The Enemy’s Strategy

John 8:31-32, Philippians 4:4-9

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What’s the enemy’s strategy? And how, how do we fight back? There is a real enemy in this world working against us. A spiritual enemy that is trying to steer us away from God and away from the good news of Jesus and the gospel and the truth of what God’s Word tells us. How do we fight back?

Recently, I was listening to a podcast that was talking about some people who were facing some very real and clear spiritual oppression and attacks, and when they talked about what really helped those people, I was surprised at how simple it seemed. It seemed way too simple. Here’s what they talked about. They said the people needed to be reminded of what’s true. They needed the truth. The truth is what helped. They had been believing many lies. And the enemy, that’s what he uses is lies. That’s what he’s been doing from the beginning.

If you go back to the garden when you have Adam and Eve there in the garden, and God had told him to eat from all the trees and the garden except for one. And the garden was full of all these trees that were good for food and pleasing to the eye. They could eat these and be fruitful, and multiply and embrace life. The enemy came in and said, oh, did God tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden? And started to get them to question what God said. And God had told them that if you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, then you’ll die. The enemy said, oh, you’re not going to die. That’s not what God has in mind. Actually, if you eat that, you’ll be like God, knowing good and evil. He put lies in their mind, and that’s what he’s been doing ever since.

He works against us with lies. That’s why it makes so much sense. In John chapter eight, when Jesus said,

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

See, when the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and convicts us of the reality that we have turned away from God, that our sins of separated us from him, that we have been on a path of death and destruction. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of that truth. He’s opening our eyes to the reality, to the truth of how God created us, of how we’ve gone wrong and what we now need. And when the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, and he opens our minds to believe that Jesus has died for our sins and has risen again, the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes, our minds to the truth. The truth that we have a God who loves us, the God who has redeemed us, a God who has conquered death and given us life. The truth sets us free.

And so then how do we battle against the enemy today? It’s by going back to the truth. If you feel today like there’s something fighting against you, something battling against you, stop and ask yourself, is there something in me, if I feel twisted, is there something that’s actually twisted in what I’m thinking and what I’m believing? In Philippians chapter four, in that chapter there are these powerful words that Paul shares. He says,

Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

So he talks about prayer and he talks about peace. But then notice what he talks about next. He says,

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)

So think about what’s good. Think about what’s true. If I’m in a battle today, what lies is the enemy throwing at me? What truths does God speak to what I’m battling today? Think about what’s true. His love. Jesus’ death. Jesus’ resurrection. What that all means. Think about these things because the truth is what sets you free.