1/21/18 - EPH 6:11-12, The Angelic Conflict, Pt. 7, The Enemy, Pt. 4.
Lesson #18-008
Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Before we
begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted
in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s
Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite,
or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will
assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s
convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the
real teacher.
1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply
name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
[all unknown & forgotten sins].”
For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the
end of this document.
2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is
not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
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Stand in Warfare –
Eph 6:10-20.
Outline of Eph
6 :10-24
1. The Empowerment, vs. 10.
2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12.
3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17.
4. The Energy, vs. 18-20.
5. The Encouragement, vs. 21-24.
2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12.
Eph 6:11, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you
will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
“The devil,” is the Greek
Adjective DIABOLOS. Sometimes we have him as “Satan,” from the
Hebrew SATAN transliterated into the Greek as SATANAS, cf. Mat 4:1, 10. Both titles mean, “slanderous, false accuser, the
adversary.”
Given the variety of names that Satan has, we are warned to
the fact that he can attack his opponents (believers) in a variety of ways. The
entire spectrum from the fierceness of a dragon, Rev 12:3, to the attractiveness of an angel of light, 2 Cor 11:14, tells us that Satan can
adapt himself and his tactics to suit the person and the occasion.
2 Cor 11:14-15, “No
wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15Therefore
it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”
Although he may prefer to operate in a certain manner, he
will meet you where you are and use whatever might defeat you in a particular
circumstance. Even though he is not all-knowing, he has observed many others
over the millennia in the same situations you might find yourself, and he can
predict with a high degree of accuracy what will best defeat you. He is always
probing for weaknesses, misdirecting strengths, and undermining faith, hope,
and character, Luke 22:32; 2 Cor 2:11;
11:3-15; Eph 6:16.
Luke 22:31-32, “Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32but
I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you
have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
2 Cor 2:11, “So
that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his
schemes.”
2 Cor 11:3, “But
I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds
will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to
Christ.”
He should be taken seriously, for his malice and cunning are
fearsome; yet he should not be taken so seriously as to provoke hopeless terror
of him, for he is a defeated enemy. Satan is stronger than we are, but Christ
has triumphed over him, Mat 12:29,
and believers (you) will triumph over him too, if you resist him with the
resources that Christ supplies, Eph
6:10-13; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9-10; 1 John 4:4.
James 4:7, “Submit
therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
1 Peter 5:9-10, “But resist him, (Satan), firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of
suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10After
you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to
His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and
establish you.”
In your own strength, you are no match for him at all. Not
even the archangel Michael would rebuke him on his own, Jude 9. Yet, you can stand firm against him if you are “strong in the Lord,” vs. 10, and wear
“the whole armor of God.”
Charles Stanley noted, “At
times I hear people talking about demons, and I am amazed at the great power
they ascribe to the devil and his cohorts. While I certainly believe in demonic
power, I don't quake at the thought of it. I am in union with One who is so far
greater than all the demons of hell put together that there truly is no
comparison. The devil is a creature, made by God and always under God’s
dominion. He exists only because God allows him to exist. He has no authority
over God, no ability to win a victory over God, and no power equal to that of
God. As believers, we should give very little credit to the devil and demons.
(More often the credit should go to our sin natures). They exist, they exert
influence, but they are totally within the confines of God’s authority. The
Bible states very clearly that the Holy Spirit resident in us is far superior
to any power manifested by evil. John wrote, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, (the false teachers, antichrists that reject
the Person of Christ), because
greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 .” (Charles Stanley on Satan, “Our
Unmet Needs,” page 33.)
That is why you need the armor of God. So that you will not
be defeated by the schemes of the devil and instead stand your ground in your
spiritual walk to turn the tide, so that you are victorious in this life and
defeat any attempt Satan makes towards you. Therefore, do not be “ignorant of his devices,” 2 Cor 2:11,
the very first of which, and still the most effective, is to cause us to doubt
God’s Word, Gen 3:1, 4, and then to
disobey it, Gen 3:5-6.
Satan’s Beatitudes
Christ’s beatitudes of Matthew
5 have perhaps done more to mold disciples into the Divine image than any
other text. But we must be consistently aware that there is another opposing
power, namely, Satan, that seeks to influence believers with his own version of
the beatitudes.
They might read something similar to these:
·
Blessed are they who are too tired and busy to
go to church, for they are my best workers.
·
Blessed are they who are bored with the pastor's
mannerisms and mistakes, for they get nothing out of the sermon.
·
Blessed is the church member who expects to be
invited to his own church, for his is part of the problem instead of the
solution.
·
Blessed are they who gossip, for they cause
strife and divisions that please me.
·
Blessed are they who are easily offended for
they soon get angry and quit.
·
Blessed are they who do not give their offerings
to carry on God’s work, for they are my best helpers.
·
Blessed is he who professes to love God but
hates his brother or sister for they think like I do.
·
Blessed are the troublemakers for they shall be
called the children of the devil.
·
Blessed is he who has no time to pray for he
will be easy prey.
Stopped here, to be continued:
Relative to the unsaved, he is in authority over them, Isa 14:17; 2 Cor 4:3-4; Eph 2:2; Col 1:13;
1 John 5:19.
Relative to the saved, he comes in conflict with them, Eph 6:11-18.
Relative to truth, he is a liar, John 8:44; the author and father of “the lie.” In
that lie, He deceives the whole world, Rev
12:9; 20:3.
Rev 12:9, “And
the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil
and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the
earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
Rev 20:3, “And
he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so
that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years
were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”
The principal tactic Satan uses to attack God and His
program in general is to offer a counterfeit kingdom and program. This was
evident when he originally sinned by wanting to be like, not unlike, God, Isa 14:13-14. The counterfeit was first
attempted on mankind when Satan offered Eve the chance to be like God, knowing
good and evil, Gen 3:5, “For God knows that in the day you
eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil.”
The temptation of Christ was also an attempt at the counterfeit,
Mat 4:1-11. A counterfeit is as like
the genuine as possible, only without some vital features Satan’s offer to our
Lord was to have the glory due Him without the essential feature of His death.
Today, Satan promotes a form of godliness while denying its
power, 2 Tim 3:5, “Holding to a form of godliness,
although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.”
Scripture depicts Satan as: Opposing God’s work, Zech 3:1; Perverting God’s Word, Mat 4:6; Hindering God’s servant, 1 Thes 2:18; Hindering the gospel, 2 Cor 4:4; Snaring the righteous, 1 Tim 3:7; Holding the world in his
power, 1 John 5:19.
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A
PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU
John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”
Notice again
what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says,
“has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of
everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift
of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to
every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but
he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.”
If
you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell
you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you.
God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son
for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place.
Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our
sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held
against us.
Right
where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in
your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly
believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day
as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and
reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:
"Yes
Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,
died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."
If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal
Family of God !!!
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Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762
Copyright © 2001 - 2018.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
