We Must Respect Our Foe, But Not Fear Him. Become Acutely Aware Of His Methods, But Not Be Preoccupied By Them Unless youve been holed up in a closet somewhere you have had to have seen the many retired military men and women on the TV news telling us about all the different strategies and schemes of the Iraqis and various terrorist groups. They have computer generated models and illustrations that help us to understand what is going on in the way and how our men and women can overcome. Its not that the United States went into this battle with the thought of losing, but they did go in with a level of respect for the enemy and spent much time and poured over much intelligence as they planned their battle strategy. We need to do something very similar as we engage in spiritual warfare. Put on all of Gods armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. Ephesians 6:11 Once Paul agreed to forgive a brother along with the Corinthian church...so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are very familiar with his evil schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:11 Like Paul, we need to be aware of Satans tactics if we are going to win the war. Lets look at four helpful ways we can become aware: 1. Satans Names Reveal His Tactics Satan (adversary) Devil (slanderer) Lucifer (son of the morning) Beelzebub (prince of demons) Belial (without profit) Evil one Tempter Prince of this world Accuser of the brethren Representations include a Serpent, a Dragon, an Angel of Light. 2. Satan Attacks Gods Program, The Church, By... False philosophies - Col. 2:8 False religions - 1 Cor. 10:19 False ministers - 2 Cor. 11:14-15 False doctrine - 1 John 2:18 False disciples - Matt. 13 False morals - 2 Thess. 2:7 3. Satan Attacks Gods People By . . . Directing governments - Dan. 10:13 Deceiving men - 2 Cor. 4:4 Destroying life - Heb. 2:14 Persecuting the saints - Rev. 2:10 Preventing service - 1 Thess. 2:18 Promoting schisms - 2 Cor. 2:10-11 Planting doubt - Gen. 3:1-2 Provoking sin and Anger - Eph. 4:26-27 Pride - 1 Tim. 3:6; Worry - Matt. 13:22; Self-reliance - 1 Chron. 21:1; Discouragement - 1 Pet. 5:6-8; Worldliness - 1 John 2:16; Lying - Acts 5:3; Immorality - 1 Cor. 5:1-2 Producing sects/cults - 1 Tim. 4:1 4. Satans Power Is Limited He is created, therefore not omniscient or infinite He can be resisted by the Christian - James 4:7 God places limitations on him - Job 1:12 Balance and wisdom are crucial in our assessment of spiritual opposition. To assign too much or too little credit to the reality of demonic activity is to error greatly.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 11:16:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015