Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

We are in a series entitled Understanding Adversity.

We have already talked about five kinds of adversity that although painful can have positive results in our lives and in the Church.

Trials

Tests

Pruning

Discipline

Persecution

We also have talked about adversity from two of our spiritual enemies.

The flesh

The World

The attacks of these enemies definitely fit into the category of adversity in our lives but unlike the other kinds of adversity the goal of our enemies is not to make us stronger or help us in our walk with God but to destroy us.

Today is the first of two messages on the aspect of adversity that we face from our enemy Satan.

This adversity is commonly called spiritual warfare.

It’s a vast subject and I think the most misunderstood of our three enemies and of adversity in general.

Sometime in the future we’ll devote an entire series to this subject but for now, we’re going to devote two messages to this topic.

Visual “How to defeat Satan?

What do people say?”

Let’s start out by making a list of the ways to defeat Satan.

First I’d like to know what you think.

Then, if we haven’t covered everything, I’d like you to tell me different things you have heard people say, teach or try to use to defeat Satan.

We’re going to write your answers on this flip chart.

Let’s make a list of the ways you have heard people say, teach or try to use to defeat Satan?

INTERACTION: [Have people give answers.]

Here are the most common responses I have heard:

The most common responses I hear are the following:

Pray.

Rebuke Satan.

Bind Satan and cast him out.

Quote Scripture.

Flee from him.

Ask him to leave you.

Resist him.

Turn your eyes on Jesus.

Plead the blood.

Put on the armor of God.

Now I’d like you to make a choice.

For the purpose of this illustration you can only choose one of these methods, just one.

Please look at the list.

How many of you choose “Pray”?

You are in good company.

That is far and away the most common answer people give.

I asked you to make that choice because the Bible really only teaches one way to defeat Satan.

The only way the Bible teaches us to defeat Satan is to resist by putting on the armor of God.

I need to make a distinction here that you may not have considered.

It is the distinction between being taught something and seeing something.

It is the difference between when the Bible prescribes or teaches something versus describing or showing us something.

The Bible never teaches us to rebuke Satan.

There is no verse in the Bible that says, “Rebuke Satan and he will flee from you.”

You might respond by saying didn’t Jesus rebuke Satan?

Yes, He did.

Then you ask, then why can’t I do it?

My answer is a question for you.

Did Jesus walk on water?

Yes.

Then why can’t you?

Maybe someday you’ll be able to do that.

I want to be around to watch when you do.

My point is this.

There is a difference between what the Bible describes, Moses parting the Red Sea, Samson killing a lion with his bare hands, Elijah going into heaven on a chariot and what it prescribes for us.

Those things are cool.

What we need to look for is what the Bible prescribes.

What it teaches us to do.

Some of the methods listed are things that are described.

Resisting Satan with the armor of God is the only thing we’re taught to do to defeat Satan.

There is one other thing we need to understand before we tackle the topic of defeating Satan.

We need to understand there isn’t just one kind of spiritual warfare but six types of spiritual warfare.

Before we jump into our topic of defeating Satan we need to understand the six different types of spiritual warfare.

Six Types of Spiritual Warfare

Unfortunately when people talk about spiritual warfare they invariable dump it all into one pot.

Since we’re talking about evil stuff I’m going to use a witches cauldron to represent all of the stuff that Satan does.

Everyone knows a little bit about spiritual warfare kind of like we all know a little about cooking.

Some of us know more and some are experts.

The average Christian knows something about Satan and demons.

They are the ones cooking up this mess.

It surprises me how often I hear people talking about Satan.

Satan and spiritual warfare is randomly injected into sermons, Bible studies and even personal conversations.

A common way this happens is when someone says, “Satan loves to . .

.” fill in the blank.

How many of you have heard a preacher or teacher says that?

INTERACTION: What are some of the ways people end this sentence, “Satan loves to _____________.”

Satan loves to destroy churches.

Satan loves to destroy marriages.

It frustrates me when people say that kind of thing because the Bible doesn’t say any of those things!

When people say that it just adds to the mystic of Satan.

It makes him seem more powerful than the Bible says he is and elevates him.

May I suggest that you stop talking about him in normal conversations and stop giving him credit for anything.

Let’s only say what the Bible says about Satan.

It frustrates me when people say that because it adds to the mystic of Satan.

It injects Satan into discussions that have nothing to do with him and makes him seem more powerful than the Bible says he is.

Stop talking about him.

Stop giving him credit for anything.

Let’s only say what the Bible says about Satan.

Let’s take the pot of the witches brew called spiritual warfare and see what’s in the pot, shall we?

There are six types of spiritual warfare found in the Bible.

[See handout.]

Here are the six types of spiritual warfare found in the Bible.

[See handout.]

Territorial - This is warfare in the unseen realm between Satan and his followers and God and His followers, good angels.

This warfare includes the spiritual oppression and control of territories of our world.