Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The enemy's battle plan (Ninth in the series, 'A Christian worldview') Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA October 17, 2004 Main Scripture text: John 10:10. A Christian Worldview Sermon Series Aug. 8, 2004 • The Power of Perspective Aug. 15, 2004 • The Holy Bible: Our Guide for Faith and Practice Aug. 22, 2004 • Origins Aug. 29, 2004 • Will the Real God Please Stand Up? Sept. 5, 2004 • The Spirit World Sept. 12, 2004 • A Warfare Worldview Sept. 19, 2004 • War Stories: Invasion and Liberation Oct. 10, 2004 • War Stories: At the Front Oct. 17, 2004 • The Enemy's Battle Plan Oct. 24, 2004 • Personal Defense Oct. 31, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Sword of the Spirit Nov. 7, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Name of Jesus Nov. 14, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Blood of Jesus Nov. 28, 2004 • Warfare Worldview: The Real Star Wars Jesus told us very plainly that devil's overall plan is to steal, kill and destroy. I want to look at specifics of how the enemy approaches us to implement this plan. Recall this quote, from a previous sermon, by the 17th century pastor William Gurnall: "It is the image of God in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons." Satan is jealous of God's glory, and he hates us because we reflect that glory, and we reflect it more and more as we grow in Christ. Therefore, we must understand that the battle plan of the enemy will focus on keeping us from union with God. That union is what brings to us the fullness of God's glory and the power to defeat the devil. Let's look at two major ways the enemy implements his battle plan. First, he tries to create confusion to keep us from getting and staying on the right path. Think of examples of the confusion Satan has created in our culture: > The courts mandate that we cannot pray in school, and yet Congress opens every session with prayer! > Aborting an unborn child is legal right up to the point of birth -- yet at the same time we have heroic efforts being made to save the lives of premature babies! What happens to generations raised in this kind of confusion and inconsistency? They are confused; they have no absolute values. The second thing Satan tries to do is sear our conscience. We are inundated daily, hourly, with images that are calculated to sear our God-given conscience about sex, money, alcohol and whatever. Only us "right-wing radicals" were upset about in the raunchy half-time show put on by MTV at this year's Super Bowl. Why? People have seen so much trash over past two or three decade they don't consider it appalling any more. Why did the gambling industry push so hard for state lotteries when they really don't gain that much from them? They knew the lottery would sear our conscience toward gambling, and clear the way for video poker and casinos. The garbage in our world is not just the sign of a deteriorating culture. It's the result of an organized, planned attack from hell on the conscience of this culture. It's important that we know this because only then will we see that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but the authorities and powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms. This is spiritual warfare and we must address it as such if we are going to be victorious. We must use our spiritual power to overcome the powers of hell. Supporting texts: Ezekiel 28:11-19 | Isaiah 14:12-14 | 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 | Hebrews 1:3 | Mark 5:6-10 | Psalm 119:105 | Psalm 119:11 | 1 Peter 5:8 | 2 Chronicles 7:14 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (37:30). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 041017a: The Enemy's Battle Plan. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us