According to a study done by George Barna and the Barna Group, 40% of Christians in the United States strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. Only 26% of the Christians in the USA believe that Satan exists, the rest are not sure.
Before I get into this understand that sin came into the world through Satan and because of this we no longer live in a perfect world, which means there is going to be times of sickness, troubles and trials that arise from our own decisions.
But that does not change the fact that Satan is still active in the world and will attack believers. All that I know about Satan is found in the Word of God which happens to be the truth.
The Bible says that Satan was created by God as a cherub, the most powerful of God's angelic beings. Sometime after his creation and before the creation of mankind, Satan rebelled against God and took one third of the angels, now referred to as demons, with him into rebellion.
Satan was created as a perfect being. He is described as originally being wise and completely righteous. However, pride caused Satan to fall, Scripture says, "your heart was lifted up because of your beauty” since he wanted to receive the worship due to God alone.
At that point there was rebellion in heaven, when Satan convinced one third of the angels to rebel against God. Michael, an archangel of God, fought with God's angels against Satan and his angels, with Satan losing the battle and being cast from heaven down to earth.
However, Satan wasn't finished in his rebellion against God. Satan took on the form of a snake in the garden of Eden to tempt Eve.
He managed to convince Eve that God's instructions against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were done as a way of keeping something good from her. She believed Satan's lie that she would "become like God."
We don't know where Adam was at the time of Satan's temptation, but he followed his wife's lead and also disobeyed God's instructions.
We know all of this through studying the Word of God. We also know that Satan continues in his rebellion today, since he hates God and His plans. We know that he wants people to worship him and follow his evil ways.
We know that he continues to oppose Jesus Christ, who is God and who took on the form of a man to redeem humanity from their sin, and restore their relationship with Him.
This was not God’s original plan. His original plan was for man to rule on this planet but when man forfeited that ability to rule, it became Satan’s to rule. That is why God sent Jesus to the earth. To give us the rule back. That is why we need to become kingdom men and women, living in the power that God intended for us to live in.
And we know that we as believers can overcome Satan when as he Apostle John said, "the word of God abides in you."
That is how Jesus, who was God in human form overcame Satan when He was tempted by Satan. Jesus cited scripture to him and sent him packing!
In addition, Paul tells us that the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, is our only offensive weapon against the Satan.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus said that there were those who heard the word of God, but failed to take it in; they were led astray by the devil, they were the seed that fell by the side of the road.
So Christians we can resist the devil by knowing and memorizing scripture so that we cannot be deceived by the lies of Satan. The Bible gives believers instructions about overcoming the devil.
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7
"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16
You have often heard me say, “new level new devil.”
You have heard me say that “we are over the target so expect the enemy to not relent.” Why would I say those things?
Satan is not going to bother you if he already has you. It wasn’t until after Jesus came and died for our sins that Satan was even threatened.
If you are being effective for God then Satan is going to want to do something about it. That is why Paul told us to put on the whole armor of God.
One more thing, we know that we can gain victory over the enemy when he attacks us and we know that he will completely lose his power when Jesus Christ returns for His church.
Today we are going talk about spiritual warfare and how we can overcome the enemy. I know I just did a series about this over the summer, but I really feel we need to hear this again.
PRAY
Lord God and Father,
open our eyes so we can see Your truth.
Open our ears so w can hear Your voice.
Open our mind so we can understand Your Word.
And open our heart so we may receive all that You want me to receive. AMEN
The whole design of Satan is to devour and destroy souls.
He always is looking for whom he may capture and hold in an eternal ruin.
Our duty plainly is, to be sober; to govern both the outward and the inward man by the rules of temperance. To be vigilant; suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, watchful and diligent to prevent his designs. Be steadfast, or solid, by faith.
That is what the Apostle Peter was saying in 1 Peter 5:8-9.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9 KJ
The Apostle didn’t just come up with this on his own, he was commenting on something that Jesus taught him when they were together. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 NIV
Listen, if you are a member of the body of Christ, that is, if you are walking in a personal relationship with God the Father by accepting that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, the perfect sacrifice for our sins then you need to understand that you are going to face a very angry devil.
Satan does not like to lose. And before you gave your heart to Jesus, Satan had you. But now you are a child of God.
You may not want to think about it, you may not want to accept it, but the fact remains, if you have determined to follow Jesus with all your heart and live according to His plan that is found in His Word then you have been marked as a target and Satan will flood your life with trials of all kinds.
The Apostle Peter warns us in 1 Peter 4:7, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” NKJV
What he is saying is there is no time for taking this lightly, we need to be ready. It is a matter of life and death. Satan’s time is nearing an end. His reign over this world that he took from Adam and Eve is almost over and I believe, and many other pastors and Christian teachers believe that in these last days Satan is turning up the heat.
He is stalking us like a lion, hiding here and hiding there, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on us and devour us so he can completely destroy our faith in Christ.
There are some people out there who say we should talk about such things. They say that we would be better off just ignoring Satan. And of course there are those, who are a part of the statistics I mentioned earlier who choose to argue that Satan isn’t even real.
But I submit to you today that Satan is real and he is not going to go away without a fight. Satan is one of a few Biblical figures that have been identified so clearly and extensively.
He is described as Lucifer, Satan, devil, deceiver, hinderer, wicked one, usurper, imposter, accuser, devourer, god of this world, ruler of darkness, the old serpent and more.
The Word of God tells me that Satan is real and it tells me that Satan wields a very real power, and it tells me that Satan is at work right now in our nations, cities, churches, homes and individual lives and we should not be ignorant of his methods and strategies of warfare against us.
In Revelation 12 the Apostle John describes three instances when Satan has declared war.
1. He first declared war against God.
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:7-9 NKJV
This is a moment in history. The time when Satan rose up in rebellion against God’s authority. During this time the devil was known as Lucifer, an angel who had been given great authority.
But the authority that God gave him was not enough. Lucifer wanted to be just like God, not a little bit under Him. So he enlisted the help of one third of the angels and tried to lead a mutiny against God.
They failed and God threw Lucifer and the rebellious angels out of heaven.
2. The second time he declared war was against God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Revelation 12:1-5 NKJV
Satan could not get to Jesus while he was in the womb of Mary, so he gathered his forces around Bethlehem, he sent his spirits of deception to blind the eyes of the scribes and priests. He even possessed King Herod to be determined to kill the Christ.
God’s armies of heaven stood guard over God’s Son so that Satan could not touch him.
Again, Satan tried to attack Jesus at the beginning of His earthly ministry when Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted. But Jesus defeated the enemy with the Word of God.
The devil would try one more time to devour Christ. He enticed the teachers of the Law, the people, and even one of his own to have Jesus crucified and thrown into a grave.
But once again, the power of God overcame the enemy and Jesus conquered death, He conquered the grave and handed the enemy yet another defeat.
3. The third time Satan declared war was against us.
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:13-17 NKJV
Satan has now turned his wrath upon the church and he reserves his worst rage for those believers who walk in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
The devil knows this is his final chance. He knows that every hour that passes puts us closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Revelation 12:12 NKJV
Church, please understand, I know this because I have experienced this; Satan will do all he can to pounce on our weaknesses, with all his might.
He will send trials, temptations, depression, and the like into our lives to get us to lose our faith in God.
All too often, I see the enemy of our souls doing these very things to God loving, pure hearted, walking in grace people of God.
He overwhelms them with floods of confusion and despair, he injects thoughts into their minds, he brings forth unexpected temptations and unexpected trials.
Time and time again, I see Christians who are growing in God, who are making an impact for the kingdom of God, have these very things happen to them.
Some are able to stand strong and some are not. The key for us to be victorious is to stand strong.
That is why Paul, under the direction of the Holy Spirit said,
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
Church we need to get this right, even though we have been targeted by the enemy, that does not mean we do not have the victory. Paul says that we are able to stand in the power of God’s might.
The words be strong are literally translated to receive strength. We can draw power from God.
Power belongs to God and He empowers those who live according to His purposes. It is not our strength that allows us to stand, it is God’s strength that is invested into us when we submit to God. That is why James says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Satan will not flee from our power but God’s power has always and will always overcome the enemy.
We have the promise that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.
Our resistance to the enemy in spiritual warfare is not measured by our strength but by the strength of God in us when we draw near to Him and when we draw further away from the things of the world.
That is why Paul told Timothy, “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2:4 NIV
As soldiers of Christ we must live in the world but not of the world, we must not be entangled in those things that move us away from God.
Strength comes from God and you must abide in Christ to live in His strength. When the battle rages, those who stand on the Rock of Christ have the power to stand even when their own strength fails because the assault of the enemy is so strong.
We are going to be attacked but we have a way to overcome the assaults of the enemy. “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
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