Satans War Against Us, Part 1 Schemes and Strategies

Certain Of What We Do Not See, #5 our Lord to evict the demons that agitate or influence them. You need to concern Satan's War Against Us yourself only with the ones that INTERPart 1: Schemes and Strategies
FERE with the freedom Jesus promises In this segment, as well as the next two, you, your family, or those close to you. well examine the schemes and strategies Newsletter 1999/0809, of the demonic forces that are battling (Explore: Impudence) the followers of Jesus. The apostle Paul deliberately warned us to NOT be UNAWARE of the devils schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). Satans such a crafty spiritual foe because he uses deceit and illusion to disguise himself. One of Satans strategies is to suck you in to such focus on demons that you lose sight of your love and your purpose in Jesus. This has been the consequence faced by many who start up so-called Deliverance ministries.

The enemy of our soul masquerades as an angel of light, so we shouldnt be sur- Studies have shown that people become prised that his demonic servants do the LIKE those on whom they emotionally focus. So, depending on whom you same thing. focus, you can become like Satan or like Satans agents permeate Christian com- Jesus. munities as wolves amid the sheep. They subtly twist Scripture to misinterpret Your Position In Christ While Gods grace and push an agenda that Experiencing His Promises demeans the Lordship of Jesus in a Living your POSITION in Christ, and experiencing His PROMISES to you believers life (2 Corinthians 11:14). should always be foremost in your heart We want to clarify the schemes and and in your service to Him. We want to strategies of the devil so that youll stand equip you to deal with demons ONLY WHEN THEY INTERFERE with these two firm in the onslaught. righteous goals. This is spiritual war, and, To be foreThe scriptural way to deal with every warned is to be forearmed. matter here on earth is to set our heavenAt the same time, we ARENT encourag- ly Father and His Son Jesus as the central ing you to become a demon hunter, or to focus of your life. specialize in demonic matters. You need to KNOW about the enemys tactics. But, To that end, lets review the relational your FOCUS should always be firmly on priorities of the Restoration Diagram. Everything well share with you is Jesus and His purpose for your life! designed to help you deepen your relaAs well share in Part 2 of the Freedom In tional priorities with our Father and Jesus series, Demolishing Strongholds, Jesus, your home, and your fellowship in every follower of Jesus has authority in homes. 1
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If youre not familiar with the Hebraic Him, lets take a closer look at the foundations behind this diagram, visit our schemes of Satan. website, <Restorationministries.org> Or, see our Jesus In Your Home video series. By their very nature, schemes are disguised in deceit. Thats why theyre so Do you know our PURPOSE for helping effective. you understand Satans schemes and strategies, as well as his demonic hierar- In one situation, Jesus addressed a group chy? We want to help you effectively of Jewish people who had believed wage the spiritual warfare our Lord has SOME of His message but didnt yield in called you to, in the way He prescribes. trust to Him as Lord. As in any kind of warfare, you cant just enter the battle unprepared. Several biblical points deal specifically with your responsibility in the spiritual warfare raging around you: The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils WORK (1 John 3:8b). And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will DRIVE OUT DEMONS... (Mark 16:17). They were trying to justify their acceptability through a false assumption that their physical descent from Abraham would save them. You belong to YOUR FATHER, THE DEVIL, and you want to carry out your fathers desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a LIAR and the FATHER OF LIES (John 8:44).

The God of peace will soon crush Satan Satans goal is to cause all of humanity to under YOUR FEET (Romans 16:20a). be out of fellowship with God. Hell do all he can to hinder the followers of Jesus Our Father has called YOU to be His from daily living in covenant union with hands, feet, heart and mouth. As a fol- our Father and His Son, Jesus. lower of Jesus you need to be about completing the tasks our Lord has assigned And DECEIT is Satans chief weapon to preyou. If youre living His Word through vent an intimate relationship with our Lord. the power of His Spirit, youll have NO FEAR of the devil or his work. Think back to when God approached Eve after shed eaten the forbidden fruit. And when youre garbed in your He asked her straightforwardly, What is Ephesians, Chapter 6 spiritual armor, this you have done? She candidly you can stand firm against the powers of admitted, The serpent DECEIVED me, darkness, and overcome them by the and I ate (Genesis 3:13). authority of Jesus. Believers today are being deceived by Now, that youre confident that your Satan in a variety of ways. For instance, position is in Christ and your focus is on how many people whove attended 2
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church for years rationalize their reli- But they IGNORE the host of others that gious practices with no thought as to indicate salvation is found at the END of whether theyre scriptural or not? our earthly journey when our names are proclaimed before the hosts of heaven. What we mean by this is that there are so many types of worship experiences that Take, for example, Pauls command to lack any biblical foundation. Many con- CONTINUE to work out your salvation gregation leaders follow approaches that with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) work in the world system but have nothing to do with Gods Word. Or, what do you think Jesus means when He says, he who stands firm TO THE And what about so many competing END will be saved (Matthew 24:13)? doctrines? The 22,000 rival denominations cant ALL be correct in their diverse (Explore: Christian Halakhahs, chapter 2) creeds and religious practices! To keep from falling into a snare of Church councils from the second and demonic deceit, each of us must approthird centuries were heavily influenced priate the integrity of the Bereans whom by the pagan Greek philosophy and Paul commended, worldview. The decisions from these councils have had a huge impact on Now the Bereans were of more noble todays denominations. For the most character than the Thessalonians, for part, church councils interpreted the they received the message with great Scriptures through the lens of demonic eagerness and examined the Scriptures Hellenism rather than through the God- every day to see if what Paul said was given Hebraic foundations of the first true (Acts 17:11). followers of Jesus. Let me ask you: The demonic weapon of Deceit is found Have you personally taken the time to in any doctrine that doesnt weigh ALL scrutinize your own faith practices in the Scriptures that apply to a topic being light of Gods Word? addressed. Does just the thought of doing this inspire you, or intimidate you? For instance, the earliest followers of Jesus believed that a person experiences Deceit: Satan Isnt Real salvation when He stands before the One of Satans greatest successes has Judgment Throne. However, many faith been to convince people, including a communities falsely teach that youre large number of those who call themsaved at the moment of conversion selves Christian, that he ISNT REAL. when you agree with certain verses. In fact, pollster George Barna found that Proponents of this deception, which over 50% of Christians dont even became popular just a few centuries ago, believe Satan exists. select particular passages to support their That lie not only nullifies a lot of Scriptural references to the devil, but it assertion.

also negates why the Lord became man, lowing scriptures. to destroy the devils work (1 John 3:8). Then the dragon [Satan] was enraged at And as weve already shown from the the woman and went off to make war Scriptures in our previous segment: against the rest of her offspring those Satan IS real; who obey God's commandments and He IS here on earth; hold to the testimony of Jesus The governments of this world ARE (Revelation 12:17). under his authority; And, he is specifically waging WAR John reiterates that followers of Jesus CAN against the followers of Jesus. be overcome by Satan when they habitually give way to him and his schemes. Deceit: Satan Cant Affect Christians Satan DOES war against those who are [Satan] was given power to make war precious to Jesus and are indwelt by His against the saints and to CONQUER Spirit. Hes even capable of defeating THEM. And he was given authority over those who choose to FORSAKE Jesus and every tribe, people, language and nation worship at the throne of sin and self (Revelation 13:7). (Hebrews 10:26-31). If we CANT be attacked and conquered, And tragically, so many who THINK why would Peter warn us, theyre Christians falsely believe that theyre beyond Satans grasp, even when Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy theyre deliberately choosing to live in sin. the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. But if Satan cant do anything against Resist him, standing firm in the faith, Christians, why would Paul earnestly because you know that your brothers exhort Jesus followers in Ephesus? throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1 Peter 5:8,9). Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Since this entire series is called Freedom devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11). In Jesus, let me encourage you: Followers of Jesus who are dead to themThe word "schemes" in this passage is selves and live for Jesus CAN be con"methodia" Its a military term that means querors. Were clearly told HOW to overstrategies. No two battles are ever fought come Satan: the same way. And, demonic military strategies are being used against US as They overcame him by the blood of the followers of Jesus! That means we need Lamb and by the word of their testimoto recognize these strategies, and take a ny; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death (Revelation strong stand against them! 12:11). If youve been taught that, as a Christian, youre out of reach of Satans As youll learn through this entire schemes, you need to consider the fol- Freedom In Jesus series, in union with

Christ you CAN be victorious! But you must fight! And, HOW to fight effectively and win is found in Gods Word. Please join us for more...