Do you know you have an unseen enemy? His name is satan, a fallen angel who lives and operates in the realm of the spirit. Because he is not seen, many do not believe that he exists or they do but not as a threat. This enemy has been around since before the earth was created and understands how to deceive us through our weaknesses.
His evil kingdom wages war against us by whatever means necessary whether it’s by tempting, discouraging or deceiving, and if we fall into his snare, we will be sinning against the Lord God. Only our Sovereign God can be everywhere at the same time, however, satan has many helpers called evil spirits committed to the same war. While many evil spirits can possess the body of a person who is not saved,( see Luke 8:30) they cannot live in a Believer but could still harass them. Wherever there is confusion, separation, war, and disunity there he is.
Our enemy plans are to destroy us, or at least our relationship with the Lord. Getting to know his strategies and fighting back should be our goal, or his plans would be accomplished. And we should remember that the weapons of our warfare are going to be useless if we have not submitted ourselves to the Lord God.
Remember, he can only have a stronghold over us if we give in to his lies and deception. Once we know the truth, our enemy will never be able to deceive us, even if his lies are disguised as truth.
Our Weapons must be spiritual.
2 Corinthians 10:4 AMP version explains it this way, The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. In other words, the only way to fight this enemy is with spiritual weapons, and submitting to God is our first move, that is if we want to win.
Ephesians 6:10-18 gives a list of our full armor. It includes prayer, faith, salvation, peace, righteousness, the scriptures, and being watchful.
Different ways to defeat satan.
- Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee. James 4:7
- Put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18
- Be sober-minded and alert. 1 Peter 5:8
- Forgive others. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
- All types of prayer. Ephesians 6:18
- Obey God. 1 Peter 1:14
- Do not be led by what the flesh desires. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5,
- Humble ourselves. 2 Chronicles 7:14,
- Confess our sins. 1 John 1:9
- Do not be ignorant of the devices of the devil. 2 Corinthians 2:11
- Do not take vengeance, it belongs to the Lord. Romans 12:19
- Live peaceably with all men. Romans 12:18
- Do not Judge lest you be judged. Luke 6:37
- Decree Gods word in faith, your tongue has power. Proverbs 18:21
- Praise and worship. 2 Chronicles 20:18-24
- Husband and wives must agree on how long to fast. 1 Corinthians 7:5
Names used in the scriptures for satan.
- Devil, serpent or dragon: Rev 20:2
- Father of lies: John 8:44
- Angel of light: 2 Cor 11:14-15
- Son of the morning: Isaiah 14:12
- Adversary: 1 Peter 5:8
- The tempest: Gen 3:1. 1 Corinthians 7:5
- The deceiver: 2 John 7.
- The accuser: Rev 12:10
- The enemy or the avenger: Ps 8:2
- Evil one: Mat 6:13
- The destroyer: Job 15:21
- God of this evil world: 2 Cor 4:4
- Ruler of demons (Beelzebub): Mat 12:24
- Prince of the bottomless pit or angel of the abyss: Rev 9:11
Reasons why we should not fear satan.
- Once we submit to God, we are given authority over all the enemies power. Luke 10:19
- If we have faith it destroys all the darts the enemy sends our way. Ephesians 6:16
- The word of God is a sword and speaking it as Jesus did, in faith, will always be successful when we are tempted or in a fearful situation. Hebrew 4:12, Ephesians 6:17. Matthew 4:1-11
- Angels have been given charge over us and they are fighting in the unseen realm. 2 Kings 6:16, Joshua 5:13-15, Psalm 91:10-11
- God is on our side. Romans 8:31
Please tell your friends about this lesson
