Preached by Pastor James Harleman on May 25, 2008

Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

At Mars Hill, we believe in one God who created everything. We believe that by His WORD, He spoke the entire universe into existence. Subsequently, we believe the world is both substance AND story, matter AND art, nature AND narrative. However, from the first man to me, we have all sinned – we suppress this truth, we worship ourselves, worship creation, and/or worship false gods…

… and we believe that ever since The Garden, we’ve had “HELP”. As Christians, we believe the Devil is real: not a concept, not an idea or abstraction, but a very real villain. His first appearance is a snake, and he’s been coiled around human existence ever since.

1 Peter 5:6-8 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

I find many Christians don’t have a proper view of the work of the devil. The question is, DO WE LIVE PRACTICALLY – daily – like we believe in the devil… and demons… or do we just give it biblical lip service? C.S. Lewis put it succinctly when he said “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

This sermon dealt with our need to incorporate a biblical view into our daily lives as it comes to discernment, the way we pray, and dealing with temptation and accusation, always looking to Jesus to show us how to operate when it comes to dealing with the devil.

Knowing our Enemy, Trusting our God
preached by Pastor James Harleman

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