Identifying the Enemy | Dr. David Jeremiah | Ephesians 6:10-12

Satan and his demons are there and they're shooting darts at God's people and if we don't have the shield of Faith which we'll study a little bit later we are no match for his artillery when Satan gets a hold of somebody who has influence he devours their influence he devours their message he wants to devour us he wants to take away the effectiveness that we have he's like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour you know it's all always a good thing before you fight a war to know something about your enemy and who it is you're fighting against in the spiritual realm it could never be more true many Christians do not take our enemy seriously because they don't know enough about him to take him seriously Satan's Incognito are very clever he hides in the most unbelievable places he hides in religion one of his favorite hideouts he hides behind intellectualism he hides in poetry and art often times in music he hides in Psychology and human understanding in fact the Bible says that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one mark it down men and women Satan is not the man below heaping coals onto an eternal furnace Satan is the original jet Setter did you know that remember in the Book of Job when uh he was answering God as to where he had been he said where do you come from and Satan said from going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it job 2:2 what a picture Satan Trucking all over the Earth doing his thing now if you look down at your Bibles at verse 12 you will discover that there is a word in verse 12 that is listed five times five times this word appears I'm going to read the verse and you'll catch on real quickly for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against Powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in Heavenly places I don't know what you get from the word against but let me tell you what it means it means we're in a battle and there is someone we are against and someone who is against us and that seems rather strange to most people today especially those who have adopted a rather passive attitude about the Christian Life Eugene Peterson makes sure we are aware of the serious nature of this battle in the paraphrase of this verse he paraphrases it like this this is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours this is for Keeps a life or death fight to the Finish against the devil and all of his Angels Paul's instruction to the Ephesians in the 10th verse is addressed to the Brethren finally he said my brethren be strong why so you can get into this battle and fight against the enemy who is against you notice men and women this is not a fight for the apostles this is not a fight for the pastors this is not a fight for the deacons or the leaders this is a fight for the Brethren and the sister too all of us together the brothers and the sisters the lines have been drawn it is the Lord and the Brethren against Satan and the demons and in Ephesians chapter 6 Paul identifies our enemy as the devil in verse 11 and if you look down in verse 16 he gives him another name he calls him the wicked one verse 11 says you may be able to stand against the s of the devil and verse 16 says you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one we are fighting against the enemy of our souls the devil and his strategies and here are some things we need to know about him if we're going to have any chance to be victorious in this battle let's talk for just a moment about Satan's personality his original name was Lucifer which means shining one morning star or son of the morning in Isaiah 14 and: 12 which we'll put up on the screen we read these words how are you fallen from Heaven oh Lucifer son of the morning Ezekiel describes Satan before his fall as a Holy Angel both wise and beautiful listen to these words from Ezekiel 28 you were the Seal of Perfection full of wisdom and perfect in Beauty you were the anointed cherub who covers I established you you were on the Holy Mountain of God you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery Stones you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you so what happened how did Satan cease to be Lucifer the son of the morning and become Satan the enemy of God and God's people once again Isaiah the prophet tells us the story in Isaiah 14:1 12-14 how are you fallen from Heaven oh Lucifer son of the morning how are you cut down to the ground you who weakened the Nations for you have said in your heart I will Ascend unto Heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will also sit on the Mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north I will Ascend above the height of the clouds I will be like the most high when those words came out of Lucifer's mouth he was cast out of Heaven cast down as a profane one from the Mountain of God and brought down to the Earth and brought down ultimately to hell I believe that God Gave To His angels the kind of free will that he gave to us they worship before his throne even this day because they choose to do so but Satan in his own heart determined that he would lift himself up in Pride and the first sin ever committed in the universe was the sin of Pride Satan's personality where did he come from how did he become Satan now let's talk for a moment about his position the Bible gives us three names that describe Satan's position these three names will help us get a handle on his role in the universe first of all he is a prince three times the Bible calls Satan the prince of this world John 12:31 now is the time for judgment on this world now the prince of this world will be driven out John 14:30 I will not speak with you much longer for the prince of this world is coming and John 1611 11 the prince of this world now stands condemned he's also called as many of you know the prince of the power of the air Ephesians 2:2 says the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of Disobedience now listen as the prince of the world he's in charge of evil men as the prince of the power of the air he's in charge of evil spirits he is the ruling Spirit over the children of Disobedience he is the architect of evil in this world in which we live he is a prince the Bible also says he is a ruler not only is he a prince he is also a ruler the Bible says he is the power behind the world system 1 John 5:19 says the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one the system of this world is characterized by greed and selfish ambition and lust for power it is dominating by Intrigue and hatred and lies and aggression and rivalry and brutality and Satan is the father of it all satan Reigns over his own kingdom did you know Satan has his own kingdom Matthew 12:26 says if Satan casts out Satan he is divided against himself how then will his kingdom last Satan rules over his angels Matthew 25:41 the Everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels Satan has a hierarchy he has a team of angels who are with him there are many theologians who believe that when Satan rebelled onethird of the angels in heaven rebelled with him and came to this earth and now compris his army of rebellion against God Satan is not just some lone evil person somewhere in the world Satan is the head of his own kingdom he has hierarchies of principalities powers and angels and demons and he rules it all he's the ruler of the evil in the world today and then the Bible says strange as it may be that he is a God he is not just a prince and a ruler he is a god 2 Corinthians 44 says it this way whose Minds the God of this age has blinded who is the God of this age class it is Satan Satan is a religionist he is the founder and president of his his own religion did you know that and of course we know that there are people today and blatantly openly don't even care that anybody knows that they're there but Satan has always had a religion listen to what the Bible says about Satan's religion he has his own church Revelation 2:9 and chapter 3:9 says Satan's got his own church he has his own Gospel Galatians 1:8 we studyed that not long ago Satan's got his own ministers 2 Corinthians 11:15 he's got his own Doctrine according to 1 Timothy 4 and verse1 he has his own communion table and his own cup 1 Corinthians 10:20 and 21 he's got his own church his own Gospel his own ministers his own Doctrine his own communion he's got his own religion Satan has always done his best work in religious circles he is the God of this age Satan's personality and his position now let's talk about his power how powerful is Satan the Bible says that men are held captive by the power of Satan until delivered from it by the power of the Savior the world is held captive by Satan in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 we read the workings of Satan come with all power and signs and lying wonders while we must never underestimate Satan's power we also cannot make the opposite error of believing that Satan is as powerful or equally powerful than almighty God Satan is not never will be all knowing and all powerful so don't think okay I've got God over here and he's all powerful for good and I got Satan over here and he's all powerful for evil that's not really true Satan is no match for God greater is he he that is in you than he that is in the world greater Is God who lives in you than Satan who lives in the world so while it is true we need to be respectful and we need to learn and we need not to be frivolous about the power of Satan we need to be careful that we don't go to the Other Extreme and say oh my goodness what am I going to do Satan's after me you know now let me tell you about his purposes what does Satan want to do this is very interesting because it explains a lot of things that happen in religious circles here are some of his most effective strategies first of all satan is The Great Deceiver say that with me Satan is The Great Deceiver he is The Great Deceiver John 8:44 we read these words you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do he was a murderer from the beginning and he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him when he speaks a lie he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and he's the father of it Satan is the father of lies he's The Great Deceiver Revelation 12:9 says so the Great Dragon was cast out that Serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world have you ever stopped to realize the power of satanic deception have you ever been in a conversation with somebody and you're trying to help them understand what God has done for them how he loves them how he's given their son and there just seems like a blindness that's in front of you they don't understand they don't get it maybe they don't want to but they have been deceived by the enemy That's what Satan does primarily he's the deceiver he started his work in the garden remember when he deceived Eve so that Eve then deceived her husband and and sin was born in the garden as we read in the first chapters of Genesis Satan as a deceiver is the great counterfeit he's the great mimic you know what Satan does he does everything that God does he tries to do everything God does he wants to be like God remember he said I will be like the most high God so when you watch Satan in his work today in the world you shouldn't be surprised at this everything that Christ has done everything the Lord Has Done Satan tries to do it now the second thing that Satan does he's not only the Great Deceiver but notice this he's the great divider now listen up Church listen up to this I have heard some of the stories You' have told me of places where you've been in churches where there's been a great division where there's been a great split where things have happened that have destroyed the peace and unity of the body of Christ let me tell you who does that who's behind all of that Satan himself you know how I know that because that's one of his major strategies you know the first thing that Satan did after he fell he divided the Angels that's what he did he took some of the angels and he brought them away from their place in worshiping God he divides friend friends and fellowships small groups churches and church staff through the poison of division that circulates in the system and then finds an outlet in the tongue he's The Great Deceiver he's the great divider and he's the great Destroyer the Apostle John calls Satan apolon which in the Greek means destroyer and that name fits the devil as he seeks to ultimately destroy the work of God how does he destroy us first of all he he just tries to destroy us through adversity you know that that Satan can hinder you he can cause you stress I remember in 1 Thessalonians 21:18 we read these words from Paul therefore we wanted to come to you even I Paul time and again but Satan hindered us did you know Satan hinders you know sometimes you're trying to serve the Lord with all your heart you're doing everything you can and you run up against this wall and you want to what in the world is this well I don't know what it is for sure but it might be Satan who's hindering you he attempts to destroy us through adversity sometimes he destroys Us by getting in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives number two sometimes he attempts to destroy us by direct attack in Ephesians 6:16 we read these words above all take the shield of faith and with which you will be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one did you know that out there in the hinter land Satan and his demons are there and they're shooting darts at God's people and if we don't have the shield of Faith which we'll study a little bit later we are no match for his artillery when Satan gets a hold of somebody who has influence he devours their influence he devours their message he wants to devour us he wants to take away the effectiveness that we have he's like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour now I don't know what you do when you hear all this I would hope that you are just overwhelmed with this enemy to the point where you're going to listen to the messages that are coming up in the next weeks you're absolutely totally helpless and hopeless to fight against the enemy if you don't use the strategies that are laid out for us in the word of God you're no match for the enemy I mentioned to you that sometimes preachers on television talking about how they're going to put Satan under Authority they're going to tell Satan this and tell Satan that and I'll tell you what you better be Mighty sure you're filled with the spirit of God when you start talking like that I don't care who you are or what you believe the only Power you have against the enemy is the power you have in Jesus Christ look down at your Bibles again and notice what it says finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and put on the whole armor of God can't fight Satan in the flesh perhaps that's one of the reasons for so much defeat and discouragement among Christian people your only hope is to put on the armor of Christ himself in the weeks to come we will explore all the pieces of armor that we are to take upon ourselves notice again it says put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the Ws of the devil that's what we're going to do we're going to learn how to put on the whole armor of God we're going to examine what each piece of armor means to us and how it works in our spiritual strategy because we're going to learn how we can be victorious in the power of Christ over the enemy who seeks to destroy us and divide us a friend of mine knowing that I was going to be speaking about Satan this weekend gave me a devotional that she and her husband had been reading in a magazine that has uh devotions for every day and it comes out in a quarterly magazine listen to this addressing a worldwide Convention of demons Satan spoke to them and said as long as Christians stay close to God we have no power over them so here are 12 things you can do to gain victory over Christians now he's speaking to his demons we don't know that this actually happened but it's probably very similar to what happens here's what he said here are the 12 things he said to do if you want to get victory over Christians and and pull them in into the strategies that are satanic in nature number one keep them busy with non-essentials number two tempt them to overspend and go into debt number three make them work long hours to maintain empty Lifestyles number four discourage them from spending family time for when homes disintegrate there's no refuge from work number five overstimulate their minds with television and computers so they can't hear God speaking to them number six fill their coffee tables and nightstands with newspapers and magazines so they've no time to read the Bible flood their mailboxes number seven with sweep Stakes promotions and get rich quick schemes keep them chasing material things number eight put glamorous models on TV and on magazine covers to keep them focused on outward appearances that way they will be dissatisfied with themselves eles and satisfied with their mates number nine make sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy that well they be tempted to look elsewhere number 10 emphasize Santa and the Easter Bunny that way you'll divert them from the real meaning of the holidays number 11 involve them in good causes so they won't have time for Eternal ones number 12 make them self-sufficient keep them busy working in their own strength that they'll never know the joy of God's power working through them do these 12 things Faithfully I promise said Satan to his demons it'll work have you figured out the difference between being busy and being successful in what God called you to do sometimes being busy bu u y just means being under Satan's yoke bu u y busy you know if we took serious those 12 things that the enemy said to uh to his demons we would do ourselves a lot of good we would do ourselves a lot of good and we would go a long way toward making it difficult for the enemy to get a foothold in our lives and if you don't follow the scriptures and put on the whole armor of God if I don't follow the scriptures and deal with Satan seriously he has every reason to want to Devour the influence that I have the influence that that you have we are not sufficient to fight against him in our strength in our own strength but God is able who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the Temptation also make a way of Escape that you might be able to be victorious with one last word for today's program here is Dr Jeremiah if I had to choose one word to describe Satan ruthless would be the word there's nothing Satan will not do to achieve his goal of disrupting and destroying your faith your joy and even your well-being he is an enemy who is to be taken very seriously you and I are no match for Satan in our own strength but in the strength of Christ we can be Victorious and to help you begin your relationship with Christ I hope you'll contact us today for a copy of our booklet your greatest turning point and our monthly devotional magazine turning points these will help you grow in your faith daily through your study of God's word we'll gladly send both of these resources to you free and without obligation if you will contact us here at Turning Point next time on turning point truth is not touched by your emotions by your opinion by your perception and that is what's being lost in our culture today today there is no absolute truth anymore today in our culture Your Truth might be different than mine truth but it doesn't really matter isn't all truth just kind of Truth No it's not thank you for being with us 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Channel: David Jeremiah

Views: 73,544

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Id: HExdi7ytt6A

Length: 24min 14sec (1454 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2024