Thoroughly Equipped: More Than Conquerors

Today’s reading includes Isaiah 1:1-2:22, 2 Corinthians 10:1-18, Psalm 52:1-9, Proverbs 22:26-27. I am so excited about moving into the book of Isaiah. It is one of my most favorite of the whole Bible. There are many prophesies found in the book of Isaiah regarding the coming Messiah, and all of them were fulfilled in Jesus. But before we dive into the book of the prophet Isaiah, let’s look back at the very first prophesy of the coming Messiah. Remember, it is found all the way back in the book of Genesis.

So the Lord God said to the serpent [Satan, who had tricked Eve], ‘Because you have done this, ‘Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. [Here comes the first prophesy!] And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he [Eve’s future offspring, Jesus!] will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’”

(Genesis 3: 14; author emphasis added)

You see, Jesus would use His anointed feet to spiritually stomp Satan’s headship, forever giving victory to all who believe!

Yesterday we talked about the “little foxes” that Satan sends into our spiritual vineyard to destroy our spiritual fruit. I didn’t want to leave you hanging with the spiritual truth of the schemes of the devil, without equipping you with the spiritual truth of your authority in Christ over the schemes of the devil. We are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us. (Romans 8:37) And scripture is filled with weapons of warfare at our beck and call. Consider the following truths as you trust in Christ to stomp the head of the enemy of your soul.

We must know our enemy to defeat our enemy. What do we learn in scripture about Satan?

Once was an angel of light, but now the prince of darkness.

Therefore, he knows the language and the make-up of the life of a believer. I know the language of being a teacher, even though I am no longer a classroom teacher. Satan knows and he will use that knowledge against us.

“¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”

2 Corinthians 11:14

How you have fallen from heaven,
    morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!
¹³You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.^[^b^]
¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”
¹⁵But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
    to the depths of the pit.

Isaiah 14:12-15

He believes in Jesus (and trembles). He may even recognize Jesus more readily than we do. James 2:19 says,

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”

One day Satan WILL BOW to the name of Jesus. In fact, he must bow now, only we don’t usually understand that, and therefore don’t walk in the power we have.

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

He hates the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony.

¹¹They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.

Revelation 12:11

We have authority because Jesus lives in us. All authority.

Mark 3:14-16 says,

¹⁴He appointed twelve^[^a^] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demons.

He knows scripture and will try to use it against us—only distortedly.

I use to love to watch Little House on the Prairie. Do you remember that episode where Ma cut her leg and it got infected? She was all alone, burning up with fever, reading her Bible. She read the verse “if your right hand offends you cut it off…” And so, in the episode, she took a sharp knife, determined to cut her leg. Thankfully, they cut to a commercial instead! Even as a child I knew that was scripture being distorted. I wanted to scream at the television, “Don’t do it, Ma! That’s not what it means!” Satan will try to distort scripture. That is why it is important to read the whole Bible, not just a few selected verses. Satan even tried this trick on Jesus.

Matthew 4: 1-11 says,

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[^a^] by the devil. ²After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[^b^]”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[^c^]”

⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[^d^]”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[^e^]”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

We have been given tools to combat Satan. And we need to use them.

This may be the most important point. And with it being the 7^th, the number of completion, I will leave you with these final truths. What are these tools?