Understanding Your Enemy

Good morning. We are so glad each of you are with us this morning.

We also want to welcome those watching on our livestream this morning and want to invite you to join us in person very soon

What a wonderful turn the weather has taken these past few days. The cool mornings are glorious and I am very thankful for them

I love this time of year....crisp air and very soon the leaves will begin to turn and fall will fully arrive

Let’s Pray

This morning is week 2 in our Spiritual Warfare sermon series and this morning we will look at Understanding your Enemy.

satan is our enemy, he is a defeated enemy but an enemy none the less

He will stop at nothing to bring you down to hell with him

To withstand spiritual warfare we must understand our enemy

That is the goal this morning is to give us scriptural perspective on satan so we may know and understand him therefore enabling us through the power of the Holy Spirit to withstand the attacks of the enemy

satan is real

he is a real enemy with real demons and a real goal

spiritual destruction

satan is the prince of the power of the air

he is currently ruling the earth

sending out his destructive airwaves in an attempt to destroy any who receive his evil message

This morning is not an exhaustive look at satan but a look at who is he according to scripture

why

why talk about satan

not to glorify him but to understand who he is and what he desires and attempts to do all day everyday

satan never stops

he is constantly looking for victims

constantly attacking scripture

constantly attacking truth

his heart and his character are the same today as they were in the garden of Eden

I want to start with his mission

John 10:10

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“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Jesus shows us the only two sides death and life

satan and Him

This refers to eternity

eternal death and eternal life

this is not a promise of health and wealth

this is describing the battle all face as humans an eternal battle with eternal consequences

satan wants to steal relationship

he knows he cant stop the Holy Spirit

he understands God is God

If God calls one through the Holy Spirit to repentance leading to salvation satan can’t stop that

he tries hard to interfere and be a stumbling block and keep you away but he can’t stop it

he stops at nothing to steal your eternity but once you are saved and have made Jesus your Lord and Savior he is beaten but that doesn't mean he stops trying to steal from you or destroy you or kill you

No now he is trying to steal and destroy and kill relationship from you

he understands that to move from the milk of the gospel to the meat of discipleship and maturity in Christ requires relationship

a deep

meaningful

intimate

committed relationship with Jesus

that is what satan tries to steal from Christians and unfortunately he is winning

he has stolen relationship from me in the past and sometimes will succeed in the future

he has stolen and will continue to steal relationship from you

once he loses you to salvation he stops at nothing to keep you from growing in Christ

he is harming you

he stops at nothing to keep you from spreading the gospel therefore hurting others

he is not playing games

he comes to steal kill and destroy and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal and mission

what are ways he steals relationship

look at society

self-centered

deceived

phones have completely destroyed relationship both with each other and Jesus

relationships are forced

shallow

superficial

people easily enter and exit relationships

that ought not be so but satan is working hard to steal relationships first with Jesus then with others

We have embraced so many tools of death as a society

drugs

alcohol

sex

vapes

cigarettes

fast living

our foods are so heavily processed they are killing us

our entertainment is violent and glorifies death and murder and drugs and alcohol and sex

our entertainment in fact normalizes those things

many not only embrace but fight to legalize murder in abortion

they call it reproductive rights.....if you ever see that…reproductive rights.....reproductive health care....that is murder....that is abortion.....do not be deceived

our society celebrates it.......politicians look to put it into constitutions at the state level

if the demonic left has its way abortion will be legal up to and even after birth

This is nothing new just a new package

satan has been having people kill children since the beginning

Leviticus 18:21

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“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.”

molech was a false God that the Canaanites worshiped and part of that worship was child sacrifice

God made it very clear His children were to have nothing to do with this

Leviticus 20:1–5

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“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.”

Look at the sever punishment required by God for sacrificing your child to molech

Abortion is sacrificing your children to your own lusts that you fail to control

they call it reproductive health but it is murdering your child because of your bad decision

because of your sin

sex before marriage is a sin

sex outside of marriage is a sin

you sin by having sex and then get pregnant or get someone pregnant and have an abortion that is murder and God will not stand for that

now it is a sin and sin is sin is sin

repentance and forgiveness apply to this sin just as any other sin

but what I want you to see is how satan is using sin and age old tactics to destroy relationship and destroy us a Christian society

satan takes things that we would out right reject

murder

addiction

infidelity

stealing

you name it

and make it socially acceptable by changing terminology

changing definitions

putting it in an appealing package and deceiving people into sinning against God in a way they would never do on their own

Humans are evil by nature and have been.....are....and will continue to willingly kill each other and themselves

It is time that we God’s children....Christ’s bride the church.....sons and daughters of God stop this madness by standing for God

standing on God’s Word

showing true agape love and point people to the way the truth and the life....JESUS!!!!

satan is death

Jesus is life

Which one are we pointing to by how we live our lives and how we are loving others??????

satan is a murderer and so are all of his children of wrath

I also wanted to look at his character here this morning

Destroyer

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As we looked in John 10:10 satan is looking to destroy you

another thing that satan comes to do is destroy

satan only wants to destroy

he uses wordly things to destroy spiritually

mainstream music and movies and tv are full of satan

full of satan’s lies

full of his people

they don't even hide their love and devotion to him and many Christians follow right along and support him by supporting them

love of money

greed

power

sex

drugs

alcohol

all ways satan uses to destroy us

many musicians have satanic symbols and symbolism in their music on their stage in their dance routines

many sing of and celebrate

love of money

greed

power

sex

drugs

alcohol

taking the Lord’s name in vain

corrupt communication

lying

cheating

stealing

killing

cursing

not only do they sing of it and celebrate it but they demand you do the same and you do

every time you listen to their music

every time you buy their music

re-post them on social media

watch their movies

post about their movies

the more we celebrate sin the further we move from God

satan knows what he is doing and we are allowing and helping him win in so many lives today

that is who he is

a thief only looking to steal

kill

and destroy

that is his mission

that is his goal

destroy relationships

destroy anything God holds dear

destroy God’s truth itself

I mentioned entertainment

you can’t see anything entertainment related and not see satan

you can’t even watch sports without seeing evil

pride

lbgtq whatever being pushed by sports teams

he is everywhere looking to destroy

that is his character

he is fully on the attack against you but especially against God and His truth

One of those areas being attacked is marriage

God instituted marriage

God holds marriage sacred

Today most don't believe it is important to get married

When they do get married it is not a covenant but something one can easily get out of

I felt God leading me here because this is one area satan has been so successful in destroying and it is important to God to restore marriage and the sacredness of marriage

Marriage beds are defiled by

lust

porn

infidelity

homes are battlegrounds and so many today are lacking a strong Godly leader

Godly men are hated....satan’s design by the way

Godly men are expected to bow to society or be ruthlessly attacked

Godly gender roles are evil and unfair

that is society’s beliefs and actions

he has corrupted God’s truth in the minds of so many today

we have many attacking manliness

we have many attacking the God established gender roles

He created each gender for specific duties and responsibilities not making one more important than the other but to compliment each other and work for His glory and our good

what we see outside these doors is a result of this destruction

the USA started to fall when it turned on the God established family

Father

Mother

Children

all living in harmony serving God and each other

I pray you are getting the ugly, terrible picture

The result of the destruction of marriage and Godly family is felt throughout society

crime

addiction

greed

selfishness

gender confusion

homosexuality

all run rampant because of satan’s destruction

as i said even our country

satan is actively trying to destroy our country

one nation under God…founded on Biblical truth however due to satan’s deception and destruction our country now stands on and for evil

it isn't politicians

it isn't laws

it isn't elections

that is destroying america it is satan and we are allowing it to happen

Now we have responsibility as USA citizens to vote and the problem....again work of satan....is so many Christians vote their pocket book or a party and not the Bible

We will get into this closer to November but it is time for Christians to be Christians even at the polls if we have any desire for God to be glorified and america to be saved

Here is another aspect of satan we must understand he is

Looking for people to destroy

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1 Peter 5:8

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“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

satan walks around all day every day looking for people to destroy......devour

you must understand that

most people sitting here today have some way or plan to protect home and family from bad guys

cameras

locks

weapons

you look to keep bad out and good in and if bad comes in you look to neutralize it

the question that God asked me so I will ask you is this

do you have a plan in place

do you have defenses in place to spiritually protect your family

parental locks on tvs and internet

is your phone fair game for your spouse to use or check whenever they want

are you keeping an eye on what your kids are consuming....checking their phones....checking their browser history....checking their text messages and social media accounts and communication

satan is are you?

are you having conversations about evil things.....even the evil you enjoy?

Do you have Bibles out and are you using them together as a family

That is really the heart behind the jr and sr high Bible study and life group that Melody and James and I are starting on Wednesday night

A place to stand on scripture and talk about the evil these kids face day in and day out

Are you doing that in your home?

satan wants nothing more than to destroy you and your family

he desires for your kids and grand kids to reject Jesus

he desires for your kids and grand kids to become

addicted

pregnant

homeless

he desires for them to lose it all

lose their souls chasing him and this world

if you don't understand or believe that I am very sorry but it is the truth

satan never wants the best for you or your family

he only wants the worst

he longs to destroy you and your family and friends

satan is also the

Father of Lies

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John 8:44

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“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

Another major weapon of satan is deception

As Jesus just said here it is his natural tongue

when satan speaks he lies

no truth in him at all

he wants you to think he has truth but here is not truth in satan

he uses a tiny bit of scripture and twists it or takes it out of context to make it say what he wants

he then uses that for his advantage and to deceive you

satan even uses religion and religious groups to spread his deception

many popular groups claiming Jesus claim the wrong Jesus

satan is a master manipulator

he understands he cannot get rid of Jesus

he understands he cannot wipe Jesus out of history so he sells a false Jesus

one that resembles Jesus but is not Jesus

there is a movement right now called He Gets Us

it is selling Jesus but a wrong Jesus

things they sell

Jesus died for all…that is very true

Jesus loves all people…that is very true

but where they mislead is they do not and will not talk about repentance

what they are selling is satan’s form of Jesus which is acceptance not repentance

without repentance there cannot be salvation

Jesus says count the cost to be my follower

you must repent

you must die to you

you must die to sin

you must give Jesus true Lordship over life

you must walk away from sin not embrace sin

Jesus never....ever embraced sin

Woman at the well....you are right you have had 5 husband and the man you live with now is not your husband

Sin is sin and God hates sin and will not tolerate sin

He loves people but will not tolerate or accept sin so if someone sells that Jesus accepts sin they are not selling the true Jesus

you see this model played out in all of society....things with a little bit of truth but twisted to lie about the truth of God

I want to close this morning by looking at

Spiritual Consequences

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satan’s ways...

lying

deceiving

destroying

have eternal consequences

I believe this next section of scripture shows these consequences.....I am going to use the ESV for this next section of scripture

2 Thessalonians 2:1–12

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2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness

satan wants to deceive you so you will be dammed and condemned because you don't believe the truth

you have tasted and seen this deception

addiction

failures

hurts

broken homes

broken families

pure evil yet many even you before Jesus embraced it as truth

satans goal is you in hell

satans goals is your spouse in hell

satans goal is your kids and grand kids in hell

all rejecting the truth and rejecting Jesus!

satan will stop at nothing to deceive you

the question is do you now the truth so well you can easily spot deception

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