The Schemes Of The Devil Part 1 Series

The Schemes of The Devil Part 1

Scripture: Ephesians 6:11-12; Jude 9; Daniel 10:12-13 ; John 8:34-36; 44

Introduction:

You have heard me teach in the past about the devil and how he spend time doing whatever he can to hinder us from doing what God has instructed and empowered us to do. I have taught you that we have an enemy who is very good at his job and therefore we should not be taken lightly. While I was on vacation, I had a lot of time to think and meditate. As many of you are aware, we are beginning to move into a time of rededication and focus around what God has called this Church to do. As we move into this time, we can expect that our enemy will do whatever he can to hinder us. Satan does not mind you doing anything in Church, but he does mind if you are committed and dedicated to it because then you start to put God first. Through this series of messages and also through some of our bible study lessons (as I cannot get into the depth of everything in the sermons) we will examine some of the tactics that Satan uses to hinder us. It is time for all of us to start standing firm.

I. Satan

There is a lot of information in the bible on our enemy the devil. The Scripture tell us in Ezekiel 28:14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there….” Notice that it did not say that he was “one of the anointed cherubs” it says that he “was the anointed cherub.” In this position, Satan was the one who led the worship of the universe. This group of angels (cherubim) also had the responsibility to guard and protect and he was apparently over them. He was an angel who had authority and rank. The Scripture tell us that Satan was so exalted that even Michael, the archangel, did not dare to bring a railing judgment against him. Jude 9 records “But Michael, the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said “The Lord rebuke you.” (Railing judgment is to speak judgment in a bitter and violent manner.) This reference and others seem to indicate that Satan was actually ranked higher than Michael. Ephesians 2:2 references him as the “prince of the power of the air.” The reason that I bring this up is that there are those that believe that Satan is weak because Jesus stripped him of his power. Jesus stripped Satan of his authority over us, yet he remains very powerful. As Rev. Welcome pointed out last week, God has no adversary, but we do. Satan cannot compete with God, yet he is more powerful than we are. We cannot play in his realm and expect to not be influenced. God has no adversary for no being is His equal, however we have an adversary and if we are not walking in nor relying on the power of God to be operating in our lives then we too can fall victim to this adversary.

Satan Has A Kingdom

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:11-12 NIV)

Satan has far greater power than men, in our flesh and blood. He has under him beings so great in power and dignity as to be spoken of as “principalities, the powers, the world rulers, and spiritual hosts (spiritual beings) of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The conflict we have on hand is frightful, we must not underestimate it. When Jesus was casting out a devil in Luke 11:14-18, he spoke of the kingdom of Satan. Satan’s kingdom and his power is for real.

Satan And/Or His Subordinates has Power To Resist Angels

The book of Daniel records the incident of Daniel receiving a revelation concerning a great war. Daniel went into prayer seeking clarification to the vision and the answer to his prayer was delayed. When the answer finally came, Daniel was told why his answer was delayed. Daniel 10:12-13 records “Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.” Some believed that these verses are actually talking about a king that was a man, but I cannot accept this. No man will be able to fight with one of God’s angels and hold the angel hostage for twenty-one days. Satan, or one of his subordinate, stood in the way of this angel getting Daniel’s answer to him. Again, I point this out so that you will understand that this battle that we are in is nothing to take for granted.