Spiritual Warfare Feb. 1

A If your life is being lived in the Will of God it will always be on a collision course with agenda of Satan.

1 He was once a prince but now he is an unsurper, a pretender to the throne of the earth.

a Satan rebelled before Adam was created and was cast from heaven.

aa Science & Scripture agree that there was a great cataclysm that brought ruin & death to this world before Adam.

bb Lucifer became the malicious Satan lurking the body of a snake in Eden.

b Satan is defeated.

aa He is awaiting his final sentence, just like those of the human race who will be be sent to hell with him.

bb Jesus created hell for the devil, demonic minions . . . and it is a real place that those who reject Christ will spent eternity.

2 Until Satan is cast into the lake of fire, he remains in our solar system as the “prince of the power of the air.”

a He has permission to operate in the disobedient, roams the planet seeking to pounce.

b For the Christian, earth isn’t a playground but a battleground.

B Psalm 56 is called a michtam, which means “golden song” or “precious song.”

1 It’s a song that shows the longings of David’s heart to be with God.

a This Psalm reaches back to Ps. 55.6.

b The Psalm was penned when David was running from Saul and he fell into enemy hands (Philistines).

aa He longed for the days before the haunting responsibility of leadership fell on him.

bb He had been anointed king, yet instead of a throne, he had war!

2 You may be thinking you and David have nothing in common, but you’d be surprised.

a We come to Christ, are anointed by the Holy Spirit, and then the enemy declares war!

b Yet we know that the victory is ours!!! We still are hounded, attacked, pursued by the enemy.

I The Enemy Oppress us in Four Ways (He’ll seek to oppress you on every side, IL. Of Lion Tamer)

William H. Hinson tells us why animal trainers carry a stool when they go into a cage of lions. They have their whips, of course, and their pistols are at their sides. But invariably they also carry a stool. Hinson says it is the most important tool of the trainer. He holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal. Those who know maintain that the animal tries to focus on all four legs at once. In the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes tame, weak, and disabled because its attention is fragmented

A Satan will surround us with people who seek to distract us.

1 Ps. 56.2, (Bible in Basic English translation, NIV, NCV)

a David feels hounded by his enemies like a pride of lions.

b There are people whose main goal in life is to distract you, waste your time, criticize you, or confuse you.

2 Peter tried to “help” Jesus by denying the need of the cross. (Matt. 16.21-23, NASB)

B Satan will surround you with people who will directly attack you. (Ps. 56.1)

1 Swallow means “to beat, to curb, or swallow.”

a Sometimes the enemy wants to swallow you up, crush your purpose!

b Leave your for dead along the road near calvary.

2 “ . . . all day . . .” means “all the time; the total of everything.”

a Literally means that Satan attacks the totality of my life’s purpose all the time.

b He never gives up. (We get revived and we wonder why the revival doesn’t last . . . SIN!)

c Remember the term of the Gulf War “Shock and Awe”.

aa Described an air attack that went on for days designed to crash the will of the ones attacked.

bb Our enemy tries this same approach as the prince of the power of the air.

C Satan will use slander to defeat us and turn us away from victory. (Ps. 56.5)

1 Satan is the accuser!

a His whole goal is to lie about you, lie to you, and bring ruin into your life.

b “distort” NASB; “Twist” NIV, TLB, NLT.

aa Means to “fabricate, to carve, to cut up, to inflict pain.”

bb He will take what you do/say and fashion it into something that causes pain, misrepresents you and what you believe.

2 Not just your words, actions but your thoughts as well.

a “Thoughts” means “to weave or fashion.”

b These thoughts lead us to wrong judgements, beliefs in an attempt to thwart God’s purpose for our lives.

D Satan stalks believers to hinder their faith (Ps. 56.6).