A Fight You Can Win!

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

WHO IS SATAN?

  • Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary; Satan: (n.) The grand adversary of man; the Devil, or Prince of darkness; the chief of the fallen angels; the archfiend.

“Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. Those who would prove themselves to have true grace, must aim at all grace; and put on the whole armour of God, which He prepares and bestows. The Christian armour is made to be worn; and there is no putting off our armour till we have done our warfare, and finished our course. The combat is not against human enemies, nor against our own corrupt nature only; we have to deal with an enemy who has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls.

The devils assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts. We must resolve by God’s grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our cause, or our Leader, or our armor, we give him advantage.”—Matthew Henry.

1 Peter 5:8 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

DOES THE DEVIL HAVE LIMITATIONS?

WEAKNESSES OF SATAN (there are more…how many can you find in the Bible?)

  1. SATAN IS ACCOUNTABLE TO A HIGHER POWER: He is always accountable to God…and he knows his time is short.
  2. HE MUST HAVE CO-OPERATION FROM OTHERS: He is largely dependent upon human cooperation. When we fight off his attacks, and pray for God’s assistance to resist him—he must flee from us.
  3. GOD’S WORD: Satan cannot tolerate the word of God. When we study the Bible, we arm ourselves with the strong armor of truth. The Bible exposes Satan’s personalities and methods of destruction—and it teaches us how to defeat him. This is one of the most effective weapons used to repel the attacks of Satan.
  4. SATAN IS NOT SUPERNATURAL: All the power he has, was given to him by God. Granted, his powers are indeed “superhuman”, but NOT “supernatural”—he was created by God…who is both, supernatural and superhuman.
  5. OUR FAITH: He is considerably weakened by our faith in God, and when we remain sober, vigilant and immersed in God’s word—much of his power is extinguished.
  6. SATAN IS NOT OMNIPRESENT: He cannot be everywhere at once—therefore he is not omnipresent, as is God. However, he does have at his disposal; many weapons—his fellow demonic spirits (and the people who worship him), his war-chest of evil; which includes the following, (but certainly not limited to)—war, murder, false doctrines, envy, idolatry, disease, hate, self-righteousness, addiction, discontent, the love of money/power/recognition, rebellion, lust, greed,  etc.
  7. SATAN IS NOT A MIND READER: He cannot read our minds—as God can. (he can however, influence our thoughts…if WE allow him to do so).
  8. HE CANNOT PREVENT PRAYER: He cannot stop a Christian (or anyone) from praying. We have access to the mightiest reinforcement available, when we pray to God for deliverance.
  9. TRUTH: Satan is the father of all lies—he represents the exact opposite of the greatest truth, which is JESUS; John 14: 6 6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
  10. OUR HATRED OF WORLDLY PLEASURES: When we eventually develop a I don’t need it attitude for the things of this world, we surround ourselves with a formidable defense…a barrier that will help keep Satan behind the enemy lines. IF the temptations of this world are subdued, and when Satan encounters too much resistance from his intended victim—he will move on, ready to devour the next, unarmed soul.

How Can A Christian defeat Satan? ¹

The Names of Satan:
“The word “Satan” is used 24 times in the Old Testament. In Job (1:6) and Zechariah (3:1) it has the prefixed definite article. In all cases but one when the article is omitted it is used in a general sense. This one exception is 1 Chronicles 21:1 (compare 2 Samuel 24:1), where the word is generally conceded to be used as a proper name. This meaning is fixed in New Testament times. We are thus enabled to note in the term “Satan” (and Devil) the growth of a word from a general term to an appellation and later to a proper name.  ¹   ²

All the other names of Satan save only these two are descriptive titles. In addition to these two principal names a number of others deserve specific enumeration. Tempter (Matthew 4:5 1 Thessalonians 3:5); Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24); Enemy (Matthew 13:39); Evil One (Matthew 13:19, 38 1 John 2:13, 14; 1 John 3:12, and particularly 1 John 5:18); Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15); Adversary (antidikos), (1 Peter 5:8); Deceiver (literally “the one who deceives”) (Revelation 12:9); Dragon (Great) (Revelation 12:3); Father of Lies (John 8:44); Murderer (John 8:44); Sinner (1 John 3:8)-these are isolated references occurring from 1 to 3 times each. In the vast majority of passages (70 out of 83) either Satan or Devil is used.”—Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

VICTORY IN JESUS: The challenge to win this great battle will represent no small effort on our part. When our battles with Satan have been won—the following words will apply to our earthly lives: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 2 Timothy 4: 7

The Battle for Your Mind—Pastor Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) Related post: How to silence sinful thoughts