HOWTO DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

II Corinthians 2:11

  1. Intro.
    1. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour – I Peter 5:8
    2. none escape his treacherous ways
  2. Eve – Genesis 3:1-6
    1. target: Eve’s mind
      1. Satan examined her knowledge of God’s Word – 1-3
      2. he placed an evil desire in her mind – 5-6
    2. weapon: lies
      1. altered or changed the Word of God – 4
      2. made her think that God was withholding something good – 5
    3. purpose: to make her ignorant of God’s will
    4. defense: the inspired Word of God – Psalm 119:9-16
      1. hide the Word in our heart – 11
      2. ask the Lord to teach us – 12
      3. meditate on His Word – 15 (to ponder, converse with oneself)
      4. contemplate His Word – 15 (look intently at)
      5. enjoy His Word - 16
      6. don’t forget it – 16
  3. Job – Job 2:3-10
    1. target: Job’s body – 3-5
      1. Satan thought that Job would do anything to save his life
      2. Satan was saying that Job hasn’t been tested enough to reveal his true character
      3. Job’s test revealed how great his character really was
    2. weapon: suffering – 7, 9, 11
      1. physical suffering: soars all over his body
      2. emotional suffering: wife told him to give up
      3. mental suffering: three friends accused him of wickedness
    3. purpose: to make Job impatient with God’s will – 9-10
      1. Job trusted God
      2. impatience will cause us to curse God, and break fellowship with Him
      3. impatience makes us think that God no longer deserves to be served
      4. don’t wait for relief from God, but deliver thyself
      5. delivering ourselves brings about our downfall
    4. defense: the grace of God – 6
      1. God’s grace is always sufficient – II Corinthians 12:9-10
      2. temptation is common to all men – I Corinthians 10:13
      3. God promises that we will not be tempted beyond what we are able to bear
      4. God also promises to give us a way of escape
  4. David – I Samuel 26:1-25
    1. target: David’s will – 5-11
      1. God has given us a will, and the ability to choose
      2. our will should be in agreement with God’s will
      3. it was God’s will for David to be king, but God also set a time for David to be king
    2. weapon: pride
      1. causes us to forget (not see) God’s will
      2. causes us to do things in self-interest ("I deserve it", "this is best for me")
      3. David could have taken revenge on Saul for trying to kill him, and then become king
      4. when hit, pride says to hit back – 10
    3. purpose: to make David act independent of God’s will
      1. God’s will should be sought in all that we do
      2. David had the opportunity to kill Saul – 11
      3. by killing him, he would no longer have to be hunted as a criminal
    4. defense: indwelling Spirit of God
      1. walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:16-17
        1. we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh
        2. the flesh and the Spirit are contrary to one another
      2. living sacrifice – Romans 12:1-2
      3. put on the whole armor of God – Ephesians 6:11-17
  5. conclusion: how can we have victory over the devil
    1. use the Word of God
    2. trust the grace of God
    3. yield to the Spirit of God