Strategies Of Satan & His Demons (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION:

1. On one Halloween night, a little boy in a Devil costume knocked on my door wanting candy. When I saw him, I thought to myself how sad it is that our society encourages children to dress up as Satan, and other evil personalities. Don't people realize that Satan is real and not some sort of Halloween character? We characterize Satan has some fictitious person. 

2. Unfortunately, many people don't believe that the Devil really exists.

ILLUSTRATION:
Once there was a boxer who was being badly beaten. Battered and bruised, he leaned over the ropes and said to his trainer, “Throw in the towel! This guy is killing me!”
The Trainer said, “Oh, no he’s not. He’s not even hitting you. He hasn’t laid a glove on you!” At that point the boxer wiped the blood away from his eye and said, “Well, then, I wish you’d watch that referee. He sure is tough!” Some people are like that trainer, they deny the obvious.

3. Do you believe that Satan & demons are real?

4. Jesus sure did.

* On one occasion Jesus said, ‘‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Mt. 12:25f).

5. Jesus tells us two things about Satan & demons.

a. First, Jesus believed in them. For He personally recognized them by name.
b. Second, Jesus recognized that Satan has a kingdom. His kingdom is this world (1 Jn. 5:19).
6. Jesus not only believed in Satan & his troops, but He fought against them. Jesus spent 25% of His ministry casting out evil spirits and demons. 75 times in the synoptic gospels Jesus casted out evil spirits in ordinary people. Jesus realized how real Satan & demons are, and we better as well.

7. Over the years, some Christians have had the misconception that Satan & his demons are no longer active today.

8. They say that they were active when Christ was on the earth, but their activity is no longer in existence because Jesus defeated them on the cross.
 
9. It is true that Jesus defeated and disarmed Satan on the cross (Col. 2:15), however, the Bible teaches in (Rev. 20:7-10) that Satan will not be completely bound up or destroyed until after the second coming of Jesus. So this means that Satan & his comrade's are still active today.

10. In the Bible, we are warned time and time again to be aware of our enemy.
* (Eph. 6:11-12) "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
a. Paul is telling us that we have a fight on our hands. Our enemy is not against flesh and blood but our enemy is the “rulers, authorities, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” Our enemy is Satan & his demons.
* (1 Pet. 4:8) "Your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
b. A lion is a predator. It constantly roams around looking for helpless animals to attack and kill. In a similar way, the Devil roams around the earth looking for Christians and non-Christians to attack.
11. Have you ever wondered how Satan can attack so many people all around the world virtually at the same time? We must understand that Satan does not have the same qualities as God. He is a created being; a fallen angel. Since he is a created being, he is not omnipresent. He cannot be everywhere at the same time. He is finite. So he sends his demons to do some of his dirty work.
12. What are demons? Demons are simple evil spirits who try to take people away from God and His truths. Demons are fallen angels who have rebelled against God. In (Mk. 3:22) Jesus calls Satan “the prince of demons." Satan is the ruler of the demons, who are his agents. They work together.
13. People who say that Satan & demons are not active today are being deceived by Satan who according to (John 8:44) is the father of lies. He wants people to believe that he is not active today.
14. Brethren, we need to open our eyes and realize that we are in spiritual warfare with Satan & his troops. We must take our heads out of the sand and stand up and fight. We must fight in the power and authority of the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, and the King of Kings. Its time we fight in the name and power of Jesus Christ. Amen!

THIS MORNING, WE WILL LOOK AT SOME STRATEGIES AND TACTICS THAT SATAN USES TO ATTACK US. THEN, WE WILL LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DEFEAT AND CONQUER SATAN & HIS DEMONS. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL EXPLORE TWO TACTICS THAT SATAN USES TO ATTACK US.

I. FIRST, SATAN IS A DECEIVER WHO IS OUT TO MISLEAD US.

1. In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam that he could eat from any tree in the garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

2. But Satan, the mighty deceiver, came along and told Eve that it was OK to eat from the tree of knowledge because if she did, her eyes would be opened, and she would be like God, knowing good and evil. And so the woman ate and gave some to her husband and he ate as well.
* (Gen. 3:13) “Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

3. Satan is the master deceiver. A deceiver is someone who persuades people to believe in something that is not true. Satan & his troops are out to mislead us; and to persuade us to believe in something that is not true.

4. How does Satan mislead us? One way he misleads us is by planting misleading thoughts in our minds.
* In (1 Chron.), David took a census of Israel even though God did not advise him to do so. And because he did that, God sent a plague on Israel and 70,000 men died. -- Why did David take an unauthorized census? Where did he get the idea to do that?
* (1 Chron. 21:1) "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel." Incited means to "stimulate or entice.”

5. In other words, Satan planted a thought in David’s mind to do something that God did not approve of.

6. In (Mt. 16:22), Peter rebuked Jesus for revealing that He must go to Jerusalem and be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Who incited Peter to discourage Jesus from going to the cross? Satan!

* (Mt. 16:22) Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
a. Jesus knew that Satan was the one who planted the thought in Peter’s mind, which was designed to hinder Jesus from fulfilling His mission on the cross. 

7. Ananias and Sapphira, who were believers (v. 32), sold a piece of property to give to the apostles. However, before they gave the money, they decided to keep some of it for themselves. Because they lied to Spirit, and kept some of the money, they died. Where in the world did they get the idea to lie to the Spirit and keep some of the money? Satan!

* (Acts 5:3) Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart.”

8. It is obvious from examining these passages that Satan can plant misleading thoughts in our minds. He entices us to do things that are contrary to the will of God.

9. Here are some random thoughts that Satan darts at people.
a. You don't need to go to church in order to be saved. All church people are hypocrites anyhow.
b. You don't need to be baptized to be saved.
c. It's all right to cheat on your spouse; no one will ever find out.
d. During our anger, Satan tells us, "Go ahead get revenge."
e. Your not a good Christian, look at all of the evil thoughts you have; you might as well give up on your faith, for God will never save a person like you.
f. To the teenagers, Satan plants these thoughts: It's all right to drink alcohol and do drugs; everyone else is doing it. It won't harm you.
g. Go ahead and have sex before marriage; God doesn’t care. He wants you to have fun.

10. Satan hurls all kinds of misleading thoughts in our minds.

ILLUSTRATION:
In August of 1993, Jerry Simon, a minister in Huntsville Alabama, was sitting in his office doing his normal duties when all of a sudden Eileen Janeciz walked in and shot him in the chest and back for no apparent reason. Mr. Simon was murdered.
Before her arrest, Janeciz held police at bay for 8 hours, reading passages from Anton LeVay’s Satanic Bible. Did Satan have something to do with Jerry Simon’s death? I believe so. We should never underestimate the influence that Satan & his demons have. They are powerful and have brought many good people down.

11. Brethren, Satan is the mighty deceiver. He is after our souls. He wants us to commit sin after sin so that we will alienate ourselves from God.
12. He is good at what he does. He can plant thoughts in our minds, so beware, and do not get taken in by his deceitful ways. Don't follow his misleading thoughts. Stand strong in God's ways and not Satan's ways.
13. Even though I am a Minister, someone who is aware of his tactics, he constantly plants evil thoughts in my mind. He will do the same to you. He is after us. We must be prepared and alert (1 Pet. 5:8) and recognize when we are under attack. He is a deceiver.

II. SECOND, SATAN IS A TEMPTER WHO TEMPTS US TO SIN.

1. Satan will come at us with every weapon he has. He doesn’t care who we are or how much power and influence we have. He goes after every man, woman and child. We are his enemy and he is after our souls. He will not stop until Jesus comes again.
2. Satan is so bold and brave that he tempted Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God.
* (Read Mt. 4:1-11).
3. If Satan will come after Jesus, he will certainly come after us. So be prepared.
4. Satan entices us to commit an unwise or immoral act. Usually the temptation that is thrown our way is something very pleasurable, something that we want, but yet is against God’s will.
5. He and his troops know our weak points. They know exactly what to tempt us with.

ILLUSTRATION:

Satan could drive up in a Budweiser truck full of beer, get out and pour me a tall glass of suds. I would not be tempted to drink it.
However, if he drove up in a truck full of Blue Bell ice cream, I would be sunk.

6. He knows what to tempt us with.

a. If lust is what you struggle with, then Satan will tempt you to look at pornography and X-rated videos.
b. If gossip is your downfall, then Satan will entice you to talk about others. He will convince you that it is the all right to do so.
c. If addiction is what you struggle with, then Satan will bombard you with opportunities to indulge in alcohol and drugs.

7. Until we are willing to say “NO” to those temptations, then Satan & his companions will not stop. They will bombard us with tempting desires. Everyday they will tempt us hoping that we will stumble.
8. Parents, Satan is even after your children.
9. No one is safe from his attacks.

ILLUSTRATION:

Dr. Neil Anderson, who holds a doctorate from Pepperdine University, told this story in his book “The Bondage Breaker:”
One day a student of his told him that their little boy was caught lying and stealing. They asked their son why he did it and he said, “Daddy, I had to do it. Satan said he would kill you if I didn’t.” Instead of spanking him for blaming Satan for his actions, he confronted the enemy’s lie and hugged his son for trying to save his life.
I told you earlier that Satan plants thoughts in our minds. Can he at times do that to children? Absolutely! Before you discipline your children for bad behavior, ask them if they were having thoughts, which provoked them to misbehave. And assess their answer to see whether or not Satan may be heavily influencing them. Of course children like adults are still responsible for their actions, however, it is helpful to determine if Satan has a reign in your children's life.

10. How can your children get tangled up with Satan?

a. When you give your children money to buy heavy metal rock and roll tapes and money to go to a rock concert, you are sending them to Satan's church.

ILLUSTRATION:

Several years ago, a Michigan teenager shot his older brother in the head. When the Police arrived he was arrested. While they were searching the boys room for evidence, they found a (hood, black robe, an upside down cross, black candle, card 666) & (11 cassette tapes of Motley Crew, Black Sabbath, and other heavy medal tapes). They also found a book that was given to him at a rock concert that listed step-by-step procedures on how to perform a satanic ritual.

b. Parents this is a very real Devil and if you expose your children to him, you may lose them.
c. Get rid of those satanic music tapes from your house and do not send them to rock concerts.
d. Don’t buy them occult toys such as (Dungeons & Dragons; Ouchgy Board; or Tera Cards). These are of the Devil.
e. Don’t send your children to occult movies such as (Exorcist; Omen). The Devil is working through these movies and could influence your children to seek satanic power.

11. Parents if you love your children, and I know that you do, please beware that Satan & his demons are after your children. Protect them in the power and blood of Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION:

1. Brethren, Satan & his demons are real! In fact they are so real they are probably working in this church this morning. How many of you received negative thoughts about today's sermon? Satan may have given you these thoughts.
2. Satan is a deceiver and a tempter. He can plant false thoughts in our minds. He is a roaring lion looking to devour us.
3. Of course as Christians, Satan & demons cannot possess us or over power us. However, they can harass us and do everything they can to cause us to stumble. So be alert.
4. Next Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will speak on how we can defeat Satan & his demons.
5. In the mean time, I hope this lesson revealed to you a few of the tactics that Satan & his troops use. We need to be informed in the strategies of our enemy, so that we can defeat them. If you have been struggling against the evil one and you want help to defeat him, then please come and let us pray for you.

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