Identifying the Enemy | Dr. David Jeremiah | Ephesians 6:10-12

What is the Armor of God?

Message Description:

In war, victory isn’t always assured by superior weaponry. It often depends upon learning all you can about your enemy. Join Dr. David Jeremiah as he provides detailed intelligence on every believer’s enemy, Satan: his identity, his strategies and his ultimate destiny.

Satan and his demons are there, and they’re shooting darts at god’s people.
And if we don’t have the shield of faith, which we’ll study a little bit later, we are no match for his artillery.
When Satan gets a hold of somebody who has influence, he devours their influence.
He devours their message. He wants to devour us. He wants to take away the effectiveness that we have.
He’s like a roaring lion. Seeking whom he may devour.
You know, it’s always a good thing before you fight a war to know something about your enemy.
And who it is you’re fighting against.
In the spiritual realm, it could never be more true.
Many Christians do not take our enemy seriously because they don’t know enough about him to take him seriously.
Satan’s incognito’s are very clever. He hides in the most unbelievable places.
He hides in religion, one of his favorite hideouts.
He hides behind intellectualism, He hides in poetry and art, oftentimes in music.
He hides in psychology and human understanding.
In fact, The Bible says that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one.
Market men and women, Satan is not the man below heaping coals onto an eternal furnace.
Satan is the original jet setter. Did you know that?
Remember in the book of Job, when, uh, he was answering god as to where he had been, he said, where do you come from?
And Satan said, from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it, Job 22.
What a picture. Satan trucking all over the earth doing his thing.
Now, if you look down at your bibles at verse 12, you will discover that there is a word in verse 12 that is listed five times.
Five times this word appears. I’m gonna read the verse, and you’ll catch on real quickly.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.
Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.
I don’t know what you get from the word against, but let me tell you what it means.
It means we’re in a battle And there is someone we are against and someone who is against us, and that seems rather strange to most people today, especially those who have adopted a rather passive attitude about the Christian life.
Eugene Peterson make sure we are aware of the serious nature of this battle in the paraphrase of this verse, he paraphrases it like this.
This is no afternoon athletic contest 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 of his angels.
Paul’s instruction to the ephesians in the 10th verse is addressed to the brethren Finally, he said, my brethren, be strong.
Why? So you can get into this battle and fight against the enemy who is against you.
Notice men and women, this is not a fight for the apostles.
This is not a fight for the pastors.
This is not a fight for the deacons or the leaders.
This is a fight for the brethren and the cistern, too. All of us together, the brothers and the sisters.
The lines have been drawn.
It is the lord and the brethren against Satan and the demons.
And in Ephesians chapter 6, Paul identifies our enemy as the devil in verse 11, if you look down in verse 16, he gives him another name.
He calls him the wicked one.
Verse 11 says, you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and verse 16 says you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
We are fighting against the enemy of our souls, the devil, and his strategies.
And here are some things we need to know about him if we’re gonna have any chance to be victorious in this battle.
Let’s talk for just a moment about Satan’s personality.
His original name was Lucifer, which means shining 1, morning star or sun of the morning.
In Isaiah chapter 14 in verse 12, which we will put up on the screen, we read these words, how are you fallen from heaven, Olucifer, son of the morning.
Ezekiel describes Satan before his fall as a holy angel both wise and beautiful.
Listen to these words from ezekiel 28. You were the seal of perfection full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you.
You were on the holy mountain of god you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones, you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you.
So what happened? How did Satan cease to be Lucifer the son of the morning and become Satan, the enemy of god and god’s people.
Once again, Isaiah, the prophet tells us the story in Isaiah 1412 through 14.
How are you fallen from heaven, o luciper, son of the morning? How are you cut down to the ground?
You who weakened the nations? For you have said in your heart, I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of god I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the most high.
When those words came out of Lucifer’s mouth, He was cast out of heaven.
Cast down as a profane one from the mountain of god and brought down to the earth and brought down ultimately to hell.
I believe that god gave to his angels the kind of free will that he gave to us.
They worship before his throne, even this day, because they choose to do so.
But Satan in his own heart determined that he would lift himself up in fried.
And the first sin ever committed in the universe was the sin of pride.
Satan’s personality, where did he come from? How did he become Satan?
Now, let’s talk for a moment about his position. The Bible gives us 3 names that describe Satan’s position.
These three names will help us get a handle on his role in the universe.
First of all, he is a prince.
Three times the Bible calls Satan, the prince of this world.
John 1231, now is the time for judgment on this world.
Now, the prince of this world will be driven out.
John 14 30, I will not speak with you much longer for the prince of this world is coming.
And John 16 11, the prince of this world now stands condemned.
He’s also called, as many of you know, the prince of the power of the air.
Ephesians 22 says the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
Now, listen, as the prince of the world, he’s in charge of evil men, as the prince of the power of the air, he’s in charge of evil spirits.
He is the ruling spirit over the children of disobedience.
He is the architect of evil in this world in which we live. He is a prince.
The Bible also says he is a ruler. Not only is he a prince, he is also a ruler.
The Bible says he is the power behind the world system.
1st John 5 19 says the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
The system of this world is characterized by greed and selfish ambition and lust for power.
It is dominated by intrigue and hatred and lies and aggression and rivalry and brutality, and Satan is the father of it all.
Satan reigns over his own kingdom. Did you know Satan has his own kingdom?
Matthew 1226 says, if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then will his kingdom last?
Satan rules over his angels.
Matthew 2541, the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Satan has a hierarchy.
He has a team of angels who are with him.
There are many theologians who believe that when Satan rebelled, One third of the angels in heaven rebelled with him and came to this earth and now comprise his army of rebellion against god.
Satan is not just some lone evil person somewhere in the world.
Satan is the head of his own kingdom.
He has hierarchies of principalities and powers and angels and demons, and he rules it all.
He’s the ruler of the evil in the world today.
And then the Bible says, strange as it may be, that he is a god.
He is not just a prince and a ruler, he is a god.
Second Corinthians 44 says it this way, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who is the god of this age class?
It is Satan. Satan is a religionist. He is the founder and president of his own religion.
Did you know that? And of course, we know that there are people today, and blatantly openly don’t even care that anybody knows that they’re there.
But Satan has always had a religion.
Listen to what the Bible says about Satan’s religion. He has his own church.
Revelation chapter 2 verse 9 and chapter 3 verse 9 says Satan’s got his own church.
He has his own gospel. Galatian chapter 1 verse 8. We studied that not long ago.
Satan’s got his own ministers. 2nd Corinthians 115.
He’s got his own according to First Timothy, chapter 4, and verse 1, he has his own communion table and his own cup.
1st Corinthians 10, 2021. He’s got his own church, his own gospel, his own ministers, his own doctrine, his own communion.
He’s got his own religion. Satan has always done his best work in religious circles.
He is the god of this age. Satan’s personality and his position.
Now, let’s talk about his power, how powerful is Satan.
The Bible says that men are held captive by the power of Satan until delivered from it by the power of the savior.
The world is held captive by Satan.
In 2nd thessalonians 29, we read the workings of Satan come with all power and signs and lying wonders.
While we must never underestimate Satan’s power, we also cannot make the opposite error of believing that Satan is as powerful or equally powerful than almighty god.
Satan is not never will be all knowing and all powerful.
So, don’t think, okay, I’ve got god over here, and he’s all powerful for good, and I’ve got Satan over here, and he’s all powerful for evil.
That’s not really true. Satan is no match for god.
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Greater is god who lives in you than Satan who lives in the world.
So while it is true, we need to be respectful, and we need to learn, and we need not to be frivolous about the power of Satan.
We need to be careful that we don’t go to the other extreme and say, oh my goodness.
What am I gonna do? Satan’s after me, you know? Now let me tell you about his purposes.
What does Satan wanna do? This is very interesting because it explains a lot of things that happen in religious circles.
Here are some of his most effective strategies.
First of all, Satan is the great deceiver Say that with me. Satan is the great deceiver.
He is the great deceiver. John 844, we read these words. You are of your father, the devil.
And the desires of your father you want to do He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar, and he’s the father of it.
Satan is the father of lies. He’s the great deceiver.
Revelation 12 9 says, so the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world.
Have you ever stopped to realize the power of satanic deception.
Have you ever been in a conversation with somebody to try to help them understand what god has done for them, how he loves them, how he’s given their and there just seems like a blindness that’s in front of you.
They don’t understand. They don’t get it. Maybe they don’t want to, but they have been deceived by the enemy.
That’s what Satan does primarily. He’s the deceiver. He started his work in the garden. Remember when he deceived Eve?
So that Eve then deceived her husband and and sin was born in the garden as we read in the first chapters of Genesis.
Satan as a deceiver is the great counterfeiter. He’s the great mimic.
You know what? Satan does? He does everything that god does. He tries to do everything god does.
He wants to be like god. Remember, he said, I will be like the most high god.
So when you watch Satan in his work today in the world, you shouldn’t be surprised at this.
Everything that Christ has done, everything the lord has done, Satan tries to do it.
Now, the second thing that Satan does, he’s not only the great deceiver, but notices he’s the great divider.
Listen up church. Listen up to this.
I have heard some of the stories you have told me of places where you’ve been in churches, where there’s been a great division, where there’s been a great split where things have happened that have destroyed the peace and unity of the body of Christ.
Let me tell you who does that? Who’s behind all of that? Satan himself. You know how I know that?
Because that’s one of his major strategies.
You know, the first thing that Satan did after he fell, he divided the angels. That’s what he did.
He took some of the angels, and he brought them away from their place in worshiping God.
He divides friends and fellowships, small groups, churches and church staff through the poison of division that circulates in the system and then finds an outlet in the tongue.
He’s the great deceiver. He’s the great divider, and he’s the great destroyer.
The apostle John calls Satan Apollion, which in the grief means destroyer, and that name fits the devil as he seeks to ultimately destroy the work of god.
How does he destroy us? First of all, he he just tries to destroy us through adversity.
You know, that that Satan can hinder you. He can cause you stress.
Uh, I remember in 1st thessalonians 218, we read these words from Paul.
Therefore, we wanted to come to you, even I, Paul, time and again, but Satan hindered us.
Did you know Satan hinders? You know, sometimes you’re trying to the lord with all your heart, you’re doing everything you can, and you run up against this wall, and you wonder what in the world is this?
Well, I don’t know what it is for sure, but it might be Satan who’s hindering you.
He attempts to destroy us through adversity.
Sometimes he destroys us by getting in the way of what god is trying to do in our lives.
Number 2, sometimes he attempts to destroy us by direct attack. In Ephesians 616, we read these words.
Above all, take the shield of faith and with which you will be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Did you know that out there in the hinterland, Satan and his demons are there, and they’re shooting darts at god’s people.
And if we don’t have the shield of faith, which we’ll study a little bit later, we are no match for his artillery.
When Satan gets a hold of somebody who has influence, he devours their influence.
He devours their message. He wants to devour us. He wants to take away the effectiveness that we have.
He’s like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
I don’t know what you do when you hear all of this.
I would hope that you are just overwhelmed with this enemy to the point where you’re going to listen to the messages that are coming up in the next weeks.
You’re absolutely totally helpless and hopeless to fight against the enemy if you don’t use the strategies that are laid out for us in the word of god.
You know, match for the enemy.
I mentioned to you that sometimes preachers on television talking about how they’re going to put Satan under authority They’re gonna tell Satan this and tell Satan that, and I’ll tell you what.
You better be mighty sure you’re filled with the spirit of god when you start talking like that.
I don’t care who you are or what you believe.
The only power you have against the enemy is the power you have in Jesus Christ.
Look down at your Bibles again and notice what it says.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the lord and in the power of his might and put on the whole armor of god.
Can fight Satan in the flesh.
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons for so much defeat and discouragement among Christian people.
Your only hope is to put on the armor of Christ himself.
In the weeks to come, we will explore all the pieces of armor that we are to take upon ourselves.
Notice again, it says put on the whole armor of god that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
That’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna learn how to put on the whole armor of god.
We’re gonna examine what each piece of armor means to us and how it works in our spiritual strategy, because we’re gonna learn how we can be victorious in the power of Christ over the enemy who seeks to destroy us and divide us.
A friend of mine, knowing that I was going to be speaking about Satan this weekend, gave me a devotional that she and her husband had been reading in a magazine that has, uh, devotions for every day, and it comes out in a quarterly magazine.
Listen to this. Addressing a worldwide convention of demons, Satan spoke to them and said, As long as Christians stay close to god, we have no power over them.
So here are 12 things you can do to gain victory over Christians. Now, he’s speaking to his demons.
We don’t know that this actually happened, but it’s probably very similar to what happened. Here’s what he said.
Here are the 12 things he said to do if you want to get victory over Christians and and pull them in to the strategies that are satanic in nature.
Number 1, keep them busy with non essentials.
Number 2, tempt them to overspend and go into debt.
Number 3, make them work long hours to maintain empty lifestyles.
Number 4, discourage them from spending family time for when homes disintegrate, there’s no refuge from work.
Number 5, overstimulate their minds with television and computers so they can’t hear god speaking to them.
Number 6, fill their coffee tables and nightstands with newspapers and magazines, so they have no time to read the Bible.
Flood their mailboxes number 7 with Suif stakes promotions and get rich quick schemes, keep them chasing material things.
Number 8, put glamorous models on TV and on magazine covers to keep them focused on outward appearances.
That way, they will be dissatisfied with themselves and dissatisfied with their mates.
Number 9, make sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy.
That will be be tempted to look elsewhere.
Number 10, Emphasize Santa and the Easter Bunny, that way you’ll divert them from the real meaning of the holidays.
Number 11, involve them in good causes so they won’t have time for eternal ones.
Number 12, make them self sufficient keep them busy working in their own strength that they’ll never know the joy of god’s power working through them.
Do these 12 things faithfully. I promise, said Satan to his demons, it’ll work.
Have you figured out the difference between being busy and being successful in what god called you to do, sometimes being busy, b u s y just means being under Satan’s yoke.
Busy. Busy. You know, if we took seriously those twelve things that the enemy said to, uh, to his demons.
We would do ourselves a lot of good.
We would do ourselves a lot of good, and we would go a long way toward making it difficult for the enemy to get a foothold in our lives.
And if you don’t follow the scriptures and put on the whole armor of god, if I don’t follow the scriptures and deal with Satan seriously.
He has every reason to wanna devour the influence that I have, the influence that you have.
We are not sufficient to fight against him in our strength, in our own strength.
But god is able, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that you might be able to be victorious.
With one last word for today’s program, here is Doctor Jeremiah.
If I had to choose one word to describe Satan, ruthless would be the word There’s nothing Satan will not do to achieve his goal of disrupting and destroying your faith your joy, and even your well-being.
He is an enemy who is to be taken very seriously.
You and I are no match for Satan in our own strength, but in the strength of Christ, we can be victorious.
And to help you begin your relationship with Christ.
I hope you’ll contact us today for a copy of our booklet your greatest turning point and our monthly devotional magazine turning points.
These will help you grow in your faith daily through your study of God’s word.
We’ll gladly send both of these resources to you, free and without obligation, if you will contact us here at Turning Point.
Next time on Turning Point.
Truth is not touched by emotions, by your opinion, by your perception.
And that is what’s being lost in our culture today. Today, there is no absolute truth anymore.
Today, in our culture, your truth might be different than my truth, but it doesn’t really matter. Isn’t all truth?
Just kind of truth? No. It’s not.
Thank you for being with us today.
Join Doctor Jeremiah next time for his message, the girdle of truth.
Here on Turning Point.