THE INVISIBLE WAR
Part 1 – Introducing the Enemy
(Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-17)
October 7, 2018
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor – SCBC
INTRODUCTION
A. 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (NIV)
B. Spiritual Warfare is the invisible but very real battle against our greatest enemy, the person the Bible identifies as Satan.
C. Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (NIV)
1. The Devil is a Created Being. (Ezekiel 28:11-15)
A. Ezekiel 28:11-13 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.”
As a created being, the devil is not eternal, he is not all knowing, he is not all present, he is not all powerful. Satan is limited.
B. Satan was created as a guardian cherub.
Ezekiel 28:14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
C. He was the choice ministering angel to God Himself.
D. When was Satan created? There is no mention of angels being created in the Genesis account of creation.
E. Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
2. The devil is a corrupted being. (Ezekiel 28:15, 17; Isaiah 14:12-16)
A. Ezekiel 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
B. Ezekiel 28:17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
C. Satan fell because of pride.
Isaiah 14:12-14 How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
D. I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
E. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
F. In Satan’s rebellion, he took with him a third of the angels.
1. Revelation 12:4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
2. 2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
3. The Devil is a condemned being. (ISAIAH 14:15; EZEKIEL 28:16)
A. Isaiah 14:15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths the pit.
B. Ezekiel 28:16 … I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you,
C. Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed (Satan’s) powers and authorities, Jesus made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
D. By the time Jesus came out of the grave the devil already knew that he had lost the battle, he already knew the victory would never be his.
E. Revelation 1:17-18 …I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hell.
F. Matthew 25:41 Then God will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’
Action Steps for this week…
- I will go to the Next Step Center after the service to talk with a minister about receiving Christ as Savior.
- I acknowledge, as a Christ follower, I am in a spiritual war. Jesus has ultimately defeated this enemy at the cross.
- I know people in my life who need this series and I will invite them to church.