Warrior - The Strategies of the Devil: Equipping Yourself for Spiritual Battle
In High School, one of my best friends' dad was one of the leaders of a Biker club—Not a Huffy Biker club: a Harley-Davidson Biker club. They drank a lot, smoked a lot of marijuana, and were a pretty rowdy and violent group to run with…
One weekend, my friend and I were camping out at Saline Creek Boat Dock, fishing and minding our own business, when two groups of people from different worlds showed up: Chad’s dad, with all of his Harley Club buddies, and soldiers on leave for the weekend from Fort Campbell.
Clean-cut, disciplined, and ready-to-party soldiers mingling with long hair, long beards, Harley riders. There was a heated argument over where vehicles could park and where tents would be set up.
So, to settle it…Mark said, “I tell you what. Any one of our guys can whip any of your guys. The first one to pin for three seconds wins.” They agreed, and I was eager to see this fight! Then, Mark looked at me and said, “Joe – go get him.”
Before I could say anything, a circle of soldiers and bikers gathered around me, and a GI about my size and height. I thought, “I can beat this guy.” We lunged at each other. And, I held my own for about 2 seconds. Before I knew it, my legs were swept out from under me; I was thrown down into the gravel, out of breath, and pinned. Then, I heard the bikers and the soldiers all count out my pin. “1 – 2 – 3.” It ended faster than it started.
I was not prepared or ready for this battle. He had gone through 6 weeks of basic training. He was skilled and trained in hand-to-hand combat. And I…was not. I was fifteen years old and unprepared to fight a person who fought with strategy.
As followers of Jesus, many of us are unprepared for daily spiritual battles. We fight an enemy who is strategic, disciplined and knows our weaknesses. The Devil has been studying humankind for a long time. He understands our weaknesses and has developed strategies to attack us and destroy our lives. But prayerfully, at the end of this sermon series, you will be more prepared for the strategic attacks of the Devil.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
At the beginning of this passage, we are told to put on all of God’s armor so we will be able to stand firm against the strategies of the devil. Today, I will give you four strategies of the Devil found throughout scripture, along with four suggestions that followers of Jesus can do to protect you and your family.
HE DECEIVES & DISTORTS; STAY ANCHORED IN TRUTH
We see his deception in the Garden of Eden. God had just created all the animals, looked around, and called them GOOD. And the first thing the Devil did was disguise himself as GOOD to bring destruction.He became a serpent, part of God’s GOOD creation, to deceive. God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to eat from any tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He warned them that eating its fruit would lead to death. The Devil, in the form of a serpent, deceived Eve and distorted God’s command, saying they wouldn’t die but instead become like God. Tempted, Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, who also ate it.
Their disobedience led to separation from God. This act of rebellion gave birth to sin, and sin brought death, disease, and destruction into the world. This changed humanity’s relationship with God forever. And it all started because the devil first disguised himself as something that Adam and Eve had known as GOOD. They didn’t know it was the devil. They were convinced that the serpent was part of God’s GOOD creation. When God asked Eve why she disobeyed him, she said, “The serpent deceived me…” In other words, “God – the creature YOU put in the Garden with us, deceived me.” She blamed God.
Similarly, thousands of years later, in the New Testament, the apostle Paul exposed false teachers to the church in Corinth. He said this:
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NLT2)
14 …Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, angels served as messengers of God, sent at special times to communicate His will to His people. God sent these Angels out as his messenger to deliver Truth. The devil disguised himself as God’s messengers to deliver LIES. Paul warns that the devil often disguises as good to deceive and mislead. Never forget that a clever lie will look like the truth. A counterfeit bill is passed because it looks like the real thing.
So, stay anchored in the truth. Know the Word of God. Memorize scripture. Spend time in the Lord’s presence. Be Growing in your relationship with God.
Another strategy of the devil we see throughout scripture is that…
HE TEMPTS THEN CONDEMNS; FORGIVE YOURSELF AND OTHERS
The Devil TEMPTS, and he CONDEMNS. We have already established that the devil disguises himself as good to tempt us. But the Devil doesn’t just tempt us; he also condemns and accuses us.
The Apostle John describes the devil as our ACCUSER in Revelation:
Revelation 12:10 (NLT2)
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
The Devil is a TEMPTER and an ACCUSER – and these two traits create a pretty nasty strategy of what I call the Devil’s “One-Two” combination punch. He tempts people to sin by deception and distortion. He whispers things like:
It’s not really cheating if you do it online.
It’s just this once, nobody could possibly find out.
You have already messed up, what’s the point in stopping now?
God will forgive you anyway, so why not?
If you don’t do this, you will never be happy.
That temptation is NORMAL!
1 Corinthians 10:13a (NLT2)
13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience…
Every single follower of Jesus experiences temptation. Every single one of us has been lured by these whispers. And - every single follower of Jesus has given in to temptation and chose to sin at some point. And – it is in that place after a follower of Jesus has chosen to sin, where we experience the Devil's second punch. After he tempts us with his left jab, he follows it up with the right hook of condemnation and accusation. After sinning, he whispers to you:
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“What kind of follower of Jesus are you?”
“You’re a hypocrite.”
“You’re a pathetic excuse for a Christian.”
“You better keep this hidden because others will be disappointed with you if they find out.”
When those accusations come, remind yourself of this truth:
Romans 8:1 (NLT2)
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Write it down, memorize it, and declare it every time the Devil whispers lies about your identity. Let the Devil ACCUSE you all HE wants! Let the Devil condemn you all He wants! But understand that you are a child of the most high God. The shed blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you. You have been forgiven for all your past, present, and future sins. So, forgive yourself.
Don’t hold your sin against yourself. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God has forgiven you, and he is not rubbing your nose in your sin. So, stop doing that to yourself. Forgive yourself.
Another strategy of the Devil that we see throughout scripture:
HE DIVIDES;
PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND BEACH CHURCH
After tempting and accusing us, the Devil will begin to create division in the church because a divided church is a dying church, and the devil knows it. We see an example of the dividing work of Satan in a man named Diotrephes from the third letter of John.
3 John 1:9-10 (NLT2)
9 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.
The Apostle John was sending out traveling teachers of God’s word to churches, and at one of the churches, a man named Diotrephes: refused to have anything to do with the Apostle John… refused to welcome the teachers…and if any followers of Jesus did help them, he kicked them out of the church! Diotrephes loved to be the leader. He did not like the Apostle John, and he created division in the church as a result. The Devil prefers to see a dysfunctioning, divided church because a healthy church threatens his Kingdom!
Humans are more prone to lean into division, gossip, lies, and deception than we are to forgiveness, grace, and the power of the Spirit of the Lord. When things don’t go how we think they should – especially in church – we complain. We gripe. We cause division. So, we prevent division and protect our church and our families by demonstrating UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE:
Colossians 3:13 (NLT2)
13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
When people in your family or church offend you, forgive them. Make allowance for each other. Don’t create division because you don’t like a decision I made, and make allowances for my faults, too. The reason why the Devil deceives, tempts, condemns, and accuses is because…
HE OPPOSES GOD’S WORK; STAY FOCUSED ON GOD’S MISSION
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he explained why it had taken him so long to visit them:
1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NLT2)
18 We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us.
We are unsure what was happening, but the Devil prevented Paul from visiting the church to strengthen the church…The Devil does not want Beach Church to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. The Devil does not want us to launch a Saturday night service to reach people who can’t get to church on Sunday. The Devil does not want us to be debt-free and able to invest $16,400 into our mission every single month. The Devil does not want those 200+ people who were baptized in 2024 to grow in their faith. The Devil does not want our church or your family to be actively leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
So, we stand firm in the power of the Lord. We overlook the faults of others. We forgive ourselves and learn to stand firm against temptation by memorizing the Word of God. The Devil deceives, tempts, divides, and opposes, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can stand firm. Anchor yourself in the TRUTH. Resist temptation. Protect unity. And stay focused on God’s mission.