Spiritual Warfare: The Enemy

Introduction
Last week we began a new series titled “Spiritual Warfare”.  In this series we are looking at what the Bible has to say on the subject of spiritual warfare.  In our introduction I mentioned the four realities of Spiritual warfare that I will talk about in the coming weeks.  Last week I talked about…
 

1. The Spiritual Armor we are called to put onWe are in a spiritual battle so we must actively put on the armor of God.  In our time together we looked at the various pieces of armor and the significant role that each piece plays in the battle we are engaged in. 
   
2. The Enemy we are fighting
3. The Battle we are engaged in
   
4. The Victory we  are promised

 
Today we will be talking about the enemy or better known as Satan…
 
Could it be???  SATAN!
Who is Satan?  What does he represent? Is he real or is he just a metaphor?  If he is real, then how did he come to be?  What does the Bible say about him? These are some questions I hope to answer today.
 
We can have a misconstrued ideology of Satan today.  In popular culture he is often represented as either a nightmarishly scary monster who murderously lurks in the night seeking to possess or kill, or he is viewed as a silly horned red creature carrying a pitchfork sitting on the shoulder of someone trying to convince him to make the wrong choice.

But is this who Satan really is?  No, it is not.  The Bible has much to say about the devil and none of it is either of the pictures our culture paints.
 
The Story
Today we will look at two particular passages in the Old Testament, a few New Testament passages and we will how all of these effects our lives.  We will conclude with a personal testimony of  one who has encountered evil face to face in the missions field.. 
 
Isaiah 14:12
“Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground.
You said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North.
I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit.”
Those who see you will stare at you; they will look closely at you: “Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble, who shook the kingdoms, who turned the world into a wilderness, who destroyed its cities and would not release the prisoners to return home?”

1. In the AV (KJV) the words “morning star” which is the Latin word for Venus (Hebrew word Heylel) are translated as Lucifer which means “light bearer”. 
   
2. We understand that Lucifer was an angel thus he was a created being, and he has no more power or authority than any other angel.  He is certainly not God’s counterpart.
   
3. His greatest sin that led to his demise was that he wanted to be the greatest of all angels; even to the point of exalting himself over God.  His sin was pride.  Pride was the reason Satan fell, so don’t let pride be the reason you fall.
   
4. He was cast out of heaven to earth and he now “roams the earth and walk(s) around on it.” (Job 2:2).
   
5. We will one day see our adversary and marvel at the one who played such a key part in the evil of history.  This creature who has brought such pain, suffering, anguish, and fear is nothing more than a created being. 

 
Ezekiel 28:12a – 17
“You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone covered you:
carnelian, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and emerald.
Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold; they were prepared on the day you
were created.
You were an anointed guardian cherub, for I had appointed you. You were on the holy
mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
 From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways until wickedness was
found in you. Through the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence, and
you sinned. So I expelled you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and banished you,
guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud because of your beauty; For the sake of your splendor you corrupted your wisdom. So I threw you down to the ground; I made you a spectacle before kings.”

1. It is commonly believed that this passage is the account of Lucifer (Satan) being cast out of heaven.
   
2. He was the signet, seal, or the signature of all that was perfect… he was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
   
3. It is believed that he was the anointed guardian cherub (an angel)
   
4. He was blameless from the day he was created.
   
5. However, unrighteousness was found in him.
   
6. Once again, we see that pride was the reason for the fall of Satan.
   
7. In his rebellion he convinced a 1/3 of the angels to rebel with him (Revelation 12:3, 4)
   
8. His fate is sealed.

 
Characteristics

• His names… Lucifer, Morning Star, Prince of Darkness, Prince of this world, Prince of the air, The Evil one, The tempter, Satan, The Devil, The Dragon.
  
• He is a murderer (John 8:44)
  
• He does not stand in truth/ He is a liar (John 8:44)
  
• He takes advantage of people (Gen. 3 & 2 Cor. 2:11)
  
• He disguises himself as an angel of light/imposter (2 Cor. 11:14)
  
• He seeks to devour all who oppose him (I Peter 5:8)
  
•  He is the Tempter (Rev. 2:10)
  
•  He is a deceiver (Rev. 12:9)
  
• He is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10)

 
How Does this Affect Us?
This is a lot of information; so, as believers what are we to do with it all?  James 4:7 is a great place for us to start (Submit to God and Resist the Devil).  It is important to understand and know that Satan has no power or authority over the believer.  He can do nothing without the permission of God (Job 2:2).  Pastor Erwin Lutzer writes, “We should never give the impression that because Satan is the god of this world, God kind of says, ‘Well, what am I going to do?  He is the god of this world.  I just have to let him do whatever he wants.”  No, he has no authority in this world. 
 
Satan is more like a bee without a stinger.  He may look scary, but he has no power in his sting because there is no stinger.  Or that person who thinks they are in charge of everything, but in reality has no authority over anything at all. 
 
In this short time, I hope I have clearly established the fact that we do have an enemy and that enemy is Satan.  He wants to devour you like a hungry lion.  We are in a wrestling match with evil and you and I are not strong enough to overcome or pin down the evil one in our world or in our own strength.  We will talk about this battle next week.  However, we do have the protection and the necessary equipment given to us by God to be successful in this battle. 
 
God does have a protection plan for us!  The first thing we must realize as we fight this battle is our strength does not come from us.  It doesn’t matter how strong you are physically, how holy you may act or how much you read your Bible, our strength comes from Christ alone!  He is our strength, power and authority!  God has given us the means to fight this battle and to be protected against the attacks of evil and we talked about it last week with the armor of God.
 
In the passage we looked at Paul refers to the works of Satan as the schemes of the devil; this reminds us of the trickery and deception of Satan.  The Bible tells us that Satan masquerades himself as an angel of light.  He is a first-class deceiver and he’s good at it. 
 
In closing, I would like to read a quote from Klyne Snodgrass as a reminder of the evil we are face in in the world.  “Evil rarely looks evil until it accomplishes its goal; it gains entrance by appearing attractive, desirable and perfectly legitimate.  It is a baited camouflaged trap.”