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Ephesians 6:10-18

“Satan and Demons: Invisible Enemies”

Spiritual Warfare•Remember Casper the Friendly Ghost?•Seemed pretty nice and harmless, right?• In truth, “ghosts” are demons pretending to be people that once lived, and are in direct contact and control from Satan himself.•Last week we talked the reality of Angels; this time, we’ll explore the reality of demonic forces

Spiritual Warfare•They have very real jobs and very real powers to carry them out•Clear objectives Jesus described Himself:• John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”•This is the demons mission against you: Steal your joy, kill your testimony, destroy your faith

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 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. 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. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is

the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, [i]be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…”

Ephesians 6:10-18, NASB

A. Power and Limits of Satan & his Demons• God is omnipotent which means all-powerful•Omniscient- means all-knowing •Omni-present- means everywhere at once•The devil and his demons are NOT any of these•They are smart, but have limited knowledge•Their power is limited •They can be only one place at a time

B. Satan and his Demons Beginning•Where did satan actually come from?•According Scripture, Lucifer was once a high ranking beautiful and powerful angel in heaven. •But he was proud •He wanted to be worshiped rather than understanding his privilege to worship the Lord God

15 “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.”

Ezekiel 28:15, NASB

“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 assemblyIn 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.

Isaiah 14:12-15, NASB

C. Demonic Rank and File•Contrary to how Hollywood portrays the massive power of the devil, he is no match for the Almighty God•But he does have a very efficient and powerful demon force•According to Scripture, it is extremely well organized too--

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

Ephesians 6:12, NIV

“ 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against (1)principalities, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12, NIV

“ 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against (2)powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12, NIV

“ 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against (3)the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12, NIV

“ 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against (4)the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12, NIV

“16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

Colossians 1:16, NASB

“16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (1)thrones or (2)dominions or (3)rulers or (4)authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

Colossians 1:16, NASB

C. Wrong Demonologic Teachings•Christian Demon Possession•In the NT we see lots of people possessed•Is it possible today?•The only safe-haven from this is salvation•John 10:28-29, “…No one can snatch them out…”•They can tempt, harass, oppress, but CANNOT take control over us

C. Wrong Demonologic Teachings•Binding and Reviling DemonsMatthew 16:18-20 says, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ…”

C. Wrong Demonologic Teachings•Binding and Reviling Demons•Charismatics sometimes teach this, that by naming demons, we can end their power•Wrong•Saying, “I bind you demons in the name of Jesus,” or reviling them is nothing more than waste of your time. If you have that much energy and time, pray to the Lord in faith that He would fight the battle for you

D. Demonic activity will increase•Paul told Timothy (1 Tim 4:1) that this would become commonplace in the last days•Look around us in America today!•The Devil and his demons know their time is short!•They want to take as many to Hell with them as they can

E. Jesus is our Defense•Don’t worry! He said, “It is finished,”!!!•Colossians 2:15 says, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”• If you’re born-again, you have nothing to fear• Instead of looking for the devil, seek the Lord in the Word• Instead of looking for the Antichrist, seek Jesus Christ• Instead of looking for the Adversary, seek your Advocate!• Jesus is our Advocate and Defense Attorney

Take Home…•The devil and his demons should not be ignored, but at the same time we should not be fearful of them-- our God can protect us and keep us safe.•2) Do not fall for men’s false theologies regarding demons, or waste time on the mysticism of the church. Spend your time learning Jesus, not the Enemy