The Opposing Team

Welcome to "Super Sunday"... a day many football fans feel is a national holiday. As we ponder which of the two teams will win, let us be mindful of a much bigger battle that is taking place... the battle between righteousness and unrighteousness.

Our #1 enemy is Satan. His main objective is to cause each of us to lose our soul in the burning fires of Hell. We are warned in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." We must constantly watch out for Satan. He is very dangerous! Satan is real. He is not a fictitious character in a red suit, horns, and a tail and carrying a pitchfork. Satan can appear in many different forms. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, "For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness." Satan is a master of disguise. He and his ministers can appear to us so innocently.

Satan’s main weapon is the lie. Jesus says concerning Satan in John 8:44, "When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." Satan knows all of our weaknesses and how to tempt and deceive us. In Genesis 2:16-17 God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die. But in Genesis 3:4 Satan told eve, "You shall not surely die." Satan only added the word "not" to what God said and changed it into a lie.

Satan will get what is due him. Revelation 20:10 says, "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone….and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." But also notice verse 15, "And anyone not found in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." We must always be prepared in fighting Satan. In our preparation Paul says in Ephesians 6:11 to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil." In our fight with Satan we are told in James 4:7-8, "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

God will help us.

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