Advisory of Our Mission
=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>Advisory of our mission
When the Holy Spirit begins to call His people to a specific task, you can depend on Satan to be ready to stop God’s people.
He uses the same methods that have not changed for over 8,000+ years
They do not have to – because “we” are predictable people!
Introduction: SATAN is our enemy.
Many things that can be said about our enemy, we cannot exhaust all that is taught of this ugly foe in 30 minutes.
We need to know our enemy and that he is real and that he is proactive.
1. Satan has power of the kingdoms of this world. Iran, Iraq, Canada, USA, etc.
a. “According to his own declaration, which Christ did not deny, he [Satan] has power over the kingdoms of this world, which kingdoms he said were delivered unto him, and which power he bestows on whom he will (Luk 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.). What power he had, as the god of the world, he usurped. It was not by designated by God
2. He is the prince of the power of the air . . .
a. Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
b. Satan is termed prince of the power of the air, because the air is supposed to be a region in which malicious spirits dwell, all of whom are under the direction and influence of Satan, their chief.
3. He is a defeated foe
a. He will be cast into the lake of fire forever and forever. Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
b. When we see him, we will declare: “. . . Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; Isa 14:16
4. It is said of him that he had the power of death
a. Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil . . . .
b. But that power has been surrendered to Christ (Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.).
5. Satan’s power and authority are exercised always and only within the permissive will of God.
a. The Scriptures present, then, on the one hand the great power of Satan and on the other hand that this power is limited and under the sovereign control of God.
b. Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Satan is real and he has the church engaged in a real battle for its mind and very soul.
· Our one weapon is the truth of Christ as revealed in His Word.
Three tactics Satan will consistently try to use to defeat the Church
I. Satan uses Lies Lie: saying an untruth
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Satan’s purpose is to live and propagate himself - a lie.
The LIE found in Satan’s purpose is evident from several factors:
- His original purpose is to lie to himself in that he is seeking that which by its very nature can belong only to God and not to any finite creature, no matter how exalted a position he had in the creation of God;
· Isa 14:12-17 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (15) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (16) They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; (17) That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
· Psa 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. I don’t need God.
· The greatest fool is the one who believes he is a god.
- His operative purpose is to lie to others into accepting his purposes in place of God’s purposes; a god needs followers.
· He questions the truth God has revealed – Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
· Then he contradicts what God has said – Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
· Finally, he concocts an alternative version of “truth.” Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
· Satan says to his followers, “Follow me now . . . “
o GOD SAYS: Hab 2:15-16 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,
o SATAN SAYS: Awe come on, lighten up, what’s a few beers if you drink responsibly. That’s it, bow to me.
o GOD SAYS: Col 3:19 Husbands, love your wives; Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
o SATAN SAYS: Ya, right, let him live with your spouse! That’s it, bow to me.
o GOD SAYS: Pro 21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. ; Pro 25:23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
o SATAN SAYS: Legalist! Come on, your only human, don’t listen to that. That’s it, bow to me.
His operative purpose is to lie to others into accepting his purposes in place of God’s purposes; a god needs followers.
- His intended purpose fails; because it does not correspond to reality, thus proving itself unreal and a lie.
1. Look at the fancies that he has us distracted by.
a. Prime time TV at night: good vampires, good people who see dead people, good people who touch people and make them alive, good people who fight and defeat demons, etc.
b. Movies that make fun or light of sacred things (when was the last time that you saw marriage honored, preachers as noble beings, etc. – it is not real!
2. BUT, His greatest lie is to blind us into believe that there really is not consequence to following him, the devil.
a. Note in First Chronicles 21:1 states that “Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.”
b. Satan targeted David to lead him into sin, and David and Israel suffered the consequences of his actions.
c. The parallel account in 2 Samuel 24 shows the seriousness of this transgression and the subsequent punishment inflicted on David and the nation. 70,000 people died as a result of David’s sin.
d. His account shows Satan may work behind the scenes in ways not discernible by human means. If God had not revealed it in His Word, no one would have known of Satan’s role in this incident.
e. Sometimes when bad things happen to us because of willful sin, we have our favorite, “Well, God knows and He is in control.” Never realizing it might be because of sin. SATAN’S INTENDED PURPOSE IS NOT REAL!
Illustration: YRO Bahamas
Rom 6:16 Have to believe someone - Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
II. Satan Deceives Deceive: to cause to believe what is an untrue
2 Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
A. Paul wrote that Satan disguises himself as an “angel of light”
B. The apostle then added that Satan’s deception is carried out by false apostles who “also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” These are real people folk, not unseen flying demons.
C. In Romans 16:17–20 Paul warned against false teachers in the church who by “their smooth and flattering speech . . . deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting” (v. 18).
a. So even human agents who deceive others inside the church can ultimately be associated with the deceptive tactics employed by Satan.
b. John MacArthur states in his book, The Truth Wars, “. . . Satan will use . . . demons, unbelievers, and (most effectively) people who are in some way actually associated with the truth, or (even worse) who merely pretend to be agents of the truth and ageless of light.”
D. As we refer to our text again, 2 Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. In fact, Satan could easily be mistaken for an orthodox believer! In Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
a. Satan believes in the inspiration and inerrancy of Holy Scripture.
b. He knows about the sovereign person and purpose of the triune God.
c. He accepts the reality and activity of supernatural beings—both good and evil.
d. Further, Satan recognizes the sinfulness and folly of creatures called man, and he is aware of the possibility of man’s transferal from the kingdom of darkness to God’s kingdom of light through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
e. Satan acknowledges the reality of the church, the body of Christ (which is a special object of his deceptive attack).
f. Finally, though he tries to deny it, he recognizes the ultimate overthrow of his program to usurp the Messianic kingdom.
E. However, on the other hand, Satan is not at all like a true Bible believer,
a. For although he believes all this, he has failed to act upon what he knows; His belief has not affected his behavior.
b. When we choose to not follow God’s revealed will for our lives, i.e., Bible study (Study to show thy self approved), Praying (Pray without ceasing), Soul winning (And ye shall be witnesses unto me in . . .), we fail to act on our belief just and use unwontedly, Satan as our example.
In D.A Carson’s book, A model of Christian Maturity, he makes this point concerning believers duped by Satan and his deceivers:
[With Satan’s help . . . ] “Most believers are not enticed into sin by the prospect of committing great evil. Far from it.; they rationalize their way into committing evil by seeing in it some kind of good, or at the very least by blocking out the evil dimensions. They gossip about neighbors and friends, not out of conscious disobedience to God, but because they feel they are passing on truth, the result of mature discernment.
They nurture bitterness and hate against a spouse or a fellow believer, not because they hunger to ignore the unambiguous warnings in Scripture against bitterness and hate, but because they are persuaded their emotions are not evil after all, but simply justifiable instances of righteous indignation. [they simple have been fooled; their belief has not affected their behavior]
GOD SAYS: Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
SATAN SAYS: BOW TO ME!
Illustration: Rick Darnell: “Believers act sometimes like practicing atheists.”
How to know a deciver? THE WORD OF GOD
- Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
- 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
III. Satan Confuses
Turn to 2 Cor 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
A. Corruption – Confusion: . . . to make won unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence.
a. Ultimate form of confusion is succeeding in getting a person not to make the right decision because of reasonable doubt.
b. Then, getting a person to the point where they do not know what is right or what is wrong.
B. “In the remarkable book Screwtape Letters written years ago by C.S. Lewis an arch demon instructs subordinates on an ancient and effective piece of satanic strategy. “Insert yourself into the simple situations which call for plain and obvious duties,” urges this devil, “and complicate them, and complicate them again, until at last no one involved in them can make sense of the confusion.”
C. It is important for us to teach our children and our grandchildren to obey God’s Word. After all, we believe that it will answer all of life’s challenges.
- Say your child comes to you and says, I want to go on a mission’s trip!
- Christ says in Matthew 28, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
- But He also says in Eph. 6, “Children, obey your parents” And the parent says, “No, you can’t go”
- Christ says in Mark 16, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
- But He also says in Heb 13, Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: . . . And they say “, No, you can’t go!”
- “Christ says in John 14:15,“If you love me, keep my commandments” #. But Mom/Dad, grand/parent, boy-friend/girl-friend might say, “If you love me, you will not go!”
D. Know who God is:
a. 1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
i. [Barnes] His religion cannot tend to produce disorder.
ii. He is the God of peace; and his religion will tend to promote order.
iii. It is calm, peaceful, thoughtful. It is not boisterous and disorderly.
IV We are in a battle, but we are not alone.
- Believe God when He says that there is victory in this battle 1. 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2. 1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
B. Use God’s weapons
1. Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
2. Eph 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil
C. Stay close to God, so close that you hear his voice
1. Psa 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. Isa 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Of the memorials in Westminster Abbey there is not one that gives a nobler thought than that inscribed on the monument to Lord Lawrence—Simply his name, with the date of his death, and these words:
“He feared man so little because he feared God so much.”