Who's the Enemy?

You may be seated and turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Does everybody have a worship guide?

Everybody got a worship guide?

Okay.

Also, I want us to remember Adrian and uh Riggins and his family.

His sister, age 67, went on to be with the Lord uh Friday morning.

And he called me.

He was uh, I think here, fixing to head back over to Albeny or Albeny, that's where I'm from.

Uh, and the funeral is going to be Tuesday, I think, is what he told me.

So be lifting up that family because he's been asked to do the funeral, and there's nothing more uh trying on a person than to bury one of their own loved ones.

I know I've buried every one of my intimate family members, except my sister.

It's just me and she and me left.

And uh, so be remembering Adrian, he's and his precious wife are directors of the King's Ranch.

So we lift them up and praise the Lord for the great ministry that they have there, and they are a blessing to this church as well.

Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Today we're starting a series on the armor of God.

And why do we have the armor of God here?

Is because we are involved in spiritual warfare.

Do you know what the devil's most clever strategy is?

Let me ask you.

What do you think the devil's most strategic strategy is concerning himself?

What do you think he tries to do to us?

Somebody, somebody, what do you think?

Big deceiver, okay?

That's it.

Good job.

His greatest ploy is to make us believe that he doesn't exist.

That's his number one strategy.

That he does not exist.

If he can convince you and me that's not, hey, that he's nothing but a cartoon character or a Halloween figure, then he's got us exactly where he wants us to be.

He's accomplished his mission.

Satan will hide wherever he can.

You know where he hides?

He hides in religion.

He hides in music, in art, in psychology, in psychiatry, or in philosophies and ideologies.

Satan is not down in hell.

Let me help you here.

Satan's not down in hell casting coal into the furnace.

That's not what he's doing.

In fact, he's not even in hell.

We learn that from the book of Revelation.

He'll be the last one there.

Remember what he said?

I think I have it up, it's on your outline, Job chapter 2, verse 2, under introduction.

Job 2:2

Remember what Satan's answer to God was when he was asked?

Remember what he was asked?

From where do you come from?

Satan replied, From going to and fro on the earth and walking, hey, back and forth on it.

That's where he is, folks.

This is where he is.

Right here in this passage, verses 10 through 13, we're going to look at today.

Paul said, Finally, brethren, be strengthened by the Lord and by his fast strength.

Put on the full armor, the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the tactics, the wilds.

That's what the word wilds means.

Tricks, tactics, schemes of the devil.

Now, look at verse 12.

This is awesome.

For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual foes of evil in the heavens.

Now, notice the word against.

Five times.

Five times he makes the statement that you and I are against something.

We are against Satan.

Five times in Ephesians 6, where Paul uses the word against.

Why?

Because we are pushing the gospel forward to a lost and dying world.

Now watch this.

And as we are pushing the gospel forward, Satan is pushing backwards.

He's pushing against us in everything we do.

Why do you think Paul said, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in and through Christ Jesus?

Why do you think Paul said that?

Because he's against the foe, a formidable foe.

Why do you think Paul said, I fought a good fight?

Because he was constantly pressing toward the mark against Satan.

And it's so important that we understand that.

In fact, in recent days, in the hymnal books or new hymn books, they're taking away anything and trying to be politically correct.

They don't want anything in Christianity to have any militant, should I say, action whatsoever.

We're to be calm and passive and never say anything and sit back and do nothing.

And we've seen that almost destroy our country.

We really have.

I can remember singing onward Christian soldiers.

What a powerful statement.

Now listen, I was reading, and every time I read a passage of scripture and preach a paragraph, I'll read it in several different versions.

And the message rendered Ephesians 6.12 like this.

I want you to listen to this.

Here's what it says.

This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll, hey, that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours.

This is for keeps, a life or death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels.

Wow.

It's a life and death fight against Satan and his angels.

That about sums it all up, doesn't it?

That's why Paul said in verse 10, finally, brethren.

Paul says, if you are one of the brethren, a member of the body of Christ, you and I are in a major battle against a formidable foe named Satan.

And the purpose of this series is to know our enemy.

And this lesson is to reveal our enemy.

The devil.

Look at verse 11.

In the verse 11, he calls him the devil.

He calls him the devil.

Put on the whole armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the devil.

And then in verse 16, he calls him the wicked one.

The wicked one.

Every country spends vast money, we do, on collecting data and information about who our enemy is.

All you hear in the news for the last year and a half is Russia, Russia, Russia, China, China.

I mean, the vast amount of money and energies that are spent to what?

And really espionage that goes on to get information about our arch enemies.

And they, in turn, getting in this information about America.

Amen.

But they really do, millions and millions and millions of dollars.

So today, this is our goal.

To gather the biblical evidence of Satan and our enemy.

So let's get started.

Ready?

Number one, let's look at Satan's personality.

At the heart of Satan, his personality is the bitter hatred of God and God's people.

You can put it down, you can write it down.

Satan hates God and God's people.

He hates you and me.

That's a strong word, preacher.

Well, let me prove it.

Even the biblical names of Satan reveals his personality.

Listen to this.

I wrote down his names.

Just listen to the names.

Self-explanatory, needs no explanation.

Deceiver, murderer, tempter, destroyer, serpent, liar, accuser of the brethren, prince, evil one.

He's also compared to a lion and also called the angel of light.

And he employs every facet of that personality to pursue his devious ends against God and God's plan for his earth and for you as a Christian.

Now, did you know something?

Satan was not always this way.

Did you know that?

He was a good guy at one time.

He was a good angel at one time.

He really was.

And in fact, I love what he says in Isaiah 14 calls him before his expulsion from heaven.

You know what he called his name was?

Lucifer.

And the word Lucifer is a actually it's a name that stands for, and it's a hey, Halaol, Halaol is the Greek word, and it means light bearer.

It means the morning star.

It means the shining one.

In other words, he was a brilliant example, a radiant example at one time.

In fact, Ezekiel 28 calls him.

You ready for this?

The anointed cherub.

Wow.

Did you hear me?

The anointed cherub.

I mean, he was he was right up there with uh Michael.

Yes, he was there, right there.

He was in the top two or three of the main big guys.

Wow.

I'm telling you.

Now you know what got me?

Man, this is good, church.

Even the angels have a choice.

Even the angels have a free will.

Hello.

Amen.

We all have a free will.

Even the angels had the free will.

Powerful, powerful insight here.

Apparently, the angels, as created beings, had free wills just like we do.

And some have chosen to remain faithful to God, and a third of the angels chose to go with Lucifer.

And they were kicked out of heaven.

And we see that in Isaiah 14.

Verse 13 and 14.

I think I have those for you there.

I do.

And under under number one, his look at it.

And then it's the personality.

Look at verse 13.

Isaiah 14 indicates, verse 13, that it was a result of pride and arrogance that Satan wanted to be like God.

Notice what it says, for you have said in your hearts, I will ascend into heaven.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the father's sides of the north.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

I will be like the Most High.

Wow.

Wow.

As a result of Satan trying to make himself look like God and to be God, to be equal with God, to exalt his throne above the stars of God, verse 13.

Satan was cast out of heaven.

And therefore we see Satan exercised his free will and rebel.

Therefore, we, hey, it appears to me the first sin ever committed.

Are you ready for this?

Think about this.

The first sin ever committed, even before the Garden of Eden.

This was in my notes.

I had a big old star bite when I took this years ago when I was in seminary.

I had a big star bite there.

Probably the first sin ever committed was in heaven when Satan chose to rebel against God and try to take over God's throne.

Think about that.

And he was kicked out.

So this guy is pretty wise.

This guy's pretty powerful.

Which brings me to the second point.

And by the way, pride and arrogancy will tumble you every time.

Can I get an amen?

Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination unto God.

They will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 16, 5.

I see that all the time with Christians.

Us.

I see that with us all the time.

It's pride.

I want it my way.

In fact, I had someone recently just tell me, I'm so this old, and I can do what I want when I want.

And I said, Oh no, you can't, not if you're a Christian.

You may think you can, but buddy, you headed for destruction quick.

And it'll happen.

He'll bring you down so quick it'll make your head swim.

Look at Satan's position.

Satan's been given three names in the Bible that will tell us what his position is.

Three names.

Are you ready?

Here it is.

Number one, he is a prince.

He is a prince.

He is called the prince and ruler of this world.

Prince and ruler of this world.

John 12, 31 says, Now is the judgment of this world.

Now here it is.

Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

So we see he's a ruler.

John 14, 30 and John 16, 11.

Listen to what John 16, 11 says.

Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

And then look at Ephesians 2, verse 2.

Ephesians 2:2

He's the, hey, he's the prince and the power of the air, which once walks according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.

Now, watch this.

This is good.

This is really good.

As the prince of this world, he is in charge of evil men.

Now remember, princes had the army under.

He's in charge of evil men.

Everything, or evil women.

That doesn't exclude you, ladies, sorry.

But then we see, look, he is the prince of the power there.

Hey, which means he's in charge of evil spirits.

So he's in charge of evil people and evil spirits, which affects and causes the evil people.

Hey, when you're down and you're out and you're discouraged and even sickness and all this going on, we don't have a clue that where it's really coming from is Satan himself.

Come on, church.

And what is that purpose?

He's come to kill, steal, and destroy.

John 10 10.

Notice the second word about his position.

He is a ruler.

Satan is the ruler of the world system.

Look at 1 John 5, 19.

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

Woo! Wow.

He is the force behind all the secular and materialistic things that go on in this world.

He's the root cause of it all.

He's the one that has, hey, has us to have a craving for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

He's the one that has, hey, causes that greed that we all have.

Now I know none of us are greedy.

Hello.

Why are you that way?

Why are we greedy?

Why are we selfish?

Because there's an evil cosmetic, cause not cosmetic, but cosmic force behind our thought process, our attitudes, that's doing its best to call us, hey, to cause us to supplant the Lordship in our lives.

It's a battle.

Matthew 12, 26 indicates that Satan has his own kingdom.

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.

How then will his kingdom stand?

Listen, just as God has his kingdom, Satan has his kingdom.

You know what Satan's kingdom is?

It's the world that you and I live in.

That's why this world's not our home.

Woo! Can I get an amen?

We're just passing through.

This is not our kingdom.

Our kingdom's coming.

Thy will be done.

Thy kingdom come.

We're not in the, hey, God's kingdom.

We're right now living in Satan's kingdom.

Does that make sense?

Now you understand why you can't watch television.

When's the last time you really saw something good?

You had to turn the Hallmark channel.

It's about all we watch anymore.

I go home and Susan's got about 20 something of the Hallmark movies recorded.

Never watch them, but she's got them recorded.

But really, folks, look.

Satan has his own kingdom, a realm in which he uh exercises dominance and authority over this world.

And that's why James, remember what James says, you adulterers, now watch, don't miss this.

It fits.

You adulterers and adulteresses.

Did you just hear what those two words said?

You're, hey, adulteresses.

For if you love, you can't love the world and love God.

Because if you love the world, James 4, 4 says it's enmity with God means hostility with God.

Why?

Because you're worshiping the God of the world.

And who's that?

Satan.

So when you get caught up in all our materialistic and all the things that we worship here, you don't understand.

This will help me.

It helps me.

I'm worshiping Satan.

Hello?

Woo, preacher.

See, he doesn't want you to know that.

He doesn't want you to know that.

That money you love, hey, is nothing more than worshiping Satan.

The love of money is what?

You know the verse.

The root of what?

Who's over evil men?

Come on, I'm getting you going.

Who's over evil men?

Who's over evil spirits?

He's the prince, he's the ruler.

And then notice the third name.

He is God.

Little G, that's correct.

Notice what it says.

2 Corinthians 4, 4 to Satan.

Little G, whose mind, the God, little G, of this age has blinded who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on the God.

Them.

Woo! Wow.

Wow.

Satan acts as an imitator and imposter.

God has his true religion.

Now what's this?

This is boy, when I was going back through my notes, I said, wow, that's good.

He is an imposter of everything that God is.

Remember what got him kicked out of heaven?

He wanted to be like God.

So guess what he does on the earth?

He tries to make you think he is God.

Hello.

Hello, you with me?

And I thought.

God has his religion.

Satan has set up his own religion and made himself, as Darren said, little G, God of it.

In Scripture, are you ready?

We find reference.

Let me show you what I saw in my notes that were so good.

In Scripture, we find reference to Satan's synagogue or meeting place.

Revelations 3 9, remember we saw that when we were studying the churches.

What about Satan's gospel?

Satan's got his own gospel.

Galatians chapter 1, verse 8.

Galatians 1:8

And it says, if we or any angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you, let him be accursed.

Any other gospel which shows and indicates there's other gospels.

Satan has his gospel.

You know what it is?

Materialism.

You know what it is?

Divisiveness.

You know what it is?

Discouragement.

What's this?

The Lord has his ministers, Satan has his ministers.

2 Corinthians 11, 13 through 15, the false prophets, the false teachers.

Satan has, hey, the Lord has his doctrine, Satan has his doctrine.

1 Timothy 4, 1.

The Lord has his communion table that we took of last week, the Lord's Supper.

Satan has his communion table.

1 Corinthians 10, 20 and 21.

He certainly has the major elements of a religion.

Satan presides as God over the apostate church.

Which we know in Revelations he's the false prophet.

Fits, doesn't it?

See how that fits?

Remember the Trinity?

Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet.

The false prophets over all the false religion.

Which brings me to the third point.

Not only do we see Satan's personality, Satan's position, but we see Satan's power.

Satan has power.

Power which, apart from our relationship with Christ, we should fear greatly.

We ought to fear this foe.

Next to God, Satan is the most powerful being on this planet.

I'm going to say that again.

Apart from God, Satan is the most powerful being on this planet.

That's powerful, folks.

If not, why would Paul outline in detail that we're going to look at each piece of the armor in these next few weeks?

An armor for us to put on.

If he didn't realize how fierce and powerful and strong this enemy was.

Can I get an amen?

Ladies and gentlemen, every day we wake up and walk out our doors, Satan is there to take us out.

To take us out.

And we don't even realize it.

That's the sad thing.

We don't even believe he exists.

Let me show you.

2 Thessalonians 2.9.

Let me show you this power.

It says the coming of lawlessness, lawless one.

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan.

Now watch.

With all power.

Did you hear what he said?

Not some power.

Signs and lying wonders.

That's Satan.

He also has the power of death.

Look at Hebrews 2.14.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same that through death, that is the Lord Jesus' death, he might destroy him who has power, hey, of death that is the devil.

The devil wants to kill us.

He brings about death.

You say, well, I'm a Christian, yeah, but you know why he wants to kill you?

Because he doesn't want you to testify.

He doesn't want you to be a living example of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because, see, when you're an example and you're lifting Christ up, Jesus is being exalted, and when he is exalted, he draws all men into himself.

John 12, 32.

So we see this unbelievable deception.

And what should he be feared as?

1 Peter 5, 8, you know it.

He should be feared as a what?

Roaring lion.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your, hey, hey, your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.

Wow.

So, whoo! We see his position.

He's a prince, he's a ruler, he's a god with the little g.

We see his personality.

The mass deception and imitator of God, all that God has in his kingdom, Satan has and tries to manipulate and and and reproduce in his kingdom the world.

And why does he do that?

To draw us, making us think that that is true religion, his religion.

The arts deceiver.

Well, he's got a lot of us.

Isn't it amazing?

It seems like he's winning.

75,000 were watching a football game yesterday.

Just in just in uh at uh Tuscaloosa.

Georgia had as many or more, I think.

You there won't be that many people in church on Sunday, even close.

So who's winning?

So would you not say he's powerful?

The allurements, oh my soul, the flesh.

So that brings me to the last thing.

Let's look at his purposes.

This is where it really gets good.

Satan's position, he's the prince, the ruler, the God, his power, like a roaring lion.

He's got power, he has signs, he has lying wonders, he can do miraculous stuff.

But the ultimate thing that he does, the powers, the signs, and the wonders, is to bring death.

Satan's purposes.

I want you to rhyme down.

I did not put these for you.

So you find a little place at the top right there.

And and uh Satan's purposes are carried out.

We're gonna see his three primary ways, but but as I was studying this week, he gave me three purposes that I've seen in the last 40 years of ministry and how he's reproduced those those three three things over and over again to destroy lives.

Are you ready?

This is unbelievable.

He hadn't changed his tactics.

Number one.

He literally wants to destroy every Christian, he wants to destroy us.

He's come to kill, steal, and destroy.

John 10, 10.

His purpose is to take us out, to destroy our testimony.

I'm hearing that every day.

I just heard every day a man of God or a woman of God, you hear false.

Every day.

I just heard two this week, one very close to me.

And I couldn't believe it.

Still don't believe it.

Number two.

To destroy our unity and purity and oneness, I want you to write it down.

To destroy our unity, our purity, our oneness of every Christian home.

Satan is literally destroying the homes.

We have the divorce rates just, do you realize the divorce rate is in America now is far beyond any divorce rate that uh would allow a country to survive?

Two and three divorces now, too.

And I what I'm saying is that's the power of Satan.

He's literally destroying homes.

Ephesians 4.

I don't think I have that down.

I don't.

But hey, Jason, can you just jump to a feet?

Can you pull up, pardon?

Yeah.

Is it there?

Okay, good.

Bring up a here we go.

Here it is.

Here's what he's trying to disrupt: endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Verse 4, there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.

See, let me tell you what God's kingdom is made of.

It's made of love and unity and oneness.

So, what is Satan's ultimate goal?

To destroy that unity, that oneness.

Because once you're one in Christ, nothing can stop you, and you can, hey, you can reach your community with the gospel here.

You can reach your family with the gospel.

I just got my youngest daughter, just wrote me a nice little card.

She's 30 today.

Yesterday.

She turned 30.

She said, Dad, mom said that when you turned 30, Carrie was with me then, and David and Christy and uh Sonya when I was 30.

In fact, somebody sent me a bulletin of my how the way I looked when I was 30.

I was a good-looking guy then.

Now listen, she wrote me, you know what she said.

Dad, thank you.

You and mom.

Now here's the word she used.

And I didn't tell her to use this.

Thank you and mom, dad, for being an example of love and unity.

And then she put in parentheses, fighting for your marriage and your home.

And Satan seeks to destroy.

And boy, was she not right.

Susan, I've been married 36 wonderful years.

Susan would say probably 34 wonderful years.

But it's a battle.

Because Satan wants to disrupt that unity and that love and that oneness.

Which brings me to the next thing.

What's this?

To destroy us individually, to destroy our unity, our oneness, and our purity of the home.

And then are you ready for number three?

To destroy the work of the church.

Now think about it.

And how does he destroy the work of the church?

Are you ready?

By in I'm writing this down to me, and I've seen it now for 40 years.

By embarrassing it publicly.

You know how he embarrasses the church publicly?

By people, but by the church leadership, the church congregation.

Church getting in debt.

The last five years we've seen more churches lose their reputation and their testimony in the community because they lost their buildings.

Because they built these buildings and couldn't pay for them.

You'll never have to worry about that here.

We may be a little slow, but we're not going to be in big debt.

Can I get an amen?

I promised when there were four of us, David and I made agreement we'd never put this church in debt so that it would hinder its testimony to the community.

We're not going to do it.

And we're not going to go build million-dollar buildings.

We're going to build a metal gym.

Why?

It's not about the building, it's about the people.

Is it nice?

Yeah.

Will it be comfortable?

Yes.

But will it be usable?

Yes.

You won't have to worry about getting blood on the carpet.

Mud on the carpet.

We'll just wash it.

Get the holes, wash the floor, cement.

It's amazing that we built a church of over a thousand, had over 200 people saved and baptized every year in a metal building in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

You know what?

They moved out of the building, the church no longer exists.

Hello, just a thought.

I'm not blaming it all on that.

There's a lot more.

But I'll tell you what I am blaming it on.

Satan won and destroyed the testimony of the church.

Hello.

That's a real example.

Now, it didn't destroy the people because they were spread out and they ended up going with Alberta Baptist and doing great and all that.

But you see what I'm saying?

That's what Satan wants to do.

He wants to take this church out and he'll try.

He already has.

Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

You've got to guard your testimony.

Every day.

It's a battle.

Put on the armor.

Because the darts are going to come from all directions.

That's good preaching, preacher.

That's to take us out.

Satan has subordinates and an army of demons who worked to get a foothold into your life, my life, our church.

And he does it through the avenue of the flesh.

That fallen human nature is Satan's primary hook.

You know what that is?

You know what the worst?

You know who my worst enemy is?

Other than Satan?

Me.

Me.

Because I want it my way.

But you know what I am learning?

Did you hear I said the word learning?

What I used to really get upset about and sometimes have a knockdown drag out disagreement with Susan.

I didn't say fight.

I said disagreement.

You remember the story about the man said, my wife and I have never had a fight.

And if anybody says that, they're either lying or they're not human.

But then he went on to say, but we've had a few disagreements you could hear around the block.

So my wife and I have had some disagreements.

And you know what?

After all these years, after 35 wonderful years for me, I've learned all a lot of those knockdown drag acts, it didn't mean nothing.

If it's not, doesn't matter for eternity, why even get upset about it?

Now, if it's for eternity, yes.

But all it is, every fight, you know what causes a fight pride?

You know what kicks Satan out of heaven?

Pride.

I want it my way.

Only, let me give the scripture.

Only pride breeds contention.

So, here's our survey.

Let me show you what I saw.

Here's a survey of action words associated in the Bible with Satan.

Are you ready for this?

Watch this.

Action words.

Satan beguiles, he seduces, he opposes, he resists, he deceives, he sows, tears, he hinders, he buffets.

Now we've heard that word.

I signed it.

I said, probably 70% of the people won't even understand what the word buffet means.

Now, we got a smart group, I'm sure you do.

But the word buffet is a good word.

In fact, the Greek word for buffet, literally, are you ready for this?

Here's what it means.

It means an example of waves.

In fact, how many of you have ever been to the beach when the ocean was roaring with big waves?

My kids, grandkids love to get their inner tubes and ride the waves or their surfboards.

What does a wave do when a big one comes and you're standing there and it crashes on you?

What does it do to you?

BAM! Sand all in your bathing suit and hits your head, and I meant, and you say, and I'm and then you get up and say I'm having fun because you like an idiot, we go back and do it again.

But those waves continually keep coming.

They keep knocking you down.

Right?

Sometimes you're about to get up, and by the time you get up, bam, it takes you back again.

Well, that's exactly what the word buffet means.

It is a continuously knocking you down.

Is that not what Satan does?

And now watch this, watch this.

When you're down and you feel it, you like you almost, you know, you say, My goodness, I felt that this month.

This has been one of the toughest months since I've been your pastor.

From cancer in my own family to just all kind of stuff in our church.

People would, it's just been one of the toughest months.

And I felt, man, when I saw that, I said, that's exactly what's happening.

Man, you get through one and you get up, bam, and you're back again, and you get back up the next week, man.

I'm bam! And you're back down again, and you're and you finally come to the point saying, What in the world, God, are you doing?

You ever been there like that?

Am I the only ones that have been there?

Some of you are there right now.

And you're like, Good grief, how much more can I take?

God never allows any of those waves to come that He won't be able to always pick you back up.

The righteous fall seven times, but they get back up.

Amen.

But that's what exactly that means.

Wow.

So, Satan's purpose.

Buffet, to tempt, persecutes, blasphemes.

None of these words are positive, all destructive and self-serving.

Satan's purposes are carried out in three primary ways.

Are you ready?

Here they are.

One, he's the deceiver.

We've mentioned this previously.

John 8 44 calls him a liar and a deceiver.

He's the father of lies.

John 12, 9 calls him the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.

He says.

He is out to counterfeit the work and ways of God anytime he can.

We have yet to see that last deception, but we saw it in Revelations, didn't we?

When he comes to deceive the whole world as the Antichrist during the great tribulation.

Everything Satan does is a copy of something God's done.

Are you ready for this?

I told you I was going to unmask him.

What's this?

God has a city and a bride in Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:2.

Revelation 21:2

Satan has a city.

That is the harlot, Babylon.

Revelation 17, 5 and verse 18.

Jesus is the light of the world.

John 9, 5.

Satan masquerades as the angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11 14.

Jesus is the king of kings.

1 Timothy 6.15.

And Satan is the king of all the children of pride.

Job 41, verse 34.

Job 41:34

Woo! Jesus is the prince in peace.

Isaiah 9.6.

Satan is the ruler of this world.

John 14, 30, and the prince and the power of the air.

Ephesians 2.2.

Jesus is called the Lord my God.

Zechariah 14, verse 5.

Zechariah 14:5

Satan is called the God of this age.

2 Corinthians 4.4.

Jesus is called the lion of the tribe of Judah.

Revelation 5, 5, and Satan is a roaring lion.

Seeking whom he may devour.

Do you not see?

Why did I why have I unmasked him with all his own words?

It's because he looks so much like God.

If you don't really know the truth, you'll be going down the wrong direction and be worshiping him in his world and not even know it.

Amen.

Amen.

Not even know it.

Satan deceives today basically the same way he began deceiving in the Garden of Eden.

Here it is, speaking lies.

Only today he uses false prophets and false teachers.

He mixes just enough truth with error to make it appeal, hey, to appear believable.

Isn't that what he did with Eve?

Oh, has he said?

Oh yeah, he said you're not to eat of that forbidden fruit.

That was true.

But then he added his part.

But really?

Does he really mean that?

Remember with Jesus.

Same thing on the Mount of Temptation.

He even tried it with Jesus.

Spoke part truth, half truth.

Then, secondly, Satan also misquotes the Bible, and that's what he did with Jesus in Matthew 4.

And finally, Satan makes people believe he doesn't exist.

That was the answer at the very beginning.

What's the greatest?

Hey, what is the greatest deception Satan does to us?

He makes us think that there's really no Satan, there's no devil.

B.

He's the divider.

He divides us.

He uses the time-honored military strategy, the greatest military strategy ever used in every war you study.

Divide and conquer.

That's what he does.

He divides the home, he divides the church, he divides the schools, he divides, he divides, he divides.

He knows he can't defeat a unified body.

How can even the verses in our marriage with Susan and I in Ecclesiastes 4, two are better than one, but how in the world can Satan come against three?

When you, your wife, or hey, and the Holy Spirit of God are all one, Satan does not have a chance.

Same way with the church.

Thank God for our church.

Thank God for our leaders.

We have one purpose, and it's his purpose.

How does Satan bring this division?

Are you ready?

This is good.

How does he bring division in a home in a church?

He injects the poison of, are you ready?

You might want to write these words down.

This is powerful.

Suspicion.

I have to watch that.

I get suspicious.

I owe policeman in me.

Here's another good one.

Interance.

I'm not tolerant to but to my kind of music.

I don't want anybody else's music.

I want my music.

You never heard that before, have you?

Churches have split over music.

Intolerance.

Dislike.

I just don't like you.

You may not like me, but you gotta love me.

And how can you love me and not like me a little bit?

Jealousy.

Oh my goodness.

Put a star by that one.

Criticism.

Put a star by that one.

We bring suspicion, intolerance, dislike, jealousy, and criticism into relationships.

And those find their outlet.

Are you ready?

Now watch.

Watch how you, when I get through this, you're gonna say, Oh, that's me.

I did sometimes.

Suspicion, intolerance, dislike, jealousy, and criticism into relationships, and those find their outlet through, guess what?

The tongue.

You start criticizing, you start blaming, you start just all kind of poison starts coming out of your mouth.

And listen to what James said, the apostle James said that the tongue is full of deadly poison set on fire by hell.

James 3, 6 and 8.

There it is.

And the tongue is afire.

Hey, a world of iniquity, the tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of the nature.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to its hears.

Let the words of my mouth, hey, the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Boy, those two verses help me.

Psalms 19, 14 and Ephesians 4.29.

And then lastly, hey, he's the divider, he's the deceiver, and are you ready?

He's the destroyer.

Apollon.

The Greek word Apollo, actually, it's called Apollon.

Apollyon.

And it means destroyer.

Revelation 9.11.

The name certainly fits the devil as he seeks to ultimately destroy the work of God.

How does Satan work to destroy us as the end, hey, at the individual level?

You ready?

Now there's two questions we just answered.

One, or fix answer, second one.

How does Satan bring division?

We saw that.

Suspicion, intolerance, dislike, jealousy, criticism.

Can I tell you the greatest way to overcome that?

Instead of using your tongue to spread just vicious venom from Satan?

If you have an alt with anybody, starting with your own husband, talk to them about it.

Amen?

In a loving way.

You know, the older I've gotten, the better I've been at that with my own wife.

Before, when I was younger, I just wouldn't talk.

I'd get on a motorcycle and leave.

And I'd come back and realize the problem's still there.

I'd get on the bike and leave again.

Come back, guess what?

Problem's still there.

And then I had a beautiful wife, spirit-filled wife, that said, Are we ever going to talk about this?

I'd get on the bike and leave again.

Until I learned to sit down and talk it out.

I don't like to do that.

I wasn't raised that way.

I was raised you deal with it.

Get over it.

Tough.

That's the way I was raised.

Until I went with got with my granddaddy.

So you gotta talk it out.

I think there's a verse in Matthew 18 that says, if you got out with your brother, you go to him and him alone.

It starts with your wife.

Or your husband.

Not sister fluffy head and deacon potato head.

Amen.

Hadn't heard that in a while, have you?

How does Satan destroy us?

I mean, how does he work at destroying us individually?

All right, here it is.

Paul plainly states, here it is.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 2.18.

And I'm through.

I don't know if we can handle much more.

1 Thessalonians 2.18.

You know what Paul said?

Satan hindered him and his companions from visiting the church at Thessalonica.

He hindered them.

He put obstacles in their way.

He got them frustrated.

Dealing with the obstacles.

We get burned out.

We stop pursuing the will of God in our lives.

At that point, Satan has accomplished his purpose.

He has taken us out of the game.

You know what Satan wants to do for all of us?

He wants to take us out of the game.

Out of the game.

He loves to get us stressed out, which many times leads to illness and discouragement.

Is that not true?

Then Satan attacks with a variety of his fiery darts, Ephesians 6.16.

Anytime we let down the shield of faith, for even one moment, he shoots a dart.

Or here's the darts, ready?

Three of them.

Main darts.

Discouragement, despair, and doubt.

Discouragement, despair, and doubt.

Those are his three main darts.

He will tempt us to lose our confidence in other people, to be suspicious of their motives and their actions, and to doubt our own standing before God.

Wow.

Discouragement, despair, and doubt.

Boy, is that not true?

Those are his three most powerful errors.

Right there.

Boy, I'm preaching to me.

I'm glad y'all just listened to me.

I'm having my pity party today.

This is all me.

He will tempt you to lose confidence in other people.

I've gotten there.

Oh, my preacher.

Yeah.

Have you helped people so much?

And then help them time and time again, and then they just.

It's heartbreaking, folks.

You know what you want?

You know what you want to say?

I'm going to say it.

Well, just go ahead and go.

Don't come back.

Don't let the door hit you in the back side.

You ever been there?

Am I the only one?

And then I make up my mind.

I'm not going to help you again.

That's it.

I'm through.

And I know better than to say that.

Because God's going to get me again every time.

Seven times seventy.

Amen.

But don't wouldn't you just like to try to slap some sense into them?

Can't do it.

Can't do it.

You can't do it.

Only the Holy Spirit can do it.

Then you know what the Holy Spirit says, why don't you pray for them?

I don't want to pray for him.

I'm mad at them.

I don't want to pray for him.

I want to say, get them, God, get them.

So as I close, his ultimate purpose is to, hey, disrupt God's will in our life.

And dethrone.

Whoo, this is good.

I wrote this to me.

His ultimate purpose as I close, you want to write this down, is to disrupt God's plan for your life.

I'm glad I saw that.

That's it.

And secondly, not only to disrupt God's plan for your life, oh, this is good.

And in order to do that, he's got to dethrone God in your life.

In other words, you've got to, what he does is takes the Holy Spirit out of the driver's seat in your car and puts him in the back seat, and you become the driver.

So once his ultimate purpose is to direct to disrupt God's plan for your life, and the way he does that, he's so doubt, discouraged, all that, he ends up putting you in charge of your own life.

You're making your decisions instead of the Lord.