Job 1:7 “And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
1st Peter 5:8 “ Be sober, be vigilent; the adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”
Be sober- means to be self diciplined, to think rationally and not foolishly.
Be vigilent- means to be alert to the spiritual pitfalls of life and take appropriate steps to make certain that we do not stumble.
Like a roaring lion- Satan is both cunning and cruel. He attacks when least expected and desires to destroy completely those whom he attacks.
INTRO: There is a Devil who is on the job trying to rip you apart
The Bible says that the enemy roams the earth seeking whome he may devour. It also says that he comes only to steal kill and destroy. Satan wants you to burn in hell with him and all of his demons. He is one angry little buger that won’t stop trying to take you out, until you go on to be with the Lord, or until Jesus comes back to get His Church.
Here are three Facts you should be aware of when “Recognizing your Adversary”
1. He wants to rip up your emotions and cause you to doubt your relationship with God
2. He wants to rip away every blessing that God has given you and he wants to destroy every plan that God has for your life.
3. He wants you to focus on every closed door SO THAT you dont see all the other open doors in your life.
FACT 1 He wants to rip up your emotions and cause you to doubt your relationship with God.
Satan wants to rob you of your joy and your peace. He wants you to feel down and out. The enemy wants to seperate you from God, causing you to lose that peace that surpasses all understanding, causing you to lose the joy of the Lord. Let me be frank, don’t be a spiritual wimp! Stand on the rock of your Salvation. Dont be seperated! Dont punk out to the devil. Be a spiritual warrior. When you get that fiery dart shot at you. Catch it, tie a scripture to it and thrust if back.. When I say Dont be a spiritual wimp (to me that sounds a little harsh)...but I mean it. I want to be speak to you from my heart. Children of the Lord, If you have met God. If you have expierienced His power. If you have joined me, with a thankful heart, in offering praises to Him. If your tounge has tasted the things of God. Then I believe that you know all that God is capable of doing in your life. Then I know that you can stand on Scriptures like 1st Peter 5:10 that tell us that God will build us up in a firm foundation and He will make us steadfast and immovable when the enemy comes in to attack. When Satan charges in with that spirit of lonliness, fear, discomfort, weakness, bitterness, hatefullness, etc… You need to strap on the the full armor of God. [Ephesians 6:10-20] You need to ask God to fill you with the Joy of the Lord and the Peace of God. [Philippians 4:6-7] Walk in the Spirit of God and enjoy the fruit of the Spirit such as Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, etc [Galations 5:22]
When writing this sermon, I was actually answering an e-mail that my friend had written me. He is a close friend of mine and dear brother in the Lord. I know he has a desire to serve God and I know its his will to have a life in complete submission to Jesus Christ. My friend has been going through some trials like us all. He emailed me these words:
Eric,
you’re right. i am really needing to talk. i don’t know what to
do. i am stuggling in school, but the worst part of it all is
this- i know that i haven’t been giving God the time that he
deserves, i feel like i’m being unfair to ____, i feel like i
can’t LEAD her, i feel like i can’t take care of myself, let
alone her. i feel desolate, as if i’m about to be judged for my
negligence… i’m afraid, i’m tired, i’m sick…”
Eric, i’m suffocating inside...
Remorsefully
Your Friend
Now this took me for a turn because I know him. We have sat down and prayed together. We have sang praises together. Every chance we get, we tell of how God is continually shedding his grace on our lives. The Spirit is on my friend, this Man of God. But He has come to a point in his walk where the enemy has pitched his tent near by. He has been distracted from his relationship with God and has been suffering from the darts of the enemy.
Satan wants to rip up all those in a relationship with God. He wants you to tell yourself " i’m afraid, i’m tired, i’m sick"
When you feel weak, and you forget to rely on the strength of God, then Satan will storm in like a lion and claw you, chew you, and spit you out for all the little demon cubs to knaw at you. You need to recognize your adversary. Dont let him get at your emotions. Instead allow God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, His Peace, and His Joy.
FACT 2 He wants to rip away every blessing that God has given you, and destroy every plan God has for your life.
Oh boy, Satan wants to kick you off your road of blessings. Have you ever played the game Crash Bandacoot for Sony Playstation? In this game Crash runs along and picks up little goodies. He jumps on crates and, the majority of the time, there are little goodies in them. In order to get to these crates he has to jump over ditches and he has to beat up the enemy. When he finally gets to the crate...He gets the goodie. Now the enemy doesn’t want Crash to get these goodies because they give him stength and he enjoys them. Crash knows that there are many crates ahead of him...so he keeps going.
Jumping ditches and beating the enemy...continually getting his goodies.
Have you got your goodies lately? Do you press on because you know there are crates of blessings ahead?
Or have you fallen in the ditch. Has the enemy beat you up? If so why didn’t you jump over it? Why didnt you take out your sword and destroy the enemy? Why do you bow down to the wrong master? Who are you a slave to? Your flesh! Or the almighty God who sits high on the throne of soverign power. The same power that enabled Jesus to die on the cross has been offered to you SO THAT you can jump over those ditches dug by the enemy, and when the enemy comes a knockin’ You can rely on the Power of God to kick him in the head and stomp him to the ground. For the man of God, Satan knows that he cant take you to hell because you have already recieved the gift of God. Since you have recieved grace through Jesus Christ Satan can’t steal your Salvation...so what is he going to steal? Satan will try to steal all the other things in your life that are important and precious to you. Such as friends, family,finances,your job, joy, peace, and everything else you cherish.
FACT 3 He wants you to focus on every closed door SO THAT you dont see all the other open doors in your life
God has a plan for you and your life. Im sure you know that. But HIS plan can only be accomplished by HIS strength. So often there are many rooms of expectations in our life. Sometimes God closes the door because He knows what is in the room, and He has something better for us down the Hall...and sometimes Satan roams through the halls and slams a door on your foot. You scream you moan and you stare at your poor little toe. You feel hurt, beat up, and abused. You feel like you cant go on. You feel like you cant walk. You feel.. you feel... you f...thats right, you forgot God. You got so focused on what the enemy is trying to bring on your life, that you forgot about the open door down the hallway.
The Bible says "Greater is He that is in me, then he that is in the world"
If you have the Lord Jesus Christ Living in your heart, and active in your life, then you can count on Him to turn that black and blue toe...into a steal toe. Then If you ask nicely, God will even swing your foot with some of that soverign power SO THAT You can kick the devil in the head once again.
Conclusion:
I’m trying to say that God will grant you all the power you need to defeat the enemy. That same enemy that wants to rip you apart, the same enemy that wants to rip up your emotions and cause you to doubt your relationship with God, the same enemy that wants to rip away every blessing that God has given you, and its the same enemy that wants to destroy every plan God has for your life. You can shatter Satan’s plans and rip the devil up into little pieces with the power of God...Just remain in prayer,constant fellowship with Jesus,daily reading of the scriptures,and put on that full armor of God so you can withstand the wiles of the devil.
