10.13.2014

Know the Enemy Part 1

At the church where I serve as Pastor, we are going through a series that talks about the reality of the supernatural.  We began our series talking about the spiritual warfare that we find ourselves in.  As in any war, it is crucial to know the identity of the enemy.  If you do not know who the enemy is, then you can find yourself fighting all the wrong battles.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. (Ephesians 6:11 HCSB)
Ephesians 6:11 clearly identifies our true enemy, the Devil.  We do not wage war against flesh and blood.  We are fighting a spiritual battle against a real spiritual enemy.  Ephesians 6:11 also encourages us to know the ways in which our enemy comes at us.  The first thing that we see is that our enemy blinds.
…the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4 HSCB)
We see that Satan will do whatever he can to keep people from hearing and understanding the life-giving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He knows that if people hear, understand, and receive the gospel, then they will be delivered from sin’s bondage forever.  That is the last thing that he wants.  Jesus tells us the desire of Satan is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).
It is important that we hear the word of God with attentive ears.  When God’s word comes to us, we need to take advantage of the priceless gift that we have.  It is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and able to do things that nothing else can (Hebrews 4:12).

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