2025-01-19 - Just Because

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Just Because

2025-01-19 -- Just Because
Key Statement: "Just because you cut the head off of the snake, doesn't mean it still can’t bite and poison you."
Introduction:
A dream I had Thursday morning.
A friend and I entered a grocery store and encountered a poisonous snake on the floor. After avoiding the snake by moving down an aisle, I saw my friend step on it and cut off its head. However, the severed snake head somehow lunged at me and I stepped on it with my left heal. The head ended up stuck in the tread of the heal of my boot but I didn’t know it. As I walked, my friend warned me to be careful, as the snake head could still bite. Looking down, I saw the head opening its mouth, trying to bite me, and I realized that even after cutting off the snake's head, it remained dangerous.
In my dream, the severed snake head symbolizes the defeated yet still dangerous presence of Satan in the world. Spiritually, this reflects the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15, where Christ crushed the serpent’s head through His death and resurrection, defeating Satan’s ultimate power. However, just like the snake’s head in my dream continued to pose a threat, Satan remains active, seeking to harm and deceive until his final judgment. Though Christ has already secured victory, Satan's influence persists until the day he is cast into the lake of fire, where his destruction will be complete (Revelation 20:10). My dream served as a vivid reminder that I need remain vigilant and rely on Christ’s strength, knowing the enemy’s time is limited.
Link: Satan’s Underestimation
Satan is often dismissed or caricatured in popular culture, leading many to underestimate his reality and danger. Examples:
Satan Clause the Movie: Jack Black plays Satan who was summonsed by a magical spell when a boy accidentally misspelled Santa when writing to Him. The boy wrote Satan rather than Santa. Chaos ensues as he hilariously tries to deliver presents while introducing a bit of devilish mischief to Christmas traditions.
Samuel Butler: “It must be remembered that we have heard only one side of the case. God has written all the books.”
TV comedian (Flip Wilson): “The devil made me do it!”
Halloween & The Pastor: Back in Nebraska, I opened the paper in early November to see that one of the local churches did a trunk-o-treat. The pastor's trunk was decorated and full of candy. There they were in the paper in full color dressed up as none other than “The Devil.” Consequence: Many either don’t believe in Satan or don’t take him seriously, leading to vulnerability.
I. Satan’s True Nature and Role
Descriptions of Satan in the Bible:
Before his pride, before his fall:
Ezekiel 28:12–17 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.
Vs. 12 God is talking of the human King of Tyre here, but he exposes that the evil he has done is done in cooperation with Satan. God then goes on to talk about Satan, then towards the end he goes back talking about the King of Tyre, whom God laid before other kings to be gazed upon.
His beauty was so magnificent. Remember God is light, so when the glory and light of God shown on the body of Lucifer before his fall, it must have looked so beautiful and magnificent.
Isaiah 14:12–14 NKJV
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Helel Ben Sahar is the Hebrew words for Lucifer Son Of The Morning as seen in Isaiah 14:12
After his fall:
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said,’ You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
Satan as a serpent, symbolizing deception.
Satan isn’t an originator; he’s a clever imitator who disguises his true character. If necessary, he can even masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). When he came into the Garden, Satan used the body of a serpent, one of God’s creatures that He had pronounced “good” (Gen. 1:31). - Warren Wiersbie
1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV): “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Katapino is the greek word for “Devour”, meaning to drink down i.e. gulp entire, devour, drown, swallow up.
Names for Satan:
"Destroyer" This could be either a hierarchy of power among the demons who isn’t Satan or it may be Satan, either way if it is him, he’s a destroyer, if it isn’t him, he is over the destroyer which makes him also a destroyer. (Abaddon, Apollyon - Revelation 9:11):
Revelation 9:11 (NKJV): “And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
Revelation 12:9 (NKJV): “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Revelation 20:2 (NKJV): “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”
"Adversary" (Satan):
1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV): “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
"Slanderer" (Devil):
Matthew 4:1 (NKJV): “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
"Father of Lies"
John 8:44 (NKJV): “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
"The Evil One"
Matthew 13:19 (NKJV): “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”
1 John 3:12 (NKJV): “Not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
"The Prince of this World"
John 12:31 (NKJV): “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
"God of this Age"
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV): “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
"Ruler of the World System"
Ephesians 2:2 (NKJV): “In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”
Paul’s warnings: Don’t give Satan a foothold in our lives
Ephesians 4:27 (NKJV): “Nor give place to the devil.”
Understand his strategy
2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV): “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
II. The Effect of Satan’s Deception
Deception: Satan insinuates that God’s commands are restrictive and that God is not truly good.
Genesis 3:6 (NKJV): “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Application 1: What has satan come to you with and deceived you into thinking was okay? Anything God puts together and calls good, satan will take that and put a spin on it and trick you into thinking, to justify it being ok when in all reality, God says it’s a sin. This could be, getting drunk, or drug use that alters your mind to sexual immorality that is spelled out in the Bible, to skipping church, using Gods name in vane. Bringing disunity in the Body by backbiting, not talking with someone about a problem you see with them…
Satan uses these things and justifies with you why its ok to do them, but God says NO, Its Not Ok!
Illustration: Quote Unknown - Satan deceived a third of the angels that were actually in the presence of God. So imagine the power he has over mere men that don’t submit to the Word of God?
Maybe you don’t struggle with these things, but Satan is cunning. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon once said to this:
Pride grows with the decrease of other sins, and thrives by their decay. Satan is subtle; he will make a man proud of his very graces—he will make him proud that he is not proud.
Charles Spurgeon
The Word of God vs. Satan’s Lies:
God’s Word brings life and order; Satan’s words bring chaos and death.
John 8:44 (NKJV): “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
Genesis 2:25 (NKJV): “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” But when they sinned they realized they were naked, they didn’t want God to see them.
Illustration: Little kids when they get caught don’t want to look you in the eyes when you'r talking to them. Men & Women who get arrested, if they are ashamed or sorry they got caught, they will try not to look at the booking camera, etc. I believe as many scholars do, this is where we see they were deceived. And this is why God made a way for them to be reconciled as well as you and me. Satan on the other hand and the fallen angels, full well knew what they were getting into when they turned their backs on God.
III. Temptation’s Blueprint: How Satan Tempts Today
Temptation’s Pattern:
Satan’s tactics in Genesis provide a blueprint for how temptation works in people’s lives today. He lied, deceived and tempted them as he does to us today.
Application 2: As I mentioned earlier, this could be, getting drunk, or drug use that alters your mind to sexual immorality that is spelled out in the Bible, to skipping church, using God's name in vain. Bringing disunity in the Body by backbiting, not talking with someone about a problem you see with them…
When these things come our way, don’t be like Eve and Adam and let satan justify why you should do these things. Look at them, recognize they are what they are, sins your being tempted with and turn to God for help.
Don't think the world is over for you if you fall or have fallen into one of these things. God wants to rectify the mess we get into. Don’t do something just b/c God will get you out. But know He’ll get you out if you get into the sin.
Don’t look down on others who get into these or other sins. If you do, then you yourself are sining. Rather come alongside those in sin, and lovingly pray with and for them and help them out.
Matthew 4:1-11 (NKJV):
Here we see Jesus resisted temptation,
we can too,
with God’s help.
IV. The Serpent’s Role and the Human Response
We talked earlier about Satan and his appearance as a serpent. Let's revisit this just a bit more to help us drive home what we were just thinking about within we talked about Satan's Temptation Blueprint.
The Serpent as an Instrument of Satan:
Satan used the serpent to deceive, but it was still a created being, not inherently evil.
Satan uses good things today to cause us to sin.
Deceptive Wisdom: The serpent offered false wisdom, not based on the fear of God.
Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV): “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Focus Shift: The serpent tries to shift Eve’s focus away from the abundance of God’s provision, making her doubt what she already has.
V. The Profound and Simple Word of God
The Word of God:
God’s Word is both profound in meaning and simple to understand.
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV): “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and interest of the heart.
Satan’s Deception often thrives on complicating or distorting the simple truth.
VI. Conclusion: Beware the Bite
Cutting off the head of the serpent: Just because Jesus crushed the head of Satan does not mean Satan is powerless or gone.
Satan’s persistence: Even though Christ crushed him at the cross until he is cast into the Lake of Fire, he can still find ways to strike and poison.
Vigilance: Continually be alert and rely on God’s Word to resist temptation and remain steadfast in faith.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NKJV): “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
One Day Satan will die: One day Satan will be cast into the lake of fire and will no longer tempt you to sin.
In my profession, I would say that one of the biggest ways Satan deceives someone who goes to church or calls themselves a Christian is when they think they have a personal relationship with God and they really don’t.
They think they do b/c they think they know what it takes to have one. Really you need to know what God says it is to have a personal relationship with Him.
ABC
Satan is after your soul but so is God: Illustration: Consider How Precious a Soul Must Be, When Both God And The Devil Are After It. - Charles Spurgeon
Romans 10:13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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