The bible paints a picture he taught it talks consistently from cover to cover
about a supernatural being a powerful being who revolted or rebelled against God and actively
opposes the plan of God and works to destroy the people of God no matter what anyone says
about anything it's important to check what Jesus attitude is toward that thing because
he is the manifestation and the embodiment of God and therefore whatever he believes is the truth
there's no doubt in the scriptures concerning Jesus belief that there is a real physical devil
there is a real spirit and a personality called satan Jesus not only spoke to him he spoke about
him he even talked and warned us about him and also commanded us to be careful about his devices
some people have bought in the lie that satan isn't real that he's a metaphor for evil that
doesn't exist or that he doesn't actively try to harm Christians satan's a real enemy
First Peter chapter 5 verse 8 Peter says this stay alert watch out for your great
enemy the devil he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour
Peter says stay alert now the truth is this that in order for you and I to stay alert regarding
what satan is doing we have to know who he is and what he does and so what Peter is saying here is
you need you need to be careful because you have an evil enemy and he's your adversary and he's
actively pursuing an opportunity to destroy your marriage to destroy your family to destroy your
health to destroy everything in your life that's precious and holy and many Christians need to wake
up to the fact that we have an evil enemy because many Christians are still very very naive as it
relates to the devil satan is real Peter referred to satan as the adversary of every Christian
adversary satan is always the enemy the foe the antagonist of Christians he prowls
he prowls he roars he growls like a lion on the hunt satan prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour in Job chapter 1 verse 7 the Lord said to satan where have you
come from and satan answered the Lord from roaming through the earth satan is opportunistic he's not
all-knowing he's not all-powerful but he's looking for an opportunity that's why he's roaming he's
not roaming for fun he's roaming with a purpose he is roaming to prowl he is looking for potential
candidates for his attack he's opportunistic someone has said if satan goes to and fro on
the earth walking back and forth on it then he has passed near you more times than you know
never forget that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one First John 5:19
it is said that the best defense is a good offense and the best offense is knowledge
knowledge of your opponent the best defense against satan is knowledge of him
study him his nature his character his devices so when we study satan if we study his names
the names that God calls him that the bible calls him we also then discover who he is and
what he is it's in his name let's read the first name satan it means adversary
so the word satan literally means adversary now the guy
is called adversary so you know his job is to be adverse to you
I don't care what satan promised you he don't mean you no good his name is adversary he's
always adversity this means he is malicious in his intent to hinder God's purpose and your dreams
First Peter chapter 5 verse 8 says what your adversary the devil seeks whom he may devour
he's an adversary his second name number two is devil now the world tries to move the D
and depersonalize satan
don't do that he's not evil in the world he is devil in the world he is an actual person
what does devil means here's what it means interesting word it means slanderer devil it means
slanderer satan slanders both God and man let me give you the word the meaning of the word slander
very interesting devil means slander the word slander means to speak the truth for evil intent
so the devil really deals in contaminated truth
that's why he's called a liar whenever he says something to you it sounds good
but it is a slander he's doing it for your own destruction devil now the bible tells us
a great deal about the enemy of our souls first of all he is the great deceiver he's the great
deceiver he is according to John 8:44 in the words that Jesus gave to a group of jews who
were struggling with his message he told them that they were the children of their father the
devil and that they had a hard time with truth because their father's native language was lies
a person's native language is what they speak easily and converse in what they naturally
speak and ladies and gentlemen satan's natural language is lies Revelation 12:9 refers to him
as the one who deceives the whole world which he does by counterfeiting and camouflaging he
tries to imitate the work of God and he does it very effectively he's the great deceiver
Jesus describes satan in John 8:44 he said he's a murderer from the beginning not holding to the
truth for there's no truth in him when he lies he speaks his native language in other words
his language is lies for he is a liar and the father of lies part of what makes the
devil such an effective liar in fact the best liar of all time is that satan is smart
he knows how to manipulate he knows your strengths and weaknesses he knows what you like and you
don't like he's been doing this for thousands of years don't underestimate the enemy satan wants
you to believe it's for your good not for your destruction are you getting it satan deceives
he's a liar we have God's word in written form any thought that comes to your mind anything
that said to you that disagrees with the bible is a lie from satan why is the devil our enemy
why is he our adversary here's the answer satan is the enemy of truth and our Lord and savior
Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life and the eternal word of God and he hates him
faith in Jesus and his blood makes us saved faith in God's word makes us safe and we
need to understand that the word of God satan opposes us because we believe in the word of God
we live in a world with an evil devil and he's laying snares for us he has a method he has
a plan as surely as God has a plan for your life the devil has a plan for your life too
you have a plan for your life God has a plan for your life but there's one other factor
in the equation there's another plan that exists satan has a plan for your life as well
satan's plan is predictable and really the same for everyone anytime satan speaks to you it's
an attack satan attacks in an attempt to get you to follow his plan for your life instead of Gods
satan's attacks usually aren't big spectacular events you see coming instead he's crafty
and he waits quietly for the opportunity to strike a blow against you
he wants you to doubt God and his goodness
satan says God won't forgive you you've done too much you've gone too far God won't accept and
forgive somebody like you he wants you to doubt God's forgiveness and believe the lie God can't
use you there's no way he has plan for you look at you you're a wreck you're a mess you're a loser
satan doesn't want you to believe that God has a plan for your life and a place in ministry for you
satan here's the thing satan always wants you to to think in terms of having a better way
than what God has called you to do or asked to do it's always going to be that way he will always
say there is a better way there's a different way there's a faster way there's a more expedient way
there's a less difficult way and you can always know that what he's doing is he's
trying to subvert the plan and the purposes of God to take you off course James gives us the
secret to overcome satan there's a way to overcome satan every time and James learned this from Jesus
he lives with Jesus and remember this please this is the key to victory over satan James chapter 4
verse 7 Peter also learned how to overcome satan because remember Peter got beaten real bad didn't
he I mean satan whooped Peter good because it was after that big statement he will never
die I mean he will die for Jesus he will lay his life down Jesus said satan going to test you
Peter and what happened Peter denied Jesus three times that means satan whooped him good
and Peter learned a lesson Peter said
satan is like a roaring lion roaming to and fro seeking whom he may devour
then he says
submit yourself to God
and resist the devil James says the same thing in verse 7 chapter 4 verse 7 he
says submit yourself to God I think the key it's submitting to God prince of darkness grim
we tremble not for him his rage we can endure lo his doom is sure
one little word shall fell him and that is the name of Jesus