Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20000709.htm

OVERCOMING IN THE ANGELIC CONFLICT
Part I: The Biblical Hope Of The Believer's Practical Victory Over Satan
  1. Introduction
    1. God calls the believer in Christ to live for Him in a world that is ruled by Satan, 1 John 4:4; 5:19 NIV.
    2. However, many Christians tend to become defeated by Satan out of two unrealistic responses to Satan: (1) either one can be enthralled with Satan apart from Scripture that he is seduced into being manipulated by Satan into sin; or (2) he can dread Satan so as to avoid Biblical input on Satan and fail in ignorance.
    3. This lesson counters both extremes by informing believers on applicable Scriptures about Satan:
  2. The Biblical Hope Of The Believer's Practical Victory Over Satan
    1. The Bible exposes the person and work of Satan that equips the believer to identify his workings in life:
      1. Satan was created by God as the most gifted of heaven's angels, Ez. 28:12-15; Isaiah 14:12a. Satan is thus NOT to be DARED countered by meager HUMAN efforts or intellect in any way, Jude 9!
      2. Sin was found in him one day (Ez. 28:15c), and he led one-third of heaven's angels in a rebellion against God. He was thus cast out of his position of authority and blessing in heaven (Rev. 12:4a) [although Satan's access to heaven ends in the Tribulation Period, Rev. 12:7-12]. These fallen angels are the demons, and are ruled by Satan to carry out his plan on the earth, Eph. 6:10-12; 2 Cor. 4:3-4.
      3. Satan's sin was and still IS a fivefold effort to usurp God (Isa. 14:1-15): (a) Satan tries to usurp God's throne, Isa. 14:13a (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4a); (b) he tries (re: esp. demons) to usurp God's rule over angels, Isa. 14:13b; Rev. 12:4a; (c) he tries to administrate God's universe, Isa. 14:13c (1 John 5:19b); (d) he tries to make God's glory his own, Isa. 14:14a (2 Cor. 11:13-15); (e) he tries to imitate God in every way, Isa. 14:14b (2 Thess. 2:8-9 with Rev. 16:13-14 in imitation of the Triune Godhead).
      4. Satan's goal for man fits into this scheme: as God set man up to rule as His deputy on earth (Gen. 1:28-30), Satan opposed that plan by getting man to sin and suffer demotion so he could usurp that rule, Gen. 3:1-6; 1 Jn. 5:19b. Since the Fall, Satan has tried to block God's plan to save men from sin and restore man's rule, so Satan tries to ruin man in every way. He tries to obtain God's judgment on man by having him sin, John 8:44; Gen. 3:1-6; Isa. 14:12-15; Mark 5:1-7; Job 1:12-19; 1 Cor. 7:5.
    2. However, God has revealed the way for man to have victory over Satan's efforts, Colossians 2:9-10:
      1. One who believes in Christ as Savior is so spiritually positioned in Christ at his justification by God that he is fully spiritually equipped for experiential victory over all of Satan's workings, Col. 2:9-10.
      2. That position which equips the believer for this victory is explained in Scripture as follows:
        1. Satan accuses fallen man of sin so that God must legally punish him, culminating in Satan's wishes that man be destroyed. This, of course, violates God's plan for man, Gen. 1:27-30; Rev. 12:10.
        2. Hence, Christ bore God's list of sin accusations against all men on the cross, Colossians 2:14.
        3. When one believes in Christ as Savior from sin, he is forgiven all of those sins and spiritually installed in his position in the heavenlies with the glorified Christ, Colossians 2:11-13.
        4. Utilizing this position in his experience, the believer may enjoy victory over Satan as follows (1 John 5:18c): (a) Christ totally spoiled Satan's powers over man at Calvary, Col. 2:15-17; (b) these spoils were turned over to the Church in the form of divinely-assigned spiritual gifts so believers can have experiential victory in Christian service, Eph. 4:8-11; (c) Also, the Holy Spirit seals the believer so that when he depends on God's Spirit for life, he will live without sin, Eph. 1:11-12 with 1 John 4:4b; Gal. 5:16-23; (d) Thus, when one believes in Christ, he is positioned so as to enjoy experiential victory in life and service over Satan if he obeys God by leaning on the Holy Spirit and doing God's assignment in God's gifting. (e) If he sins, by confessing it he is restored to God's fellowship so his position in Christ can be used for experiential victory, 1 Jn. 1:8-10; 2:1-2.
Lesson: The Christian need not fear the onslaughts of a Satanic attack, for what he has been given in Christ equips him for complete victory over Satan in life and service. However, to ENJOY such victory, one must obey God at every turn in the Spirit's leading and power, and that means knowing Scripture so as to heed the Spirit's teaching through Scripture to his benefit, 1 John 2:14b.

Application: We must be IN the Word and IN fellowship with God to have constant victory over Satan!