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The Devil's Playbook | Week 1 | Pat McCalla · Rewind

Rock Point Church

Pastor Pat McCalla · Aug 15, 2021 · 62 min watch · 3 min read

The Devil's Playbook | Week 1 | Pat McCalla

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In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Matthew 4
Matthew 4:8
Isaiah 14
Isaiah 14:12
Isaiah 14:13
Revelation 12

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

We are in a real spiritual fight, and the battle is over you.

Every person is engaged in a spiritual war against a powerful, real enemy — the devil — who was once a brilliant angel cast from heaven for pride, and who now hates humanity not because of who we are but because of whose we are: children of God. His battle plan is to steal, kill, and destroy through a three-step strategy of isolating, instigating, and annihilating. Yet because Jesus declared 'It is finished' on the cross, believers do not fight from a place of defeat but from a place of victory already secured.

Key points

1
1The devil is a real and powerful ruler who has tremendous influence over the kingdoms, philosophies, and systems of this world.
2
2The devil was originally a beautiful, holy angel who was cast out of heaven because of pride — saying 'I will be like the Most High' — and he took one third of the angels with him.
3
3Our enemy does not hate us because of who we are, but because of whose we are — we are the image-bearing sons and daughters of God.
4
4The devil's entire battle plan is to steal, kill, and destroy — in contrast to Jesus, who came to give abundant life.
5
5The devil fights by isolating, instigating, and annihilating — controlling people not with fangs in the flesh but with lies in the heart and mind.
6
6This spiritual battle is not an optional afternoon contest — it is a life-or-death, heaven-and-hell fight that every believer is in whether they choose to be or not.
7
7Because Jesus declared 'It is finished' on the cross, believers fight from a place of victory, not defeat — the war has already been won.

Application

Pastor Pat's call to action is both urgent and liberating: stop treating the spiritual war as background noise and go all in with Jesus. The battle is not theoretical — it is over your soul, your family, your church, and your community. Because the devil's primary weapons are isolation and lies, the practical response is to resist being pulled into isolation, to take every thought captive, and to renew your mind in God's truth. At the same time, you fight not in fear but in confidence, because the war has already been decided. Jesus declared 'It is finished' on the cross — the accuser does not win. You are more than a conqueror, not through your own strength, but through the One who is already victorious. Fight well.

Take it into your week

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“If you have your Bibles, open to Matthew chapter four. Matthew is the first book in the newer testament. I'm gonna give you a workout if you have a hard copy Bible”
From the transcript
“Matthew chapter four, skip down to verse eight. It says, next the devil, meaning the devil's already come to him at least once. Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain”
From the transcript
“Ezekiel chapter 28, which we don't have time to look at today, and Isaiah 14. But if we had time to look at Ezekiel chapter 28, it would talk about where the devil came from”
From the transcript
“Isaiah chapter 14, skip down to verse 12 now, it's gonna start to explain to us what happened in history past, where did this devil come from? The writer says, How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star”
From the transcript
“Verse 13, for you said or because you said you were thrown out of heaven, because you said to yourself, number one, I will ascend to heaven. Number two, I will set my throne above God's stars”
From the transcript
“Now flip over to Revelation 12. Revelation is the last book in the Bible, go to the very end. Revelation 12, we're gonna actually see a little bit more of this story”
From the transcript
“Revelation 12, look at verse three with me. John says, Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon”
From the transcript
“Look at the next verse, verse four, this is describing what happened then. His tail swept away one third of the stars. Remember what I said, when the Bible talks about stars, it's often talking about angels”
From the transcript
“Flip over to John chapter 10 now. This is a verse that you should probably put to memory. You should memorize this verse because remember, we're in a fight and the battle is over us”
From the transcript
“But in John chapter 10, Jesus is telling a story, a parable, and partway through that story, he says this, this is critical for you and I to get, what's the battle plan of our enemy”
From the transcript
“But look what Eugene Peterson says, Ephesians six verse 12. He says, this is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from. Paul is saying this to the Jesus followers in Ephesus”
From the transcript
“it's wrong to hate people because Ephesians six, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, demonic realm, that's where battle is with”
From the transcript
“He loves to lie to us. In fact, in John chapter eight, Jesus said the native language of the devil is lying. It's all he knows. It's all he knows how to do”
From the transcript
“This is why Paul in two Corinthians chapter 10 verse five said to take every thought captive. Why? Because our enemy isn't fighting us or controlling us with fangs in the flesh, but with lies in the heart and the mind”
From the transcript
“This is why Paul wrote in Romans twelve:two, you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind, why? Because our enemy doesn't fight us with fangs in the flesh, but with lies in the heart and the mind”
From the transcript
“John ten ten, the thief came to steal, kill and destroy, that's why you should memorize that verse. That's his only goal, that's his only plan for you and me, to steal, kill and destroy, to annihilate us”
From the transcript
“Flip to Genesis chapter three. The very first time that we actually see the devil working in the Bible, in this narrative, in this story, is in Genesis chapter three”
From the transcript
“now watch what happens. Genesis three verse one. The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. So the devil is in the serpent”
From the transcript
“So now watch what the woman does in verse two. Eve starts having a conversation with a snake and she says, of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, the woman replied”
From the transcript
“He's questioning the authority of God. It's how he always works. It's how he works in your life, I promise you. It's how he's always worked. He's gonna question the authority of God. Did God really say that? Did God really mean that? Is it really that important that you not do that or that you do this? Question God's authority. Now watch, next verse, verse five, he's gonna start questioning the goodness of God”
From the transcript
“Now watch, next verse, verse five, he's gonna start questioning the goodness of God. God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it. God's telling you not to eat this because he's not good”
From the transcript
“And then watch the annihilation here, verse six. The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious. That describes sin so well, doesn't it”

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

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Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Most of us know, at some level, that life feels like a fight. Relationships fracture in ways that don't quite make sense. Discouragement arrives out of nowhere. A decision that seemed solid yesterday feels shaky today. Pastor Pat opened this sermon by naming what we often sense but rarely say out loud: there is a real enemy, and he is not a cartoon. He is a powerful spiritual ruler with genuine influence over the systems and philosophies of this world. Ephesians 6:12 says our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, and powers of dark spiritual forces. That single verse reframes almost every hard thing in your life. The person who hurt you is not your ultimate enemy. The culture pulling you toward cynicism is not your ultimate enemy. There is something — someone — behind the curtain, working to steal what God has given you. The reason this matters is not to make you afraid. It is to make you honest. You cannot fight a war you refuse to acknowledge. And you cannot lean into the victory Jesus has already won if you keep treating the battle as background noise. Today is simply an invitation to open your eyes — to name the war for what it is, and to let that naming move you closer to the One who has already won it.

For reflection

Where in your life right now does the struggle feel confusing or bigger than it should — and what might it look like to see that through the lens of a spiritual battle rather than just a personal failure?

Pray

Pray for honest eyes to see the spiritual dimension of the struggles you face right now, and for courage to stop treating the war as optional.

Before he was an enemy, he was something breathtaking. Isaiah 14 pulls back the curtain on the origin of the devil — a brilliant, beautiful angel, possibly the highest of all, who looked at his own glory and decided it was enough to make him like God. Five times in those verses the word 'I will' appears. I will ascend. I will raise my throne. I will be like the Most High. That repetition is not accidental. It is a portrait of pride in its purest, most catastrophic form. Pastor Pat made the point that pride was not a small misstep — it was the sin that shattered heaven's harmony and sent a third of the angels falling. That origin story matters because it tells us something about how the enemy thinks and what he uses. He did not fall through brute ignorance; he fell through a brilliance turned inward, a refusal to remain under God's authority. There is a quiet warning here for us, too. The same whisper — 'you deserve more, you can be your own authority, you don't need to submit to God on this' — is the same whisper that started it all. Recognizing the enemy's origin helps us recognize his voice when it shows up in our own hearts. Humility is not weakness. It is the very thing pride could not survive.

For reflection

In what area of your life does the 'I will' voice — the voice of self-sufficiency or self-authority — speak loudest, and what would it look like to quiet it with surrender today?

Pray

Pray for humility in the specific area where self-reliance tends to crowd out trust in God.

One detail Pastor Pat drew from Revelation 12 is easy to rush past: when the dragon fell, he took a third of the stars — a third of the angels — with him. The enemy did not arrive on earth alone, and he has not been fighting alone since. His influence is not solitary; it is systemic. He commands a vast network of spiritual opposition aimed at the image-bearers of God. That sounds overwhelming at first. But sit with it differently: if the enemy needed an army to oppose God's people, it tells you something about how seriously he takes the threat that you pose simply by belonging to God. You are not a small target. You are an image-bearer of the King, and the enemy has marshaled real resources to pull you away from that identity. This is exactly why Pastor Pat's point — that the devil hates you not because of who you are but because of whose you are — carries so much weight. Your value is not self-generated. It is relational. It flows from the God who made you and the Savior who redeemed you. The enemy's hostility toward you is, in a strange way, a testimony to your worth in God's eyes. You don't have to shrink from that. You can stand in it, because the One whose image you bear is greater than the army arrayed against you.

For reflection

How does knowing that the enemy's hostility toward you is rooted in your identity as God's image-bearer change the way you see yourself today?

Pray

Pray for a settled confidence in your identity as someone who belongs to God — not because of anything you have earned, but because of who He is.

Jesus did not bury the contrast — He stated it plainly. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they may have life and have it in abundance. Two agendas, side by side, with nothing left to interpretation. Pastor Pat anchored the entire sermon in that contrast because it is the hinge everything else swings on. The enemy's goal is not simply to inconvenience you. It is total destruction — of your peace, your relationships, your sense of calling, your faith, and ultimately your eternity. He does not play at the edges; he aims at the center. And yet Jesus does not respond to that agenda with a defensive posture. He responds by offering life — full, overflowing, abundant life — to everyone the enemy is trying to hollow out. This is worth sitting with today: whatever the enemy is trying to steal from you right now, Jesus is actively offering the opposite. Where the enemy is working to drain your hope, Jesus is the source of living water that doesn't run dry. Where the enemy is working to fracture your relationships, Jesus is the one who prayed that His people would be one. The thief's plan is real, but it has a ceiling. Jesus' plan has no ceiling at all. Today, let the abundance He offers be the louder voice.

For reflection

What specifically does 'abundant life' look like in the area of your life where you feel most depleted right now — and what is one small step toward receiving what Jesus is offering?

Pray

Pray for the ability to receive the abundant life Jesus offers in the exact space where the enemy has been working to steal from you.

If you want to understand the enemy's playbook, Genesis 3 is where it was first run. He did not approach Eve with a threat. He approached her with a question — 'Did God really say?' — and that single question was enough to introduce doubt about God's goodness, God's word, and Eve's own identity. Pastor Pat named the three-step strategy clearly: isolate, instigate, annihilate. Get the person alone. Get them questioning. Then watch the rest unravel. Notice that the serpent never forced anything. He simply suggested. He planted an idea and let it grow in the space between Eve's ears. The battle was won or lost in the mind before a single piece of fruit was touched. That is still exactly how it works. The enemy does not need fangs in your flesh — he needs a lie in your heart that you agree with long enough to act on. This is why Pastor Pat's call to take every thought captive — drawn from 2 Corinthians 10:5 — is not an abstract spiritual discipline. It is a direct counter-strategy. You cannot stop every thought from arriving, but you do not have to let every thought stay and set up furniture. Learning to recognize the enemy's voice — usually dressed as your own — is one of the most practical forms of spiritual warfare available to you.

For reflection

What lie — about yourself, about God, or about your situation — has been quietly setting up residence in your mind lately, and what does Scripture say that directly contradicts it?

Pray

Pray for the discernment to recognize the enemy's lies disguised as your own thoughts, and for the courage to bring those thoughts into the light of God's truth.

Paul's language in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is intentionally military: demolish arguments, tear down strongholds, take every thought captive. Pastor Pat's sermon and this verse agree on a central point — the primary battlefield in spiritual war is the mind. A stronghold is not just a bad habit; it is a pattern of thinking that has been fortified over time, a place where a lie has been believed so consistently that it starts to feel like truth. The practical instruction here is one of the most actionable in all of Scripture: take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. That means you do not evaluate thoughts by how convincing they feel — you evaluate them by whether they align with what Christ has said. Fear can feel completely convincing and still be a lie. Shame can feel completely accurate and still be something Jesus already dealt with on the cross. Romans 12:2 runs alongside this — be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Renewing is not a one-time event; it is a daily, sometimes hourly, practice of choosing God's Word over the noise. Community matters here too. It is much harder for isolation to take hold when you are genuinely known by people who can speak truth when your own thinking gets cloudy. You were not designed to fight this battle alone, and you don't have to.

For reflection

What thought pattern — fear, shame, self-sufficiency, bitterness — has become so familiar that it feels normal, and what would it look like to begin actively replacing it with what God says?

Pray

Pray for the discipline and desire to renew your mind daily in God's Word, and for at least one relationship where truth can be spoken and received.

Pastor Pat brought the sermon home with a declaration that changes everything: because Jesus said 'It is finished,' you do not fight toward victory — you fight from it. John 8 captures Jesus in direct confrontation with the enemy's nature, calling the devil a liar and the father of lies, the one who has no truth in him. And then, just verses earlier, Jesus tells His followers that the truth will set them free. Those two realities — the enemy's nature and Jesus' promise — define the entire week you have just walked through. The enemy's whole strategy rests on lies believed. Jesus' whole strategy rests on truth received. And the deepest truth of all is that the cross was not a close call. It was a decisive, final, irreversible victory. The accuser does not get the last word. The grave did not hold the One who promised abundant life. So you fight, yes — but you fight as someone who already knows how the story ends. You resist isolation. You take thoughts captive. You stay in God's Word and in real community. You bring your time, your energy, your heart, and your story into alignment with the King whose name you bear. Not to earn a victory, but to live inside one that has already been secured. The war is real. And it has already been won. Fight well.

For reflection

As you look back over this week, where do you sense God inviting you to stop fighting as though the outcome is uncertain — and to begin living from the freedom and victory Jesus has already secured?

Pray

Pray for the faith to live from victory rather than toward it — and for the courage to go all in with Jesus in the specific area of your life where the battle feels most real right now.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. 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 digs into a topic that can feel either overwhelming or easy to brush aside — spiritual war. Before we jump in, what's one word that comes to mind when you hear the phrase 'spiritual battle'?

Discussion questions

1
In Isaiah 14:12-14, the fall of the devil is traced back to pride — a repeated 'I will' that puts self at the center. What do you notice about how that kind of pride is described, and why do you think it leads to such a catastrophic outcome?
2
Pastor Pat made the point that the devil doesn't hate us because of who we are, but because of whose we are — image-bearing sons and daughters of God. How does that shift in framing change the way we might think about why spiritual opposition shows up in people's lives?
3
In Genesis 3:1-6, the serpent's first move is to pull Eve into a private conversation — away from Adam, away from God's clear word. Pastor Pat described this as a pattern: isolate, then instigate, then annihilate. Where do we see that same pattern play out in the world around us today?
4
Ephesians 6:12 says our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. Pastor Pat pointed out that this battle is not optional — every believer is in it whether they choose to be or not. What do you think it looks like practically for a community of people to stop treating that war as background noise?
5
Second Corinthians 10:5 talks about taking every thought captive, and Romans 12:2 calls us to renew our minds. Since the message identified lies in the heart and mind as the enemy's primary weapon, how might those two practices work together as a real-life response?
6
Pastor Pat closed with the declaration that Jesus saying 'It is finished' means believers fight from a place of victory, not defeat. How does that change the posture — emotionally, practically — with which we engage the struggles we face in our families, our church, and our community?

Pray together

Gratitude that the war has already been won through Jesus, and courage to live and love from that victory rather than from fear

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Continue the series

The Devil's Playbook

Week 1 · 5 messages

Where these passages are preached

Matthew 4 Isaiah 14 Revelation 12 John 10

Explore related topics

God's Truth vs. Lies Identity as God's Children Spiritual Warfare The Devil's Strategy Victory in Christ

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