I once had the opportunity to attend a seminar on strategic planning, put on by John Warden, the man who architected the strategy for the air campaign in the first Gulf War. While I am not a military historian, I was very interested in listening to his examples of strategy in war. One of the things that struck me, especially about Desert Storm, was the tactical precision of the air strikes. There was no carpet-bombing, or indiscriminate destruction – every bomb had a purpose in the strategy. This type of precision was only possible through detailed understanding of the strengths and capabilities of the enemy.
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.Luke 11:20-22
Jesus had just been accused by people in the crowd, watching as He cast out a demon from a man, of getting His power from Satan. After pointing out the absurdity of this statement, Jesus explains how He is able to do the miracles He performs. First of all, He plainly states that, in Him, the Kingdom of God has been made manifest on earth. His power comes from His Father. What the people are seeing is not a man doing magic, but God working right before their eyes.
As He continues His teaching, Jesus reveals the secret to His success – He has studied His enemy and He knows his strengths. There is no denying that the Devil has many weapons at his disposal to protect his domain. As long as he is in possession of those weapons, he operates from a position of strength – his palace is safe. For an attack on the stronghold of Satan to be successful, his arsenal must be neutralized, and it takes a special force to accomplish this mission.
God’s people cannot break down the walls of the Devil’s fortress. The church cannot overpower Satan in its own strength. It takes someone with extraordinary power to subdue the enemy and open the gates to his domain, and that someone is Jesus Christ. That does not mean that we are powerless against the enemy! It means that we must operate in the power of our Savior – we must put on the whole armor of God.
Much too often, we try to execute a frontal attack on the palace of Satan without preparing for the battle. We decide where and how to attack rather than following the plan that God has laid out for us. God’s plan is based on the best intelligence there is – His omniscience. Our God knows everything that has happened, everything that is happening, and everything that will ever happen. And yet, we often step out into battle with the enemy without seeking His guidance.
If we want to prevail in our encounters with Satan, we must know our enemy. Jesus went into His confrontations with the enemy prepared. He knew what to expect and how to respond, and it is all recorded in God’s Word. Study the plan and you will always be ready.
We serve an awesome God!!!!!
