• After the first round, he returned to his corner with his nose bleeding. But his manager wanted to encourage him so he said, “Good fight champ, he never laid a glove on you!”
• After the second round he returned to his corner with his nose still bleeding and now he had a black eye. But again, his manager wanted to encourage him so he said, “Good fight champ, he never laid a glove on you!”
• After the third round he practically had to crawl back to his corner. Now his nose was bleeding and he had two black eyes. But his manager said for the third time, “Good fight champ, he never laid a glove on you!”
The fighter took his mouth piece out and said, “You keep telling me that he never laid a glove on me. Do me a favor and keep an eye on that referee because somebody is beating the devil out of me!”
Christians need to open their eyes, because the devil is beating the stuffings out of them also!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? The problem is, as a church today many pastors and Sunday School teachers do an excellent job when it comes to:
• Educating God’s people on what the Bible teaches about doctrines of the Bible
• Educating God’s people on how to pray, study God’s word and witness to a lost world
However, one of the weak areas in educating God’s people is in instruction on how to fight the enemy – SATAN!
WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM? It is a problem, because-
• Some do not like to think about things that might depress a congregation. Their motto in life is “STAY POSITIVE”.
• Some preachers believe if you want trouble in a church, just start preaching on Satan. The devil has frightened them to the point they seldom ever mention Satan from the pulpit.
They feel that the best things they can preach on are the passages in the Bible that talk about the greatness of God.
The Bible has a great deal to say about the greatness of God, and it is important that every Bible preacher preaches on that subject. But the Bible also has a great deal to say about Satan, and it is the responsibility of the church to educate the people of God on this subject also.
Today’s church has shirked its responsibility for educating the people of God on the teachings about the devil. This kind of preaching today has become so scarce that many now think of the church as a PLAYGROUND, where we come together time after time, and have a GREAT TIME IN THE LORD!
There is a lot of truth to this, but this is not the whole truth! While God’s church could be compared to a PLAYGROUND it must also be compared to a BATTLEGROUND!
Every church has the responsibility to inform God’s people that once they become a CHILD OF GOD they also become A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF GOD.
And as a soldier in the army of God, Christians need to be informed we are at war! When we do not educate them to this fact, we place them at a great risk. To keep that from happening, let’s look at OUR CONFLICT WITH THE DEVIL.
The New Testament tells Christians how we can overcome the attacks of Satan and live a victorious life. First, we must be able to-
I. RECOGNIZE THE WARRIOR
I am sure that if I asked you to mention some warrior that you knew:
• Some would mention some of the great Indian warriors , such as Cochise or Geronimo
• Some would mention great American warriors, such as Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone, and Ely Parker
But the greatest warrior of all is the Lord Jesus Christ. He has never lost a battle, and according to Revelation He never will.
But the second greatest warrior that has ever existed is Satan himself. Since the beginning of time he has been in one battle after another, and has won many of His battles. We do not want to give the Devil any praise, but honesty compels us to RESPECT his talents! Every day of our life we Christians are at war with that rascal.
Illus: President George W. Bush told the American people that our war on the terrorists will be a long war, and we do not know when it will come to an end.
But when it comes to our war with Satan, the Word of God makes it clear that we, the children of God, will be at war with Satan as long as we live on this earth.
• It is never going to become a cease fire
• It is never going to come to an end
As long as we live on this earth we are going to be at war with him.
Satan has completely captured some of the major cities in this country. That is, he owns them, they are his.
Illus: It is interesting now that many refer to Las Vegas as “Sin City”. What are they saying? They are saying that the devil now has this city and many more in America under his control.
Many have the liberal attitude of, “Can’t we all just get along with the Devil?” When it comes to the Devil, there is no compromise, it is defeat or victory.
Illus: The former Prime Minister of Israel, Netanahu, was being interview on television about their conflict with the Palestinians. He was asked by a reporter what he thought Israel’s position should be toward the Palestinians. He told this liberal reporter that his position was that, “We should destroy them!” The liberal reporter said, “All of them?” He said, “All of them!” And the reporter said, “Isn’t that radical!” He said, “Not in the least, because that is their goal toward Israel. They want to wipe Israel from the face of the earth.”
Whether you agree with him or not, here is a man who is saying, “we had better wipe them from the face of the earth before they can wipe us from the face of the earth.” That sounds radical to a lot of these liberals in America who do not know the first thing about fighting a war. They feel that diplomacy is the key to all turmoil -- but it is not!
Christians need to recognize that the devil is out to destroy every life he can destroy. He never deviates from those plans. Since this is the case, we need to learn every thing we can about him.
Illus: Every successful football team learns everything they can about opponents by sending scouts to discover their PLANS, STRENGTHS, and WEAKNESSES before they engage in competition with them.
Illus: And likewise, as a nation we recognize there are surrounding nations that are not our friends. In fact, if they had their way, they would wipe us from the face of the earth. To keep them from having any advantage over us as a nation, the CIA is constantly spying on these countries to examine their STRENGTHS, WEAPONS, and PLANS. The CIA is constantly gathering intelligence on other nations that might be a threat to this nation.
We can not be naive as a nation, and believe that it is not important that we know what our enemies are doing. Likewise, as Christians, we can not bury our heads in the sand and pretend God’s church is one big PLAYGROUND!
Again, we certainly enjoy the FUN TIMES IN OUR WORSHIP SERVICES, but we must never forget we are at WAR! As soldiers in the army of God, we need to recognize that our enemy – Satan - is doing everything he can do to wreck:
• Every life
• Every church
• Every home
In America!
If we are going to have success in this war, we must RECOGNIZE THE TOUGHNESS OF THIS WARRIOR (Satan). The Bible gives us the means to gather "intelligence" about our enemy the Devil.
We are to RECOGNIZE THE WARRIOR, but also we are to -
II. RECOGNIZE THE WEAPONRY
Our CIA is constantly wanting to know where every terrorist is, what they are doing, and what kinds of weapons they have at their disposal.
Illus: Before September 11, if the CIA had gathered intelligence that the terrorists were going to use airplanes to demolish the Trade Centers and the Pentagon, this tragedy could have been prevented.
Unless we know our enemy and his plans, we will not be able to withstand his attacks. Let’s look at some of the INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION that God’s Word provides, so we can know WHO SATAN IS and WHAT HE IS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
For example, God’s Word shows us how we can RECOGNIZE the devil. Let’s look at the APPEARANCE OF THE DEVIL.
Many cannot recognize the Devil because they have been sold a bill of goods about Satan that is not true. For example:
• He is no more than the mythical horned figure with a pointed tail and pitchfork, running around in his red underwear!
• He is the ‘boogie man’ that parents use to scare their children to obedience.
These false teachings about Satan have robbed people of their fear of him. THIS IS WHY MANY HAVE LOST THEIR FEAR OF SATAN!
Illus: We need the fear of God that a small town experienced. On the outskirts of this small town, there was a big old pecan tree by the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucket with nuts, sat down out of sight by the tree, and began dividing the nuts. "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy. Several were dropped and rolled down toward the gate of the fence.
Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
He just knew what it was. "Oh my," he shuddered, "It's Satan and the Lord dividing the souls at the cemetery." He jumped back on his bike and rode off.
Just around the bend, he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. "Come here quick," said the boy, you won't believe what I heard. Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."
The man said, "Beat it, kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk?"
When the boy insisted, the man hobbled to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard together , "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been telling' the truth. Let's see if we can see the Devil himself.”
Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of Satan. At last they heard, "One for you, one for me. And one last one for you.”
Now let's go get those nuts by the gate, and we'll be done."
They say the old guy made it back to town 5 minutes before the boy.
Many today have no fear of the Devil because week after week they hear little sermons that are designed primarily to entertain.
The Bible gives us a good description of him so that we can recognize him when we see him. For example -
(1) THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF HIM AS A ROARING LION
Look at 1 Pet. 5:8-9, we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished.”
WHY DOES GOD GIVE US A PICTURE OF SATAN AS A ROARING LION?
He does this for several reasons, such as:
• A Roaring lion represents the VICIOUSNESS of Satan
• A Roaring lion represents the harm that Satan would like to do to every person here today
Make no mistake about it, Satan is vicious!
Illus: A young fifteen-year-old girl had run away from home. Thursday, April 11, 1991, THE DES MOINES REGISTER, page 1, reports this sad story. “Three young Sioux City men have received long prison terms for the kidnap, rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl, which officials believe was performed as a satanic ritual in a church cemetery last spring. The girl was sexually assaulted repeatedly by two men while the third held her legs, according to Sioux City Police Lt. Terry Kern. Her attackers "chanted" during the assault and also urinated on her, pulled her hair, punched her and knocked her head against a tombstone, he said. During the assault the victim asked the men why they were attacking her, and one replied, ‘The devil is making us do this to you’ the girl told investigators. At the time of her assault, the victim was a runaway from an eastern Iowa community.”
This is why God compares Satan to a “Roaring lion!” This story is repeated over and over again. HE IS AS VICIOUS AS A ROARING LION! But also, to help us recognize him, -
(2) THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF HIM AS A GRIEVOUS WOLF
WHY DOES GOD GIVE US A PICTURE OF SATAN AS A GRIEVOUS WOLF? He does this for a reason:
• To show us that Satan will sneak in among the flock of God and he will single one of the sheep out of the herd, and do everything he can to destroy that sheep
• To show us that wolves almost invariably want to travel in packs
Paul warned the elders at Ephesus of the work of Satan that would come against the church.
Look what Paul said in Acts 20:29, we read, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”
Notice, Paul said they would make their attacks when he had departed. In every church there are predators, like grievous wolves, preying on the flock.
So that we can RECOGNIZE Satan, God’s Word compares him to a ROARING LION and a GRIEVOUS WOLF, but also -
(3) THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF HIM AS A SERPENT
WHY DOES GOD GIVE US A PICTURE OF SATAN AS A SERPENT? He gave it to us for a reason:
• To show us there is nothing more crooked than a snake
• To show us there is nothing more camouflaging than a snake
Illus: Listen, there have been times that you and I have walked by a deadly snake and were not even aware of the presence of this deadly creature.
Satan approached Eve in the form of the subtle Serpent. He was beautiful and cunning in his devices.
The Bible says Satan is like a ROARING LION, a VICIOUS WOLF and as a SERPENT. These are descriptions that we would expect. But also -
(4) THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF HIM AS AN ANGEL OF LIGHT
Look at 2 Cor. 11:13 15, we read, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
One of the sad things today is that some of God’s people are much to clever to be deceived by Satan as a:
• Roaring lion
• Grievous wolf
• Serpent
But they have been deceived and defeated by Satan because he appeared to them as an “ANGEL OF LIGHT”.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? The same way it happened in the days of Paul. You see:
• God has always had HIS MINISTERS who have faithfully FED the flock of God
• Satan has always had HIS MINISTERS who have FLEECED the flock of God
Notice, in verse 15, we read, “Therefore it is no great thing if HIS MINISTERS also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” Today Satan has ministers who are deceiving millions. They will use Bible terms the same way the man of God uses Bible terms.
Paul dealt with false teachers in this passage, and exposed them for what they really are. TRANSFORMING THEMSELVES INTO THE APOSTLES OF CHRIST - which speaks of their ability to camouflage their:
• MOTIVES
• MINISTRIES
• METHODS
They try to appear spiritual.
The work of these false teachers is inspired by Satan as an "ANGEL OF LIGHT". This is Satan’s most subtle attack on God’s people.
People want to group all preachers into the same “religious” package and claim they are all doing a “GOOD WORK”. I want to tell you that they ARE all doing a GOOD WORK:
• Some are doing a good work for God
• Some are doing a good work for Satan
The work of these false teachers, which is inspired by Satan as an “angel of light”, is an attack upon the men of God.
Conclusion:
The Devil is a master of disguise. He has had thousands of years of experience to know exactly how to deceive mankind.
Illus: When America fought in the Persian Gulf, and made the first attack, Saddam Hussein declared this to be the Mother of all wars. Actually, it wasn’t much of a war at all because Iraq was no match for the USA.
Satan is no match for those who are in Christ. We read in 1 John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
I. RECOGNIZING THE WARRIOR
II. RECOGNIZING THE WEAPONRY
