STRATEGIES OF SATAN & HIS DEMONS

Once there was a boxer who was being badly beaten.  Battered and bruised, he leaned over the ropes and said to his trainer, “Throw in the towel!  This guy is killing me!”

The Trainer said, “Oh, no he’s not.  He’s not even hitting you.  He hasn’t laid a glove on you!”  At that point the boxer wiped the blood away from his eye and said, “Well, then, I wish you’d watch that referee.  He sure is tough!”  Some people are like that trainer, they deny the obvious.

3.             Do you believe that Satan & demons are real?

4.             Jesus sure did.

   On one occasion Jesus said, ‘‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?  And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.  But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Mt. 12:25f).

5.             Jesus tells us two things about Satan & demons.

a.       First, Jesus believed in them.  For He personally recognized them by name.

b.      Second, Jesus recognized that Satan has a kingdom.  His kingdom is this world (1 Jn. 5:19). 

6.             Jesus not only believed in Satan & his troops, but He fought against them.  Jesus spent 25% of His ministry casting out evil spirits  and demons.  75 times in the synoptic gospels Jesus casted out evil spirits in ordinary people.  Jesus realized how real Satan & demons are, and we better as well.

7.             Over the years, some Christians have had the misconception that Satan & his demons are no longer active today.

8.             They say that they were active when Christ was on the earth, but their activity is no longer in existence because Jesus defeated them on the cross. 

9.             It is true that Jesus defeated and disarmed Satan on the cross (Col. 2:15), however, the Bible teaches in (Rev. 20:7-10) that Satan will not be completely bound up or destroyed until after the second coming of Jesus.  So this means that Satan & his comrade's are still active today.

10.        In the Bible, we are warned time and time again to be aware of our enemy.

   (Eph. 6:11-12)  "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil’s schemes.  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."

a.          Paul is telling us that we have a fight on our hands.  Our enemy is not against flesh and blood but our enemy is the “rulers, authorities, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” Our enemy is Satan & his demons. 

   (1 Pet. 4:8)  "Your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

b.          A lion is a predator.  It constantly roams around looking for helpless animals to attack and kill.  In a similar way, the Devil roams around the earth looking for Christians and non-Christians to attack.

11.        Have you ever wondered how Satan can attack so many people all around the world virtually at the same time?  We must understand that Satan does not have the same qualities as God.  He is a created being; a fallen angel.  Since he is a created being, he is not omnipresent.  He cannot be everywhere at the same time.  He is finite.  So he sends his demons to do some of his dirty work.

12.        What are demons?  Demons are simple evil spirits who try to take people away from God and His truths.  Demons are fallen angels who have rebelled against God. In (Mk. 3:22) Jesus calls Satan “the prince of demons."  Satan is the ruler of the demons, who are his agents.  They work together.

13.        People who say that Satan & demons are not active today are being deceived by Satan who according to (John 8:44) is the father of lies.  He wants people to believe that he is not active today.

14.        Brethren, we need to open our eyes and realize that we are in spiritual warfare with Satan & his troops.  We must take our heads out of the sand and stand up and fight.  We must fight in the power and authority of the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, and the King of Kings.  Its time we fight in the name and power of Jesus Christ.  Amen!

THIS MORNING, WE WILL LOOK AT SOME STRATEGIES AND TACTICS THAT SATAN USES TO ATTACK US.  THEN, NEXT SUNDAY MORNING, LORD WILLING, WE WILL LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DEFEAT AND CONQUER SATAN & HIS DEMONS.

AT THIS TIME, WE WILL EXPLORE TWO TACTICS THAT SATAN USES TO ATTACK US.

I.                           FIRST, SATAN IS A DECEIVER WHO IS OUT TO MISLEAD US.

1.             In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam that he could eat from any tree in the garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

2.             But Satan, the mighty deceiver, came along and told Eve that it was OK to eat from the tree of knowledge because if she did, her eyes would be opened, and she would be like God, knowing good and evil.  And so the woman ate and gave some to her husband and he ate as well.

   (Gen. 3:13)  “Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”  The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

3.             Satan is the master deceiver.  A deceiver is someone who persuades people to believe in something that is not true.  Satan & his troops are out to mislead us; and to persuade us to believe in something that is not true.

4.             How does Satan mislead us?  One way he misleads us is by planting misleading thoughts in our minds.

   In (1 Chron.), David took a census of Israel even though God did not advise him to do so.  And because he did that, God sent a plague on Israel and 70,000 men died.  -- Why did David take an unauthorized census?  Where did he get the idea to do that?

   (1 Chron. 21:1)  "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel."  Incited means to "stimulate or entice.”

5.             In other words, Satan planted a thought in David’s mind to do something that God did not approve of.

6.             In (Mt. 16:22), Peter rebuked Jesus for revealing that He must go to Jerusalem and be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  Who incited Peter to discourage Jesus from going to the cross?  Satan!

   (Mt. 16:22) Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

a.       Jesus knew that Satan was the one who planted the thought in Peter’s mind, which was designed to hinder Jesus from fulfilling His mission on the cross.

7.             Ananias and Sapphira, who were believers (v. 32), sold a piece of property to give to the apostles.  However, before they gave the money, they decided to keep some of it for themselves.  Because they lied to Spirit, and kept some of the money, they died.  Where in the world did they get the idea to lie to the Spirit and keep some of the money?  Satan!

   (Acts 5:3)  Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart.”

8.             It is obvious from examining these passages that Satan can plant misleading thoughts in our minds.  He entices us to do things that are contrary to the will of God.

9.             Here are some random thoughts that Satan darts at people.

a.       You don't need to go to church in order to be saved.  All church people are hypocrites anyhow.

b.      You don't need to be baptized to be saved. 

c.       It's all right to cheat on your spouse; no one will ever find out.

d.      During our anger, Satan tells us, "Go ahead get revenge."

e.       Your not a good Christian, look at all of the evil thoughts you have; you might as well give up on your faith, for God will never save a person like you.

f.         To the teenagers, Satan plants these thoughts: It's all right to drink alcohol and do drugs; everyone else is doing it.  It won't harm you.  

g.      Go ahead and have sex before marriage; God doesn’t care.  He wants you to have fun.

10.        Satan hurls all kinds of misleading thoughts in our minds.

ILLUSTRATION:

In August of 1993, Jerry Simon, a minister in Huntsville Alabama, was sitting in his office doing his normal duties when all of a sudden Eileen Janeciz walked in and shot him in the chest and back for no apparent reason.  Mr. Simon was murdered.

Before her arrest, Janeciz held police at bay for 8 hours, reading passages from Anton LeVay’s Satanic Bible.  Did Satan have something to do with Jerry Simon’s death?  I believe so.  We should never underestimate the influence that Satan & his demons have.  They are powerful and have brought many good people down.

11.        Brethren, Satan is the mighty deceiver.  He is after our souls.  He wants us to commit sin after sin so that we will alienate ourselves from God.

12.        He is good at what he does.  He can plant thoughts in our minds, so beware, and do not get taken in by his deceitful ways.  Don't follow his misleading thoughts.  Stand strong in God's ways and not Satan's ways.

13.        Even though I am a Minister, someone who is aware of his tactics, he constantly plants evil thoughts in my mind.  He will do the same to you.  He is after us.  We must be prepared and alert (1 Pet. 5:8) and recognize when we are under attack.  He is a deceiver.

II.                         SECOND, SATAN IS A TEMPTER WHO TEMPTS US TO SIN.

1.             Satan will come at us with every weapon he has.  He doesn’t care who we are or how much power and influence we have.  He goes after every man, woman and child.  We are his enemy and he is after our souls.  He will not stop until Jesus comes again.

2.             Satan is so bold and brave that he tempted Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God.

   (Read Mt. 4:1-11).

3.             If Satan will come after Jesus, he will certainly come after us.  So be prepared.

4.             Satan entices us to commit an unwise or immoral act.   Usually the temptation that is thrown our way is something very pleasurable, something that we want, but yet is against God’s will.

5.             He and his troops know our weak points.  They know exactly what to tempt us with.

ILLUSTRATION:

Satan could drive up in a Budweiser truck full of beer, get out and pour me a tall glass of suds.  I would not be tempted to drink it. 

However, if he drove up in a truck full of Blue Bell ice cream, I would be sunk.

6.             He knows what to tempt us with.

a.       If lust is what you struggle with, then Satan will tempt you to look at pornography and X-rated videos.

b.      If gossip is your downfall, then Satan will entice you to talk about others.  He will convince you that it is the all right to do so.

c.       If addiction is what you struggle with, then Satan will bombard you with opportunities to indulge in alcohol and drugs.  

7.             Until we are willing to say “NO” to those temptations, then Satan & his companions will not stop.  They will bombard us with tempting desires.  Everyday they will tempt us hoping that we will stumble.

8.             Parents, Satan is even after your children.

9.             No one is safe from his attacks. 

ILLUSTRATION:

Dr. Neil Anderson, who holds a doctorate from Pepperdine University, told this story in his book “The Bondage Breaker:”

One day a student of his told him that their little boy was caught lying and stealing.  They asked their son why he did it and he said, “Daddy, I had to do it.  Satan said he would kill you if I didn’t.”  Instead of spanking him for blaming Satan for his actions, he confronted the enemy’s lie and hugged his son for trying to save his life. 

I told you earlier that Satan plants thoughts in our minds.  Can he at times do that to children?  Absolutely!  Before you discipline your children for bad behavior, ask them if they were having thoughts, which provoked them to misbehave.  And assess their answer to see whether or not Satan may be heavily influencing them.  Of course children like adults are still responsible for their actions, however, it is helpful to determine if Satan has a reign in your children's life.

10.        How can your children get tangled up with Satan?

a.       When you give your children money to buy heavy metal rock and roll tapes and money to go to a rock concert, you are sending them to Satan's church.

ILLUSTRATION:

Several years ago, a Michigan teenager shot his older brother in the head.  When the Police arrived he was arrested.  While they were searching the boys room for evidence, they found a (hood, black robe, an upside down cross, black candle, card 666) & (11 cassette tapes of Motley Crew, Black Sabbath, and other heavy medal tapes).  They also found a book that was given to him at a rock concert that listed step-by-step procedures on how to perform a satanic ritual. 

b.      Parents this is a very real Devil and if you expose your children to him, you may lose them.

c.       Get rid of those satanic music tapes from your house and do not send them to rock concerts.

d.      Don’t buy them occult toys such as (Dungeons & Dragons; Ouchgy Board; or Tera Cards).  These are of the Devil.

e.       Don’t send your children to occult movies such as (Exorcist; Omen).  The Devil is working through these movies and could influence your children to seek satanic power.

11.        Parents if you love your children, and I know that you do, please beware that Satan & his demons are after your children.  Protect them in the power and blood of Jesus Christ.

THIS MORNING, I AM GOING TO PROVIDE A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE CAN USE TO CONQUER SATAN & HIS TROOPS.

I.                           FIRST, TO DEFEAT SATAN WE MUST TURN TO GOD FOR VICTORY.

1.      Time and time again, the Bible instructs us to rely upon God to deliver us from our enemy.

• In (Mt. 6:13), Jesus taught His Disciples how to pray.  And one part of that prayer says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

a.      According to this verse, who can deliver us from the evil one? Our Father in heaven!

• In (James 4:7), the Holy Spirit inspired James to write, “Submit yourselves, then to God.  Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

2.      Before we can resist the Devil, we must submit to God!

• In (Eph. 6:10-11), the Bible says, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil’s schemes.”

3.      It is clear from these three passages that if we want to defeat Satan, we must rely upon God.

ILLUSTRATION:

A little girl was once asked how she defeats Satan.  She said, “When Satan comes knocking at the door of my heart, I send God to answer the door.  When Satan sees God, he says, “Ooops, I am sorry, I must have the wrong house.”

4.      The reason why we need God’s strength and help in battling Satan is because we as humans are powerless when it comes to battling Satan alone.  He is too strong for us to fight alone.  We need God’s strength to help us conquer Satan.

ILLUSTRATION:

In the Encourager, Charles Mylander writes:  “Sunrise was dawning when Los Angeles motorcycle police officer Bob Vernon saw a red pickup truck speed through a stop sign.  This guy must be late to work, he thought to himself.  He turned on his emergency lights and radioed that he was in pursuit.  The pickup pulled over, and the officer approached.

“Meanwhile in the truck, the driver thought, The cops already know!  He was scared.  He rested his hand on the same gun he had used a few moments before to rob a twenty-four-hour market.  The sack of stolen money was beside him on the seat.

“The officer said, ‘Good morning, sir, may I see your…’

“He never finished the sentence.  The driver shoved his gun toward the policeman's chest and fired from just inches away.  The cop was knocked flat seven feet away.

“A few seconds later, to the shock of the criminal, the officer stood up, pulled his service revolver, and fired twice.  The first bullet went through the open window and smashed the windshield.  The second tore through the door and ripped into the driver’s left leg.

“Don’t shoot!  The thief screamed, throwing the gun and sack of money out the pickup window.

“What saved the policeman’s life was dozens of layers of Kevlar, the super strong fabric used for bulletproof vests.  Only three-eighths of an inch thick, Kevlar can stop bullets cold.”

5.      In Ephesians 6, the Bible instructs every Christian to put on the full armor of God.  Only God can shield us from the deadly bullets of sin that Satan fires at us.

6.      When you are under spiritual attack, meaning that you are being tempted to sin, or an evil thought crosses your mind tempting you to do wrong, the first thing you need to do is go to God in prayer and ask Him to help you to defeat it.

a.       If you are angry, and are about to say something ugly, go to God in prayer and ask Him for help.

b.      If you are about to lust over another human being, go to God in prayer.

c.       If you are about to gossip about someone, go to God in prayer.

7.      Go to God in prayer and ask Him to give you the strength to overcome the sin.  When you ask, He will help you escape that temptation.

8.      To defeat Satan, we must first turn to God.  We need God's assistance to win the war against Satan and his troops.

II.                         SECOND, TO DEFEAT SATAN, WE MUST RESIST HIM.

• (James 4:7)  “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

1.      The Greek word translated “resist” (antistete) literally means “take a stand against, oppose, or resist."

2.      Resisting Satan means opposing him, turning away from him, and having nothing to do with him and the temptations that he throws at us.

3.      A great passage of Scripture that we should use to resist the Devil is in (Titus 2:12) which says, “say no to ungodliness and worldly passions.”

a.       Often times, we say maybe to sin instead of no, leaving the option open for us to say yes.  This is not the way to resist Satan or his temptations.

b.      Have you ever had a salesperson try to sell you something at your front door?  Often times we don’t want to tell them no, so we will tell them to come back later when our spouse is home.  Guess what!  Since we told the salesperson maybe, he or she will come back that same night to make the sell.  Salespeople are persistent.

c.       If we say maybe to sin and the Devil, then he will keep coming back until we say no.  To resist sin and the Devil, we must say a firm “NO” and shut the door.

ILLUSTRATION:

One Haitian Minister told this story.

A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2000.00.  Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price.  After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail hanging from just over the door.

After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell.  So first, the owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the nail he still owned.  Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

4.      If we leave one small sin in our lives, the Devil will return causing us misery.  We must resist Satan.  And if we do, he will flee from us.

III.                       THIRD, TO DEFEAT SATAN, WE NEED TO GO ON SPIRITUAL OFFENSE INSTEAD OF SPIRITUAL DEFENSE.

1.       At times, we get caught up playing defense with Satan.  We stand back, hoping that he will leave us alone.  We wait for him to make all of the moves.  We need to turn the tables and go after Satan.  We must attack Satan when he attacks us.

A.       THE ULTIMATE WEAPON TO USE FOR OFFENSE IS “THE WORD OF GOD” AND “THE POWER OF JESUS NAME.”

1.      When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in (Mt. 4:1-11), He stopped Satan cold in his tracts, by moving from defense to offense.  He began to conquer Satan by the power and authority of God’s Word. 

a.      Satan said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 

(1)            Jesus answered, “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

b.     Then Satan took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written: He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

(1)            Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

c.      Again Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

(1)            Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!  For it is written:  ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

2.      Jesus resisted the Devil’s temptations because He used the power and authority of the Word of God.  He turned from defense to offense.  He went from being pursed to being the purser.  He used the Word of God to attack Satan.  The Bible says in (Ephesians 6:7) that God’s Word is a sword that we are to use in combat.

3.      How do we use the Word of God to attack Satan? 

a.       Let's imagine that you are being tempted to say something unkind to someone.

(1)            Before you commit the sin, defeat Satan by quoting (Eph. 4:29) to yourself or out loud “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.”

(a)            When you quote a Scripture, it disarms the desire and the temptation.

b.      We need to memorize Scripture so we can defeat Satan.  The Bible says in (Ps. 119:11), that we need to hide the Word of God in our hearts, so that we will not sin against Him.  Whatever sin you are tempted to commit, memorize a specific verse and use it's power to defeat Satan.

4.      I believer that not only are we to quote Scripture to defeat Satan, but we are to use the power of Jesus' name.  There is power in the name of Jesus.

a.          Believers are baptized into His name (Acts 2:38).

b.         Believers are forgiven in His name (1 Jn. 2:12).

c.          Believers pray through His name (Col. 3:17).

d.         Believers have life in His name (Jn. 20:31).

e.          Believers can defeat Satan and his troops in His name.

(1)       In (Acts 16:18), the Apostle Paul was having some trouble with a slave girl who was demoned possessed because she kept shouting “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

(2)       Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”  At that moment the spirit left her.

(3)       In (Luke 10:17), Jesus had sent 72 disciples out to minister to the people.  And after their journey they came up to Jesus and said, “Lord even the demons submit to us in your name.”

5.      My friends there is power in the name of Jesus.  When you are tempted, and recognize that Satan is coming after you with his full artillery, go to the Father in prayer and ask Him to help you defeat Satan & his troops in power of Jesus Name.

CONCLUSION:

1.       Whether we believe it or not, or like it or not, we are in spiritual warfare.  Our enemy is after our souls and we must be alert and ready to fight. 

ILLUSTRATION:

Perhaps more than any other leader in the 20th century, Winston Churchill rallied a nation to believe in what it could do.  His speeches during World War II not only express resolution, but a profound peace of mind and a feeling of “rightness.”  Here are some of his words to England and the world:

“You ask what is our policy?  I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and all the strength that God can give us…You ask, What is our aim?  I can answer in one word: Victory…at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for with victory there is no survival.

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

2.       Brethren, this should be our attitude as well. 

a.       We will fight with all of our hearts against Satan & his demons.

b.      We will never surrender.

c.       Whatever it takes, we will have victory.

3.       To defeat Satan, we must do several things. 

a.       First, we must turn to God for His power and strength.

b.      Second, we must resist the Devil.

c.       Lastly, we must go on spiritual offense and use the Word of God and the power of Jesus' name.

4.       I hope and pray that this lesson has equipped you with enough artillery to defeat Satan.  Presently, if you are losing the battle with Satan and would like assistance from God's soldiers, we are here to battle with you, pray with you and help you in anyway we can.  If you are subject to the Lord's invitation, please come as we stand and sing.