Puppet Master of Culture

Day 1- YOUR ENEMY

Read Ephesians 6:12
Is your fight against people? Who are you fighting?
Read 1 John 5:19
Who is the influencer of the world?
Read John 10:10
What is Satan’s goal? Knowing that Satan is behind all the ways of the world, do you have more confidence in God?
What are ways Satan “steals, kills, and destroys” throughout the world?

Day 2- THE ENEMY’S CHARACTER

Read John 8:44
Who is the one who is guiding the world? What does Jesus call him?
What is the character of the “father of lies”?
Can you trust a liar?
How does the “father of lies” influence the world to lie?
If this is the character of the enemy who influences culture, does following the culture of the world sound appealing?
How does knowing about Satan’s character grow your confidence in God instead of the world?

Day 3- THE ENEMY’S DISGUISE

Read 2 Corinthians 11:14
Who does Satan disguise himself as?
Read John 8:12. Who is Satan trying to disguise himself as?
Read Matthew 7:15
The people who follow Satan are described as what?
Read John 1:29. Who are they trying to look like?
Jesus is the True Light and the True Lamb. Everything He does is good. Everything Satan does is evil, but the Bible gives you the inside scoop on how Satan works. Satan makes himself look like what he is doing is truth, light, and good, but when you look beneath the surface, it’s deadly.

GIVE IT A TRY!

Satan preys upon your weaknesses, but God gives you strengths. God turns weakness to strength. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9. Isn’t it time to have confidence in God to make your weakness one of your greatest strengths?

Day 4- THE ENEMY’S WEAPON

You have learned all about Satan this week. He is not your worst enemy.
Who is your worst enemy? It’s you.
Read Romans 3:23. What is mankind’s biggest problem?
Read Isaiah 59:2. How does this verse explain why sin is so bad?
Read Romans 1:21-25. In verse 25, what did the sinner exchange for the truth of God?
Read Romans 6:23. What do you earn for sinning? What does Jesus give you?
Satan would be a pathetic influencer of the world if the people in it wouldn’t sin. The sin of mankind is Satan’s weapon. He has no leverage with you if sin has no power in your life. His strategy is to make your sin look appealing and give you hundreds of different ways to participate in your sin. His success relies on the presence of sin. He knows if you keep blaming him, then you won’t point the finger at your own sinful self. Ignoring your sin keeps Satan’s weapon fully loaded. The good news is that Jesus gave us victory over sin. The Holy Spirit gives you God’s power to live in freedom from sin. If sin has no power in your life, then Satan will show himself as wimpy and he will move on to someone else.

Day 5- SATAN IS NOT GOD’S OPPOSITE

The movies always portray God and Satan as opposites. You often see a person with Satan on one shoulder and God on the other fighting for your attention. The problem with this little scenario is that God is not Satan’s opposite. God is so much bigger and more powerful than Satan. Read the following verses about God’s character:
Read 1 John 3:20 and fill in the blank: God is __________________
Satan only knows what God reveals.
Read Jeremiah 23:24 God is ____________
Satan isn’t everywhere. He deceives you by looking like he’s everywhere because of the media, the culture of the world.
Read Luke 1:37 God is __________
Satan only has the power God allows him to have.
Read Job 12:10 God is ____________
Satan has never been able to stop the plans of God… never… and he never will.