The Thrill of Victory
Victory over Satan
Ephesians 6:10-11
Currently we are in a series called “The Thrill of Victory”. Its design is to help us learn what it means to live under the authority of Jesus Christ so we can enjoy the benefits of all He provides.
Only when we learn to live with Jesus as Lord of our life we will experience the victory that He enjoys. It’s not hard for us to imagine Jesus being victorious. We know he lived a perfect life and, therefore, knew what it was to consistently have victory over sin.
We know He had victory over self. Just before the cross, we find Him in the garden praying for God’s will to be done.
And we know He was victorious over Satan. We can travel to the wilderness temptations and find Him winning the war as the devil tempted Him.
And we even find Him winning over circumstances. Nothing could have been more bleak than the experience of dying on the cross, and yet “up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a Victor from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign. Hallelujah! Christ arose!”
I mean all of that just makes perfect sense and seems so right, and yet God’s design is to share the victories of Christ with us. He wants us to have the same kinds of victories that Jesus experienced.
In fact, the only way we can experience those kinds of victories is through Jesus and His victories.
Now remember, we began by learning that we must live our life chained to the chariot, being led in triumphant procession. We are simply walking on the ground that Jesus has already overcome.
Last week, we saw how to have victory over sin. We admit we are sinners, confess it and allow God to forgive and cleanse us so there can be uninterrupted fellowship with Him.
Today I want us to explore how to have victory over Satan. Have you ever been guilty of saying, “The devil made me do it”? That notion became very familiar back in the 70’s due, in large part, to a comedian named Flip Wilson. The story he told that made it popular to say, “The devil made me do it” was about a preacher whose wife came home with a new dress. Listen as he tells it.
Flip Wilson Video
How can we have victory over Satan?
Ephesians 6:10
We find out some very important truths in this short text. For instance, we find out that the devil exists. A lot of people seem to believe that he doesn’t, or that he is uninterested in them.
In fact, it seems to me that one of the primary mistakes we make when considering the devil is to underestimate the significance of his involvement in our lives.
But these verses tell us not only does the devil exist, but he has a strategy for his attack.
One of the forgotten terms of the Christian life is spiritual warfare. But we need to understand that our relationship and life with God is not a recreational event where we simply flit around enjoying the scenery, but is rather an intense military campaign that demands our commitment to the battle.
Now one of the key components in winning a battle is developing a strategy and understanding the enemy’s strategy.
If you have an enemy and you are engaged in warfare with that enemy, it is extremely important that you know who the enemy is, that you know how the enemy operates and also that you know how the enemy can be overcome.
We have an enemy. He is the devil or Satan. He is called the prince of this world. He is also called the prince of the power of the air. Sometimes he is called the destroyer. Other times he is called the tempter.
So we have an enemy; he is very real; he is active on this earth and he has designs and purposes to overthrow the children of God -to damn the souls of men to hell and to throw God off His throne.
But we also learn something else in this text and that is the devil is a defeated enemy. Notice the text tells us we can stand against the devil”.
So today, I want to share with you how to have victory over Satan.
Now I think it important to begin by saying that everyone in this room has some kind of relationship with the devil.
Lost people have one relation to the devil, saved people have another relation to the devil.
If you are lost the Bible teaches that you are under the control of Satan. You may not know that; you may not understand it or even believe it, but that is the teaching of the Word of God.
And the only solution to that control is to be placed under the control of Someone Who is stronger than the devil. That’s what salvation is all about. At the moment of salvation, the bondage of Satan is broken and we are placed under the authority of Jesus Christ. And from that point forward and for all eternity everything changes.
However, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I said a moment ago, “Everyone in this room has a relationship with the devil”. Just because you got saved does not mean the devil goes away and you don’t have to ever deal with him anymore. You still have a relationship with him.
Although the devil will never have control of you ever again, there are several things, according to the Scriptures, that the devil can do to try to influence you and divert you in your walk with the Lord.
He will try to hinder your progress as a growing Christian. He may bring tragedy and affliction into your life. He may present temptation to you to distract and destroy you.
You may be saying, “Then what’s the purpose of getting saved? If the devil can still do all those things, why give my life to the Lord?”
Because you now have a different relationship in regard to the devil.
Before you get saved you are powerless against the wiles of the devil. But as a born-again believer, the devil has no more access to you than God allows him to have. Plus, you now have the power of the Word of God, the indwelling of the spirit of God and the blood of the Son of God at your disposal with which to withstand him.
So with that in mind, let me share some things with you today about our victory over Satan.
There are three aspects I think it important to know when it comes to the defeat of the devil. First, think with me about
I. The Initial Defeat of the Devil
One of the things I love about the Bible is that right at the very beginning of the Bible we are told about the defeat of the devil.
We find the entrance of the devil into the world in Genesis. And we find the final defeat of the devil in the book of the Revelation.
But we also find a promise regarding the defeat of the devil in Genesis.
Genesis 3:15
That's the first presentation of the gospel in the Bible. We find there the promise of a Savior Who will be born of a woman. We find the first prophecy of the cross and death of the Lord. We find a promise of the second coming of Christ. prediction in the whole Bible about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And included in all that, right at the very beginning of the Bible, there is a promise concerning the defeat of the devil.
All through Scripture, all through human history you see this antagonism and this warfare going on between the forces of God and the devil. The forces of good and the forces of evil.
Then, the Lord Jesus Christ invaded human history. When Jesus was born the devil did everything he could to destroy Jesus. Herod the king put all the little babies in Bethlehem to death t2 years and under. God supernaturally protected the seed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then you go into the ministry of the Lord Jesus and you will find on every hand the devil trying to destroy Jesus.
Travel with Jesus to the wilderness following His baptism and there you see the temptation and three times you see the devil tempting Jesus, trying to keep Christ from being indeed the Messiah.
It all comes to a climax at the cross of Calvary. The cross was the coup d'etat, so to speak. The devil had no idea what the cross was going to do. The devil and his demons didn't see what would take place at the cross.
When Jesus died on the cross God led the devil into an ambush. He never imagined what was going to happen at the cross. You and I know what happened at the cross.
When Jesus died on that old cross he not only paid the price for your sins but He also defeated the devil.
That's one of the reasons Jesus came.
When Jesus died He destroyed the devil who had the power of death. God said the wages of sin is death. When man sinned in the Garden of Eden, spiritual death came upon the world as well as physical death.
The devil was able, on the basis of the very Word of God Itself to demand death. But when Jesus died at Calvary He put to death the king of death, even the devil himself. He destroyed him. That means he put him out of business on the cross.
That is the initial defeat of the devil on the cross of Calvary. And that’s good to know isn’t it. The devil is a defeated foe.
Why is it, then, we are still having so much trouble with the devil? If the devil has been defeated by Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary, why are we still having problems with someone who has been defeated?
II. The Continual Defeat of the Devil
The way I like to explain this is to use two different days at the conclusion of World War II. One of those days was D-Day, the invasion of the allied forces at Normandy. That was D-Day.
You and I know from history that when the Allied forces landed at Normandy that spelled the doom of Hitler and all of those who aligned themselves with him.
Now the war didn't end at that point, but for all practical purposes it was over.
In fact, it was almost a year later when V-Day came. When V-Day came the war was officially over. But from D-Day to- V-Day, though Hitler and his forces were basically defeated, we were engaged in the mopping up operations.
Now follow the analogy: the devil was defeated at the cross. You and I are living today in the mopping up time. We are living in that period of time where the devil is a mortally wounded foe.
Sometimes an enemy who is wounded is an extremely dangerous enemy. You and I are living in a very dangerous world. We are living in a very dangerous age.
The devil knows he doesn't have much longer. He's like a wounded lion. He is fierce, he is seeking his very best to destroy and wreck the work of God and you and I as believers face the option of either defeating the devil or allowing the devil to defeat us.
Now here is really where the rubber meets the road. This is where the struggle is. It’s not with whether or not Jesus really won at Calvary. He did. You and I know it, and the the devil knows it.
The issue is not whether he will eventually be dealt with forever. He will be and we’ll look at that in a moment. The real need for victory is right now in the present where we live.
So I want to show you what you can do to live in victory over Satan.
When the devil comes calling, there are two options.
Option number one: You can give what the Bible calls “place” to the devil.
Ephesians 4:27
The word, place, is translated by some as “foothold”. Another says, “Don’t give the devil an opportunity”.
It is saying when the devil tempts you don’t give him any opportunity,, any possibility to take advantage of you.
Listen: The devil knows just exactly where to hit you. The devil is smart; he knows what your
inclinations are. He knows where your weaknesses are. He knows where you points of venerability are. So, the devil will look for any opportunity to hit you at those weak spots so he can influence your life and strike back at God.
Give the devil a foothold, and he will move in to that area of your life and he will establish a stronghold.
2 Corinthians 10:4
He will set up a control center of power at that point in your life.
The most graphic illustration of a stronghold in the life of a believer I have found anywhere in the Bible is found in Nehemiah 13.
Nehemiah had some enemies. He was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. There is a great spiritual lesson in just that phrase. Christians need to build the walls of spiritual protection around their hearts and lives and around their families and around our church.
The devil doesn't like this church. If we were a liberal, wishy-washy, compromising, anything-goes kind of church the devil would love for people to come to our church. But he will try to hinder you from coming.
He wins a lot with most of you on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. He doesn't want here. He doesn’t want you expose to the truth of God’s word. You need to build some walls of protection.
So Nehemiah had some enemies and it was the devil's three musketeers - Sanbalet, Tobiah and Gashmu.
Verse 4
Tobiah was the enemy of Nehemiah and he represents Satan.
Verse 5
He gave him a foothold right there in Jerusalem, in the temple.
Verse 7
The enemy has established a stronghold.
That's why you better be very careful what you do with the temptations of the devil. That's why you need to be very, very careful that you don't give opportunity to the devil.
Notice what Nehemiah says in verse 8
He fumigated the place; he got rid of it. You better get rid of any stronghold the devil has in your life. If you have let the devil get any little foothold, one toe in any point in your life you better deal with it and clean out that area of your life.
So that’s option number one. When the devil comes, you can give him an opportunity. You can give him a foothold and it will turn into a stronghold.
But there is another choice. Here's how you defeat the devil. Here’s the key to victory over Satan.
James 4:7
"Submit yourselves therefore to God."
That's the first step. First thing you have to do is make sure you are totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. Every day of your life you ought to begin that day renewing and reaffirming the lordship of Jesus Christ in your life.
Every day, you need to willingly and consciously place yourself under the authority of Jesus Christ. Submit your life anew and a fresh to God. Make sure you are chained to the chariot.
Then you need a daily quiet time and Bible study time. The Psalmist said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11.
When the devil comes seeking an opportunity we can turn him away by filling that experience with the power of the Word of God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
In other words, out up a fight when the devil makes his intrusions and his invasions in your life. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Think about the way Jesus withstood the devil in the wilderness temptations.
When tempted, Jesus relied on the Word of God. In every one of the three tries, Jesus quoted an Old Testament verse of Scripture. Why did Jesus do that? He could have used any number of weapons.
The devil wanted to converse. Jesus could have certainly held His own in the conversation.
He wanted miracles. Jesus could have turned the whole desert into bread. He could have revealed His glory and blown the devil into another universe. He could have used his power to annihilate the devil from the face of the earth. But He didn’t use any of those methods. Why not? Because it wouldn’t have helped us.
Jesus kept it in the confines of what you and I could do. He chose to handle the devil in a way that all of us could accomplish. Jesus had to do something everybody coming after Him could do.
So what He did was say, “Devil, it is written”.
Jesus just went to the word of God and hit him with Scripture. And guess what happened? The devil left him alone. And guess what you can do?
Show the devil your glory? No
Carry on an intelligent conversation? No
Withstand him in your own strength? No
Hit him with Scripture!! You don’t have to take it!
When the devil comes along and says, “You’re not saved! Look at the way you live!”
Hit him!
It is written, “If we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus. . .
Hit him!
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!
Hit him!
Devil comes along and says, “God doesn’t care you. He’s abandoned you!
You remind him that “My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus! Hit him!
The devil says how you gonna survive?
The Lord is My Shepherd I shall not want! Hit him!
Listen for every battle of your life, for every need of your life, for every temptation in your life there is an
“It is written!”
And I challenge you to become so familiar with the word of God that no matter what the devil approaches you with, you are prepared to hit him!
It is possible for you to have constant, continual victory over the devil every day of your life.
Number one is the initial defeat of the devil. Number two is the continual defeat of the devil.
III. The Eventual Defeat of the Devil
One of these days the battle is going to be over and he's going to be gone for good. The Bible promises a day when Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
Now one of the great misunderstandings of Scripture is that the devil is in hell running the show, but that’s not what Scripture teaches us.
The Bible says he is the prince of the power of this world. He roams to and fro seeking whom he may devour. According to the book of Job, he even has some access to God in heaven.
Now hell was prepared for the devil and his angels but the devil has never been there.
But one of these days, according to Revelation 20:10, the devil will be “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
The devil hasn't been in hell, but he's going to hell. When he gets there he's not going to be in charge of hell, he's going to be tormented in hell.
These people who are always laughing and making fun of hell - "if I go to hell, I'll have a lot of friends down there with me. We'll have a big time down there." They haven’t got a clue!
You won't see anybody in hell. The Bible calls hell outer darkness. You will know there are others there, I suppose because you'll hear their screams.
But there is a hell out there and it is prepared for the devil and his angels and one day the devil is going there and praise God he will be defeated fully and finally and eventually forever and it will all be over.
Now we’re back where we began. That's what the Lord promised he would do in Genesis 3. He said the devil would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but that seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent.
When Jesus died on the cross, though his heel was bruised, he crushed the devil - defeated the devil.
Now, picking up that same prophecy in Romans 16:20 - "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly."
It won't be long and God's children are going to have the devil under our feet.
Listen: As the children of God, we are going to be there when the devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone. The good news is that between now and then you can have victory. You can experience daily victory over the devil in your life.
If you have never received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you don't have victory over the devil. In fact the bible says you have been taken captive by him at his will. If you are lost you are a puppet on the devil's string. He's pulling the strings; he's calling the shots in your life.
I have good news. Jesus Christ died on that old cross to break the power of Satan in your life, to release you from the bondage of Satan and you can walk out of this place tonight a free man, a free woman, a free young person. You can be delivered from the power of Satan and come into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
That's what the Gospel is all about. That's what the invitation is all about.
