Session IV Victory Accomplished

Transcription

1 Session IV Victory Accomplished

2 Tonight s Session 7:00 7:15 Reflections and Review 7:15 7:25 Lesson Introduction Kicking Out The Devil 7:25 7:55 Lesson Focus Resisting the devil 7:55 8:10 Self-Reflection 8:10 8:15 Devotional Homework 8:15 Closing (Focused) Prayer

3 Reflections and Review What stood out most to you during our last session or during your devotional studies regarding Grace and the Gospel? What spiritual self-evaluations, actions or commitments did God lead you to make as a result of our session?

4 Our Different Responses to Conflict

5 Peacemaking Responses to Conflict How to pursue reconciliation and a mutually agreeable resolution to a conflict. Go to Higher Ground (Glorify God - 1 Cor. 10:31) Clarify your highest values. It means asking yourself, How can I please and honor God in this situation?

6 Peacemaking Responses to Conflict How to pursue reconciliation and a mutually agreeable resolution to a conflict. Get Real About Yourself (Get the Log Out of Your Eye - Matt. 7:5) Examine your own attitudes and actions, understanding how you have contributed to the conflict, and giving a thorough and humble confession.

7 Peacemaking Responses to Conflict How to pursue reconciliation and a mutually agreeable resolution to a conflict. Gently Engage Others (Gently Restore - Gal. 6:1) Taking responsibility for your own action is followed by respectfully and graciously helping others to see how they have contributed to the conflict.

8 Peacemaking Responses to Conflict How to pursue reconciliation and a mutually agreeable resolution to a conflict. Get Together on Lasting Solutions (Go and Be Reconciled - Matt. 5:24) Focusing on preserving and restoring the relationship through forgiveness leads you to a lasting solution that resolves both material and personal issues.

9 Victory Accomplished Kicking Out The Devil Video Clip

10 The elect or holy angels who remained true to God when Satan rebelled and were confirmed in their holy estate. Satan There are two categories or types of angels in Scripture. One-third of the angels (Rev. 12:4) who joined Lucifer, the anointed cherub of God, as he rebelled against God, was judged, and became God s archenemy.

11 Satan Satan s evil character was formed the moment he let his pride cause him to rise up in rebellion against the throne of God. This creature went from a beautiful, perfect being named Lucifer, living in the light and glory of heaven, to Satan the prince of darkness, banished to the earth (Luke 10:18).

12 Lucifer s Fall Before his fall, this angel s name was Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12). But in Luke 10:18 Jesus called him Satan. Ezekiel 28:12 19 Matthew 25:41 Isaiah 14:12-15 Revelation 20:10

13 Satan Before his fall, this angel s name was Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12). But in Luke 10:18 Jesus called him Satan. The names given to Lucifer after his fall reflect his character. There was a number of names given to this enemy. Satan means adversary or opposer. Devil, which means accuser or slanderer.

14 Satan Lucifer not only got new names, but he also got an eternal death sentence (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). Once Satan got an eternal death sentence, there was never any possibility of redemption for him or his angelic followers. Hebrews 2:14-16 says that the cross did not include a provision for Satan s sin.

15 Satan Satan s sin was so terrible that there was no grace for him. The result is not only condemned to eternal death himself, but he is also defeated in his purpose for taking the entire human race with him to destruction. Salvation is God s statement to Satan that he is a beaten foe.

16 The Contest of Satan Even though Satan has been decisively and eternally defeated by Jesus Christ, he is not about to lie down and quit. He is still engaged in a great battle against God for the souls of men and women.

17 The Contest of Satan Satan has some potent weapons at his disposal. The weapon of power and wealth The world has been handed over to Satan temporarily. And as Satan told Jesus in His temptation, I give it to whomever I wish (Luke 4:6).

18 Weapons of Satan The Weapon of Deception Everything Satan does is wrapped up in lies, because deception is at the heart of everything he does (John 8:44; Revelation 12:9). And the people he controls are his deceivers as well (2 John 7).

19 Weapons of Satan The Weapon of Opposition If Satan cannot get you to believe his lies or fall into one of his traps, he will turn around and oppose and resist anything you try to do for God. People who never feel Satan s opposition probably are not doing much for God. But when we get serious about serving God, the adversary shows up. He s still determined to steal God s glory, so he is going to oppose anything that brings God s glory.

20 Weapons of Satan The Weapon of Accusation The Devil is the accuser of our brethren (Rev. 12:10). To be effective, an accuser needs an opportunity to make an accusation. He needs something he can try to pin on the person being accused. Paul urges us not to give the devil an opportunity to accuse us (Eph. 4:27).

21 The Conquest of Satan The goal of any contest is conquest, victory. In Revelation 12:11, the Bible gives us three powerful weapons for defeating our adversary Satan. The Cross Our Confession Our Commitment

22 The Conquest of Satan The Cross The first thing you need to beat Satan is the cross, without which the other two weapons would not be possible. The blood of the Lamb is a reference to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The blood Jesus shed there not only purchased our eternal salvation, but it renders Satan powerless when we as believers are operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.

23 The Conquest of Satan The Cross John 12:31-33 says that Satan was judged by the death that is, the blood of Christ. So if you are under the blood, you belong to Christ. Read what Paul says in Romans 8: And in v. 34 he asks, Who is the one who condemns?

24 The Conquest of Satan The Cross The one who condemns is the accuser, the Devil. But look at God s answer to the Devil s accusations: Christ Jesus is He who died (v. 34). He not only died, but He was raised from the dead. So our accuser has to overcome the resurrection of Christ in order to keep from ruining us.

25 The Conquest of Satan The Cross Even more, Christ is at the right hand of God. And He intercedes for us. That s a reference to His ascension back to heaven, so we have a crucified, raised, and ascended Savior to answer any accusation against us. Remember that when we sin, we give Satan a legal right to accuse us. But when we confess our sins (1 John 1:9), we are forgiven and cleansed through Christ s blood.

26 The Conquest of Satan Our Confession The second weapon we can use in our conquest of Satan is our confession, the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11). Our confession or testimony has to do with our public identification with Christ. It has to do with how we speak and live, whether we are adequately and accurately reflecting who Jesus is, acknowledging Him before the world, and pointing people to Him.

27 The Conquest of Satan Our Confession There is tremendous authority against Satan in our confession of Christ, because of what Jesus said in Matthew 10: Jesus was not talking about our salvation, but about our willingness to confess before the world that we belong to Him. The authority over Satan comes because when we confess Christ, He confesses us before His Father.

28 The Conquest of Satan Our Commitment The third weapon of warfare is our commitment. The saints in Rev. 12:11 loved Christ more than they loved their lives. This is the same level of commitment as shared by the Apostle Paul (see Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:20-21). Our authority does not come from our power. It comes from our relationship with Christ. We can only conquer Satan as we stay fully committed to the Lord.

29 Recognizing the lies and deceptions of Satan

30 Satan s Strategy The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

31 Satan s strategy is powerful and purposeful. His plan to steal, kill, and destroy you and keep you from abundant Christian living has four distinct stages as outlined in James 1:13-15): Desire Deception Disobedience Death Satan s Strategy

32 Stage One: Desire Even legitimate desire becomes a problem when Satan tempts us to meet a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way. The process of temptation often means trying to get us to meet a good need in a bad way.

33 Stage Two: Deception In stage two of the process, the illegitimate development of desire leads to deception, the moment when the person takes Satan s bait and finds out he has been deceived. Satan is far too smart to let his hooks show. He covers them with enticing bait.

34 Stage Two: Deception Satan deceives us by planting an evil thought or idea in our minds. He can t make us do anything, but he can build deceitful castles of desire in our minds. Satan knows how to intertwine our desires with his twisted plans to lure us into his deception. But we still have to bite the hook.

35 Stage Three: Disobedience Desire leads to deception, and deception leads to disobedience. James uses the analogy of conception, pregnancy, and birth because the birth process so closely parallels the process he is talking about.

36 Stage Three: Disobedience When an illegitimate desire is welcomed and acted upon, that act of conception produces a child called sin. And once a child has been conceived, its birth is sure to follow. In other words, committing disobedience is like the act of procreation. The result will always show up after a while. The child of disobedience is sin, and like any other sin it will begin to grow once it has been born.

37 Stage Four: Death The fourth and final stage in Satan s process of deception is death. Sin brings about, not only physical death, but spiritual death. This is one of the fundamental truths we learn from the sin of Adam and Eve.

38 Stage Four: Death Satan brings nothing but death and destruction with him, but God is the source of every perfect gift (v. 17). So James says, do not be deceived (v. 16). When Satan deceives and leads us into sin, he causes us to miss the goodness of God.

39 Don t Fall For It When confronted by Satan s temptations in the wilderness, Jesus did not say, Let Me think about it and I ll get back to you later. He said, It is written. He dealt with the temptation on the spot, right in Satan s face. He didn t meditate upon the wrong desires Satan suggested and allow them to conceive disobedience. Neither should we!

40 Self-Reflection Answer the following questions. How has your understanding of Satan helped you to better recognize his schemes? In what areas of your life have you struggled, or failed, in resisting the Devil? What actions must you take to submit to God and resist the Devil so he will flee (James 4:7)? What prayer can you pray to get God s help to make this happen? Write out your prayer.

41 Devotional Homework Pages Think about your prayer? What does the Lord say, in His Word, about the thoughts/reflections in your prayer? Enhance your prayer by including those Scriptural references. PRAY

42 Corporate Prayer Friday, February 19 7:00 8:00 PM Hope Christian Fellowship Church Hope to see you!

43 Session IV Victory Accomplished