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Three Strategies of the Enemy
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| People need to understand how to have deliverance and how to get victory over the warfares that the enemy is trying to bring to them. | |
| You shared that there were three main warfare strategies against believers. | |
| What are they and how can we overcome them? | |
| Yes, well, there is, yes, three warfare strategies that the enemy deploys against the believers, the body of Christ. | |
| We often don't hear much about spiritual warfare in our churches sometimes because it may seem as a taboo topic. | |
| And so, as I've been studying the word of God and really trying to get revelation, understanding to equip the body of Christ at Lord's, the Lord began to show me three particular strategies that the enemy comes against the believer that he deploys. | |
| These are weapons. | |
| These are weapons of mass destruction to destroy our purpose, our destiny, and keep us from the fullness of what Christ desires for us to walk in. | |
| And so, number one is deception. | |
| Number two, it is temptation. | |
| Number three, it is accusation. | |
| Let me say that again. | |
| It is deception, it is temptation, and accusation. | |
| And so, we know that the Bible talks about that the enemy is the accuser of the brethren, that he comes with false witness. | |
| He is also known as the father of lies. | |
| And so, we have to make sure that we are not walking in error, that we are not persuaded, or we are lured into the old sin nature, and that we will keep a good witness. | |
| And so, number two, we got to look at that, that the enemy is also a deceiver. | |
| That is one of his quests is to, the Bible talks about that he is the prince and the power of the air. | |
| He is the God of this world. | |
| And so, what he does is he comes to blind. | |
| He comes to deceive. | |
| He comes to, I will use this term, hoodwink, to put veils over unbelievers, to keep them from the truth, to keep them from perceiving and understanding and comprehending the truth. | |
| And so, we need truth that will dispel and expose darkness. | |
| We need truth in this hour. | |
| The truth of God's word will always shine brighter than deception. | |
| And so, that is what the enemy is. | |
| He comes as a deceiver. | |
| And then, we also know that he is one that loves to bring temptation. | |
| Jesus was one that came and he overcame the three temptations that the enemy put against him when the father led Jesus, his own son, into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. | |
| And so, if Jesus becomes the model for us as believers to overcome these temptations, if Jesus can do it, we can do it. | |
| And one of the things that Jesus did that I saw that was very interesting is he combat or he counteract these temptations that the enemy threw at him. | |
| It was with the word. | |
| We know that one of the temptations was that Jesus was hungry, of course, and it's dealing with our appetite. | |
| It is dealing with those fleshly desires. | |
| And so, the enemy will bring those fleshly desires and bring us back to our remembrance or bring us back to our old nature. | |
| And so, what did Jesus say? | |
| Jesus counteract that lie and that temptation by saying that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. | |
| So, we don't just need the logos or the written word of God, which is infallible. | |
| We need the truth and it's the final authority, but we also need a proceeding word. | |
| We need a right now word. | |
| And that's where prayer comes in. | |
| When the enemy comes to lie to you and say that you are not a child of God or that you are not a believer, that you are not called to be great in his kingdom, to advance his kingdom, you can speak words and speak the preceding word, the right-down word, and stop the enemy in his tracks. | |
| And then, one of the temptations that the enemy did with Jesus was also brought him up into a high mountain, brought him up to an exceeding high mountain, the Bible says, and showed him all the wonders and the kingdoms of the world. | |
| And so he was offering something that it was already Jesus. | |
| And so we have to understand that we have to overcome pride. | |
| We have to overcome the lust of the world, the lust of the pride of life, and the lust of the eye. | |
| We have to overcome it with truth. | |
| And we have to discipline ourselves and not be able to fall victim or prisoner of war to what the enemy offers. | |
| And then we have to understand that if Jesus begins to overcome the enemy, we have that same power and authority. | |
| So it is those three things that the enemy throws at us: deception, temptation, and accusations, false witness. | |
| And so, how many have been accused of some things that you didn't do? | |
| And that's what the enemy will always remind you of, some things of your old nature. | |
| But right now, you have power, you have authority to overcome him every time. | |
| And so, what is his strategy? | |
| He also comes to kill, steal, and destroy. | |
| But Jesus says, right there, I come that you may have life and live it more fully and have it abundantly. | |