Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to Truth for the Journey from Clifford Baptist Church, 635 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Tonight, Pastor Jeffrey Campbell will continue with the new study series Battleground using selected scriptures. And the sermon is entitled Enemy Identified. Tonight, as we get underway, we get back in our series on the battleground and what that means. And we've touched a little bit on this subject, but I felt the need to walk a little bit deeper into it. And that is important about talking about the enemy.
[00:00:28] So we're gonna be. We're gonna jump around. Now, I'm gonna be honest with you. I do not like jumping around in scripture. You all have been with me four years. You know, I pick a passage, I stay there. That's who I am. Tonight's a little bit different because I feel like I need to show you a little bit about the enemy. Some of it, you know, if you know your Bibles, you know it well. But some of it, it may be new to you. And so tonight, as we just give a quick overview, our first lesson, we identify that there was a battle. And we understand that that battle is underway and that we must be prepared and willing to fight the enemy. That enemy is not one another.
[00:01:07] It's not a fellow brother. It's not even an unbeliever. The enemy is Satan himself. And we're going to go a little bit deeper in that. The second lesson, we looked at the armor that we must bear, that we must put on every single day as we prepare for. For battle, the equipment that God has given us to defeat the enemy, we must wear that battle. But I think tonight it's important that we understand who the enemy is.
[00:01:35] How sometimes in our own minds as we look at this world, that we may think that Satan is winning. You know, you look at it and the bad people are doing good and the good people are doing bad and evil is all around. And it feels like the world that Satan is winning this war. And how tonight that maybe you can realize that you can hold the advantage because you can understand Satan's tactics. And those tactics of Satan are tried and true. They have worked in the past. And I'm going to tell you this, they will continue to work until the Lord puts him in his place. Okay, he is not going to change his tactics, but they will continue to deceive and twist. And tonight we're gonna learn a little bit about that.
[00:02:24] When Satan is on the attack, when thoughts creep into your mind, when you get discouraged, it's important to know and to identify who that enemy is. And so Tonight, how does the enemy work? How does he wage? How does he war? How does he wound? How does he weaken the child of God? And we're gonna look at all of that tonight in his.
[00:02:46] In his tactics, in the way that he fights against us. But tonight, three things that we're going to nail down the enemy's position, the enemy's capabilities, and the enemy's destiny. All of these are things that we need to know and we need to be careful about. So before I even get into our scripture tonight, I think it's important to pray and pray for God's protection. And as we stir the devil up in this place, let's pray. Lord. Thank you, Lord, tonight for meeting us here, Lord, you have brought each one here not by accident, Lord, but Lord, I pray tonight, Lord, that as we realize that we are in a spiritual war, Lord, that you will show us, Lord, that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, Lord, but it is a battle that moves deeper. And it is in an unseen world that we are fighting against, Lord. One of those unseen enemies, Lord, the biggest one is Satan himself. And so, Lord, tonight as we talk about that, Lord, I pray, Lord, that the blood of Jesus be over this place, Lord. The blood of Jesus be over each family here, Lord. Because tonight, Lord, as we understand the enemy and the tactics of the enemy, Lord, I pray, Lord, that you will just awaken our hearts, awaken our families, awaken our lives, Lord, to what we face. So, Lord, tonight, as we understand the enemy, Lord, we also need to understand we cannot do this alone. Our victor is not in ourself or in our own strength or in our own wisdom or tactics. Our only victory can come through Jesus Christ. And so, Lord, tonight we pray, Lord, that you will just wrap yourself, your arms of protection around this place, around the people of this place. And. And, Lord, we will be careful to give you the glory for all that is said and done tonight. We love you and in Jesus name, amen.
[00:04:40] I want to say this. Pastor Mike always told me, anytime you talk about the devil, you pray the blood of Jesus over it before you. So that's where that comes from. Just a little wise word from the old man.
[00:04:54] Don't tell him I said that. Edit that out, okay? Edit that out of the recording, please.
[00:04:59] Pastor Mike, full of wisdom, and I'm so thankful for those words that he shared. Tonight, as we begin, I want to start talking about the enemy's position.
[00:05:10] Now we're given, or we have read some information from Ephesians, chapter 6 where we have been in verse number 11, that we can stand against the wiles of the devil.
[00:05:24] That word wiles carries the meaning of a method or strategy. So here's what we need to understand.
[00:05:31] Satan has a method. Satan has a strategy against God, but more importantly, against the child of God.
[00:05:40] When you can't. When you can't get to the top, you get as close to the top as you can. You go after the people of God. And so that that word wiles means there's a method or there's a strategy. And that strategy against God, against the people of God. We have been given scripture to show us how Satan works. So I'm going to just very carefully work through this, just a little bit, not very much in depth. But I want to tell you the Old Testament gives two very detailed accounts.
[00:06:17] People that engage with Satan, you know them. If you are a Bible student, you know them. Those two people that we know well, Genesis chapter number three, where Eve encounters Satan, we understand that. We know that.
[00:06:34] We also have been given Job chapter one, where Job has a direct confrontation with Satan. And so Satan tempts Job and Satan tempts Eve. We're also told in 1st Chronicles, chapter 21, that Satan moves David to take a census of the people. So, so Satan's at work in King David's life. He's not being obedient to God. Satan is the one that is moving him. And so we've given, we've been given some detailed accounts of how Satan works. In your New Testament, you have been given a detailed account of how Satan tempts Jesus. You can find that in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Those three gospels all record Satan tempting Jesus himself. We've got a lot to learn there.
[00:07:27] Also in Acts, chapter 5, verse number 3, Satan fills Ananias heart.
[00:07:34] That he. He lies about selling. He. He kind of covers up some things that he's doing. And, and so Satan deceives him. So I want you to know Satan is mentioned many other times in scripture, but these instances give us a little story about the position of Satan. From Job, we know that Satan has boundaries.
[00:08:00] Okay? There's only but so far and so much Satan can do. And from what we learn in Job's account, Job, chapter one, is that Satan has to get permission to test, to tempt, to come after Job. And here's the crazy thing that blows our mind. God allows it, okay?
[00:08:21] God allows it.
[00:08:24] And why does God allow it?
[00:08:26] Because Job is identified as a righteous man, as a godly man. So in God's eyes, Job can withstand this testing. Then Temptation, the attack from Satan.
[00:08:40] So here's what we need to learn. Anytime we feel that pressure, we feel that attack from Satan. Here's what we need to know. God already knows that with his help, you can defeat the enemy.
[00:08:54] You can defeat and ward off the attack.
[00:08:57] And so Job teaches us that Satan has those boundaries. There are places that he can't go.
[00:09:07] Now remember, God gave permission to Satan, but what couldn't he do? He could not take his life.
[00:09:14] He couldn't kill Job.
[00:09:16] He could do anything he wanted to, but he couldn't get kill Job. And that was the boundaries.
[00:09:23] And as we know the story, Satan attacked everywhere. Every other thing about him, even physically, to the point that he felt like dying, he attacked him.
[00:09:37] Now, I don't know if that's reassuring to you tonight.
[00:09:41] I'll be honest with you as I think about that. And we know that God puts those limits, but also not only does he put limits on where Satan can go and what he can do.
[00:09:54] Satan himself is limited.
[00:09:57] And I think this is the biggest point about his position that you need to understand tonight when we talk about Satan.
[00:10:06] He is a created being of God.
[00:10:11] And because he is a created being of God and he rebelled against God, he is not God, though he desires to be.
[00:10:22] I want to share with you in this point tonight from the Old Testament, Book of Isaiah, chapter number 14, Isaiah, chapter number 14. You can go there. There are really two points or two places in the Old Testament where we learn about about Satan and his fall and the time before creation when there was a battle that ensued in heaven.
[00:10:47] Revelation tells us a little bit about it, Isaiah tells us a little bit about it. And Ezekiel 28 tells us a little bit about it. I'm not going to read Ezekiel 28, but you can write that down. That'll be your homework assignment. Ezekiel 28, verses 12 through 17.
[00:11:05] That is a prophetic situation where we see that Satan failed. But look at Isaiah 14. This is what Isaiah records about the fall of Satan, starting with verse number 12.
[00:11:22] How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?
[00:11:26] How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst work weaken the nations?
[00:11:32] For thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into heaven, and I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation and the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high.
[00:11:51] Yet thou shall be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit we see in that little exchange that Isaiah records, a position that Satan desired and the position that Satan received.
[00:12:10] Isaiah tells us Satan wanted to be God.
[00:12:15] He wanted the position that he would ascend to the heights above the clouds. And in verse number 14, that I will be like the Most High. He wanted to be God.
[00:12:27] And because of that it cost him, as you see in verse number 15, that he was brought down to hell to the sides of the pit that will be his final resting place. But because of that rebellion against God, here's what we need to remember.
[00:12:45] Satan is a created being. He is a fallen angel of God.
[00:12:50] He desired to be God, he couldn't be God. He is punished by God.
[00:12:55] And from that position he now wars and fights against the God whose position he desires and against the people who love the God that he desired to be the person that he desired to take place. And so from this we see a position defeat. God is explained with three words.
[00:13:21] Omniscient, that he is all knowing, omnipresent, that he's everywhere at all times, and omnipotent, that he is all powerful.
[00:13:31] That is who God is. Those words describe the character of our God.
[00:13:36] But here's what you need to understand.
[00:13:39] Satan has none of those qualities.
[00:13:42] Satan is none of those things.
[00:13:45] He cannot be all knowing. He is not everywhere at all times and he is not all powerful. There's someone that is more powerful than Satan and that person is Jesus.
[00:14:01] So as he wars, he fights from a position of defeat, of being a created being of God. He cannot be God. He has tried and he has failed and fallen and been punished because he desired to be like God.
[00:14:21] So Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 describe this fall or this position of Satan. Now just because he failed, doesn't take away from anything that he can do.
[00:14:36] Just stirs the pot, makes him angry.
[00:14:38] Luke records in Luke chapter number 10, verse number 18, these are Jesus words that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
[00:14:53] Now with Jesus saying that before the world was ever created, that tells you that Jesus was present there, right? I'm not going to go down that rabbit trail. But Jesus says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Second Peter, chapter two, verse four.
[00:15:10] God didn't spare the angels.
[00:15:14] And so Revelation 12, we see that a war breaks out and we're going to get there at the end in heaven between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels. And the devil was cast out of heaven.
[00:15:27] But listen, tonight when we think about the enemy's position, we must be reminded that it is a position of defeat. It is A position that he is below God. He is a created being. He cannot be God. He will never be God. As much as he tries, as much as he desires, he will not become God.
[00:15:49] He's already been defeated. He is a defeated foe.
[00:15:54] And so when you fight with already defeated, maybe you've seen somebody that's fought from that position before, right?
[00:16:05] You back a wounded animal in the corner and you really got your hands full, right?
[00:16:12] Well, you got a wounded angel that imitates and tries to be God still backed in a corner.
[00:16:25] Do you think he's just going to lay down?
[00:16:27] Absolutely not.
[00:16:29] So what do his capabilities look like?
[00:16:33] And I'm going to want you to go to the first book of your Bible, Genesis chapter number three. Let's jump over there. Genesis chapter number three.
[00:16:42] And these verses are very familiar to you. I'm going to read the first six verses.
[00:16:49] As we think about what the enemy's capabilities are.
[00:16:53] He fights from that position of defeat. He has been created by God. He has fallen as he tried to rise to be God. And here's what God's word says. Genesis 3, starting with verse number one. Now, the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, and then your eyes shall be open, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired, to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her. And he did eat.
[00:18:00] So what are the enemy's capabilities?
[00:18:04] Satan desired to be God. And now he. He does his best to imitate God.
[00:18:12] This may surprise you. Probably not.
[00:18:15] Satan knows God's word.
[00:18:19] And what we realize from this very early account, Satan knows God's word better than Eve knows what God said.
[00:18:30] Now, she literally had God's word. God spoke to them.
[00:18:35] We have God's word. And here's what we need to understand.
[00:18:39] Satan knows God's word.
[00:18:45] We learned in our study in Matthew the Sermon on the Mount.
[00:18:51] That many will say in that day, lord, have I not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils. And in thy name done many wonderful works.
[00:19:00] And Jesus will say, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
[00:19:09] Satan still has influence, his capabilities, that he has influence even over good people and people that claim to be godly people.
[00:19:22] Satan can imitate and mimic the things of God.
[00:19:28] Second Corinthians 4, 4 says that he blinds the minds so that the light of God can't save. He snatches the seed before it can grow. In Matthew chapter 13.
[00:19:43] And here in Genesis, we see that Satan is more cunning and he twists God's word to cause doubt and confusion.
[00:19:55] The one question has God really said that? One question was intended to sow a seed of doubt, but also to cause Eve to question.
[00:20:09] Did God really say.
[00:20:13] And that gives us a little bit of his capabilities, that he takes God's word and he begins to twist. And with those questions, questions, he sows seeds of doubt.
[00:20:26] And then he begins to say in Genesis chapter number three, you will not surely die.
[00:20:33] God just doesn't want you to be like him. You're not really going to die.
[00:20:38] You'll know good and evil like God does.
[00:20:42] Now remember, this is the same angel that went toe to toe with God already.
[00:20:47] And he's defeated.
[00:20:50] He's been banished and cast out.
[00:20:53] And yet he's coming back for more.
[00:20:55] And he comes back by saying this.
[00:21:00] God's not going to do that.
[00:21:05] Our world has bought into the lie.
[00:21:09] Or to the question, has God really said, will God really see, send somebody to hell?
[00:21:19] My answer to that is no.
[00:21:22] You make a choice, and your choice is what sends you there.
[00:21:28] But we twist it, and the world has bought into the lie that we won't surely die.
[00:21:39] There's a question in some people's minds, if. If heaven and hell are even real, is that a real place?
[00:21:48] God wouldn't do that. God wouldn't send somebody to hell.
[00:21:52] He's twisted the truth. He has allowed people to believe a lie.
[00:21:59] Not only that, in verse number six of Genesis, chapter number three, Eve sees that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and. And the tree to be desired and to make one wise. And she took the fruit thereof, did eat, and gave also to her husband with her. And he did eat.
[00:22:23] Satan knows how to give you something that appeals to you, something that looks good, something that is pleasant to look at and good for you. What you think is good for you or needed for you and desires to give you wisdom or give you understanding. Satan can take those things in our lives, put them before you and say, here you go.
[00:22:55] Take may not be a piece of low hanging fruit from a tree, but Satan's capabilities, his tactics have not changed.
[00:23:09] He knows where your weakness is and he puts in front of you things that appeal to the sin nature of who you are and who I am.
[00:23:19] And he says, here it is, take it.
[00:23:23] And in your mind it looks good and it may even look like it is of God, but it's not.
[00:23:35] Paul writes to Timothy warning about the snares of the devil.
[00:23:43] And I want to warn you tonight, Church, listen, those snares are still laid.
[00:23:51] The traps are set for you and I tonight.
[00:23:55] And as Paul writes about those snares of the devil, Satan is the great tempter, tempting people to do evil.
[00:24:04] Good Christian people will face temptation.
[00:24:10] Job shows us that Satan can afflict with pain.
[00:24:16] But here's what Satan cannot do.
[00:24:19] Satan cannot possess a believer.
[00:24:25] He can oppress a believer, but he cannot possess you.
[00:24:31] And so as much as he tries, he can bring physical, he can bring temptation. He can lay the snares before you and you can feel and know all of that.
[00:24:44] But Satan can never possess who you are if you are a child of God.
[00:24:51] Revelation 12 says that he deceives the whole world.
[00:24:56] And so Genesis chapter six teaches us that deception happens when we really don't know what God says. That's the easiest way to fall into the trap is when you don't remember, when you don't know what God really says.
[00:25:14] And so the challenge for you and I tonight as children of God, one of the greatest weapons that we learned about in Ephesians chapter number six is God's word. We must take it. It is, it is all. It is a means of defense, but is also a means of offense as well. As we go on the offense against Satan, so we must know what God's word says.
[00:25:40] And I'm not blaming Eve, I'm not saying, I'm not sitting there doing that, just saying this. David disobeyed God.
[00:25:49] Satan was the culprit.
[00:25:52] Judas betrayed Christ. And what does the Bible say?
[00:25:56] The devil entered into his heart.
[00:25:59] The devil was the culprit there. Satan was the culprit there. Peter rebukes Jesus as he tells him that he had to go to the cross. And what does Jesus tell Peter? Get thee behind me, Satan.
[00:26:17] So Jesus knows Satan is still active and still trying to lay the trap, even trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross, we see in the life of David, in the life of Judas, in the life of Peter, that Satan was active in the people of God and those that were not of God.
[00:26:46] Remember, Satan is only capable of tempting and testing if God allows it.
[00:26:55] Write down First Corinthians 10:13, because he will not let Satan exceed your breaking point with his help.
[00:27:08] This temptation, this testing is meant to strengthen you as a child of God.
[00:27:20] And we need to be able to lean into the Lord to be able to withstand that temptation. Satan perverts the word of God and the plans of God and tries to bring down the people of God and, and he has a limit on what he is able to do.
[00:27:35] Will we hide God's word in our heart that we may not sin against God?
[00:27:41] Last week in this very room, 250 kids took that pledge every night.
[00:27:48] You know what I really think we need to do? We need to do that on Sunday morning.
[00:27:53] We need to take a pledge to hide God's word in our heart that we may not sin against him.
[00:27:59] God's word is very, very important. Knowing God's word helps with the enemy's capabilities. And so tonight we see that we cannot withstand it on our own. We must have the Lord, we must depend on the Lord, and we must put on the whole armor of God. Victory over Satan comes through faith in Jesus Christ who conquered sin and, and death. So tonight we sang Victory in Jesus to start out, that was important because the only way that we have victory is through Jesus Christ. There's one more point tonight, and that is this the enemy's destiny. What is the enemy's destiny?
[00:28:46] We've mentioned that Satan battles from a defeated, wounded place and that intensity ramps up. And in Genesis 3:15, that is the picture of what will happen one day on a cross.
[00:29:06] And as Satan is cast into the lake of fire.
[00:29:11] I want to read that real quick for those of you that may not relate that. But as we see Genesis 3:15, it says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel. What that tells you this is, yes, Jesus went to a cross, suffered a bruise, but one day he will crush the head of the serpent once and for all. That is the destiny of Satan and he knows it. But until then, he is at work in the lives of the people that God. All right, we start at the beginning of the Bible. Go to the end of your Bible, Revelation chapter.
[00:29:55] I want to go revelation chapter 12 first and then we're going to do revelation chapter 20. So revelation chapter number 12 first.
[00:30:10] Revelation, chapter 12.
[00:30:15] I'm going to read verses 11 and 12.
[00:30:20] You can read 7 through 12 if you want to. It talks about the war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. Dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not. Neither was their place found anymore in heaven. I'll just read them. How about that? The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world.
[00:30:39] He was cast out in the earth and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying, in heaven now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night. I want to stop right there. That's one thing that the devil is as an accuser. Day and night, all day long he stands accusing you before God. God verse number 11 says this. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea. For the devil is come down unto you having great wrath. Because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
[00:31:32] There it is in God's word. He doesn't have long.
[00:31:36] He doesn't have long and he knows it.
[00:31:40] And from that place of defeat he fights.
[00:31:46] We see that the church overcomes through the blood of the Lamb, through the testimony of the truth of God and a life lived, surrendered to a savior, surrendered so much that you're willing to die for your faith.
[00:32:02] Persecution is not defeat.
[00:32:06] Jump over to revelation, chapter number 20.
[00:32:18] This is at the very end of the time it says this. And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
[00:32:31] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed.
[00:32:52] Little season.
[00:32:55] One day in the future the Lord is going to set up a thousand year reign on this earth.
[00:33:02] I believe that's what the Bible teaches. Some of you may believe something a little different, but that's okay, we can agree to disagree.
[00:33:09] But at the end of the age, Jesus is going to have a thousand year reign.
[00:33:14] And during that thousand years, what we see here in Revelation 20 is Satan is going to be locked away for a thousand years as the Lord Jesus reigns.
[00:33:25] But notice in verse number three that you see that he is going to be loosed for a little while. He's going to be turned loose for a little season.
[00:33:34] So after that thousand years, Satan will be loosed one last time. Okay, when we understand that last chance that he has, jump over to verse number seven.
[00:33:52] It says this. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go out and deceive the nations which are to the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle the number of whom as the sand of the sea.
[00:34:09] And then jump down to verse number 10, it says this. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
[00:34:26] That is his destiny.
[00:34:29] Satan's destiny is the pit of hell.
[00:34:36] We see at the end of the age that he'll be locked up and then he'll be turned loose and have one last, last chance and then he'll be thrown into that pit of fire.
[00:34:50] That is his final judgment.
[00:34:53] And the Bible is clear that that is not a place that is desirable for anyone.
[00:35:02] Listen to me.
[00:35:04] God did not create hell for his angels.
[00:35:11] But some of his angels will be sent there.
[00:35:14] Why?
[00:35:17] Because they desire to be God.
[00:35:22] And for you and I, God does not desire his prized creation.
[00:35:28] The angel is not his prized.
[00:35:30] No matter how beautiful Satan was, Satan was not his prized creation. You, you and I are.
[00:35:37] Satan does not desire his prized creation to be in that place as well. The place we call hell.
[00:35:45] But the Bible is clear that people will be there.
[00:35:53] The enemy's destiny is a place that is totally separated from the God who created him, the God he desired to be.
[00:36:06] So tonight we've covered the first mention of the devil in scripture in the book of Genesis.
[00:36:14] And we have covered where the Bible addresses the last mention of the devil.
[00:36:24] That lake of fire is forever.
[00:36:27] And that is Satan's destiny, his desire to be there.
[00:36:32] But until then, he seeks to devour.
[00:36:36] Like a roaring lion, you battle a real enemy.
[00:36:46] I don't want you to leave here tonight and say, man, that's some make believe stuff.
[00:36:52] Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's make believe.
[00:36:57] Tonight you battle a real Enemy.
[00:36:59] And that enemy knows your weaknesses, knows how to tempt and how to test.
[00:37:06] His position is limited, but it is still very powerful.
[00:37:13] And he influences, as the Bible says in Revelation 12, he can influence the entire world.
[00:37:19] That's how powerful his influence is.
[00:37:23] Satan twists and deceives, accuses, tempts and hinders believers and tries to divide and discourage the people of God.
[00:37:35] Can I tell you what Satan would really like to do?
[00:37:39] He would like to bust Clifford Baptist Church wide open.
[00:37:44] How many of you have been or understand?
[00:37:47] Church splits.
[00:37:50] Let me tell you what. That's not a work of God by any means.
[00:37:54] And I don't care what the reason is.
[00:37:58] The enemy wants to destroy.
[00:38:04] And so tonight, as he tries to divide and discourage and destroy the people of God, he knows what his forever is.
[00:38:15] He knows where his destiny is. That destiny is the lake of fire.
[00:38:21] And so tonight, I'll leave you with one verse, James 4. 7.
[00:38:29] Here's what I want you to do. Commit it to your memory bank. Commit it to your heart. Here's what James 4. 7 says. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
[00:38:46] You have victory when you submit to God.
[00:38:51] When you put on the full armor of God, you resist the attack of the enemy.
[00:38:57] And the Bible says this, he will flee.
[00:39:03] Let's pray, Father. Tonight, Lord, I pray that you will use this word of warning in such a way, Lord, that it is a word of protection.
[00:39:17] It's a word of protection over our church, God. I pray, Lord, that you will just protect us. Build a hedge about us, Lord, that Satan cannot get in, Lord. We pray that, Lord. We also pray, Lord, that you build protections around our family because Satan wants to divide there as well.
[00:39:46] We pray that you build protections about our children.
[00:39:50] Oh, does he want the next generation? Absolutely, Lord. Tonight, in our own hearts, Lord, as we are bowed before you, Lord, we pray that any sign of evil, Lord, that you will root that out of our lives.
[00:40:16] And Lord, tonight, in a crowd this size, there may be one person that needs you.
[00:40:24] Lord, I pray, Lord, that your spirit would work in such a way that the enemy is defeated and a life is saved and a soul is saved forever, Lord, tonight, if there's somebody sitting here that didn't understand that the enemy is real, the battle is hot, we're on the front lines, God. I pray, Lord, that you will teach them, Lord, about the war that they are in. As a believer, God, tonight I pray that your word would be in our hearts and in our minds, Lord, that we will meditate and think about your word when the enemy attacks Lord thank you that you have shown us that the enemy can be defeated but not in our own strength God we need you tonight and as the enemy is roaring around us God I pray Lord that you will protect your people and your church Lord that we will have a testimony and that we will come out victorious as we put on that armor of God thank you Lord Tonight we have identified the enemy that we understand his tactics we understand it's an unending battle we understand we must be prepared tonight God just go before us Lord the victory is in your hands Lord we look to you tonight Lord to give us the strength to face the temptation and the wiles and the schemes of the devil Lead us we pray In Jesus name Amen Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11am for more information about our church please call our church office at 433-49-4605 55.
