The Power of the Enemy

As a Pastor, I have a lot of conversations with people in our flock and outside of our flock. The power of the enemy has come up several times in the past few weeks. The strange thing is that this comes up more in private conversation than any other way. It’s like people are afraid to talk about it, or feel like they are failures as believers for even mentioning struggling at times.

The power the enemy can have over believers is very real. It blows my mind that there are believers who think they are immune to the attacks of the enemy in their lives. Jesus Christ had his encounter with the lies, deception, and temptations of Satan. The apostles struggled against the power the enemy has in this world. Listen to me. If Satan could convince 1/3 of the angels to rebel against God, what makes us think he is not going to do everything he can to keep us away from God?

Satan, by name, is mentioned 54 times in scripture. In Hebrew, Satan literally means “adversary” or “accuser.” Seven of those times mentioned were by Jesus Christ himself.

Satan is also mentioned by different names a whole bunch more. The devil, which means “slanderer,” the enemy, the prince of the power of the air, the tempter, the father of lies, the accuser, and about 18 other names.

The point is that the Word of God talks about the power the enemy can have over us enough that we need to pay attention, take it seriously, and have no fear or shame discussing it.

Now, if you break down all the times the Enemy is talked about in scripture, there are six different “powers of the enemy” that we find.

Lies—he is the father of lies

The kingdoms of the world - Corruption

Worldly economics—the false god of money

Accusations—he is “satan,” the accuser

Temptation and division—he tempts and divides

Death and destruction—he is the destroyer whose powers result in death

There is something interesting if you were to dig into all six. All of them can be traced back to pride or fear. And more often than not, pride is based in fear. Pride is what got Satan cast out of heaven, and fear is what he uses through this world and others to hurt or cripple our walk with Christ, to destroy relationships, and to rob our peace.

I am going to share something with you this morning. I do not share things for any other reason than that I choose to be completely transparent with all of you, and I want you to know that you are not alone if you struggle.

While Carolyn and I were on our cruise, I had another one of those horrible dreams. In this dream, again, I showed up here to give a message, and I went completely blank. I mean I did not even remember my name. In this dream, I was so overcome with anxiety that I woke up gasping for air. I was horrified. It was a mix of anxiety, depression, and fear bombed me all at the same time. It was awful!

That comes from deep fears and doubts that I once had that at times seem to resurface. I never believed I belonged up here teaching the Word of God, or sharing the Gospel message of Christ, I had a tremendous fear of misguiding people, a fear of disappointing my family, and I still fear at times that I am disappointing God.

What the enemy does is he plays on things we struggle with or things we once struggled with.

He starts with the lies “You have no right to even pick up a Bible Bob, let alone teach from it!” “Who are you to even talk about Jesus Christ?” “Look at your failures just this week!”

Then he accuses “You are a horrible person, all you do is make mistakes, you should probably not even open your mouth, nobody is listening anyway, your never going to get it right.”

Then he divides: “Why do you even go to church, those people don’t really care about you.” “You know they are talking about you behind your back.” “Maybe you should just leave the church.”

The lies and accusations seem to come out of nowhere. Am I lying here folks? Is it just me? Has the enemy slithered in on you and pounded your brain with lies and accusations like that? The enemy wants you and me so far away from Jesus that we lose hope of finding our way back. So far away from each-other that we lose the desire to fellowship. That we become so filled with shame, that we fear even showing our face. DO NOT BUY INTO THE LIES!

Satan’s first power is lies, he is the father of lies. All you have to do is look around at this world. Lies are so rampant in our society that people are being fired from there jobs, imprisoned, and even killed for not calling the lies of this world the truth. Our leaders blatantly lie, cheat, and steal and do not even try to hide it anymore, they BRAG about it! Lawbreakers are rewarded and honored while honest people are persecuted and punished. Reason and logic are burned at the alter of “woke” philosophies. Winston Churchill once said:

“Truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” - Winston Churchill

Using lies, this world and the enemy, do everything imaginable and unimaginable, to keep you and me from the truth that is Jesus Christ! Jesus is “The way, the truth, and the life.” None, and I mean none, will come to the Father except through him. People may come up with some great sounding arguments, but there is no arguing the one True God, YHVH. Stand Firm! Do not cave! Here is the good news this morning. Jesus already handled it. Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote:

Colossians 2:15 NLT

15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

At the cross, Jesus crushed the power and authority that the enemy has over you and me. I love this verse because we are told that Jesus embarrassed and shamed Satan. Think about that for a minute. He did that for you. Jesus brought us into a direct relationship with God so that through Holy Spirit, we can call upon the name of the LORD. Yet, we still give authority over to the enemy at times.

I remember a time when things were pretty bad between Carolyn and I. After what I will call a rather intense disagreement, we both quietly looked at each-other because something clicked in that moment. I said “How much longer are we going to give the enemy authority over our lives?” We recognized that we were re-arming the enemy through our words and actions with one another. We had to return the authority to God over us and our family.” Who have you given authority over your life to this morning?

Jesus went to the cross so that you, me, us, that WE have victory through him over the world, over the lies, over the deception! It starts so subtle sometimes. An off-handed remark, a little white lie, a personal jab, even something I might find amusing that I know someone else does not find funny. What’s worse, is we often KNOW that we are saying or doing is not Christ-like. When we do, we are caving to the ways of the world and the evil one. What’s worse, is scripture warns us and we ignore it.

Ephesians 4:27 NIV

27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Although the Apostle was speaking on anger here, this is applicable to all areas of our lives. In counseling, anger is typically what we call “a secondary emotion.” Anger is more often than not, rooted in fear or pain. Most of the time when a person becomes angry, they fear financial loss, the loss of a loved one, loss of control, the loss of security, or material loss.

All of Satan’s powers exploit or magnify our fears. Fear initiates the “fight or flight” response in human beings. We either fight or we run. The nature of the “fight or flight” instinct is a “me-first” instinct. That is the devil’s playground. If we are not careful, we end up embracing fear and it destroys the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts and minds. Just think about some of the things you have said or done when you experienced fear, and tell me I am wrong.

We give the enemy a foothold when we, as believers, lie to protect ourselves from embarrassment or to gain something. Allowing the little white lies, justifying negative words and behaviors, and the lies we tell ourselves are part of Satan’s grand scheme. “If I only lie a little, it is okay.” “It was not a big lie.” If that is the case for you or me, then we must state, without argument, that the same is true for all people. “It’s okay if you lie to me.” Now the devil has gained a strong foothold. The very foundation he needs to build his grand system on.

His lies are the grand systems of falsehood that infect minds and become philosophies, worldviews, and belief systems. Satan is the master of manipulation, the dean of deceit, the prince of propaganda. You do not need to look any further than the media, social media, most of our world leaders, and what is being bought and sold in some of our churches, to see the enemies grand plan is in full swing.

So what do we do?

James 4:7 NIV

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The power that you and I have under the authority of Jesus Christ is irrefutable, indisputable, and available to all who call upon the name of Jesus Christ. The words “submit” and “resist” were both used as military terms when James wrote this.

We are to put ourselves under God’s care, under His power, and His strength. That means that WE YIELD to God’s will, His command, His instructions, and His Word. We do that so that HE can strengthen us and build us up.

Now some folks are not going to like what I say next. Resisting the devil REQUIRES that we take a stand against the enemy. We must exert the energy and effort to oppose and overcome the temptations, the lies, and the fear. Yes, you and I have to have skin in the game . Our mind and our energy must be focused on counteracting and conquering the temptation of the devil.

We can not do it by standing alone. We can not do it our way. We can not give in even a little. We defeat the enemy through prayer, accountability to one-another, helping one-another, through Holy Spirit, and obedience to the Word of God. When we do those things, the devil will flee, and the temptation will be gone.

Hebrews 5:14 NIV

14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

We must get the Word of God in us for it to be effective. We have to study it, hear it, set time aside to pray and worship, and discern good from evil. It is amazing how you can crack the Bible open, and a verse will speak to your situation.

There was a time a few years ago when it seemed like, for Carolyn and I, that family deaths, financial loss, physical health, and mental health issues were hammering us to a pulp. I have a particular love for Joshua 1:9 because this word from the Father along with help from the people I was finally open and honest with, got me through.

Joshua 1:9 NIV

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Brothers and sisters, I was at the point where I was pulling an Elijah on the mountaintop and asking the LORD to take me home. When I started speaking this verse, it was pretty weak at first. After a few days, I was speaking it with the power and authority of a child of God.

If you are a follower of Christ this morning, you have the dunamis power of Holy Spirit living within you. The miraculous strength, power, and authority that Christ Jesus died for you to have access to. If you do not believe that this morning, you have bought the lies the enemy is selling.

Listen for the Voice of Holy Spirit this morning. He is the voice of Truth. Allow the truth of God to permeate your hearts and minds. Allow His Word to fill you. To flood the lies of the enemy right out of you. To bring you peace. To bring you strength, To bring true joy to your heart.

We are going to close with these verses this morning. We all need this reminder.

Romans 8:37–39 NIV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In and through Christ, you are more than you can imagine. No matter what it is you have done, where you have been, or what your struggles are this morning. No matter how you may feel about yourself, if you have accepted the gift of eternal salvation Jesus offers, you will never be separated from the love of the Father. He will prepare you and give you what you need to overcome the lies of the enemy. We must be willing to put the effort in. Abba daddy has given his children everything they need. We need just accept His gifts and use them.

Alter Call/Worship Team

If you would like prayer this morning, we have brothers and sisters who would love to pray for you. If you would like time at the alter, it is always open. If you have questions or have decided that today is the day you want to invite Jesus Christ into your life, please see Pastor Dakota, Pastor Paul, or me. Brothers and Sisters, today may be all we have. God bless you.