Battle Strategy

Would you take your Bible off stage?

!

I would like Molly Collins.

Where are you, Molly?

Would you come here to the front, Molly, please?

I don't want you to touch this.

I don't want you to get close to this.

Stand right over here.

Does anybody know what this is?

What is it?

What is it?

It's not a bear trap.

A bear trap is about 50 pounds, and they're illegal.

No, they are.

You're not allowed to trap bear anymore.

This is just a little old minor old foot trap.

But I'm going to use it as an illustration here.

Okay.

That's a smart girl.

I don't know.

I don't know what you think I'm going to do with that pencil, but it's not what you think I'm going to do.

Take your Bibles.

Take your Bibles.

Take your Bibles.

And turn in them to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Stay with me, Molly.

Don't leave.

Okay.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God.

Put on the whole armor of God.

God.

That you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

And Molly, what I want you to do is point from a safe distance.

Point at that trap.

There you go.

Ow.

There it is.

Thank you, Molly.

Thank you, Molly.

Thank you.

How many of you understand how serious our enemy is about destroying you?

Probably one of the tests of how seriously you take the enemy is whether or not this morning as you were getting up

and going through the responsibilities of your mourning.

For one, if you took the time to pray, to read the Scriptures, do you follow that?

If you don't think there is an enemy after you, you probably didn't do that.

In fact, one of the things that Jesus said, He said it in numerous different places,

but one of the things that He said when His disciples asked Him, teach us about prayer, He said,

pray this way, right?

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, kingdom come, all that kind of stuff,

and lead us not into temptation.

Elsewhere, Jesus, as He was talking to His disciples, as He went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray,

prior to His crucifixion, He said, listen, pray that you don't enter into temptation.

That's what He said.

Let's pray.

Our Father God, we are so deeply blessed, we who know Christ,

to have the blessing of relationship with the Lord Jesus as our God and Savior,

and to have the Word that is given to us as this rich and incredible blessing,

that we might be completely furnished unto all good works,

and to have the indwelling Spirit who abides in us

and is our advocate and our ally and our enabler,

and who we may justly rely upon to not only understand the Scriptures,

but to put them into practice.

I'm thankful for the Spirit of God that

I am so deeply dependent upon in preaching.

and that same Spirit

who is actively at work in the lives of believers,

that they might

find the answer

in the prayer that we find in the Psalms

where it says,

Open my eyes that I might behold

wondrous truths out of thy law.

And so we want Your Spirit to work in us this morning

that we might be different as a result of hearing the Word.

And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, by this point,

you figured out that we're coming close to the end of the book of Ephesians.

And I have enjoyed this book tremendously,

but I have to tell you,

I'm beginning to kind of make that transitional shift

in my prayer life

and beginning to think about the book of John.

And Lord willing,

and should He tarry and you permit,

I intend to begin preaching in John sometime in the fall,

maybe late summer.

We have three other groups

that are going to be doing Scripture Memory.

Tom and Carrie, you're doing next week.

Am I correct with that?

And then after that,

I think Mary and the children,

you're doing six.

Are you not doing six?

Yeah.

You're doing six.

Isaac and company,

you guys are doing five.

Am I right?

See, there we go.

We got it all worked out.

And we're coming close to the end.

How many of you know how the book of Ephesians kind of begins?

Does anybody have one of those favorite verses

that you can lock in and say,

here's how it begins?

Let me help you with this.

It says in Ephesians 1, verse 3,

Ephesians 1:3

it says,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in the heavenlies with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

We're blessed in Jesus.

It doesn't get any better than that.

And here, Paul opens up this unbelievable book that brings glory to Christ.

It causes us to look forward to the day that we're going to be home with Him.

And yet, as Paul comes towards the end of this book,

he goes into perhaps one of the more militant and challenging passages that we find in the New Testament

because he tells us that we're involved in conflict.

And here we are.

We're dealing with this and where Paul kind of reminds us that we're involved in warfare

and that we have a horrible enemy that is absolutely bent on our grief and our shame.

And one of the things that we should know from the very beginning is that we're not home yet.

You know, it would be nice, wouldn't it, to be home?

It says in the Scriptures, absent in the body, what?

Present with the Lord.

And I like the song that our choir sang this morning.

Man, what a, what a, that was good.

And just listening to you guys sing, I'm up here.

There's only one thing that goes along with our corporate singing,

and that is that I sometimes don't get some of the words right.

Am I right, young ladies?

They're sitting over here just having just a snickering time

because I sing different words than they do.

And it doesn't put me off so long as they can handle it.

But we're just, we're having a great time singing and rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And yet the fact of the matter is, is that we're not home yet.

We're not home yet.

And Paul, this morning, wants us to understand just how serious this conflict is.

And so as you take up this passage, let me kind of set the broad picture,

and then we're going to come down into it a little more narrow, a little more specific.

But I want you to understand that for one thing, Christ commands,

and this is something that we have to understand,

what is given to us here is given by a very pointed fashion.

Christ commands a warlike mindset.

Now, you have to face it.

Nobody really likes war for long.

It's fun to play paintball, you know, I mean, it's as long as you're not getting hit, right?

But the fact of the matter is, is that war is really not something that is entertaining.

It's horrible.

It's brutal.

When I was younger, I remember just during the time, I was back during the Vietnam era,

and I remember working with a man who was a veteran of Iwo Jima.

Later on, I had a friend who actually was in Vietnam, and he was on long-range patrols by himself.

He was a forward observer for artillery, and he would be sent out into the jungles alone by himself,

only he and a dog, and they would spend a week out there scouting and then calling in shots.

One of the things that I discovered about combat veterans is that none of them sit around thumping their chest

talking about how neat it was.

In fact, I've got to tell you, neither of these guys were the least bit interested in sharing some of their old war stories with me.

They really didn't want to talk about it.

Combat was something that they hated, and even though they'd come out a winner in one sense,

they were not very pleased with what all had taken place, and so they were very cautious.

I want you to understand that we're at war, and so our Savior tells us here in this passage that we face an enemy

that is bent on our destruction, our harm.

And one of the things that goes with preparing to preach is actually,

and you would understand that this would be reasonable, that as I am preaching or as I'm studying in the study there,

and as I'm meditating and praying about it, I have your faces and your hearts before me in the study and in my private time.

Does that make sense?

One of the things that goes with being a shepherd in the same place for quite a few years

is that I know some of the things that have happened in your life,

and I know some of the things that the enemy is trying to do to unhinge and to harm you.

And I know some of you that are almost brain-dead to what he's doing.

And so it follows then that when I take up this passage prompted by the Spirit of God,

and I come to you, I say with a shepherd's sympathy, listen carefully.

This is for you.

I want you to understand as we look at this passage that one of the things that we should know at the very outset

is that we're not to fight in our own power.

We're not to fight in our own power.

It says, finally, there in verse 10,

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God

that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

You know, I go back to what I said earlier that, you know, apart from video games and stuff like that,

real combat is not something that is entertaining and something that we take pleasure in.

It's hard and it's difficult.

And as we think about what is being spoken of here,

I want you to understand that the Spirit of God wants you to understand clearly

that this battle that we're involved in is something that has great risk and great harm

and you will not escape it until the day you draw your last breath.

My dad is 90.

I don't mean to overplay the fact that my heart's caught up in that,

but I want to tell you, I've watched my father over the last number of years

and on recurring occasions, I've spoken to him very explicitly and clearly and said,

Dad, you can't stop the fight.

I'm not talking about the physiological fight.

I'm talking about the spiritual conflict

where the enemy is very interested in allowing discouragement and despair

to breed over and eventually produce bitterness in the life of an individual

who has served with rich distinction.

And I say to him, Dad, you have to stay focused on the Lord Jesus Christ

and live your life for Him even as you live it,

doing nothing other than drawing breath where you sit.

We're involved in conflict and it won't stop until the day we're home.

And you've heard the passage where it says,

Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

In other words, don't try this alone.

You desperately need help for this daily battle.

Furthermore, I do want you to understand something as we look at this passage,

that this battle is defensive by design.

Defensive by design.

He is not calling us to be, you know, ninja turtles or navy seals.

You know, it's not a lot about, I'm out there doing my thing

and, you know, I'm a punching it out for Jesus kind of guy.

If you read the passage, you understand that the entire picture

is this defensive mindset.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand

against the schemes of the devil.

The imagery that Paul relied on

was imagery that communicates

a defensive and protective environment

where we are resisting the adversary.

We're not out there duking it out with him on our own.

The word stand that Paul uses here

is a word that talks about kind of getting anchored in.

It's talking about getting set.

Probably there are a few of you here

that at one time or another in P.E.

before there were too many injuries,

played something called Red Rover, Red Rover,

Let Timmy Come Over.

Come on, anybody here?

Raise your hand and say, I did that.

Okay?

And, you know, what you did

was you picked on the wusses to begin with.

You know, the little guys that weighed 69 pounds

and you and whatever,

they would come running at you.

And what was the game?

If they broke through, what happened?

They took one back with them.

But if you held on,

they were toast and they were part of your line, right?

And the way in which you did that

is you said, you know, let Timmy come over

and Timmy would come running at you

with his little frame and not anymore,

but, you know, he'd come running at you

and as he was getting closer and closer,

what were you doing?

You know, and as the guy would bump into you,

kind of give a little bit.

How many of you learned that?

You know, give a little bit

and pretty soon his energy was dissipated

and you had him.

In ancient warfare,

I want to tell you something.

Ancient warfare was not like this.

We are on the other side of the country

playing with a video game

and we're going to drop a rocket

on somebody over in, you know, Afghanistan.

Ancient warfare was very personal,

in your face, right up.

Essentially, it was an armed shoving match

where you got real close

and here's the truth.

The ones who turned down, backed down,

turned around and ran

were the ones who got stabbed in the,

guess what?

The back.

And so what you wanted to do in warfare

was you wanted to get your shield out in front

and you wanted to get,

and the soldiers actually had leather sandals

with iron cleats in them.

They weren't for walking on the beach in.

They were for, you know,

digging their way in

and then here would come this horde

of, you know, unwashed enemies.

You know, whoo,

camping in the old days was really bad.

You know, they'd come running at you

and then bang, they'd slam into you

and then what were you doing

with your little spear

and your little sword?

What were you doing?

Does anybody have an idea?

You were sticking them

wherever place you could.

You know, I mean,

there's nothing wrong with

chopping off a guy's leg.

Do you understand that?

Or stabbing him in the thigh.

You know, wherever,

you were just flailing at him.

And your safety was in being locked

into a defensive,

protective environment

and staying there.

I want you to understand

that as you look at this passage

as we open up,

you have to understand

that we are to rely upon his power

and we're to rely upon his armor

and we're to stand firm in him

and we're to stand together

as a body

rather than as these solo secret agents

for the king.

Listen to me.

I think one of the things

that has really amplified

Satan's effectiveness

in contemporary Christian living,

in causing harm

to contemporary Christian living,

is that there's so many people

out there today

that I bump into

who call themselves Christians

that really have no ongoing connection

with a body of believers.

And they are out there

by themselves

trying to deal with an adversary

and they have no companionship,

no help,

no encouragement,

no people to depend upon

that are going to say to them,

hey, don't be doing that.

You're going to get hurt.

Well, I want you to understand

as we look at this passage

there in verse 11,

let me read it to you.

Put on the whole armor of God

that you may be able to stand

against the schemes of the devil.

So, one, we see that

we're to have this warfare mindset,

but second,

Christ wants us to understand

who our enemy is.

Now, in that verse,

it says that you may be able

to stand against the schemes

of the devil.

Let me give you a little bit

of translation here,

and I'm not all about the Greek

kind of piling on you

so that you go home

and know the recipe.

I want you to know the cake,

but here's the deal.

That word scheme

is the word methodea.

Hmm.

What does methodea sound like?

Does anybody have an idea?

Come on, give me the English word.

Method.

And when Paul tells us

that there is a methodea,

what he is telling us

is that Satan actually has a plan

and is working according

to a systematic pattern

to try and hurt you.

That's what he's saying.

Look at it again.

It says,

that you may be able

to stand against the schemes

or the methodic attack

of Satan against you personally.

David Jeremiah makes a statement

that,

and it's sanctified imagination.

How many of you understand

what sanctified imagination is?

It's kind of like speculation,

okay?

But in his sanctified imagination,

he talks about the fact

that you could probably go

into the devil's office

and you'd find a filing cabinet

and there in the filing cabinet

was a file with your name on it.

And Satan has an idea

of how to mess you up.

You personally.

He's got a file

that says Tim Knoyer on it.

He's got one that says

Henry Covert on it.

He's got one that says

Gordy Hickey on it.

He's got one that says

Saul Green on it.

He's got one that says

Bob Consul.

He knows us.

And he's after us.

I want you to understand

something about Satan's strategies.

For one,

they're insanely repetitious.

Don't take pleasure

in the fact

that he's so repetitious

because we are

incredibly foolish.

I mean,

you know what?

I'm not going to set it again,

but you know,

I could set this trap

and just put a little bit

of rancid meat on it.

Do you follow that?

And then just cover

a little bit of grass

and stuff like that

and set it out in my lawn

and guess what would happen

within a day or two?

There would be something in it.

Not something I'd eat,

but it would be something in it.

Okay.

And I could take the same trap

this fall.

It was pretty cold.

You know that.

Pretty cold.

And I went out in my garage.

My wife has a pathological

hatred for mice.

And I am the family

mousetrapper.

Okay.

And in fact,

I bought like about

six bags of them

and she said,

honey,

why did you do that?

We have three left over

from last year.

I said,

never hurts.

And if my wife

has anything about

mousetraps,

it just use them.

So I'm out there

setting these mousetraps

all over the place.

You know what?

A couple times

I could catch the same,

two or three mice

on the same trap

with the same

peanut butter bit.

Now how deceptive

is a little blob

of peanut butter

on a mousetrap?

Very?

No.

But it works.

Just so long

as they don't eat much of it,

I just reset the thing.

Do you follow that?

Just kind of bend

the spring back

and clean the other one off

and don't even have

to lay it far away

and ready to go.

Now look here.

It says Satan

has a strategy.

He's got a strategy.

And he's after you.

I want you to understand

that he has classic attacks

that have succeeded

since the garden.

And he also knows

your particular weakness.

Look in your Bible

just for a moment.

Go over to Hebrews 12,

Hebrews 12:1

verse 1.

Hebrews 12,

Hebrews 12:1

verse 1.

There are minor differences

in the way this verse

is translated,

but I want you to look

in particular

at what it says there.

And the sin

which clings so closely.

King James says

the sin that does

so easily beset.

And one of the things

that I would understand

is that sin does cling

closely to all of us,

but there are some sins

that cling more closely

to one of us

than the other of us.

Let me give you

a couple of illustrations.

Satan did not use wine

or the barber chair

to get Samson.

Do you understand that?

But Satan had Samson

figured out, didn't he?

Satan had Samson figured out.

And from early on

in Samson's life,

he began to show

a pattern of immorality,

and at the end of the day,

it was his lack

of discretion

and obedience

to the Scripture

in relationship

to the matter

of immorality

that led him

to give away

the secret.

And he ended up

having his eyes

poked out.

Lot didn't fall

to the wiles

of a seductive woman.

Do you realize that?

Lot was not snared

the same way

that Samson was.

Lot wanted prominence.

Lot wanted property.

Lot wanted significance,

and he was willing

to put himself

wherever it would pay out

to his advantage.

There's some of you

sitting here this morning

that in the course

of your lifetime

are going to find

over and over again

that Satan is going

to tempt you

with certain advantages

and certain advances

in your career

that seem on the surface

they make sense,

but they draw you

closer to the

pit

and to Sodom

and Gomorrah.

Judas

was never tempted

that we know of

by immorality,

by drunkenness.

He was never tempted

by some of the things

that some of you

sitting out here

this morning

have found yourself

in conflict with

over and over again,

but I want you

to understand

that it tells us

that Satan got

the best of Judas

and his life

was destroyed

by the temptations

that came.

So here's the deal.

If you're wondering

what Satan may have

in your file

as shortcuts

to attacking Tim

or shortcuts

to attacking

Brenda

or whatever,

you know,

here's how you can

kind of figure it out.

Find out

where you've fallen

most often.

Do you follow that?

And by this time,

most of you here

are old enough

to have had enough

recurring incidents

in particular areas

where you say,

ah,

I'm a guppy there.

How many of you

follow what I'm saying?

It's like,

got me again.

If you're a

repetitious powder,

do you know

what a repetitious powder is?

Everybody smile.

It's someone

who does it often.

Or if you're

a person

who is often

offended,

easily offended.

You know what an individual

is who's easily offended?

They're constantly,

somebody's got them

worked up about something.

Or if you're a person

who finds yourself

snared by

subtle suggestions

to immorality

over and over again.

Or you're just not

satisfied with

the things that God's

provided.

I don't know what it is.

If you find yourself

in this repetitious pattern,

here's what you can figure out.

Satan's got your number.

He's got it.

Now,

I want you to recognize

something else

in this passage.

He has

a strategy.

But I also want you

to understand

that this warfare

is not about

us or others.

It's really stunning

to stop for a moment

and look at what it says

there in verse 12.

It says,

For we do not wrestle

against flesh and blood.

You know what most of us

believe?

Honestly,

truthfully,

we believe that the

biggest problems

we have in our life

are what?

Other people.

Huh?

Other people.

In fact,

you wouldn't want

to do it publicly,

but the truth

of the matter is

if I ask you

to make a short

mental list

of who you really

would like God

to change,

you're not first

on the list.

Not because you are

so spiritually perceptive,

but because you're

so dull.

Now,

there it is.

For we do not wrestle

against flesh and blood.

What?

Well,

that is the Bible,

so I've got to trust it.

Okay.

And it says,

But against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers

over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces

of evil in the heavenly places.

Now,

this Bible verse

is not undermining

the doctrine

of the battle

we have with indwelling sin,

and I've got enough

problems with me.

But the Bible tells me

there's an enemy

that I have

that's out to destroy me.

Out to harm me.

Out to ruin my life.

I've shared with you before

that there was a time

in my life

where,

largely because of

my own sin,

Judith and I went through

an incredibly difficult time.

And in that time,

I remember

how close I came,

this is the truth,

to one sin after another.

I was almost overwhelmed

by a desire for revenge.

I was almost overwhelmed

by anger and bitterness.

It consumed me.

I had an hour drive to work,

and I can tell you that

somewhere along,

about 30 minutes into that drive,

I would often,

by the way,

how many of you know

that I'm an emotional person?

I can get worked up,

you know,

it's like,

about 30 minutes into the drive,

I was crying,

driving my pickup truck,

and slamming the metal dashboard.

This was before

people had the intelligence

to wrap dashboards

with something

a little more protective,

you know.

And my thumb,

my back of my hand

was black and blue,

you know.

I was beating that dashboard

in my,

and I remember one day

kind of stopping,

pulling over to the side

of the road,

and said,

what is going on?

And out of the clear blue,

my Aunt Lou,

who's with the Lord now,

called me.

She said,

Tim,

don't give in

to bitterness.

And when Aunt Lou

told me that,

I thought she had a right

to tell me,

because I knew

how she had trashed

her life

because she'd given in

to sin.

Paul says to us,

he says,

listen,

the problem you're having

is not people.

You have an enemy

who wants

to destroy

your soul.

I want you to understand

that

the Bible wants us

to understand

that this is

spiritual warfare.

It was spiritual warfare

that destroyed Samson.

It was spiritual warfare

that just absolutely

trashed Saul's life

and David's family

and Solomon's life

and caused Ahab's death.

By the way,

not have you go there,

but you'll remember

the little passage

where Ahab the king

is kind of debating

whether he ought to go

to battle with another king,

and we get a picture

into heaven,

you know how that's going,

and in heaven,

God says,

well,

I wonder how we can

deal with Ahab,

and a little devil

comes up and says,

hey,

how about I do this?

And it worked.

Remember also

when Jesus

says to Peter,

he says,

hey,

Satan has desire

to sift you.

Satan wants

to trash your life,

Peter.

And then some

of the sweetest verses

in the Bible,

but I have prayed

for you.

I love that one.

I have prayed

for you.

So what is

our spiritual

enemy's

strategy?

Now remember

I said that he is

insanely repetitious?

So if you get it

right from the beginning,

you should be able

to figure out

how it goes.

Does that help you

a little bit?

It doesn't mean

that you can fight

this battle

on your own,

but at least

if he is strategic

and he has

a settled plan

to go about it,

you ought to know

how that goes.

So turn in your Bible

as we close

to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

and I'm going to tag

four quick points.

In Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

we have the story

of Adam and Eve

falling into sin,

and let me just kind

of spin this out

quickly for you.

Number one,

he came in created form.

Now the serpent

was more crafty

than any other beast

of the field

that the Lord God

had made.

He said to the woman,

did God actually say,

now who do we know

is actually employing

the serpent?

Who is it?

It's Satan.

The strategies of Satan.

He uses physical entities

and physical circumstances.

And by the way,

he won't come with horns.

I tell you,

I've had more people

tell me,

well, it was an open door.

Have you ever heard that one?

It was an open door.

I'll never forget

hearing a pastor say

that when the door

pushes open,

you want to find out

whether the hoof is cloven

or the hand has a nail

pinned in it.

Do you follow that?

I want to know

who's behind that.

He came in created form,

and he will attack you

using people

as his agents.

And by the way,

I wouldn't go up

to your wife

the next time

she's not cooperating

with you and say,

you are Satan's instrument.

Not a good idea.

Follow that.

I know some of you

are going to try it.

It's not a good career path.

I speak with experience.

Your wife is God's agent.

She's there to help.

So,

God's going to use people.

Admit that.

Secondly,

he came with a challenge

to God's Word.

He came with a challenge

to God's Word.

He said,

did God actually say?

He's going to do that

with you.

Incidentally,

if you're largely ignorant

about God's Word

and what it has to say,

you are even more vulnerable.

Do you follow that?

God has given us

His Word

for our protection.

So,

Satan comes to you

and said,

did God really say

and some of you

are sitting there,

I don't know.

I'm not real sure.

Well,

you leave it open

for Satan

to help you figure out

the way he wants you

to figure it out.

Know the Word.

Know the Scriptures.

Know what it has to say.

And don't be sitting there

just kind of thinking,

well,

no big deal.

Let me tell you something.

The Word

is your great ally

in helping you

not be overwhelmed

by the enemy

of your soul.

Third,

He came with a denial

of God's warning.

Now,

look at what it says there.

Verse 4,

but the serpent said

to the woman,

you will not surely die.

Now,

listen,

if you don't catch

anything else,

I want you to understand this.

God tells us the truth

about how the story ends.

I want you to hear that.

God is in the business

of being truthful.

He'll tell you

how the story ends.

Satan doesn't do that.

He will tell you

that if you trust in Him,

your life

will be spent

in His presence

in all of eternity,

and the end

will be good

even though

the journey

will be tough.

I can't help

but think this morning

about

a Chinese couple

that Judith and I

picked up at the airport

about three years ago

and brought to our home,

and subsequently

they came to Christ.

They're living in China today.

He's a PhD.

His specialty

is in

computer

software.

Always a little curious

what he did

for the government,

but I won't go there.

You know,

he got saved.

His wife got saved.

How many

good Christian churches

do you think

he can find

in the gargantuan country

where he's set?

Not very many.

His name,

English name

is Sam.

His wife's name

is Alice.

Daughter is Ariel.

I still hear from them.

You know what?

Life here,

regardless of where we are,

is going to be short.

And God tells us

that those who trust in Him

will enjoy eternity

forever in His presence.

Satan says,

hey,

it's not going to work out

that way.

No,

God tells us the truth.

Fourth,

he came with a denial

of God's goodness

and God's heart.

You see,

Satan always lies

about not only

how the story ends,

but he also lies

about God's intentions

and His challenge

in your life.

Do you follow that?

Oh.

Chasing that boy

is going to end up good

even if he is an unbeliever.

Even if you ought not

to be involved

in that behavior.

Lying

about something

at work

is going to protect

your job

and you'll

come out ahead.

Just being a little

dishonest

is to your benefit.

Being involved

in

personal gratification

is

understandable.

in every step,

Satan lies

about God's goodness

in his heart

and you can track

every one

of your temptations

back to those things.

So,

let me close with this.

Satan is

a strategist

who's out

to trash

your life.

Everybody here

would say,

I got that.

Right?

I got that.

And,

he has a strategy

actually that's got

you in mind.

I got that.

how can you tell

where he's

working

by repetition?

Hmm?

How do you

then respond

to this passage?

what you do

is say,

if you love me

enough to tell me

about the adversary

and how he wants

to destroy me,

then I

should

respond

with

defensive,

protective

covering

in the

ministry

of the

Word of God

and in the

Spirit of God

that I am

not a

spiritual

casualty

going forward.

Listen to me.

You're going to

fall into

one of three

categories this

morning and I'll

close with this.

There are going

to be some of you

here that through

the prompting of

the Spirit of God

you're going to

say,

I don't want to

keep on being

a spiritual

casualty to

an enemy who

hates my soul.

I know

Jesus.

and I want

to take

spiritual

conflict and

spiritual warfare

more seriously

and I am

prayerfully going

to humble

myself and

say,

Lord Jesus,

work in me

through your

Spirit to

teach me

all that I

need so that

I am not

being bulldozed

by my

enemy.

There are going

to be some of

you sitting here

right now saying,

I wish this

sermon would be

over so I

could leave

because I

just really,

it gives me

the creeps to

listen to this

and there are

some of you

sitting here

that do not

know Christ

who someday

will stand

before him

as the judge

of the whole

earth

and he will

say this,

I died to

pay the

penalty for

your sins

and I

made the

issue of

the darkness

of your soul

clear

and you

in your

pride

hung all

kinds of

excuses

around the

subject of

your soul's

need

and I

think about

what it

says in

2nd

Corinthians

it says

we in

Christ's

stead

plead

with you

be

reconciled

to Christ

and if

you're here

this morning

and you do

not know

Jesus Christ

I would

plead with

you in

Jesus'

place

lay aside

your pride

and your

stubbornness

and quietly

confess the

bankruptcy

of your

soul

and say

I believe

Jesus died

for my

sins

and I

trust him

to be my

savior

let's close

in prayer

our

father

God

we are

so very

thankful

for the

blessing

of your

word

and

for the

clarity

with which

you tell

us

that

we

as

your

children

do

have

an

enemy

who

wants

to

harm

us

but

thank

you

so

very

much

that

you

have

given

us

salvation

through

the

Lord

Jesus

and

you

have

given

us

protection

and

enabling

through

the

word

of

God

and

the

sweet

spirit

that

dwells

within

and

help

us

to

be

a

people

that

are

well

armed

and

really

sensitive

to

this

battle

so

that

we

may

live

joyful

productive

lives

for the

brief

time

that

we're

here

for

the

sake

of

the

King

we

ask

this

in

your

precious

name

Amen

we're

going