HOW TO DEFEAT

SATAN & HIS DEMONS

(PART 2)

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

1.       Last Sunday morning, I explained that Satan & his demons are real and we are in spiritual warfare with them.  We looked at the tactics and strategies that Satan uses against us.  Satan is a deceiver and a tempter.  Our enemy is after our souls and we better be alert.

 

THIS MORNING, I AM GOING TO PROVIDE A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE CAN USE TO CONQUER SATAN & HIS TROOPS.

 

I.                           FIRST, TO DEFEAT SATAN WE MUST TURN TO GOD FOR VICTORY.

 

1.      Time and time again, the Bible instructs us to rely upon God to deliver us from our enemy.

 

 

a.      According to this verse, who can deliver us from the evil one? Our Father in heaven!

 

 

2.      Before we can resist the Devil, we must submit to God!

 

 

3.      It is clear from these three passages that if we want to defeat Satan, we must rely upon God.

 

ILLUSTRATION:

 

A little girl was once asked how she defeats Satan.  She said, “When Satan comes knocking at the door of my heart, I send God to answer the door.  When Satan sees God, he says, “Ooops, I am sorry, I must have the wrong house.”

 

4.      The reason why we need God’s strength and help in battling Satan is because we as humans are powerless when it comes to battling Satan alone.  He is too strong for us to fight alone.  We need God’s strength to help us conquer Satan.

 

ILLUSTRATION:

 

In the Encourager, Charles Mylander writes:  “Sunrise was dawning when Los Angeles motorcycle police officer Bob Vernon saw a red pickup truck speed through a stop sign.  This guy must be late to work, he thought to himself.  He turned on his emergency lights and radioed that he was in pursuit.  The pickup pulled over, and the officer approached.

 

“Meanwhile in the truck, the driver thought, The cops already know!  He was scared.  He rested his hand on the same gun he had used a few moments before to rob a twenty-four-hour market.  The sack of stolen money was beside him on the seat.

 

“The officer said, ‘Good morning, sir, may I see your…’

 

“He never finished the sentence.  The driver shoved his gun toward the policeman's chest and fired from just inches away.  The cop was knocked flat seven feet away.

“A few seconds later, to the shock of the criminal, the officer stood up, pulled his service revolver, and fired twice.  The first bullet went through the open window and smashed the windshield.  The second tore through the door and ripped into the driver’s left leg.

 

“Don’t shoot!  The thief screamed, throwing the gun and sack of money out the pickup window.

 

“What saved the policeman’s life was dozens of layers of Kevlar, the super strong fabric used for bulletproof vests.  Only three-eighths of an inch thick, Kevlar can stop bullets cold.”

 

5.      In Ephesians 6, the Bible instructs every Christian to put on the full armor of God.  Only God can shield us from the deadly bullets of sin that Satan fires at us.

 

6.      When you are under spiritual attack, meaning that you are being tempted to sin, or an evil thought crosses your mind tempting you to do wrong, the first thing you need to do is go to God in prayer and ask Him to help you to defeat it.

 

a.       If you are angry, and are about to say something ugly, go to God in prayer and ask Him for help.

 

b.      If you are about to lust over another human being, go to God in prayer.

 

c.       If you are about to gossip about someone, go to God in prayer.

 

7.      Go to God in prayer and ask Him to give you the strength to overcome the sin.  When you ask, He will help you escape that temptation.

 

8.      To defeat Satan, we must first turn to God.  We need God's assistance to win the war against Satan and his troops.

 

II.                         SECOND, TO DEFEAT SATAN, WE MUST RESIST HIM.

 

 

1.      The Greek word translated “resist” (antistete) literally means “take a stand against, oppose, or resist."

 

2.      Resisting Satan means opposing him, turning away from him, and having nothing to do with him and the temptations that he throws at us.

 

3.      A great passage of Scripture that we should use to resist the Devil is in (Titus 2:12) which says, “say no to ungodliness and worldly passions.”

 

a.       Often times, we say maybe to sin instead of no, leaving the option open for us to say yes.  This is not the way to resist Satan or his temptations.

 

b.      Have you ever had a salesperson try to sell you something at your front door?  Often times we don’t want to tell them no, so we will tell them to come back later when our spouse is home.  Guess what!  Since we told the salesperson maybe, he or she will come back that same night to make the sell.  Salespeople are persistent.

 

c.       If we say maybe to sin and the Devil, then he will keep coming back until we say no.  To resist sin and the Devil, we must say a firm “NO” and shut the door.

 

ILLUSTRATION:

 

One Haitian Minister told this story.

 

A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2000.00.  Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price.  After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail hanging from just over the door.


After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell.  So first, the owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the nail he still owned.  Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

 

4.      If we leave one small sin in our lives, the Devil will return causing us misery.  We must resist Satan.  And if we do, he will flee from us.

 

III.                       THIRD, TO DEFEAT SATAN, WE NEED TO GO ON SPIRITUAL OFFENSE INSTEAD OF SPIRITUAL DEFENSE.

 

1.       At times, we get caught up playing defense with Satan.  We stand back, hoping that he will leave us alone.  We wait for him to make all of the moves.  We need to turn the tables and go after Satan.  We must attack Satan when he attacks us.

 

A.       THE ULTIMATE WEAPON TO USE FOR OFFENSE IS “THE WORD OF GOD” AND “THE POWER OF JESUS NAME.”

 

1.      When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in (Mt. 4:1-11), He stopped Satan cold in his tracts, by moving from defense to offense.  He began to conquer Satan by the power and authority of God’s Word. 

 

a.      Satan said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 

 

(1)            Jesus answered, “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

 

b.     Then Satan took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written: He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

 

(1)            Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

 

c.      Again Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

 

(1)            Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!  For it is written:  ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

 

2.      Jesus resisted the Devil’s temptations because He used the power and authority of the Word of God.  He turned from defense to offense.  He went from being pursed to being the purser.  He used the Word of God to attack Satan.  The Bible says in (Ephesians 6:7) that God’s Word is a sword that we are to use in combat.

 

3.      How do we use the Word of God to attack Satan? 

 

a.       Let's imagine that you are being tempted to say something unkind to someone.

 

(1)            Before you commit the sin, defeat Satan by quoting (Eph. 4:29) to yourself or out loud “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.”

 

(a)            When you quote a Scripture, it disarms the desire and the temptation.

 

b.      We need to memorize Scripture so we can defeat Satan.  The Bible says in (Ps. 119:11), that we need to hide the Word of God in our hearts, so that we will not sin against Him.  Whatever sin you are tempted to commit, memorize a specific verse and use it's power to defeat Satan.

 

4.      I believer that not only are we to quote Scripture to defeat Satan, but we are to use the power of Jesus' name.  There is power in the name of Jesus.

 

a.          Believers are baptized into His name (Acts 2:38).

 

b.         Believers are forgiven in His name (1 Jn. 2:12).

 

c.          Believers pray through His name (Col. 3:17).

 

d.         Believers have life in His name (Jn. 20:31).

 

e.          Believers can defeat Satan and his troops in His name.

 

(1)       In (Acts 16:18), the Apostle Paul was having some trouble with a slave girl who was demoned possessed because she kept shouting “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

 

(2)       Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”  At that moment the spirit left her.

 

(3)       In (Luke 10:17), Jesus had sent 72 disciples out to minister to the people.  And after their journey they came up to Jesus and said, “Lord even the demons submit to us in your name.”

 

5.      My friends there is power in the name of Jesus.  When you are tempted, and recognize that Satan is coming after you with his full artillery, go to the Father in prayer and ask Him to help you defeat Satan & his troops in power of Jesus Name.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

1.       Whether we believe it or not, or like it or not, we are in spiritual warfare.  Our enemy is after our souls and we must be alert and ready to fight. 

 

ILLUSTRATION:

 

Perhaps more than any other leader in the 20th century, Winston Churchill rallied a nation to believe in what it could do.  His speeches during World War II not only express resolution, but a profound peace of mind and a feeling of “rightness.”  Here are some of his words to England and the world:

 

“You ask what is our policy?  I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and all the strength that God can give us…You ask, What is our aim?  I can answer in one word: Victory…at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for with victory there is no survival.

 

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

 

2.       Brethren, this should be our attitude as well. 

 

a.       We will fight with all of our hearts against Satan & his demons.

 

b.      We will never surrender.

 

c.       Whatever it takes, we will have victory.

 

3.       To defeat Satan, we must do several things. 

 

a.       First, we must turn to God for His power and strength.

 

b.      Second, we must resist the Devil.

 

c.       Lastly, we must go on spiritual offense and use the Word of God and the power of Jesus' name.

 

4.       I hope and pray that this lesson has equipped you with enough artillery to defeat Satan.  Presently, if you are losing the battle with Satan and would like assistance from God's soldiers, we are here to battle with you, pray with you and help you in anyway we can.  If you are subject to the Lord's invitation, please come as we stand and sing.