Spiritual Warfare - The Nature of our Enemy

Introduction

Genesis 22:17 KJV 1900

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

This is a model for the church age

We are to grow as a church, both spiritually and numerically.

God will do the multiplying!

We are to possess the gate of our enemies.

In the N.T., the two go hand-in-hand. We can’t do one without the other.

Body

We are at war. We are waging a spiritual battle for not only our own souls, but for the souls of our family. The souls of our co-workers and neighbors. The souls of this city.

That means we are waging a war against someone else. We have an enemy tonight that we’re fighting, struggling against, and seeking victory over.

Or, perhaps I should say, “enemies” plural.

Because the war that we’re waging is a multi-front war. We wage war on many different sides and our enemy will seek to use this to his advantage.

The design of this series:

Less theory, more hands-on, practical application. Actionable Intel.

Help us to see both the gravity of our calling, AND the great rewards waiting for us if we’ll reach out and take them by faith.

Our Enemies

Satan

DISCLAIMER: We do not seek to give satan glory or honor in this study, but we simply seek to understand the origins and the nature of our enemy so as to better fight against him.

His origins

Ezekiel 28:11–19 KJV 1900

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

satan is a created being

By no means on par with God

He’s not omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, etc.

He cannot read our thoughts

He was created a perfect being

Sometime after, iniquity was found in him and he sinned

He became violent

He became proud

His wisdom became corrupted

Because of his sin, God judged him.

He was cast as profane out of the mountain of God

God vowed to destroy him

Isaiah 14:12–17 KJV 1900

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; That opened not the house of his prisoners?

The details of his being cast out of heaven

The heights he fell from

The depths he was cast to

All of this because of pride

His desire to usurp God on the throne

His desire for all other created beings to worship him

His desires vs. his expected end

He desired to ascend the throne of God, but he will be cast down to hell

He desired to be feared and respected, yet when he is revealed, everyone will be very underwhelmed.

His nature

John 8:44 KJV 1900

44 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.

satan is a murderer

satan is a lier and a deceiver

satan hates truth and will do everything he can to destroy it

John 10:10 KJV 1900

10 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.

His strategies

2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV 1900

11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

We are to have an understanding of his strategies and tactics.

We are to use this information to our advantage against him.

Temptation, then Accusation

satan is called “the accuser of the brethren”

After he has tempted us to sin, he switches right around and begins accusing us before God.

1 John 2:1 KJV 1900

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Fear

Fear can take many forms

Fear of man

Fear of failure

Fear of success

Fear of pain

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV 1900

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Joshua 1:9 KJV 1900

9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Doubt

God’s character

God’s promises

God’s Word

Ourselves

It’s important for us to eliminate any doubts we may have

Mark 11:23 KJV 1900

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Matthew 14:31 KJV 1900

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Acts 10:20 KJV 1900

20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

Acts 11:12 KJV 1900

12 And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

God does NOT want us to be in doubt as to who He is or what He says or what He wants.

Discouragement

When faced with our own failures and struggles, it’s easy to get discouraged.

When something in our lives just won’t seem to let go. When we can’t seem to get victory over this thing, we can get discouraged.

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV 1900

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Romans 8:31 KJV 1900

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV 1900

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Distraction

Its very easy to lose focus on those things that are important. Those things that God has given us to do.

If possible, our enemy will throw everything he can at us in an attempt to get our eye off the ball.

Proverbs 4:25–27 KJV 1900

25 Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.

Luke 10:38–42 KJV 1900

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

lies / false doctrine / substitutes

satan has a substitute for every Godly doctrine

Oneness vs. trinity

Full immersion vs. sprinkling

Gender distinction vs. gender confusion

Absolute objective truth vs. subjective individual truth

satan is the father of lies and will use scripture (albeit warped and distorted) to confuse us.

Be careful where you get your information.

Be well versed in scripture.

Psalm 119:11 KJV 1900

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.

Joshua 1:8 KJV 1900

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Psalm 1:2–3 KJV 1900

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

His position

Ephesians 2:2 - Called the “prince of the power of the air”

John 12:31 - Called the “prince of this world”

II Corinthians 4:4 - Called the “god of this world”

satan is presently the one who heads up the world system

The resources of this world are being focused on moving all people everywhere away from the knowledge of God

The world system, of which satan is head, is designed to destroy our faith in Jesus Christ

We must avoid the world and separate ourselves from it

Not people, but the system itself

1 John 2:15–17 KJV 1900

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The love of God and the love of the world are forever contrasted and mutually exclusive.

Lust of the flesh

Drink

Sex

Food

Lust of the eyes

Graphic images

Movies and T.V. shows

Pride of life

Knowledge

Position

Conclusion

We fight against real, external, cunning enemies who hate us and who hate the God we serve.

This fight is real, and it’s for blood.

Understanding our enemy and how he operates is necessary in being able to effectively wage war against him.

God, in every area, and on all fronts, fights for us. Heals us when we’re wounded. Picks us up when we’ve fallen, and will give us ultimate victory if we endure to the end.