Tactics, Trends, & Traits of the Enemy Book Bliz
Title: Tactics, Trends, & Traits of the
Enemy
Author: Jermaine Gadson
Genre: Spiritual
Publisher: Crossbooks –
Division of LifeWay (June 2014)
ISBN: 9781462736362—Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781462736355—Soft
Cover
ISBN:
9781462736348—eBook
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Tactics, Trends,
& Traits of the Enemy by author Jermaine Gadson is a must have resource for
believers who want to be well equipped to be victorious against the strategies
of the devil. The devil is cunning and deceptive, and he will stop at nothing
to keep God's people from reaching their potential in Christ. In this book,
Pastor Gadson discusses how the enemy uses temptation, seduction, fear,
isolation, guilt, shame, and other such things in order to steal and destroy a
person's life. Satan works tirelessly through various means and mechanisms to
keep sinners from hearing and being receptive of the Word of God, in order to
prevent them from being saved. If you have family or friends who are not
born-again, this resource will help you to identify schemes that the enemy may
be using to keep your loved ones from being saved. This book is intended to
equip the Body of Christ to wage a good warfare against the strategies of the
enemy. It is not God's will for His people to be taken advantage of by the
enemy because of ignorance. This book exposes who the enemy is, what he has
done, what he is doing, and what he will try to do in the future, as an enemy
of God's people. This book is written for the everyday believer to be able to
understand and use. However, it is also a helpful tool for Christian leaders to
be able to identify specific ways in which the enemy desires to attack them in
order to steal their influence, kill their destiny, and destroy their
reputation and ministries. In this regard, it is an encouragement to the Body
of Christ to guard and protect their spiritual leaders.
Excerpt:
Chapter
One
Know
Your Enemy
Before engaging in battle of any kind, it is very important to be familiar
with the opposition. The more
you know about your enemy, the greater
you will be equipped
to fight against them and be
victorious. Knowing your enemy includes being knowledgeable of their strengths, weaknesses, habits, origin, and the like. When you are
knowledgeable about your adversary, you
become empowered to develop a plan
of action
or strategy to adequately defend
against their opposition, overcome their
threats and defensive mechanisms,
and
ultimately defeat them.
Athletes and those
who follow sports are familiar
and acquainted with this principle.
Coaches and players spend hours upon hours viewing video recordings
of not only their own team,
but of their upcoming opponents as
well. They view recordings to evaluate their
own strengths and weaknesses as
revealed by previous games, and
they
do the same to identify strengths and
weaknesses of the next team they
have to face.
This
principle is certainly pertinent
in the area of the military as well. No military general,
or top ranking official who has authority over military personnel
will in their right mind
authorize the use of military force without adequate
information concerning the enemy to
be attacked. Right decisions require right
information. This is especially true if you
want to come out victorious and on top.
Now that we
can see the importance
of this principle from a natural
standpoint, it makes sense that this would also apply spiritually in relation
to how we are to do battle with
our spiritual enemy. As you read
this book, I hope that you will
be able to see the importance of this material in helping you towards this very end. The reason this book is so important is because the person reading it is like a ballplayer looking
at tape of his or her opponent
or a military general gathering intelligence on a
terrorist organization. When you know
where your enemy came
from, what your enemy has done
in the past, and
what your enemy
is presently capable of, you are more readily prepared
to wage a good warfare
and
defeat him in any present or
future encounters you may have.
The Origin of Satan
Since we are dealing
with the concept of knowing your enemy, it is important to understand the origin of where the enemy discussed
in this book, Satan, also known as the devil, comes
from. Here is what is considered
to be the biblical account of Satan’s demise, in Isaiah 14:12-15:
“How
you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How
you are cut down to the
ground, You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend
into heaven,
I
will exalt my throne above the
stars of God; I will also sit on the mount
of the congregation On the
farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought
down to Sheol,
To
the lowest depths of the Pit.”
The story of Satan originates in the heaven. In his beginning, he was created as an angel of God, who was called by the name of Lucifer. Lucifer was one of God’s chief angels, and as a consequence was given much power and authority. However, because of pride and jealousy towards God, his creator, he rebelled against God, wanting to be worshipped as a god himself. Through his rebellion, he lead one third of the angelic host to follow suit (Revelation 12:4). Today, Lucifer and the one third of angels who rebelled with him are now known as Satan and demons. The devil along with all the other demons, are simply fallen angels. They are angels who rebelled against God, and as a result were cast out of heaven, and striped of their original responsibilities and places of angelic authority (Jude 1:6).
The Point of No Return
Angels have a special and unique role in the plan and
purposes of God. Often in the Scriptures,
as well
as in other literature, angelic
beings are referred to as the “sons”
of God. This references the fact that
the origin of all angels is God, the One who created them.
Adam, the first
human being, is called the “son” of God in Scripture as
well, simply because he
originated from God who
created him (Luke 3:38). Adam
did not have an earthly father
because he was
the first human being. God was his father by mere
fact of his creation. In the same way,
angels are “sons” or children
of God. Angels
are spirit beings, and human beings are spirit beings
at their core,
and God is the Father of
spirits. Therefore, God, who is a Spirit Himself,
is the Father of all spirit beings (Hebrews 12:9). God has
created all beings, angels and humanity, for His own glory and purpose.
Nonetheless,
there are distinct differences
between the angelic and human races
that are vitally important to understand. The angelic
race was primarily created to serve the purposes
of God and His creation. The human
race was primarily created for the pleasure of God, to be the glory of His creation. From this we see a difference in
the distinct beings in how they were
created in relation to God. Though all
beings were created to praise and worship God, angels were created
to serve God, and human beings were created to love God.
Without
going any further into a deep discussion of angelology, demonology, or anthropology,
the study of angels, demons, and
human beings respectively, for the purposes of this discussion,
there is one fact that is
paramount. This fact is rooted
in what I have stated above in connection with the purposes and differences in why angles and humanity were created.
All angels, as far as
we know, were created to serve God, and to stand
in His presence. In
this sense, they are primarily
servants, because they were created
to serve and do the biding of the Father. Therefore,
sense their primary relationship with God is based upon their service to God, the moment that they choose to disobey God; they
forfeit their privilege
of being able to
perpetually stand in God’s presence and to be called in His service.
In other words, an angel who sins cannot
be forgiven. Someone might say that this is not fair, how can God not forgive an angel
who sins. The reality is not so much that God will not
forgive, but rather that
the angel has become so
corrupt that they
have no room in their heart for repentance.
For example, do you
literally think that Satan
has, is, or is going to repent and turn from his wickedness? No way! Consider
this; the angels get to experience the very presence of Almighty God, continually. God has invested in them powers, abilities,
and
responsibilities to govern and care
for heaven, earth, the galaxies, and the universe. They enjoy the lavish luxury of heaven eternally. Is a person who is willing to give all this and much more up worthy of reconciliation?
Human beings on the other hand have
the ability to repent.
Therefore, a human
being’s eternal
destiny is not eternally lost because
of sin. We have hope because of
the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, the “Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world”
(John 1:29).
This
whole concept of Satan being our
enemy, is not so much that Satan is concerned about us on our own account; rather,
Satan is jealous of our relationship
with God, and the position of authority that God has given
to us as a race of spiritual
beings. Our fight against the enemy is not just about us.
The enemy attacks
us because he knows that we are the glory of
God’s creation. The devil’s attack
on us is really an attack against
God. The enemy cannot do anything to hurt God directly because
God is God. However, instead
of coming against God, whom he
knows he cannot defeat, he comes
against the ones that God loves.
Think
of it this way, the devil
is a criminal master mind.
If you have
ever watched TV shows or
movies, where crime was involved, you would notice that whenever a criminal
mind wanted to cause harm to an individual or manipulate the individual
to do what they wanted, they would either kidnap,
threaten to do harm, and actually do harm to someone of whom the individual
loved. This is not a concept that originated in the entertainment
industry to keep us on the edges of our seats. This is a tactic that originated with Satan, which he
is still using today,
and
will continue to use until his ultimate demise.
The Outcome of Satan
Satan is a sore loser. He lost the battle against Michael and the angels of God in heaven
when he rebelled, so he is
trying to do as much damage as he possibly can against humanity,
and desires to take as many people
to hell with him as possible (Revelation
12:7- 12).
When
Satan led the rebellion against God, he had to fight against
Michael the archangel and the
army of angels who remained faithful to God. Satan
and his forces lost, of course.
As a result, they were
cast down to the earth. By God creating mankind to rule the earth, God
was in essence creating man from
the very beginning to
exercise dominion and authority
over Satan and his
demons. Satan seizing the
opportunity to deceive Adam and Eve through
tempting them to disobey God was his way of salvaging what little spiritual power he had
left, in order to seek vengeance against the God who had created him and banished him for his corruption. And so, the saga continues. However, we already
know what happens in the end. Lucifer, now known as Satan, and all
those who followed him, will ultimately
be defeated and sentenced
to eternal
punishment and damnation.
So,
for us, we must understand that the fight
against the enemy is a fixed
fight. We have already won, for the battle is not ours, it’s the Lord’s.
Our God has, is, and will forever be,
victorious!
Names of the Devil Throughout the Bible
I want to conclude
this chapter by giving you a list of the names of the enemy,
as they appear
in the Scriptures. In a Hebraic
and biblical perspective names are very important.
Names denote
the character and
destiny of the named. In
the listing below you will see
that the various names
of Satan that are used are a description of his nature,
character, and being.
1. Lucifer (Isaiah
14:12)
2.
Satan (Zechariah 3:1; Revelation 12:9)
3.
Tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians
3:5)
4.
Enemy (Matthew
13:39)
5.
Devil (Luke 4:2, 13; Revelation 12:9)
6.
Beelzebub (Luke 11:15)
7.
Ruler of demons
(Luke 11:15)
8.
Liar (John 8:44)
9.
Thief (John 10:10)
10. The prince of
this world (John 12:31)
11. The evil one
(John 17:15; 1 John 5:18)
12. The god of
this world (2 Corinthians 4:4)
13. Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15)
14. Prince of the power
of the air (Ephesians 2:2)
15. The spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience
(Ephesians 2:2)
16. Adversary (1
Peter 5:8)
17. Abaddon (Revelation
9:11)
18. Apollyon (Revelation 9:11)
19. Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Revelation 9:11)
20. Dragon (Revelation 12:7)
21. The serpent of
old (Revelation 12:9)
22. Accuser (Revelation
12:10)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jermaine
Gadson is the Senior Pastor of Faith Ministries, Inc., a non-traditional church
located in Birmingham, AL. Prior to starting Faith Ministries, he served as an
associate minister, youth minister, and pastor for local churches and
ministries in the greater Birmingham area.
While, growing up in the Baptist church, he gave his life to Christ at an
early age, and is a third generation minister of the Gospel.
He holds a
B.A. in Religion with a Concentration in Congregational Studies and a Minor in
Classics from Samford University, and a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity
School of Samford University. He is
currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Beeson Divinity School.
Gadson
enjoys reading, writing, sports, outdoors, movies, and spending time with his
family. He is happily married to his wife Kristy and they have one beautiful
daughter, Khloe.
Tactics,
Trends, & Traits of the Enemy Tour Schedule
June
2
June
3
June
4
June
5
June
6
June
9
June
11
June
12
June
13
June
16
June
17
June
18
June
19
June
20
June
23
June
24
June
26
June
27
Comments