Spiritual Warfare: Part 3 What are the enemy's tactics?

 

Just what are the devil's tactics and what is his motivation?

Quite simply Satan’s self-appointed function is to set himself up as God. He is so inherently wrapped up in himself, and so corrupt within himself, that everything that God sets up for the good of mankind Satan will try to tear down and destroy!

Satan hates all of God’s creation because he is unable to create, and his own pride has immersed him in sin, and it is the same with all those that follow him! 

And let me say this if your are not for God then you are against Him. And if your are against Him then you are a follower of the devil whether you believe that or not!

Matthew 12:30 (NIV)

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 

1 John 3:8-10 (NIV)

8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Because of Satan's opposition to God, we as God's creation will continually face his opposition when we are walking in God's will and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But fear not! Remember these immortal words spoken by Jesus, our Saviour, our Lord, our King:

John 16:33 (NIV)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Now coming back to Satan’s function, the scripture below is the sum total of Satan’s job description:

John 10:10a (NLT)

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.

And conversely the same verse tells us the job description of Jesus besides being our way to salvation and being our Lord and Saviour:

John 10:10b (NLT)

My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

(Once they are born-again!) - brackets are my words.

The purpose of the Lord in our lives as to give us a rich and satisfying life, not a trouble free life, but a rich and satisfying one. In Christ Jesus we have the ability to overcome the world when we are walking in step with the Holy Spirit!

1 John 5:5-8

5 Who is the one who is victorious and overcomes the world? It is the one who believes and recognizes the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. 6 This is He who came through water and blood [His baptism and death], Jesus Christ—not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. It is the [Holy] Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. [He is the essence and origin of truth itself.] 7 For there are three witnesses: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three are in agreement [their testimony is perfectly consistent]. 

We, as born-again Christians, need to be aware of the wily Satan and how he operates in the world around us, and sometimes in and through us! Here are some prime examples taken from the Bible that Satan still uses today and that we need to be aware of so that we do not fall into his deathly trap!:

1. Satan is always on the lookout to do harm to or to try and stifle the efforts of God’s people:

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

When we deliberately sin and have unconfessed sin in our lives it gives Satan a foothold in our lives and authority over us that he shouldn’t have.

This negates our witness as Christians and hampers our effectiveness in fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives.

2. Satan often pretends to be something good – don’t be deceived, make sure that what you do lines up with the word of God and that He has told you to do it.

2 Corinthians 11:14 (NIV)

14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

3. Satan will lie to us - he is incapable of speaking the truth. He does this mainly by sowing doubt and unbelief in our minds and he will also use other people to do the same even our brothers and sisters in Christ!

John 8:44 (NIV)

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The truth of a born again Christian's existence lies in Jesus Christ the Word of God and being continually led by the Holy Spirit!

4. Satan is a murderer in the spiritual sense that he leads people into sin and thus death which is eternal separation from God. 

John 8:44 (NIV)

….. He was a murderer from the beginning,…..

Romans 6:23 (AMP)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is only our repentance from sin and our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour that gives us eternal life and eternal fellowship with God! Nobody can come to God unless they repent from their sin and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and thus become born-again!

John 3:3 (NIV)

 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

John 14:6 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

5. He is a deceiver and will always try to move you into disobedience to God and His Word. When we know the Bible for ourselves and we are truly Spirit filled we will not be deceived and enticed into sin!

Revelation 12:9 (NLT)

This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

6. He will play with your mind and lead you astray. He will try and lead you astray from the doctrine of Jesus Christ and him crucified for our sin!

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (AMP)

And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the testimony of God [concerning salvation through Christ], I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom [no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do]; 2 for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection]. 

We cleanse our carnal minds by immersing ourselves in the Bible and its teachings and walking in step with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:23 (AMP)

and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude],

Galatians 5:24-26 (NIV)

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

7. In the same vein as 6 above, he blinds the minds of unbelievers. He is also referred to as the god of this world.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Make sure that you are not harbouring any unbelief and unforgiveness in your heart!

8. He will deter you from setting your mind on the things of God.

Matthew 16:23 (NLT)

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Colossians 3:1-6 (NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

9. He will incite and tempt you to do the wrong thing. Doing anything that is contrary to the Word of God is sin!

1 Chronicles 21:1 (KJV)

And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked (incited) David to number Israel.

Satan even tried to tempt Jesus into sin!

Matthew 4:1 (NIV)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 

We overcome temptation by being steeped in the Word of God - knowledge of the Bible. "It is written......"

We resist the devil by submitting ourselves to God by knowing the Bible and by being led by the Holy Spirit. When you resist him in this way he will run from you!

James 4:7 (NIV)

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

10. He will set traps for you to try and entice you to do his will. In this way he will hold you captive!

2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NLT)

24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

11. Our lack of knowledge and understanding of the Word will allow him to rob us of the truth.

Matthew 13:19 (NIV)

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

We need to be aware of the wiles and tactics of our enemy and be on our guard at all times – without good knowledge and understanding of the Word we will always be vulnerable and likely to fall when under attack!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus I pray that you would help me to study and know your Word and that you will always fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may bring glory to Jesus! Lord, help me to be quick to repent when I sin and help me to know who I am in Christ Jesus. Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!

Part 4 coming soon! What are the Christian's weapons of war?