Spiritual Warfare 2024
We Battle Against the Devil and Demons
There is spiritual war
The war is between God and Satan
It is a battle for the lives of those God created in His image
God is calling His creation to love, love God and love one another
Godly love always seeks to do what is right
The Devil is not a good father
He offers his children the right to do whatever feels good
No discipline, no authority, and his children think that is love and freedom
Satan’s work has been deception from the beginning
That deception caused pain, suffering and death
Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil
So we might see His love and repent and become Children of God
Spiritual warfare is not to destroy the Devil
But the works of the Devil in the lives of others because God so loves the world
We Battle Against the Devil and Demons
When people talk about Jesus, whether they are non-Christians or professing believers, they rarely if ever describe His coming to earth in the way John spoke of it in 1 John 3:8.
You hear them say things like…
“The reason Jesus appeared was to bring justice to the world,” or “The reason that Jesus appeared was to model for us love and kindness,” or “The reason that Jesus appeared was to reconcile us to God.” Of course, the latter statement is true, but how many times have you ever heard people say, as John the Apostle has said,
under divine inspiration…
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil”
1 John 3:8b, ESV
What are Satan’s “works”? Morally, he entices us to sin. Physically, he inflicts disease and seeks to destroy those who bear the image of God. Intellectually, he seduces us into error. And spiritually, he blinds the mind of unbelievers lest they see and believe the gospel.
— Sam Storms, Blogpost, June 1, 2015 (www.samstorms.com)
It may surprise you and I
that when Jesus came to the earth…
He did not destroy or put an end to Satan.
There will be a day when the Devil
will be cast into the lake of fire
and be tormented forever.
So what did Jesus come to do
when He came to earth?
John tells us…
The reason the Son of God appeared
was to destroy the devil's work.
1 John 3:8b
Jesus came to destroy the “Works”.
We should ask ourselves…
What are the works of the Devil?
But first…
We should look at the context of what John is saying…
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:7-10
There are the Children of God
and the Children of the Devil.
God’s children do what is right.
The Devil’s children do what is sinful.
In the beginning, Satan came into God’s perfect Garden
where His children, Adam and Eve, lived.
Satan deceived God’s children.
God had to remove them from the Garden…
Because sin destroys everything.
Jesus came to the world because…
He still loves the people He created.
If you are a parent with a rebellious child…
You know you cannot force your child
to love you and change.
Jesus came to show us
the effects of Satan in our lives…
And the cruel father He is.
Satan is the father of lies
who comes to steal, destroy and kill.
Satan only has to appeal to our love for this world
verses
the love for the Kingdom or Garden of God.
Satan does this through…
For all that is in the world —
the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life —
is not of the Father
but is of the world.
1 John 2:16 NKJV
There is spiritual war…
The war is between God and Satan.
It is a battle for the lives of those God
created in His image.
God is calling His creation to love…
Love God and love one another.
Godly love always seeks to do what is right.
The Devil is not a good father.
He offers his children the right
to do whatever feels good…
No discipline, no authority,
and his children think that
is love and freedom.
Satan’s work has been deception
from the beginning.
That deception caused pain, suffering and death.
Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil…
So we might see His love and repent
and become Children of God.
Spiritual warfare is not to destroy the Devil…
But the works of the Devil
in the lives of others.
Because God so loves the world.
Scripture Reading NIV
1 John 3:7-10
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Mark 1:23-28; Matthew 12:28; 15:22-28; Luke 4:39; 13:10-17
Jesus dealt with demons
Mark 1:23-26
23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!"
25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
Matthew 12:28
28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matthew 15:22-28
22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.
26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
27 "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Luke 4:40-41
40 When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
Luke 13:10-13
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
