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Realm | Week 3 · Rewind

Rock Point Church

66 min

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Oct 15, 2018 · 5 min read · 66 min listen

The big idea

You can't defend against an enemy you can't identify, so know who Satan really is, where he came from, and what he's after.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 7The enemy's greatest tactic is convincing people he doesn't exist.
Point 2 of 7Satan is a created being, a fallen cherub angel, not an equal opposite of God.

Point 3 of 7Pride, not opposition to God, is what caused Satan's fall.
Point 4 of 7God created free will, not evil, and a third of the angels chose to follow Satan's lie.
Point 5 of 7Satan's power is real but strictly limited to what God permits.
Point 6 of 7Satan's tactic hasn't changed since Eden: get you to doubt God's goodness and take one small step away.
Point 7 of 7Sin's true damage is the shame that follows, which drives people to hide from God and from each other.
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

Ezekiel 28:11
Ezekiel 28:14
Ezekiel 28:16
Ezekiel 28:17
Isaiah 14
Isaiah 14:12

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Oct 15, 2018 · 66 min watch · 3 min read

Realm | Week 3

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Ezekiel 28:11
Ezekiel 28:14
Ezekiel 28:16
Ezekiel 28:17
Isaiah 14
Isaiah 14:12

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

You can't defend against an enemy you can't identify, so know who Satan really is, where he came from, and what he's after.

God is good and He is for you — He isn't withholding anything from you. Satan is real, and his oldest trick is convincing you he isn't, but his power is limited, his goal is to distract and shame you into separation from God, and Jesus has already broken his power.

Key points

1
1The enemy's greatest tactic is convincing people he doesn't exist.
Pastor Daniel tells the story of a wildfire that killed his brother's best friend's father because the family stayed behind, unable to see danger that was real even though invisible. He applies this to Satan: many people assume the enemy isn't real or isn't that dangerous, but Jesus was clear that Satan is real and out to kill, steal, and destroy.
2
2Satan is a created being, a fallen cherub angel, not an equal opposite of God.
Working through Ezekiel 28, Pastor Daniel shows that this 'king of Tyre' passage shifts to address the enemy behind the enemy, a cherub angel created blameless and given access to the holy mountain of God until evil was found in him. He explains cherub angels as powerful guardian angels, not the 'cute baby' image, and stresses that as a created being Satan's power is limited by his Creator.
3
3Pride, not opposition to God, is what caused Satan's fall.
In Isaiah 14, the fallen angel is named Lucifer, one of only three named angels (with Michael and Gabriel), and his name means adversary or deceiver. Satan says 'I will' five times, wanting to be equal with God, and Pastor Daniel notes this is the same lie people fall for: believing God is withholding something good from them.
4
4God created free will, not evil, and a third of the angels chose to follow Satan's lie.
Pastor Daniel explains that God didn't create evil but created the possibility of it by giving angels and people real free will, because forced love isn't love. He points to the prophecy in Revelation 12 of the dragon's tail sweeping down a third of the stars, meaning a third of the angels believed the same lie Satan did and became demons.
5
5Satan's power is real but strictly limited to what God permits.
Using the story of Job, Pastor Daniel shows Satan needed God's permission to touch Job's life and could not go further than God allowed. He describes the cosmic battle as a chess master letting a child make moves before calmly delivering checkmate, not an even contest.
6
6Satan's tactic hasn't changed since Eden: get you to doubt God's goodness and take one small step away.
Walking through Genesis 3, Pastor Daniel shows the serpent asking Eve 'did God really say that,' getting her to misquote God, and offering a shortcut. He explains Satan always aims to get one small compromise, because one step away leads to more.
7
7Sin's true damage is the shame that follows, which drives people to hide from God and from each other.
After Adam and Eve eat the fruit, they feel shame for the first time, sew fig leaves, and hide from God, then blame each other. Pastor Daniel says this is Satan's real goal: since he can't hurt God directly, he hurts God's kids by causing separation between them and God and between each other.

A story from life

Story about the preacher's brother's best friend whose father died in the 2006 California wildfires after refusing to evacuate

Application

Pastor Daniel's charge is to stop believing the enemy isn't real and start recognizing his tactics before they take root.

Come back next week for the rest
Pastor Daniel is intentionally stopping short of teaching how to fight back this week, so he asks everyone to return next week to learn how to actually defend against the enemy.
Stop believing the lie that God is withholding good from you
Since Satan's fall and Eve's fall both trace back to believing God was holding something back, examine where you've assumed God isn't for you and choose to trust His plan instead.
Catch the small step before it becomes many
Watch for the 'did God really say that' moments where you're tempted to compromise just a little, because Satan's strategy is always to get one small step that leads to more.
Don't hide in shame — run toward God, not away
If sin has left you feeling shame or separation like Adam and Eve, resist the urge to hide; believe that God's heart is still running after you and He wants to forgive, not condemn.
Hold on and trust God's goodness in hard seasons
If you're in a season that doesn't make sense right now, don't try to escape it on your own; trust that God is working it for your good even when you can't see it yet.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“Ezekiel 28 verse 11, it says, then this further message came to me from the Lord, Son of man, sing this funeral song to the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the sovereign Lord”
Read the whole chapter →
From the transcript
“here's verse 14, I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian, some of your translations will say the mighty cherub angel”
From the transcript
“look what happens as we keep reading, verse 16, your rich commerce led you to violence and you sinned so I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God, I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire”
From the transcript
“here's what verse 17 shows us that is important to note, it gives us the key to understand what caused this enemy of the realm to rebel from God and his pride”
From the transcript
“Flip over to Isaiah because Isaiah is another prophet that is going to give us a much more pinpointed picture of what happened when this whole fall happened. In Isaiah 14”
From the transcript
“Isaiah fourteen twelve starts off and says, How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning. Some of your translations right there instead of O shining star, it says Lucifer”
From the transcript
“We see in Revelation 12, which we're not going to turn to, but if you look at Revelation 12, it's this epic battle that happens as Satan is thrown out of heaven”
From the transcript
“we fight not for victory but from victory. That we because Jesus' penalty on the cross that he crushed the power that Satan would ever have and the prophecy in Revelation 12, that dragon, it says that there's going to be a birth and at some point this birth is going to crush the head of the dragon”
From the transcript
“The easiest way to understand Satan's goal for you is to look at the story of creation in Genesis chapter three. When you look in Genesis, Adam and Eve were created in this perfect union”
From the transcript
“Genesis chapter three in verse six, Satan convinces the woman and it says in verse six that the woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious and she wanted the wisdom that it would give her”
From the transcript
“Then verse 13 says, The Lord God asked the woman, what have you done?' She said, the serpent deceived me and she replied, 'That's why I ate it”
From the transcript
“there will be a day that you can look back on this and you will see what Romans eight twenty eight says that God is working out all things for your good and it might not seem good right now but there will be a day”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1

Most of us grew up with a cartoon version of Satan — a red figure with a pitchfork, more punchline than threat. Pastor Daniel challenged that image directly, and for good reason: a villain you don't take seriously is one you never prepare to face. Ezekiel 28 pulls back the curtain on who Satan actually was before his fall. He wasn't a monster from the beginning. He was something magnificent — a created cherub, described as the model of perfection, full of wisdom and beauty, set in Eden and anointed for a specific purpose. God made him. God placed him. That matters more than it might seem at first. Because if Satan was created, his power has a ceiling. He is not the dark side of some cosmic coin, an equal and opposite force to God. He is a creature — and creatures are always under the authority of their Creator. This is genuinely good news for anyone who has felt overwhelmed by the weight of spiritual opposition. The battle is real, and the enemy is real, but you are not fighting two gods of equal strength. You are fighting a created being whose power operates only within the boundaries his Creator allows. That's not a small thing. It's a foundation worth standing on.

For reflection

How has your mental picture of Satan — whether you've thought of him as too powerful or not real at all — shaped the way you've approached spiritual struggle?

Pray

Pray for an accurate, grounded understanding of who the enemy is — and for the peace that comes from knowing God's power has no equal.

Day 2

There is something quietly sobering about the moment Ezekiel 28 shifts. The passage begins with a description of splendor — and then, in verse 15, a single hinge-point: 'You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you.' God did not build a flawed angel. He built a perfect one — and perfection still chose pride. Pastor Daniel made a point here that's worth sitting with: God didn't create evil, but He created the conditions for genuine free will, from which evil could emerge. That's because love that isn't freely chosen isn't really love at all. Satan had every reason to remain in wholehearted devotion to God. He had beauty, wisdom, and a place of honor. And he threw it away — not because God failed him, but because he wanted something God had reserved for Himself alone. The fall didn't happen because God was absent or withholding something good. It happened because the creature decided his own judgment was better than his Creator's. That's a pattern worth noticing — because it's the same whisper that shows up in every temptation since.

For reflection

Where in your own life do you recognize the pull to trust your own judgment over what God has said — even in small, seemingly harmless ways?

Pray

Pray for a humble and honest heart — one that stays soft to God's voice, especially in the places where pride tends to grow quietly.

Day 3

Five times. Isaiah 14 records Satan saying 'I will' — I will ascend, I will raise my throne, I will sit on the mount of assembly, I will ascend above the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High. Pastor Daniel pointed to those five declarations as the anatomy of pride: not a single explosive act of rebellion, but a steady, escalating insistence that self should be at the center. It's worth noting how rational each 'I will' probably felt from the inside. Pride rarely announces itself as pride. It disguises itself as confidence, ambition, self-sufficiency, or even a sense of justice. Satan didn't see himself as rebelling against a good God — he saw himself as reaching for what he deserved. That's the lie pride always tells. And the end of the passage makes the landing brutal and brief: 'Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.' The five 'I wills' collapsed into one outcome. Understanding this isn't meant to produce fear — it's meant to produce discernment. When the voice in your head starts stacking up reasons why you know better than God in some area of your life, that pattern has a name.

For reflection

What is one area of your life right now where you hear yourself saying 'I will' more than 'Your will'?

Pray

Pray for the courage to name the places where self-sufficiency has quietly taken the wheel — and for the grace to hand them back to God.

Day 4

Pastor Daniel mentioned Revelation 12 in connection with Satan's fall — and the picture it paints is dramatic: war in heaven, the dragon and his angels fighting against Michael and the heavenly host, and then cast down to the earth. One detail in this passage that's easy to rush past is that Satan didn't fall alone. He took a third of the angels with him. Those fallen angels are what Scripture calls demons — not abstract forces or literary devices, but real spiritual beings whose allegiance shifted away from God and toward the one who deceived them. This matters for how we understand the spiritual landscape we live in. The opposition isn't just one cunning enemy; it's a coordinated, active campaign. That can sound alarming — but notice what Revelation 12 also shows. Satan and his angels lost. They were hurled down. The war in heaven was not a close call. And the same chapter later declares that the accuser of God's people 'has been thrown down.' The battle on earth is real and costly, but its outcome was settled somewhere far above it. You are not fighting toward an uncertain ending. You are fighting from within a story whose ending has already been written.

For reflection

How does knowing that Satan's defeat is already certain — not just eventual — change the way you think about the hard things you're facing right now?

Pray

Pray for a perspective that holds onto the finished work of God, especially in moments when the battle feels immediate and the victory feels distant.

Day 5

The tactics haven't changed. Pastor Daniel was direct about this: what Satan did in the garden is exactly what he does today. He found the opening — a question, a suggestion, a whisper that God might be withholding something good — and he coaxed one small step away from what God had said. Eve didn't plan a full-scale rebellion. She took a piece of fruit. But look at what followed in verses 7 through 13: the moment the sin landed, shame arrived. They hid. They covered themselves. They heard God walking in the garden and, for the first time, they were afraid of Him. Then came the blame — Adam pointed at Eve, Eve pointed at the serpent, and the relational fractures were already spreading. This is Satan's playbook, and it's devastatingly effective because the shame that follows sin is designed to keep you away from the only One who can actually heal it. The lie is that you should hide from God until you've cleaned yourself up. The truth — the gospel truth — is that God was already walking toward them in the garden, and He's walking toward you now. The question He asked Adam, 'Where are you?' wasn't because God didn't know. It was an invitation to stop hiding.

For reflection

Is there an area of your life where shame has been quietly convincing you to hide from God rather than run to Him?

Pray

Pray for the strength to stop hiding — to bring the real thing, the actual struggle, into the light of God's presence rather than carrying it alone.

Day 6

Pastor Daniel landed the sermon here, and it's worth staying a little longer. 'And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.' That word 'everything' is doing enormous work in this verse. Not the easy things. Not the things that made sense at the time. Everything — including the seasons that felt like abandonment, the consequences of choices you wish you could undo, and the pain that came from someone else's choices entirely. This is not a promise that nothing bad will happen. It's a promise that nothing is wasted in God's hands. For someone in a hard season right now, this verse isn't meant to minimize what you're carrying. It's meant to hold it. Satan's strategy is to use your hardest moments to whisper that God has stepped away or that He was never really for you. Romans 8:28 is a direct answer to that whisper — not a feeling, not a cliché, but a declared and documented promise from the God who made you and knows every detail of your story. You don't have to fix this on your own. You don't have to have it figured out. Hold on.

For reflection

What circumstance in your life right now is hardest to believe Romans 8:28 about — and what would it look like to hold onto that promise anyway?

Pray

Pray for genuine trust — not the easy kind, but the kind that holds on to God's promise even when the circumstances haven't changed yet.

Day 7

You've spent a week looking at a part of Scripture that doesn't always make it onto a morning devotional list — and that's exactly the point. Pastor Daniel's core argument was that you cannot fight an enemy you refuse to acknowledge. This week you've traced Satan's origin as a created being, watched pride take root and lead to a devastating fall, seen the unchanged tactics he uses in every generation, and held on to the promise that God is working even in the hardest chapters of your story. None of this is meant to leave you focused on the enemy. It's meant to leave you clear-eyed about the battle so that you can keep your eyes on the One who has already won it. The same passage in Ezekiel that describes Satan's splendor also describes his ruin — cast to the ground, exposed, stripped of the glory he tried to seize for himself. That's not the end of your story. You are not fighting toward defeat. You are a person made in the image of God, called and equipped, and next week Pastor Daniel will open up the resource God has already placed inside you: the Holy Spirit. If this week stirred something — a question, a fear, a conversation you need to have — don't carry it alone. Reach out to someone at Rock Point.

For reflection

Looking back over this week, what is the one thing that shifted in how you understand the spiritual battle you're in — and what do you want to do with that?

Pray

Pray for the courage to step into the week ahead with both eyes open — to the reality of the battle and to the greater reality of the God who fights for you.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message takes on a subject that doesn't always get treated seriously — the reality of a real spiritual enemy. Before we dig in, what's one word that comes to mind when you hear the topic of Satan or spiritual warfare?

Discussion questions

1
In Ezekiel 28:11-15, the description of Satan as a 'blameless' cherub who was specifically created and given a purpose is striking. What does it tell us about Satan that he is a created being rather than some eternal opposing force?
2
Isaiah 14:12-14 records Satan saying 'I will' five times as he reaches for equality with God. What do you notice about how pride moves — does it seem to arrive all at once, or does the passage suggest something more gradual?
3
Pastor Daniel pointed to the story of Job to illustrate that Satan cannot act against someone without God's permission. How might that boundary on Satan's power change the way people read a hard or painful season?
4
In Genesis 3:6-13, after the fall, we see shame causing Adam and Eve to hide from God and then from each other. Pastor Daniel described shame and distraction as Satan's unchanged tactics since Eden — what do we notice about how that sequence unfolds in the Genesis account?
5
Pastor Daniel said that because you cannot earn God's love, you also cannot lose it. How does that idea push back against the shame-and-separation cycle he described as Satan's core strategy?
6
Pastor Daniel closed by pointing to Romans 8:28 and challenged us to stop living as though the battle isn't real — and to hold on to the truth that God is working all things for our good even inside it. What would it look like, practically, for a community of people to keep that truth front of mind together rather than trying to hold onto it alone?

Pray together

Ask God for clear eyes to see the enemy's tactics for what they are, and for the courage to hold onto the truth that His love cannot be lost

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Week 3 · 3 messages

Where these passages are preached

Ezekiel 28 Isaiah 14 Revelation 12 Genesis 3

Explore related topics

God's Protection Satan and Demons Shame and Sin Spiritual Victory Spiritual Warfare

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