Spiritual Warfare: Lesson 2 ? The Strategies of Satan...Continued from page 2
Question 5: The New Testament authors warn us against the dangers of “lust.” From each verse below, describe the context of “lust.”
a. Matthew 5:28
b. Romans 7:11
c. 1 Corinthians 10:6
James 1:14-15
Lust is a desire in our flesh that must be kept under the control of the Holy Spirit living within us. When the Bible tells us to flee from lust (1 Corinthians 6:9) it points out the dangers that come from allowing lust to control our decisions and behaviors (Romans 6:12). When we are lured into temptation, this almost always involves a component of lust on our part. When we act on our lusts, we fall into sin. Temptation in and of itself is not a sin. We can resist temptation by identifying these tactics used by the enemy. However, sin still needs to be forgiven and forgiveness only comes from Jesus. Jesus alone saves sinners. Sinners need a Savior. But sinners keep sinning because it is their nature to sin. That is why Paul says in Romans 7:18-19, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Jesus, as our Savior, saves us from our sin. Jesus, as our Lord, wants us as sinners to be dependent on Him. As sinners, we will not become sinless in behavior, but we do become guiltless of our sin as we grow in our relationship with the Lord. Sin hurts, destroys and kills the sinner. Sin brings death--the death of dreams, the death of the peace of God and death to a spiritual life set apart by God. God sent His Son to free us from all our sins, but Satan fights us to keep us in bondage of it. He keeps us from truly embracing God’s mercy and grace. Jesus can and does set us free from the bondage of sinful desires, lusts, and idolatries. Victory came through the victory of the One who endured the same temptations that we endure here on earth and overcame them for us.
Let’s take a closer look at Jesus’ temptations.
Question 6: From Luke 4:1-13, describe how Jesus was tempted. List the three specific areas and describe how Jesus responded to each.
a.
b.
c.
d. From question 4, match the temptations with the type of tactic Satan used.
Jesus came to earth as a man and experienced the complete essence of all temptation. He understands our struggles and our sufferings because He struggled and suffered too. The difference is that Jesus overcame them and has given us the power to do the same. Hebrews 2:18 says, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Satan used every scheme and strategy on Jesus just as he uses on us. We need to learn from how Jesus handled Satan’s temptations and we need to use the power God gives us in the Holy Spirit to stand against Satan’s tricks and lies (Ephesians 6:10-12).
The more we understand the enemy, the easier it is to recognize his tactics to not fall into his pit of hell right here on earth. Lust and pride will take us down. They go hand in hand with the desires of the flesh, the teachings of the world and the ways of the devil. Jesus addressed the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life with the Word of God in each of the temptations Satan used against Him. If the Living Word of God (Jesus) needed to quote the Written Word of God (the scriptures) to overcome the tactics of the enemy, how much more do we need to cling to, memorize, meditate and claim the Word of God in our struggle against sin?
Question 7: How do the following verses instruct us to fight against and overcome these temptations?
a. Matthew 26:41
b. Romans 13:14
c. Galatians 5:16
We can know the Word of God and have a great prayer life and still not be able to fight effectively. Why? Because we cannot always objectively evaluate ourselves. We become limited by our own spiritual blindness in things that we think are okay but are not. We deal with spiritual ignorance in not really understanding the ways of God.
A major tactic of Satan that he uses against us is fear. Fear is in direct opposition to faith. Fear kills our faith. Even though 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” fear strikes our minds first. Faith
stems from the heart but has to be thought through in the mind before we act on it. Fear can paralyze us. We can only begin to fight against fear when we know where it comes from. We are instructed in the Bible to fear the Lord, in reference and respect. We are not to fear the lies and deceptions of our enemy. Satan is a master at hiding his identity and masking his strategies. And, therefore, Jesus told His disciples (us!) to pray “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
Question 8: When fear is brought into the light, it loses its power over us. What tactics of fear does Satan use against you? Write your fears down on paper. Bring them into the light and pray over them. Pray 2 Timothy 1:7 back to the Lord and know in faith that the Lord is not responsible for creating the fears that you are experiencing. (Use a separate page.)
Question 9: What does 2 Corinthians 11:14 say about Satan and how can we discern his presence?
1 Peter 5:8 says to be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Satan is seeking someone to devour. Your areas of weakness are the areas where he will attack you. We have to pray to have eyes to see and ears to hear (Matthew 13:9-11). We need to ask in prayer to be made as “wise as serpents but to be gentle as a dove” (Matthew 10:16). We need to beg God to remove any spiritual blindness and complacency to overcome through the name of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit and by the blood of Jesus.
Question 10: What can you personally apply to your life today as a result of learning about the strategies of Satan?
The Bible makes an important distinction between condemnation and conviction. The enemy condemns us?“Christian, you are worthless! How could God love you when you just did that?” Condemnation drives us away from God. But, the Bible tells us: “Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Conviction, on the other hand, drives us towards God. The simple prayer, “Oh, God, be merciful to me a sinner” is a prayer of conviction, which drives us towards God and seeks His mercy, love, and power to overcome Satan, the world and our flesh. Be victorious in Him! Be happy in Him! Be fulfilled in Him!
Hebrews 4:14-16 say “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” These verses bring hope as we know that no sin can keep us from coming to the Lord because Jesus is our High Priest. He has made us clean before the throne of God to ask for anything and to keep pressing on because our sins are not held against us any longer. Get your eyes off yourself and on your High Priest. We achieve victory not by our works of righteousness but because of His mercy. Focus on His mercy, not your works. Jesus overcame, God sees you through His victory so that you can have victory in life regardless of what you are struggling with. God wants you to pray. He wants you to ask, He wants you to have all that God has promised you through His Son, for you are not a slave (to sin) but a child of God and your Dad (Abba Daddy) absolutely loves you, is committed to you and wants you to be blessed abundantly.
* Editor's note: Two of four lessons from this study are available at Christianity.com.
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Taken from the Bible study Spiritual Warfare by Tonilee Adamson and Bobbye Brooks, and used by permission of Daily Disciples.
Daily Disciples Ministries, Inc., founded by Tonilee Adamson and Bobbye Brooks, embraces a vision to reach the world for Christ by teaching others how to be His daily disciples. Their mission is to evangelize the lost and to re-awaken the saved to live lives empowered by the Word of God and His Holy Spirit, and to teach and to train those who desire to grow, to serve and to have all that God has for them…encouraging everyone to be a daily disciple of Jesus Christ. From Bible studies to daily devotionals to daily radio programs to a comprehensive discipleshipprogram, Bobbye & Tonilee have a passion to help others apply the Word