The Conflict (Part 2): What are the enemies tactics
Notes
Transcript
Week 1 - We looked at the timeline for how and when the battle began
Week 2 - We talked about the tragedy of the divisions that sin and evil caused
Week 3 - We talked about the participants, Satan, the fallen angels, Nephilim, and demons.
Week 4 - We began to examine the enemies tactics with deception being the primary tool of the enemy. If he can target your mind successfully than he can limit your kingdom effectiveness.
We also talked about if he can’t deceive you he will use physical suffering to attempt to make you impatient with the will of God.
After I preached this sermon by that evening we were in the ER having running test on Remi to try and diagnose whether or not she had contracted Meningitis. That evening she went for happy to screaming that her hear hurt. Then she spiked a 102+ fever begin to throw up and complain of neck pain. These are all classic signs of meningitis. So Sunday Evening we spent the night at MUSC having test run on Remi. They started with blood test and the next step would have been a spinal tap.
Thankfully she didn’t need it but the Doctors were very concerned she would. Then I come to the office on Tuesday and come outside and my windshield is all cracked up. A large branch fell on my vehicle put a dent in the top, pulled off the weather stripping and cracked my windshield. I don’t tell you that to feel sorry for us but rather I want you to recognize that we are at war.
You can say oh pastor Brett that is just coincidence but if is there has not been a normal week for us since starting this series. If you are not already please pray for my family. Pray for our protection. Pray that we will not fear. Pray that we will not get discouraged.
Today we will look at the two addition tactics that we ran out of time for this past Sunday.
The 3rd tactic the enemy uses Wiersbe labels as the Ruler
#3 The Ruler - The enemy wants to control your will
#3 The Ruler - The enemy wants to control your will
Satan’s target your will.
Satan’s weapon your pride.
16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
How many of you believe that your will can be manipulated by something or someone to get a desired result?
Now many of us think that we are to smart for something like this to happen to us but, arguably the most intelligent people to have ever been created, had this exact thing happen to them.
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.
3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.
5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Now notice with me what the devil did, here. He appealed to Adam and Eve’s will. Their Pride, the will to be greater than what they were.
If they would just compromise in the slightest way by reaching out and taking the fruit, They themselves could be like God. We don’t often think about this ,but this is a pretty big temptation folks.
If you believed that you could really be like God by simply eating a piece of fruit, would you do it? Now we think Pastor Brett that is silly why would they have believed that?
Well because they lived with a supernatural worldview. Remember that there was another tree that they were allowed to eat from, Called the tree of life. that gave them eternal life.
22 The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”
Now why did I say they are arguably the most intelligent people ever created because they were genetically pure without defect or corruption, but even in this state the serpent played them without much resistance.
He used the weapon of deceit and pride to manipulate their will and control them.
What is the definition of Pride?
Pride encompasses self-regarding love and self-satisfaction with one’s person, status, behavior, reputation, and traits—essentially, an inflated sense of one’s own worth. It involves self-exaltation while simultaneously diminishing others and rejecting reliance on God.
J. R. Beck, “Pride,” in Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counseling, ed. David G. Benner and Peter C. Hill (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 907.
Dennis Okholm, “Pride,” in Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, ed. Glen G. Scorgie (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 691.
No matter who you are pride is something you struggle with. Pride manifest itself in two ways. Both are two-sides to the same coin
Haughty: Those who believe others as beneath them
Haughty: Those who believe others as beneath them
Self-conscious: Those who are afraid of others thinking less of them.
Self-conscious: Those who are afraid of others thinking less of them.
So I won’t give other the ability to think less of me so I will keep to myself or not participate. I will be a miser with my life.
Both extremes are equally bad but one is way more self limiting. The fear of man. This type of pride will keep you from accomplishing and living up to your full potential. While the other allows for accomplishment but will eventually lead to your downfall. So both are very dangerous. Which brings us to the perils of pride.
Perils of Pride
Perils of Pride
18 Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
This type of statement linguistically is called synonymous parallelism. The Second statement supports and essentially restates the first idea in a different way. Its a way of emphasizing the certainty of the truth that is being told.
Pride at its core is a lack of dependence on God for our identity. Instead pride gets its identity from one’s own accomplishments, perceived ability or lack of them.
Look at Satan’s rebelliion in Isaiah 14:12-15
12 Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground.
13 You said to yourself, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North.
14 I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit.
Just pointing back to week 2. Notice these statements that Satan makes, I will set my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods assembly. Again this just reinforces this idea that we talked about. These statements mean nothing if thier are no other gods or a divine assembly.
I Will statements
I Will statements
Notice that complete lack of dependency or acknowledgement of God’s authority.
Pride’s progression
Pride’s progression
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.
Now I doubt that many of us in here are using divination and witchcraft. It is possible that there is someone in a church that is. I have been in ministry long enough to know that this type of thing does happen. If you are a member of a secret society like the masons or others you are a part of occult practice.
1991 SBC survey: among respondents, 14% of Southern Baptist pastors, 13% of directors of missions, 18% of deacon chairmen, and 12% of church clerks said they were or had been Masonic/Eastern Star members. Christianity Today reported the pastor figure contemporaneously in 1992.
“By the early 1990s, an estimated 1.3 million of America’s 3.5 million Freemasons—roughly 37%—were Southern Baptists.”
I will remind you that leading up to this time the SBC had a huge battle to just affirm that southern baptist believed that the scriptures were fully the Word of God and inerrant. This is not a coincidence.
However, I will say there are many forms of divination that have sneaked its way into the church over the years. Divination is often seeking hidden knowledge about yourself or the world around you from other means than Prayer, holy spirit, and the Word of God usually through some type of spiritual practice.
Such as Tarot Cards, Psychics, Astrology, mediums(those who talk to the dead) , Ouija boards, angel cards or spirit-guide readings. If you look into the creators of enneagram you will find they used forms of cosmology, metaphysics and Kabbalistic knowledge to form thier assessments.
all of these are an attempt to understand the universe apart from the God who created it.
The root sin of these things is rebellion, the root sin of rebellion is pride. So while you may not be actually practicing witchcraft your heart could be as hard as those who are.
Satan’s goal is to get you to live your life dependent on yourself so that you will not acknowledge God.
So then what is your defense?
4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
I have learned in my own life...the easiest way to test weather I am dependent on myself or on Christ is to look at my prayer life. If I am not praying… I am not dependent.
If I am not praying than I am not obeying....
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.
If I am not dependant I will fall to the enemies will and when I do he will be right there to accuse of me. This brings us to the 4th weapon the enemy uses. He is.....
#4 The Accuser
#4 The Accuser
Satan’s Target: Your Heart and Conscience
Satan’s Weapon: Accusation
Your Weapon: Remembering Jesus Christ intercedes for us.
It is interesting that name Satan is derived from a Hebrew word meaning “to accuse”. This is one of those names that describes his character. Satan loves to accuse us of our sin.
6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.
7 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” “From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”
9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Again, notice that this occurrence seems to be a normal one. The Sons of God come to give God a report and notice that the word separates them from Satan himself. Satan is one of the Sons of God, a now evil, vile , fallen one, but he is with them. Why is he there?
He is there to make an accusation against the heart of Job.
We see a very similar scene unfold in Zechariah’s vision in Zechariah 3:1-2
1 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”
In both of these instances, the scene is that God is holding court and Satan is there to accuse the servants of God.
Satan loves to point out our guilt. He loves to make you feel guilty and ashamed. The nefarious part of it. Is that he loves to tempt us to sin but then when we fall prey to his tempting. He is right there to begin to accuse us of that same sin.
He whisper things in your ear....Like are you even a Christian. A true believer, wouldn’t have done what you did. If you are a true follower of Jesus than you are the worst. Or you are the weakest. God can’t use you anymore. He’s tired of dealing with you. He’s angry and your a fraud.
For what purpose? What would the enemy hope to accomplish by these accusations?
Discouragement and despair.
Growing up in the IFB church guilt was the primary means that these types of churches would use to get people to “stop sinning”. If the preaching could make you feel bad enough. If they could see you sobbing at the alter than that would make you less likely to keep sinning.
There is just one problem with that....It’s the same tactic the enemy uses to keep you in your sin.
Sorrow over sin is not necessarily an indicator of true Godly conviction and repentance.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.
Well pastor Brett isn’t guilt the same as conviction of the holy Spirit?
No. It is not.
Here is how you know the difference between guilt, self-determination and repentance.
Guilt - goes something like this.
I am feel aweful, I am a terrible human being, I don’t like this feeling, I will try harder
The problem is this. If your success is based upon you not liking the way you feel. What is going to happen when you feel like in the moment that particular sin will make you happy.
Your self-determination will disappear and you will do what you think will make you feel good.
This will lead of course to greater guilt, greater self- loathing, greater determination and then a greater fall. This cycle will continue until you are depressed and discouraged and have forgotten who you are.
You will be focused on your will and your sin and in this you will continue in this cycle. This is the enemies goal for you.
But here is Godly conviction.
Sin, Oh God what have I done, I confess my sin to you. I admit that I cannot solve this problem alone. Lord, in your strength I turn from my sin and I run to your grace and mercy. I remember the forgiveness in Christ(my salvation). I put my hope back in you.
I allow the joy of your redeeming love to restore my broken heart. I choose to trust in your promises.
You have promised that my sin is as far as the east is from the west and you choose to remember them no more.
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!
2 Lord, listen to my voice; let your ears be attentive to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning— more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord. For there is faithful love with the Lord, and with him is redemption in abundance.
8 And he will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
One type of sorrow over sin leads to guilt, shame, self-focus, depression and more sin.
The 2nd leads to Joy and true repentance.
Let me just say this. True repentance is not evidenced by weather you fall to the sin ever again. True repentance is evidenced by whether your run to the savior for your dependency and restoration. In your humility you recognize that you need to stay close to the savior.
Sometimes we hold people to something to an unrealistic standard.
If they were truly repentant they would have never done this again.
How many of us have repented of anger? Of saying something unkind only to find ourselves in traffic only to let a few angry words come out of us? Huh?
Part of repentance and receiving God’s grace is being willing to extend and give God’s grace to those who fail you.
Church family God’s will for your life is not for you to walk around defeated but to remember who you are.
31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?
33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.
34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The enemy will accuse you, but God says, I have redeemed you.
Church family Pride is a danger to you and to a church. Pride will lead you to destruction and when you fall the enemy will be there waiting to turn your humility into despair. But
10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
