 Okay. Good morning and welcome everyone. We will pray and continue with chapter 8 in our notes today. So anybody who has the mic, please do lead us in prayer. Jesus we thank you Lord for this time that we have Lord and Lord as we study about the strategies of the enemy and how he tries to overpower us, how he tries to overrule us. Lord I pray that you will learn to overcome him and that thank you Jesus for building in us the strength, that authority and that will help us Lord. Thank you Jesus for opening our hearts and minds and to understanding what is being taught to us in this class and thank you Lord for everything. Amen. Amen. Thank you Rin. So today we will look at the strategies of a defeated enemy so far. We've seen the nature of Satan, his demons, how Jesus has won the victory on the cross, the methods that Satan uses but today we will look at the methods of Satan and at the same time at least four main areas where he is actually able to affect any person, particularly a believer. So what are these areas? Now you already asked the question last time that if Jesus has defeated Satan, why are we still experiencing so many so called attacks from the devil and things are challenging on the earth. So I shared that when somebody is defeated and their time is limited, they will do everything in their power to gain control. So the same thing Satan tries to do, he's defeated, he already knows it, he knows his time here on earth is limited. So to gain support, to create trouble from the outside through influence, so these are all the kind of things that people do under what is known as guerrilla warfare. So that is what Satan is trying to do right now, knowing that he is defeated. Now if he can get a loophole, a foothold, if he can enter through a crack, if he can influence the mind of the believer to weaken the will of a believer, it becomes easy for him to create trouble in the believer's life. So primarily what are these areas or primarily what are these means through which he can actually affect the believer. So it's been enlisted for us in our notes, I'll number it out for us. So it's numbered as three, but then there are four things we'll talk about. One is mind games. So he loves this area, the mind. If he can influence us in our minds, if we lose the battle in the mind, then he has won. So no wonder you have books that are titled the battlefield of the mind, the conquest of the mind, because for a believer the challenge is mainly in the area of our mind. So he loves to play mind games. So the second thing is we've been saying that we must be submitted to God and that no door should be open. So open doors is his other method. Is he defeated? He's already defeated. But he wants a way in which he can still win. So mind games will allow him to win, open doors will allow him to win. The third one is intrusion, violation and intrusion. See legally there are, spiritually speaking, legally based on covenant, based on what Jesus has done, the way he has redeemed us, Satan has no rights over our lives. So we know even in Luke 10-19 we saw that you will trample on serpents and scorpions and nothing by any means shall harm you. But at the same time what Satan does is he tries to intrude. He tries to violate the set rules, the set covenant, the set boundaries and he tries to create trouble. So his methods we have seen already we saw how he uses temptation, intimidation, accusation, many of those methods he uses. But these are the, you can sort of sum up all of those things under this list as well. So first is mind games. So what is the meaning of mind games? What kind of mind games does Satan play? Satan's tactics. We saw that scripture in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 11 where the Bible says, Less Satan should take advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices. Devices or vials or plots, schemes of the devil, they exist. Now it is dangerous for a believer to give the devil a lot of importance. And I've been telling that the main thing is what Jesus and the victory of Jesus on the cross. So we have to give importance to that. Now if a believer, let's take it to the other extreme. One is giving importance to the devil. What is the other extreme? Ignorant. And that's what this verse says, don't be ignorant of his devices. Ignorant is denying the existence or denying the influence of the devil. There are a set of believers who feel that Satan is there. So what? They don't understand the influence that Satan can have. That is also dangerous, ignorance. Ignorance means, I don't know. See if there is a very high powered electric wire and I don't know about it. What will happen if I touch it or I'm exposed to it? Any creature will get burnt. So ignorance is equally dangerous. Making the devil a priority is dangerous but opposite. Not knowing anything about the devil and his influence is also dangerous. So the Bible says we should be aware. So if you're a smart person and you're engaging in warfare, you want to be victorious in your life, you got to know, hey, I have an enemy. This is how he works. So I have to be careful in these areas. So knowing the enemy and what he actually does as far as in the mind is concerned is very critical. So what does he do? He will try to use blindness. What is blindness? Spiritual blindness. Spiritual blindness in 2 Corinthians 4-4, we see this. So Satan has blinded the eyes. So the spiritual eyes of people are not able to see Jesus or understand the salvation of Jesus. You know, sometimes we share about Jesus with people. They can't understand. We are so thrilled and passionate and we are telling them, you know, Jesus loves you. They're not able to understand anything. So what has happened as far as the Bible is concerned? Satan blinds the spiritual eyes of people so that they cannot understand. So that is his tactic. So when we pray, let's say for unbelievers, people in our families or over regions. This is one prayer we have to pray. We have to pray and ask God to remove the blindness from their eyes. The spiritual blindness. So when the blindness is removed, then they will be able to see the value of who Jesus is and what he has done. So blindness is something that Satan uses and uses all the other techniques. You know, we spoke about them, right? We said that in the mind, he comes in with accusation, temptation, wrong thoughts, and then that progress happens. What is that progress? You have the thought, then you have the imagination. You remember that? We discussed it, right? Imagination, argument, stronghold. So once there is a stronghold, that stronghold can be the place where demons can live. And then the believer goes into demonization. So progress is happening and Satan knows, if I take in this route, I will be able to win in a believer's life. So this way, he is working in the mind, then deception and craftiness. So in different things that he does in the mind where he gives us the wrong patterns of thinking. And there is one creature, he said this statement. He said, I cannot afford to have one thought in my mind which is not in the mind of Jesus. So that's the way we should live our life. I should not think any thought which cannot be in the mind of Jesus. Because if I have a thought and that thought is impure, I will be ashamed to think of the fact that can this thought go to Jesus' mind? Can this imagination go to Jesus' mind? So if it cannot be in his mind, it should not be in my mind. So he made that statement, that makes sense. So this is the primary area where I have to overcome. If I overcome in my mind, then I can conquer over the devil. So today I am just trying to tell us that be aware, be alert. This is where he will try to attack. So how do I protect myself? We have to protect ourselves with the armor of God. The Bible talks about it. If we don't protect with the armor of God, what will happen? The armor, in the armor you have the helmet of salvation. Or that is nothing but the knowledge of salvation, who I am in Christ Jesus. If I don't have that, what will he do? There's no helmet, right? Is it safe to not have a helmet when you're doing something important like driving or going for war? It's so crucial. If the head is gone, everything is gone. I better take care of my head. I need a helmet. So in the armor it says, helmet of salvation. Simply means, you should know what salvation is, what is salvation done to you? Who are you in Christ? If I don't know, Satan will accuse. Who are you? You are not worthy. You are sinful. There are lots of things he will put into our mind. Then what happens? The believer goes down and down. I'm worthless. I'm still sinful. You know, burdened by lies. But if I have helmet of salvation, then I'll say, who are you lying to? Devil, stop. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am justified. I am holy. I am sanctified. So I'm able to put up a fight against the devil if I have my helmet. So I need to keep that helmet in place. Otherwise, he will blind my mind. He uses the blinding tactic. So he will blind my mind. And as a believer, it's very sad if I'm blind to what has been done through the cross. Then press plate of righteousness. It simply means walking in righteousness when I'm doing the right thing. If I don't have that, if I'm not walking in righteousness, if I don't understand that Jesus has made me righteous, then what happens opposite of that is, you know, he will convince me that I'm still sin and God doesn't accept me. Or he will push me into an unrighteous lifestyle. Living in sin is also against the press plate of righteousness. So these are all his tactics. Basically, he does not want the armor. And he will try to get rid of every part of the armor. Belt of truth. He knows that a believer who is walking in the truth is very powerful. So what will he try to do? Make the believer walk in lies, deception, untruth, twisting and turning the word of God in the mind of a believer. Then it becomes so dangerous. Believer is no longer safe when he's not walking in truth. Then shoes of peace. Shoes of peace. What is the opposite of that? Quarrel, strife, disunity. So believer who's walking like that also, he's an easy target for the devil. There's no protection. And so Satan can enter. Shield of faith. What is the opposite of faith? Basically, doubt, fear, worry, anxiety. So a believer who's in this position, always fear, always worry, it's dangerous because it's a tactic of the devil. He knows, okay, let's get rid of the shield of faith. No more protection. Then I can do something in this person's life. So we must be careful that we do not give the enemy any opportunity. So everything we learnt about the armor, I should make sure I understand about Jesus, about salvation, who I am in Christ. I should make sure I'm walking in righteousness. I must make sure that I know the truth of God's word to walk in peace with everyone, walk in peace with God, and also have faith in God. So as a believer, I go in this way, he can't do much in the area of my mind. And that is why Paul said, in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 27, he said, don't give the enemy a foothold. So when I'm walking in this way, you can imagine my life is like a city with a fortress. It's protected. So Satan wants to play all these games. He just cannot enter. You got it? That's the way a believer with a renewed mind should be. So strong. Yeah, Satan is doing this. Let him do whatever he wants. I am already like a fortress. Satan cannot enter. So Paul is saying, don't give the devil a foothold. Don't give any crack in your life. Then he cannot come in. So that's the first thing we should recognize. The moment he puts some wrong thoughts in our minds, immediately you should pick it up. Hey, wait, this is not from God. So what are the thoughts in our minds when you read that conquest of the mind? Have you finished that book? Some other subject it is there. Conquest of the mind. Anyway, from where do we get our thoughts? The source or from where thoughts come in our mind? What we hear? Okay. What we see? Okay. From Satan? Okay. Pictures? Yeah. Yeah, what we learn? Okay. Fine. So see there are three primary sources. Okay. One is God. So God can use our mind also. Just the way Satan puts thoughts, just now you said pictures, thoughts. God can put a thought in our hearts. So I want my mind to be an instrument that God can put his thoughts. So God can put thoughts. Second, Satan. Because we are seeing he does all the mind gains, the tactics. Second is Satan. Okay. Third is we would say us, me. Now that thought can be my own thought, original, my own thought, or it can be as you know, Sean was saying we learn from outside or you know, Vimal was saying we hear from people. So what happens is, the third one is me. They are my thoughts because I picked it up from somewhere or they are my own thoughts. There are three sources. God, Satan and myself. Okay. So everything that I think, I should develop this ability to regulate. If there's a thought from God, keep it. If there is a thought from the devil, remove it. Okay. Or fight it or remove it. If there is a thought from me, check it. Is it in line with the word or not? Then that's why we saw how, you know, Paul wrote taking every thought captive that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. So it's very important because if we are not careful about our thoughts, what happens? Our thoughts will become, you know, what we believe. And when we believe certain things, that will become our behavior. And our behavior will become our lifestyle. Right. And our lifestyle leads to many consequences. But where did it all start? One thought. Just one thought. Right. So what God is teaching in his word is if we are careful about every thought, then you don't have to worry about what Satan is going to do. Yes. Yes, Sean, can you please use the mic? It's here. Ma'am, I want to ask, how do you differentiate the thoughts? Like as in sometimes a thought will be such that you won't know if it's whether it's from God or whether it's from Satan. Like, suppose you're given a message and suddenly get a thought that, like you feel good after giving a message and you have the thought that don't be overconfident. Now, either that thought is from God because you're feeling too good about giving the message, maybe that thought can be safe also putting it down. Like I said, don't be overconfident. Don't take joy in this type of thing like that. Yeah. You're not worthy of such a thing like that. Yeah. So we see in 1 John, chapter 5 and verse 7, it says that, one portion of it says that the spirit and the word agree. The spirit and the word agree. And obviously we know that the word is an agreement with the Father because word is Jesus. Jesus was very much in line with the Father. So here is the point. See, the word of God will help us to identify which thought is mine or God's or Satan's. Second, Holy Spirit will help us to identify. You know, sometimes when I hear something itself, I feel something is wrong. You know, because what is happening? Holy Spirit is working in me. He's giving an impression in my heart. He's giving a witness in my heart saying, don't listen. It's not correct. Okay. So two things will help us protect us from error. That is word. Second is Holy Spirit. Okay. So what I must do is I must practice. So that is why every day is studying the word little by little, you're building little by little. Little by little. Every day, even if you spend whatever 30 minutes, 40 minutes, you're meditating in the word, what's happening? It's going into your system. It's cleansing your mind, right? It's changing your standards. So then when you have the word, the deposit of the word in you, when somebody says something, immediately you can tell this is not correct or this is very correct because word is the first thing that will help you. Second is Holy Spirit. Same way. The more you spend time with God the work of the Spirit and all that, the witness of this Holy Spirit also you can tell. But for that, there is one more scripture, Hebrews 514. It says those who by manner of use have exercised their senses. So that simply means the more you practice, the better you get. So as a believer is maturing, they become faster at identifying what is right, what is wrong. So that's how it works. So just start where you are. That's as simple as that. Don't worry too much. Those God helps. And if you're still not able to get then you can always go to somebody who's godly and ask for their opinion. What do you think? I'm thinking like this. Should I do this or not? So you can get some godly counsel. Yeah. Okay. Good. So this is the manner in which we will, anything? Yeah. Ma'am, thoughts which are coming from Satan. So what is the correct way to, like they don't come in our mind? How we can close doors for that? So answer you know what? You can't stop it. That's the answer. See because it's like, how do I say? It's like an open ground, the mind. I can't stop. Satan, anytime he can intercept my thinking, he can just put a wrong thought anytime, any moment. Same thing, God also any moment, even my own spirit any moment, that I cannot help it. See I might, I would have come out of 40 days of fasting. Okay. Then I'm going out. I see one brother immediately get angry. I'm like, I just fasted for 40 days. How is this happening to me? But that's how it works. Satan can put it in your mind anytime. You have to still know how to deal with it. That's the thing. So you can't stop. Answer is you can't stop it. But one thing you can do is, as I said, become strong in the word, become strong in the spirit. Then only thing you can do sort of is regulate. You know like a security guard know, okay you come inside, you don't come inside. Where is your ID card? Something like that. So you can only regulate the thoughts. So when, if you know that's a wrong thought coming into your mind, you can rebuke that thought. Yeah, you can. That's how we can overcome this thought. You can rebuke it. You can replace it with what God's word says. Jesus did that, no? He said it is written. It is written. So that the thoughts will come. We need to learn to rebuke and overcome it. Exactly. Exactly. You rebuke it. That's okay. Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, only by thoughts. That's true. So main thing is thoughts, so we need to, we need main thing for to fight against the thoughts. If we overcome the thoughts so we can overcome all sins. That's true. Yeah. Very true, and Pastor always says, like the mind, imagination, it's a priceless gift which God has given. See, I can be sitting here, But I can be holidaying in some other beach town maybe Because my mind can paint pictures It can give me the sense of being somewhere else So I can be feeling like I am skydiving right now So it can take you anywhere So imagine if we have a godly mind Where we allow God Okay God you paint the pictures in my mind You know you paint good pictures of the vision that God has for our life You know walking in righteousness, being a blessing to many people It's so powerful, Satan knows that So that is why what you said is correct Even the evil it starts from the mind Remember how Satan said I will, I will exalt myself I will become equal to God So it started with his mind And if we overcome it And if we use, you think of the opposite If we use it in the right way If every thought is submitted to God How powerful that will be So yeah So mind is very very crucial in fighting the devil So I think you have understood mind games Isn't it? Yeah Tell me You told an example of fortress around us And should not allow any cracks or anything Like when we see in our mind Sometimes even by our own or by enemy Satan will give those thoughts It's like a crack then how we can deal with it Yeah So see I am just saying that we are protected Okay We live a life in such a way That we are protected from his influence But You know the way our mind is made This is how it works That thoughts can come in But what I am saying is Whether the thought influences you or not You are protected from that You got it So I need not allow the influence of Satan Did you understand? Yeah Exactly something like that Yeah don't open the door So that No you can shut the door You have the authority Okay so Anand said if the door is open we can't do anything And I said no you can shut the door So yeah that's the whole point of what we are learning Use your authority you know So the world is open So you are saying the influence is very real Mike please I am telling the world is full of all things True Like if we go outside We can see something that is not from the Lord It's not according to the Bible Everything is with that All things So like Anand brother is saying The doors are open we can't close So that way I am telling it's like real All things are in the world We can't close those things That's true Vimal but see we also have the power of choice Isn't it? Now I can definitely avoid to the best degree possible Like if I know that you know if I You know access some website or something that It's just messing up my imagination Don't access it Or don't go to a place that bothers you Don't do that So we have to put those restrictions on ourselves Because see the best person who knows me is me I know What influences me what doesn't influence me So based on that I can have some standards for myself I'll say no I won't Go to this place I won't do this You know I won't look at my phone after 10 p... Something like that Make your own rules to protect yourself Yeah You can avoid to the best degree possible Yes Another example is like many times I'm sure You've also seen that as you go on the road You'll have some hindu festival Having some idols and all in the cart And really taking fastest especially in a driving So at that point we can't simply turn our car And go some other way You have to go straight on our path Only thing you can do is ignore that And just focus on our route Yeah So have focus Things will come your way but they need not influence you Okay Yes Sometimes like thoughts came right in our minds Like we tried to avoid so much Even like everything we used to do But even though like it's came again and again In that time like what do we have to do like Correct So see Satan that way is quite stubborn So when he assesses each individual He knows our weaknesses Let's say somebody's weakness is money He knows So then again and again again and again He'll try He'll try to bring the building down Okay but you should not give up You have to fight it Okay so that is one thing Now the second issue is I remember we said thoughts Imagination Arguments strongholds So sometimes when the stronghold is already built Then it is very difficult to stop the devil So in that situation what one has to do is First you have to break the stronghold Then only you can stop the thoughts So for that we'll come to that Through prayer We may have to cast out demons You know we may have to do all those things And maybe people also have emotional scars They have emotional wounds So we have to rehabilitate them in that sense We have to talk to them, help them develop the right identity Then what happens That constant thing right They will become powerful over the devil Otherwise they will fight the thoughts But the thoughts will not go away Because stronghold is still there When you uproot even a tree If you cut from the top what happens It'll grow again Okay but the right way of getting rid Of the work of the devil is From the root you have to remove And burn it or destroy it That's how it should be done You got the answer? Okay, fine So that is about mind games And we've understood Now Nina has a comment here Let me quickly go over it It says Usually when we try to justify ourselves It sometimes leads to an argument Or misunderstanding with others Especially when it comes to our own family Or our Christian sisters and brothers Who also know the truth How do we deal victorious During such times Is it okay to remain silent And they keep misunderstanding about us Should we pray and try to explain ourselves In such times Is it okay to remain silent And they keep misunderstanding about us Pray and try to explain ourselves again When we do not want to lose our peace At any cost It's a difficult situation, Jacken When there are misunderstandings With people, even Christian people I think what the Bible suggests Is that wherever possible We can go and work it out With that brother or sister Okay, so that means That we can seek an opportunity to talk to them For clarifications But you need a lot of wisdom Sometimes it works out fine Sometimes it makes it worse when you go and talk things out So you really need wisdom So there is that opportunity to talk it through With a brother and sister and establish peace Between both of you But if that is not possible Jacken, you have to keep it in prayer And you have to ask the Lord to You know Give peace to you Now Three things can happen Either God will create an opportunity For you to resolve this matter with that person That is amazing Second is It may not Be resolved Okay But that person might have Good feelings for you And so you still have a cordial relationship Even though you don't talk to them That's also wonderful But the third thing might happen where The issue doesn't get resolved And they still think you're wrong And you just have to learn to live with that In a gracious way And say that, okay You know, I can't prove myself to everybody But, yeah Let me be humble If I'm not at all In a place where I can explain It's fine, God knows God is the lifter up of my head God is my deliverer I've come clean before the Lord But you know People are still holding me responsible I can't do anything about it Right, so Yeah, Jacken, is that okay? Okay, praise God Alright, thank you so much So open doors Open doors Open doors and situations Open doors and violations Intrusions In your class I only start a lesson I never really finish it There's only 5 minutes Huh? Some more questions Okay Yeah Yeah Yeah, so that's As you yourself gave the answer And the question Anand We can't blame Satan for everything Yeah Yeah, I mean I think in the Christian circles We end up developing That kind of thinking See, for example If I have to come for your class Okay, I know the exact time I should leave If I leave later than that It's very crazy To get here and start the class on time Now, if I leave late Okay, and let's say there is a traffic signal Traffic police, I can't say Oh look, Satan is Opposing me I'm trying to serve the Lord See this traffic jam It's from the devil Or something, anything roadblock It's from the devil But what's the logical answer I should have left my house little early Okay, so there are some things Which are absolutely logical And it depends on us And our decisions So we cannot blame the devil He will be like, look at that I didn't do anything And all these Christians, they are going on Telling I did it, I did it I didn't do anything Yeah Correct, yeah So Yeah, everything he is not doing Sometimes it's our own issues Yeah, they are doing themselves And getting into trouble That's true Ma'am, we talked Like how Satan can use Like use our minds And put our thoughts to You know, manipulate us Satan also use our feelings Yeah Okay, can we use our feelings Yeah In the same way, even feelings We think in our mind So can feelings Can also be a tool for Satan not to work on us Yeah So one thing I want to clarify He can just inject Thoughts, okay But he cannot make us think The thoughts, you got it So the first thought We generally say first thought It may or may not be ours So if it is from God, it's God's thought If it is from Satan, it is Satan's thought Or it can be my own thought First thought If it is from God or Satan, I don't have control Second thought I have control So Point is, Satan cannot Control my mind I still have will Okay, that is one thing Second Can you give us feelings So I would say Prince that he begins with Thoughts only Because you know what Usually connected to thoughts If I am scared of someone The moment I think about them I feel fear So what Satan can do Is he will put the thought of that person in my head Then the feeling of fear will follow So I think He gives thoughts But feelings will follow Like that Yeah, so we can do that Alright Okay, so let's close off then We will have some continuation In the next class As I cover the rest of the subjects Let's pray Could somebody pray Anyone Anyone Father God, we thank you We thank you for this time Lord Lord, whatever way we have learned today Help us to use it And be an overcomer Lord from the tactics Of the devil Amen, thank you everyone God bless you, all the best For your assignments Please start working on it right now Don't work on it Two days before submission Right, all the best Bye for now