Do you guys smell that?
I smell spiritual street fight going on.
I need my biblical binoculars.
Not big enough.
Bring out the big boy.
My big biblical binoculars.
And the thing about this baby is
I can hear some stuff as well.
Okay, dial it in, check it out.
All right, what do we got here?
University, freshman philosophy class,
we got a prof saying something to the extent of
in the 21st century,
can a rational human being actually believe
in the God of the Bible?
Now, our war isn't against flesh and blood.
But that smells like a spiritual street fight to me.
We've got something else going on.
We've got some distortion going on.
There is a 38-year-old man
with three kids.
His wife's in bed
because she is duking it out every day.
He is sitting in front of a computer screen
clicking on porn site after porn site.
It's a distortion of God's good gift of sexuality.
Oh, Lord, he's going to get ensnared.
There's a spiritual street fight going on.
Three clicks out, got a church,
splitting up, taking parties, two parties.
What's the fight over?
Oh, look at that.
It's the color of the sanctuary carpet.
And yes, it is a foothold for the devil.
There's a spiritual street fight going on.
Dear brothers and sisters,
war is raging.
We're under attack.
In the early 1940s,
the U.S. transformed itself
from a peacetime production
to wartime production,
and we must transform our thinking
from peacetime to wartime in 2015.
We're not at peace.
God's people are not at peace.
Peace with God.
But we have a conflict at hand.
In order to stand firm against our enemy,
the devil,
we must know our enemy and his schemes.
We cannot ignore our enemy
or be intrigued by our enemy,
but we must stand against the schemes of the devil.
In order to stand firm against him,
we've got to know some things about him.
We've got to do some recon on him.
So let's do some biblical recon
on our enemy of our souls.
First, if you would open up to your Bibles
to Ephesians 6, verse 11,
this is going to be our starting point.
I'm going to be covering
some biblical ground this morning.
And so what we're going to be looking at
is different things the Bible says
about the devil, his demons,
his network, and how he tempts us.
Ephesians 6, 11.
Put on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil.
There is a devil,
and he is scheming,
and we've got to be wise to it.
There are four things this morning
that I want you to see
as we do biblical recon.
First, we're going to look at
the devil's background.
Then we're going to look at
the devil's network.
He's a terror network.
And then we're going to look at
the devil's tactics,
his methods.
And then we're going to look at
the devil's greatest weakness,
his greatest enemy.
The right man is on our side.
So in order for us to stand
against the devil,
let's get to know him.
Put on the sure footing
that nothing can separate
us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus.
His background,
his origin,
he was created by God.
In Genesis chapter 1,
God created the heavens
and the earth.
And we're not explicitly told
when he created the angelic host,
but it was in the Genesis 1
time frame.
He created a myriad of angels.
And they're glorious.
And they're created to serve
his purposes.
And so in Genesis 1.31,
God saw everything that he made
in heaven and on earth.
He was very good.
Including all of the angels.
But then he rebelled.
When did this angelic rebellion happen?
Well, there's not a specific time
we're given in the Bible.
But we are given a time frame.
And so if we were to look
at Genesis chapter 1 again,
chapter 1.31,
God saw that everything he made
and behold, it was very good.
So there had not been
an angelic rebellion
up until that point.
But if you turn to Genesis chapter 3,
verse 1,
there's a serpent
that enters the garden.
And so sometime between
Genesis 1.31
and Genesis 3.1,
there was an angelic rebellion
that took place.
Now what was the cause
of this rebellion?
What was the cause
of this fall?
Why did the devil
rebel against God?
Well, there's a couple places
we can turn,
but the place I want you
to go to right now
is maybe a little surprising.
It's 1 Timothy chapter 3.
Might ring a bell
because what we're going to look at
is 1 Timothy 3, verse 6,
and it's right in the middle
of qualifications for an elder.
And we read in 1 Timothy 3, 6,
speaking of a potential elder,
he must not be a recent convert,
for he may become puffed up
with conceit
and fall into the condemnation
of the devil.
Why did the devil rebel?
He lifted himself up against God.
It was pride.
He wanted something
that God alone would have.
Pride.
Pride was the reason he fell.
That's the condemnation of the devil.
And with him,
he brought a host of angels
that became demons.
The evil one has a variety of aliases.
He goes by a variety of different names
throughout the Bible.
Satan.
Job 1, 6.
It means adversary.
In the New Testament,
the most common name
for the evil one is the devil.
It also means adversary or accuser.
Jesus called him the tempter
in Matthew 4, 3.
Jesus spoke of him in Matthew 12
as Beezlebub,
which means master of the house.
Enemy.
Evil one.
Belial,
which means worthless.
The deceiver,
Revelation 12.
John 12,
2 Corinthians 4,
the God of this world,
the ruler of this world,
who blinds unbelievers
from seeing the light
of the gospel
of the glory of Christ,
who ensnares people
and holds them captive
to do his will,
2 Timothy 2, 26.
He's the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work
in the sons of disobedience,
Ephesians 2, 2.
He's the serpent of Genesis 3, 1
and a great dragon of Revelation 12, 3.
He is a liar and the father of lies,
John 8, 44.
He is a murderer,
John 8, 44.
And then when we get back
into Revelation,
we read that he is Abaddon,
Apollyon,
the destroyer.
And so as we peruse
these names of our enemy,
we get a sense of his purpose.
The enemy of our soul
is seeking to destroy
God's plan for the fullness of time,
which is to unite all things
in our Lord and King Jesus.
God is seeking to reconcile
to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven
through Christ.
And so what the devil
is seeking to do
in his rebellion
is oppose God's saving work
through Christ.
There's some background
on our enemy.
Now let's talk about
the network he uses.
You've heard of a terror network.
I know you have.
Organized terrorist cells
that are strategically positioned
and poised to destroy
in order to terrorize.
We've all felt that.
The devil has his own terror network.
It's an evil network
bent on deception
and destruction.
And what we see
in Ephesians 2,
1 through 3
is his coordinated network.
So would you turn to Ephesians 2,
1 through 3,
and we're going to see
three enemies
that are coordinated
to do us harm.
So Ephesians 2,
and you were dead
in the trespasses and sins
in which you once walked,
following the course
of this world,
following the prince
of the power of the air,
the spirit that's now at work
in the sons of disobedience,
among whom we all once lived
in the passions
of our flesh,
carrying out the desires
of the body and the mind,
and we're by nature
children of wrath
like the rest of mankind.
The devil uses
a coordinated network
of himself
and his demons,
the world,
and our flesh.
the first two enemies
are outside of us.
The last enemy
is inside of us.
So let's just take these
one by one.
Again, I want to help you
understand
what the Bible says
how Satan coordinates
his resistance
to God's purposes.
So the first enemy
of this network
is the devil.
We've already been
talking about him,
but what I want you to see
in Ephesians 6.12
is that he has got
people,
things working for him.
The demonic host,
the rulers,
authorities,
spiritual forces
over this present darkness,
as Colossians 1.13
calls it,
the domain of darkness.
We're not told
how the things work out.
We're not told
if there's a hierarchy.
We're not told
if there are, like,
locative,
angelic spirits
or anything like that.
But there seems to be
a dispersion of evil.
As an aside,
one of the things
you cannot miss
when you're reading
through the Gospels
is Jesus'
regular confrontation
with demons.
And he kicks them around.
These things are real.
Here we are
in the 21st century,
and we're talking
about demons.
Because God's Word
talks about demons.
So the devil
and his demonic host
are actively
exercising control
over the domain
of darkness,
this present age,
by blinding the minds
of unbelievers
to keep them
from seeing
the light
of the glory
of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4.4
Their whole operation
is built
on deception
with the intent
to destroy.
It is malicious.
It's opposed to God.
The domain of darkness
is real.
It's being manipulated
by the devil
and his demons
in order to destroy.
So having looked
at this first enemy,
let's now move
on to the next.
The spiritual domain
of darkness
interfaces with
our everyday life
with what the Bible
calls
the world.
In Ephesians 2.2,
we read that
before we became
Christians,
we were following
the course
of this world
while following
the prince
of the power
of the air.
This is the same
use of the word
world that we find
in 1 John 2.15-17.
Listen to this.
Do not love
the world
or the things
in the world.
For all that
is in the world,
the desires
of the flesh
and the desires
of the eyes
and the pride
and possessions
is not from the Father
but is from the world
and the world
is passing away
along with its desires.
But whoever
does the will
of God
abides forever.
He's talking
about believers
right there.
So what we need
to understand
is how this word
world
is being used
here
and in other passages
like John 3.16.
For God so loved
the world
that He gave
His one and only Son.
In these contexts,
God is talking
about people.
People
who love
darkness
more than light.
People
living in
rebellion
to God.
People
blinded
by the ruler
of this world
and living
for things
that grieve God.
That's the world.
So the world
in these contexts
is speaking
of people,
image bearers
of God
living in darkness
because they've
been blinded.
And we live
among the majority
of these people.
They form
the majority
of people
around us.
But as Christians
we are no longer
of the world.
John 17.16.
We've been
transferred
from the domain
of darkness
into the kingdom
of the beloved Son
in whom we have
redemption.
We've been called
out of the world.
We're in the world
but not of the world.
John 17.18.
And what you need
to realize
is this.
That all these people
living in darkness
blinded by the ruler
of this world
they create
currents.
deceptively dark
and destructive
currents.
You know
summer's coming.
You know what I'm
talking about?
Summer is around
the corner.
Do I have an amen?
And when I hear
the word summer
I quickly think
of the word
swimming.
We have some
friends that
regularly invite us
as a family
to come over
and swim and play
in their circular
above ground pool.
And one of the
things that we
get to do is
get everybody
in the pool
and we start
all walking
in the same
direction
in this circular
pool.
And in a short
amount of time
with all these
people walking
in the same
direction
a current
is created.
A current
strong enough
to sweep people
off their feet
if they're not
firmly planted.
And here's what
you must realize
about the world.
The world
creates cultural
currents that
are contrary
to the cause
of Christ.
When non-Christians
are living
in close proximity
who are opposed
to God
and blinded
walk through
life together
they create
currents.
It's not water.
It's ways
of thinking.
Ways of living.
Now don't mistake
what I'm saying.
We all have
loved ones
that have yet
to be transferred
from the domain
of darkness
into the kingdom
of Christ.
What we want
most for them
is for them
to know
Christ the King.
But we must
be aware
that these
non-Christians
we love
can be caught
up in these
cultural currents
that oppose
Christ.
What I want
to remind you
of this morning
is that these
currents created
by the world
are part
of the devil's
destructive network.
He employs
the world
for his
destructive
purposes.
He's the
prince of
the power
of the air.
He's the
god of this
world.
The ruler
of the age.
So the
connection we
see in
Ephesians 2
is following
the course
of this
world,
following the
prince of
the power
of the air,
the god
of this
world.
He's behind
it.
And as
Christians,
we cannot
live for
what the
world lives
for because
the world
does not
live for
Christ.
It's that
simple.
As
Christians,
we create
our own
currents that
are Christ
pleasing and
Christ like
and that will
oftentimes come
into conflict
with the way
the world
is living.
And what the
devil and his
demonic host are
very effective at
doing is
tempting us.
through the
world,
appealing to
the desires
of our
flesh.
What I'm
wanting you to
see here is
that once we
follow the
prince of the
power of the
air, once we
walk, we
follow the
course, the
currents of
the world, but
we can't make
the mistake of
thinking that
the devil doesn't
use the world
for his purposes.
He does.
He employs
the world for
his deceptive
and destructive
purposes by
tempting our
flesh.
We looked at
two enemies,
let's look at
the third, the
flesh.
The first two
enemies, the
devil and the
world are
outside of us.
This last
enemy coordinated
against us is
the flesh, a.k.a.
the sinful
nature.
Your flesh, if
you're a
Christian, is
that part of
you that
continues to
desire things
that God
forbids.
And before
you were saved,
you were ruled
by your
flesh.
And Satan
exploited it.
But when you
were saved, you
were united to
Christ and His
death and
resurrection.
And the power
of sin in you
was broken,
defeated by the
cross.
So you,
Christian, have
been united with
Christ and
you're no longer
enslaved to
sin.
But that
doesn't mean
sin is no
longer present
and influential
in your life.
You still have a
sinful nature.
It no longer
has dominion
over you, but
it's still
present in you.
And by the
way, God has
sent His
Spirit to dwell
inside of you
and so that
when you have
desires that
are not pleasing
to God, the
Holy Spirit
will confront
them.
Galatians 5,
15 and on.
But what
we're talking
about is how
the devil's
destructive network
uses the world
to tempt
your flesh.
What He's
seeking to do
is exploit
your sinful
nature through
the world.
Typically.
James 1,
14 is very
helpful because
I think it's
very important
that we make
a distinction
right now.
James 1,
14 says,
this, but
each person
is tempted
when he's
lured and
enticed by
his own
desire.
We are
responsible for
our sinful
choices.
We cannot
blame our
sin on the
devil.
That's where
I'm trying to
make a distinction.
He tempts us,
but we're
responsible for
our choices.
Yes, He's
actively seeking
to tempt us
through deception
to destroy us.
Yes, it's not
fair.
He doesn't play
by the rules.
He's forceful.
He makes it
really difficult.
He's seeking to
exploit any and
every opportunity
we give Him.
It's true.
But what a
Christian can never
say is that his
or her sin can't
say, the devil
made me do it.
Why not?
He may have
tempted us.
He may have
used the world
to tempt us,
but He did not
cause us to
disobey our
God.
So when it
comes to our
flesh, there's
different commands
in our Bibles.
One of them is
Romans 8.13,
which calls us
as Christians
to put to
death the
deeds of the
body.
We're to be
warring against
our flesh.
We're responsible.
Now this raises
an interesting
question, and
maybe some of
you have already
been asking it.
It's this.
Can a Christian
be possessed
by a demon?
Has anybody
thought that?
Anybody wondered?
I have.
Well, it depends
upon what you
mean by demon
possession.
If what you
mean by demon
possession is a
demon occupying a
Christian's heart
and mind and
taking over, the
answer to that
question is no.
A Christian can't
be demon
possessed like
that.
A demon cannot
occupy a Christian's
heart and mind.
Do you know
why?
there is
someone, capital
S someone,
already occupying
it.
1 John 4.4
Greater is
He that is in
you than
He that is in
the world.
And the
greater is He
is specifically
the Holy Spirit
in you.
Greater is He
that is in you
than He that is
in the world.
But if what you
mean by demon
possession is
more like
demonized,
harassed,
attacked,
tempted with
great force and
frequency,
yes, that
happens.
And that is
exactly why God
is calling us to
stand firm against
the schemes of
the devil.
Against the
spiritual forces of
evil that seek to
employ the world
to tempt our
flesh.
So we've been
trying to look at
the devil's
destructive network.
He uses it.
We've seen three
enemies, the devil,
the world, and the
flesh.
And through this
network he attacks
us with common
tactics.
His schemes.
In Ephesians 6.11
we're told to
stand firm against
the schemes of
the devil.
And so the devil
uses network to
try to draw on
us in some
common ways.
And I want to
show you four
ways, four
common tactics
that the devil
seeks to employ
to do us
harm.
The first is
doubt.
Doubt is
destroying trust
in God's
word.
We see it in
Genesis 3
very early on.
The serpent
coming on the
scene and one
of his first
things he asks
Eve is,
did God
actually say
you should not
eat of any
tree in the
garden?
Doubt.
You shall not
surely die.
Doubt in God's
word.
For God knows
that when you
eat of it your
eyes will be
opened and you
will be like
God knowing good
needle.
God is trying to
win all good
from you.
Doubting God.
Doubting the
goodness of God's
word.
The devil delights
when he causes
people to doubt
God's word.
And so the way
that we fight and
the way that we're
going to learn to
fight next week is
by using God's
word and trusting
in God's word when
faced with temptation.
I mean our king
did the same thing
in Matthew 4.
So first tactic
is doubt.
The second tactic
is distraction.
And what
distraction does
it destroys
wholehearted
devotion to
Christ.
Now there are
full frontal
distractions but
more common
are the
subtle
frog
distractions.
As in the frog
in the pot of
water.
Apparently,
and I have not
personally verified
this with my own
experimentation at my
house,
but apparently if you
drop a frog into a
pot of boiling water
it will immediately
jump out.
Have you guys heard
that?
Would you personally
do the same thing?
Yes.
But if you put a
frog in a pot of
warm water and
incrementally turn
the heat up until
it comes to a
gradual boil,
that frog in the
water acclimates
and eventually
gets slowly
cooked.
The devil is
patient in his
distracting us
unto destruction.
The devil uses the
world to distract us
from giving ourselves
fully to what
matters most.
Wholehearted
devotion to Christ.
And here's some of
the things he uses.
Busyness.
Money.
Entertainment.
Comfort.
Exercise.
Praise of your
own name.
He uses these
things to distract
us.
Some of these
things are in and
of themselves
not bad.
But what the
devil is seeking
to do is move it
from good to a
small g God.
word.
So we got to be
careful because the
devil will exploit
sinful cravings in
us to distract us
from Christ.
The devil delights
when he gradually
deceptively distracts
us from wholehearted
devotion to Jesus.
We need his word to
sniff it out.
We look at doubt,
distraction,
distortion.
Another tactic of
the devil.
Destroying the
goodness of God's
design.
What is
prostitution?
What is sex
trafficking?
What is pornography?
Do you know what
they are?
They are distortions
of God's good
design of sexuality
that end up
destroying people.
We see distortions
of marriage.
We see distortions
of when life
begins in the
womb.
We see distortions
of male leadership.
The devil delights
in distorting
God's good
design.
And what we see
going on in the
world is a
normalizing of
the distortions.
We need God's
word.
We'll be equipped
next week
how to fight
this.
The fourth
tactic is
division.
The Satan
destroying
God-pleasing
unity.
Satan
destroying
the blood-bought
unity of
his people.
One of the
themes throughout
the book of
Ephesians is
unity.
We see it in
Ephesians 4,
1-6.
Paul exhorts us,
walk in a manner
worthy of the
calling to which
you've called
as one
people.
One body.
One Lord.
One baptism.
One faith.
One,
one,
one.
Unity.
In Jesus'
high priestly
prayer in
John 17,
Jesus prays
for us and
he prays that
we would be
united and
united in
him.
I mean,
think about it
this way.
God's plan for
the fullness of
time is to
unite all
things in
Christ.
So it makes
sense that one
of the devil's
chief tactics
is to divide
the unity of
God's people.
Brothers and
sisters of
Christ the
King Church,
it is safe
to say that
the devil and
his host are
looking for an
opportunity to
divide us.
It's safe to
say it.
It's not if,
but it's when.
The devil is
seeking to
undermine God's
unifying work
in us and
he's been doing
a wonderful work
in this body.
So we have
warnings like
Ephesians 4,
26 and 27.
Be angry and
do not sin.
Do not let the
sun go down on
your anger and
give no opportunity
to the devil.
The devil is
looking to
divide us.
He's looking to
undermine and
divide us as a
church.
Let me give you
some possible
ways he would
do that.
He'll seek to
divide us over
doctrine.
He'll seek to
divide us over
worship preferences.
He'll seek to
divide us over
joining the
Crossway Association.
He'll seek to
divide us over
approving budgets.
He'll seek to
divide us over
decisions regarding
carpet texture and
wall color.
He'll seek to
divide us over
hurt feelings.
Listen to James.
Listen to this.
This is so good.
But if you have
bitter jealousy and
selfish ambition in
your hearts, this
is not the wisdom
that comes down
from above, but
is earthly,
worldly,
unspiritual,
demonic.
That's James.
He goes on to
say, for where
jealousy and
selfish ambition
exist, also
known as pride,
for where
jealousy and
selfish ambition
exist, there will
be disorder in
every vile practice,
also known as
division.
But the wisdom
from above is
first of all pure,
then peaceable,
gentle, open to
reason, full of
mercy and good
fruits, impartial,
insincere.
That's Christ-like
stuff right there.
That's humility in
action.
And he goes on to
say, in a harvest
of righteousness is
sown in peace by
those who make
peace.
Unity.
God is calling
us to guard
against the
divisive efforts
of the devil.
One of the things
I hear somewhat
frequently is this.
Christians saying,
I don't need a
church.
I don't need to
go to church.
The church is full
of people who are
jerks.
I don't need to
go to church.
I'm not making a
case the church is
perfect.
God knows I'm not.
But isolation is
exactly what the
devil wants.
Anybody watch
Mutual of Omaha's
Wild Kingdom?
What happens on the
African Serengeti?
Pride of Lions?
Remember what they
do?
They identify
weak link.
Separate weak link.
Isolate weak link.
Devour weak link.
1 Peter 5.8
Our enemy, the devil,
is like a lion
prowling around
looking for someone
to devour.
So for us, what this
means is instead of
separating and
isolating, we
congregate and
unite.
fight.
And we take up arms
against the devil.
Doubt, distraction,
distortion, division are
all deceptive methods
the devil uses to
destroy God's glorious
purpose in Christ.
But our God's
bigger.
Speaking of Christ,
let's turn to the
devil's greatest
weakness.
His name is Jesus.
The devil's weakness,
his greatest enemy,
is our Lord and
King, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself up
for us.
Jesus.
Did you know that
Jesus is the
destroyer of the
destroyer?
He will destroy
the works of the
devil.
Christ's death and
resurrection won the
decisive victory in
the battle against the
devil.
According to
Colossians 2.13, the
cross of Christ disarmed
the rulers and
authorities, speaking of
spiritual powers, and
put them to open shame
by triumphing over
them.
What happened at the
cross overpowered the
spiritual forces of
darkness.
All things were put
under his feet.
Let's back up.
What was Satan
thinking when he
entered Judas in
order to betray
Jesus?
Speculation.
I think he was
thinking he was
going to destroy
Jesus.
Apparently, Satan
did not realize that
what he was doing was
according to God's
sovereign, glorious
plan.
Jesus not only knew
Judas would betray
him, he allowed
Jesus to betray
him.
He willfully went to
his own death because
it would be through
his death and
resurrection that he
would destroy death
and the destroyer.
Christ is risen.
He is on his throne.
The devil is on the
run.
And when Jesus comes
back, he will
completely, finally
dismantle, destroy the
devil's network and
then throw him by the
scaly scruff of his
neck into the lake of
fire.
That's Revelation 20
verse 10.
The devil goes by the
destroyer.
Apollyon.
Way back in Genesis
chapter 315, the
proto-evangelium, the
first gospel, there
would be a descendant
of Eve who would
break the serpent's
neck.
There are three
passages I'd really
like to show you, but
I'm just going to
point you to one.
If you would turn to
Hebrews chapter 2, I
want to gird up your
loins with this,
strengthen you.
Hebrews chapter 2
verse 14, since
therefore the children
share in flesh and
blood, Jesus himself
likewise partook of the
same things.
He became a man.
That through death he
might destroy the one
who has the power of
death.
That is the devil.
Did you get it right
there?
He came to destroy the
works of the devil and
the devil.
And deliver all those
who through fear of
death were subject to
lifelong savory.
The devil's greatest
weakness is our Lord
Jesus, who's already
triumphed and who is
going to work all things
out.
His kingdom is
advancing.
The kingdom, the domain
of darkness is
shrinking.
So let me conclude by
saying this.
This morning we've done
some biblical recon on
the adversary of our
souls, the devil.
And what I want you to
walk away with is this.
Christian, you don't
need to fear the devil.
He's been defeated.
His doom is set.
Yes, he's dangerous.
He prowls around like a
lion.
But God is for us.
He hasn't even, he's
given us his own son.
How much along with him
will he give us everything
we need?
Nothing can separate us
from the love of God in
Christ Jesus.
God is for us.
Next week, we're to go
to the Christian armory to
see what weapons God has
provided for us to stand
firm against the schemes
of the devil.
We know he's been
defeated.
He will be destroyed.
He remains dangerous.
So next week we learn how
to put on the armor and
fight.
Let me pray.
God, thank you so much
for your word.
Thank you for making us
aware of things that we
will generally not think
about.
God, we are sobered by the
reality of a spiritual
conflict going all around us
and even aimed at us.
But we take courage in
knowing that Jesus, our
King, reigns over it all
and is working his will for
our good.
God, I pray that you would
strengthen us, that you
would protect us, that you
would unite us, that you
would make us wise.
We are not ignorant to his
designs.
And so, God, we pray for the
power and the wisdom to walk
in a manner worthy of the
calling of which you called
us as a church armed for the
glory of Christ.
Amen.
Thank you.