Key #4 Know Your True Enemy

Have you thought about who your worst enemy is? Would you be surprised to know that isn’t your spouse, your children, your boss, your family, your friends, or even the church – although this can be hard to believe at times.

No, your true enemy is Satan himself, and all his minions.

Did you know the Bible says this about him?

John 10:10 (AMP) says, “The thief (Satan) comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.”

BUT ……

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself (Jesus) likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”              Hebrews 2:14-15 (NASB)

Did you see that?

Jesus has rendered Satan POWERLESS!

YOU, who are in Christ, have all the authority to trample on the devil’s head. In Mark 16:18, we are commanded to “handle snakes with safety.” Mark is not talking about literal snakes here. He is talking about demons. The first mention of a serpent was regarding Satan as he spoke with Eve in Genesis 3.

Use the authority given to you.  (Luke 9:1)

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The only thing that can defeat lies is truth. What is truth? There has to be a compass that decides what that truth actually is. Our compass is of course, the Bible. Actually, THE Truth is Jesus (John 14:6).

Anything that contradicts what the Bible says, is a lie.

Don’t agree with the devil’s lies. Bill Johnson says it like this, “If you believe a lie, you empower the liar.” and you really don’t want to do that!

Believe the Truth, Dismiss the Lies.

Some of the biggest lies that you believe may be about yourself. The devil even tried it on Jesus in the wilderness with an omission of the truth. In Matthew 4:3, Satan cleverly leaves out the word “beloved” when he questions Jesus. If the devil, your personal enemy, can get you to dislike yourself in any way, then he can win. When you come into agreement with his lies about you, he can have power over you.

The key is knowing “who” you are and “whose” you are. I write about this here.

Steps to Breaking the Lies

•  Repent for agreeing with the lies and receive God’s forgiveness. (1 John 1:9)
•  Ask the Lord to heal the wounds in your soul caused by the lies that you have believed.
•  Spend time in the Word and with the Lord to discover who He truly is. Sometimes we can have a wrong perspective of Jesus so read the Gospels, (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) and discover how loving, patient, compassionate, etc. He is towards people. This is how He is towards YOU!
•  Ask the Lord to reveal to you how He sees you and write it down. Meditate on this picture.
•  Find verses in the Bible that tell you the truth about yourself or your situation. (I have already written a list here).
•  Read them aloud and decree them over yourself a few times a day.
•  When you hear the lies coming into your mind say, “The truth is …… eg. I am new creation in Christ.”

A Word Of Warning

Unless you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with Him, do not try to go up against the devil. He will win almost every time. You do not have permission to go against him nor do you have the authority to do so. The seven sons of Sceva learnt their lesson when they went to a demon possessed man. The demons beat them silly as they knew the men were not with Jesus (Acts 19).

The spirit realm is very real. The demonic realm can see if you have Christ’s authority or not. Be very careful.

Authority comes out of relationship. If you have surrendered your life to Christ, the devil knows this and he has to bow his knee to Christ who is in you every time. We are not to get smug about this as Jesus warned his disciples in Luke 10:20 not to rejoice in the fact that demons listen to you. Rejoice instead that your name is written in Heaven and that you will spend eternity with him.

If you are a Believer, you need to know you have complete authority over the devil and his works because Christ lives in you in power and authority. Satan only has authority in our lives if we give it to him.

The lesson here? DON’T GIVE IT TO HIM!

Stay reading the Word, praying the Word, asking the Lord to reveal to you how He sees you and learn to stand in the true identity of who God has created you to be for Him.

There are many other ways that the devil can attack you but this seems to be the main one. If he can spark doubt in your mind, it’s downhill from there. We’ll look at some other ways we can defeat him in the coming weeks.

If you are yet to discover Jesus, He desperately loves you, more than any person could. He only wants the best for you and He wants you to succeed in life. If you are willing to turn your life to Jesus, you could pray this prayer:

Lord Jesus,

Please forgive me for ignoring you and sinning against you. Wash me clean of my sin. I turn my life over to you and ask you to be Saviour and Lord of my life. Show me Your plans for my life that I may live for you. Thank You, Jesus.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time, please comment below or send me an email via the contact form. I would love to rejoice with you and answer any questions you may have.

Likewise, if anyone has any questions or topics you would like to see covered, please comment below or send me an email also.

You are victorious. Live the life Christ died to give you. He’s totally worth it!

Keys For Spiritual Warfare

Key #1 – Know Who You Are
Key #2 – All You Need Is …
Key #3 – Silence is Golden
Key #4 – Know Your True Enemy
Key #5 – Prophecy – Your Secret Weapon
Key #6 – Thanksgiving and Praise
Key #7 – Sing Your Victory Song
Key #8 The Truth That WILL Set You Free! 
Key #9 Conversations With God
Key #10 Stand In Your Victory

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