THE ENEMY

Who is man’s enemy some people think it is their family members,  others think it is mankind and still others think it is the government. For an unsaved person it could be anyone of these plus many others. For a Christian our enemy is different. First before we take a look at our enemy I think we need to define the word enemy so we will all knows what we are talking about. The dictionary says, “One who manifests malice or hostility toward, or oppose the purpose or interest of another; a foe; or an opponent, hostile power or force. We are talking about the enemy of Christians. One who oppose their work or a hostile power. There is only one force or power, which can oppose a Christian, and that, is Satan and His demons. Although he cannot gain victory he is still allowed (by God) to oppose a Christian. I think it is very clear from our definition that Satan is our enemy. He opposes the Christians who are doing the work of God. If you are working for God dear Christian then you have an opponent. There is a force working against you. I believe most people take the power of Satan lightly some people don’t really understand how powerful Satan really is. The Bible has a lot to say about Satan and his work and today we want to take a look at this.

In. Matt. Satan is called the enemy, and the Bible gives him many other names. The Bible says he is the evil one, prince of this world, a liar and the father of lies, a murder. The Bible also states that evil men are his sons; he takes Gods Word from the hearers. He desired to have Peter. He is a fallen angel and has caused many other angels to rebel against God.

According to the Bible, Satan is represented as the tempter, the prince of demons. The source of all demoniacal possession, he placed the betrayal in the heart of Judas, he perverts the Scripture, he is the prince of the air, he is the Christians adversary, and he deceives the whole world. It was Satan that caused Adam and Eve to fall, he caused Paul to have problems, he is the one who brought false preachers into the church, he can even produce false miracles, and blind the minds of unbelievers.

Satan is like a roaring lion be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8).

Dear friends, Satan is powerful. The Bible tells us in Ezekiel 28 that Satan “was perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created.” Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness Satan had wisdom, beauty and power. In Isaiah chapter 14 we read about his fall. Satan was the highest of all Gods creation, but that was not enough. Satan corrupted his own heart because he wanted to be God. The lust for power begins and here we are told all about it. When Lucifer said, “I will” sin begins. Satan put his will in front of Gods will. If you will notice Satan said five times I will. Satan was rebellious against God. He even said I would be like the highest God. It was because of this that God cast him out of Heaven. Satan is here on earth still trying to place his will above God’s will. Now he spends his time opposing God through his children. Satan had the power to deceive 1/3 of the angels in Heaven dear friends, Satan has already been defeated he still think he can win. He attacked Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and caused them to fall and friends he even attack Jesus, after his baptism Jesus went off into wilderness, “being forty days tempted by the devil, and in those days he did eat nothing; and when they ended, he afterward was hungry. It was at this time Satan through he had Jesus. Through Jesus’ natural desires (hunger) Satan was going to tempt Jesus to sin against God. In Matt. Verse 3, Satan tried to place doubt in Jesus’ mind. “If thou be the Son of God, command this stone, that it be made bread”. Bread in Palestine was not in the form of a long loaves, but in flat round cakes. The stones on the ground looked like cakes of bread. In verse 4 Jesus gave his answer. It is written Jesus was not like Eve when Satan tempted her she didn’t know God’s Word, but Jesus did. From this verse one can see Jesus did not make his own answer for the tempter, but drew his reply from the revelation of Scripture “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Deut. 8:3), man needs bread is not all he needs. Material gratification of the appetites can never satisfy the deepest longings of the human spirit. Friends Satan often attacks us through our physical need. I was talking to a man once that said he would steal food if he had to. I told him God says stealing is wrong and if we were God’s children we would not steal even to feed our families because God says he would provide all our needs. Food is a need of man and if we are living our life for God He will honor His promise. “I have been young, and now am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Ps. 37:25). God will supply all our need if we will only trust him. Satan is out to destroy us friend we need to learn how to stand against Him. We also know that Satan never gives up easy. He came at Jesus in another way. This time it was through man’s desire to be famous and have beautiful material possessions. Satan took Jesus to a high mountain from there he could see the territories formerly occupied by the empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Now. He told Jesus “all these things will I give thee, if thou therefore will worship me”. Satan is still trying to be like God and be worshipped.

There are many people not following God today because they are seeking this fame, and vain glory through a position of some kind. On Sunday morning most of you are not in church because you are working. Satan tells you the only way to survive or get head are by working Sundays, so you forget God and follow the advice of Satan. “God says honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.” But you say oh, that is in the Old Test. We don’t have live by that. Jesus did! Jesus use Old Testament Scriptures to defeat Satan. “It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.” (Deut. 6:13). Friends, Jesus’ entire life was lived by the Old Testament When he spoke of scripture it was always Old Testament because the New Testament was not written yet.

Friends Christ came to claim the world as His kingdom, and Satan offering only part of it to Him. To start with it was not Satan to give, it is Gods, It was he that created everything not Satan. As we walk through life Satan tempt us with temporal blessings things that will vanish away, there are a lot of people accepting these things and turning from God. God says “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal but lay us for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where thieve do not break through nor steal.” (Matt. 6:19,20). Oh dear friend don’t trade a few years of temporal treasures for an eternity in Heaven. When Satan comes at you with a job or a position that you know is against God’s Word I beg you, don’t take it. Moses was a servant of God who had the opportunity to live as a king’s son, but turn it down, because he knew it was not the way he should go so he choose to go the way of ……..Friends we must also make that decision as to which way we will go. Matt. 7:13-14 talks about two ways a man can choose the wide gate that leadeth to destruction or the strait gate that leadeth unto life. The choice is yours. Jesus is our example he is showing us how to stand against the temptation of Satan. Satan has already attacked Jesus on His physical side and His fleshly side, now he is coming at Jesus again, this time through His spiritual side. Now He starts telling Jesus what the Bible says. In verse 9:10 He brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him. If thou were the Son of God cast thyself down from here for it is written He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee; He could not deceive Jesus with the things of the world so He tried to use scripture. If you will notice Jesus defeated Satan each time with the Word. Now Satan was going to do Jesus the same way he done Eve.

In Gen. 3:1 Satan questioned what Goad said, which caused Eve to doubt and in 3:3 Eve gave an answer to Satan. She quoted what she though God said 3b ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it lest ye shall die. Friends Eve didn’t know God’s Word she added to it. She said, “Neither shall ye touch it least ye die.” God didn’t say that, 2:17, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest there of thou shalt die.” Friends Eve did not know God’s Word she did not really pay any attention to what God had to say. There are a lot of you out there today who really don’t know the Bible, and you really don’t pay much attention to what God does have to say. Friends we need to know God’s Word if we are to stand against Satan, because Satan will use the Word against you if we don’t know the Word we will not be able to stand like Jesus, because in the last temptation Satan omitted part of the verse, which reads “to keep thee in all thy ways.” God has not promised to keep his servant in act of foolish presumption but only when he is walking in God’s way. As I travel through out the world I read many things about people asking God to bless their way. Friends God will only bless your way if it is his way. Most of these people are not going God’s way; they are going in the opposite way.

Dear friends do you want God to bless your way? First you must be one of His children. Jesus says in John 3:3. “VERILY VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” The condition or being born-again is stated in Rom. 10:9-10. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

If you believe Jesus died for your sins and rose the third day, and is at the right hand of the Father then you can be saved. You need to repent (turn from your sins) and put your faith in him. Friends this is the start of a wonderful life with Christ as you grow you must be willing to forsake the world and turn to Christ and He will save you. Pray this Sinners Prayer today and you will be glade you did.