusade staff for three years, I viewed Bill demonstrate a simple yet profound faith, a humble spirit, and a drive for excellence in communicating Christ to the world. He related the following story regarding spiritual warfare:

A young minister shared with me one day, “I am afraid of satan.” I replied, “You should be afraid of satan -- if you want to live your own life and do your own thing apart from God. But if you are willing to let Christ control your life, you have nothing to fear because the Bible says, ‘Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world’” (John 4:4).

Continuing, I said, “satan was defeated 2,000 years ago at the cross. Though he has great power to influence man, the Bible assures us that he is defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony” (Revelation 12:11).
This friend lives in a city where they have one of the largest zoos in the world. I said, “What do you do with lions in your city?” He replied that they keep them in a cage. I said, ‘Like the lion, satan is in a cage, and he cannot hurt you unless you get into the cage with him. Get in the cage, and the lion will make mincemeat of you. But you have nothing to fear so long as you stay out of the cage. You have nothing to fear from satan so long as you are continually surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ and controlled by the Holy Spirit, by faith.”