Spiritual Warfare: Defeating Satan's Tactics

The spiritual battle raging around us demands our attention, but not our fear. Satan may be real and active, but he's already defeated. This transformative episode dives deep into understanding our spiritual enemy and equipping ourselves with unshakable faith.

Before we can resist the enemy, we must understand who he is. Satan was once a beautiful angel who fell through pride, attempting to elevate himself above God. This rebellion led to his expulsion from heaven, establishing him as God's adversary and humanity's opponent. While powerful, Satan operates through predictable tactics: deception as the father of lies, temptation exploiting our vulnerabilities, accusations making us feel unworthy of grace, dividing believers to weaken us, and blinding people to gospel truth.

What makes this message so empowering is the revelation that Satan's defeat is already secured. Through Christ's death and resurrection, the enemy has been disarmed and his power broken. As believers, we're not fighting for victory—we're fighting from victory! When those accusatory thoughts about past sins surface (even from decades ago), remember Romans 8:1: "There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus." We stand firm through God's armor: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and His Word.

Your spiritual battles take on new meaning when you recognize your authority in Christ. The enemy prowls like a lion seeking isolated believers to devour, which is why community matters so deeply. Together, standing on God's promises and walking in Jesus' authority, we can resist every scheme of the enemy. Ready to transform your spiritual warfare into spiritual victory? Join us in developing the unshakable faith that changes everything.

Chapters

• 0:09 Introduction to Unshakable Faith
• 1:12 Understanding Satan's Origin Story
• 3:25 Five Satan Tactics Exposed
• 11:01 The Good News: Satan Is Defeated
• 13:03 How Satan Works Against Believers
• 17:14 Standing Firm Against the Enemy
• 19:38 Closing Prayer and Invitation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome to another episode of Divine Harmony Her Voice in Faith. I'm your host, cliche Rice, and I am so glad you are here with me today as we dive into a critical and empowering topic Living with Unshakable Faith Overcoming the Enemy. Go ahead and hit that like button, subscribe and share, if you have not done so already. It helps us get the word out to as many people as possible. All right, guys, we're going to dive right into it. So in this journey called faith right or of faith, let's say it like that In this journey of faith, we often face challenges, doubts and temptations, but it is very crucial to understand that we are not fighting against flesh and blood.

Speaker 1: 0:54

Our battle is spiritual. We have to understand that, and we have a very real enemy, which is Satan. So today we are going to unpack who Satan is, what he is capable of and how we, as believers, can live in victory over him, rooted in unshakable faith. So who was Satan? Let's begin by understanding who Satan was and how he came to be the adversary we know today. So in the beginning, satan was not always the fallen, rebellious entity that we now recognize. Right, he was originally a beautiful angel created by God in perfection. In fact, he is often thought to have been one of the highest ranking angels, possibly an archangel. But this angel, once beautiful, once majestic, once glorious, fell from grace due to his pride. In Isaiah 14, 12, 15, it gives us a powerful glimpse into this fall and it reads how you have fallen from heaven, morning, star, son of the dawn, you said in your heart I will ascend to the heavens, I will raise my throne above the stars of God. Satan's fall was a direct result of his desire to exalt himself above God, a rebellion rooted in pride. Imagine that Satan really thought that he could get away with this. It's weird to me, I mean, but I guess everybody tries something. Ezekiel 28, 12 through 19 also describes his beauty and wisdom, but how this led to his downfall when his heart became proud because of his beauty. Satan's desire to overthrow God and take his place led to a war in heaven. A war in heaven, like Satan had a whole war in heaven. In fact, in Revelations 12, 7 through 9, it describes how Satan, symbolized as a dragon, fought against God's angels but was defeated and casted out of heaven. It reads the great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray, and so Satan became the enemy of God and of mankind. So let's talk about what Satan is really capable of, right. What is he really capable of? What is everyone so fearful of when it comes to Satan? Let's dive in that for a minute.

Speaker 1: 3:35

As believers, it's important to understand his tactics right, so that we can stand strong in our faith. You know and understand how to overcome these attacks and these schemes. So what we're going to do is we're going to talk about five of them today, but there are so many more. So I encourage you in your free time, to read what the Bible has to say about Satan and his many ways of deceiving God's people. You can find some helpful scriptures referenced in the description below. All right, let's dive into the tactics.

Speaker 1: 4:05

So the first tactic I want to talk about today is deception. Satan is the father of lies. In John 8, 44, jesus refers to him as the father of lies. His main strategy is to deceive us, twist the truth and distort God's word. The first temptation we see in Genesis 3, where Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceives Eve, reveals his primary weapon, which is misleading us to believe that God's word isn't true, or that disobedience? Oh, look at the enemy. The enemy, the enemy.

Speaker 1: 4:46

We give him so much credit, but his schemes and his tactics are childlike when we really dissect them and think about what he's really capable of. I mean, yes, misleading Eve in the garden to believe that God's word isn't true. But you know what we have today, we have the Bible isn't true. But you know what we have today, we have the Bible. So when thoughts come in your head and when things come up against you, cross-reference it with scripture. Is this what God says? Should I go ahead and move in this direction? Should I actually? How should I handle this or handle that? We have to cross-reference everything with scripture.

Speaker 1: 5:25

So, these tactics, this tactic of deception right, he's the father of lies. A lot of times it starts in the mind. He'll plant little seeds in our minds to have us thinking. But we have to cross-reference everything with God's word, because he wants to twist the truth and distort the word. But if we're reading our Bibles, we can see for ourselves what truth is, and God will reveal to us that truth. All right.

Speaker 1: 5:52

So the second one is temptation. Satan is also a tempter, right, he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. And if he tempted Jesus, you know he's going to tempt us. But he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. He offered him power, pleasure and security, but only at the cost of turning away from God's will, which was strange, because he could not even offer those things to Jesus. So again, father of lies, it was all deception and it was all a ruse to deceive and to twist God's truth and God's word and manipulate. And that's exactly what Satan does, right? So he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. He was offering him things that he could not even give him.

Speaker 1: 6:34

Satan will exploit our weaknesses, he'll exploit our desires, he'll exploit our vulnerabilities to lure us into sin. He knows where we are most exposed, whether it's pride, greed, lust, fear, and he plays on those areas to pull us away from God. And that is why it is so important to have a relationship with Christ, because when you have a relationship with Christ, it's hard for Satan not to tempt you, but it's harder for us to fall into the trap. Because when you have a relationship on Christ listen to the things that I'm naming, right? The things that he exposes in us, right, he knows where we're exposed. He knows that it's the things that we like the most greed, lust, fear. You know what I'm saying. So he prays on that those areas to pull us away from God. But if we're in relationship and walking with Christ, those are areas that we're working on anyway, that God is giving us the ability to work on, which is pride, greed, lust, fear, doubt, when you're reading your scriptures every day and you're in a relationship with Christ. Doubt, when you're reading your scriptures every day and you're in a relationship with Christ. He's turning those bad behaviors that are in you, those bad characteristics that are in you, he's turning them into good for his kingdom. So that's how we come up against the schemes and tactics staying in the word and staying in relationship with God.

Speaker 1: 8:02

Ok, the third one is accusations. So another tactic of Satan is accusations. Right In Revelations 12, 10, he is called the accuser of the brethren, accusing believers before God. Day and night, he tries to make us feel guilty, condemned and unworthy of God's grace. But remember, through Christ we have already been forgiven and justified. We need to reject these lies and stand firm in God's forgiveness. God has already taken it to the cross. God is not a God of condemnation, right. He's not a God of making you feel guilty and making you feel like you're unworthy of his grace.

Speaker 1: 8:44

We have to remember scripture. When these things, when these feelings come up and it even happens with me I have a horrible way of doubting everything that I know God has spoken to me and I know that's a tactic of the enemy, because God is not going to speak life into me and then cause me to doubt it in a sense. Right, and I know I shouldn't be doubting it because I know I hear from God. I know God's voice. The scripture says his sheep know his voice and recognize his voice, and I do. But yet still there's sometimes, especially when it's big things, there's sometimes that doubt seeps in and I have to immediately cast it out of my mind and say no, lord God, I know your word, I know you have a plan for my life, I know that you are ordering every step. And then it goes away immediately. So let's not forget we've already been forgiven and justified. Right, we have to reject the lies and stand firm on God's forgiveness.

Speaker 1: 9:45

And the fourth one is influence. Satan has influence over the world. Satan is also described as the prince of this world. We have to remember that we are in the world, but not of this world. We are set apart, we are set aside. We are God's beloved. We are supposed to live in this world but not be of it. And Satan is the prince of this world. He holds sway over worldly systems, values and ideologies that oppose God. When I think about them taking Christ out of the schools, that's one of the enemy's ways that he has over worldly systems, values and ideologies. When I look on social media and I think about people's values right now and the way, oh my goodness, and the way that they are acting and calling on his name, and then you go to their homepage and it's just a mess. Satan is the prince of this world. He works through corrupt institutions and false ideologies to lead people astray, period, and we have to understand and identify it as such.

Speaker 1: 10:57

And my last one is spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6, 10 through 18 reminds us that we are engaged in spiritual warfare daily. Satan seeks to undermine our faith, cause division and sow discord within the body of Christ. But we are called to put on the full armor of God to stand firm against these attacks. The Bible provides us with great hope and assurance in the face of Satan's attacks and some of the ways that we can come up against Satan right, and these false attacks that he leads us to believe, that are so profound when they're really not, is what I think about in John 10, 10.

Speaker 1: 11:42

And it says Jesus contrasts his mission with Satan. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. But what does God say? I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. But I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Satan's purpose is clear it's to destroy humanity, to lead us into sin and to separate us from God. But Jesus came to give us life abundantly and eternally and we have to stand firm on that.

Speaker 1: 12:34

The good news is that Satan is defeated. Revelations 20.10 tells us that Satan will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire. His end is sealed and through the death and resurrection of Jesus, satan's power has been broken. We have to keep that in mind when dealing with opposition, when dealing with trials and tribulations and tactics and schemes. Colossians 2.15 tells us that Christ disarmed the power of darkness triumphing over them through the cross. We got to keep it in mind. We have to remember when we're going through things to lean on God, to lean on his word, to lean on his truth.

Speaker 1: 13:20

So how Satan uses his power against us. How does he do that? Right? Satan may be defeated, but let's be real, he's real, he's still active. He's trying to steal, kill and destroy us. So here's how he works against us. He works against us through deception and temptation. So he tries to deceive us into believing that sin is harmless, that we don't need God or that we are beyond forgiveness. Right, he'll distort God's word and lead us into confusion about God's truth. And second, he's dividing and conquering.

Speaker 1: 13:56

One of Satan's primary tactics is division. As I mentioned earlier, he seeks to create disunity within the church, stirring up conflict, bitterness and unforgiveness. That is what he starts in the body of Christ. He wants to divide us. Together we are strong. Separated we are weak If he can get one of you off to the side, away from your fellow believers. That's why community is so good. That's why going to church is so good. It's not the building, it's the people. God wants us to surround ourselves with godly people. They encourage us, we encourage them.

Speaker 1: 14:33

First, peter 5.8 warns us your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Think about it from a shepherd's perspective. When the sheep are all together, the enemy prowls around like a lion. What does a lion do? They're looking for one of the sheep to go off alone by themselves so they can devour it. So we have to remember what God says and we have to remember his word.

Speaker 1: 15:03

And then the third thing is accusations and guilt. Satan wants us to live in guilt and shame period. He will accuse us of our past sins. He'll make us feel unworthy of God's love. It happens to me all the time. It literally just happened to me this morning. I was sitting down and a thought came into my mind about something I did 30 years ago and here I am saved and forgiven by Christ's blood that he shed on the cross for me. And something that happened 30 years ago is popping in my mind today and I started to feel guilt and shame rise up in me and I had to cast that thing out. He'll accuse us of our past. Satan does that, and not just our past, but our past sins. God doesn't do that. He's forgiven us. Once he's done that, it is forgotten. We are free to live glorious lives in Christ. So he's the accuser, right. But the good thing is, romans 8.1 assures us. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's Romans 8.1. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Speaker 1: 16:19

And the fourth way is blinding people to the gospel. I think this is a crucial, crucial point here blinding people to the gospel. I think this is a crucial, crucial point here blinding people to the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 4, 4, paul tells us that Satan blinds the minds of the believers, preventing them from seeing the light of the gospel. He works hard to keep people in darkness, away from the saving truth of Christ.

Speaker 1: 16:40

So we have to remember again it's all about that relationship with God. We have to ask God daily to open our eyes, open our ears. Help me to receive your word. When you open your Bible and you're reading, just say a quick prayer Lord, god, whatever you have for me, help me to receive it. Holy Spirit, rise up in me so that I may receive. I want to receive God's word. I want my eyes and my ears to be open. Speak to me, lord. We have to call on God and ask him to do these things. All right.

Speaker 1: 17:10

So now, with all that said, what can we do as believers? Right To stand firm against the schemes and the attacks of the enemy. The Bible provides us with clear instructions. Right Praise God for the word. We can resist the devil. James 4, 7 says submit yourself then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Speaker 1: 17:34

We resist Satan by aligning ourselves with God's truth and standing firm in our faith. I've been yelling it from the mountaintop since we started. We have to align ourselves with truth and that is how we stand firm on resisting the enemy. In our faith we can put on the armor of God. So Ephesians 6, 10 through 18 describes the armor of God, which is truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. That is our armor. These spiritual tools equip us to stand firm in the battle against Satan. So we put on, we walk in truth, we have our righteousness, we guard our, we have our helmet, we have our breastplate, we have our shoes for our feet and the word of God is our sword. So those tools equip us.

Speaker 1: 18:24

We can also remember that we can rely on Jesus's authority. As believers, we have authority in Christ to overcome all the power of the enemy. We need to walk in that authority. Luke 10, 19 says I have given you authority to overcome all the power of the enemy. When we stand in the authority of Jesus, we can be confident that the enemy has no power over us None whatsoever. So, guys, satan is real and active. Right, he is a real and active enemy, but he is defeated. Guys, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have victory over sin, temptation, accusations and spiritual warfare. By standing firm in our faith, wearing the armor of God and relying on the authority of Jesus, we can live with unshakable faith, guys, knowing that the enemy has been disarmed and that we are more than conquerors in Christ. Okay, guys, let's close for prayer.

Speaker 1: 19:34

Heavenly Father, we come before you today with great hearts, thanking you for the truth of your word and the victory we have in Jesus. Thank you for reminding us that, though the enemy is real, his power is nothing compared to your power, father God. We pray for unshakable faith, for the strength to resist the enemy's lies, his temptations and accusations, and for the courage to stand firm in your truth, heavenly Father. Lord, help us to always put on the full armor of God, to be rooted in your word, lord God, and to rely on the authority of Jesus in every battle we face, heavenly Father God, and to rely on the authority of Jesus in every battle we face. Heavenly Father, may your peace guard our hearts and minds and may your Holy Spirit empower us to walk in victory every single day. We thank you, father, for the gift of eternal life, for your love that covers us, heavenly Father, and for the unshakable hope we have in you, lord God. We trust that with you by our side, no weapon, father God, formed against us will prosper. In Jesus's mighty name, we pray Amen and amen.

Speaker 1: 20:41

Guys, I never want to take for granted that everyone listening today knows Jesus. You can belong before you believe, but I want to extend an invitation for you to personally know Jesus Christ for yourself. If you haven't yet experienced his goodness and would like to, I invite you to pray this prayer with me Lord God, I am a sinner. Forgive me. Today I repent and ask you to come into my heart and my life, turn me around and make me a new creation. If you prayed that prayer, you are now a child of God. I celebrate this step you've taken. Now I encourage you to find a Bible-based church that teaches directly from scripture. Also, feel free to reach out to us at divineharmonyfaithcom. We'd love to hear from you, answer any questions you may have, pray for you and with you and keep you encouraged. Welcome home.

Speaker 1: 21:43

Thank you for tuning in today, guys, on Divine Harmony, her Voice and Faith. Remember we are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from a place of victory in Christ. Stand firm, resist the devil and walk in the freedom that Jesus has won for you. May you live with unshakable faith, knowing that no weapon formed against us will prosper Until next time. Stay strong in the Lord and his mighty power, as always. If you enjoyed today's message, please don't forget to like, share and subscribe so we can continue to spread the good news of God. You can reach us online at divineharmonyfaithcom, where all the many ways to connect with us are listed, including Instagram, youtube and more. Be blessed, Know that I love you and, most importantly, god loves you. Goodbye.