It is a common thing for people to blame the devil for so many variety of happenings. But the truth is the devil blamer is an accomplice to the devil. Over the next few days I'll be serialising the works of an apostle of God Rick Renner who describes the devil, his way of working and all biblical description of his role and works, for the edification of the people of God.

Rick Renner is an American preacher who did most of his works in America, the old Soviet Union and other East European States at great risk to his life.
The 4th edition of this book was published in 1991
It is titled Dressed To Kill

TAKING A STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL

Why do we need this armor? What are we supposed to“stand against” in this conflict? Paul tells us: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).But what are “the wiles of the devil”?The word “wiles” is one of three key words you must know and understand when studying the subject of spiritual warfare.The other two words are devices and deception. It is impossible to have a correct and balanced view of spiritual warfare without having an understanding of these three foundational words.The word “wiles” is taken from the Greek word methodos. It is a compound of the words meta and odos. The word meta is a preposition that simply means with. The word odos is the Greek word for a road. Compounded together, they form the word methodos. Literally translated, the Greek word methodos means with a road.

It is from this word methodos that we derive the English word “method.” However, the word “method” is not really strong enough to convey the full meaning of methodos. This Greek word was carefully selected by the Holy Spirit because it tells us exactly how the devil operates and how he comes to attack and assault a believer’s mind.The word “wiles” (methodos) is often translated to carry the idea of something that is cunning, crafty, subtle, or full of trickery.However, the most basic translation of this word is its literal meaning, with a road. By electing to use this word methodos, Paul tells us how the devil puts his cunning, crafty, subtle, and tricky deception to work. The word “wiles” clearly reveals that the devil operates with a road or on a road. What does this mean?This means that, contrary to the common belief of most people, the devil does not have as many tricks in his bag as he would like us to believe. The word “wiles” (methodos) plainly means that the enemy travels on one road, one lane, or one avenue. In otherwords, he primarily has only one trick in his bag — and heobviously has learned to use that one trick very well! What is that one trick the devil uses against people? Or perhaps we should more correctly ask, “If the devil operates on one single avenue, what is the destination that diabolical road is headed toward?” These questions lead us to the second important word to understand when discussing spiritual warfare: theword devices.

THE DEVICES OF THE DEVIL

In Second Corinthians 2:11, Paul gives us a clue as to where this road leads that the devil is traveling on. Paul says, “...We are not ignorant of his [Satan’s] devices.”The word “devices” is taken from the word noemata, which is derived from the word nous. The word nous is the Greek word for the mind or the intellect. However, the form noemata, as used by Paul in Second Corinthians 2:11, carries the idea of a deceived mind deceived mind. Specifically, this word noemata denotes the insidious and malevolent plot of Satan to fill the human mind with confusion.The word “devices” (noemata) actually depicts the insidious plots and wicked schemes of Satan to attack and victimize the human mind. One expositor has even stated that the word“devices” bears the notion of mind games. With this in mind, you could translate the verse, “...We are not ignorant of the mind games that Satan tries to pull on us.”Paul used this word “devices” to describe attacks that he had personally resisted, so we know that even he had to deal with the adversary's mental assaults from time to time. Paul knew from experience about the mind games the devil tries to pull on people!
It was for this very reason that Paul said, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).The devil loves to make a playground out of people’s minds! He delights in filling their emotions and senses with illusions that captivate their minds and ultimately destroy them. He is a master when it comes to mind games.Like Paul, we must make a mental decision to take charge of our minds, “…bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” We must stop listening to ourselves and start speaking to ourselves! The devil always tries to manipulate our emotions and physical senses in order to pull a mind game on us. Therefore, we must speak to our emotions and senses, dictating to them exactly what to believe! By considering the words “wiles” and“devices,” we have now seen two vitally important things that we must know about the devil’s strategy to attack and victimize the human mind. First, the word “wiles” (methodos) explicitly tells us that the devil travels with a road or on a road. This road the devil is traveling on is obviously headed somewhere. Where is that road headed? The word “devices” clearly demonstrates that this road of the devil is headed toward the mind. We must make a mental decision to take charge of our minds. We must stop listening to ourselves and start speaking to ourselves!
Whoever controls a person’s mind also controls that person’s health and emotions. The enemy knows this! Therefore, he seeks to penetrate a person’s intellect — a person’s mental control center — so he can flood it with deception and falsehood. Once this is accomplished, the devil can then begin to manipulate that person’s body and emotions from a position of control. When Satan succeeds in penetrating and paving a road into a person’s mind and emotions, the process of mental and spiritual captivity in that person’s life is well under way. What comes next is up to the individual who is under attack. He can abort this devilish process by renewing his mind with the Word and by allowing God’s power to do a work within him. But if that person does not choose to renew his mind and yield to the work of the Holy Spirit, it will be only a matter of time before a solid stronghold of deception begins to dominate and manipulate his self-image, his emotional status, and his overall thinking.This leads us to the third word we must understand when discussing spiritual warfare: the word deception.

THE DECEPTION OF THE DEVIL

Deception occurs when a person believes the lies that the enemy has been telling him. The moment someone begins to accept Satan’s lies as truth is the very moment those wicked thoughts and mind games begin to produce the devil’s reality in his life.

To be continued

For instance, the devil may assault your mind by repeatedly telling you that you are a failure. However, as long as you resist those demonic allegations, they will exert absolutely no power in your life. But what if you begin to give credence to these lies and to mentally perceive them as the actual truth? Those lies will then begin to control you and to dominate your emotions and your thinking. In the end, your faith in those lies will give power to them and will cause them to create a bona fide reality in your life and you will become a failure.This is a manifestation of completed deception. Many marriages fail because of false allegations that theenemy tries to pound into the minds of each spouse. As long as the couple repels these allegations, the devil’s lies exert no powerin that marriage. However, when one of the spouses begins to pay attention to and dwell on those lies, he or she has taken the first fatal step toward deception. Take, for instance, the example of a marriage that is in tip-top shape until one of the spouses starts dwelling on unjustified questions and suspicions about the other spouse. This is clearly the work of the enemy to deteriorate the couple’s confidence in their marriage. The moment someone begins toaccept Satan’s lies as truth is the very moment those wicked thoughts and mind games begin to produce the devil’s reality in his life.
At first, this spouse absolutely knows that these suspicions are outright lies of the devil. Indeed, he or she thinks, our marriage has never been better! But the enemy continues to pound away on this spouse’s mind:
•“Your husband [or wife] isn’t pleased with you.”
•“Your marriage is in trouble.”
•“This relationship can never last.”
•“It’s too good to be true.”
Sadly, as this dear Christian continues to pay attention to those lying insinuations, the door remains open for the devil to continue pounding away at that person’s mind and preying on his or her emotions. After a period of time, the person’s mind battered and weary from worrying begins to believe those false allegations. That spouse’s faith in those lying emotions and suspicions may then empower the lies to become a reality in his or her marriage. By mentally embracing these false insinuations, this spouse opens the door for the enemy to penetrate his or her mind. Thus, the process of confusion is implemented; mind games are set in motion; and that believer’s perception of things becomes twisted and bent. If this seducing, deceiving process is not stopped at this point, it is probably only a matter of time before the weary minded believer begins to embrace these mental lies as though they were really the truth.

What is the end result of the devil’s deception? When believers falsely believe that their marriage is on the rocks, that they will die of a terminal disease, or that they have no hope for the future, they open the door for the enemy to move these lying suggestions from the thought realm into the natural realm, where they become a bona fide reality. These believers’ false perceptions empower the lies, and the devil uses those false beliefs to create HIS reality in the natural realm! Perhaps the enemy has constantly bombarded your mind about sickness. Perhaps his lying allegations have repeatedly told you that you are going to contract a terrible disease and die a nearly death. When these lies first assaulted your mind, you resisted them and refused to believe what you were hearing. Now, however, you have begun to wonder if these thoughts may have some validity. If you don’t stop this process, it will only be a matter of time until you truly begin to feel physically sick in your body. Do not give credence to those lying insinuations! When you embrace the devil’s mind games and perceive them as truth, you give power to them! If you do not take charge of your mind and begin to speak God’s truth to yourself to combat the devil’s lies, the complete process of deception will continue working in your life. Eventually that process will be complete, and your fears will become reality.When this occurs, you will be deceived in that area of your life. When you embrace the devil’s mind games and perceive them as truth, you givepower to them!

You can see now why these three words — the wiles, devices,and deception of the devil are extremely important for us to understand especially when studying the subject of spiritual warfare.

Let’s review: First, the word “wiles” (methodos) tells us that the devil operates with a road, or primarily with one avenue of attack.
Second, the word “devices” (noemata) reveals where that avenue is headed: It is headed toward the mind. Once that road is paved into a person’s mind, the enemy begins to regularly travel in and out of that person’s mind and emotions to confuse and scramble his thoughts with wrong thinking, wrong believing, and false perceptions.Third, “deception” occurs when a person embraces the lie that the devil is telling him. The false perception that this person has embraced empowers that lie to become a bona fide reality in his life. This is completed deception.

THE DEVIL’S MODE OF OPERATION

It would be a great injustice to conclude this chapter without explaining what the name “devil” means. Once you have an understanding of this name, you will know it was the nature of the devil himself that was working through Goliath to intimidate the armies of Israel. The name “devil” is taken from the Greek word diabolos and is a compound of the words dia and ballo. The word dia carries the idea of penetration, and the word ballo means to throw something, such as a ball or a rock. Literally, the word diabalos describes the repetitive action of hitting something again and again until finally the wall or membrane is so worn down that it can be completely and thoroughly penetrated.Thus, the name “devil” (diabolos) is not only a proper name for this arch enemy of the faith, but it also denotes his mode of operation. The devil is one who strikes repeatedly, again and again, until he finally breaks down a person’s mental resistance. Once that person’s mental resistance has been breached, the enemy then strikes with all his fury to penetrate and take captive that person’s mind and emotions. This is how the enemy works! He will repeatedly try to hit you with lies, suggestions, accusations, and allegations, bombarding you with one slanderous assault after another. In this way, the devil attempts to wear you down looking for an opportunity to make his move and take you captive in one of your weaker moments. If the enemy can find you with your guard down, he will then try to pave a road into your mind (methodos) so he can confuse your emotions with “mind games” (noemata). His goal is to deceive you to the point that you actually begin to believe his threats. If he succeeds, your false perceptions will empower his lies to become a reality in your life. Now you can better understand the sense of urgency behind Paul’s command in Ephesians 6:11. If you’re ever going to live free from the enemy’s tormenting lies and accusations, it is absolutely imperative that you “clothe yourself with the whole panoply the loinbelt, breastplate, shoes and greaves, shield, helmet, sword, and lance that comes from God, that you may have explosive and dynamic power to stand proud and upright, face to face and eyeball to eyeball, against the roads that the slanderer would try to pave into your mind!”

Oga Jimi, where's our video?

LordReed:
Oga Jimi, where's our video?

You, virtually everyone doing a great work with the gospel owes you a link, or video. Na your strategy be dat ?

CodeTemplar:
You, virtually everyone doing a great work with the gospel owes you a link, or video. Na your strategy be dat ?

Did I ask you for something so what is disturbing you here now?

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVIL IN THE BIBLE

Virtually all reputable scholars of the Church, past and present, agree that we have an adversary who hates the Gospel, detests the presence of the Church, and works around the clock to discredit the message of Jesus Christ. The devil’s entrance into the life of a believer is allowed primarily through that believer’s negligence. He slips in through an uncommitted, unrenewed area of themind a loophole and then begins to wage warfare against the mind and flesh of that individual. Rather than hide from this foe, we must turn our eyes to the Scriptures to see what God has to say about him. There are many names, symbols, and types for the devil throughout the Old and New Testaments,The devil’s entrance into the life of a believer is allowed primarily through that believer’s negligence.

The names each reveal a different facet of the devil’s twisted, perverted nature and his mode of operation.Our enemy is known as:

•Abaddon (Revelation 9:11)

•Accuser (Revelation 12:10)

•Adversary (1 Peter 5:

•Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11:14)

•Apollyon (Revelation 9:11)

•Beelzebub (Matthew 10:25; 12:24)

•Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15)

•Devil (Ephesians 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9)

•Dragon (Revelation 12:9)

•Evil one (Matthew 6:13)

•Murderer (John 8:44)

•Prince of this world (John 12:31)

•Prince of demons (Matthew 9:34 NIV)

•Prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)

•Roaring lion (1 Peter 5:

•Satan (Luke 10:18)

•Serpent (Revelation 12:9)

These names, symbols, and types of Satan can be divided into four categories:

1. Satan’s destructive bent

2. Satan’s perverted nature

3. Satan’s desire to control

4. Satan, the mind manipulator

LordReed:
Oga Jimi, where's our video?

You will get the video on or before Friday. I have been trying to upload but having a few difficulties.

jimiobanta:


You will get the video on or before Friday. I have been trying to upload but having a few difficulties.

You can email it to me and I'll upload it if you are having trouble with that.

SATAN’S DESTRUCTIVE BENT

Of the 17 names, symbols, and types given above, two are devoted to Satan’s insatiable desire to destroy. The names Abaddon and Apollyon are used to describe the devil in Revelation 9:11. The nameAbaddon is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name Apollyon. Both of these names mean destroyer. In reference to Satan, Revelation 9:11 says, “And they had a king overthem, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”You can be certain that demonspirits, over which Satan rules as a king, possess the same destructive nature as their master. They also operate according to the instructions Satan gives them as he sends them forth to destroy.

SATAN’S PERVERTED NATURE

Of the titles given in the list above, five of them have to do with the devil’s twisted, perverted nature. Those five are found in the following names, symbols, and types: “Beelzebub,”“Belial,” “dragon,” “evil one,” and “murderer.”

BEELZEBUB

The name “Beelzebub” was initially used by the Philistines of the Old Testament to describe the god of Ekron. It literally meant lord of the flies(2 Kings 1:2-6). Originally it was spelled“Baalzebub.” As time progressed, the Jews altered Baalzebub to Beelzebub, which added an even dimmer idea to this particular name of the devil. This new name “Beelzebub” now meant lord of the dunghill or lord of the manure. Two powerful and important images of Satan are presented in these two names. First, he is presented as “Baalzebub,” the lord of the flies. This is clearly the picture of Satan masquerading himself as the lord of demon spirits. Obviously, the Philistines looked upon demon spirits in the same way one would look upon nasty, dirty flies that bite, torment, and irritate.Secondly, he is presented as “Beelzebub,” the lord of the dunghill. By adding a twist to this particular name of Satan, theJews revealed a very important characteristic of the devil. Just like nasty, dirty flies, both the devil and his evil spirits are attracted to “dunghills,” or environments where rotting,stinking carnality pervades. This is the environment where Satan thrives best.

BELIAL

The name “Belial,” which is of Greek origination, means worthless. This name is always used in connection with filthiness and wickedness. Whenever it is used, either in the Old Testamentor the New Testament, it is used to depict extremely evil men. For instance, First Samuel 2:12 tells us that Eli’s sons were “sons of Belial.”What an example Eli’s sons were of this word “Belial”! They were fornicators and thieves, full of idolatry and rebellion. These terrible traits were ingrained into their character to such an extent that God’s judgment came upon them, and they were removed from the scene in one day’s time. Because First Samuel2:12 calls them “sons of Belial,” we know they obtained this horrid behavior from Satan, who is himself the origination of the name “Belial.”

DRAGON

The word “dragon” is also used in Revelation 12:9 to depict the devil. It says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
It is clear from this verse that the terms “dragon” and “serpent” are used interchangeably in reference to Satan’s twisted, demented, and perverted nature. By employing both of these pictures, the Bible presents the devil as a deadly, poisonous, ready-to-strike-and-kill creature.

EVIL ONE

The next biblical example of the devil can be found in what is traditionally called “The Lord’s Prayer.” In Matthew 6:13, the Lord Jesus prayed, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil....” The Greek language more accurately reads,“…but deliver us from the evil one.” From this usage, we know that Jesus looked on the devil as the “evil one.” No one was more familiar with Satan than Jesus; hence, it is important to us that Jesus, knowing the devil so well, would label him thus.

MURDERER

It was also the Lord Jesus who told us that Satan is a“murderer.” In John 8:44, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees,“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him….”The murderous nature of Satan was first manifested in Genesis 4:8, when he inspired Cain to slay his brother Abel. It was also Satan’s murderous nature that inspired Herod to kill allthe babies in Bethlehem-Ephrata. We continue to see the devil’s murderous nature in the deaths of millions of early Christian martyrs and still today wherever murderous injustice prevails on the earth. Murder is a part of Satan’s demented nature.

SATAN’S DESIRE TO CONTROL

Satan’s strong desire to control the spirit realm, the world,and every human government and human institution in thisworld system is evidenced by the fact that the Bible calls him“the prince of this world,” “the prince of demons,” and “theprince of the power of the air.”


THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD

By calling Satan “the prince of this world,” even Jesus recognized his temporal control over certain things in thisearthly sphere. You might remember that Satan himself personally offered Jesus the“king doms of this world” during Jesus’40 days and nights of testing in thewilderness. Jesus was confronted by this“prince of the world” during those 40days and resisted the devil’s power until His adversary fled. Jesus spoke from personal experience when he referred to this temporal claim of Satan. By calling Satan “the prince of this world,” even Jesus recognized his temporal control over certain things in this earthly sphere.

THE PRINCE OF DEMONS

In Matthew 9:34, Satan is also called “the prince of demons.”The word “prince” is taken from the Greek word archontas and refers to one who holds the first place or one who holds the highest seat of power. The title “prince of demons” most assuredly reveals that satan holds the highest-ranking seat among a host of diabolical spirits. The word “prince” denotes that there is rank and file and some form of organization to Satan’s system of governing hiskingdom. We have already seen this in Ephesians 6:12.

PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR

The apostle Paul called Satan “the prince of the power of theair” (Ephesians 2:2). Again, the word “prince” is taken from the Greek word archontas, meaning one who holds the highest seat of power. This is in complete agreement with Ephesians 6:12, which states that under Satan’s control, there are varying degrees of spiritually wicked power: principalities, powers, rulers of thedarkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.

SATAN, THE MIND MANIPULATOR

Finally, we come to the last and largest category of the names, symbols, and types of Satan in the Bible. In this last category, we discover that Satan truly is the master of mindgames. Let’s look at five names, symbols, and types of our enemy that specifically have to do with his ability to twist, deceive, and lie to people’s minds. He is called the “adversary,” “roaring lion,” “angel of light,” “devil,” and “Satan.”

ADVERSARY

The name “adversary” is extremely important as we attempt to understand the devil’s mode of operation. It is taken from the Greek word antidikos, which is a compound of the Greek wordsanti and dikos.The word anti simply means against. However, in the olderand more classical Greek language, it was used to denote themental condition of a man or woman who was on the edge of insanity. This, in fact, was a terribly dangerous person who would do someone great harm if he or she was not restrained. Therefore, the word anti is quite a nasty word.The second part of the word “adversary” is taken from the Greek word dikos. Dikos is the root of the Greek word meaning righteousness. It refers to justice, rightness, fairness, and righteousness. When the two words are compounded together, they portray one who is adamantly opposed to righteousness. Because the word anti carries the idea of hostility, this tells us that the devil is one who is hostile toward righteousness or who desires to destroy righteousness and obliterate it.This means that the devil is not just passively opposed to the presence of righteousness or righteous people. He is actively his power to wipe them out! He hates righteousness! In one way or another, Satan mentally tries to devour us with present temptations or with past memories. He does all of this in order to assault our sense of righteousness. His ultimate goal is that we would eventually be left high and dry with no confidence before God, devil, or man.This is precisely why Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:.

A ROARING LION

This leads us to the next title of Satan. Peter says he is like unto “a roaring lion.” What awe and fear the mighty roar of a lion strikes in the heart of frail man! However, in the case of the devil, his roar is more fearsome than his bite. Colossians 2:15 victoriously declares, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he [Jesus] made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
By means of the Cross and the resurrection, Jesus Christ stripped these demonic powers bare of the authority they once possessed. Jesus’ victory over them was so thorough that He even “made a shew of them openly.” (For a more detailed description of this phrase,see Chapter Nine of Living in the Combat Zone). However, this has not stopped the devil from trying to sound dreadful. Through his continuous hassling of our thoughts, his insinuations about failure, his concoction of unrealistic fears in our souls, and his constant onslaught against our minds, Satan tries to beat us down into defeat. This constant “roaring” in our souls is just another attempt of the adversary to wear us down, wear us out, and then swallow us up in self-pity.Notice that the object of the adversary is to seek those “whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:. The word “seek”implies that not everyone will fall prey to these tactics. Satan is not seeking just anyone to devour; he is seeking those whom he may devour. In other words, the enemy is looking for those who are weak in faith, ignorant of the Word of God, isolated unto themselves, and not mature enough to stand in the face of hisconstant, hassling allegations.These are the individuals this “roaring lion” is seeking after, and his object is to devour them. The word “devour” comes from the Greek word katapino, and literally means to swallow up completely.

ANGEL OF LIGHT

Satan is also called an “angel of light.” In dealing with theproblem of false prophets, false teachers, false apostles, and deceivers who were trying to worm their way into the Corinthian Church, Paul says in Second Corinthians 11:14, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” This is another clear picture of this master mind-manipulator. Satan disguises himself to be something that he really is not! Again, this kind of attack normally comes against a person’smind. The portrayal of Satan as an “angel of light” is a vivid example of his deceptive power to twist people’s thinking.

THE DEVIL

Of course, Satan is also called “the devil.” In fact, the New Testament refers to him as such more than 40 times! The name “devil” is taken from the Greek word diabolos. It is a compound of the words dia and balos. Dia means through and carries with it the idea of penetration. The word balos istaken from the word ballo, which means I throw, as in throwing a ball or a rock. When the two words are compounded, the new word depicts the act of repeatedly throwing a ball or rock against something until it penetrates that barrier and breaks through to the other side.Therefore, in the name “devil,” we are not only given the proper name of this archenemy but also his mode of operation.His name means that he is one who continually strikes and strikes and strikes again beating against the walls of people’s minds over and over again until, finally, he breaks through and penetrates their thought processes.

SATAN

This enemy of both God and man is called Satan, which is taken from the Hebrew word shatana and means to hate and to accuse. It is used more than 50 times in the Old and New Testament, and it also carries with it the ideas of slander and false accusation.

Oga Jimi, where is our video o.

LordReed:
Oga Jimi, where is our video o.

The link has been posted on the relevant thread

jimiobanta:

The link has been posted on the relevant thread

Thank you.