Yes, He is Real

There is a war going on.

Look around. What do you see? What do you smell? You went downtown yesterday. You passed by the park and heard the laughter of the kiddies playing. You looked over and saw them swinging and running around. Maybe you felt the gentle breeze against your face as you smelled the freshly baked goods. The Sun was perfect. The birds were singing. The temperature was a perfect 76 degrees. Here is the reality: a war is going on, and you are on one side or the other. 

There may be no bombs going off. No bullets fling past your head. But trust me, the enemy is real. And you must always be prepared to face him. The Word declares that we need to.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5:8

The Word also tells us this..

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

The sad thing is, most people live in their own little bubbles. They just do. They live in their happy little houses, drive their happy little cars, and go about their daily routines without a single solitary clue as to what reality is. That is, until their happy little bubble is popped. Until something hits home, they do not even really care to know what is going on. They, for the most part, are asleep. This is what we will be talking about. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, LORD God, we come before you today with thanksgiving and praise. We thank you for all your blessings and for life itself. We ask for forgiveness for our daily sins, and we give you thanks for your grace and love. As we enter your Word to learn about our enemy, we pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit to receive and understand your Truth and revelations. We ask this all in the name of Yeshua. Amen!

Most people go about their days with a "carnal mind." They walk in the flesh, fulfilling the things of the flesh. They, for the most part, do not see beyond themselves and their desires. Human kind has accepted, justified, and even glorified some of these desires. However, what they do not even know is this.

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6

Look at the world. "He with the most toys at the end wins." People will lie, cheat, steal, and even kill, for what? Pride, greed, envy, and desire for power. The desire to be God. Mankind fell for pride, greed, envy, and the desire for power. The desire to be God. God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil told Eve what?

“But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5

He said you will be like God. You will be wise and powerful. You will be in control of your own lives. You will no longer need God. You will be a god. But wait, what is so bad about “knowing good and evil?” Think about it for a second. Sounds like a legitimate question. The short answer is, if you know evil and do it anyway, then you are guilty. Look what Jesus says in John 15:21-22

“But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin."

Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:12-14

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

God takes ignorance into account. “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,” and “But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” Adam and Eve did not sin because there was no sin. Until they willfully disobeyed God and ate of the tree.

From that point on, we became responsible for our actions and guilty of sin. From that point on, there was a rift between God and us. A war between the spirit realm came to include us. Now we war in ourselves, spirit versus flesh. We no longer had that direct connection to God. That is the whole reason Yeshua, or Jesus, had to come. To restore that connection. That relationship.

Yes, he is real. He exists. You must come to know the enemy if you have any hope of overcoming him. We are going to start today with a basic truth: there is a devil. Yes, the devil is very real. Though he may not be what you think.

One of the greatest accomplishments of the devil is convincing the world that he doesn't exist. No devil, then no hell. No devil, no hell, no sin. No sin, no reason for a Savior. No Savior, no God. No evil means no good. No hell, then no heaven. No judgment for sin, if there is no sin. Simply, live as you will.

Jesus tells us the Devil is real. Luke 10:18-19

"And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you."

If he were not real, why would Jesus warn us against him? However, Satan is not how you may picture him. The devil is not some red-faced, horned head, tail wagging, pitchfork-wielding demon straight out of a Hollywood horror movie. He is not a creature so hideous that you would run in terror if you saw him. He is "son of the morning." Luke 10:18. He is as beautiful as "every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold." Ezekiel 28:13 The truth is, if he were to walk into a church, many would fall and worship him, thinking he was Jesus Himself. He is what he is.

Second, he is not all-powerful. This is an important fact for you to understand. The devil IS the “Lord of the air.” Ephesians 2:2 He is “the ruler of this world.” John 12:21 He is the “god of this world.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 He is in control of this natural realm. As long as you are of this world, you are of him. You are in his hands. However, the Word tells us he needs permission to tempt the children of God. We see this in Job 1 and 2. We see this when Jesus said to Peter,

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:" Luke 22:31

We see this in The Word when The Word declares this in James 4:7

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

It does not say, Resist the devil and he MAY. It says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." We see this when Jesus tells us we should not fear the devil. Or anything, but God Himself.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." {Matthew 10:28}

The devil will not force you to do anything. He does not have to. He will make whatever you desire seem obtainable. He will make something seem right. He will whisper in your ear. He will feed your desire. Does he send you nightmares? Does he get in your face and threaten you? Does he yell and scream? Growl? Nope. He suggests. He whispers.

In this series, we will get to know the enemy. To whom does he operate, and how does he operate? We will also discuss the five lies he tries to tell the world, and sadly, they pretty much believe him.

That God’s Word isn’t Real, do not believe it
The Physical World Outweighs the Spiritual World
That Happiness Is Unattainable, without him
That You Aren’t Significant, you cannot teach or lead others
That Church isn’t Important, man-made traditions, and you do not need it.

First, who is it that Satan tempts? Is it those who do not know God? Nope. It is the faithful. He doesn't waste his time tempting those who already belong to him. He doesn't have to.

Remember what Jesus said to the holier-than-thou crowd back in the day? Remember what he said to the "religious folks?" The Priests and Scribes. In John 8, he said this.

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's 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.”

All you need to do to join Satan and his angels as they head to hell and the lake of fire is simply not accept the gift. That's it. You can be as religious as you want. You can do whatever you choose. But if you do not have the key, you can't go through the door. Therefore, Satan does not need to tempt you with anything.

There is a war ongoing. The enemy is real. In an attempt to prevent more people from leaving initially, he tries to convince many that he doesn't even exist. I will say that again. In an attempt to prevent more people from leaving initially, he tries to convince many that he doesn't even exist. Not only does he exist, but he is becoming more active in this world. Just look around.

There is only one way you can overcome him, and this evil world. Only one. His name is Yeshua. Translated as Jesus. Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the family of God?

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost and the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. May God bless and be with you always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!