The Battle For The Soul

 

 

There is a battle that has been going on since the beginning of time.  It is the battle for the soul.

 

“The Law of First Mention”, simply means that the very first time any important word is mentioned in the Bible, Scripture gives that word its most complete, and accurate, meaning to not only serve as a “key” in understanding the word’s Biblical concept, but to also provide a foundation for its fuller development in later parts of the Bible.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

 

Subtle = Shrewd, Crafty, Clever, Sly, Devious, Deceitful, Dishonest

 

The first time we see the devil at work, we see him using deceit.

• He tells Eve, Yea, hath God said, “Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

 

• He causes Eve to question what God has said to her.

 

To my knowledge of the scripture, this is actually the first question we find in the bible.

 

• Up to this point, it’s just Adam, Eve and God.
• Nobody is questioning anything anyone is saying… not yet
• God’s Word is good enough for both Adam and Eve up to this point.
• “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!

 

But remember, Satan is subtle.

• He is cunning
• He is crafty
• He is devious

 

Devious people think of ways to trip you up that no one else would ever think of.

• Devious people’s minds go where no one else’s goes.
• I see some things that a devious person does and I wonder, “Who would have thought of that.”

 

Satan we understand is devious, so he introduces something they never thought of yet…

• Questioning what God said.
• Questioning what God said was the first trick Satan pulled on humanity, and guess what – “It worked!”
• Not only did it work on Eve, but also then she went and took that same craftiness that Satan used on her and she used it on Adam.  And guess what happened, “IT WORKED!”

 

This One Trick Of The Devil

• This one little lie.
• This one Questioning of God’s Word
• This one little shred of doubt caused both Adam and Eve and with them the entire human race to fall from their state of Spiritual Perfection and relationship with God.

 

And Guess what?

• That’s all Satan wanted to do.

 

Because of that separation from God, they experienced incredible hardship.

• There was a curse that was placed on the Earth because of their sin and this caused the pain of childbirth.
• Thorn and thistles would be the return for Adams work in the field.
• Pain and suffering came as a result of these two people’s sin
• Hardship and want was humanities consequence for questioning what God had said so plainly.

 

But Guess what?

• Satan could care less about the pain and suffering he created. 
• All he was really after was to cause Adam and Eve to be separated from their relationship with God.
• He just wanted to destroy their spiritual perfection.

 

Understand something, they were spiritually perfect because they had communion or relationship with God.

• Satan caused their relationship with God to be ruined and as a result, pain, suffering and spiritual disorder came into the world.

 

God on the other hand has been working ever since that day to cause humanity to come back into a relationship with Him.

• This was the purpose of the Cross.
• This is why Jesus died for our sins.
• So we could come back into the relationship with Him that He intended for us to have in the first place.

 

But Satan on the other hand has been working too.

• And he has been working to cause people to not accept the invitation that Jesus offers us to become “saved” if you will.

 

This battle between God and the Devil has been going on since the beginning of man’s history on this planet and it isn’t over with yet.

 

• It’s the battle for the soul.

 

God uses love and patients and grace and mercy

• And Satan uses the same thing that he used in the beginning, Subtlety.
• He’s still Shrewd, Crafty, Clever, Sly, Devious, Deceitful, and Dishonest.

 

God’s Word tells us that God loves us.

But the number one thing Satan tells people is that God does not love them.

• He says, “Does God really love you?”
• How could God love you?
• Look at yourself…
• You have problems.
• You have sin
• You’re so messed up
• Just look at yourself, “How could God Love you?”

 

You need to know something today.  God Loves You!

• I don’t understand it.
• I cant tell you why He does
• I cant show you a reason for it
• But He does.
• His death on the Cross was for you as well as it was for anybody else.
• God Loves You!

 

But as much as God’s Word says this and as much as I have said it to you today, Satan is already telling some people in this room right now that God does not love them.

 

I wonder…

• I wonder what would have happened
• I wonder how much things could be so different for all of us today if Eve would have been a praying woman.
• I wonder how much this world that we live in would have been so incredibly blessed with God’s presence if Eve had told that old snake to shut up?

 

• She didn’t have to listen to it you know…
• She could have simply said “Shut up”!
• She could have said, “I know what God has said, and that’s good enough for me!”

 

• She could have easily said that to him!

 

Do you know what James 4:7 says to do when the Devil starts talking to you…?

• James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

• Just resist him.  How do you resist someone who is telling you something?
• You tell them – NO!
• You tell them – I’m not listening to you.
• You tell them – Shut Up!

 

• What’s the bible say will happen when we do this?
• It says the devil will flee from us.

 

Someone here today may need to tell the Devil to Shut up – In Jesus Name!

 

Did you know that when we evoke the name of Jesus, against the Devil that we are calling all of Heaven to our side?

• Look what happened in when Peter called the name of Jesus over a young woman who was demon possessed.
• Acts 16:18  And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

 

• We have a secret weapon in this thing called the Battle of the soul.

 

• It’s called the Name of Jesus.  And it works.
• Over and over again people used it in the New Testament church and over and over again, people were healed and delivered and set free and saved because of it.

 

Read the book of Acts, it’s full of people being saved, healed and delivered all because people learned to call upon the name of the Lord which is Jesus.

 

Do you know what you do when you simply call on the name of Jesus?

• You shut the devil up.
• You stop him in his tracks.
• All his cunningness and craftiness and deceit and lies can no longer work when we say, “Leave me alone in Jesus name”!

 

Now you may have to tell him this a few times, because he’ll come back when you least expect it.

• He waits.
• He waits for an opportunity to strike at us.

 

• Its no wonder the writer of the book of Genesis describes him as a serpent.  

 

He’s like a snake in the grass that is slithering around on his belly hoping for and waiting for some unexpecting person to come along. 

• And just when you’re not expecting it, he shoots up from under the rock he lies under and sinks his fangs of deceit into the flesh of your heart.

 

Let me ask you today…

• How many of you have heard the devil tell you that God does not really love you?
• How many of you have heard him say that God does not care about you?
• How many of us have heard him say you’re not good enough?
• How many of you have heard him say there’s no use in trying to live for God?
• How many of you struggle with depression?
• How many of us wrestle with worry?
• How many of us are beat down with fear?
• How about anxiety?

 

Do you know what all of these things are?

• All of these things are Satan’s attempt to get us to believe that God does not care about us.
• It’s him saying God does not love us.
• It’s him messing with our minds.
• It’s him trying to get into our heads.
• We need to learn to tell the devil “no”!
• Someone needs to say, “Shut up Devil!”
• We need to just tell him, “Shut up in Jesus Name!”

 

There’s a battle going on for your soul today and the only way Satan can win it is if you listen to what He says.

 

• And what He is saying is “Don’t listen to what God’s Word says.”
• Satan says, “Don’t believe what the preacher is saying.”
• The bible doesn’t really say that.
• That’s not what God said…

 

Understand something, you will never win the battle of will or of the mind with Satan.

• He’s been at this for thousands of years.
• He’s got more questions than you will ever have answers for.
• He’s tripped up more people than you could ever count.
• I’ve seen him trip up some people that I never thought he could ever get.
• He’s crafty.
• He’s slick
• He’s a master at what he does.
• But that does not mean he has to win in your life.
• You don’t have to let him destroy you.

 

When he starts getting into your head, tell him “No”

 

I woke up at 11 pm on Wed evening.  I was so tired, wanting to sleep.  I lay there for the next 2 hours trying to go back to sleep.  Then I realized that there was a battle going on for some people. 

• I began to pray.
• God began laying some of you on my heart and I began to call the name of Jesus over you.
• I prayed for God to strengthen you and to build you up spiritually.
• I could feel the attack on some of your homes and relationships.
• I could feel the attack on our young couples especially and realized that he was trying to destroy their relationship with God and this church.

 

Somebody needs to tell the devil “no”!

 

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

 

• Devil, you’re not going to get my kids.
• You’re not going to get my husband.
• You’re not going to get my wife.
• You’re not going to destroy my relationship with God or my church.
• In Jesus name – leave me alone
• In Jesus name – leave my family alone
• In Jesus name – leave my church alone

 

• We’re going to believe God.
• We’re going to study His Word to see what it really says.
• Your lies are not going to work around here.
• We’re not listening to your deceit.

 

 

Somebody needs to pray for God’s help right now.