Slide #1
Prayer
This morning I would like to introduce you to our guest.
Even though he‘s here every Sunday…He’s not your typical church attender.
-He’s a murder -He’s a thief -He’s a gossip -He’s a tempter -He’s a slander and he’s a liar.
His desire is to create havoc… misery and ciaos in every life…every home…and every church all around the world.
He is a well-known enemy of Christians and anyone who claims to be in association of one.
His nature will never change and if he had his way…every local church and all those abroad would be closed permanently forever.
Of course the personality that I am describing to you this morning is the description of Satan.
While studying about him I was quite surprised by
The amount of Church’s that avoid discussing his existence at all.
He has crippling power and unless you are prepared…its best that you avoid him at all costs.
As God was sharing with me this past week…the need to expose his character to you this morning…
One of the first things I did was to warn Shiela of this week’s upcoming message.
I told her to be prepared about what was preparing to happen.
The problem behind preaching about the devil is this…Many people don’t even believe that he exists at all…all he is to them is a joke.
But for those of us who do believe he is real…we know about the control that he has over the people who live throughout his world of darkness.
Anytime that He is placed in the center of attention…for example…(the message this morning)
Christians should be prepared to go to war.
He despises God…and because you love God… he despises you
And in all honesty there is nothing that would please him more than to keep his identity concealed away.
He doesn’t want Gods people to know about him…to think about him….or even believe that he exists.
He is much like any thief…thieves want to keep their identity’s a secret…they don’t want any attention drawn to themselves.
Thieves do their best work at night (during the darkness where no one see’s them).
Satan is the king…and ruler of the dark world.(SIN)
In II Corinthians the Apostle Paul warns Christians to not be ignorant of the devises of the devil.
When we are willingly ignorant of him…he finds it very easy to take advantage of us with his wide inventory of destructive devices.
For century after century…he has used these devices to build up his followers…by splitting marriages…by destroying friendships…by encouraging you to steal…to lie...to gossip and cause division everywhere you go.
It has been taught for years in our own military units that the best way to take down the enemy is to know all you can about him.
You need to be familiar with who he is…where he’s going and what he wants to do with you once he apprehends you.
The best way we can learn about our enemy this morning is by learning some history about the enemy that we are facing.
Slide#2 Understanding the Enemy
It’s in Colossian’s 1:16 that the Apostle Paul shares with us some important insight about this Dark ruler.
Slide #3 He is a spirit created by God
Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
Clearly…God…Himself existed before everything else…and He was the creator of everything.
If your here today and question the existence of the devil…The devil is one of the invisible creations mentioned in this verse.
Slide #4
We read in the book of Ezekiel 28:12-15…
About His original Character … described in detail
“You were the signet of perfection
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings
and your engravings,
On the day that you were created
they were prepared. (Beauty)
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you…you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
Satan was originally created by God as an anointed cherub…(beautiful to the eye)
Because of this…He was exalted to a higher position than most of the other angels.
A cherub is described as an angel with both…human-like and animal like characteristics.
Some have human faces while others have animal faces. They had two / four wings each.
Cherubs were very closely associated with God…at times… in the scripture we read where God is pictured dwelling between them or riding upon them.
Can you just imagine how sweet that would be…too be so close to God.
Yep…Satan had everything going for him… but the problem was…his heart was against God…
Slide #5 The Fall of Satan
Read Ez. 28: 15-19
As a result of his pride he was cast out of heaven away from the presence of God…And for now he is allow to rule on earth…and claims it as his kingdom of darkness.
Slide #6 (DON’T READ) His 3 Battle Grounds
Once a Person accepts Christ into their life…the Bible clearly teaches that they are at war.
II Timothy 2:3says… “Christians are like soldiers in battle.”
In Ephesians 6:11 we read that Christians are told to… “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
In this spiritual battleground there are 3 fields where we…(Christians) engage in battle with the devil.
The first area where we battle with the devil is in…
Slide #7 Your Personal Life
Once you have invited Jesus to come into your life…to change you…to transform you… into His image…you personally become a target of the devil.
Before you asked Christ into your life…you were not a concern (living in the world)…but now you are a problem.
The devil wants to destroy the one thing that you now possess….your testimony!
Satan does not want anyone serving the Lord…that is why he targets you personally.
Don’t fool yourself …he is real…and he wants nothing more than to destroy you.
He will begin his attacks on you first through doubt…
He plants Doubts in your mind like…you’re not worthy enough to serve the Lord…your life is not important enough…why would God care about you because of your past…and Satan will even make you doubt your salvation.
Satan not only attacks you through your doubts…but he is also smart enough to attack you from a distance.
Daily he encourages you to live your life a little farther away from the Lord than you should.
He wants you to assume the title of a backslider…(he’s smart…) he knows this takes time…it doesn’t happen overnight.
It’s the result of weeks…months and years of neglecting to do the things that are right.
Satan attacks us through our doubts…and from a distance.
But there are also times he attacks us with discouragement.
I have seen this tactic used in every ministry I have served in…when people don’t get their way…(they get mad…or worse yet leave the church)
People do not like to be told no…but what they don’t think about is …what they’re asking to do has probably not worked in the past…and the one explaining this is trying to keep them from future disappointments.
When a person becomes discouraged they are more likely to stop serving the Lord. (and Satan wins)
The Second area where we battle with the devil is…
Slide #8 In the Home
He wants to fill your house with turmoil and trouble.
The home is our training ground where we teach our children and our families how to be prepared to fight our enemy.
When Satan is able to penetrate this field…he is successful in his goal of ruining the lives inside the whole house.
His plan is to keep the next generation from serving God.
As I have mentioned in the past few weeks he is very wise of how he detains us.
His number one tool used is materialism…The desire to acquire more and more things has destroyed more homes and families than the worst natural disasters and wars.
It is extremely difficult for Christians to have a happy home and marriage when they are bound and chained to the posts of debt.
(No matter what the cost is…you should do your best to avoid this snare of the devil)
And if materialism is not enough to distract us…he also uses busy-ness.
Simply…he encourages Christians to get involved in too many outside the church.
Hobbies, sports, clubs, classes, organizations, school activities, even church work.
If we are doing these things with the mindset of self-fulfillment instead of eternal difference…he wins…
Starting today…make a list of things occupying your time…and check and see if Jesus is found in them anywhere.
Not only does the devil try to destroy our homes and families through materialism and busy-ness.
He also attacks us through conveniences of life… the television and the music we listen to.
Question…How many of us here today would willingly invite a prostitute or a drug addict into your homes and allow them to teach your children?
There learning what they know from somewhere…and if where not the ones teaching them…than who is? (what are they watching…listening to?????????)
How many of us here today have heard of the word Apathy?
Apathy steals away Gods laborers…Far too much church work goes undone because Christians have fallen into the trap of not caring.
When we allow the things like materialism, life’s busy-ness and apathy to run our lives…Satan wins.
There is so much work that needs done right here at this church…that Pastor Chuck and I cannot get it done.
Satan wants you to think that its someone else’s job…but that is not what God is thinking…that not His plan!
He wants some of you to pick up his cross and carry it for him today.
Sunday after Sunday I have shared with you the importance of having good Christian Character qualities.
Good Christian Character doesn’t come naturally…it must be taught and developed over the years?
Character is what you are when no one else is around…it is doing right…because it’s the right thing to do.
It’s showing up on time and even a little early because of the responsibility you have assumed.
It’s paying your bills on time.
It’s reading your Bible…and praying daily.
It’s going to church even if it cold or rainy outside.
Character is placing God’s needs in front of your own.
The third area where we battle with the devil is…
Slide #9 In the Church
The devil is busy today in his goal of trying to divide the local church and its ministries.
Why is Satan so concerned with destroying the local church?...because he realizes that the church is the most important center of training.
He knows that if he can win the attack against the Pastors and the churches they oversee…he gains control of the dark world workers…he ministers in.
Every Sunday…He uses deception as a distraction when people enter those doors…
He wants you to Not be friendly with the guests who attend.
He wants you to not be the person who goes out of their way to meet new people during the greeting time.
He wants you to be the one who gets upset with someone who is sitting in your seat.
He wants you to be the person who can always do the job better than the one who is currently involved in serving.
He wants to be the distraction keeping you from listening to the message that God has prepared specifically for you.
He loves to use division inside the church...He clouds/fills your mind with the little things (that honestly are so silly) that cause division between friendships and growing ministries.
Studies have proven that most people only use 20% the human mind…This thing is like a walking computer…and still we allow Satan to control our thoughts.
He has the power to tempt you…by allowing you to make the choice…but don’t fool yourself.
He also is wise enough to make the temptation seem like it’s the right thing to do. (the proof…King David)
1 Chronicles 21: 1-7… “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited (Encouraged) David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” 3 But Joab said, “May the LORD add to his people a hundred times as many as they are!
Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord's servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” 4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword. 6 But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king's command was abhorrent (they were exempt from service) to Joab.
7 But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel.” (if he can control this man…he can control you)
The decision to take a census was a disaster…because the census was only taken so David could take pride in the strength of his army.(1,570,000)
By determining his military strength…he fell into the trap of beginning to trust more in military power than the power of God.
Like many people today…many times in the busy-ness of life…we too forget that our true strength comes from God.
When God is controlling your life…there is nothing that you cannot overcome.
Even though David did sin by submitting to the devils temptation…He was still known as “A man after God’s own heart”
Every day of our lives we are tempted by Satan… and only way to avoid it is to be totally committed by surrendering to Christ.
Jesus…He’s all about forgiveness…He forgave… -the woman caught in adultery… -Peter, for denying that he even knew Jesus… -the criminal on the cross… -even the people who crucified him…
True forgiveness means that we treat the one we’ve forgiven as we would want to be treated.
Don’t forget…Satan wants you to hold on to that grudge…to remember how you’ve been treated in the past.
But here’s the good news…today can be the first day of your new life.
Its decision time…
You can choose to live for eternity with Satan.
Or you can ask Christ into your life and live for eternity with Him.
The bible says that in hell “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”
But heaven … “it will be like paradise”
Slide # 10
