You Can't fight the Devil Alone

al align=center style='text-align:center'>You Can’t Fight the Devil AloneEphesians 6

In a battle there are three things a soldier must know.

Must know who the enemy is
Must know his own equipment
Must know his own area of responsibility

We as believers and as a church we are in a battle against the devil.

Some facts to start off with.

There is a real devil.

He does not have a pitch fork

He is not in hell right now – he is wondering the earth

1 Pet 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

We can have victory over every battle with the enemy because of Jesus.

We loose battles with the enemy when we try to fight alone.

You can’t fight the devil alone.

You don’t have to.

Each local assembly of believers is a division of the Kings army.

It is when a soldier in this army wanders out on his/her own that the problems arise.

For the next 3 weeks we are going to look at this battle we are in by looking at the three things I mentioned at the beginning.

Know your enemy

Know your weapons

Know your role

Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Eph 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Eph 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

Eph 6:15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Eph 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Eph 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Eph 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The enemy in this case is Satan which mean adversary.

Mat 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

Satan is totally opposed to God, God’s Son, God’s purposes, he is opposition to the church and because we are the church he is fighting against us.

People respond in one of two ways to these truths.

Some become obsessed by thoughts of Satan.
Others discount his work in this world.

Both of these are extreme.

The balance is: Satan should be taken seriously, but not too seriously because He has been defeated on the Cross.

Let us look at some of the Characteristics of the enemy – Satan.

1. He is a slanderer

The word devil means to “accuse”
He accuses God to Man

He confuses people about he nature and work of God in their lives
“God is waiting to punish you” Satan
“God has forgotten you”
“God has left you”
“You are too bad for God to save”
“He won’t forgive you this time”
“Where is God now?”
These are the thoughts Satan puts in our minds in accusation against God.

He did it in the Garden

God is holding something back from you – questioned God’s character

Let’s refute these with the truth

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Mat 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

He accuses Man to God

“Satan is quick to point out the obvious faults of man as if God is not excruciatingly aware of them”
Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

2. Satan is strong

It is interesting in the Ephesian passage that the metaphor goes from Soldier to wrestler.
From full armor to no armor
The point is - compared to the devils power – we are powerless – apart from Jesus
We must never underestimate the power of the devil – the enemy

He has the power to deceive
He has the power to counterfeit
He has the power to steal, to kill, to destroy

3. Satan is subtle

Stand against the devil’s schemes – craftiness
2 Cor 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Schemes – come from the root word for methods
He hasn’t changed his methods since the Garden

A better life – He doesn’t want you to be all you can be
A life of freedom – you shouldn’t have any restrictions
A life of knowledge – you should know all that you need to know
A life of choice – you should have a choice in the matter

4. Satan is sinful

Eph 6:16 - the evil one.

Rotten through to the core

The devil uses what was created and given by God only for evil

Stuart Briscoe says this, “His methods are dirty, his motives are reprehensible. He has no moral integrity and will adapt anything to suit his purposes and use anybody to further his ends. His scruples are nonexistent. He is unmoved by pain and unconcerned by anguish. He feeds on famine and builds on destruction. He is filthy in his intent and formidable in his ability.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

5. Satan is structured

Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

While it is impossible to fully understand the structure of the enemy forces there are some things we can know

Satan is not alone in his work

Demons are at his command
There seems to be a hierarchy of command

Satan is not omnipresent

He is not everywhere like God
When he is one place he is not in another

He is at work in this world

“the powers of this dark world”

He is at work in the spiritual realm

6. Satan is spiritual

Eph 6.12 - spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

There is a spiritual realm in which we can’t see
The battle we face with Satan
“Satan specializes in touching the human spirit and challenging the rights of Christ to this part of man.”
“He is in vicious conflict with the risen Lord over the souls of men, both before they come to Christ and after they are found in Him.”
Before Christ Satan had blinded our eyes

In Christ our spiritual eyes are open
Satan can’t close them
But He tries to confuse us

Satan is not to be taken lightly.

He is a powerful foe.

You were not made to fight him alone.

You have fellow soldiers to fight with you.

Together and through Christ we can have victory.