1 John 3:8 'The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the Devil.'
Our temptation in the west is to ignore and disregard the role of the Devil in the Christian life.
Temptation is to think that the spiritual battle doesn';t affect Christians whereas the Christian is 'the bullseye'. The armour of God is for the Christian not the non-Christian.
1 John 5:19 'the whole world lies in his power.'
We tend to divide the world into two worlds 'supernatural' and 'natural'. Bible divides the world into 'creator' and 'creation'. Satan is a created being. There is no comparison between them. It is not equal forces against each other. To compare Satan to God is like comparing an ant with an atomic bomb. Satan is a created being and so can not be in all places at all times.
Colossians 2:15 Jesus disarmed Satan
Satan is under God's control and can only operate under God's control, like a dog on a chain. Satan can bark and he can snarl but he can only operate in the boundaries that God sets.
Satan does not know everything.
Satan works through an organised network of demonic powers. Deceiving spirits.
1 Timothy 4:1 the spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
How does Satan work? He puts thoughts in our minds.
1 Chronicles 29:1 - Satan incited David to take up a census. Temptation to take away confidence in God and place it in our own resources.
John 13:2 - The Devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot...
Acts 5:3 'Ananias how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit?'
The strategies of Satan:
- Temptation
- Accusation
- Deception
Satan cannot stop you from completing the race but he does shout from the sidelines.
How to deal with the thoughts? Sit down and give up? Argue with them? Or... ignore them, take thoughts captive.
Deception is Satan's primary strategy against us.
Eph. 4:27 'If we don't deal with our anger we give the Devil a foothold.'
Satan's greatest access to our lives is through unforgiveness.
With our western worldview we tend to look for the activity opf the demonic in dramatics sessions: someone rolling on the floor etc.
Actually it can be found in the less dramatic, through unforgiveness, bitterness, gossip.
The fight isn't about ownership or possession but about influence. Satan wants to neutralise us or further his agenda.
Jess's testimony: for most of us the enemies attacks aren't as dramatic but they are still real.
Our defence:
- understand your position: with him who is seated far above all things Eph. 1:19-22
We have been given authority to go and make disciples of all nations.
- Submit to God and the Devil will flee from you. Satan has no power whatsoever to stop us from running to Jesus.
You/I have no cause to be afraid of demons. We don't need to be intimidated by things that go bump in the night. Demons are petrified by Christians who know their position in Christ. Demons have no power over Christians except what we give them.
Demons in the room?
Germs in the room. Appropriate response? Eat well, live well.
Appropriate response to demons in the room?
When doctors didn't know there were germs they didn't sterilise their instruments etc.
1 John 5:18 '...the evil one cannot harm him.'
Your authority over satan doesn't increase with volume - you needn't shout at satan.
Guard your minds: God never bypasses our minds. Don't put your mind into neutral. There is no mindless Christianity. We don't need a power encounter with the Devil, that happened on the cross. What we need is a truth encounter.
The real issue isn't so much where the thought came from but is it true. We are told to take every thought captive to Christ regardless of it's origin. Is this thought true?
Jesus prayed 'don't take them out of the world but protect them from the evil one.' How? 'Sanctify them by the word of truth.' Don't get obsessed with demons, that's letting satan set the agenda. Truth, fight lies, fight the enemy with truth.
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