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Know Your Enemy

Know Your Enemy. Spiritual Warfare Sue Bohlin. Know Your Enemy.

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Know Your Enemy

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  1. Know Your Enemy Spiritual Warfare Sue Bohlin

  2. Know Your Enemy “It is never the will of God for spiritual warfare to become our focus. The fastest way to to lose our balance is to rebuke the devil more than we relate to God. The primary strength we have in warfare is godliness, which is achieved only through intimacy with God.” --Beth Moore, Living Free

  3. Know Your Enemy God’s goal and purpose for us: • Christlikeness • To bring glory to Him • To walk in intimacy with Jesus • To prepare a Bride for the Lamb

  4. Know Your Enemy • 3 Enemies to Christlikeness and Intimacy with Him • The World • The Flesh • The Devil

  5. The World • The culture in which we live, hostile to God • Operates only by the senses (but empowered by spirits beyond the senses) • The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God (1 Cor. 1:20) • We are commanded not to love it (1 John 2:15-17) • We are not to be conformed to it (Rom. 12:1,2)

  6. The World • Materialism and “Keeping Up with the Joneses” • Entertainment industry • Internet: chat rooms, IMs, porn sites • Pornography • Sexual immorality • Ambition • Spirit of rebellion in feminism • Philosophy: no absolute truth, right and wrong are what you choose them to be

  7. The World

  8. What God Says About The World • Rom 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." • The Message: "Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

  9. What God Says About The World • 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” • The Message: “Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”

  10. The Flesh • Our ways of making life work independent of God • Everything we do apart from God • Getting our own way ("I want what I want!") • Self-centeredness • Controlling nature • Kingdom building • Ignoring God

  11. The Flesh • Idolatry and lust: people, power, things, experiences, relationships • Greed • A right to be comfortable, a refusal to suffer • Pride • Self-worship • People-pleasing

  12. The Flesh • Addictions: food, drink, drugs, gambling, shopping, sex • Refusing to submit to God: unforgiveness, sexual immorality, sinful relationships • Temper tantrums • Worry • Suicidal thoughts

  13. What God Says About The Flesh “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Gal 5:19-24

  14. What God Says About the Flesh The Message: “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

  15. What God Says About the Flesh “This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom. “But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

  16. What God Says About the Flesh “Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.” (Gal. 5:19-24)

  17. The Devil Where did Satan come from? Is. 14:12-14 "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”

  18. The Devil Where did Satan come from? Ezek 28:17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; it has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; You have become terrified and you will cease to be forever.”

  19. The Devil Where did the demons come from? Is 14:12-14 "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. . .” Job 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

  20. The Devil Where did the demons come from? Rev 12:3 “Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 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.”

  21. The Devil • Satan means "adversary" • Devil means "accuser or slanderer" • He is crafty (Gen 3:1) • He is the tempter (Mt 4:3; 1 Thes 3:5) • Jesus called him "the evil one" (Mt 6:13; Jn 17:15) • His intent is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) • He blinds the minds of the unbelieving so they can't see the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4) • He is ruler of this world and prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2)

  22. The Devil • He has legions of wicked angelic beings under him who serve him in various administrative capacities: rulers, authorities, powers, dominions, world forces of darkness. • He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) • His servants (demons) disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. (2 Cor. 11:15) • He is the accuser of the brethren. (Rev. 12:10) • He deceives the whole world. (Rev. 12:9) • His sin was pride (Is. 14) • He prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour people (1 Pet. 5:8)

  23. The Devil • He can be resisted (1 Pet. 5:9) • He can't get past God's hedge of protection around us (Job 1:10) • He is on a leash. He can't do anything without God's permission (Job, Jude 6) • Jesus disarmed Satan and the demons at the Cross and made a public spectacle of them (Col. 2:15) • All he has to work with is schemes, wiles, lies and deceptions. • He dwells in darkness and will spend eternity in everlasting torment in hell.

  24. The Devil What Jesus said about Satan: "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” -- John 8:44

  25. The Devil What Jesus said about Satan: "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” -- Luke 10:19

  26. The Devil

  27. The Devil

  28. The Devil

  29. The World, the Flesh and the Devil • Primary temptation of the world: • Fit in and be accepted • Ways to protect yourself: • Immerse yourself in God's acceptance of you. • Know what it means to be "in Christ.” (Eph.) • Key: • Total dependence on Jesus

  30. The World, the Flesh and the Devil • Primary temptation of the flesh: • To have our own way • To feel good • Ways to protect yourself: • Recognize the flesh as a spoiled brat, and resolve to crucify it through self-denial. • Check yourself throughout the day: am I in the spirit or in the flesh? • Key: • Total dependence on Jesus

  31. The World, the Flesh and the Devil • Primary temptation of the devil: • To take or keep our eyes off Jesus • To separate us from intimacy with Him • Ways to protect yourself: • Keep focusing on Jesus. • Praise music. • Memorize Scripture and meditate on it. • Know the truth so you can recognize his lies. • Key: • Total dependence on Jesus

  32. Any area of our heart or mind that is not surrendered to Jesus Christ is an area vulnerable to satanic attack.

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