I’ll start this morning with a personal anecdote. When I was eight or nine years old, our family went to the fair. While we were there, it began to rain, so we ducked into one of the exhibition halls. There by the entrance was a booth where you could test your vision. My dad suggested that we try it out. He and my mom went first, all good, and then my dad turned to me and said, “OK, read the letter at the top of the chart”. And my response was something like, “what is this ‘chart’ you speak of?” I couldn’t see it. And he laughed a little, and said, “no, really, read the top letter”. And I laughed, and I said, “no, really, I can’t see it”. And we went back and forth a couple of times, until he finally realized, “Oh, I guess he really can’t read the chart!” And I realized, “Oh, so everyone else CAN read the chart”. And that is how I learned I needed glasses at the fair.
Now, in our defense, there was no reason to anticipate that there would be any issues with my vision. Neither of my parents wore glasses. And neither of their parents, my grandparents, on either side, wore glasses, or their parents, or their parents. In fact, as far as we know, no one anywhere in my lineage had ever worn glasses. And so it came as a surprise, to all of us, to discover that I was “optically defective”.
But we got over it, and I was scheduled to see an eye doctor, and shortly after that, I was fitted with corrective lenses. Now, getting glasses had an upside and a downside. The downside was that the frames were black and thick. When I look at pictures of myself from that time, I look like a pudgy raccoon. Although, to be fair, the “pudgy” part was not the fault of the glasses. The upside, of course, was that I could see! I went from living in a Claude Monet impressionist painting, where everything was fuzzy and indistinct, to living in a high definition world, where I could see every blade of grass, and every leaf on every tree, and every letter in every sign along the highway. It was amazing. And I have worn glasses to this day. Although I no longer wear the pudgy raccoon glasses. Now I have these fashionable frames that make me look intelligent and sophisticated. At least, that’s what the salesman at the eyeglass store told me.
I tell you that story, not just so you can empathize with a childhood trauma that probably warped me somehow, but because it illustrates an important point about the unseen world. There is a whole world out there, the spiritual world, that much of the time we are only dimly aware of. And we need the lenses that the Bible gives us in order to perceive it. Why is it necessary for us to spend time examining what the Bible teaches on this topic? Because we need to be reminded, on a regular basis, that there is more to reality than what we can see, and hear, and touch, and measure. Yes, I know we all believe that. But the world is telling us something different, all the time, every day. The world’s attitude is summed up in the words of the astronomer Carl Sagan, who famously said that, “The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be”.
However, that approach to understanding the world, which rejects the idea of supernatural beings, is in conflict with the Scriptures. Listen to this warning from the apostle Peter:
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Peter is warning us against an evil and terrifying creature; one who is constantly on the prowl, “looking for someone to devour”; an enemy who must be resisted with sober-minded alertness. The New Testament refers to him over eighty times, as Satan, or the devil, or the evil one, or simply as the enemy. The Bible tells us that he is always active, opposing God’s works and God’s people. And yet, in most Christian circles, you rarely hear him mentioned. It’s as if we are embarrassed to admit that we still believe in him. Perhaps we don’t want to be mocked by our unbelieving culture.
And so our first challenge is to accept what the Bible teaches, and to reject what our secular, unbelieving culture tells us. Our challenge is to see the world the way Peter sees it, and then to follow his instructions on how to successfully defend ourselves against this powerful and malevolent supernatural foe. Because failing to do so, or pretending that our enemy doesn’t really exist, doesn’t mean that he will leave us alone. Ignoring the life-and-death spiritual battles being waged all around us, ignoring the attacks being directed toward us, won’t make us safe. It simply means that we won’t defend ourselves effectively, using the tools and weapons that God has given us. And the result of that willful ignorance would be for Satan to prevail, for Satan to win. And we cannot allow that to happen.
Where do we start? Let’s begin with Satan’s identity. Who is he? First of all, he is a real being. This term, “Satan” is not just a metaphor for evil. The devil is not merely a symbol of some abstract idea, like corruption or wickedness. Satan is a real, personal being. He actually exists, in the world. So where did he come from? The answer may surprise you. God made him. According to the Bible, Satan was a powerful angel who fell victim to pride and rebelled against God. As a result, he was cast out of heaven. We read this in Revelation:
“7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)
And so Satan, also called the devil, or “the great dragon”, rebelled against God, leading a cohort of angels. There was a great celestial conflict; Satan and his angels were defeated and were cast out of heaven and down to the earth. Those fallen angels are what we know as demons, and Satan is their ruler. But remember, God created Satan, just as he created all the angels and everything else that exists. In Colossians 1:15-16, we read this:
“15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15-16)
God created all things through Christ, including Satan and the angels who rebelled with him. And so the important thing for us to understand is that Satan is not an independent force of evil; he does not operate outside the realm of God’s sovereignty. He is under God’s dominion, just like every other part of creation. Yes, he is very powerful, and God is allowing him to operate in the world for a limited time. But he is on a leash; he is under God’s control. He has always been under God’s control, and he always will be. Because his rebellion against God failed. In fact, Satan has to ask God for permission when he wants to attack someone. For example, we see this in Luke 22:31-32. Jesus is speaking to Peter at the last supper, and says this:
“31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)
Christ tells Peter that Satan has “asked” for permission to test the disciples. And so we need to remember that, as powerful as Satan may be, he can only do what God permits him to do. You may also recall Job in the Old Testament, who was terribly afflicted by Satan. But if you read the first two chapters of the book of Job, you will find that Satan had to seek permission from God for everything that he caused Job to suffer. So again, Satan has no independent power or authority. If he afflicts us, or attacks us, it is only because God has permitted him to do so. He can do nothing that God has not permitted him to do.
Let me give you an analogy. What if a government official for some reason developed an irrational hatred of you, and tried to use their authority to ruin you? Imagine that they threatened to impose crippling fines against your business and bankrupt you; or that they threatened to condemn your property and have you evicted. That would be very worrisome, because the government does have great power. But now, imagine that your father was the governor, and that this official was the head of a state agency under his authority. Would that change anything? Of course. It would change everything. Because that corrupt and malicious government official would not be able to do anything without the permission of your father, who loves you. And so, if they ever tried to make good on their threats, all you would have to do would be to pick up the phone and call your father, and he would take care of the situation. In a case like this, you wouldn’t need to worry, despite the threat; because you know that your father, who loves you, is ultimately in control.
And we have that same confidence with regard to Satan’s power. He is always under God’s control and authority. And we can always appeal to God as our Father, to rein him in, to bind him, to make his attacks null and void, and to thwart his evil and destructive purposes.
Now, although Satan is under God’s authority, that doesn’t mean we can ignore him. Because God, for His own good and wise purposes, has chosen to allow our conflict with Satan to continue in this world until Jesus returns. And so we must contend against Satan; we must resist him and oppose him, we must do battle against him. I’m going to talk about how we do that in a minute. But first, what else do we know about Satan? We know that he stands behind, and directs, all of the corrupt and evil systems of this world. As John writes,
“19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)
Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10-12:
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)
“The whole world is under the control of the evil one”. Does that mean that people are intentionally and knowingly doing Satan’s bidding? Not at all. He is far too subtle and clever for that. No, Satan has deceived them. He has convinced them that they are on the right side; that they are serving truth, and justice, and equality, and virtue. But in fact, those who are not following Christ are being manipulated by spiritual forces they don’t comprehend.
Now, before we get too discouraged, remember that this is all temporary. What Satan is doing in the world now, what God is allowing him to do, will not last. Because Satan is a defeated foe. His destruction is foreordained. His wicked plans and purposes will not succeed in the end. In fact, he has already lost; the outcome is not in doubt. And so when Christ returns, all of Satan’s works will be destroyed. He will be utterly defeated and cast into the lake of fire, never to rise again. That victory was won by Christ on the cross, and it will be brought to fulfillment when Christ returns. As Paul writes in Colossians:
“15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)
And also,
“4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
That’s the key. Satan is real. He is not irrelevant; he is not a relic of a bygone age. He has great power to do harm, for now, but he has already been defeated by Christ on the cross. That triumph will come to completion when Christ returns. And until then, we have a secret weapon to prevail against Satan: the Holy Spirit. The one who is “in us”; that is, the Spirit of Christ, is far greater, and far more powerful, than the one who is in the world; that is, Satan. In Christ, we have already overcome him. It only remains for us to claim that victory, every day. So how do we do that? How do we claim Christ’s victory over Satan in our own lives, the victory that Christ won for us on the cross? And make no mistake; although the final victory over Satan has already been won, we must each claim it for ourselves, lest we be “devoured” by the “roaring lion” that Peter warned us about. When we find ourselves becoming discouraged, or anxious, or being tempted to sin; when we sense that we are being deceived or led astray from the truth; when we start to lose heart and are tempted to wander away from Christ; what can we do?
Let’s start with what we don’t do. We don’t attempt to engage Satan or demons directly. That would be the height of folly. Satan is far craftier, far more knowledgeable, far more powerful, and far more experienced at spiritual warfare than we are. He has been doing this for thousands of years, and he knows all the tricks. In the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, Martin Luther wrote this,
“For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.”
“On earth is not his equal.” No human being can stand up to Satan. And so if we were to rely on our own power, or our own cleverness, we would lose. All of those old folk tales about people outwitting Satan, like “The Devil and Daniel Webster”, or books and movies where people outmaneuver Satan and get the best of him—those are just dangerous fantasies. That doesn’t ever happen. And so we don’t engage Satan directly. We don’t speak directly to Satan or to demons, to “rebuke” them or “bind” them. We also don’t employ incantations, or formulas, or special words or phrases. That’s magic, sorcery, not Christian faith. The only Biblical exception to this is the case where there is a need for an exorcism; when a demon has actually possessed, or taken up residence in an unbeliever, and needs to be cast out. But that’s a unique case, and not something that you or I should attempt.
OK. So what do we do, when we sense ourselves being spiritually afflicted, or oppressed, or tempted? I’m going to give you three things. First, repent of sin, and especially sins which drive a wedge between you and other Christians. Let me share a couple of verses:
“10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11)
“26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)
What is Satan’s desire, what is it that drives him? Jesus tells us in John’s gospel (John 10:10) that Satan’s purpose is “to steal and kill and destroy”. And what does he desire to destroy most of all? The church. Because it is through the church, the body of Christ, that God is setting free Satan’s captives with the message of the gospel. And so Satan will do whatever he can to extinguish the life of the church. He wants to steal our joy, he wants to destroy our love for one another. And he wants to discredit us in the eyes of the world; he wants to neutralize our witness for Christ. However, he can’t do any of those things if we don’t give him an opportunity, a “foothold”, as Paul writes here in Ephesians.
Satan is always scheming to attack the church—this church and every faithful, Bible-believing church—but the good news is that he can’t do that successfully unless we allow him to sow discord and conflict; unless we invite him in to disrupt our fellowship. By doing what? By refusing to forgive, as Paul writes here. By holding on to resentment, and bitterness, and anger. By allowing walls to rise up between God’s people instead of building bridges. By forgetting that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. So let’s not do any of those things. And if we have done any of those things, let’s repent and resolve to love one another, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I’m going to take this a little farther. Sin, in general, provides Satan with an opportunity to draw you away from God and steal your joy. When you sin, you crack open the door to your heart, and give him an opportunity to draw you away from your Father. Because when you harbor sin in your heart—any sin—and you don’t repent of it, and you don’t turn away from it, then over time that sin becomes dear to you. You nourish it. You protect it and cherish it. Whatever the sin may be:
• It may be bitterness and resentment toward someone, a hard kernel of anger that you would rather hold on to than forgive.
• It may be greed, an unwillingness to submit your finances to God, for fear that he will ask from you something that you don’t want to give, fear that he will ask you to relinquish your hold on something that has become an idol to you.
• Your sin may be lying or deception, shading the truth to make yourself look better.
• It may be lust, a secret addiction to pornography.
• It may be pride, the idea that you are someone special that others should admire and look up to.
• It may be a lack of faith, an unwillingness to give control of your life over to God.
• It may be a sharp and biting tongue, or a judgmental, censorious spirit.
It could be a dozen other things. Only you and God know what is in your heart. But whatever it is, when we hold onto, and nurture, and protect our sins instead of confessing them, and repenting of them, and forsaking them, we are giving Satan an invitation to steal our joy and kill our love for God. Because Satan will come along and whisper to us something like this: “God is so unfair to deny you this little pleasure. God is so unreasonable to demand that you give this up. Who does he think he is? Why shouldn’t you have the things you want? Why shouldn’t you be able to act the way you want? It’s not hurting anyone. Besides, you work hard. You’ve made so many sacrifices. You deserve it. But God won’t let you have it. Because he doesn’t really love you. He just wants to control you.” Have you ever heard that voice in your mind? And so little by little, Satan will pull you away from your loving Father, he will alienate you from Christ your Savior. His attacks can be very subtle. But they all have the same goal. To separate you from God, and to separate us from one another. And sin gives him an opportunity to do that, unless we repent. The good news is that God is more than willing to forgive any or all of these sins; in fact he delights in doing so. Because the death that Christ died on the cross not only defeated Satan, but it also purchased forgiveness for all who trust in Him.
So repenting of sin is the first thing we need to do in order to resist and overcome Satan. Here’s a second thing we need to do.
“7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Fear and anxiety are very reliable ways for Satan to induce people to put aside their faith. People will do almost anything out of fear. They will be tempted to make compromises and cross lines that they never thought they would, if they are frightened. That fear may be for themselves: for their health, or their financial security, or their safety. Or their fear may be for someone else they care about, such as a family member. So what should we do, when we find ourselves becoming anxious, or worried, or frightened, whatever may be the cause of that fear? We should give our anxiety, our fear, our worries to God in prayer. By doing that, we remind ourselves that God is in control, that we belong to him, and that he loves us. We are reminded that even if the thing we fear does come to pass, God will never leave us or forsake us. He will strengthen us and strengthen our spirit so that we can endure whatever comes, in faith.
All right. What else does Peter tell us to do in order to overcome Satan? Here’s a third thing.
“8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
“Be alert and of sober mind.” In other words, pay attention to what is going on. Jesus tells us that Satan is a liar. He is a deceiver. He will try to confuse us. Now, thankfully, as we saw two weeks ago, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and He will enable us to see through Satan’s deceptions. But we must make the effort to evaluate what is happening from a Biblical perspective. That’s why it’s so important to have a firm grasp on the reality of spiritual warfare, and the reality of Satan’s attacks on each of us and on the church. Not so that we can be fearful or intimidated. But so that we can respond in faith and wisdom and defeat Satan. Because if we think about what is happening in our lives, and in the church, in purely human terms, if we ignore the reality of spiritual warfare, then we will respond only with human approaches and human weapons, the weapons of this world. And that’s a losing strategy. But if we understand that behind all of this, behind everything that we can see and hear, there is a great war going on in the spiritual realm, then we will respond with spiritual weapons. We will respond with faith, and love, and prayer. And we will prevail.
Let me give you an example. If you hear that two church members are having a disagreement—it happens—what is your reaction? If you were thinking in purely human terms, you might try to understand what sparked the conflict, who said what to whom, what are the issues at stake. And you might decide to intervene and attempt conflict resolution. That’s fine as far as it goes. But it doesn’t go far enough. Because if you are thinking in spiritual terms, you would also say, “Satan, the enemy of our souls, is trying to drive a wedge between these two brothers in Christ and undermine our unity”. And then you would pray for them, and also for anyone else who might be affected, to prevent the conflict from spreading and creating divisions in the church. You would pray that God’s wisdom, and love, and forgiveness would envelop the situation. And that would bring the power of the Holy Spirit to bear to defeat Satan and prevent him from gaining a foothold.
And that’s what I would like each of you to do. I would like you to practice thinking about people and situations, and especially people and situations in the church, not merely in human terms, but also in terms of the spiritual battle that is going on around us, all the time. If you will do that, it will dramatically alter your perspective, and change your response to situations. And I would also like for you to think of our church’s past, and present, and future, in terms of this spiritual battle. And then act and pray accordingly.
In closing, listen to what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4:
“3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
Our weapons are truth, and faith, and prayer, and love, and humility, and obedience to Christ. And if we will make use of those weapons, then Satan cannot stand against us. His “strongholds”, his power bases, will be destroyed. Not by our power, but by divine power, the power of God. And we will triumph over him. May we all commit to doing that. Amen.
