Satan 28 Oct 18

NY Times (Barna) Poll: “Satan is NOT a living being”

62% AGREE with the statement
30% DISAGREE with the statement
8% NO OPINION with the statement

Divine Characteristics of God:

1. Omnipresent
2. Omniscient
3. Omnipotent

Misconceptions about Satan:

1. Satan is not the king of Hell
2. Satan and Jesus are not brothers
3. Halloween is not Satan’s birthday
4. Satan cannot be saved

What Satan CAN do:

1. Satan can tempt us
2. Satan can make us afraid

When we fear Satan, we give him power he does not deserve.

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But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

James 4:6-8

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Job 2:2

Start talking. Find a conversation starter for your group.

• What is the most memorable movie you’ve seen that featured Satan as a character? How did it portray him? Was it accurate?
• As a child, how did you picture Satan? The Biblical description of Satan states that he masquerades himself as an “Angel of Light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). How does this change your past view?

Start thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking.

• Have you ever felt afraid of Satan? What did you do about it?
• How can we keep from treating the enemy lightly without giving him too much attention?
• Have you ever said or heard someone say, “The Devil made me do it”?  Is this an accurate statement? How does Satan tempt us?

Start sharing. Choose a question to create openness.

• Why is pride such a bad thing?
• Read James 4:6-8. Who is behind the pride that shows up in our thoughts and attitude? Why is humility important when resisting the enemy? How are you learning to resist the devil? In what areas do you need to humble yourself?
• Read 1 Peter 5:6-10. What is the difference between humbling yourself and being humbled? What does God do for the humble? What are we to do with our anxieties/fears? What does Peter say the devil is doing? How were these believers instructed to respond? What means do you use to resist the devil? How can you be more alert to his schemes? Why do you think Peter used a lion to depict our spiritual enemy? What are some ways the devil devours people?

Start doing. Commit to a step and live it out this week.

• In what areas do you need to humble yourself?
• How can you be more alert to Satan’s schemes? What means will you use to resist him?

Start praying. Be bold and pray with power.

• Have someone in your group pray through the requests in your prayer journal.
• Ask God to equip you to resist Satan and come against the enemy’s schemes.

Start digging. For further study check out these articles and definitions.

• God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.
• Can Satan read our minds or know our thoughts?
• *Definitions from Merriam – Webster
  • Definition of omniscient 
    • 1: having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
    • 2: possessed of universal or complete knowledge the omniscient God
  • Definition of omnipotent 
    • 1: often capitalized: ALMIGHTY sense 1
    • 2: having virtually unlimited authority or influence an omnipotent ruler
  • Definition of omnipresent 
    • present in all places at all times

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