Your Powerful Victory Over Satan the Devil

It is vitally important to expose Satan as the devil. The New York Times, reporting on a survey by the Barna Group, noted the diminishing belief in the devil among Americans. Two-thirds of Americans do not believe in the devil as a living entity. In a nationwide telephone survey of 1,007 randomly selected people, pollsters asked whether they agreed that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil. Sixty-two percent agreed with the statement, while 30 percent disagreed; the remaining 8 percent had no opinion. If less than one in three Americans seems willing to give the devil his due, reported the Times, ìthen that is a result of fundamental, long-term shifts in the nation’s religious culture.¹

The devil is a living entity. He is very real and very active on planet earth. In this week’s podcast, we take a further look at this very real enemy of the Lord and His people. Your Powerful Victory Over Satan the Devil, all this on this week’s Light on Life.

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Each week’s Podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This weeks call is:

The Word of God teaches us in Luke 10:19 that we have authority over Satan, the Devil. That’s good news. It’s good news because there is no work of the enemy that Jesus is Lord over. But, the authority Jesus died to purchase is useless unless you use it in real-life situations.

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Each week’s Podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: Spiritual life is all about adjustments. Which ones do you need to make to take your place as God’s ‘dominion’ representative on the earth?

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the subject of ‘Satan’ by clicking on the links above.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the Podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com.

Podcast Notes

Scriptural Titles for Satan

Revelation 12:7-10 (ESV) – 7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.’

This passage is one of several vital passages which exposes the arch-enemy of the saints.
In it, we have six descriptors for the enemy: he is called the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, the deceiver, and the accuser.
In two previous podcasts, Your Powerful Victory Over Satan the Dragon, and Your Powerful Victory Over Satan the Serpent, we looked into the Word of God to expose the works of the greatest opponent to the Lord and humanity.
This week, we continue that focus — why? Because the Word of the Lord has come saying: Study Satan and expose him.
So, this week, we look at Satan, the Devil.

Satan the Devil

And we start by looking at the meaning of his name.
The word ‘devil’ literally means the slanderer, or defamatory one.
It is the Greek word transliterated as ‘diabolos.’

The Works of Satan the Devil: Slanderer

So, Satan’s name, the devil, means slanderer, and that is one of his principal activities.
Slander is the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.
Satan, the devil’s MO, is to make false statements about you to damage your identity in Christ.
That is one of his main works.
He will bring thoughts to your mind that are flat out false to damage your reputation.
He will accuse you to yourself.
Joyce Meyer wrote a book called ‘The Battlefield of the Mind.’
That title is true and right: the battle is in the mind.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) – 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The ESV has this passage as: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Satan, the devil will slander you to yourself.
Your response to his accusations must be steady and continuous.
One of his ways is to raise a thought in your mind and then make you think that this thought is God speaking to you.
The antidote to this is the knowledge of spirit, soul, and body.
God speaks in your heart, not your head, because He is a spirit being and not a mind.
Slander comes to the mind.
When it does, you automatically know the source.
When the thought comes to your mind that you are no good, that your life for Christ is a waste of time, that nobody cares, that if you were a real Christian, you would have behaved better in a specific situation.
All of these kinds of thoughts come from your arch-enemy Satan the Slanderer, or Satan, the devil.
Remember, all the world follows in the footsteps of a slanderer.
Just take a look at what’s happening in the world today, and you will see this activity on a large scale.
The world is ‘slander-led’ when they ought to be ‘Spirit-led.’
Do not ever partake of this heinous activity of raising your lips against any fellow believer or a fellow human being, for that matter.
When you do, you join ranks with the enemy of God.

Psalm 50:20-21 (ESV) 20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. 21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

You are of the Kingdom of the Most High God; you are His very son, His very child, do not slander your motherís son, or any other motherís son.
Not only will Satan the devil, slander you to yourself, but he will also slander you to others.
And with that thought, here is the illustration of the day.

According to the Chicago Tribune, on May 9, 1994, a group of fourth graders at Fuller school on the south side of Chicago accused their substitute teacher of sexually molesting them. By that afternoon the school board promised to bring in counselors for the children. By evening the story was all over the news broadcasts. But the next day police investigators came and interviewed fourteen of the children, and authorities determined the charges were false. Apparently the children made their false accusation because the substitute teacher threatened to report their unruliness. One radio announcer reported that one child had promised to give classmates a dollar if they would join in the lie.

Speaking to this problem, Jackie Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the teachers union, said, [Sexual abuse charges] are one of the hazards of the profession – a new one. Kids get sharper. It is akin to putting glue on a teacher’s chair twenty years ago. The teachers union president said that exonerating the teacher doesn’t always make everything better. What usually happens, he said, when a person is accused of this kind of thing, is they’re exonerated by the board publicly but then later, quietly, they’re let go. Slander is a vicious crime that does lasting harm.²

Again be the servant of the Lord, not the servant of the enemy.
Listen to this verse in First Timothy.

1 Timothy 3:11 (ESV) 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

The word ‘slanderers’ here in this passage is the same word ‘diabolos’ used in reference to the devil.
Here it is used of women who gossip too much.
Gossip is devilish – stay away from it.
Look at this same passage, 1 Timothy 3:11, in another translation.

1 Timothy 3:11 (GW) – 11 Their wives must also be of good character. They must not be gossips, but they must control their tempers and be trustworthy in every way.

How about the Amplified Translation?

1 Timothy 3:11 (AMP) – 11 [The] women likewise must be worthy of respect and serious, not gossipers, but temperate and self-controlled, [thoroughly] trustworthy in all things.

How about living self-controlled, temperate, and serious as opposed to gossiping?
That’s the Bible directive to you and me.
Now, let’s look at another of Satan, the devil’s works: tempter.

The Works of Satan the Devil: Tempter

The devil is a tempter.
The Greek word ‘tempter’ means to try to trap or attempt to catch in a mistake.³
So, when the devil is in temptation mode, he is trying to trap you.
Trying is the keyword.
He is trying to present you with a thought that if you accept it, you will mistake or a misstep.
The church has traditionally thought of temptation as sinful sexual behavior.

Matthew 4:1 (ESV) – 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

The Devil tempted Jesus on multiple fronts: none of these were sexual.
The first part of the temptation was to turn stones into bread.

Matthew 4:3 (ESV) – 3 And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’

Many Jewish people were also hoping for a new exodus led by a new Moses – complete with new manna, or bread from heaven. The devil wants to conform Jesus to contemporary expectations.⁴

People want to use Jesus to support their social cause.
They want to make Him conform to contemporary expectations.
Whatever the movement is, Jesus should be part of it, they say.
The contemporary expectation is that you MUST agree with the movement if you don’t you’re a hater.
Should Jesus be the poster child for EVERY contemporary movement?

Luke 12:13-15 (ESV) – 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ 14 But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ 15 And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’

Did Jesus take up the cause here?
Did He try to right the wrong in this case?
Do you think that Jesus should have started a ‘national Israeli Divide the Inheritance Movement’ at some point?
Was there wrong to right here? – according to Jewish law, yes, there was.
And with that thought, here’s the historical background of the day.

People often called upon rabbis to settle legal disputes. The eldest son would always receive double what any of the other sons would receive. The proportion of inheritance was thus fixed, and the plaintiff in this case has every legal right to receive his share of the inheritance.⁵

So, here’s a situation relayed by the Bible that smacks of unfairness.
Family members are jostling over the share of a Jewish inheritance.
Land is involved, the family name is involved, possessions are involved.
But, in this case, was the issue only about fairness?
Jesus uncovered the issue for what it was – covetousness and greed.
There were other situations where men experienced harm and were wronged.
What did Jesus say about those situations?

Luke 13:1ñ3 (ESV) – 1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.’

People all over the globe think this exact thing when some calamity strikes: was it a result of sin?
Of course, there is another issue at play here, and that is our absolute determination as humans to try and explain what we do not understand.
A tremendous wrong was perpetrated upon these Galilean men.
What was Jesus’ response in this case?
I like what one commentator said about this.

The seemingly senseless deaths of the victims is not sensationalized or sentimentalized, not memorialized or moralized. Jesus does not eulogize the victims but addresses his hearers directly in second person: ‘I tell you, unless you repent, you too will all perish’ (vv. 3, 5). This need not imply that Jesus was insensitive or heartless toward the victims of these events. Rather, he tapped into the passionate feelings that such events aroused in his hearers in order to harness those feelings for the salvation of the unrepentant living rather than relegate them to the memory of the noble dead.⁶

That is well said.
So today, we have a social outcry over the issue of police brutality.
Do you think Jesus would have responded to George Floyd’s death the way he reacted to the senseless deaths of these Galileans?
Would He have not sensationalized, sentimentalized, memorialized, or moralized the victim?
Or would He have put His finger on the real issue that is what happens to a man when he dies no matter how he dies?
Unless you repent, you will experience a far higher death than anything in the natural.
The real tragedy of George Floyd’s death is if, in his time on earth, he didn’t come to know the Lord in the pardon of his sins.
Knowing God is not about skin color or ethnic background.
Bad people, those who live less than excellent lives, should have every opportunity to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
If any reform comes from this man’s senseless death, then it should be to the end – of giving people the maximum opportunity at maximum life so that they can have every last second possible to receive Jesus as personal Savior.
That’s the bottom line for all of life.
Because, in the words of Jesus, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Matthew 16:24-27 (ESV) – 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.’

Repent, because there is no profit in losing your soul.
Now while I am at it, think about the lack of these kinds of social movements in a country like Israel.
America has experienced many of these kinds of societal upheavals over issues of fairness and race – movements like Women’s Suffrage, Child Labor, and Civil Rights, just to name a few.
The land of Israel hasn’t experienced many of these kinds of movements because they live by a guide that shows them how to treat people right.
That guide is the Old Testament; that manual is the Torah.

Matthew 22:37-40 (AMP) – 37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). 38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. 40 These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus said all of the Law that God gave Israel at Sinai boils down to two areas: love God and love man.
Six-hundred-thirteen laws reflect this ideal.
If Americans clung to the Word of God, if they obeyed the Word of God like it’s written, if they loved their neighbor as themselves, – if everyone lived this way, – there would be no need for reform.
Remember that legislating love never works.
Reform in the natural – by enacted law – does little or nothing.
Love is a heart thing, not a legal thing.
The answer to social injustice is not more laws but the new birth – for once, the love of God has been shed abroad in the heart, and men learn to yield to it, only then will human atrocities will cease.
Mark it down; this is coming to a theater near you.
It will happen when Jesus returns the second time.
So, Satan, the devil, is a tempter.

The Works of Satan the Devil: Sower of Evil People

Here is another work of Satan, the devil.
He is a sower of evil people.
You may not have ever heard of this work of Satan in quite these words, but take a listen to the Lord Jesus on this.

Matthew 13:36-39 (ESV) – 36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. ’37 He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.’

In a previous parable, the ‘good seed’ is the Word of God.
In this parable, the Parable of the Weeds of the Field, the ‘good seed’ are the sons of the kingdom.
Is there some deviation here on Jesus’ part?
No, just ask yourself the question, ‘how does one become a son of the kingdom?’
You become a son of the kingdom by receiving with meekness the engrafted Word, which can save your soul.
‘En-grafted Word’ is King James’ language.
The ESV has James 1:21 as follows:

James 1:21 (ESV) – 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

So the ‘good seed’ is the Word implanted in the willing heart of a person.
That ‘good seed’ implanting process sprouts into the new birth and entrance into the Kingdom of God as His son.
Now, the enemy, the devil comes Jesus said, and what does he sow? – sons of the evil one.
And with that thought, here’s the question of the day.
How do we get evil sons?
To answer that, you must be able to hear what Jesus said.

John 8:41-44 (ESV) – 41 You are doing the works your father did. They said to him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father – even God.’ 42 Jesus said to them, ìIf God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your fatherís desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

In the earth realm today, there are two fathers and two families.
There is God the Most High God and Father and the devil the Most Low’ little g god’ kicked out of heaven father.
Two fathers – two families: every human person walking on the planet today is a member of one of these two families.
Either they or you are a child of God or a child of the devil.
Every human person either belongs to the family of God or the family of the devil.
If you are born again, you are in Godís family; otherwise, by default, you are in the devil’s family.
There are evil sons and good sons on planet earth – the difference between the two is what they have done with Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Christ made it pretty simple.
The good seed produces via the implanted Word in the heart.
Bad seed produces via the implanted world system in the soul.
And so, the devil is a sower of evil people.
As we get ready to close, maybe these words from Jesus will enlighten your heart.

Matthew 23:15 (ESV) – 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

There are yet other works of Satan, the devil, we will pick up some more of this in another podcast.
You guys have a great God week, and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

Why You Can and Should Be Absolutely Positively Persuaded

References:

Robert J. Morgan, Nelsonís Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 682. ↩
Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 517. ↩
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). ↩
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Mt 4:3. ↩
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 12:13. ↩
James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Luke, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos, 2015), 392. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

Your Powerful Victory Over Satan the Devil

Podcast: Light on Life Season Seven Episode Thirty

by Emery Horvath

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