Know Your Enemy
July 18, 2021

Today’s Scripture
Ephesians 6:10-13

As followers of Jesus, we live on a battleground not a playground.

1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1. Satan’s first battle with man was in the Garden of Eden

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

2. Satan will always try to get you to

God’s Word.

3. Satan lost his first battle with God in Heaven

Isaiah 14:12 “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! 13 “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. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

Ezekiel 28:13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings (tambourines) and sockets (flutes), Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.

4. Satan will lose his last battle with God in the end.

Revelation 12:9 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. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

If you give Satan an

he will attempt to be your

1. You need Jesus

2. You cannot win against Satan in your own strength

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

3. It’s up to you to get battle ready

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

4. You can win the battles against Satan

13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Don’t put your faith in the armor of God but in the God of the armor.

“Smooths seas never made a great sailor and a trouble-free life never made a strong Christian.”

We are not really fighting for victory, we are fighting from a place of victory.

2. Discuss in a Life Group

DISCUSS:

  • Why is it so important for us to know our enemy?

  • What was the most important thing you learned about your enemy?

  • Why is preparation so important in spiritual warfare?

  • What is the most important thing you discovered in “knowing yourself” as it relates to spiritual warfare?

3. Pray Together

Pray for each other and record any prayer requests here.