Synopsis

Everything God wants to give you, Satan seeks to steal. Why live in captivity when Jesus came to give you an abundant life?

As a former SWAT cop, Pastor Phil Hopper offers a unique perspective on how to overcome the enemy of your soul. By knowing your enemy’s strategy, you will be equipped to live victoriously and not fall into Satan’s captivity.

This book provides a fresh, unique and highly relatable look at the adversary’s tactics so you can always be one step ahead of the devil.

You’ll find answers to questions such as:

1. • How can I break the bondage and leave behind the baggage?
2. • Why do I keep doing the same stupid things that I do?
3. • How can I never again take Satan’s bait?
4. • How can I be forgiven of my sin, but not healed from its effects?

Learn how to live a life of freedom as we uncover the tactics, deceptions and strategies of the enemy

Evaluation

Phil Hopper is my personal pastor at Abundant Life Church here in Missouri, and him preaching about the Devil is the primary reason I made Abundant Life my home. Jesus preached four times more about Satan than He did about anything else, and I’m convinced God speaks through Pastor Phil in the same way. Pastor Phil brings awareness to Christians that our Enemy stalks us from the darkness, studying our weaknesses so he can ultimately offer us the bait to capture our souls.

In this book, Pastor Phil shines light on Satan’s tactics and combats them with Scripture that arms us with insight on defeating the Evil One.

I Thought I Knew…

To be honest, as a spiritual warfare writer and having read the Bible cover to cover, I thought I knew Satan pretty well. After reading this book, it turns out I’ve only been familiar with the Devil. I wasn’t aware of him at all, let alone with the true reason that he has no power over us.

Maybe it’s just the way Pastor Phil phrases it that made it clear because so much of how Satan works seems obvious. I knew the foundation of Satan’s functionality, but not the root of it. Like many Christians, I learned a lot of what I knew about the Bible, about God and the Devil from what other Christians said. Which is sort of as reliable as diagnosing yourself medically through WebMD. But Pastor Phil set the information straight for me in this book, and I finally understand:

• Why Satan is who he is
• Why he attacks us
• How he attacks us, and
• Why we as Christians have dominion over him

Identifying Satan

Did you know that Satan was a musical instrument? Or that he was meant to be the worship leader for the angelic hosts? We probably all know that he was once an angel of light, but there are so many details about Satan that I learned in the first two chapters of this book.

It’s vital when in battle that you really know who you’re facing off with, and after reading this book, I definitely feel confident facing the Devil. I know who he disguises himself as: fear, doubt, lust, shame, guilt. But now I know what he looks like under the surface: a fallen angel that once was light and has been judged by God to become darkness.

Knowing who I’m up against gives me the confidence to rip off the mask of Satan like Mystery Inc. does to the villains in Scooby-Doo. I’m never surprised that it’s Satan under the mask now. But because of this book, because I know who Satan really is and who he was, I can identify more quickly when he’s present in my life and unmask the guilt as the Devil, unmask the shame as the Devil, unmask the doubt as the Devil.

---

If I could recommend only one book to others for the rest of my life (excluding the Bible), this book would be the one I choose. It’s packed with information every Christian should know about their adversary. If knowledge is power, I feel spiritually supercharged after reading this! They always say that the voices in your life influence your destination. Listen to Jesus speak through Phil Hopper in this book and you’ll most definitely be free of captivity to sin and bound for eternity in Heaven.